This process involves many aspects of marketing, so be sure and use all of the tricks of the trade to ensure that your message comes through loud and clear when it counts the most.

1. Colors – One of the quickest ways to create brand recognition for your company is to select signature colors that saturate all of your promotional materials, labels and company correspondence. Good graphic designers know how to blend the correct shade, tone and vibrancy of color into a unique configuration that is attractive and easy to reproduce in all kinds of media.

2. Symbols – Depending upon your area of expertise, there are well established symbols that represent your business in the minds of consumers, like the $ for financial institutions. By researching and utilizing the correct symbols, icons and patterns that your potential and existing customers relate to your products and/or services, you can subtly trigger their association between your business practices and their needs.

3. Copywriting – In today’s fast-paced media-rich environment, it is crucial that you get your written message across quickly and succinctly. Crisp, eye catching copy that utilizes bullet points, white space and creative layouts should always be the first written message that your customers encounter, but make sure it is designed with plenty of references, contact information and web site links for further investigation. These materials can become increasingly detailed and technical as the reader drills down into your well designed system of information retrieval.

4. Graphics – Digital media techniques have unlocked new levels of creativity so commercial artist can design promotional graphics for printing, video and Internet web sites that are full of information, amusement and appeal. These graphic designs can have a variety of uses once established, from decorating company vehicles to embellishing souvenirs produced for trade shows and conventions.

5. Delivery – All the great promotional materials in the world won’t do you much good if they don’t make it into the hands of the people who need what you have to offer. Market research can uncover unique ways to present your material in appropriate venues that make the most of your particular presentation technique. For instance, providing free ice cream for toy store opening could be a great way to promote a new magazine for family activities. Look for ways to partner your business with complimentary institutions and service providers that will assure association with new customers, usually creating a win-win situation for all concerned.

The most obvious place to start is by implementing the three “R’s” — reduce, reuse and recycle. Not only in companies actually save money on their bottomline print cost by implementing eco-friendly print practices, but they find that they attract new customers who are impressed by their commitment to using environmentally-conscious materials. The familiar recycle logo with the three revolving arrows naturally becomes an integral part of any “green” advertising campaign.

Recycled Paper

The obvious place to start by selecting only recycled paper products for any envelopes, stationary, posters, flyers, business cards, invitations, tickets and leaflets distributed at presentations. As a result of the successful paper and cardboard recycling campaigns that have been ongoing for the past 25 years, paper mills have access to plenty of “gently used” paper.

Not only does it spare a living tree having to be harvested and turned into pulp, but previously used paper is much more energy-efficient to transform into brand new paper. Customers appreciate the “organic” feel that recycled materials create and find it a nice change from the slick, phony, manufactured advertising campaigns of which they have learned to be skeptical.

To really get the point across, employ some of the clever paper products specifically designed for single-use items — like coasters and invitations — that have wildflower seeds embedded into a recycled paper stock which is designed to dissolve easily so the recipient can continue the recycling process by planting it in their yard.

Another popular alternative are the new “tree-free” products that craft paper using bamboo, hemp or organic waste.

Environmentally-Friendly Inks

Innovative printers have discovered that soy-based inks can make an excellent choice for digital reproduction technology, which is good news since it has become clear that traditional ink production involves the use of heavy metals and releases VOC (volatile organic compounds) into the atmosphere.

Soy-based inks use ethyl lactate, which is considered to be the “greenest” solvent available today and are made from renewable resources. Also, soy-based inks require less heat to break down, so they require less energy to recycle.

Print Shop Practices

Okay now that you have dedicated your campaign to using green materials , it is time for the final step, which is contracting with an eco-friendly printer. Check for “green” practices and request proof of proper disposal of harmful solvents and chemicals.

Keep alert for signs of energy-saving practices such as computer-controlled automation on the presses that automatically reduces paper waste. Be sure to select a company with a digital offset presses because they are best at using your eco-friendly products to produce high-quality promotional materials that resist scratching and fading.

Their answer was to take your radical new approach and put together a conference that was “100% volunteer, 98% free and open (one event had tickets it went to charity).”

