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The Inevitable Finally Happened
Well, it's official. The venerable Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) has finally passed away.
We have been waiting (and hoping) for this event for quite some time. Supporting websites to function properly in such a geriatric browser was a pain. Born in 2001, IE6 was the browser du jour for many years, but it eclipsed itself with IE7 and IE8.
According to today's article on CNN.com, "Internet Explorer 6 isn't exactly dead yet, and in fact remains widely used. But in recent years, it's been eclipsed by newer, faster browsers that are better equipped to run the Web's latest bells and whistles. Google Docs and Google Sites discontinued support for the browser Monday, and YouTube will follow suit March 13.
"The web has evolved in the last ten years, from simple text pages to rich, interactive applications including video and voice. Unfortunately, very old browsers cannot run many of these new features effectively," wrote a senior product manager in a Google blog post. He urged users to upgrade to more modern browsers."
Klündt | Hosmer has encouraged people to upgrade their Web browsers (away from IE6) for several years. Mastery Sheets (one of our site developers) has wanted to "pull the plug" on IE6 for an equally long time. Now, it appears to be official. A funeral service for IE6 is being held today in Denver, CO. In lieu of flowers, donations should be made toward upgrading your network to IE8, Firefox, Safari, or any current Web browser.
The accompanying graphic is part of the funeral notice designed by Aten Design Group.
Rick Judges Yakima ADDYs
Last month, the Yakima chapter of the American Advertising Federation recruited me to judge the design and advertising entries that were submitted for their 2010 competition.
I worked with Ryan Stemkoski (Zipline Interactive), Jessie Pierpopint (Seven2) and Kevin Armstrong (local freelancer) in judging entries on Saturday. I enjoyed judging with the guys. Everyone had a different specialty and it was kind of fun being the experienced "sage" when it came to judging. A couple of these judges were probably in diapers at the time I submitted my first ADDY entries.
It was interesting to see the work produced by central Washington creative firms and organizations. We selected a "Best of Show" and awarded entries in a variety of print, interactive and media categories.
This morning I received an email from the Yakima AAF group saying that they were "very impressed with the time, genuineness and professionalism (the judges) gave to review the work submitted." Glad to be of service, Yakima Ad Fed.
Alina Wheels into Spokane
February has already been a great month for marketing and branding seminars and workshops in Spokane.
First, we sponsored and attended GetListed.org's search engine and social media seminar. And right on the heels of that, we participated in a great branding workshop by Alina Wheeler.
Alina is a worldwide branding expert and the author of Designing Brand Identity: an essential guide for the whole branding team, from the CEO to the creative director, to the design and marketing team.
Her book is the first to deconstruct the branding process into a universal, disciplined five-phase methodology. Alina strives to demystify branding, and illuminates the range of tools used by experienced practitioners. Her book demonstrates the relationship between strategy and design, and showcases best practices in the public and private sector around the world.
Darin and Jean Klündt attended Alina's presentation and agreed with what she had to say. It was nice hearing an expert from Philadelphia validate our processes and position on the importance of brand development.
The branding workshop was hosted by Spokane MarCom and held at Gonzaga University's McCarthy Athletic Center. Over 150 local professionals attended her presentation and 80 people participated in a two-hour workshop going into details of Alina's branding methodology.
(L-R) Ashley Martin, Alina Wheeler and Alli Benjamin, MarCom President following the presentation at Gonzaga.
(Thank you to Dean Davis Photography for the above photo.)
Ashley Martin of Klündt | Hosmer was instrumental in bringing Alina Wheeler to Spokane and spearheaded the presentation and workshop for MarCom. Ashley also introduced Alina to samples of our own branding work. Alina liked what she saw and mentioned that she may consider including some of our branding examples and case studies in a future edition of her book. She graciously gave us a signed copy of the current edition (that we are all fighting over at the office.)
You don't have to live in Chicago or Los Angeles to get exposed to the latest expertise on online marketing and branding. When Google and Alina Wheeler come to Spokane, there's definitely something going on here.
GetListed SEO Workshop
It's not everyday that you get to hang out with reps from Google, bing and nationally-recognized bloggers discussing the topic of search engine optimization and marketing. But about 150 people got to do just that yesterday at GetListed's local university held at Northern Quest Resort & Casino.
The great slate of speakers included Spokane's own Ed Reese of Sixth Man Marketing (and Klündt | Hosmer's great SEO partner), Ryan Hayward of Google, Mikko Ollila of Microsoft (bing), Mike Blumenthal, Mary Bowling of seOverflow, Matt McGee, and David Mimh of GetListed.org.
Ed Reese, Nathan Edminster, Mark Simonds and
Rick Hosmer discuss SEO tactics at a seminar break.
Through entertaining PowerPoint slides (especially Ed's!) and interesting presentations, the speakers ran through an introduction to search engines, the basics of Local Search and website optimization, as well as DYI Internet marketing and leveraging social media to promote business.
It was great seeing several Klündt | Hosmer clients in attendance, and having the chance to meet other business people who want to exhance their online presence through search engines and (hopefully) great website design and development. As Ed Reese said, "...with SEO, good design and content is important, or lots of people will find you and see how bad your site is."
The two, 4-hour seminars were a first for Spokane and according to David Mimh, the event coordinator at GetListed.org, the success of yesterday's session will encourage them to expand the seminar to other markets.
If GetListed comes back next year, make a point of attending. If you attended yesterday's seminar, leave us a comment on what you thought. Klündt | Hosmer was a local sponsor of the event and hope that everyone found it a worthwhile investment in time and the price of attendence.
From the Eyes of an Intern
Hello Klündt | Hosmer blog readers!
