After joining the Tempe Chamber at the beginning of 2009, we’ve had the pleasure of networking and meeting quite a few cool people at round table discussions, lunch mixers and after hours gatherings. While looking for new ways to get involved, I met Kari Sliva, V.P. of Communications and Special Events, and the next thing I knew, our first project was underway.

This Thursday, May 21^st, marks the 14^th Annual Women in Business Conference and Trade Show at the Buttes Resort in Tempe, Arizona. After meeting Kari, we sat down to determine how both parties could benefit the most from Splinter getting involved. We decided on a trade sponsorship where Splinter would provide design and production services, giving this year’s marketing materials and event signage a more cohesive look... And that’s just what we did

The Program Design:

Kari mentioned she wanted it to have a more feminine look and feel than the previous year, but other than that, she gave us the creative freedom to make it happen. After we had the layout and content established, it all boiled down to getting our hands on high res photos and vector logos in order to ensure a clean and crisp printed piece. Thanks to Kari and Brands of the World, we were able to make sure no company had a case of the fuzzy print blues… And I’ll never get tired of hearing her response, “the program is soooo cool.”

Signage Design:

Once the ground work had been laid and the final program design approved, it was time to hammer out the design for the signage. Kari loved the way we integrated slight touches of the vector art used on the program, and after minor revisions, we were ready to move forward with production.

Digital Ads:
Last but not least, the Tempe Chamber had a last minute sponsor jump on board, and they needed a digital ad designed to be put in place asap. As usual, we didn’t cower in fear, we put on the cape and took care of business. Thanks to DCSI, this is being displayed all over town.

Am I missing anything? Ohh yeah… As part of the sponsorship, Splinter has some space to exhibit… But you’ll have to show up and take a peek for yourself to see what it looks like

For starters, the Arizona chapter of “Water for People” needed assistance with the design of a flyer and entry form. I mean, you gotta have the basics in order to get groups interested and signed up for a fun filled day of golfing, drinking and eating, right? Needless to say, they weren’t too picky about the free help, and gave our designers the freedom to do something awesome when putting together the flyer. To the right is what @patty_cake came up with… Pretty killer, no?

The ladies and gents over at Water for People were stoked. Now they had the initial marketing piece that would allow them to start hustling and make the 13^th Annual Tourney one to remember. The only things left were to finalize the sponsors and get some golfers signed up. If you are interested in becoming a part of the event as either a sponsor or golfer, please contact Queenie Tsui by clicking here.

According to their website, Water for People helps those in developing countries improve their quality of life by supporting and developing locally sustainable drinking water resources, sanitation facilities and health and hygiene education programs. You know, the stuff we all take for granted on a daily basis.

What came as a shock to me, is the over 800 million people across the world who don’t have access to the clean nectar of Mother Nature, and more than 2.5 billion that don’t have a sanitized place to take care of business. Add those together, and you’ve got about 6,000 people per day that are losing their lives to water-related illnesses… most of them being children. Pretty sad, terrible and unacceptable if you ask me

So without giving you the hard sell, if you’re looking to take some co-workers out for a day of fun in the sun, or you want to schmooze/impress some clients, look at this as the perfect opportunity to help others, escape the office and support a great cause in the 13^th Annual Water for People Golf Tourney.

If nothing else, you get one of these super cool t-shirts to sport around town letting others know you’re down with helping those in need. Seems like a good enough reason, no?

With over 1 million users and 3 million tweets per day, twitter alone is the perfect little tool to market your product or service, meet new people, gain a few leads, or land that next big job. They key is beefing up the profile information with intriguing content that gets others to engage in conversations and learn more about you. Just make sure you have that oh-so-important link to either your Linkedin profile (an online resume for you job-seekers), personal or corporate blog, or directly to your company’s website. Not only can this drive traffic to your business or free lance expertise, it helps educate those starving to obtain more information about you online. No point in making those juicy details hard to find, now is there?

