As I made my way down the journey of having our first child, my husband and I spent hours and hours discussing (debating, arguing…) over what to name the new little boy that was about to enter our world.

“too stuffy”

“too kiddy”

“too dated”

“too trendy”

the debate went on and on…

When we finally agreed on Jack – it put a smile on our faces. We knew it was going to be the right handle to take our munchkin from newborn cuteness to rockin’ old man that I’m sure he’ll be!

Back at the studio, we also have the opportunity to assist many entrepreneurs craft the perfect name and breathe life into their new business or venture.

And, just like naming our children, we take this task as no small undertaking! After all, your brand name is often the first interaction that your business has with your audience. It must peak interest, stick with them and reaffirm your brand promise (for starters)…all within a name!

Often times we have clients come to us and announce, “I haven’t done anything but, I have a name!”.

Eeek! How can you have a name without having determined your brand character, objective and promise?!? How is this random name going to be the brand spokesperson out there in the market, working hard to gain you recognition in the marketplace? (Can we say ‘square peg in a round hole?!’)

Don’t dismiss the power of a brand name too quickly before reading the following example:

On my travels, I’ve come across a business named “Almost Perfect Frozen Food”. Really? Almost perfect? Is that what you want me to feel as I drive by contemplating whether or not I should stop in? No thanks, I think I’ll pass!

And, as quickly as the car passes by, I’ve made a judgement on the brand! To be fair, I want to assume that they *must* have intended to communicate ‘as close to home cooking without cooking’. (My mind went to the food that you pop in the freezer with the hopes that you caught in before spoiling…the last ditch effort of extending its life just a wee bit longer…)

So, the big lesson here…please, don’t go about naming your business with a willy-nilly, gut feeling. Not because ‘it sounds nice’, or ‘its named after my pet’.

Do yourself a favour – be strategic and craft it to reflect the brand you want to present into the marketplace, one that will speak to your audience, stand the test of time and, leave them with an instant positive impression!

Almost perfect frozen lasagna, anyone!?

Happy September everyone!! I’m super excited to post my blog on the first day on, what I consider to be, one of the best days of the year.

For anyone who actually stuck around for the past few months, instead of basking in the beautiful summer that embraced us, you will know that the kitestring team has been hard at work – “nose to the grindstone” you might say. We’ve actually had a lot of fun working on some amazing projects this summer. Fun as they may be, it was still difficult to ignore the hot temps and cool beaches that were calling our name!

But, as I welcome in September today, I suddenly feel like the very tantalizing summer fever that I had been feeling is finally lifted – hurray!

Today brings a new energy – it’s the day to get ready to settle into the last quarter of the year. Reflect on what’s been, what we’ve checked off of our list and what’s still left to accomplish before the New Year approaches.

So, as the sandal tan fades, I invite you to join in the excitement of the season! The team here at kitestring has been doing just that. We’ve brainstormed, We’ve re-focused, we’re excited, and, believe me, the creative ideas are cookin’! The studio’s a buzz as we work on bringing our latest wacky ideas to life!

Needing a little help coming off of the summer vacation high? No worries, drop by the kitestring studio anytime. We can help you with brainstorming, focusing and re-energizing too (after all, it’s what we love to do).

-jenn

It’s no secret the each of us at kitestring truly loves coming to work each day. We continually meet new folks that present new challenges to our team. Whether it being launching a new company, product or campaign – we’re always excited to take on the challenge presented and develop the ideas to bring it to life in the most intelligent, strategic and creative way possible.

Intelligent. Strategic. Creative . Wow, big words, aren’t they? It’s hard to appreciate just how big these words appear when the team sits down to brainstorm ideas for a new project and face a blank white board.

Sometimes, it’s just not easy to come up with ideas on demand. Sometimes, it’s hard to be creative on the spot. And, sometimes, you just need to accept just that “now’s just not the time” and  be okay with walking away and trying again…and again…and again.

Our best ideas rarely surface during the first brainstorming session. It often comes from a random piece of an idea that hits one of us in the strangest of places – the shower, in the car, the waking thought that drags us out of bed to jot down a few notes.

