O2 Creative Is Rebranding!

O2 Creative is Rebranding!

Why? After a few too many people thought were an oxygen bar we decided to develop a survey to identify our brand’s identity.

The survey results confirmed that we needed to rebrand in order to better convey what we do as a business, what we are capable of, where we work, and the types of industries we work with.

Here is some information on the process –

• We met to discuss direction: We like our color scheme of lime green, black, and white. (Good thing too because it matches our office and none of us enjoy or are great at interior painting.)
• We like our name: (Phew! That would be a lot of documents, addresses, etc. to change.)
• We are web-based: We’ve realized that in the past few years, our business has changed to be more web-based – (websites, web design, online marketing, SEO, etc.). Our new branding needs to reflect, and convey that…our current branding, logo, tagline, etc. doesn’t.
• Solution: We’re going to take on a whole new look, put ourselves first and develop a responsive website, design and develop handouts, business cards, etc. (We are getting a makeover folks!)

While our rebranding process is still underway, our team and designers have made great strides in giving our current logo a “facelift.”

Here is a sneak peak!

Our Old/Current Logo: We like it, we used to love it…but we need a change. We need something so FRESH and so CLEAN…like OutKast. Something that will clarify and convey who we are and what we do.

Our New Logo: The goal was to develop a simpler logo that has a greater range of use. When it comes to logos, the simpler the better. That way we will be able to “manipulate” our logo in order to fit each of the particular uses we have for it. (Fun Fact: Logos are getting smaller and simpler these days to conform with mobile sites, social media, etc. Just one of the many trends we are staying on top of!)

So our designer Jason started at the drawing board…

Then moved onto Illustrator where he took the concepts to create vector drawings derived from the sketches and ideas. (This is where the magic happens…)

Our team identified a direction…which we are excited to unveil in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

Brand Mentions Improve SEO

We have a new Sheriff in SEO Town and he goes by, ‘Brand Mentions.’

Link building used to rule SEO, but today Brand Mentions has taken control. Why? Google trusts Brand Mentions more because they are harder to manipulate and falsify.

The Dark Past with Link Building – Back in the day, Google and other search engines decided that the more links a website had leading to their site, the better SEO ranking the site should get. However link building was easy to fake, and many website and SEO managers began to utilize Link Pyramids and other artificial link building strategies to increase the number of inbound links to their sites.

Today, most search algorithms are OVER that. They, (especially Google) dislike being ‘tricked’ and your SEO will suffer if you try. So don’t do it! If you have existing artificial links from the “glory days past”…find them, and dump them, before they come back to haunt and hurt your website.

A Bright Future with Brand Mentions – Google has determined that quality links and brand mentions on other (reputable and legit), websites carry more weight than plain links to your site.

Their reasoning: If a website manager, content writer, or social media manager, (from an unrelated brand) trusts your brand enough to mention it and/or link to it, then Google approves, and will give your site a higher SEO ranking.

Brand Mentions can range from:

• Text mentions of your brands name
• Discussing your brand
• Having a live link with copy about your brand
• Sharing your content

Platforms where Brand Mentions count:

• Websites
• Blogs
• Social Media (Google+, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

Ways to monitor your Brand Mentions:

1. Use robotic applications such as, Fresh Web Explorer or Mention
   • Pros: Fast and easy (what a combo)
   • Cons: Not free and can be less accurate
2. Manually use Google to identify Brand Mentions:

Identify  Brand Name Mentions:

• Open a Google Search
• Use parenthesis around your “Brand Name” – to ensure you only get results with your exact Brand Name

• Click on Search Tools and select location and the time frame you want to search

Identify Brand Website Mentions:

• Open a Google Search
• type url:website (example, url:o2creative.com)
• Click on Search Tools and select location and the time frame you want to search

From here you can take the necessary steps to protect your brand’s identity and recognize those who are recognizing and mentioning your brand.