Hyde had become frustrated and trying to attend conferences that would not even talk to him unless he paid cash up front to help defray the cost of “speakers wouldn’t attend if they were not speaking, to a conference that wouldn’t exist if it were not getting paid.” He decided that there must be a better way, and wanted to take advantage of the dynamic that happens when people meet face to face and determined that this could be done without insisting on huge attendance fees.

Not only was it a smashing success, but his ability to host 55 events and five days would have made even a hardcore professional conference organizer blanch, but using the newest in conference planning technology like Plancast [http://plancast.com/] for their RSVP system, were able to make it work with only four cash sponsors and a couple of other companies picking up the tab for the events.

All in all, the entire event hosted 33,000 people, sold 37,000 beers and served 450 meals all for less than what a single sponsorship cost at most modern conferences.

Hyde admits that he was inspired by the success of local community events like Austin South By Southwest (SXSW) yearly festival and wants to see such models expanded to help small businesses and local start-up groups.

To learn more about the success of Boulder Start-up Week, check out Andrew Hyde’s blog to find more details about how to have bootstrappers’ enthusiasm drive a conference instead of the almighty dollar.

The Mute Button
It’s important to remember whether your mute button is on or off. As a facilitator, you must give the respondent time to take the mute off and answer.

The responders must use the mute button when not speaking and remember to put the sound on when necessary. Don’t mutter into the microphone or talk to yourself. Always assume they can hear you. Limit sidebar conversations within the room and pay attention to the speaker.

Gestures
Be aware of every single gesture you make. Talking with your hands might be acceptable when in the room with other people, but watching it on video can make others nervous or dizzy.
This is especially true when lagging video may only catch a few movements and makes the image at the other end of the conference jumpy and disjointed. Gestures may also give someone a bad impression of you, so try to isolate any bad habits, like scratching your nose, ahead of time to keep them from creeping into the video conference.

Forgetting Introductions
You may not see everyone at all times during a video conference. Introductions make people feel more like they know who is talking. Make nameplates with at least 4 cm letters for easy reference.
When more than one location is involved, make a plate with that name, also. Address everyone directly when asking questions. “Mike, did you have those numbers?” “Susan, can you tell me…?”

Something Else in Your Mouth
Food, gum, or other items that might otherwise occupy your mouth are a definitely no-no during video conferencing. While you might not always have the camera on you in some larger meetings, no one wants to look over at you and see your jaw working.
The kindest assumption they can make is you’re attempting to talk and not being heard. At worst, they see your open mouth and what occupies it during their possibly lagging connection.

Time
Begin and end all video conferences on time. This is respectful to all attendees, because they definitely have other work to do even if they are not scheduled for another meeting.

It also lets them know what to expect. If someone constantly drags meetings from a half hour scheduled to two hours actual time, no one wants to go and their attention wanders. Adults are alert for 30 to 45 minutes at a time; schedule appropriately.

You’ve probably noticed from time to time, especially on local news shows, that the checkered patterns on neckties, sport coats or ladies’ dresses creates a bizarre color distortion that is very distracting. This is a natural result of the scanners used to decode the video signal, and is just as big of a factor in a computer conference as it is a live television broadcast. So the first rule is to avoid any clothing with a repetitive pattern, especially houndstooth and tweed jackets.

Bright, solid colors should also be avoided because they tend to reflect their tones onto your skin and can give you a very unusual pallor which is not, of course, how you want to be remembered. Yellows, reds and blues are particularly guilty of emitting unfavorable shading on your face during a video conference.

You also want to select shades and patterns that don’t match your natural skin tone and hair color. This can make you appear like a big blob without any definition. The same thing applies to an all-white outfit, it can leave “tracers” around your image when you move because a camera cannot adapt quickly enough to the subtle gradients.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/silvertje/2022269618/

Sometimes, getting to and from work presents us with as many challenges as we actually face at work. Traffic jams, malfunctioning cars and the ever-elusive parking space can combine to make our commutes become ordeals to be endured that can leave us exhausted and/or frantic.

