Baron and Company

Dishonesty in Advertising: A little bit goes a long way

rpemberton — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:09:11 +0000

Just one example of misleading advertising...

An ad playing on one of the gym’s TV monitors caught my eye during an early morning run the other day. Not “caught my eye” in a good way. It was the kind of misleading ad that makes a bad name for those involved in creating advertisements, or anything even remotely related to the field of marketing.

The ad in question was for a casino in the area. In the 30-seconds of airtime, the ad must have shown at least six or seven folks hitting it big. I’m talking jump out of your seat, wave your hands in the air kind of jackpots. And it makes you wonder, why would you want to deliberately create such a misleading ad?

Now, it should be said that the majority of TV viewers realize the absurdity of such advertising. Casinos are in the business of making money, and handing out jackpots to each guest is not a good way to go about doing so. Yet, such ads continue to proliferate tv screens, magazines, newspapers, radios, etc every single day.

Dan & Chip Heath, authors of the book Made to Stick and columnists in the always interesting Fast Company magazine, note a similar trend in this recent article. Definitely worth the read.

It Pays to Be Honest

This casino spot is just one example on a nearly endless list of advertisements that don’t mind bending the truth. Unfortunately, such ads have become commonplace, even expected among consumers. The thing is, it doesn’t have to be that way. It’s possible to create an effective ad without being misleading; honesty in your advertising is actually good for business.

For example, this ad used some great shots of several friends enjoying themselves over some delicious looking food. Why not focus more on the social benefit of a night out with friends? And, sure, worked into the mix could be a shot of someone winning big (but not several jackpots crammed into the brief 30-second spot).

Addressing deliberately misleading advertisements starts with the approach we take with every client. As the Heaths put it in their article (linked above), “It’s time for the marketing community itself to be the first to turn up its nose at people who shamelessly use these techniques.”

So use those creative juices. Come up with a catchy slogan. Highlight the client in a way that makes people want to know more. But don’t lie to the consumer. Why? Because, your mother was right. Lying is bad. And, when it comes to advertising, it’s just lazy.

Your customers deserve better, and they’ll thank you for your honesty with their business.

New Metcalf Hodges identity coming soon, stay tuned…

rpemberton — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 18:37:57 +0000

We’ve been working with Metcalf Hodges (one of Bellingham’s oldest accounting firm’s) on a variety of projects for many years. Even if you aren’t immediately familiar with the company, you’ve likely passed their offices at the top of Holly Street (near St. Joe’s south campus) on your way to downtown Bellingham without realizing it.

Most recently, Metcalf Hodges came to us for some help updating their brand. As a firm that has been doing business in the northwest for nearly 50 years now, Metcalf Hodges has a great wealth of credibility in the local accounting field. However, at the risk of seeming outdated, the firm’s principles expressed to us their desire for a refreshed look and feel.

We’re very excited to introduce the new Metcalf Hodges identity, which we’ll be doing right here on the Baron & Company blog in the near future. Stay tuned…

Then and Now: eLibertyBank

rpemberton — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:46:47 +0000

We recently wrapped up and launched a new custom Web site for LibertyBank, a regional bank in Oregon. LibertyBank just so happens to be the largest privately held bank headquartered in Oregon, and this project came about as a result of our work on the People’s Bank site that was launched about a year ago. Have a look.

LibertyBank approached us a while back and explained their desire for a new Web site, one commensurate with their position in the banking industry. The bank had a core brand and identity already established when they came to us, so our goal was to leverage this look & feel into a new, refreshed Web presence.

To give you an idea of what we’ve done with LibertyBank’s Web site, we thought we’d show you a series of images of the company’s site before and after the recent launch.

Here’s a picture of the LiberyBank homepage then…

…and here’s a picture of the bank’s homepage now.

We’re really happy with how Liberty’s new site turned out, and, more importantly, the client is crazy about it. Not only does the bank’s new Web presence have a much more professional, inviting design, but the interface underwent some significant improvements as well.

Here are some more Then and Now pictures (click on the screenshot for a larger view):

Liberty’s About Us page then..

…and Liberty’s About Us page now.