Once you’ve got the content locked down, and you’re keeping pace by actively participating in the ever changing conversations that are happening online (tweets, blog comments, status updates, etc) it’s time to give your profile a professional look and feel. However, for reasons unknown, I see more and more users and businesses that aren’t taking advantage of the impact a custom designed twitter background provides. With some basic contact information, a rad color scheme and a couple cool photos or illustrations, you or your company can have a stronger presence in your social network and stand out from the crowd. Just get creative (or hire a creative, cough-cough) and make the most out of your online wardrobe.

The ultimate goal for any type of networking is to get out there and make more connections in the business world, but until Obama changes the length of a day to 36 hours, many of just don’t have time to hit every networking event we would like. Thus why having a unique online appearance, sharing your story, connecting with others, and engaging in the conversation gains trust and credibility from others (which is what building a brand is all about). So while you may have ¾ on lock down, keep in mind that an interesting look conveying your personality traits and/or a little bit about your business, can gain more qualified followers and friends then you ever imagined (click on image to see a custom background we did for @charshaff). Who knows, maybe you’ll even become the next big twitter star!

Just remember to stick to the basics – whether you’re marketing online, in person or through print, a cohesive look is the key to “great success!”

As we entered the store (it had been months, if not a year since I rented a video game) I couldn’t help but take notice of all the great product packaging and point-of-purchase displays.  Even though most of the games seemed lame or not my style, I was sucked in by, A: the audacity that there was such a video game, and B: the great design used in product packaging… Then again, it may just have been my passion for how awesome ninjas are, but that’s a completely different blog post

While perusing the aisles, I noticed every wall, corner, nook and cranny had some sort of advertisement for video games.  I entered with the intention of renting “MLB The Show 09” and getting out as fast as possible, but I quickly became distracted by video games relating to television, movies, music artists, etc.  Did you know the TV show “Lost” has its own video game?  How about 50 Cent?  Clearly, the big marketing execs know what they’re doing to get America’s younger crowd hooked in more ways than one.  I was impressed with the way brand standards were followed when transitioning from television, movies and music to product packaging for video games.  With just a glance, I knew I had seen it before.

What blew me away even more were the P.O.P. displays throughout the store.  I have and always will hate the game “Halo,” (thank my college buddies for that one) but the four foot tall cardboard cut out with awesome graphics stole my attention within seconds.  Everywhere I turned there was a static cling, magnet poster or P.O.P display for a video game staring me down.  Hell, even Hollywood Video did a great job with their signage to entice America’s youth to rent multiple games and receive a discount.  Whether the consumer is paying attention or not, these ads were for the most part unavoidable and well placed.

The moral of the story and inspiration for this post: Good Design Goes a LONG Way.  No matter what your product or service is, your initial impression on the consumer can be easily won by communicating a message effectively.  Just ask ME.  I went in with the intention of renting one game (I even called ahead to make sure they had it) and ended up walking out with not one, but four video games.  What can I say, even as an Advertising Junkie, I’m still a sucker…

What can I say, it’s nothing but the best here at Splinter Creative when we get down to celebrate… But when you’re at the office popping some bottles to make mimosas, it doesn’t really matter now does it

After grinding it out for 8 months between client projects, we officially launched our new website this morning.  I mean… you gotta do the work that pays the bills first, right?  Needless to say, we sprouted a few grey hairs and had a few disagreements, but we’re proud to announce a fully functioning site complete with eye candy, anecdotes and useful information about all the services we have to offer you in the upcoming year.

The new site features a distinctive home page (you may want to click the home button a few times and check out all the awesome images), a capabilities section packed full of info and photorealistic examples, and a ton of new portfolio pics showcasing some of our favorite work.

We also added the “request a quote” feature allowing current and future clients to submit a query with ease, a downloads section to get the goods from Splinter and various links to connect with us on our social networking sites.

If you haven’t checked it out already, what are you waiting for?!?  Click the home button up top and let us know what you think by sending an email to marketingpr at splintercreative.com

Sadly, it’s time to get back to work after a morning full of high fives, mimosas and other things we can’t mention on here We hope you enjoy all the cool aspects of our new site, and we look forward to hearing your comments.

To view the press release, click here