There are a lot of ingredients that go into a brand. We are excited to be doing a feature on the importance of branding done right. We will feature a new client and walk through the process from naming to logo design to web design to support materials. Can you tell what business our new client is in? Look for this exciting series to start soon.
Are you a new entrepreneur or business looking to develop your brand? We have developed a program that is informational, creative and affordable. With our expertise and resources, we can take you there.
Game Changers in Finding Creative Talent
We are excited to have John McNeal, of 2Reveal as our guest blogger. John and his partner Collette, began 2Reveal in 2002 and specialize in 3D visual communication.
In 1997, just a few months after earning my degree in architecture from The Ohio State University, I landed my first job at Karlsberger, a large well known healthcare architecture firm based in Columbus, Ohio. I was getting paid next to nothing (I vaguely remember them giving me a small bag of dirt twice a month as a paycheck), but the experience I gained working with and for great people was worth it. What was the best part? Meeting my wife of 9 years. In June of 2011 Karlsberger, a company founded in the 1920′s, officially closed its doors.
The story of Karlsberger has been a harsh reality for many large studios. As the economy began losing its legs many of these companies had to sacrifice talented people. But these highly talented people didn’t stop being talented and creative. If anything, removed from the constraints and bureaucracy of a large firm, they became more creative. Once upon a time you had to go to large agencies to find exceptional creative talent, but the state of our economy has changed the game. Today you will find excellent creative thinkers and problem solvers are working as freelance artists and in a small studio environments.
Technology has also played an important role in this development. In the past it was difficult for smaller studios to compete with big budget studios when chasing a high profile project, but the web and technology has leveled the playing field. Not only can small studios compete head-to-head against larger studios they are fast and effective utilizing online resources for project management, “face-to-face” meetings, recruiting talent across the globe when necessary, and minimizing travel expenses.
Many of the talented individuals that made Karlsberger great have since started their own businesses. In the noise of the advertising world I hope this serves and a little reminder that it’s people that make a company great. Small animation studios are just as capable of creating the same stunning visual effects, animated short films, and CG graphics as large studios. Small agencies can produce the same big results as their larger counterparts. Today the economy and technology have changed the status quo. Creative talent is both accessible and affordable and can be found in a place that would have been considered unexpected in the past, small studios.
Reject
Rejection sucks! In whatever form it comes in; personal, RFP went to someone else, client hated the layout, or whatever. But vendor, (or creative partner on a paying job), reject?
Come on… really?
About a year ago we met a writer that we thought might be good for a specific project. She had a small business and her clients were small. We met her, liked her and thought this could be a possible match.
We offered her a small job with a small budget of $500. The reason we didn’t share the larger budget initiative that followed, ($3,000 – $3,500), was because we needed to know that we could work with her, that her best practices were in line with Meyer Bennett and when the rubber met the road, she had the talent and work ethic needed to work with us. Not to mention working with us is fun. We are creative, easy to get along with, generous and recommend our partners to other small businesses that can benefit from the great talent here in Columbus.
Well the writer lady called us and said, “Ya know, I really would like to work with your group but I think you are too small for me. I’ve been advised to work with larger companies with larger initiatives.”
Wow, are you kidding me? Your loss baby.
Personally, I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman when she went shopping and the retail ladies wouldn’t sell to her because they thought pretty lady was not good enough. Well… we all know how that ended.
I’m not big on lying however she would have been better off lying to us and saying she was too busy to take on another project because then, we would have considered her for other work going forward.
We all have to turn down work that is not in-line with who we are, or something just isn’t right about the project, or timing is wrong or any number of other reasons. But I have to say, the next time we turn down work, I can guarantee you it won’t be because the job is too small.
Meyer Bennett Creative is a full service branding company. What can we do for you?
Holidays and Clients
I had a friend share an interesting story with me a few years back. She’s in sales and the “close the deal” person. She went to a work event after the holidays and ran into a contact from one of her largest clients. She said to herself, “Oh shit, I forgot to get him a holiday gift. How freaking embarrassing.”
Kelly was always a quick thinker so she walked up to him and said, “Hey Bob, I hope you enjoyed the wine and gift basket we got you.” And Bob said, “Wow, we really loved it and my wife loved the wine. That was really special of you, and thank you.”
So that story told me maybe we should think about alternative gifts for our clients during the holiday season. I mean, how many food baskets, lunches, bottles of wine, etc., can someone want or need? In some cases, not enough to even remember who gave you what. So we think that occasional gift giving to clients would be more effective in February or June or September, just to say thank you for being a good client.
This year, Meyer Bennett Creative gave holiday gifts to the doggies at the Capital Area Humane Society in our clients’ names. They got all kinds of treats like leashes, food, biscuits, Kongs, peanut butter, paper towels, meds, balls, etc. And they REALLY appreciated it.
And, back in September, we bought Cheryl’s for our clients just to say Thanks! They all really appreciated the unexpected sugar fix in the middle of the day.
What do you do for your clients?
Welcome to Meyer Bennett Creative
Welcome to Meyer Bennett Creative. We’re Bill Meyer, Gina Bennett and Robin Meyer. Thank you for visiting our website and our blog, Reach.
We would like to thank John Sammon for all of his help. Without him this site would not have happened as smoothly as it did. His patience, knowledge and ability to coach me without freaking out, was really appreciated. He is the best!
We plan to post here on a regular basis and share our thoughts on a wide range of interesting and informative topics. That should be easy, since we have an opinion on just about everything. We’re also excited to host some guest bloggers who will write about their craft, their lives and their opinions — and maybe even shamelessly put a plug in for themselves as well.
Meyer Bennett Creative is a branding firm that has been based in Grandview for the past 12 years. We specialize in developing creative solutions that result in targeted brand building and brand reach for our clients. If you’re ever in our hood, please stop by to say hello and join us for coffee, beer — or whatever. In the meantime, we look forward to meeting you.