Finding ways to handle these kind of situations by arming yourself with a portable MP3 player can make a big difference in how you arrive at your destination — whether it be home or work or someplace in between — and generally make your day go a lot better so that you show up in a great mood instead of a stressed mess.

Just about anywhere you go these days, you can listen to audios that resonate with you. Whether you take the bus to work, drive your car or ride a bicycle, your favourite tunes can accompany you. If you’re in your car you probably have a sound system that can envelop you in the kind of tunes that appeal to your taste.

If you’re out and about on foot, the personal music device gives you just enough buffer from the “real world” so that you can maintain the kind of objective attitude that helps handle stressful situations

1. Favourite Music
Everyone has their favourites, and music is certainly no exception. Select music for your commute that is upbeat, lively and doesn’t push to many of your sentimental buttons. Keep in mind that it is easy to get distracted when you’re listing to your favourite tunes, so only select them when you can afford to be mildly distracted.

2. Audio Books
Most every book you have ever read or wanted to read is available in an audio book format, some read by professional actors complete with music and sound effects. If your commute is particularly long and boring, listening to a great book could be a marvellous way to pass the time.

3. Binaural Beats
Modern researchers have discovered that the brain functions best when both the left and right hemispheres are communicating freely. To enhance this ability, audio experts have developed a series of programs that reproduce the beta, Alpha and delta wave frequencies for ideal brain stimulation and create two separate tones that are directed into each ear. The brain automatically “harmonizes” the two tones and makes them into one, therefore synchronizing the hemispheres. This process balances the brain, relieves tension and heightens your ability to concentrate and will not make you sleepy or create a hazard to operating machinery.

4. Soundtracks
When you know you going to be interrupted frequently and may not be able to pay full attention to your selections, considering including a play list of soundtracks from some of your favourite movies. Listening to a soundtrack gives your ordinary day a new sense of “thrill” as common activities are set amid the kind of music your brain has come to associate with exciting scenes.

5. Lectures/Podcasts
On the Internet, many venues have downloadable recordings of fascinating lectures given at conferences, universities and conventions that are available — many for free — to add to your library. These lectures range from old recordings of notable historical figures to cutting edge technology conferences and provide a chance to learn about the world while you commute.

1. Know Your Strategy
We all want more out of the job than just a paycheck, and having a clear idea of your end game goals can help you deal with office politics much more effectively. Take some time to write out your top career goals, whether it involves changing departments, landing top accounts or even eventually replacing the boss. Make a list of steps that you think it would take for you to reach these goals and prioritize them. Then when you are faced with unreasonable situations, think back on your goals and decide how to best handle the immediate problem so that it creates a kind of opportunities you need to reach your personal target. This may even mean you have to do something now that doesn’t necessarily appeal or even makes it appear that you are being taken advantage of, but you can handle it gracefully because you know that there is a bigger picture to consider.

2. Research
Another way to avoid being manipulated or misled is to do your own research into the company history, leaders and goals . The more you understand what it takes to reach the targets you have set for yourself, the better chance you have of sidestepping petty squabbles and power plays. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, study organization charts and observe interactions to get a clear idea of how the power structure really works and how you can take advantage of it.

3. Building Relationships
Forging both professional and personal bonds with the people you work with can come in very handy when power plays erupt. Chances are, coworkers that you have befriended with will let you know what is being said behind your back so that you can be prepared for confrontations. By the same token, people who you have not been able to impress should not be written off as your enemy, but should be viewed as an interesting challenge to your ability to cultivate positive relationships with all kinds of people, regardless of their opinion of you.

4. Gossip
Office gossip can often get very distorted and create situations that are not necessarily based on fact, so you should be very careful about taking any office gossip to heart, but investigate yourself to find the truth behind the rumors. By the same token, if you spread office gossip your reputation will eventually begin to tarnish because, quite frankly, no one really trust a tattletale. Do your best to keep your conversations on a professional level knowing the kind of mischief that can be stirred up by idle gossip.

