DISA is a leading provider of innovative employee screening solutions and third-party administration services. So, when creating this year-end review, Marion needed to be able to take technical information and graphically represent it in a creative and attractive way.

For the cover, Marion used a textured black paper called Classic Columns XL and applied a silver foil that was stamped and embossed with their logo. The contrast of the silver on the black, combined with the texture of the paper, creates a striking juxtaposition for the reader, even before they open the year-end review.

On the inside of the year-end review, Marion used a 100# gloss paper with dull text and applied a spot ultra varnish on various images and throughout the inside of the review. Like the cover, the contrast of the dull paper with the spot UV coating created a nice distinction that is visually stimulating.

Visit Marion’s graphic design portfolio to view more of our work.

This is the second year-end review that The Marion Group has created for DISA, Inc.

About DISA, Inc.

DISA has been providing full-service employee screening solutions for over 20 years. DISA offers a comprehensive line of employee screening services that are designed through experience and innovation, delivered with today’s most advanced technologies and with workplace safety in mind, including drug and alcohol testing, background screening, occupational health screening and online safety and substance abuse training.

For more information of how The Marion Group can provide your company with creative and interesting graphic design that showcases your corporate identity and brand position, call us at 713.623.6444 or email us at info2@marion.com.

At the root of your corporate image and corporate identity is your logo, your single symbol to the world of what your company stands for. It is the foundation and the icon for your company. When your customers see your logo, they are reminded of all their experiences with your company; what they have seen, read, heard and felt about your company. It is critical then that your logo reflects the nature and spirit of your company in a positive way, and if you don’t clearly identify who your company is, you might get an identity that you don’t necessarily want.

Recently, The Marion Group designed a campaign for Venture Cotton Cooperative. We began with their logo design. In order to determine their corporate identity, we first looked at their business plan. We needed to find out who their target audience was – who they were speaking to – and what they wanted to portray as a company. What did they want their customers to know about them? Where did they want to go, as a company, in the future? These were things that needed to be identified before the “digital paintbrush” touched the canvas.

Finding Who Your Target Audience Is

We determined that their target audience was the independent cotton farmer. Contrary to the stereotype that the cotton farmer is simple and uneducated about concepts of “finance” and “world markets” and “cooperatives,”  they are, in fact, hard workers and very intelligent, especially regarding the interests of their business and the world markets for their industry. They have to be. This business is their livelihood!

We also looked at their competitors. In this case, pretty much all of their competitors, for the most part, had the same look, used the same colors and had a generic feel almost as if no thought was put into it. It seemed that they were targeting the stereotyped farmer.

Implementing Your New Brand Identity

So, for Venture Cotton Cooperative, we introduced new colors, styles and concepts for their logo design. We supplied them with various options to choose from that were unique and different and expressed what their company was about.

Once they chose the logo, we then added to their brand identity with their brochure design and trade show display. In this way, their brand identity and message is consistently showcased throughout their marketing materials.

So, how can my brand identity be showcased? View our Graphic Design Portfolio.

For more information on how The Marion Group can help your company find and develop its brand identity, give us a call at 713.623.6444 or email us at info2@marion.com.

The positioning brochure Marion designed for Champion Technologies is an example of a completely custom, high-end piece. 

Champion Brochure Cover Design

Goals

The goal for this brochure was to create a positioning piece that would put Champion Technologies in the same playing field as other larger upstream chemical companies such as Baker Hughes, Nalco… etc. Although Champion Technologies is the world’s largest privately owned upstream chemical company, many in the industry have been unaware of Champion’s presence or have been under the impression that the company was not competitive with large, publicly traded firms.

Champion’s challenge was to position the Champion brand as one of the “Big Players” within the industry and to have their technical capabilities and global experiences stand out from their better known competitors.

Strategy/Tactics

The strategies used to accomplish the objectives were to:

• Determine an overall structure and layout for the text and images, showcasing an overview of company capabilities
• Illustrate each page layout by hand to create unique imagery and diagrams of processes
• Select images that capture Champion’s brand and capabilities
• Lead a custom photography session with hired models and selected props for additional original imagery that would enhance Champion’s new positioning within the industry
• Showcase Champion’s high level of sophistication, technical know-how and global reach to again enhance their positioning, by utilizing high-end printing and binding techniques including:
  • Spot dull varnish
  • UV coating throughout
  • Custom die cut pocket

Results

The end result showcased a full-color, 8-page brochure that encompassed the company image and qualities of leadership and innovation.

Once the brochure was delivered to its intended audience, the awareness of those unfamiliar with Champion Technologies rose significantly. This was determined by an increase in the unaided recognition rating measured from a pre- and post-brochure survey. This positioning brochure has proven to have played a part in the new recognition and awareness of the Champion brand and capabilities.

Additionally, through the use of the selected photography and illustrations, the piece successfully conveyed that Champion is a worldwide player, a technology pioneer, a proactive leader and a people- and service-oriented company in the upstream chemical industry.

The Champion brochure received the Communicator Awards Gold Award of Excellence.

To see other examples of recent brochure designs, check out Marion’s portfolio.

But changing your company’s logo isn’t as easy as answering a simple question. It takes time to analyze where the company is and where the company wants to go and what strategies it is going to take to get there. This is where The Marion Group can help.

