IMD Begins Book Tour

Yes, Insight has been published. Not in an artsy little zine that three people in San Francisco read. Not in a brochure of Addy® winners. Not in a book we created ourselves (good idea, though).

In fact, Insight's work now appears in two books so legit you can find them at your local big box bookstore, or order them from your favorite local independent bookstore. Or online.

They're big books. The kind you'd find on a coffee table in a really cool house. Or in the art department of an ad agency.

The Big Book of Green Design, 2009, Collins Design, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing, New York, includes four pieces created by Insight.

1. Insight’s Eco Bags, made of 100% recycled materials, were sent to clients with a list of “Top Ten Ways to go Green at Work.”
2. The Bike Rack Art Call for Entries for the City of Sioux Falls was created to solicit designs for original bike rack sculptures.
3. The Fueling Revolution poster for the American Coalition for Ethanol publicized the organizations 2008 National Conference and Trade Show.
4. Ethanol Today is the publication of the American Coalition for Ethanol. Insight designs each issue; The Big Book of Green Design shows the Insight-designed cover of one issue.

Edited by Suzanna Stephens and Anthony Stephens, The Big Book of Green Design features top green design materials created worldwide.

Another title in the "Big Book" design series, The Big Book of Self-Promotion from the same publisher, also hot off the press, contains several pieces from Insight. These include holiday books A Classic Christmas Tail and A Classic Christmas Tail 2.

The Big Book of Self-Promotion contains work from more than 500 design firms worldwide, showcasing the freshest, most inventive ideas used by these companies to promote themselves.

Turn Big Problems into Bigger Opportunities

I recently read a story over on the consumerist blog - Bridal Gown Vanishes From US Airways During Flight To Wedding

To sum it up quickly, a bride-to-be was flying home with her wedding dress. Somewhere along the line, her dress was stolen from her checked luggage leaving her sans dress for her wedding in eight days.

Of course, you can imagine how the rest of the story goes.

• Bride gets angry and accuses airline of theft
• Airline says they'll open a report and an investigation will start in seven days
• Bride is forced to find a new dress at a local shop, pay a ton of money to have it fitted same day

Overall, it ends with the bride about $1,000 down with a dress she is not happy in, putting a severe damper on a day that should have been one of the highlights of her life.  Oh yeah, one more thing...she's telling everyone she can about how terrible her experience has been with the airline and how much it ruined her big day.

Which gave me a thought...could someone have turned this situation around?  When you think about it, yes, quite a few things could have gone differently.

First let's look at what the airline could have done better.  With millions of bags and items traveling through their system it's not surprising that a couple of items get lost (or in this case it sounds more like stolen).  So I'm sure the associates have dealt with this before, but couldn't they have done more?  Make some calls, check with her departing airport...it seems unlikely someone could hide a wedding dress easily, let alone walk out with it.

But let's say that it's gone.  What should the airline do now?  Get some details.  Assign someone to find the same dress. Where was it purchased?  Who was the designer?  Get in contact, get the dress over-nighted, and have it re-fit.  Give the bride the cell phone number of the person who is tracking it down for her and give that person the bride's cell phone.  Let them update each other on progress.  This may seem like a lot of work, but look at the outcomes.

• In outcome 1 the bride is utterly miserable and gives the worst recommendation of the airline possible.
• In outcome 2 the bride realizes she should have never checked something so important, but is so impressed that she tells everyone at the wedding her story.

So let's assume there are 400 people at the wedding.  How much would you be willing to pay for 400 people to hear the most positive reviews your company can get from someone they trust?  How much would you pay to keep them from hearing the worst review?  Probably a whole lot more than the cost of a dress.

But there is still a bigger opportunity here!  What if the store the bride bought the dress from was on Twitter and was following her updates and learns of this situation?  They fly a tailor down to her wedding with a replacement dress.  How impressed would that bride be?  How many people would she tell that story to?  She’d probably mention your company in her speech!  And of course when she goes back home she’ll be telling everyone about you.

How good would your company feel if you were able to turn a bride's nightmare into a dream fulfilled? How many future brides would want to work with your company after hearing this story?

This is the power of social tools on the web and we'd like to help you use them.  Give us a buzz.

How much is that logo in the window?

"How much would a logo cost me?"

This is one of the questions that makes folks in advertising cringe.

It turns a logo into something like a set of glassware or a new pair of shoes. The implication is that logos are lined up on shelves in the warehouse just waiting to be plucked out and laced up.

Here at Insight, we believe a logo is perhaps the most personal and important project any client can request. It's your identity, your marketplace DNA. It fits you and nobody but you.

So how much will it cost you? I've heard of ad agencies in this city charging anywhere from $300 to $5000. Insight quotes logos, but not until we know something about the project. Much like a physician won't tell you what that surgery will cost until he examines you.

However, you can get a logo for $50.

A brilliant scheme at The Boomerang Table (thanks to Brandon for sourcing this) exposes the seamy world of commodity-level logo design. Not only is the logo just $50, but unlimited revisions are available.

I don't think they'll be putting us out of business anytime soon.