My Fantastic First Week Working for Blue Ocean Ideas

Posted on February 21st, 2011 at 4:26 pm in Blog, Blue Ocean Ideas by anna grace

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got the design job at Blue Ocean Ideas. All I knew was that Greg and Brody loved my design work and I loved their company.

A perfect fit.

I did come into this job knowing that I would love being in the fun, exciting, growing, challenging, and encouraging environment. This week I have already done lots of work including designing my first blog template, learning the ways of WordPress from Denny, editing information on the Blue Ocean Ideas website, and designing the BTR business card.

The hardest part about this week was familiarizing myself with the organization style, learning about all of their clients, and having the bathrooms broken on my first day. The Blue Ocean Ideas team moves at an extremely fast pace and it is true when they say that they have 5 people trying to do the work of twenty-five. Fortunately for them, I am a hard worker and embrace the challenge of a company that is working towards a fantastic goal of building deeper brands for other companies.

I know through working here, I am going to become a better designer and a better person and I can’t wait to continue to contribute my design skills and joyful personality to this team of wonderful people.

After finishing up my first week here at Blue Ocean Ideas, I am happy to say that I already feel completely at home.

Weekly Idea: All Marketing Is Brand Building

Posted on August 3rd, 2010 at 2:38 pm in Blog, Suggested, The Weekly Idea, brand development, ideas, thought provoking by brody

This quote drives what Blue Ocean Ideas does for clients:

“The art of marketing is largely brand building. If not a brand, it will be viewed as a commodity.” – Philip Kotler, Kellogg Graduate School of Management

We counsel clients to not spend another dollar on advertising or marketing until that money becomes an investment that builds their brand. Everything you do matters when you are building your brand.

Brand development means telling the truth about who you are, faster. It’s about telling your story and making a promise, and then living it out.

Story. How are you saving the world (or your customer’s world, at least)? What do you do better than everyone else?

Promise. What do you deliver on over and over again? What is your customers’ unique experience?

Your brand is communicated in all sorts of ways: logos and identity packages, events, advertising, websites, email, etc. The most significant way your brand is communicated is through the direct interaction between your customer and your staff. Can your staff tell your story?

Do you have a story to tell?

Brody

P.S. The holy grail of advertising is word-of-mouth. When your story is told well, other people will start telling it too.

The principle of “shareableness” is the core of social media marketing. This Friday, we will show you the meaning behind Web 2.0, social media, mobile devices, in-bound marketing. Once you have the vocabulary down, you’ll be able to strategize about how social media is relevant to your brand. Join us for Social Media 101 & 102.

The Idea: Consulting and Music

Posted on January 26th, 2010 at 11:22 am in Blog, creativity/imagination, ideas, story by brody

When you look at something while listening to music, the thing you’re looking at takes on stunning new meaning. Music creates mood. That’s why great music is key in film and key in the communication of a message.

Music also implies story. Both music and story require the passing of time for them to even exist. Music is completely incoherent if all of the notes of a piece are played at once. Music only has meaning when notes are spread out over time and played in rhythm.

May I make an odd suggestion? Make sure that you have a strategic adviser that’s either a musician or someone who “gets” music deeply. Here’s why:

Music is art that is directly tied to time and process. What’s happening at any given moment only makes sense in the context of what has already happened and what will happen.

There’s movement. There’s change. There’s direction. There’s preparation. There’s fluidity. There’s purposeful tension and dissonance… that resolves. There’s story. And there’s meaning in it all.

Sound like something your organization needs? Music people get it. Have them write your song.

Then you can get others to sing along.

Clap your hands,

brody

P.S. Need proof? Watch this.

The Idea: Consulting and Music

Posted on January 26th, 2010 at 11:22 am in Blog, creativity/imagination, ideas, story by brody

When you look at something while listening to music, the thing you’re looking at takes on stunning new meaning. Music creates mood. That’s why great music is key in film and key in the communication of a message.

