*Shout about it!* Celebrate your business' success.

In Britain we're often discouraged from shouting about what we're good at. We're all very good at self-deprecation but why not shout about what we're really good at and make it work for us?!

As a business it's important to give your customers faith in your products and services, and to meekly blend in to the background hoping passers by will try you on the off-chance isn't really a strategy that works!

It's quite a simple idea-if you see a company who has won awards or has accreditation it makes you think "yeah, they must be good! I'll use them". What we often take for granted is that they have put themselves forward for such awards, applied for that accreditation and have committed to letting people know just how good they are.

Locally and nationally there are awards for just about everything so why not claim your stake of the prize! From Best Local Food Producer to Best Sports Brand to Best Regional Marketing, there's guaranteed to be a category or an award that suits your business!

It shows a commitment to change, improvement and will give your business credence. Plus, such events are well publicised and offer your business some great free PR and the opportunity to network with some very useful people. 

It's great for your web presence, positively Tweet-tastic and tells people you really mean business! A great place to start is by 'Googling' your local area and the word 'awards' and a multitude of opportunities will arise!

So, get your business name out there, we've listed some great benefits below:

•Gets your business name on the radar

•Free PR

•Great networking

•Improves your business' credentials

•Great staff morale booster

•Avoids a business plateau!

•Some pretty good prizes too...

Visit http://www.smarta.com/advice/sales-and-marketing/pr/how-to-win-awards for more useful information.

★POSTER POWER!★

Since the late 1700's when the development of Lithography allowed poster printing on a mass scale, posters have become part of our culture. Originally the majority of posters were used for political purposes but posters have now become an art form all of their own.  

"For over two hundred years, posters have been displayed in public places all over the world. Visually striking, they have been designed to attract the attention of passers-by, making us aware of a political viewpoint, enticing us to attend specific events, or encouraging us to purchase a particular product or service"  Max Gallo, French Historian.
 

With so many other promotional tools out there, it's easy to forget just how effective a good poster can be. Cost effective, easy to distribute and when used well, a tool like no other!

We always love to seek a bit of good ol' design inspiration, and when researching a project in the office, we came across http://www.posterheroes.org a competition dedicated solely to the world's best 50 x 70 posters. 

A simple concept that puts some BRILLIANT design ideas in the spotlight. A brief is set and designers get to work creating their masterpieces.

Three of our favourites are shown below. We'll definitely be watching the progress of the competition and in the meantime, if you're thinking about going poster-design-crazy, we've got some simple tips for you to follow...

Our top poster design tips are:
★Before designing, be sure about exactly what you want your poster to say.

★Display your message clearly. There's nothing worse than an idea that is so genius, passers-by just don't get it!

★Be innovative! Don't just think top, middle and bottom; think left, right, off center, angled...! 

★Research and be inspired! There's nothing wrong with learning from the success of others.

★Often the temptation is to create a really big leaflet-don't! Please use space wisely!

★Think about your poster's role as part of a wider marketing campaign not just a stand-alone item.

We ❤ QR codes!

A few years ago peculiar little barcode-esque marks started appearing in magazines, on TV screens and have since grown to appear on packaging, advertising and pretty much wherever else you can apply them (including t-shirts!). 

I have to admit, when I first saw and figured out a Quick Response code, I wasn't convinced. I thought it might be another fad that had potential to fall in to oblivion. Some of the original QR codes when scanned went to dead links or websites that just hung and successfully shortened already short fuses! 

Other famous failures include Red Bull's campaign which was displayed in areas such as tube stations where there was no signal allowing you to scan them! 

However; despite such blips, the QR code story has been one of massive success...

Research shows that 52% of people know what a QR code is and a whopping 28% have actually used them! So, this little square really does make the world your oyster as a business of any size if you are trying to get your information out there and aim to get your brand and its products on top. 

Statistics show that at the end of 2011, 27% of adults and a whopping 52% of 12-15 years old in the UK were owners of a smartphone. The figures are set to rise sharply over the coming years with some people opting out of desktops and laptops and selecting to just-go-mobile!

The best things about QR codes from the perspective of a business are that they are free, they give you quantifiable results by linking directly to your website and they make you look like you are tech-savvy, so what's stopping you?! Get code-generating! Our fave generator is http://qrcode.kaywa.com/

http://qrcode.kaywa.com/

The FirstDPW Blog coming soon...no really, we know you've heard it before, but it is!