If you have questions or concerns about your website’s SEO, we are here to help. O2 Creative specializes in websites, SEO, graphic design, branding, marketing strategies, and printing. Our team of skilled and creative designers, web programmers, copywriters, and social media experts work with clients to ensure their businesses stand out. Give us a call, send us an email, or stop by our office today. · [email protected] · Phone: 970.726.8021

Goodbye to Facebook’s Free Market

Facebook’s changes and what they mean for your business’ or organization’s Facebook page.

Mark Zuckerberg is at it again! Changing Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm to satisfy users and make it more difficult for Facebook page managers to promote their messages to fans…

Why? At the core, Facebook is actually listening to users. And props to them. After all, that is what Facebook is all about right? Creating community, encouraging engagement, and having conversations.

With Facebook Pages becoming so popular for businesses and organizations, users are being bombarded with newsfeed posts encouraging them to, ‘purchase this, support that, like this, enter this sweepstake…’  It must be exhausting, (#FirstWorldProblem).

In all seriousness, Facebook has decided to begin regulating page posts in order to keep their users, (who ultimately determine Facebook’s long-term success), happy and engaged. With so many social media sites, competing for users’ ‘selfies’ and food pics, Facebook is smart to do whatever they can to improve user experience.

What it means for your business’ or organization’s Facebook page:

To put it simply, if you don’t play within Facebook’s new rules you can expect your posts to take a hit.

The “golden rule” for Facebook Pages:

1. Remember what Facebook is all about. CONNECTING. Connecting people, creating communities, encouraging engagement and having conversations.

Doesn’t sound too bad right? It shouldn’t be. If you keep Facebook’s mission at the heart of all of your day-to-day page management your page should fair well.

Some tips:

1. Post content that is of value to your fans
2. Get conversations going
3. Share the wealth. Share community articles, other organization’s successes, etc.
4. Promote your business/organization when your fans will find it useful
5. Throw Facebook a bone – Once in awhile pay to promote a post that is successful (Facebook ‘appreciates’ that)

6. Most importantly, develop a relationship with your fans – listen to them, communicate with them, etc. The more engaged your fans are, the more likely Facebook will be to post your page’s content on their page.

Is this bad?

It’s not bad, just less convenient for you.

Before you get too frustrated with these changes, take a step back.

Facebook pages are free, they drive traffic to our websites, e-newsletters, blogs, and other social media sites, they’re mobile friendly, and allow our fans to advocate and promote our businesses/organizations. Not too shabby for a free platform.

O2 Creative is a locally owned and operated agency specializing in websites, graphic design, branding, marketing strategies, SEO, and printing. Our team of skilled and creative designers, web programmers, copywriters, and social media experts work with clients to ensure their businesses stand out. We’d love to discuss any opportunities to help your business grow. Give us a call, send us an email, or stop by our office today. · [email protected] · Phone: 970.726.8021

Google and Your Website

Google and Your Website

 

“Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact on our search results.”

– Google

What does that mean for your website? If your website is not responsive or mobile friendly, your mobile search engine rankings will take a hit. (Say goodbye to your first page rankings)

Why is this happening? Google is putting mobile users first, because mobile traffic is outweighing desktop traffic on the old “inter-web” these days…

Not sure if your site is mobile-friendly or responsive? Test it here

If your website is responsive, pat yourself on the back and go watch videos of cute puppies…

If your site is mobile-only, take a deep breath knowing your site will be safe from Google’s “mobile-pocalypse,” but you might want to continue reading to learn the many benefits of a responsive website.

If your website FAILED  you’ve got two options:

– Option 1: Create a mobile-only website that links to your website

– Option 2: Replace your website with a responsive website

Mobile-only design: This is a separate website specifically for mobile devices. (You will end up having two websites, one for desktop users and one for mobile users.)

Pros:

• Lower upfront cost
• Customizable for mobile users

Cons:

• Site needs to be maintained frequently for future browsers
• Higher long-term costs to maintain and update multiple websites
• SEO challenges – Google sees two websites vs. “piggy backing” on the sites
• Redirecting from desktop website slows the loading, hurting SEO

Responsive Website: This is an all-inclusive website that aesthetically fits whatever device (desktop, mobile, tablet…) users are browsing on.