Liberty’s Business Banking page then…

…and their Business Banking page now.

One more reason to love the Northwest Washington Fair… Monster Trucks

rpemberton — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:07:45 +0000

Continuing the “Reasons to love the Northwest Washington Fair” marketing campaign we initiated last year for Lynden’s annual fair, here’s the newest design we’ve created for the NWF. This year’s poster design incorporated some of the Lynden Fair’s actual buildings and attractions to catch the eye and stir up past memories for all who happen to see the poster.

We created this campaign last year to build anticipation for the NWF’s 100-year anniversary celebration (97 Reasons to love the NWF, 98 Reasons, 99…), as well as to showcase the many different aspects of the NWF that attract visitors of all ages.

So what’s this year’s newest reason to love the Northwest Washington Fair, reason number 98? Monster Trucks. [Insert best monster truck announcer voice here] Ohhhhhh yeaahhhhhhhh!

Keep your eyes out in the next couple of months leading up to the fair for this design to pop up around our community, be it on a billboard in Lynden or on your TV at home.

Creating Achilles Inflatable Boats’ new Web presence

rpemberton — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:27:55 +0000

We recently wrapped up a new Web site for Achilles Inflatable Boats, manufacturer of some of the highest-quality inflatable rafts in the world (no exaggeration; you can read more about the company here).

The goal of this project was to create a new Web site that properly showcased Achilles’ commitment to delivering exceptional watercrafts, one that would put the company on par with other leading inflatable watercraft manufacturers. Rather than just repurpose the Achilles catalog content, though, we sought to create a very dynamic user experience for site visitors.

It takes a careful balance when it comes to designing product-based Web sites for companies such as Achilles: a site that’s too simplistic can leave people looking elsewhere for more info on your products, while too many details can overwhelm site visitors, create an eyesore and blemish the company’s image in the process. When it works out, though, when you’ve found just the right balance using an innovative, user-friendly product presentation, the result is an attractive and helpful Web presence. That’s exactly what we set out to accomplish with this project.

Here are some pics of the new Achilles site:

Another version of the Achilles homepage…

…and here’s an example of the Achilles Products page.

Check out the rest of the Achilles site and let us know what you think.

For anyone even remotely interested in great design: Yves Behar on TED.com

rpemberton — Wed, 28 May 2008 01:08:40 +0000

Design genius Yves Behar (pronounced “eev”) of FuseProject recently spoke on TED.com about the various influences that shaped his interest in design, as well as some of the projects he’s worked on.

For those not immediately familiar with Behar, you’ve likely seen or at least heard of his work. Yves is responsible for designing the innovative, yet low-cost $100 laptop as part of the “One Lap top Per Child” project, the intriguing Leaf Lamp, and the sleek Jawbone Bluetooth headset.

Lot’s of other good stuff in this clip. Check it out for yourself here.

Good Photos, Bad Photos: The value of a quality photographer

rpemberton — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:27:57 +0000

Finding a photographer in Bellingham is like finding a cup of coffee, there’s one every 15 feet or so. Finding a good one, though, that comes with experience…

We just wrapped up a couple ads for longtime Baron & Co client Chmelik Sitkin & Davis. The downtown law firm has been around for a while (since the early ’80s) and have a very well-established clientèle. Our most recent work consisted of announcing their most recently appointed principal, Michelle Losie, as well as the recognition of Frank Chmelik and Jon Sitkin by the Super Lawyer program (a group made up of only 5% of all Washington State attorneys).

Creating ads for the firm is always a pleasure and a great opportunity to show that a law firm ad can actually be created without the use of Olan Mills-style photos, stock photography or the photo the lawyer’s secretary snapped with her personal camera. There are far too many examples of low-cost photography being used to represent what should be perceived as a very professional, respectable business. Case in point:

Or this…

To present the Chmelik Sitkin & Davis firm on the same level of professionalism they’ve become known for, we needed some very high quality photos. Thankfully, we’ve done enough work to know some great photographers. For this shoot, we went with local photographer Gabe Rodriguez.

The end result? A happy client and an updated look and feel for the firm’s ads. Here’s the final product…