Reaching the Seemingly Unreachable

This week at J.Schmid, we’re working on an important fax blast for one of our clients. You read that right. A fax blast. Single page. 8.5 x 11. All black type to avoid pricey color printouts on the customers’ end. Promoting a big discount on one of their best-selling items to a group of non-responders. […]

Six New Year’s Resolutions – Go Big!

New Year’s resolutions? Okay, let’s look at mine for a second: only drink wine on the weekend, cut-back on refined sugar, hit the gym. It’s likely they’ll turn out to be: hit the wine and cut back on the gym…but it’s good to have a plan. Whatever our resolutions might be it’s a positive step […]

Hijackers, Simplicity and Your Website

Consumer demand drives innovation, right? Demand for better health, more pleasure, access to information, transportation, etc. And, the success of any innovative idea has one thing in common, EASE. If a new idea isn’t easy to engage, it typically fails. Ease and simplicity are at the core of what we consider improvements to everyday life. […]

REFRESH YOUR DESIGN WITH H2O

Are you thirsty for better creative? You don’t necessarily need to dump everything and go back to the well for a complete redesign. Sometimes all you need is a refreshing splash of H2O . Water? No, not that kind H2O . This kind of H2O … Hierarchy.Hygiene.Organization. How can these three elements invigorate your design? […]

Catalog Critique For Dummies (actually, just anyone that isn’t a Creative Director)

Critiquing a catalog can be overwhelming. Maybe you’re so close to your brand that it’s hard to maintain objectivity. Maybe your focus is merchandise, so product presentation is most important to you. Maybe you’re not a Creative Director, so reviewing work is intimidating. (We can’t all be Creative Directors.) (I’m not a Creative Director.) There […]

CH-CH-CH-CH-CHANGES

So…your metrics aren’t what you expected to see. It could be a sales slump (hmmm…) or perhaps an unexplained uptick – a thrilling problem to have, but you’d still like to know exactly WHAT is happening so you can keep the momentum going. Any given business model has a nearly endless number of variables that […]

5 ways to push back on Amazon

What’s not to like about Amazon, right? The reasons are obvious; Amazon is easy, fast and well-priced. I’m a customer. I’m not a recreational shopper, so finding and purchasing an item quickly is often what I’m looking for. Clearly positioning anything as fast and easy is a winning strategy. We’ve all fallen for microwave popcorn […]