L I M E Blog

It's just paper!

So I set out to find some paper, and as I sat there, looking at 30+ books of paper samples I asked myself... what's the big deal? It's just paper right? WOW! Was I so wrong! I knew there were different types, such as glossy, matte, card stock and photo... and that you could have it almost any color you want... But I didn't know that fibers, and weight, and texture could make such a big difference. I didn't know that paper came in lbs... I suppose in this industry it is about time I learn. So I spent some time looking through the paper... and some time on the phone with Dale at Printing Resources, and feel that though I am still a paper novice, at least I know enough to ask the right questions... :D 

So when it is time to get some new business cards, or brochures, or time to get those door hangers ready, I will be more able to help! 

Happy Printing!

Kristy

Hard Disks

We put so much trust in our digital storage medias. We put our pictures in the hands of memory cards, and our audio files in our iPods, and pretty much everything on our hard disks. Well, I have gone through my whole life without ever experiencing hard disk failure. I am was very lucky. I am also an avid fan of "Time Machine" in leopard (Mac OS X) This has been reassuring to know that if my hard disk were to fail, I wouldn't be too far up a creek without a paddle. Well, last week my worst fears came to fruition when my main hard drive had a failure of the external circuitry rendering it undetectable by any computers. Fortunately, I had a spare HDD lying around as well as my trusty backup. Thanks to Apple, my computer was as good as new in under 4 hours. However, a week later, i found that my backup disk failed as well, this time do to the internal components of the disk. It's under warranty, and i was able to use another spare to make another back up of my data.

So, why am I telling you all this? Because I want to stress the importance of backing up your files. The more digital our society becomes, the more important all of our files are going to become. Don't get cought losing everything from tax information to family pictures. We at L I M E have to be cautious of this, and we work hard to back up all of our client's data to ensure no loss of important information. Consider this a public service announcement. BACK UP YOUR DATA!

Playing

This week I have been doing research for Makeup Companies and Cosmetic Surgeons for a few of our clients, and found some pretty cool websites. I went to the MaryKay website that I found let you put makeup and hair on a picture of yourself (or a model that they provided). It was a lot of fun to play around on. And even though I am not the biggest fan of their makeup (or any makeup for that matter) their site is defiantly worth a visit. 

Colors

We all learn about the primary colors when we are in grade school, but not everyone knows that those colors (red, yellow, and blue) are the primary colors in only in specific settings. There are two types of color mixing; Additive and subtractive.

Subtractive Colors
RYB (red, yellow, blue) is an example of subtractive colors. We have developed this concept into what is known as CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black). Whenever we print, we use these colors. Its called subtractive because the more colors you mix together, the darker they get. For instance, adding a cyan (blue) to a yellow makes a green which is going to be darker than either color individually. It's very hard to mix these colors to get light colors. There are many shades which are virtually impossible to print.

Additive Colors
RGB (red, green, blue) is what is known as additive colors. this is the type of color we experience all around us. Light emits a spectrum of colors. These colors are then either absorbed or reflected by objects, and the reflected light is what interacts with our eyes to stimulate a color interpretation by our brain. For instance, a red apple absorbs all the colors of the spectrum except for the red light, which is then reflected and seen by our eyes and interpreted by our brains. Black is produced by all of the colors being absorbed, thus why black materials get so hot. It's because all the energy of the light is being absorbed by that color. This is also how monitors work. There are red, green, and blue pixels. By adjusting the intensity of these colors, monitors can simulate most any color.

 

Putting them together
In our industry, we deal with both print and on screen colors. This becomes a difficulty because colors don't always translate perfectly. Additionally, since CMYK is more limiting as far as a printable spectrum, many times you may be surprised at how different things look after printing compared to your screen. It's not perfected yet, but computers can do a pretty good job at compensating. We at L I M E work very hard to make sure these colors come a close to possible to the desired shade. It may take a couple tries, but in the end we do everything possible to get that color perfect print.

Therapy

Occasionally, LIME gets projects that are turned over to me for brainstorming, when this happens, I print off every thing that I need and shut myself in our little “war room” and proceed to tape up pictures, notes and any other random ideas, across a couple of white boards that line one of the walls. This happened yesterday and as I started cutting and taping my fellow office members started giving me those indulgent “let the crazy honey do her thing” kind of looks. And although everyone in the office thinks this is funny, I have decided that I like having my brain taped up on the wall. There is something very therapeutic about being able to see all of your ideas at one time and to be able to rearrange them easily. (It beats trying to do the same thing on a computer screen) I will admit that doing it digitally is a lot less messy, but also a lot less satisfying than taping things on a wall. I am a bit old fashioned and like being able to touch my ideas and lay them all out. (it feels good, kind of like checking something off of a list) So, despite the laughter of the office in general, my Brainstorming on a wall will continue. I like it. And it adds "decoration" to an otherwise boring room. 

Planning

It is interesting to see how some people are able to plan ahead and get things done way before a deadline, and some thrive under pressure and wait until the last minute to make decisions and finish a project. In most industries this is okay, but in our industry planning ahead is key. It can be the difference of being able to print your project on time or not. Sure, there are times when last minute is the only option, or that something was forgotten. For these times we all generally pay a pretty penny to get our items printed on time and up to our high standards. Simply stated, lets work together to plan ahead and reduce the stress all around! By planning ahead we can make your event, presentation, or marketing campaign a stress free success! 