Pros:

• Lower lifetime cost (less day to day maintenance)
• One website covers everything
• Very flexible among different devices
• Provides users with a unified experience no matter the device ~ ideal for branding
• Google recommends responsive – (Google is the BOSS..surrender for your business’ sake)

Cons:

• Higher upfront cost

The Trend: Google has specified that these changes are specific to mobile search results, however indicators suggest that Google will expand these rankings to desktop searches as well. With mobile devices outweighing desktop users, we recommend that businesses and organizations switch their websites to responsive or mobile-friendly now.

The Reality: So on April 21, 2015 Google’s mobile ranking algorithm will include their new mobile-friendly usability factors, either pushing your site’s mobile SEO rankings up, (if you’re mobile-friendly/responsive) or pulling your mobile rankings down if your website is not.

Contact us at O2 Creative for more information and to find out how this will impact your website. Don’t let your search ranking slip. Let us help you revamp your website and capitalize on Google’s new mobile ranking algorithm.

The Power of Advertising with Vehicle Wraps

• Advertising with vehicle wraps offer the lowest cost-per-impression of all advertising forms. Cheaper than billboards, newspaper ads, website ads, commercials, etc. (According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America)

• Whether you are driving around, filling your car up with gas, or parked, your vehicle wraps are working for you! Why would not want to wrap your vehicle?

• 98% of passengers and drivers indicated that they spotted truck-side ads. That’s a pretty good percentage! Think of the opportunities you are missing out on not wrapping your vehicles?

• The average American spends 15 hours per week in a vehicle. Think of the opportunities for them to get familiar with your business?

• When you aren’t using your vehicle, increase your reach by parking it in a strategic position that will continue to promote your business.  Now that’s effective advertising!

• When your vehicle is wrapped you are marketing to pedestrians, bicyclists, and others who see you.  A lot of different demographics get covered when you cover your vehicle.

• Traffic and traffic jams become a prime advertising opportunity.  When life hands you a traffic jam…get advertising with vehicle wraps! 

Why we recommend using a Design Firm:

Without proper design and planning, your vehicle wraps will not reach their full advertising potential and give you the best return on investment. Ensure you are getting the best results from your vehicle wraps by working with a qualified design firm.

A design firm will work with you to guarantee your vehicle wraps will effectively promote your business, your brand, and provide key information that potential customers will use to find and contact your business in the future.

When it comes to advertising and design, the devil truly is in the details.  Designers will work out the simple details that make all the difference!

Small details designers will take into account:

• What colors stand out the best at different distances
• The fonts that are the easiest for individuals to read
• The shape and size of your vehicle
• The information you should include
• What information the wrap will convey in under 5 seconds

If you are going to invest in vehicle wraps, (and we don’t know why you wouldn’t want to) make sure you do it correctly the first time around!

O2 Creative would be happy to design and order vehicle wraps for your business. We are an experienced Graphic Design Agency in Winter Park CO. We have experience designing wraps for a variety of businesses with a variety of budgets, all of which have seen a positive return on investment. Contact us today to meet and discuss how vehicle wraps will promote your business. Email: [email protected]  Phone: (970) 726-8021

The Importance of Branding

Branding is one of the most overlooked aspects of a business, yet it is perhaps the most important.

What is Branding?

Brand is key to developing and facilitating perception of your business. It is what you are promising your customer and is what helps to differentiate your product and/or service from those of your competitors.

How to define your brand?

• What is the mission or goal of your business or organization?
• What separates your products or services from others?
• What is the current perception of your business or organization?

Take time to identify accurate perceptions through the use of surveys, interviews, focus groups, etc.Include all stakeholders that are involved and don’t assume.

• Consumers
• Community
• Employees
• Board members

What do you want the perceptions to be?

