XTERRA Wetsuits approached Jacob Tyler in late 2008 to re-brand the company for 2009 with a new look and feel and brand campaign to cross over all collateral. The goal was to increase their brand recognition in the triathlete market as a leader in wetsuit technology enabling the athletes to swim faster and win races. Of course, the MAIN objective was to sell more wetsuits.

XTERRA had never used an agency before for their marketing collateral and Web site and it was clear when you looked at the materials. There was no cohesive identity in either their Web or print media. The team at Jacob Tyler created a campaign called “First Out” attempting to make a statement that if you wear an XTERRA wetsuit, you’ll be first out of the water.

At our first photo shoot, we creative directed shots with a focus on action and models running out of the water, unlike their previous posed studio shots. The new action shots were to be used on all collateral moving forward with the headline “First Out.”

The old version of the site was dark and out-dated. The product shots were small and the site navigation was confusing. Sections weren’t  appropriately organized, as there was no secondary navigation. Lastly, there was no call to action allowing to guide the user to make a purchase or learn about the product technology. The site re-design, focused on the technology and “First Out” campaign. Some of the main changes included were:

A call to action on the home page showcasing new or sale items quickly link to “special deals” and convert users to buyers.

Site navigation was minimized to maintain the usability “rule of 5″.

Enlarged product views with the ability to see both sides of the suit, as well as view the suit both on and off a model.

A clean white background making information easier to read and print.

A quick user guide pop-up linked from each specific product showing users how to choose a suit based on height and weight.

The site was recently launched and now we will be tracking increases in sales from our Eblast campaigns and magazine ads. The main statistic we will be following however is the difference in conversion rate to sales on the new site vs the last version. We are betting big that it will be a large increase. Check out the new site at xterrawestuits.com

by Jonathan Marshall

I found this unbelievable Design blog that features five new up-and-coming artists/graphic designers with every new post. Although my focus is on writing, and my degree is in advertising, I would love to be able to produce work like these guys. The artists featured on Think Design are VERY impressive, interesting and inspiring.

I think there are graphic design companies San Diego that have quality designers and artists, but then there are artists like the ones featured in this blog that really set the bar at almost unreachable levels.

My favorite out of all the featured artists from this entry is Ralph Karam, he uses that retro 80’s bright color theme throughout his work. Hot pink, yellow, green and blue are everywhere, and you can also tell he has a deep-connection with the ones and twos, there are a few turntables in the mix as well. He also has an amazing piece that he did on an entire wall of a three-story building, that is outstanding. I don’t even want to know how long it took to finish that thing, unbelievable. The guy is SERIOUSLY talented, and even though I couldn’t even come close to replicating anything like what these artists have done if my life depended on it, I appreciate quality and their abilities.

As a creative agency that develops Social Media Web sites and SEO strategies, we include Twitter as a part of our services to increase recognition and awareness for our clients. Most clients are aware of twitter but really have no idea what it is. My friend (and IT partner) Stuart Hall at NVelocity is a Twitter expert and wrote a blog on the topic. I believe really succinctly answered the question we hear all the time… What is Twitter? See below.

If you’ve never heard of Twitter, bear with us. Twitter is a funny name, but one you should know. In its most basic form, Twitter is a website that asks the simple question: “What are you doing right now?” You are free to answer that question as often as you like, as long as the answer is under 140 characters. Why 140 characters? The main interface for using Twitter is via text message, which has a 140 character limit.

While the above definition of Twitter is true, it only scratches the surface. Twitter is also described as a micro blogging service. Users can update their readers with mini-posts on a very frequent basis. Consider that power users on Twitter have upwards of 50,000 subscribers to their Twitter feed and over 17,000 updates. That is a lot of direct communication to a specific audience. That’s straightforward, but there’s more…

Twitter has a pyramid effect. If I share information on Twitter and people who consume it also share with people who read their Twitter and they share with their friends, you see that a single post can rapidly spread. There is already the “Twitter effect”, defined as when a popular Twitter user shares a website link and the resulting swell in traffic crashes the site.

Further delving into the question of “What is Twitter?” Some would argue that Twitter is the tip of the Social Media spear. Social Media is another relatively new term. From Wikipedia: Social media are primarily Internet and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings.

Still with us? Great, why should you care about Twitter? Twitter is impactful because people are moving towards consulting their peers in real time about their experiences via Social Media. Had a great steak? Take a picture with your phone and share it, instantly, with all of your followers. Wondering why traffic is so bad? Ask the “Twitterverse” and find out. Looking to interact directly with the consumers of your products? Bingo! Twitter is your answer!

Not convinced about the power of Twitter? Consider this, the first pictures from the crash of flight 1549 in the Hudson River in January were posted via Twitter and picked up almost immediately by mainstream media!

There are a lot of resources about Twitter and how to use it for personal and/or business gain. We suggest you spend some time learning about Twitter before actually using it. If you have any questions, feel free to get in contact with us. We would be happy to get you started. And of course, we’re also on Twitter.

by Jonathan Marshall

Frank Reed from Search Marketing Standard wrote a great article about SMBs (small and medium businesses) and the disconnect between understanding they need to make a serious push to increase their online marketing efforts, and then paying for those efforts. When it comes to discussing payment, they hit the brakes and start and start bartering. It gets ridiculous.

We deal with these clients all the time, and you can always immediately tell the difference between the ones who understand what they are paying for, and the others. It’s a circular song and dance that comes from SMBs about how they are aware they need to take a more active approach toward their Internet marketing strategies. Many get that concept, but unfortunately just understanding that fact is not enough. The other end of that unfortunately is the part that leads to the eventual breakdown of their business. This is where their internet marketing efforts usually stop, and it stops with this statement, “but I don’t want to spend any money. What can we do for free? At this point, search marketing consultants should pack their bags and run, because this mindset leads to a horrible business relationship, and ultimately doesn’t allow them to execute appropriate search marketing services and strategies. Frank goes on to discuss this circular debate below- well said Frank.

I see this happen in Chamber of Commerce environments where everyone wants to meet you and buy you a cup of coffee so you can talk all about your knowledge of the Internet, but when it comes to the reality of “these things cost money,” you can hear crickets during the stunned silence. SMBs attend every free event that gives them the most generic advice, but when it comes to the point of paying for a real service that will produce results, they run like mice when the lights go on.

I know the economy is bad. I know money is tight. Does that mean, however, that you don’t need to still spend money to make money? Here’s some advice for all Internet marketing service providers and those looking for their services. As we rapidly approach that time of year when SMBs need to decide if they will again throw good money at their Yellow Pages presence, there needs to be some serious thought applied to this traditional advertising play. SMBs will be assaulted by aggressive sales people and then be put into the spin cycle about how they can get the best of both the online and offline world with the Yellow Pages offerings. Must … resist … the …. Yellow …. Pages … sales ….. pitch.

Everyone needs to stop, listen, and truly think. I am going to suggest something truly revolutionary. It actually may not cost the SMB anything more than is currently spent for advertising to effectively do Internet marketing! I call this process the “Budget Theory”. Maybe as an SMB you have been buying YP ads for ages and it’s just something you do. Well, this year, why not take that dead marketing spend [unless you can truly say that you are experiencing a real ROI with that YP spend, in which case it's not dead, so keep doing it] and apply it where you know you need to be — on the Internet. That’s right; say no to your Yellow Pages rep and start to apply that money to the place you really want to be.