You always know it’s going to be a good day when someone comes flying in, excited to share the thought that hit them.  That’s when magic starts to happen. Energy rises, momentum builds and soon, the ideas are endless and we end with something that’s Intelligent, Strategic and Creative.

It’s always really exciting the share a new creative concept with our client. It’s a lot of fun to infuse the idea into different pieces of collateral and see it enter the marketplace.

It’s always the point when we discuss adding our ‘latest and greatest’ to our portfolio that we sit back as a team and reminisce about the day the idea was born. It almost seems to be a shame to only be able to showcase the finished product – after all, it’s the process of developing the idea that always proves to be the most challenging and rewarding part of what we do.

If an idea is what you need, kitestring is where you’ll find it. I can’t guarantee that it’ll be served up immediately but, I can ensure you that when it’s ready it’ll be Intelligent, Strategic and Creative – and, we’ll have a lot of fun getting there!

I am a business owner. I am a mom. I am a wife. I am an individual. Balanced? I am not!

We all know that there’s a mountain of information, discussions, blog posts and magazine articles out there in the quest of finding a work/life balance. So, I thought I would throw my two cents into wishing fountain and talk about how I think it’s an impossible quest.

I’ve done my best to put some basic structure into my life to ensure that one day doesn’t blur into another. I go to the office 5 days a week. I spend quality time with my son after work. I do my best to put work aside on the weekend and spend time with my family.

Note, nowhere in the above list do I mention where I maintain our house, have a hobby, hang out with friends (or my husband for that matter) or attend business functions.

Oh, did I mention that my husband is a tradesmen and, typically works 18+ hour days in the summer?

Please, don’t get me wrong – I’m not complaining. I quite enjoy the fast paced, craziness that is my life. I chose all of the roles that I find myself juggling each day.  Of course, there are days that I wish I walked into a clean, un-cluttered house. There are days at work that I wish I was at home. There are days at home that I wish I was at work.  Life isn’t perfect. But, let’s face it – if we lived with a perfectly scheduled and balanced day, well, we’d all be pretty bored!

Disagree? Believe you’ve found the secret recipe for balance between your work and life? Let me know! Until then, I’ll continue on – content with the idea that maybe having toys scattered over the living room floor while I work on my laptop and chit-chat with my husband about his day is okay.

-jenn

What a week! Things at the kitestring studio have been cookin’ the past couple of weeks as we navigate through some really awesome projects. Unfortunately, things came to a halting stop yesterday afternoon as Chris, Brandon and I were about to leave a client meeting in Toronto. I went to start the car but…nothing! No matter how much hope and good thoughts we channelled, each time I tried to start the car, nothing happened. Great! 3:30 in the afternoon on the East side of Toronto is not exactly where I would hope to run into car troubles!

I pulled out my trusty CAA membership card and told the lovely lady of our predicament. She said that she would send someone out and that I would get a call when they were 5-10 minutes away. Within minutes of hanging up the phone, it rang again – it was my notice telling me that they were close! Well, maybe this won’t be so bad, after all!

After an attempt at boosting and a test of my battery we concluded that my battery was indeed, dead. Not to worry though, the CAA truck was equipped with a new battery that he would install on the spot to get us on our way.

Coincidentally enough, one of the projects we have been working on for the past few weeks has been with CAA for their Autogreen program. The whole program is based on helping their members make eco-smart driving choices and offset their carbon footprint (Check it out at www.caasco.com/autogreen). One of the ways to do this is by choosing their Green Power Battery – an eco-friendly battery made of recycled lead and plastic materials.

Without hesitation, I asked if our CAA hero had a Green Power Battery with him. He actually looked at me a little funny – probably wondering why I know the exact name of the battery. After a quick explanation he laughed at my excitement of getting a new ‘car battery’. He brought it over to my car and installed it within minutes. He also took my old battery and ensured me that it would be recycled properly.

