Protecting your Brand

Yes, 2010 ended up being a pretty good year. When the dust finally settled and the counting was done, we were up again. The last 4 months of the year were a complete flurry of activity (which is a good thing), and I think that really put us over the top. So I thought, I should look back a little and see what the trends (a totally un-scientific approach) look like.

One thing I’ve noticed is people creating and protecting their brand. It seems to me in the new cross-media driven world, we can express ourselves in ways we never thought of, and expose our brand in multiple channels (social media, websites, print, promotional items, events and so on). I’m talking more than just being social, I’m talking about people who have developed a business, a product or service and gave it a brand….. there are more ways than ever to bring that brand alive and communicate your message to your audience.

So, how does this relate to a printing company having a good year? I think a lot of what we do is brand protection (and brand creation at the beginning of the process). Brands start with a look and feel. It’s up to you to say the right things at the right time, to develop the best products and services and get your customer service right, and that’s what your brand is all about.

But it’s up to us to make sure the colors are right, to make sure the right fonts are used, the right paper selected and so on. It’s also falling to us to help choose the right promotional item, make sure it’s done correctly (and on time). It’s also up to us to make sure your graphic files are right (you have an AI vector file when needed), even that your graphic files are available to you when needed. And this keeps growing….

We’re helping companies develop newsletters and distribute them, we’re helping people at the event planning level with giveaways, banners and signs. We’re advising people on colors that work in certain instances and we’re developing on-line ordering systems that cut down on ordering time and cost, while improving accuracy. All of these things help protect and grow your brand, so that your hard work is represented by the right look and feel.

And thats just phase 1 of this whole transition. Over the next couple of years, I see companies like Oregon continuing to add tools and services to help companies protect their brand, reach out and communicate with people on multiple levels, and even gather quality information for better decisions. Its incredible how the digital revolution has transformed business. Stay tuned…as the dust settles the next time this movement will continue to grow.