Life has taken a very interesting turn for us, and it’s been brought to our attention that we haven’t done much to share it. This doesn’t tell you anything, I know, but I promise that our next step will be a post with some news about what’s going on in our world. Lots and lots and lots has changed. We’re really in a new place (literally and figuratively), doing some surprising things that I’m still pinching myself wondering if I’m dreaming. One weekend, very soon, Andy and I will discuss things in the company of some tasty apricot wheat beer and draft the story of what’s gone down in Dark Oak’s very recent history.

Rocking Cello Quartet Wins in Battle of Bands, an article featred in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, offers great coverage of the band, with sound clips and all. Written by classical music critic, Andrew Druckenbrod.

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What is relationship marketing?

I could be here all day coming up with different ideas on the subject. Making use of visuals and writing that personally appeal to a specific demographic; using individuals, symbols, and colors that represent a segment of a certain culture; crafting messages that reach an intended audience to encourage long term, positive relationships between brands and customers. These are just a few elements that I think should go into any marketing and/or design project. Obviously, there are many others.

Andy has demonstrated some of these very components in his work with Boston-based MacTribe Magazine, where he’s doing more than just building its layout in print; he’s building relationship marketing. His involvement has been an ongoing venture for quite some time now. From his days in Cambridge, he has maintained a relationship with the owner and writers throughout his travels. For whatever reason, these pieces really stood out to me as excellent relationship marketing pieces. They speak to a young, artistic, musically oriented group, and they make use of actual people. Really, I just wanted to share this as an example of the design work Andy has done for MacTribe, and I can assure you there will be more featured once the magazine goes live. The shots I chose show some sketches he did for promoting a feature in the magazine. As I mentioned, it uses actual musicians for the piece to depict garage and indie bands who use MySpace.com as a virtual demo for their audiences, rapidly taking place of the age old “demo tape.” The article is sure to be as interesting as the design scheme. Stay tuned for more on MacTribe.

Not to brag or anything (okay, maybe just a little), but one of our clients is officially the best indie band in Pittsburgh! That’s right, Cellofourte progressed to, AND WON, the final round of competition for the Emergenza Festival “Battle of the Bands!” Tate Olsen said of the show, “[It was] quite possibly the coolest and most unforgettable show that I have ever played with Cellofourte. We had a great sounding room, a huge crowd of fans, some brand new material, and a whole lot of energy.”

Despite his bow breaking onstage, the win was all theirs for the taking. The next step of competition will take our masterful friends to Columbus, Ohio. We wish them all the best and are so happy to be able to help them share their talent with the world!

Cellofourte will be on their way to victory next weekend. Check it out!

Hosted By: Emergenza Music Festival
When: Saturday Jun 02, 2007 at 7:00 PM
Where: Mr. Small’s Theatre
400 Lincoln Ave
Millvale, PA 15209

We just went live with Cellofourte’s new site. Head on over to check it out at www.cellofourte.net to see how awesome they are - and to check out the type of work we can do for bands.

It was great to meet this talented group, and we avidly became fans within minutes of hearing their CD, Usung. Since then, we’ve seen them live, and will for sure do so again on June 2nd. Do yourself a favor, and listen to the clips on their site - it’s some amazing stuff.

Inspired by the engagement of one of Dark Oak’s favorite individuals, I’m on a new creative venture to eliminate the whole “ugh, another wedding to attend this summer” feeling that plagues singlefolk everywhere. This friend, a fellow integrated marketing communications theorist, inspired the launching of an all out marketing campaign for his wedding, themed 5.31.08, to keep the date top of mind among all invitees. I want the look and feel of this wedding to be apparent, well before the walk down the aisle, making it look so great that it will be a major anticipated event of the year. If you really think about it, marketing your wedding is a great concept. It’s the one day that you can do whatever you want, and you want everyone to know about it… ahead of time… and you want them to remember it. Taking strategic steps to assure this is brilliant, through corresponding ’save the date’ cards to invitations, email correspondence, web pages, and the wedding day attire and decor - all with a common voice. Who knows, it just might gain some positive return on investment and score some better gifts, too. It’s IMC all the way.

While browsing around as I tend to do, like, all of the time, I came across a site, brands of the world. It contains a horde of brand campaigns that, with the apparent permission of their powers that be, allow for vector graphics of logos to be downloaded for people like us to use. Low and behold, the Steelers logo is second on the home page list. Yet another “world wide wicked” (we’re allowed to say wicked, Andy lived in Boston).

Visual, technical, editorial: the trinity of web marketing. I’ve been thinking a lot about the latter of the three, so I’m going to write about writing. I stumbled upon this insight from Susannah Ross: “I argue that making Web sites is just as much an editorial job as it is a visual job: at least I would like never to be presented with a pilot site where all the important decisions about content, layout, organization, and navigation have already been taken, and then to be asked to write the copy—in effect, to fill in boxes.”

Right on, sister. While Andy’s working away at design, I’m constantly thinking, “What do we have to say? How are we going to say it? Where are we going to put it?” I’ve come up with a few tactics when writing for the Web. I’m feeling generous, so I’ll share. I start by telling a story. I go for descriptives, verbs, and a conversational style. I aim to break up the information by doing exactly what I just mentioned. This is my newest thing: I try to anticipate users’ questions - in a sense, I don’t pose the question at all, yet I answer it before someone has to even ask. A bit of function comes in to play, too, of course. I always, always, always write with search engines in mind… which brings me to — use a blog! The value of relevant, updated information is huge. Contact Dark Oak Studios for more of this stimulating informational wisdom.

P.S. Speaking of great writing — Fresh Ink (those quirky cards from Hallmark) has it down! It’s like they had us in mind when they wrote this one. It came in the form of the perfect birthday card for Andy, which I gave him over the weekend, reading something to the effect of “you’re always on the right side of the fine line between cool and dorky,” boasting a kid in a faux-Superman suit. Priceless.

Amazes me that is…

I just got a gift card from my brother-in-law and his wife. (Great folks, even without the gift card.)

It’s an Apple gift card. And you know what? It’ is designed SO well. It’s just some cardboard and a little plastic gift card and MAN is it hot. I don’t know who these people employ as industrial designers but they’re awesome. I’ve got Apple envy. Seriously I do. I work on a PC and I’ve done fine with one for years… But man oh man do I want to switch over to an Apple. I’m a sucker for good design and these people have it down.

I think what drives it all home for me is the simplicity and clarity of design. They identify the items purpose and then they design to make it simple and functional…PERIOD. It’s so…zen like. They take away all the frill and leave only what’s needed to create a straight forward, aesthetically pleasing functional piece of work. Brilliant.

Kinda like a river makes a pebble.