Here’s some food for thought. Is our current education system killing creativity for kids? Are we doing our society any justice by encouraging the focus on scientific and linguistic learning whilst down-playing the importance of class room creativity?

Here is an interesting presentation about this issue, and well worth the 19 minutes to watch. It is thought-provoking, funny and raises some serious questions about creativity and innovation, and the value we as a culture put on creativity.

Thanks to TED.com for the video and for allowing others to share it.

What are your thoughts?

Web Marketing can be considered by some to be an unknown process that only a rare few know how to do. It is true that search engine marketing requires a specific skill set, but there are ways in which you can market your website effectively to increase traffic.

Internet sales continue to soar, particularly in certain market segments and more and more, the first place people go to in order to learn about your business is the internet.  If they find a well designed web site that is full of features, that works fast and draws them in, that can be a tremendous tool for promoting your business.

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Trade marks are what distinguish one business and its products from another.  They allow goods and services to be recognised and selected by the trade marks that they bear.

Good trade marks are memorable and distinctive.  They will be remembered by the consumer, who has either seen an advertisement or used the product.  They then allow that same consumer to look out for products bearing that same trade mark when shopping.  As such, it is important that businesses can protect their trade marks from competitors using something similar.

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Customer Relationship Management, or CRM for short, is the term given to the process that a business uses to manage its interactions with customers. Why it is so popular and is one of those corporate buzz words is that it helps organisations systematically track the activities they have with their customers and prospects.

You most likely already have a system in place to help you track your customers’ needs and the conversations you have with them. At the most basic level, it is usually a pen and paper. If you have a desk littered with reminder notes about people to call or email, then you can most likely relate to the frustration that this basic CRM system causes.

Putting into place a system that helps your people manage customers can be a complex task. Hopefully after reading this post this task will seem much more doable.

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Its short. Its quick. And its really cool. The next time you are making your way through the train transport system where you live, imagine that the scene below took place and you saw it. How intrigued would you be with it all? And, how many people would you tell about it?

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Looking for a really easy way to understand what the craze is behind Twitter – what is the definition of twitter and how does twitter work? Check out this quick 2 ½ minute video that does just that.

Enjoy!

Selecting a design firm for your next creative project can be a challenge. It is important to spend some time in this stage of this process as you and your chosen supplier will be spending a fair bit of time together spending a lot of creative energy, so you will want to spend it wisely!

If you skip or short-change this part, you may wind up with a design firm that does not understand your business completely and may not be a good fit into your organisation.

It is important for you and the potential design business to know as much about the project and your business as possible before beginning any new project. In this way, clear expectations are set for the creative team and it helps clarify what you want to have as an outcome from the project.

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Let me start by stating that you don’t need to wait till the end of a financial year, calendar year or any other ‘end’ to look at what you are doing in your business and change it to something different or better.

That being said, dates like June 30th, December 31st or March 31st (depending on where you are) can prompt as a reminder to take stock of your business and re-align where it’s going.

Firstly, check to see if you are happy with how the business has performed the past 12 months. Are you pleased with the results? If not, what are you not happy with that you could have done better, given different resources? If your business has grown and you are happy with its performance (taking into account the issues below), then it’s a matter of keep doing what you’re doing.

If you are not 100% happy with the results thus far (lets face it, most people think that something could have been done better or differently), find out how you have been perceived by your customer. This means asking for feedback. You may think that things weren’t great, but what did your customer think? The information you can get from your customers can help with your next 12 months.

Did you set a budget for the past 12 months? If so, did you perform well against your expectations? Where did you fall short? Were your expectations too high? Were there unforseen factors that impacted on the results? Did you set the bar too low? Checking your dollars is not the only measure of success in a business (see the first point), but it goes to checking the financial viability of the business now and in the future.

What do you want to achieve in the next 12 months? What types of business, customers and opportunities do you want to experience? If it’s as simple as “I want to grow my business”, you’re got to know by how much or have a rough idea of the target you’re aiming for. Otherwise, how will you know if you have reached it? Your targets may be financial, cultural, or ideological – it’s important that you know what you want to achieve before you work hard at getting there.

Lastly, how are you going to do it? Employ more staff, sub-contract, buy another business, create new business, or conduct a joint venture? There are so many different ways you can create the outcome you want. It’s a matter of picking a way that you believe will work.

Two important final points:

1. This process is fun. It takes the impossible and crazy ideas you dream of and helps you figure out a way to make it a reality for you
2. You can change the plan! If the ideas you set for yourself now are not working for you in 3-4 months, change it. Go through this process again.

If you have any ideas you want to share, please feel free to list them below.

The process of developing a logo is about identifying the position of the business and creating a concept that encapsulates the ideal – the flavour – of what the business represents. And doing this is not as easy as saying it.

Great logos stand the test of time. They give a visual representation to a brand for a business, and can help identity a brand position in the mind of the buyer.

If your logo is not designed with an appreciation for how it will be used (i.e. what areas it will be marketed), who the target audience is and what the major competitors in your industry are doing, then it runs the risk of being lost in the clutter of bad logos and promotional material.

A logo, or graphical representation of your business, is part of how you present yourself to your customer. Some people can make the mistake that their logo must be designed with icons or images.

Not so.

There are some great logos used today that have no graphics in them at all, and are made of clever typeface use. For an example look at Coca Cola.

Another aspect of an effective logo is that is doesn’t have to be everything, all at once. Often, less is more. It may sound illogical, but allowing the consumer to get an idea of the business, and then dig deeper through a website or brochure to expand on this idea is a more successful approach.

The main point to remember is that whilst you may have a logo, a logo is not a brand. It is part of the story. Allow all your marketing material to tell the story, and not just one part of it.

The word “Media Release” seems to scare most people to death. On top of that not many people take the time to even think of writing their own Media Release. We hope this brief article will help clear up some of the mysteries surrounding this simple form of marketing.

The first thing you have to remember is that a Media Release is a “news” item. It needs to “inform” people, NOT sell them something. For example, you are reading this article because you want to learn something that will benefit you. You aren’t reading it just so you can buy something. Your main goals should be in pleasing customers, providing them with a high-quality product or service and more than their money’s worth. Usually your customer is not concerned with the challenges and hurdles you had to overcome in order to supply them your product/service. What they are interested in is receiving the benefit from using what it is you are selling.

The promotional material you produce discusses your product or service to help sell your offer to your customer. However, a Media Release informs others about your business. Instead of your main objective being to sell something, a Media Release informs the customer exactly how your business will benefit them. This must be conveyed in the form of a “newsworthy” Media Release. If you have a promotional piece already, you can begin by looking at the content of this and see what is newsworthy about it that would appeal to your target audience.

Other content that can be used as a Media Release include announcing what new methods or systems you have in place to help your customer, what activities your business has been involved in – that sort of thing.

Here’s a great test for your Media release. Read it out loud. Listen to yourself as if you were a customer reading the local paper or a magazine to see if it sounds like a sales pitch, or if it delivers real value to the reader. If it sounds like a sales pitch, then it isn’t a good Media release.

If you’ve never written one before – it may be a little difficult. Don’t despair. Grab the latest daily newspaper and read some of their informational articles. Notice how each article is written and pattern yours after the same format. After you do a few of them – you’ll be able to “get the picture.”

Have something to add? Perhaps you have had some experience with this and can share your own advice. If so, please leave your comments below.

Thanks!