Though this feels al little self-indulgent, but I am writing to promote a radio show in which I participated today. To listen, go to:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Speaking-To-Win/2008/09/23/Business-Off-The-Beaten-Path-Melinda-Neely-President-High-Dive

The interview provides listeners with more information about High Dive, our work philosophies and projects, and my outlook on life in general. I even divulge my humiliation at attending junior high discos years ago.

The interview was conducted by one of the Northwest’s premier speaking and media coaches, Mary Anne Dorward . I highly recommend Mary Anne to anyone who might be looking to improve an investor pitch, an interview with the media, or a presentation to anyone! Not only is she an expert in her field, but she is a person who is truly vested in the success of her clients.

Enjoy!

In our monthly newsletters, we spend a lot of time tapping our proverbial marketing wisdom and sharing it with others. In fact, we have recommended a myriad of tactics so companies have the precise tools and knowledge to succeed. However, whether you are a product-based business or a serviced based business, B2C or B2B, or maybe even B2B2C, and no matter how many ways you market your business, almost inevitably, the #1 way to win a loyal customer is……. Well, I can’t tell you already or you won’t read the rest of the article.

But I will give you a clue. How many of you would like to be in the audience of the Oprah show? (Meghann and I have been trying to get tickets for three months, in anticipation of our upcoming trip to Chicago for the marathon, to no avail, darnit.) Even better than seeing any ole’ Oprah show is seeing one of her bi-annual “Favorite Things” episodes. The audience walks away with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise just for being there. And these aren’t just any old products. These are ones Oprah personally endorses!

So now you know the #1 way to get and keep business - word of mouth referrals! High Dive lives and breathes by them and so do many of our clients. Many companies have made their mark on the map thanks to Oprah’s blessing. Though companies spend thousands (and maybe millions, depending on how big a company it is) on Internet marketing, advertising , PR, direct marketing and more, word of mouth referrals are (usually) FREE. Not only that, but referrals are meaningful and credible. They wean out a lot of the guessing, screening and testing. They reduce the purchase decision time period dramatically.

So how do you build a Word of Mouth network? Well, if I gave away that golden nugget of information in this article, you’d have no reason to hire us! But seriously, depending on if you are a product-based business or a serviced based business, B2C or B2B, or maybe even B2B2C, there would be different ways to build and grow that referral network.

So for now, we’re going to take a tip from Oprah and tell you about our favorite things. And though her endorsement might be better (and more lucrative) than ours, we thought it’d be fun to start doing this on a regular basis – on our blog.

Melinda’s Favorite Things.

My new mountain bike: A Gary Fisher HiFi Deluxe with disc brakes. It was hard to park my beloved Mt. Tam after ten years of climbs, declines and tumbles, but the new one purrs like a kitten when I’m riding the hills of Boise. And the dual suspension feature makes it easier on my (getting older but still hangin’) bones and muscles.

My Garmin watch: I’m not sure how I ever trained for marathons without it. Not only do I know how far I’m going, but I also know how fast (or in my case, how slow) it took me to get there. Now we’ll see if the new knowledge benefits me in my quest to qualify for Boston.

Greek yogurt: FAGE is my fav, but there are other great brands as well. Greek yogurt is rich, thick, and creamy. It’s ideal for cooking and a great dessert replacement for folks like me who have trouble saying no to the sweet stuff. (Greek yogurt with figs is divine!)

Rob’s favorite things.

My Stockli XXXL Skis: These little babies kiss the terrain. Pricey but they’re worth every penny because they slice everything like butta.’ Just seeing them sitting in my garage makes me pine for snow in July.

The Lukey Bike Tagalong: It’s actually quite a goofy apparatus. But it allows my son Luke and I to get some serious hang time. I love riding with him.

Meghann’s favorite things.

Rainbow Sandals: I wear them almost every day in the summer. I own them in black and tan for every occasion. They are leather thong and footbed, really great quality sandal.

Trident White Gum: You could call this a straight up addiction. I buy in bulk and always have to have at least 2 packs in my purse at all times. I feel naked without it. Just delicious. Some benefits of the gum: It is actually good for your teeth – it has recaldent which strengthens teeth. Plus it whitens teeth and freshens breath.

Ruffwear Flat Out Leash: This is a great inventions. I take my Golden Retriever for runs almost every day and this makes it easy. Due to her excitement (she loves to run) and my poor training she pulls so hard that it is burdensome for me to run with her unless she is connected at the waist. That way I have the freedom I need and it is durable enough to handle the pulling.