Example

The Marion Group redesigned the logo for McKenzie Equipment. McKenzie wanted to position themselves as a modern company that not only provided compressed air equipment and products, but compressed air solutions that meet their customer’s needs.

First off, we dropped the “Equipment” from the logo and added “Compressed Air Solutions” to get the point across that McKenzie was about more than just “equipment.” In addition to dropping “Equipment,” Marion needed to somehow illustrate “compressed air” in the logo. We gave the logo a feel of “flowing air” with the red and gray “swooshes” and used a font that reflected the more modern look that McKenzie was searching for.

Revive Your Logo

Depending upon your needs and whether or not you want a complete overhaul, you don’t necessarily have to change your logo completely. Your logo can evolve from your previous logo to retain the branding that is already in place. You could simply update your company’s logo with a new, fresh look.   

If you’re not sure where to start or if you’re not sure that your company even needs a logo redesign, contact us at 713.623.6444 or email us at info2@marion.com

 Traditional Catalog Design: The Printed Book

 Earlier this year, The Marion Group helped produce Total Safety’s first printed catalog in 10 years. We were responsible for the overall project coordination, as well as the content development including writing, editing, gathering product images, proofing and communicating with suppliers on behalf of Total Safety for the book (It won an award too!).

 We also provided graphic design services that included the development the page template and cover design to reflect Total Safety’s graphic standards and brand identity. We produced the page layouts and electronic production of the catalog. To complete the project, Marion also handled the printing of the catalog.

 Interactive Catalog Design: The Online Catalog

 A few months after the release of the printed catalog, Marion launched an all-new E-Catalog for Total Safety by transitioning the print catalog into an online catalog that allows their customers to:

• Browse safety products from the nation’s top manufacturers
• View product details & images to learn more information
• Request a quote online for rent or purchase

 The Marion Group provided custom web design services for Total Safety including:

• Database design
• Custom front end design
• Content management system that allows Total Safety to update the E-Catalog as needed
• Data entry & integration
• Shopping cart
• Robust search capabilities
• Search engine optimization for all the product pages

 For more information on the services The Marion Group can provide your company, call us at 713.623.6444 or email us at info2@marion.com.

But with mobile marketing, it’s different. As opposed to just sending your message out there in the form of traditional advertising and marketing and hoping that it reaches someone in your target market, you could have your target audience come to you with mobile marketing. With mobile marketing, the end-user has to opt-in – that is, they choose to receive your message.

But, in what ways can these platforms enhance my marketing, you ask.

Below are some of the latest trends in mobile marketing and ways they might work for your company:

Apps (or applications) are third-party software programs developed specifically for the end-user to download to their mobile device. Apps typically do not work across all smartphone technologies and can only be used with the hardware it was designed for.

Apps:
     – Take time and money to create
     – Must be submitted and approved by that particular smartphone provider (i.e. Apple)
     – End-user must download and utilize the application
     – Provide little to no interaction between the company and client
     – Allow for no interaction between the company and the end-user

Example: Apps like i-Clickr enables the user to use their iPhone/iPod Touch as a PowerPoint remote clicker allowing them to view the slide and slide notes right from the Apple mobile device as they present. This app is great for day-to-day business use, and your company can incorporate its logo, theme or marketing message into it to brand the app.

QR (or Quick Response) Bar Codes are two-dimensional bar codes that can store addresses and URLs. The bar code may appear in magazines, on signs, business cards or any other form of print media. Users equipped with a QR bar code reader on their mobile phone and an on-board camera can “scan” the bar code by taking a picture of the bar code to receive information embedded in the bar code.

QR Code Pictogram

QR Bar Codes:
     – Are fairly simple to create with any QR Bar Code Generator
     – Requires the user to have a QR Bar Code Reader (which is available as an
        iPhone app)
     – Requires development and placement of the bar code on a print
        marketing piece
     – Provides one message to the user per bar code
     – Allows for no interaction between the company and the end-user

Example: The QR Bar Code to the right takes the user to marion.com.

SMS:
     – Are simple and relatively inexpensive to create
     – Requires the user to opt-in for the marketing campaign by texting a keyword to a short code
     – Requires development and placement of the keyword and short code on a marketing piece
     – Provides a fast response and tailored message for the end-user
     – Allows for interaction between the company and the end-user

Example: A company at a trade show is handing out a brochure that prompts the reader to send a text message with the keyword “tool” to “12345” to receive a free consultation and more information about the services they provide.

MMS (or Multimedia Messaging Services) are messages sent to a mobile device that contain images, audio, video or rich text. For use in mobile marketing, the end-user takes a picture with their camera phone and sends the image to a short code or submits it via an app.

MMS:
     – Takes time and money to create
     – Requires the user to have a camera phone and ability to send multimedia messages
     – Provides one message to the user per image
     – Allows for no interaction between the company and the end-user

Example: The Barnes & Noble Bookstore App identifies a book when you take a picture of the cover with your mobile phone and the app directs you to an overview of the book and its price, gives you the ability to order the book online, find a store, download their e-reader and check out new releases.

For more information on Mobile Marketing and ways it could enhance your marketing, please contact The Marion Group at 713-623-6444 or email us at info2@marion.com.