When designing a corporate identity, sometimes designers get a reputation for not being budget-minded. There may exist a perception that designers tend to propose solutions that add costs in order to get a bit of “Wow factor”.  It’s a fair argument from clients when we suggest unique approaches that add to the bottom line. SO, let’s talk about the bottom line, both in terms of money spent and the bottom line of what you want  from your brand.

We design with a lot of higher ideas in mind. Relevancy, Visual appeal, Perception, and Recall. Let’s talk about recall, specifically, as it relates to business cards.

Having used a very different and eye-catching business card for Stir for the last few years I can say that EVERY TIME I give out my card, people remark about it . Almost always it’s “Cool card!” or “Wow , I’ve never seen a card like this.”  While the compliments are great and this puts a check mark in the column of “things that make for positive experiences in a given day”, the real value of this is that my card is memorable and it hangs around for a lot longer than most other cards.  The card often goes into the drawer and gets pulled out later as an example when clients start talking internally about new ideas for marketing, promoting  etc. and that is the holy grail of business card design… Creating an inspirational, memorable business card.

Think of the comparison between the cost of  a single print ad that you might run vs. producing a memorable business card. Invariably, the ad costs more. Maybe it’s an ad that tries to wow the audience. Realistically, only a slither of people will see it and then it’s over, discarded or replaced with a new message. Since your business card is typically handed to your exact target audience (potential customers) and if they keep it and refer back to it (for any reason) then it’s done it’s job far beyond the previously mentioned ad. I’d vote for 500 “Wow” business cards over a single ad any day.  After 20 years of doing branding and logo/identity design,  I can tell you that often companies go the safe, economical route and do not choose to go with the option that offers that little something extra. Removing the very thing that visually conveys that they care enough to go the extra mile. However, the only real way to stand out these days is to go the extra mile….   and because no one else did, you’ll be the only one on that part of the road and miles ahead in terms of being memorable.

So as you consider your branding budget, know that there’s a million ways to save a little bit of money, and that could add to the bottom line.
But know that the true cost of doing this may be that you go from an impactful “Wow!”  to being in the group of “hey, here’s another card with a nice logo.”

Ultimately there’s really not a lot of opportunities in life where you get to do the thing that makes people say “I love this! ” or “Awesome card!”…  and the rebranding of your company is one of those.

Make the decision to be awesome. Life is short.

Here you will find the collective thoughts and ideas of the Stir Creative crew.

We’ll keep you up to date on some of the work we do here and the thought process behind it. Occasionally we’ll offer up an opinion or two on some of the goings on within our industry or the industries of our clients. Perhaps you’ll find an opinion on a recent rebranding effort or the launch of new technologies. Whatever the subject, we plan to talk about.  So look here as we talk shop on all things from marketing, logos, social media and more…

Check back often and we look forward to your comments.

- The Stir Crew