I just did a short interview for CTV, who came to ask me about the slogan for  Calgary.  In a nutshell, here’s what I think:

• Going internationally to get the work does bring more objectivity to the process.  It should also be expected that it would add to the cost.   As my good friend Bill Bergh always says, “You can’t read the label when you’re inside the jar.” and arguably, local firms are inside Calgary’s jar.  That said, it doesn’t mean that a firm with a little national or international perspective couldn’t be found here, but I don’t know of one I would trust with a project of this size….And given that we at START Marketing didn’t bid on the project, I’m not complaining about their choice of contractors.  (Truly, such a job would be a huge one…and since I’m generally bent on usually dealing with private businesses, who can make decisions a lot quicker than NPOs and government organizations, I don’t typically throw our hat in the ring on public sector projects. They’d have had to hunt me down and ask nicely!)
• The cost of development, which is running close to $250K, may seem high, but in comparison to the rollout cost, is it pretty cheap.  Who would want to spend millions plastering a “not so good” slogan around the world?  Not to mention the political backlash that comes fromthis.
• Coming up with a slogan, logo or company name is such a difficult task – trying to please everyone is nearly impossible.  I would expect it is going to take a lot of time to get it right.  In my experience with clients, with every added decision maker, the cost and time increases exponentially.  This doesn’t mean it’s impossible, but it may take a great deal of patience, and a ton of hard work – I would hope that the organizations have the patience, money, and time to keep at it – and that the creative contractors involved don’t get discouraged, and that they can continue to keep the ideas flowing.  The risk I see is in giving up…which would really be a shame, and then probably viewed as a huge waste of money.

The reporter asked me what my suggested slogan for Calgary would be, and I said “Feel the Energy”  - which I think reflects the atmosphere of the city.  But then again, I know there are a lot of people who would say we can’t pigeon-hole ourselves by using a word like “energy” which is tied to the petroleum sector.  So that, my friends, is why we have to spend thousands on all the wrong slogans, before we finally arrive at the right slogan.  Good luck, guys!  You have your work cut out for you!

Recently, we completed our first two websites based on Wordpress open source code. This has created a new need – the need for training for our clients as to how to update their websites, which we have just begun to get a handle on!  Even though Wordpress is fairly simple to use, there are some tricker aspects – such as sizing/inserting photos to display properly, and getting links from various pages to function.  So, it takes a little learning and getting used to.  The great aspect is that we are really hoping our clients will embrace the NEW way of using their websites, and keep them constantly updated…because once you know how to do it yourself, there is really no reason you can’t keep them fresh!

Hello folks!  I met with some new prospective clients yesterday – and they told me they’d really enjoyed the articles on our website.  I chuckled to myself, because I had a client who was a photographer years ago, and he always said to me that I used “too many words, and not enough pictures” in my marketing.  Probably not a bad comment for a photographer to make – but in these new days of the web, I have really found that the more clear information you can put out there about your business, the more people will have the specifics they need to trust you.  In fact, the anonymity of the web really demands that you provide lots of detail…and that it is indeed appreciated.  Many people who have become clients of ours have said that they spent 2 hours or more on our site – reading ALL the material!  So don’t be afraid of writing lots of words – and giving lots of details about your business – it really does help your electronic presence reflect the real, flesh/blood and bricks/mortar you.

In attempting to outsmart spammers, we are removing links on this blog that are left by SEO companies who leave generic comments.  We understand this is something you’re doing to boost link-backs to your page, but we think you should at least READ the blog and make real comments in order to EARN your link backs!  (You know, instead of automatically spamming this blog!).  I don’t mind linking back to your page if it is a) clean and decent and b) if you make a comment that shows you actually read the page.