5. Confrontations
In the world of office politics, confrontation usually come once the situation has become blown out of proportion, and people can get very emotional because of pent up frustrations or just because they misunderstand the issues. There’s no doubt that keeping a cool head will always be to your advantage, so use the old adage of silently counting to 10 before you reply to emotional outburst or personal slight. If at all possible, request a third party to serve as an arbitrator so that a confrontation does not just turn into an argument and instead can actually have some positive results. Inviting a third party also reduces the chance of your being misquoted after the confrontation is over.

Try these tips and see you can’t make a favorable impression on the whole office so that not only your coworkers — but hopefully your Boss — will notice.

1. Time Management
Correctly handling your time means not only that you not for punctual for appointments, but that you use your interface time — especially with the Boss — wisely by having a written agenda of items you need to discuss. Of course, be flexible and personable if the proper conditions arise, but make it clear that you have a no desire to waste anyone’s time.
Time management skills also include knowing when to offer to show up early or stay late because it will benefit the team effort, but be sure not to use this tactic for self-glorification or you run the risk of being labeled a “brown-noser.”

2. Tidiness
Helping keep not only your area, but the whole office, tidy is a subtle way to show that you have responsible attributes and respect for others. Take a moment to straighten supply cupboards, groom plants, wipe down kitchen surfaces and police common food areas.

This is not to say that you should become everyone’s maid or create the impression that you are a “clean-freak.” But you can make substantial “brownie points” by subtly maintaining a nice office atmosphere for everyone.

3. Proofreading
Checking your work thoroughly before presenting it for review is a crucial factor in maintaining a sterling reputation with your Boss and coworkers. With the advent of sophisticated word processors and spreadsheets, spelling, grammatical and mathematical errors are easy to locate and correct.

But extra care should be taken to thoroughly review documents for format errors, incomplete thoughts or incorrect facts. If possible, ask another person to proofread your work before submitting it for a final review since there are inevitably mistakes that the author does not catch.

4. Details
Many Bosses have so much to handle that they have to rely on their employees to keep up with all the day-to-day intricate details. To make an excellent impression on your Boss (and everyone else), create a work system where you can access information quickly upon request. Also devise filing and database systems that can be easily cross-referenced when those strange questions come up that require a quick answer. The habit of maintaining a daily log of duties that you perform is an excellent way to keep track of the type of details that so often get lost in the shuffle.

5. Appearance
Everyone radiates a certain “field of energy” that is determined only in part by their wardrobe and hairstyle. A big part of personal attraction revolves around the type of emotional field that others feel around you.

Therefore, cultivating the ability to respond to a variety of situations with a positive attitude creates the kind of field that people — even the Boss — will look forward to interacting with. This is not to say that your personal grooming should not be its a very best and appropriate for the situation, but even the best dressed person can set up a repulsive field when they are angry, frustrated or pompous.

The one exception was it hadn’t been possible to project it in real time – which is where Cisco came in. In 2007, Cisco unveiled its real-time ‘On-Stage TelePresence Holographic’ in front of a live audience in Bangalore. There was one person on a stage in Bangalore, then the holograms of two people were projected from California and all three men just stood there talking at length in real time. It’s quite incredible to watch - looks extremely authentic and VERY live.

2. Handheld communicators
Star Trek’s handheld communicators meant the Starfleet could talk to anyone (or anything) in the galaxy in real time. In 1973, a man stood on a New York street and made the first phone call from a handheld communicator: the mobile phone. The world hasn’t looked back since. Not only do mobile phones look and work (in some ways) like the handhelds used in Star Trek, over the years they’ve been matched in size and are even getting smaller. It’s only a matter of time before we get mobile phones so small, you can clip them to your clothing like a badge (as in Star Trek communicator badges).

Unfortunately, the smaller the mobile phone, the harder it is to find. Hands up if you’ve ever spent AGES looking for your mobile phone.

3. Video-telephony
Officer: Captain, we’re being hailed by an unusually hairy male-boobed Ferengi called Si-monster Cowell.
Captain: On screen, officer.