Because it has been fairly busy around here, I, the intern, have been given the task to assist with blog entries. So I decided to write about the company from my own point of view.
Just today I was going through Klündt | Hosmer’s portfolio and got to see work they have done over the past few years.
I’ve heard it said many times that “Spokane is a big city with a small town feel,” and that couldn’t be more true today. I saw "big city" work representing local organizations that I grew up with. What could be more "small town"?
Klündt | Hosmer designed the brand identity for the Spokane County Fair & Expo, which is where I spent a couple of summers serving hot dogs and drinks to Spokane Indian’s Baseball fans. I also grew up with the daughter of the owner of Smith Orthodontics who hired Klündt | Hosmer for brand development work as well. And, as a recent lover of Washington wines, seeing beautifully designed labels that were created for local wineries really hits home for me.
As a lifelong resident of Spokane, looking at Klündt | Hosmer's past work has made me see how they have inspired Spokane to grow for the better. And just from the eyes of an intern, they’ve done a great job.
(That, and I also learned how to type umlauts.)
As the World Interns
We’re pleased to introduce our latest intern, Teresa Ide.
Teresa is a 2009 graduate of Washington State University, with a degree in Advertising Communications and Minor in Psychology (a great minor for anyone working in advertising!) She is interning with us for 8 weeks and will be participating in meetings, proofing proposals and projects, conducting marketing research and will be contributing to our blog.
Teresa grew up in Spokane and her creative outlet is photography. She spent over 4-months on a world cruise as part of her college experience. As a traveler, Teresa is articulate, professional and has gained a great sense of style. During her internship, you’ll find her camped out at our reception desk and she may show up with us at our next meeting with you.
When you stop by our office, please introduce yourself and welcome Teresa to our team.
People and Prezos
Recently, Klündt | Hosmer has been asked to make several presentations about how branding works and the importance of strategic marketing.
In the past few weeks we have made presentations for an alumni business group from Gonzaga University, had a Gonzaga marketing class tour our offices, spoken at a small business development class through the Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce, and delivered a branding presentation for 200 attendees at a national conference in Seattle.
There is a real interest in utilizing the power of visual communication to build brands and enhance the performance of businesses and organizations. It is fulfilling to share our experiences and expertise to these business groups. Their questions are insightful (hopefully, our answers are as well) and it is encouraging to see business leaders engage with design professionals.
If you are interested in learning more about how to incorporate design into your successful business, get a free subscription to the @issue Journal, published by the Corporate Design Foundation. You can also contact Klündt | Hosmer to deliver a presentation to your corporate management team or business group.
5 Business Blogging Mistakes (and how to avoid them)
Some of the readers of this blog are bloggers themselves. Some even blog for their businesses, or Twitter, or post business updates on Facebook. This morning, Ashley came across a Twitter post with a link to a blog post on business blogging. She sent it to me and I thought it would be of value to you.
Here is something Josh Catone wrote in "5 Business Blogging Mistakes". "Blogging isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. Your blog won’t be an overnight success, and for the first few months it might feel like you’re writing for no one. It can take time to build up your readership and have a regular community of people who participate on your blog. Don’t expect immediate returns from your blog and do expect to put in a lot of hard work."
Josh put in the effort and I ended up reading his blog. And because of ME, you read part of it, too. That's how it works. So bloggers, don't get discouraged.
What you see (and LIKE) is what you get.
At Klündt | Hosmer, we focus on creating visual communication that people LIKE to look at. That is the first step of the journey for us... and for you, too if you work with us. If people aren't intrested in looking at your branding materials, website, brochure, print advertisement, tradeshow display, or poster that you are using to communicate with them, then it really doesn't matter WHAT you say. They aren't going to get it.
Make it look good first... and you have a fighting chance at getting your message read.
Horses, Hats & Champagne
Pounding hooves. Frilly hats. Nose-tickling champagne. These were all featured on the lawn at the Spokane Polo Club last Sunday at the Cobra Roofing Polo Classic, a fundraising event for the Spokane Ronald McDonald House. The Polo Classic is the largest event of its kind west of the Mississippi River.
My wife, Chris, and I were invited to attend with Mark and Marti D'Agostino, owners of Meridian Construction. Marti is also the Development Director for Ronald McDonald House.
Over 1,200 people attended the event, enjoying a fabulous artwalk, an exciting game of polo (won by the Washington Trust Bank team 6-4), fine food by Fery's Catering, and a great silent auction.
While it was a warm, sunny day, guests were comfortable drinking and dining under the shade of white tents, and by the shade cast by hundreds of elaborate hats worn by the beautifully-attired women.
The event was a fun opportunity for people watching, as everyone attended in their polo finery. It was great to see so many friends and clients supporting such a wonderful cause, and impressive and heartening to see such a quality event put on in Spokane. Over 300 volunteers gave their time to assist in making things just right.
Congratulations to the Spokane Ronald McDonald House, and thank you to the volunteers, sponsors and team that coordinated the event. And a particular thanks to Mark and Marti. We really had a great time.
Real Branding Committment
When Klündt | Hosmer says we are big on branding, we mean it.
As a condition of continued employment, all staff were required to get a Klündt | Hosmer tattoo that reads,
"Klündt | Hosmer Abandons Mediocrity". Unfortunately, the tattoo artist was hard of hearing so the tattoos read "Coon Hummer Is Big On Democracy".
We want to point out that this is a good lesson to all clients... don't hire the cheapest guy around. You'll get what you pay for and it may end up tattooed on your a** for life.
We are now looking for a good plastic surgeon who needs a logo and is willing to do work for trade. Please contact Diane Mahan with any suggestions.