Money

We recently put up our first window display in correlation with our recent stimulus themed party. In our display resides an over-sized $100 bill. I have always been fascinated with paper money. The reason for this is because of its origins. Not the origins of paper money in terms of world history, but how they are printed. I'm not an expert on the subject, but back in the early days of the United States of America, when they decided to create bank notes, they didn't have all the means of digital printing as we have today. Instead, each bill had to be hand-crafted by a skilled carver who would carve a negative image into wood or metal which would then be used in an offset press style printing. I can't imagine carving something with such detail. Obviously today they have the technology to do this rather trivially, but if you ever find yourself in the presence of an antique bank note, admire the detail and imagine how many hours were spent to make it look so perfect and detailed. It's really quite remarkable.

 

Let me introduce myself.

I am Kristy Barlow and have recently joined the LIME team. I am a San Francisco Bay Area native, but I have lived in Utah since July of 2000. Though I  miss the culture of the big city, I can’t imagine life without Mt. Timpanogos right outside my back door. I married Ricky Barlow (Provo) in June of 2002 and have a son, Brandon, who is 15 months old. Some of the things that I enjoy include traveling the world, snowboarding, running, rock climbing, acting and of course shopping. I have done Non-Profit work with Krispy Kreme, raising millions in dough :) , I have helped run a Franchising Company, and I have also consulted to create more efficient office staff. I have a passion for making a difference wherever I go. It is exciting to join the L I M E team and get to work!

Marketing in today's world and economy part 1...

Written by: L I M E Marketing

Thomas Edison was quoted in saying, “Most people miss opportunity because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

What a statement to begin a post on, but it is something that I see as an obstacle for today’s business owners both large and small.  Opportunity is all around us and is staring us in the face right now, today as you are reading this post, you are SURROUNDED by opportunities to become successful and yes more wealthy. But, oh that word that we hated as a child, hated a teenager and will never be liked as an adult... BUT we have to understand those opportunities before we can embrace them.  Marketing right now is one of your biggest opportunities, that if done correctly and with solid principles, will net you true success and increased profits.  

I would like to take what Thomas Edison was referring to and take it up just a level, “we miss success because we are lazy and uninformed.”  Not to sugar coat it at all, but with all the luxuries we have in today’s world it is easy for us to become complacent and lazy.  It is not something that happens over night nor is it something that we have not been warned against.  By looking at the history of the world we can see that this is nothing new.  From the Romans to our now glorious civilization, one common thread begins to destroys a society;  Greed.

What does ‘greed’ have to do with marketing?  Simple.  Marketing success is measured by profit, profit is measured by how much the company has to bring in to pay the bills.  If a CEO and management teams are demanding exorbitant salaries and surrounding themselves with luxuries to match, it becomes incredibly difficult to achieve marketing success.  Now when things are rolling smoothly all seems well, but a small hiccup in the norm will cause mass chaos and panic.  Who is the first to get blamed for this disastrous situation; sales and marketing professionals.  Not so fast, we must understand an evaluate the whole situation before assigning blame.

When Henry Ford was asked why he built automobiles he replied, “because I love it.”  In 1927 he watched his fifteenth million Model T roll off the assembly line and stepped into the car knowing that the car that he had designed and built was soon to run it’s life span.  He took pure pride in his creation and his company.  He drove his midnight black creation 14 miles, parked it next to his other automotive achievements and stepped into a new direction with the American automobile. He shared profits with his staff, he invented tools to benefits his employees with the knowledge that many of the improvements would not have immediate, if ever, ‘ROI’.( return on investment ).  His ideas would later change the face of the assembly line as the wold knew it.  His pride in his product and his love for his employees had one selfish benefit, he became the wealthiest American of his time.

There are several modern examples of companies that have set greed to the side and have become successful and accomplished professionals.  There are however several more that have taken greed to a whole new level.  In this 4 part post I will outline the keys to obtain marketing success in today’s world and economic challenges.  I will explain why principles such as selflessness, honor and respect are not just PR words, but there are keys to economic and business success.  I will take you down a path that many professionals are too timid to explore and I may offend some and I assure you that is not my goal.

Step one:  TAKE 2 STEPS BACKWARDS

First and foremost is taking a step backwards and asking yourself, “Why did I start this business?”  “Why am I am I doing this?”.  Once you have answered those questions I want you to ask yourself what you want others both internally and externally to know you as.  Then define your mission statement for yourself as a leader and the mission of your company.  

This is the building block for your brand and your marketing campaigns from this point forward.  Be honest with yourself.  Being in business to make money is NOT evil nor is it a sin, but there has to be more in it for you as a leader then just the cash!  The cash is one of the last things you will have in hand when you begin your journey of running your own business.  

Defining both your personal mission statement and your business mission is the first step to obtaining true marketing success.  Now we can take this and look at your current status.  Does your current marketing reflect your missions?  Does your website, business cards, billboards, etc. emulate your true mission as a company?  Do your employees truly understand why you do what you do?  

9 times out of 10 my clients answers are no.  This is where we step in and change all that.  It is a simple and painless process for some and for others it may take time, yes the evil word, “TIME”.  

I guarantee that any efforts you spend retooling your marketing brand and identity to support your missions will pay other 10 fold in the end.  

This concludes part 1 of this 4 part post.  Please email me @ info@getlimed.com if you are interested in learning more about how to market in today’s world and want to explore what refined and knowledgeable marketing can do for your business.

"Most people miss opportunity because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison

GETTING BACK ON THE HORSE...

Well it has been quite some time since I posted and I have recommitted myself to not only posting blogs, but posting more informative and time sensitive writings.  Let's get started with my 4 part, " Marketing in today's world and economy. "