Next Steps

Design:

• Logo – come up with a great logo! – Don’t skimp on this, your logo will be the “face” of your business/organization
• Identify color schemes, layouts, placement, etc.

Brand Message:

• Write down key messages and attributes you want to convey with all individuals you come in contact with.
• Share these messages with employees so that they can incorporate them when representing the business/organization.

Voice:

• Create a “voice” for your business or organization that reflects your brand
• Use this voice in all written and verbal content

Create a Tagline:

• A tagline is a short, concise statement that captures your brand
• The tagline should be simple, yet memorable

Incorporate:

• Encompass your brand in all parts of your organization (Everything from answering your phone, email signatures, business cards, blogs, website, etc.)

Be Consistent:

• Consistency is key
• Remain true to your brand

Brand consistency in all Bike Granby Ranch collateral

A level of consistency remains throughout all Granby Ranch collateral

Think it is time to consider branding your organization or business? O2 Creative is here to help you should you need any help along the way. We can help with the entire branding process or just pieces of it. We specialize in defining brands, designing killer logos, creating visually effective websites, and more!

Contact us today:  970-726-8021, [email protected]

Winning at O2 Creative!

With over 4,000 entries from all over the world, we are excited to announce that we have been awarded not one, but TWO Silver Davey Awards by the International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA)!

What are the Davey Awards?

The annual International Davey Awards honors the achievements of the “Creative Davids” who derive their strength from big ideas, rather than big budgets.

We were awarded a Davey Award for the trail signage we produced for the Town of Winter Park and Headwaters Trails Alliance and another for the digital and print marketing we did for Winter Park Lodging Co.

Project: Trail Signs

Client(s): Town of Winter Park and Headwaters Trails Alliance

Fun Facts: 

• These projects combined took over a year to complete.
• 100+ signs were designed and printed.
• O2 Creative is now an expert in ‘wayfinding,’ (the organization and communication of our dynamic relationship to space and the environment).
• We took these very complex and detailed projects extremely seriously because what good is a system of signs if they don’t get travelers to the desired destination?

Design:

• We identified and used materials that would survive the test of time in this climate for years.
• Created designs that would be relatively simple to replace and add sections to cut down on future costs for Winter Park and Headwaters Trails Alliance.
• Used similar fonts and styles for the signs in Winter Park and the Headwaters Trails Alliance to create consistency and a unified feel throughout all trails in the area.

Favorite Parts:

• We truly enjoyed collaborating with Headwaters Trails Alliance and the Town of Winter Park on this project.
• Seeing the trails in use by locals and guests alike has been the biggest payoff.
• It’s cool to know that the trails will be enjoyed by thousands of people for years to come!

Project: Digital and Print Marketing

Client: Winter Park Lodging Co.

Fun Facts:

• We’ve been working with Winter Park Lodging Co. for 5+ years.
• Winter Park Lodging Co. has a lot of different clients they work with.
• We helped create content that would effectively communicate with all of those clients.

Design:

• We spent a long-time developing and tweaking the brand.
• Focused on keeping all pieces developed consistent with brand.
• Updated their website to display the luxury accommodations.
• E-newsletter template that reflects the overall brand.

Favorite Parts: 

• Seeing how the collateral we created has had a positive return on investment for Winter Park Lodging Co.
• Visually seeing the collateral working together.

We at O2 Creative hold all our work to our highest standards, and it is nice to know that our work meets the standards of the International Academy of the Visual Arts too!

So What Makes us Successful?

• High standards – We strive to ensure that all of our work exceeds our client’s wildest dreams!
• Inspiration – Look around us! The natural beauty in the Rockies never ceases to inspire!
• Collaboration – FACT: Teamwork makes the dream-work!
• Good Karma – You get what you put out there…
• Green Walls – There is never a dull moment when you’re surrounded by neon green and art!
• Pug-sulations – Consults with the pugs! You’d be surprised how opinionated (and right) they can be!
• Knowing our clients and their consumers – This is key!  

