Insights
What makes a good email?
According to a study done by Radicati in 2014, "business users send and receive on average 121 emails a day". So how do you make sure yours gets read?Many of our clients send out both internal and external emails on a regular basis, and so we're often asked that very...
Is there a bastard in your house?
The Urban Dictionary defines 'bastard' as: "something that is of irregular, inferior, or dubious origin." I can't think of a better word to describe the recent product of an internal campaign for a large corporation. The team I was working with wanted to bastardize...
Guest blog: marrying your customers till death do you part
This month we welcome guest blogger Douglas Spencer of Spencer Brenneman on the topic of “Marrying your customers till death do you part.” Jonnelle Marte of the Washington Post wrote this great piece called "A guide to breaking up with your bank," which I read in...
What happens when your project doesn’t fit inside the brand box?
We often receive rather interesting requests to develop something out of the ordinary, though, and no matter how unusual or extreme the project, the client's first concern is typically to ensure that we stay on brand. Can an ice sculpture be on brand? How about an...
Sharing what we know, learning something new
Every now and then, it’s good to get out and about to experience what’s happening in the wider world to educate ourselves and to help educate others. This past May was an eventful month as the Cleveland team did just that. Jenny Daughters donned an elegant evening...
Use branding to bridge the gap between marketing and sales
It’s rare to find a company whose marcomm department and sales department work together as effectively as they could. As with most relationships, there is plenty of blame to go around—thanks mostly to misunderstandings and an endless string of unmet needs. You’ve...
Don’t check your brand at the door
Branding is often one of the few factors that can distinguish one product or service from another. Companies and organizations spend considerable resources to develop and nurture their brands, but in many cases, it's a face shown only to the outside world. What a...
I went to teach, but I returned educated
I recently had the opportunity to participate with other creative marketers and designers as a speaker at the Creative Freelancer Conference (CFC), part of HOW Design LIVE, in San Francisco. I arrived to find more than 600 CFC attendees eagerly waiting to get smart...
Owning the competition
The Best of Brand Awards. The Community Champion Awards. The Finance Awards. The Award of Excellence. All these (and more) are now familiar names inside Thomson Reuters, thanks to Cleveland Design's spearheaded initiative to create a unified and sustainable online...
Giving back: St. John Animal Care Center
As the holiday’s draw near and 2012 comes to an end, we often think about what we can offer to those in need. This year at Cleveland Design, we’ve given back to the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands.The St. John Animal Care Center is a shelter for abused...