August 2006

Email signatures that get results
Most of us send countless emails each week to colleagues, clients, customers, email lists, and other potential business contacts. Our signature at the bottom tells people how to contact us, but does it give them a reason to?

Put your e-mail signature to work with these easy steps:

• Offer something of value. Don't just link to your home page, link to an article, a sale item, or a hot property that they might be interested in.
• Ask a relevant question to pique their interest. "Looking for the perfect house-warming gift?" is more effective than "Click here for the perfect house-warming gift."
• Ask them to keep in touch. Whatever page you're sending them to in your site, include on that page a request that prospects sign up for your e-mail newsletter, contact you, or purchase an item. In other words, tell them what to do in order to continue receiving value from you.

These simple ideas can be tested with a number of messages that can be changed any time. Most e-mail programs today will allow you to have multiple signatures, so you can even tailor your message depending on who your recipient is. Experiment to see what appeals work most effectively. Make your email signature something to take notice of!
Learn more about email signatures

The dollar impact of a
Bloomington re-brand
Still doubting the power of branding? One of our clients who went through a major re-branding effort within the last year is reporting revenues $20k-$30k per month higher over last year's performance! We are thrilled to see clients embrace branding and especially to see their businesses soar! Contact us today to learn how strengthening your brand can lead to bottom-line results.

Cairril.com nominated for Fuse Business Innovation Award
We're please to announce that we've been nominated for a 2006 Fuse Business Innovation Award in the Microenterprise of the Year category. The Fuse awards recognize innovative small businesses who are “Brands to Watch.” They are sponsored by inVenture, Bloomington’s technology and life sciences business incubator.

Nominees will be evaluated by an independent panel. Award winners will be recognized at the Fuse Business Innovation Awards Luncheon in October.

This month's winner: Karen Luerssen!
Karen wins a digital print featuring this one-of-a-kind design. Have a favorite quote or saying? Send it in! If your quote is chosen, you'll receive a digital print of your custom design, suitable for framing! Check out your competition here.

See the creative process for the design above

Optiks & Buskirk-Chumley Theater
One of Bloomington's cultural treasures, the Buskirk-Chumley Theater hums with activity throughout the year, offering films, live performance, art shows, and community events. We've long discussed doing a pro bono project to help support them.

We were delighted to hear from the fabulous Danielle McLelland, BCT director, that an upcoming event might be just the ticket: local high-fashion eyewear boutique Optiks is sponsoring an event to benefit the theater. We met Danielle and the equally fabulous Stephanie Harrison of Optiks to help sketch out the beginnings of what's turning into a night to remember!

Fashion + Function + Art, coming up 21 Sept, promises to be a fantastic night out. It includes a 3-set fashion show, live and deejayed music and dancing, a silent auction, a raffle, an art show, on-site photography, free food and soft drinks, and a cash bar. Over 50 diverse local businesses are participating in the event, most of them located downtown, and all proceeds of the evening benefit the Buskirk-Chumley.

We're creating the print materials for the event, as well as assist with planning and promotion. But the greatest challenge we faced was getting all the info onto the poster!

Rather than attempt to spell out every detail of the event, our design focuses on the feel of it. Three sassy models in silhouette form an eye-catching trio atop tiered layers of type. Hot colors on a black background communicate the energy and excitement of the hip, nighttime event. The event title is in a rave typeface and "shadowed" to help it pop out from the background. The rest of the type on the page alternates weight in order to be legible; there are no spaces in between words. Indeed, business names are turned sideways and split according to line length rather than traditional hyphenation.

The core event information (date, time, price) is paralleled visually by our summary of what it entails: fashion, music, food, raffle, dancing, auction, and drinks. The BCT's website address is given heaviest weight in order to drive people to the site for more info. We wrap up the design with the dress code information.

Overall the look is trendy, eye-catching, memorable, and hot hot hot! And for only $10, you can experience the event itself—come out to the Bus-Chum at 6:30 on 21 September for a red-carpet night to remember!

View the poster designed by Cairril.com