This touching concept is just crying to be used in a banking, hospital or insurance ad. I’ll be filing this under “inspirational concepts” in my creative morgue.

Today is Day 10 of my 28-Day Creative Challenge. If you’d like to participate, please send me links to download or printed samples of creative work that you find inspiring. If it inspires me too, I’ll feature it here along with a link to your blog or website. Or you could just post a comment.

I’ve finally thrown away a handful of old and outdated pieces and it feels GOOD!  I think it will get easier as my 28-Day Creative Challenge moves along.

Today is Day 3 and I’m keeping this attractive brochure that exudes serenity. It does an excellent job of promoting and explaining a very delicate business – a Nature Preserve Cemetery. By skillful color and photo selection and good copy and design, this brochure gets it’s message across in a dignified and respectful manner. The matching website carries it off as well. This brochure can be downloaded from the website for closer inspection and while you’re there check out the video as well.

Remember, you can help me with my 28-Day Creative Challenge by letting me know if you agree or disagree with my selection. If you’d like to share something that you find inspirational, and if I decide to add it to my creative morgue, I’ll feature it here along with a link to your blog or website.

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Day 2 of my 28-Day Challenge. I’ve placed all my files into a big box where they can now “breath” and I can sort through them with ease. I’ve not thrown anything away so far.

The second keeper that I’ve selected is this insert from a trade journal magazine. It features the “World’s Smallest Bar Code Scanner” as a die cut that when removed and folded illustrates the actual size of the scanner.

What a creative concept — fun too! A more affordable but rather boring alternative would be to photograph the scanner next to a coin such as a quarter to show the size comparison. Since the scanner is also sold in Europe and Asia-Pacific and the quarter is American money, this would pose a problem. What could we use instead of a quarter that would be recognized in all 3 countries? A car key? Are they standard in size from country to country? Any ideas?

If you own a business I’m sure you’ve been told that you need a Facebook business page. Do you? If you’re a retailer my answer is yes! If you’re not but can answer yes to the following five questions, then you probably DO need a Facebook business page. Otherwise, your time and money can be spent on better ways to advertise your business.

1. Are your clients Facebook users? Check out the age, gender and location demographics listed at Social Media Today.

2. Is there a reason your fans would want to interact with your business on a regular basis? Remember the average Facebook user has 130 friends who are competing for their time too.

3. Are you willing to devote the time and money? Your page will need to be monitored daily and in some cases hourly, to be effective.

4. Do you have a website? All serious businesses have websites to link to their Facebook page.

5. Will it help your business grow or are your fans just numbers instead of actual clients?

It’s been going on for years, people confusing advertising and marketing with arts and crafts. These all involve design and the right side of the brain but are completely different things. If you are a business owner and mistake one for the other, you will be wasting your advertising dollars.

How can you tell the difference? Ask to see samples of work created for businesses similar to yours. An advertising agency, design studio or professional freelancer will have a portfolio (either digital or traditional) full of successful promotions created for their clients. Your friend who teaches art, works real cheap, and knows how to use a Mac, will not.

My traditional portfolio is available by appointment and a digital version is available on my website.

I’ve been on Twitter for over a year and use it for business and sometimes for a little fun. In the beginning I used the auto-follow feature on TweetLater.com to automatically follow back the people who followed me. This resulted in me following many people that I had nothing in common with and causing me to lose sight of the real reason I was on Twitter — business.

I recently stopped following (unfollowed) over 400 people for doing at least one of these:

1. Using the Twitter Bird icon as a picture or using an image that’s too sexy or inappropriate — very unprofessional.
2. Not listing a city and state or saying “home” or some other obscure place out in the middle of the ocean as their location.
3. Posting more than three times in a row. Nobody likes a blabber mouth.
4. Using these words or phrases: CASH, make money, increase followers, secret, Coach, white teeth and financial independence. These are red flags that tell me not to trust you or that you’re unprofessional.
5. Having a weak Profile Bio that contains typos.
6. Posting too many quotes. Say something original for God’s sake.
7. You asked a question. I responded. You didn’t answer or acknowledge me. Admit it, you just asked the question to be seen and didn’t care about my answer. Don’t waste my time, I value it.

