The “blunders of all blunders” in marketing!

Wow, that’s all I can say is wow…..after 10 years in the business, WOW!  I’ve never heard of a company, especially a very public sports company misspelling the name of there brand.  If you have been on the other side of the universe for the past few days and didn’t hear the Washington National Baseball team or should I say “Washington Natinals” misspell the jerseys on some of there players.  Now, I don’t want to take this overboard, I’m sure it was an honest mistake and the company that made the jerseys probably don’t have a butt left after that chewing, so let take it easy on them.  At the same time, this gives me a great example to share with you about checking  your work before sending it  to your clients or if you’re creating it for own company, then it’s even more important.  Keep in mind first impression is the key in your branding.  Therefore, if you give a horrible impression of your brand with poor color correction, lack of creative, and misspelled words then don’t even open the door, you can cripple your image before start building a relationship with them.

Don’t get me wrong I make mistakes, for example!  To say I am a good writer would be a big stretch, yeah Chris Hopper, don’t laugh too load!  (Chis is our Interactive Director for PrintFX and occasionally edits my posts)  So, a few years ago I was pitching a advertising medium to a new shareholder for my advertising company.  The ink on the deal was still wet, and I was submitting a quarterly report within the report I added a cover letter.  Well, I usually write letters by just getting my thoughts down on paper then going back and proofing and editing it….which I guess most people do.  Or I might be wierd, what ever the case.  Well, it was late at night and I was trying to make FedEx, so i just saved it and printed the final draft or I thought, not knowing that I printed the unedited version with misspelled words, it looked like a 13 year old wrote it.  Yeah, i mailed it.  A month goes by and I get this call from that same shareholder.  He makes a crack at my expense, which it take with a grain of salt, but at the same time I could hear in his voice the concern.  “Did I make a mistake partnering with this guy.”  So, what could I have done, either way if I explained the situation then I would look bad, being that I run the company by the seat of my pants and don’t check my work, or just leave it alone.  Either way it didn’t look good.  In the end, everything worked out and my shareholder has been with me through great time and bad.  But it could have cost me a great business partner!

So, my point is check your work, and especially when it comes to the PrintFX module.  One of the great advantage to the module is the great pricing and the quick turnaround time.  We are able to provide this because we have eliminated a good portion of designers, sign offs, and time.  However, here are some additional things we have working for the PrintFX module…..the secret “business compliance.”  The one thing everyone overlooks is the small things.  “Did I accidentally change the logo?”  man that not going to be good it I did.  “Is the resolution of the image I uploaded going to be pixellated when i get my product.”  All of this is being remedied by the module, how well that I can’t tell you yet!  But, be looking out for a few really important changes in the near future.

Special thanks to uniwatchblog for the picture!