BRANDING | Cranium Studio : Denver, Colorado : Tampa, Florida

Top Ten Naming Lessons: A B2B Branding And Legal Guide

Alex Valderrama — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 22:49:11 +0000

BMA Colorado Roundtable – April 2013

Facilitated by Alex Valderrama, Principal of Cranium Studio, and David Schachter, I.P. attorney for Sherman & Howard.

What exactly goes into choosing the right name for your business, product or service? You may be toying with the idea of a name change, so, when is it the right time? How can you protect your current name?

A successful name can help differentiate your company, increase brand equity, and create a strong brand preference. In today’s mobile and technological environments, we have to take into account many more factors than in the past when choosing a new name. These are several of the topics that will be discussed:

How to create a strong name
How to protect your investment
How to research potential names
Key identifiers of when to consider a name change
Brand techniques to develop a strong name

Join Alex and David for this interactive roundtable as we discuss the top 10 naming lessons and best practices. Walk away with straight-forward naming strategies and easy to follow guidelines for developing and maintaining a strong name and brand presence.

Roundtable attendees will receive the “What’s In a Name” best practices white paper.

Speakers

Alex Valderrama
Principal/Branding Director, Cranium Studio

Alex is an entrepreneur and executive with over 22 years experience in branding, marketing and strategic thinking. Alex and his team have worked with some of Nation’s most well known companies such as Principal Financial, Massey Ferguson, Norwest Banks, Microsoft, FRx Software, Wells Fargo, Gates Rubber, National CineMedia, Utopia, and he has also led the growth of many start-up product and service businesses. Alex and his firm have received over 80 national and international awards. Alex has also served as a judge on several national branding and marketing competitions. He lectures regularly on topics such as branding and marketing throughout the design community, universities and the business sector. In addition, he has served as an instructor in brand and visual communications related courses in several major colleges and universities while mentoring students and peers.

David N. Schachter
Intellectual Property Attorney, Sherman & Howard LLC

David Schachter leads the Firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group and has 30 years of experience in the legal industry. He represents clients in both the public and private sector in all areas of intellectual property including all forms of licensing, sale, protection and commercialization of intellectual property and technology development; registration, maintenance and enforcement of trademarks, and copyrights. David received his Juris Doctor from the University of Santa Clara School of Law in 1981 and his Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in 1977 from the University of Colorado. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America for Intellectual Property.

Alex Valderrama 50 Logos – By Cranium Studio

Alex Valderrama — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 01:54:17 +0000

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Featured Project: Livingstone Church Brand

Alex Valderrama — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 22:57:30 +0000

Livingstone Church Brand Initiative

Cranium Studio of Denver had the pleasure of working with a great team at Livingstone Church. Shawn Scarborough the pastor of Livingstone Church understands that brand development is not a simple process. Cranium Studio was hired to develop an identity, a website and a 30-second animated spot. Only after extensive brand research, font and color exploration, and brand articulation were we able to start developing the brand. Our designers expired countless sketches, iconography, composition and the final identity was a great success. Livingstone launches September 9th, 2012. If you are looking for a new non-denominational church with emphasis on spirituality take time out and visit them.

About Livingstone Church

Livingstone Church began when Shawn and Abigail Scarborough crested the elevation of south Aurora and looked down into the valley of the city. In that moment, they knew this was the place for this new church. A church with bold faith, fervent worship and compassionate community.

To learn more about Livingstone Church visit their site at Livingstonechurch.net

Davis Islands Clean Up

Alex Valderrama — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 16:06:01 +0000

Congratulations to our Tampa Cranium Studio crew for helping clean up the beach on Davis Islands Clean-Up day! Our group met with other University of Tampa students, The Sustany Foundation, neighborhood volunteers, and several members of Emerge Tampa Bay, a leadership program of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, to clean up the Davis Islands beach after tropical storm Debbie last week.

Special thanks to The Sustany Foundation for coordinating the event.

When Worlds Collide!

Alex Valderrama — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:15:53 +0000

In the past, traditional branding and marketing took on a role in one shape or another to include messaging and printed material. As branding experts, we are tasked and challenged with providing our clients with best brand practice advice. Technology in the form of information, and how we communicate and deliver information, has caused us to look at our strategies whether it be branding, marketing or business in a whole new light. As things in the digital world are getting smaller and faster, we are inherently forced to adapt and create good brand experiences with smaller spaces. Other aspects of the current branding and digital environment are the current culture of immediate and instant gratification. Our clients want to see progress and ROI almost instantaneously. This is not much different then it was ten years ago, except for the fact that we have the luxury of measuring ROI and data faster than ever before, therefore allowing us to make strategic corrections much faster. The topic I want to discuss is not so much on the technological data intelligence side, but how our message and brand will succumb to the current digital world we live in.

First, the most basic strategic channel to communicate is your website. How it looks, how it responds to the user, how much content there is and overall how much it reflects your brand, tone and character are all important points to consider.

Second, as social media provides us with avenues to communicate with our current customers and potential new ones, we also have limitations on visual branding and the potential to create a wrong impression on your brand messaging. Even as Facebook has emerged as the leader in social networking, and LinkedIn offers other benefits, you would be wise to look at each one with the realization of whether they are right for your company or not. There are alternative social media networks that offer different benefits such as Twitter, Pinterest, Bumperslide, etc. Important issues to consider are whether your company has the resources and the expertise to launch and maintain them. Whether they provide the correct channels you need in order to reach your intended audience?