I am now very selective of who I follow, I select them individually by their interests, professionalism and location. Since I’ve cleaned up my following list, reading relevant business posts is so much easier because I no longer have to search through a stream of clutter.

LOOK OUT—the New Year is bearing down on us like a freight train—to borrow one of my husband’s wonderful colloquial expressions. Time to start making New Year’s resolutions. Number one on my list this year is to post to my blog once a week. What’s yours? I’ve asked many people this question recently and most say that they are setting goals of blogging more or getting more involved in social networking.

I’ve met lots of great folks through social networks, people like Michael Albany, of Aston, Pennsylvania for example. He is a photographer and the owner of Michael Albany Photography. We didn’t actually met, we connected via LinkedIn, a business-oriented social networking site. I was impressed by not only his corporate photography but something special that Michael does. He takes photos for the unemployed, those who need a professional photo for LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or other social media profiles and he does it for FREE! He says it’s just his way of giving back to the community. Learn more at www.michaelalbany.com/blog.

Another very talented individual, also on LinkedIn, told me that he had tried social networking and not seen any results. He said that he has an incredible portfolio, amazing website (take my word for it he REALLY does) and he is on Twitter. I have heard this complaint before and have even said it myself. What I know is that social networking isn’t something that happens overnight and that it is a process that involves a lot of time and dedication. I started my blog in March 2009 and since then have gotten on Twitter, created a Facebook fan page, held a contest and really, really worked on my LinkedIn profile. All this while continuing to work and care for my family. I have begun seeing results this month, results that I hope will continue to snowball throughout 2010. Wish me luck!

My New Year’s wish for YOU is that you take time to celebrate each and every day of 2010 —  CLICK HERE to download your 2010 Retail Promotional Calendar. Now you can celebrate National Karaoke Week, National Bathroom Reading Month and many more unique events.

Have a blessed New Year.

A coworker once walked into my cubicle at Sterling Jewelers and informed me that she could do my job if she had the software. My reply was that I had been a designer long before they had even thought of the software (see my 1983 hand-drawn newspaper ad layouts above).

Today this “anyone can do it” attitude runs rampant among advertisers. I can’t stress it enough, design is more than pretty pictures and cool software. It’s a complex tool used to change consumer perception and behaviors and I’ve yet to find that keystroke command on my keyboard…

Why is it that new business owners will spend thousands of dollars on inventory, buildings and equipment only to neglect advertising and marketing? 

A couple of years ago I attended a Chamber of Commerce networking event. It was held at a new, upscale furniture store and the husband and wife owners were our hosts. As I roamed about the store, drinking wine and greeting other Chamber members, I met the husband’s mother-in-law. She confided in me that her son-in-law had invested everything in the store and that she prayed it would be a success.

When I met the store owners and questioned the husband about advertising, I learned that he had assigned all advertising and marketing to the Store Manager. As I ate my way across the room, sampling strawberries from the chocolate fountain, and cheeses and veggies from the buffet, I finally found the Store Manager. He quickly let me know that he had their advertising under control and he happily showed me the Grand Opening ad that he had just ran in the local paper that day. The ad was one-half page of white space with a very small store logo in the center. Under the logo, in very small type it said “Grand Opening”. I can’t remember for sure if the address was even listed.

I was horrified when I saw this “Institutional Ad”. An Institutional Ad is fine for well-known companies trying to increase brand awareness – not for stores like this one without name recognition. As a matter of fact, many large, well-known companies don’t have the budget to run an ad that’s not driving home some critical selling feature or encouraging the consumer to act.

It was no surprise to me when this store closed in less than two years. Why would someone invest everything and then turn something as important as their advertising over to an unqualified employee? With the relatively recent invention of the computer, anyone who can learn the software programs can produce advertising and they do! But not the kind that inspires and motivates the public to take action – that takes an experienced professional.