Music also implies story. Both music and story require the passing of time for them to even exist. Music is completely incoherent if all of the notes of a piece are played at once. Music only has meaning when notes are spread out over time and played in rhythm.

May I make an odd suggestion? Make sure that you have a strategic adviser that’s either a musician or someone who “gets” music deeply. Here’s why:

Music is art that is directly tied to time and process. What’s happening at any given moment only makes sense in the context of what has already happened and what will happen.

There’s movement. There’s change. There’s direction. There’s preparation. There’s fluidity. There’s purposeful tension and dissonance… that resolves. There’s story. And there’s meaning in it all.

Sound like something your organization needs? Music people get it. Have them write your song.

Then you can get others to sing along.

Clap your hands,

brody

P.S. Need proof? Watch this.

Client Project: ANALYSYS Film on IT Outsourcing

Posted on July 27th, 2009 at 3:16 pm in Blog, client work by brody

ANALYSYS, a full-service IT company in Baltimore and Washington D.C., commissioned Wordswell to create a film to achieve several goals.

The film was going to be presented to business owners attending a virtual trade show sponsored by SmartCEO Magazine. Those owners needed to know what ANALYSYS did, as it related to the purposes of the industry event. So, the film lauds the benefit of IT outsourcing.

But ANALYSYS knew that IT outsourcing can be seen as a bit of a commodity. To differentiate themselves, they hired Wordswell to use this film as an opportunity to tell a story bigger than just IT. In reality, ANALYSYS helps their clients achieve their mission. The case study in this film demonstrates it well. Because ANALYSYS handles the IT for the non-profit organization So Others Might Eat (SOME), SOME is able to complete their mission better.

Connecting IT outsourcing to feeding the less-fortunate was a challenge. But, by telling the story well and connecting the dots, Wordswell was able to position ANALYSYS as the brand they want to be.

Client Project: ANALYSYS Film on IT Outsourcing

Posted on July 27th, 2009 at 3:16 pm in Blog, client work by brody

ANALYSYS, a full-service IT company in Baltimore and Washington D.C., commissioned Wordswell to create a film to achieve several goals.

The film was going to be presented to business owners attending a virtual trade show sponsored by SmartCEO Magazine. Those owners needed to know what ANALYSYS did, as it related to the purposes of the industry event. So, the film lauds the benefit of IT outsourcing.

But ANALYSYS knew that IT outsourcing can be seen as a bit of a commodity. To differentiate themselves, they hired Wordswell to use this film as an opportunity to tell a story bigger than just IT. In reality, ANALYSYS helps their clients achieve their mission. The case study in this film demonstrates it well. Because ANALYSYS handles the IT for the non-profit organization So Others Might Eat (SOME), SOME is able to complete their mission better.

Connecting IT outsourcing to feeding the less-fortunate was a challenge. But, by telling the story well and connecting the dots, Wordswell was able to position ANALYSYS as the brand they want to be.

The Idea: Pavlov’s Second Experiment

Posted on December 30th, 2008 at 9:00 am in Blog, ideas, story by brody

Learning
We all know how Pavlov could ring a bell and get a dog to start drooling.

But do you know about Pavlov’s second experiment? This time he tried to use shapes to stimulate salivation.

Over time, the dog was trained to salivate at the sight of a circle. But he was also trained to stop salivating when a long oval was on display.

Maybe Pavlov was a bit of a sadist when he started to change the shape of the oval to become more circular. When the shapes became very similar in shape “the dog became highly agitated and the previously conditioned reflex was lost.” Ultimately the confused dog ignored Mr. Pavlov entirely.

Mixed Signals
Here’s the lesson: If you want people to complete an action that you desire, your message must be singular, focused, clear, and repetitive. Your message must be bound to a need your audience already feels.

Are you sending mixed signals? Why don’t you figure out your own story and tell it over and over. Make sure your customer is the main character.

Otherwise, people might stop listening to you and you’ll be left with drool to clean up.

Here’s to an effective 2009. Happy New Year!
Brody