Why?
Eight important questions to ask before beginning any project.
Before we begin any new projects at Mindpower, we have a list of questions we ask ourselves. It’s not just because we love to think and we love to solve problems. It’s because we love to solve the right problems.
This exercise helps us – and it can help you – determine what the real goal is and develop the right tools for the job.
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Mindpower supports the free press!
or, How writing great
press releases can stretch your marketing budget.
Press releases are designed to help your organization get free, third party news media coverage. Reporters rely on press releases to help them find stories. So, you’re much more likely to be featured in the media if you send out great releases.
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Quality vs. quantity
Sustainable social media strategy
[By David Reis, founder and CEO of social media agency DEI Worldwide. Originally posted in Promo Magazine.]
A client recently told me they wanted 500,000 “Fans” on Facebook by the end of the year. When I asked them why, they just looked at me blankly. When I pushed, they just hemmed and hawed—ending up mumbling something like, “it is a good round number.”
When I further pushed to ask what they wanted to do with all those fans, and if they were prepared to spend the significant budget to manage a community of that size—”You’re going to have to have lots of conversations with them, you realize.”
They recoiled with alarm—“I thought social media was free!”
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Graphic standards
Who cares? And why do they matter?
“Great design is not democratic; it comes from great designers. If the standard is lousy, then develop another standard.”
- Edward Tufte
At Mindpower, branding is our business. And having been in this business for 15-plus years, we know how important staying true to your brand really is.
Your brand is your identity – it’s how the outside world perceives you. Every logo, color, font, image, and word you associate with your brand helps define it. (So every logo, color, font, image, and word must be chosen carefully.)
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Insider’s tips: How to execute a great photo shoot
Photo shoots can be a cost effective way to update your existing marketing materials. But the key to making your photo shoot a resounding success – whether it’s in the studio or on location – is planning ahead. Creative direction should be established long before the photo shoot takes place.
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The proof(ing) is in the pudding
(Or, the sweet victory of error-free work)
“I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma.
In the afternoon I put it back again.”
- Oscar Wilde
While we don’t generally spend an entire day contemplating a single comma, the importance of proofreading cannot be understated. Here are a few of our tried-and-true tips for successful proofing.
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What matters most when selecting an agency
CMOs, use your intuition and get to know shops well
[Borrowed from Avi Dan, published: August 25, 2010]
One of the most important decisions a CMO makes is agency selection.
These days, client-agency relationships fray faster than ever. They last, on average, only three years. This harmful churn reflects growing pressure on CMOs to deliver short-term results in a tough environment. Marketing is scrutinized around the clock, and CMOs face a vastly more complex, multiplatform ecosystem. Even the communications model was turned on its head as the consumer seized control of it. This upheaval makes agency selection more difficult than ever. More than half of agency reviews backfire within a few years.
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Best branding reads
It’s tough for the minds at Mindpower to stop thinking about branding and marketing. No surprise, then, that we like to read about branding and marketing whenever we can, whether we’re waiting out a flight delay or seeking some good dream fodder before we catch a few zzz’s. Here are a few of our favorite books on branding.
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Great marketing starts at home.
Mindpower on the internal launch.
Clients with tight budgets and even tighter schedules sometimes find it difficult to consider spending the time or money on an internal launch for new branding or marketing programs. That’s one of the biggest marketing mistakes there is. The people in your community are your organization’s most powerful ambassadors or its worst critics. Simply put, the return on your marketing investment will be greater if you have your community’s buy-in.
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We don’t do spec
Why Mindpower doesn’t do speculative work and why you shouldn’t either
[Borrowed and edited a wee bit, yet strongly believed, from Cam Foote, editor Creative Business]
The main product of our business is our “mindpower” — creative solutions to the issues and opportunities facing our clients and prospects. And, good ideas — creativity — can be tough to define, or agree upon.
One person’s passion is often another’s poison. So, it’s no wonder that potential clients often ask us to take a project on speculation. That is: To “test” our creative product in much the same way they may try out other types of products before purchasing.
Unfortunately, we must turn down such projects. This article may explain why NOT doing spec work actually makes us a better, more stable and reliable partner for whom to do business.
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