Archive for February, 2007
AIGA Houston: BUZZ Social Series
Check the Houston AIGA web site for more details: http://www.aigahouston.org
Branding: It’s not about the words. It never is.
Contributed by Chuck Lustig, of ExcitingWriting Communications
This month, I shift gears and express a few words about branding, a subject close to my heart. Many years ago, I remember reading a story of a meeting between one of the earliest practitioners of public relations and his client, the president of a large steel manufacturing company. As I remember it, the story takes place in the board room with the entire board present. A terrible accident had just happened at one of the plants. The president questioned whether, in the wake of this accident, a public relations campaign was appropriate. The public relations person said, “You’re going to have public relations whether you hire me or not. The only question is whether you’ll have any control over the message.” I think it’s the same with branding.
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Goodbye to a Dear Friend
Our community is a little less bright all of a sudden.
On Wednesday, February 21st, members of the DSVC were shocked and grieved to learn that our dear friend, Sue Reynolds, unexpectedly passed away.
For more than 30 years, Sue was the Secretary of the DSVC – but she was more than that. She was one of its staunchest supporters, one of its most tireless volunteers, and truly one of its kindest souls. She was the keeper of club memories, and the “one degree of separation” among so many communications professionals, both here in Dallas and around the country.
Even after she retired as club secretary, Sue continued to attend our monthly meetings, and never failed to attract heartfelt hugs and spark a barrage of great “remember when?” stories from those of us who shared so many DSVC experiences with her.
AIGA/Austin- Design Ranch 2007: The Magnificent Seven
There were brides kidnapped by brothers, a ball player named mickey, even magnificent cowboys and magical dwarfs. From whiskey to world wonders to sin, seven is what legends are made of, and now its our turn. Announcing Design Ranch 2007. We’re celebrating SEVEN years of re-inspiration with SEVENTY-TWO hours of creativity on SEVEN hundred acres.
Beyond workshops, Design Ranch offers the kind of entertainment you can only find in Texas. You can’t beat the live music, and requisite dancing each night (and some mornings), swimming and canoeing on the Guadalupe River just 100 yards or so from our workshops, golfing, hiking, tennis, jam sessions around the campfire (bring your guitar, drums, harmonica, or other musical fare), roping demonstrations, horseback riding, massage, facials, and good old fashioned jaw-jackin’ with the best bunch of folks you’ll ever want to share a weekend with. Not to mention all the great stuff we’re still cooking up behind the scenes!
Rethinking Hourly Rates for Creative Service Firms
Contributed by David C Baker, ReCourses (see information about new seminars and speaking engagements at the end of this article)
There’s a lot of confusion in the marketplace about hourly rates, and the bad practices in the past don’t deserve emulation now. Let’s think a little more clearly about the function of hourly rates at your firm.
Hourly Rate: From Financial Tool to Positioning Tool
If you want to make money, charge for at least 60% of all the time at your firm (composed of individuals who will bill more or less than that average for the group). Your utilization rate is far more integral to making money than the hourly rate you use to charge clients.
Let me state it this way. Your utilization rate is a financial tool; your hourly rate is a positioning tool. Utilization x Positioning = Wealth. At one point or another, nearly every firm has fallen into the trap of thinking they should fix their lack of wealth by raising their rate. You might very well need to raise your rate, but that’s only because you aren’t positioned properly. If you aren’t making enough money, you need to charge for more of your time. (By the way, the national average is a woeful 42%.) If you aren’t positioned highly enough, you need a higher hourly rate–whether or not the client knows what that rate is–because that will result in higher project costs.