Brian’s favorite things.

KNOG Frog Bike Lights:  These sweet little rubber LED safety lights attach to your bike to let everyone else know you exist when you are riding home late at night or out on the trails past dark. They are inexpensive and come in a multitude of colors for those gear heads who demand that everything on their bike matches. Two watch-sized batters power the LED light for up to 160 hours.

Dale’s Pale Ale: Simply the best Pale Ale on the market. Try it for yourself.

John’s favorite things.

(John’s a little shy so he got straight to the point).

1. iPod + iTunes; joyous

2. New art supplies

3. Metallic colors

High Dive is pleased to introduce the newest member to the team. Cody Evans has joined us as a part-time intern while he finishes his Graphic Design degree at Boise State University. He brings with him a unique artistic style to the creative team at High Dive. We are extremely excited to bring him in on a variety of our in-house and client projects. I’d sit here and rant and rave to you about his artistic talent but I think his artwork speaks for itself(see attached). Enough said. So on to more important things: His favorite candy is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, he enjoys a New Castle beer every now and then, hobbies include wakeboarding and snowboarding and he is spoken for(sorry ladies). With that said, we welcome Cody and his talent to the High Dive team.

In an effort to reward employees for hard work, perseverance and dedication, the High Dive team decided to close the office and take a field trip to Seattle to experience life in the big city. A short non-stop flight had us in downtown Seattle relatively early on Wednesday. We spent time in the Pikes Place Market eating fresh doughnuts, watching flying fish and drinking Seattle’s Best Coffee. Afterwards, we decided to explore 1^st Avenue to grab a bite to eat prior to the afternoon Mariners game. With our bellies full, we proceeded to watch the game while sampling the variety of beers sold at Safeco Field. John took a nap during the 6^th and 7^th innings only to be awakened by the sweet smell of Meg’s cotton candy (of which Luke ate more than his fair share). Brian ate Luke’s popcorn and we all had a fantastic time watching the Mariners (yeah ok they aren’t that great) beat the Rangers. Après game, we managed to commandeer a rickshaw and visit the Pyramid Brewery to continue our mission of sampling the different beers Seattle has to offer. As the trip ended with some airport food and short flight back to Boise, we reflect on the top 10 most valuable lessons learned on the trip. They are as follows:

10. One could blow an entire month’s paycheck buying a few beers at a Mariners game

9. Fish really can fly

8. Cheese is made with a rake in a large horse troth

7. Dramamine and adult beverages should not be mixed per directions on the box (just ask John)

6. Seattle is always 75 degrees and sunny (or at least this is the perception if you get lucky enough to visit the city when it’s 75 and sunny)

5. When you ask a child who’s riding on your shoulders to duck through a doorway, the logical reaction is: “Quack…..quack….”

4. A Texas doughnut at the Pikes Place Market weighs approximately three pounds and has enough calories to feed a family of four for two weeks

3. First you get a C then you get the AT, put them together and now you have a CAT (for those of you who didn’t get to hear Luke sing the song)

2. A rickshaw will take you and that special someone to Capitol Hill from the Mariners Stadium for $200

1. Boise is small

Well, the results for the High Dive Monthly Bike Challenge (HDMBC) are in for the month of August. Those who know me best know that I try to remain honest and ethical when writing Blog articles. I always try to keep my personal opinions removed and solely report the truth. I’m going to make an exception to my moral values this month. The results are as follows:

John: 21 days

Melinda: 15 days

Brian: 9.5 days

Rob: 3 days

Meghann: 0 days

It comes as no surprise that John rode his bike to work every day. I’m starting to think that he either does not own a car or does not have a driver’s license. He even admitted he couldn’t parallel park.

Melinda managed to come in second place with an impressive 15 days. Having experienced the wrath of goat heads and pinch flats she had to resort to her third bike by the end of the month. I’m beginning to think the Neely garage is actually a secret underground bike warehouse.

Coming in third is yours truly, planned intentionally might I add, as I still follow the ‘first is the worst, second is the best, third is the one with the golden chest!’ phrase. I’m incredibly proud of myself for managing to follow Plato’s theory of moderation. By sharing both the car and bike equally, I find myself to be an extremely well rounded and versatile person.

