You can’t fit a square peg in a round hole, as the adage goes.

So, when it came to giving Mr. John of Pittsburgh a new look, SG&D followed suit, turning the company’s dated, square logo into a more modern oval with a retro feel, maintaining the integrity of Mr. John’s easily recognizable colors.

The new logo became the point around which new stationery items were designed, as well as a new 100+ page website, which launched on February 10, 2009.

To read the rest of the Mr. John case study, click here.

We got into an interesting discussion recently in my class on Decision Making, as part of my master’s program.

The topic? How getting out of a recession is generally counterintuitive.

Here’s the logic. When times get financially tough, we naturally want to save money. We want to cut back on the unnecessary items in our lives and hold on to all that extra cash for potential cash flow issues later on.

But, how do we pull ourselves out of a recession? By doing the exact opposite … spending money.

So it’s almost like we’re saying that we understand that we need to spend money to improve the economy … but someone else can do it, not us.

The same thing comes in marketing. When times get tough, we immediately want (or need) to make cuts from within. And usually the first thing to go or get downsized is the marketing department or marketing efforts.

But think about that for a second.

In an editorial column published this week in The Business Press, PR and marketing expert Paul Napolitano says that’s exactly what businesses should not be doing.

“The mission during difficult times is to do whatever it takes to find the money to promote your business more aggressively,” he writes.

“The day you stop selling the unique capabilities of your company to as many prospects as you can is the day you should close up shop and save the business from continued losses.”

(To read Napolitano’s column in its entirety, which I highly recommend, click here.)

While understanding that things are financially strapped, Napolitano makes recommendations including updating the content on your company’s website or sending out direct mail pieces or “old-fashioned letters” to prospective customers or clients. The marketing doesn’t have to be expensive or expansive.

It just has to be something. And maybe that’s not so counterintuitive after all.

~ Carla