Third, speaking of resources, companies have done well to embrace the new digital world in form of native and web applications, designed to implement new strategies and to help develop new business funnels, engage current clients and provide layered information depending on the sales cycle. The financial, internal and external resources needed take some planning and organization, but are well worth it if done properly.

And lastly, how does your brand translate in these digital mediums? The limited amount of physical space, colors, logo, brand messaging can sometimes be challenging, not to mention the variables in web browsers, mobile screen sizes and limitations to technology with each of these.

If a great brand is to survive the impact of digital technology it can be done with sound advice, great people and a strong strategy.

Alex Valderrama to Speak at Chamber Breakfast – Mobile Marketing for Small Businesses

Alex Valderrama — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 15:12:09 +0000

Capitalize on the intersection of local, mobile, and social marketing.

On March 15th, Alex Valderrama, Principal of Cranium Studio and Co-Founder of Growl Agency will speak to business professionals at the Davis Islands Chamber of Commerce in Tampa, Florida.

While the mobile landscape explodes, so does the complexity of integrating mobile into a comprehensive campaign strategy.

During this roundtable we discussed how companies can increase sales, build brand awareness, and engage buyers through mobile’s unique attributes. Our discussions focused on the following topics:

What measurements should you consider when using mobile marketing?
What do customers really want when they engage with brands on the small screen?
How are B2P brands leveraging mobile to bridge the gap between digital and traditional advertising?
An in-depth discussion on developing a mobile app or a mobile web application.
5 tips to enhance your marketing program using mobile marketing.

Featured Project: Aircell Videos

Alex Valderrama — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:30:00 +0000

Cranium Studio, working alongside Growl Agency, was hired to develop three new promotional videos for Aircell. The focus of each video was to help educate current and prospective customers on how their products work. Aircell had an existing video that Cranium Studio used as influence to broaden their brand equity and exposure. Cranium Studio’s designers began the project with the collaboration of Aircell’s internal teams, gathered relevant information, and created a script along with a story board. With various pencil sketches in hand, converting them to a digital format, Cranium Studio used Adobe Illustrator to finalize the animations. Adode After Effects was used for final implantation and animation. These videos were designed to be used by the sales team, in trade shows and on mobile devices.

Contact: Alex Valderrama // Principal // 1.800.747.8117

About Aircell: Aircell is the only company to keep you in touch, in flight on all three of the most popular networks– Inmarsat SwiftBroadband, Iridium Satellite and the Gogo network. With nearly 10,000 systems shipped worldwide, Aircell is the undisputed leader in business aviation communications, offering one-stop complete solutions.

New Bumperslide Video

Alex Valderrama — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:59:33 +0000

Check out the new Bumperslide video! Cranium Studio just finished this Bumperslide video titled “How Bumperslide Works”. Our designers in Denver worked alongside the Bumperslide marketing team to create this animated video which took two weeks to complete – from initial ideas to storyboards to completion. The animation was originally created with sketches. Then, using Illustrator to clean up the graphics, they integrated it into Adode After Effects for the finishing touches.

Contact: Alex Valderrama // Principal // 1.800.747.8117

Featured Business: Bumperslide

Alex Valderrama — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:59:18 +0000

One of the biggest problems most businesses have is engaging and staying in touch with their customers. More importantly notifying them about new products, services, events, announcements, etc. After many years of listening to our clients about their need to provide an avenue of social interaction that is simple and easy, Cranium Studio’s solution was Bumperslide. Bumperslide allows businesses to post messages on their business pages while Bumperslide members can follow their favorite business and opt-in to receive all emails, daily digests or weekly digests.

Sarah Valderrama of Bumperslide states, “Today’s technology allows us to communicate faster and more efficiently. Bumperslide is a whole new and exciting avenue of networking. Bumperslide fills the gap that has been missing in the business communication arena. Businesses can easily connect with their membership base and members can easily follow their favorite business. No spamming, no tagging, no concerns of relationship status, or direct acknowledgement of family members. It’s strictly business. Just the way we created it to be.”

About Bumperslide: Bumperslide is a free networking service that is geared towards businesses and their customers. Bumperslide focuses on providing an avenue for owners, marketing professionals and members to stay connected. Through an information feed of updates, members follow their favorite businesses for important company announcements, new products and services, specials, deals, promotions, etc. Bumperslide is a consistent, effective marketing tool that offers a more efficient and convenient way for businesses to engage with their customers.

To learn more about Bumperslide, check them out at www.bumperslide.com.

Featured Business: Splish Splash Car Wash

Alex Valderrama — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:26:12 +0000

Splish Splash Car Wash was founded by a team of experts with more than 50 years of combined professional car wash experience. Their goal is simple: they strive to provide customers with the quickest, friendliest and most convenient car wash experience possible.

Many traditional car washes require substantial wait times. Others ask that you physically get out of your vehicle, as it goes through the tunnel, requiring you to remove all items from your vehicle before washing. The alternative is to wash your vehicle at your house or to use a self-serve “wand washer”. Until now, there has not been anything quick, convenient or friendly about washing your car. Now, Splish Splash has changed all of that!

Recently opened in Grand Junction Colorado!

You can find out more at http://www.splishsplashcw.com

Follow them on Bumperslide.com