Fourth place was Rob who once again neglected to mark the days he rode on the calendar so we still don’t have an accurate count of how many days he actually rode. This seems to be a recurring theme with Mr. Neely.

Now for my favorite. Meg, who successfully managed to not ride once, was quite the change from the month before where she managed to win the challenge. I guess that’s just the way things go. It reminds me of Macaulay Culkin who experienced his glory days in the 90’s with the Home Alone movies only to be followed by a complete exodus from the main screen. It’s sad but its reality.

With the season change comes colder weather and higher stakes. Hypothermia, black ice and frost heaves all play an active role in the dangers of the HDMBC during the colder months. These are things that serious competitors in the HDMBC have to think about every morning when making the conscious decision whether to ride or not. All we can hope for is safe rides, minimal saddle sore and frost-bitten free fingers. One thing is for certain. The purse will increase for those who do manage to overcome the elements.

How much should a logo cost? Well, if you read my entry from yesterday, I would prefer calling it a brand identity, because I think the term “logo” undersells what a logo really is. But just for the sake of argument, I’ll answer the question like any marketer should: “It depends.” A brand identity provides a real value to organization and should be priced as such, not as a the-job-may-take-us-40-hours-and-our-hourly-rate-is-Y-so-here’s-your-bill-for-Z. And just as the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook recommends, the “value” of the identity scales with the size of the entity who is having the brand created in the first place.

But in case my vagueness is simply too vague for a Thursday afternoon (I can’t believe it’s already Thursday), here are few interesting examples.

When Meghann and I were on our 20-mile training run yesterday (and desperately seeking conversation to mask our pain), someone in our 6 a.m. running group asked if we’d heard about a band’s logo that recently sold for $90K+. This got my curiosity, so I did some research on the Rolling Stones logo that has become synonymous with the band. The band paid 50 pounds for the original artwork in 1970 - to a British designer named John Pasche. Apparently, Nick Jagger was frustrated with work produced by label companies at the time and chose to select a young designer to create art for an upcoming tour poster. The mouth/tongue image stuck as a band logo, and the rest is history. The original artwork just sold for $92,500 at an auction and will now live in the Victoria and Albert Museum. One of the most recognized logos ever created, Pasche thought it was symbolic of the group’s anti-authoritarian attitude. Apparently, Jagger understands the importance of a brand image  (so I’m not alone). Click here for the full story.

As another example…..We are currently working with the University of Idaho, so we found it particularly interesting that Boise State University paid $85,000 for a new logo (plus an athletic logo thrown in like two for the price of one). Apparently, a little controversy surrounded the process. Not because the price tag was too high, but because an East coast agency was hired to do the work. I believe this icon has become better known since the infamous Fiesta Bowl and the school’s win over Oklahoma.

The story’s not over yet. But that’s all the time I have today.

Subscribe to this feed.

In my opinion, a brand identity is so much more than a logo. Many authors, marketers, professors and bsuiness professionals would agree. Why is it, then, that companies subsist by creating and selling logos for next to nothing? A number of them do, from local design shops to companies like the one HP purchased  called Logoworks. Though I know little more about the company than their ”Stinky Logo” TV ads, their logo packages start as low as $299.

Though it may sound like I am offering free advertising for a competitor, I’m actually doing just the opposite. Why would you risk paying $299 for a logo that is supposed to tell potential customers who you are as a company? Build awareness among an audience that is going to make or break your business? Create a memorable impression among those who may only glance at you once? More importantly, don’t you want your company to be more than a logo? Isn’t the brand identity so much more than an icon and a font treatment?

Perfect case in point. We had a meeting with a client today to present brand identity concepts. Things we considered prior to the session were the company’s core competencies, strategic business goals and sales/marketing plans. We even carried out an abbreviated version of our Discovery Workshop to better ascertain the company’s brand personality. From this exercise, we got a great idea of the founders’ visual preferences, personalities and core beliefs. Without this knowledge, it would have been challening to slap a quick and dirty logo that really said something about the company, the founders, their target audience and vision.

In fact, when presenting the concepts, we continued to come back to personality elements we discovered in the workshop. We talked about their target audience and how they perceived this business. We even discussed where the company would be 10 years down the road to ensure the brand identity would fairly represent them in the future. Though the brand identity process continues well beyond the logo, stationary and business cards, it must first be examined from a myriad of angles.

So that’s the beginning of my two cents about cheap logos trying to make a quick fix. But stay tuned. My rant will continue.

Subscribe to this Feed