Happy Thanksgiving from O2!

Happy Thanksgiving from O2!

We hope everyone is able to enjoy a safe and happy holiday complete with family, friends, and lots and lots of pie. As for the O2 team – well, we have a lot of different plans for Turkey Thursday.

Philip and Eric are staying home with the family, where they’re cooking up the full Thanksgiving spread – turkey, vegetables, and of course…pie! Here’s a sneak preview of Philip’s pecan pie on its way to the oven:

Brad is road tripping back to Kansas to spend the holiday with friends, where he plans to make an appearance at no less than three different Thanksgiving feasts. This weekend he’s also attending the wedding of two close friends – so close, in fact, that he’ll be a groomsman in the ceremony! He’s not the best man though, so we think it’s safe to assume he’s probably the worst man, right?

Cynthia has plans to spend Thanksgiving with family in Denver. A feast in the Front Range, fantastic!

Jaryd is sticking around the Fraser Valley for the holiday. He has plans to get in some early season snowboarding at the Winter Park Resort…and who knows, maybe Copper and Steamboat too. He also hopes to attend the celebration for Fraser’s feature on the Travel Channel. That’s right – Fraser’s own Cozens Ranch Museum will be a part of the Travel Channel’s “Mysteries at the Museum” show set to air this Friday, and the Crooked Creek Saloon is hosting a watch party!

All in all, we’re super excited for Thanksgiving. Hope everyone has a good one. Happy Holidays, friends!

To contact O2 Creative, call 970-726-8021 or email [email protected]

Click here for our last blog: 5 benefits of rebranding

5 Benefits of Rebranding

Rebranding’s in the news again this week.

Pizza Hut unveiled a comprehensive new rebranding complete with new logo and new menu offerings – anyone else curious to try that honey Sriracha sauce? The news from Pizza Hut prompted us at O2 to hold numerous discussions this week about rebranding (we’re marketing nerds like that). With rebranding on our minds, we thought we’d use this week’s blog to discuss the ways a business can benefit from a rebranding. Here’s a quick list of 5 benefits of rebranding:

Rebranding keeps your business up-to-date. Perhaps your current brand is looking a little dated, or just doesn’t attract customers like it once did. Rebranding helps your business keep up with the times and helps you stay fresh in the minds of your customers.

Rebranding differentiates your business. Maybe your brand has been around for such a long time that you just don’t get noticed like you used to, or maybe your branding is just too similar to the branding of another business in your market. Rebranding creates individuality for your business. It helps you get noticed and stand out again, which leads to our next point…

Rebranding can revitalize your business. When your branding is new, it makes customers curious to see what’s new with you. Updating your brand both re-engages existing customers and catches the attention of new customers too. Consider a rebranding to breathe a breath of fresh air into your business, especially if a new strategy is involved. Speaking of which…

Changes in business strategy should be accompanied by changes in branding. If you’re making changes to the marketing strategy or to the product or service offerings of your business, consider a rebrand to go with it. Updating your brand acts as an illustration to your customers of the updates in your business’s offerings. This is especially true if your brand has or recently had a merger or acquisition in the works.

Technological innovations need branding innovations too. If advances in technology has changed the way your business operates – for instance, maybe you do a lot more business online these days – then a fresh rebranding is a good way to reflect your business’s operations.

These are just a few quick reasons why rebranding can be beneficial to your business. We could go on, but for now we’ll keep it at 5, for the sake of the blog. Of course, rebranding is frequently much more than just a new logo. It often involves a new marketing strategy and ad buys, new target audiences, new products and services, and more.

It can get overwhelming, and that’s where we at O2 come into play. We’ve branded and rebranded all sorts of businesses over the years, including even ourselves. We can help you through every step of the branding or rebranding process, and we’d be happy to do it for you. So if you’d like to discuss the benefits of rebranding your business, let’s have a chat. Please contact us soon!

To contact O2 Creative, call 970-726-8021 or email [email protected].

Click here for our last blog: O2’s local media survey.