Keeping with Chris’ tradition of naming everything – I decided to call my new eco-friendly battery ‘Ellie’. Within 25 minutes, we were back on the road on our way to Hamilton.

Honestly, it’s one of the first times I’ve actually used my CAA membership for more than discounted tickets to Wonderland. What a great experience it was. Something that could have been a really big inconvenience was only a minor blip in the day and, I became a greener driver in the process.

Happy Friday!

-jenn

Let me share a little story with you. It’s called ‘When Chris met Jenn’.

You see, Chris and I weren’t always the yin and yang that we are now. In fact, the first time I ever met Chris, we were in a very different scenario…

Enter: Chris & Jenn

Chris was the lead designer at the agency presenting a campaign concept being developed for the company I was working for.

That’s right, I was the ‘client’!

I remember the concept being great – well thought out, met the objective and was beautifully designed. However, instead of this compliment being the first thing out of my mouth, I opted for “Hmmm, you can’t use our logo there. Haven’t you read the brand guidelines”. Chris put a twisted smile on his face , nodded and marked it as a revision to be completed. This is a day that he will never let me live down.

Fast forward 6 years and here we are, steering the ship of our own agency.

At kitestring, we have the opportunity to develop some amazing brands for our clients. We also have the honour of working with some very well established brands each and every day.

In both cases, we understand and value the power that a properly developed and executed brand can play in the success of a business.

Enter: Brand Guidelines.

There’s no doubt that Brand Guidelines are an integral piece of the brand – they help in ensuring that the carefully crafted brand is used properly and consistently when put to the test of ‘the real world’.  It provides both internal stakeholders with an understanding of the brand as well as a tool to effectively communicate with designers, writers, photographers, etc., etc., etc.

The question I’ve been left to ponder for the last few weeks is – how much is ‘too much’ when it comes to brand guidelines? Can there be too much? Can there be too little?

Enter: Reality.

Unfortunately, sometimes reality doesn’t live nice and neatly within a beautifully bound brand book. It’s important to remember that your brand guidelines are just that – guidelines. They’re job is to provide guidance to the creative team and ensure consistency in brand application at all times.

Guidelines should provide enough information and structure to adequately support the brand without enforcing so many rules that it chokes the creative potential.

Remember, your brand is an organic, evolving creature that must fit into an ever changing horizon of advertising and marketing outlets. Take care in ensuring that your brand guidelines are flexible enough to allow you to adapt to this morphing landscape without losing the core essence of the brand.

No doubt, It’s a tricky balance to strike…and so to close… “Jenn’s Guidelines Regarding Guidelines”:

If your brand fits nice and neatly on the back of a cocktail napkin you most likely aren’t providing the structure and support it requires to be used consistently. On the other hand, if your guidelines carry the weight and rigidity of an anvil, chances are there’s too many restraints placed on the brand to grow with your business over time.

Develop and utilize brand guidelines that provide the foundation, are realistic and are flexible enough as not to stifle your brand from reaching its full potential.

- jenn

Chris and I had the pleasure of meeting with a potential client this morning. During our conversation, the idea of ‘building your business success on your own terms’ came up. I actually jotted this line into my notebook as it really stuck with me – what an important concept!

Often new entrepreneurs are faced with the necessity of taking on any work that comes their way in order to build the business – it may be outside of your area of specialty  and it may be for clients that frankly, aren’t fitting into the landscape of what you envisioned. You can’t turn it down, right? YOU NEED THE BUSINESS!

It’s easy to understand this logic and quite honestly, it is most likely necessary. It provides you with work, a track-record and most importantly, capital to keep building your dream. The important thing to remember as you’ smile and service’ your way through these projects is that all of these ‘experiences’ help you define and build your business – and your brand.

Continue to build a strong brand that clearly articulates what your business is and the experience that you promise to your clients. Most importantly, infuse all of this into the marketplace! Ensure that your unique brand is being consistently used in all of your marketing materials (both in print and online) as well as your social networking efforts, face-to-face interactions, your physical environment, the style in which you answer the phone, your business card…I could go on and on.

