Brian Blackman

Reasons for B2B marketers to explore Pinterests

Brian — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:39:53 +0000

If you haven’t visited pinterests.com then you should stop reading this now and go check it out. It’s an interesting site that allows you to catalogue everything you are interested in. Yes there are plenty of site that can do this, but the way they do it is like nothing I have seen. It is blowing up like nobody’s business and it may already be the next big thing. Here is an article by By Karlie Justus that explains why you should be there. Read more….

Why optimize HTML email for tablet devices?

Brian — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 02:44:46 +0000

By Ros Hodgekiss

I know what you’re thinking – just as we’re coming to grips with optimizing our email newsletters for mobile, suddenly we have tablets like the iPad and Kindle Fire to make things interesting again. So here’s the good and the bad news. The good: if you’ve already created a responsive design for the iPhone, then adapting this for the iPad and similar devices is dead easy. The bad: it still requires extra testing, coding and sooner-or-later, it’s going to be what all your clients are asking for.

Before we provide any solid answers on whether or not we should all be optimizing our email campaigns for tablet devices, lets look at their uptake and some basic techniques for adapting your design for small, yet not-so-small screens. Read more….

Eye Movement Patterns in Web Design

Brian — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 10:28:55 +0000

This is a link to an article I read by Eric Rowell. It is a fascinating article about where visitors eyes go when they open a website. All to often we (designers) are only concerned about the “Looks” of a website and not how our viewers interact with the site. What a terrible mistake for designers not to realize this and incorporate these principles into their designs. I hope you enjoy the article as much as I did. Read more…

Tips for Social Media & Content Marketing

Brian — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 22:23:06 +0000

This is a link to an interesting article I read by Adam Singer about Social Media and Content Marketing. It talks about what content really is and explains the correct way to use it for people who are just getting started. It has some good information that is easy for beginners to understand. Read more…

Venturenet Rebranding

Brian — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 04:44:15 +0000

Venturenet Rebranding
This is a complete identity overhaul for Venturenet. They were a leader in technology services but their company identity was dated. The new logo (designed by Ellen Hutchings) gave them a simple but strong modern feel. They really stepped outside of their comfort zone and let me design a site that not only separated them from their competition, but helped position them as forward thinking and pushing the limits on everything that they do. Do yourself a favor and go read the about > who we are section of the site. You will quickly see why this company is growing their business while most are going away. And to Venturenet…thanks for letting me be a part of your rebranding.

Text Campaign

Brian — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 03:56:34 +0000

Text Campaign
This is an example of mixing traditional media with new media. These billboards drive traffic to a text campaign for free NFL tickets. The campaign allowed the client to collect opt-in email addresses for a monthly correspondence that is being used to foster relationships with potential customers. It is an example of how traditional media (billboards) can be used to foster interaction with your customers and not just as a one time vehicle for your message.

Google Gmail Priority Inbox Brings New Meaning to Email Deliverability

Brian — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:12:03 +0000

by Amy Tierney
In an effort to reduce information overload in inboxes, search engine giant Google Inc. is launching a new, beta mail-organizing feature to help Gmail users better categorize messages they want to see most.

Email industry experts say that the enhancement reflects ongoing changes by ISPs to improve email delivery.

A/B Testing: The difference one line can make

Brian — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 19:40:10 +0000

by Ros Hodgekiss

Many reasonable folks out there spend a lot of time and frustration in the search for the ‘perfect’ call-to-action. The good news is that with A/B testing, you can chose two suitable one-liners, then let the crowd decide which is their favorite!

If you’re curious about the difference one line can make when it comes to the responsiveness of your emails, here’s a quick example. We launched a survey amongst a group of active customers, to help us prioritize improvements to our app this year. As we were keen to receive as many responses as possible, we ran an A/B test using two versions of our survey email. Each email contained a different text-link to the survey, so we determined the winner based on which link received the most clicks. Read more…

American Red Cross Annual Report

Brian — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 18:16:22 +0000

American Red Cross Annual Report

This annual report was a look back at the American Red Cross over the last Century. It was a calendar/annual report that had two images on each month. The two images mirrored each other, but from different time periods. It was showing how the Red Cross has continued to provide help to people even though the times have changed. The report was printed in 2-color, so I used a beige parchment paper to give it a vintage feel.

NFL Direct Mail Ticket

Brian — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 18:42:02 +0000

NFL Direct Mail Ticket
This is a direct mail piece that was promoting the exclusive Verizon NFL content. It was the actual size of an NFL ticket and gave customers all the information they needed to sign up for the NFL content.