Skype and the like might be all the rage these days and “Skype me” might be fast becoming an everyday expression. However, films like 2001: a Space Odyssey, Star Trek and Blade Runner were rocking it waaaay before all that. For example, on the Star Trek command bridge, there was the big space-viewer display that doubled up as a two-way video-telephony screen through which all manner of creatures would often ask for help or downright antagonise. And in 2001: a Space Odyssey, Dr Floyd phones his daughter from Space Station V via video link-up.

Even before that, the short story ‘In The Year 1889’ (written by Jules Vernes’ son, Michael, but published under Jules’ name) mentions vid-com technology. In it, a man desperately missing his travelling wife communicates with her by activating “his phonotelephote, the wires of which communicate with his Paris mansion. The telephote! Here is another great triumph of modern science”. He ends up having a morning “full of blessings for the inventor, when by its aid he is able distinctly to see his wife despite her great distance.”

4. Ear-piece communication device
The delectably gorgeous Uhura used to use a metallic ear piece as a communications device, remember? She always used to press it down to her ear while looking uber-focused.
Spock had one too.
The ear pieces were wireless and hands-free (well, apart from the million times Uhura touched hers. Surprised she never got RSI).
Remind you of anything? Isn’t the concept similar to the ear pieces people now use when they’re on their mobiles? Bluetooth, anyone?

5. The Internet
In 1898, Mark Twain, inspired by the work of inventor, Jan Szczepanik, penned a sci-fi story, ‘From the London Times of 1904’. He wrote of a telectroscope that enabled people to communicate globally.

“The improved ‘limitless-distance’ telephone was presently introduced, and the daily doings of the globe made visible to everybody, and audibly discussable too, by witnesses separated by any number of leagues.”

Was he really referring to the internet??? You be the judge, but the internet (oh, the irony) abounds with theories that that’s what he was indeed referring to. Some even claim he’s the father of the internet. Others say Twain’s imaginings were of more relevance to the ARPANET, the military communication network used by the US during the Cold War.

6. Communications satellites
In 1945, Arthur C Clarke published a paper, ‘Extra Terrestrial Relays – Can Rocket Stations Give Worldwide Radio Coverage?’ in the British magazine, Wireless World. He conceptualised that global communications could become a distinct possibility if a set of satellites stayed in the same point over the earth by moving in tandem with it. Known as geosynchronous or geostationary satellites, or satellites, his concept came to fruition in 1965 when the first commercial geostationary satellite, Intelsat I Early Bird, was launched.

There are now hundreds of satellites in geostationary orbit (sometimes called the Clarke Orbit or the Clarke Belt).

Developing a comedic atmosphere at a business meeting can be a surprisingly effective way to discuss topics like leadership techniques and staff management. Improv players are pros at satire, and they can create parodies that show by the example some of the absurd situations businesses find themselves imposing on their employees — and how to rise above them.

The Riot Act creates a customised, well-crafted experiential agenda that delivers “serious professional fun to seriously successful business events.” Their strategies help loosen up and energize a crowd to set the stage for a unique meeting that is focused on your theme, but with a radically different approach. The Riot Act’s clients include Fortune 500 companies like PepsiCo, Kraft, Yahoo!, McDonalds and AT&T.

In New York City, the People’s Improv Theater offer facilities at their theater where you can bring your corporate team on an outing to swap banter with these masters of wit and humor, all in the spirit of creating a fun and informative enviroment where the lessons are learned by taking a fresh look at the same old solutions. Half day sessions develop a great sense of commaraderie and leave your team laughing all the way back to the office.

Merlin Works offers team building training events world-wide that utilise the power of improv to connect individuals in unique ways using humor as their tool. They specialise in creating “rock star” moments for your team members as they demonstrate the fun of taking risks and championing new solutions. Their improv classes can train your meeting coordinators to add fun and excitement to everyday meetings and seminars.

Some improvisational groups can also help your marketing team devise outings where they can set up anonymously to watch the improv team get consumer reactions to various situations, products and serivces. These fascinating field trips can be set up in a sidewalk cafe along a busy city street where your team can observe how these professional improvisational groups can influence total strangers to follow their suggestions and offer their opinions on the targeted subjects.

This can be a very effective exercise in understanding what motivates buyers and what repels them.