By doing this, you’ll have your first filter in qualifying clients. The right clients will be naturally attracted to you. Your cultures will align, the work will excite you and TA-DA – you’ll start to build ‘success on your own terms’.

It’s a lovely place to be – you should try it!

- jenn

It’s 2:30 and I just sat down from putting my little dude down for a nap.

As you may have guessed, I’m at home today.  A nasty ear infection has thrown our daily routine into a bit of a whirlwind.

As I was upstairs rocking Jack to sleep, I got to thinking about how wonderful it is that I can stay at home with him and spend the day snuggling him back to health. I have no worries that projects are falling behind or that clients are left stranded. The team at kitestring doesn’t miss a beat when a hiccup is thrown into the team mix. Having this kind of team behind me lets me to ‘be in the moment’ when life happens and I need to wear my mom cape for the day.

I came to realize pretty quickly in my mompreneur career that working from home was not for me. It was too tempting to throw on a load of laundry in between emails and perhaps a batch of muffins if I was lucky. Turns out, I’m much more productive and happy when I have focused time for both work and home.

Having said that, I knew that to accomplish this structured work and home life, I also need a strong support on the childcare team as well.  Having this allows me to ‘be in the moment’ when I’m at the kitestring office. I never worry about Jack or feel guilty that I’m not at home with him.

Figuring out this work / mom formula has taken me some time but in the end, I know it makes me the best mom and business owner that I can be.

Okay, Blog post done! Maybe I still have time to vacuum before Jack wakes up…

-jenn

Jack received a really awesome ‘early’ Christmas present last night. We came home to a special package waiting for him wrapped up in pretty red paper. I made him wait until after dinner to open it (mostly because I knew it would be a great ‘negotiating’ card to ensure he ate his dinner!)

When he ripped away the paper, he found the cutest present ever – The Elf on the Shelf.

I had never heard of this neat idea before. We opened the special box to reveal a storybook and little elf perched on a shelf within the box. As we read the story, it revealed that this was actually a special little tradition to start with our family. Our first job was to give our special elf a name. It took a while but, in the end, ‘Doc’ was the winning selection.

The story revealed how Doc was one of Santa’s special helpers here to check in on Jack throughout the holiday season. He is to report to Santa each night while Jack’s asleep. When Doc returns from the North Pole each day, he finds a new spot in our house to sit and observe the naughty and nice behaviour (I’m really hoping for more nice than naughty . It’s then Jack’s challenge to find ‘Doc’ in his new location each day.

I actually went online this morning to check if they had a site – and what a site I found! A fully animated site that lets you check in on the North Pole, register your elf’s name in the registry and more.

What a great gift and tradition that was started for our family! I would definitely check it out. I wish I would have known about it earlier as I definitely would have been purchasing this set for some of the little guys on our list this year.

Check it out for yourself! http://www.elfontheshelf.com/#/home

At kitestring, we often blog about how important building a strong brand is. And, if you’ve been reading our blog posts throughout the year, you also know that a strong brand is not just about the logo or name. Rather, its about the promise and experiences that provide to your customers.

Last week, in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I heard a radio commercial promoting ‘TD Holiday Comfort Zone’. It’s a special area that they’ve created in the Upper Canada Mall for any and all TD Canada Trust Card Members. They describe this special ‘zone’ as a place to unwind after the long shopping hours – enjoy free coat check, complimentary hot chocolate, lounge seating (I bet it’s those big comfy green leather chairs…) and even complimentary gift wrapping.

This is my dream! Spending hours in the crazy mall is one of the most stressful elements of the holidays for me. The idea of having a sanctuary in the middle of craziness makes the whole experience feel a little less daunting. Unfortunately, I don’t live very close to Upper Canada Mall but, if I did, I would be there -checkin’ my coat and sipping on hot chocolate!

As I said before, building a brand is all about the experience and feelings you leave your customers with. Kudos to TD Canada Trust for thinking outside of the bankers box and offering their clients a wonderful service and experience this holiday season.