Another warm Summer evening and another Property Of email. I just got back from a short vacation in Saugatuck, Michigan. This was our fourth year in a row going up and I hope to keep the tradition going. Growing up in Ohio, most of what you hear about Michigan is a lie. They have an idyllic lake, cheaper weed, and much less humidity. Ohio has this. Still gutted that nobody warned us there would be a full on Northern Lights display from the Perseid meteor shower while we were sleeping.
Crows Nest Trail, Saugatuck, Michigan
Work
Back to reality over in agency land, we started running some ads for Storetester and Electric Eye to generate more leads. After speaking to other agency friends, everyone seems to be in a similar place, with uncertainties about the economy creating steeper ebbs and flows in sales. Listening to Marketplace and following the markets doesn't bring any clarity to the situation. It seems like everyone has been scared of recession since the pandemic and can't ever normalize. Relying on word of mouth referrals is probably not going to cut it, so we need to get a little creative and commit to building scaleable sales systems. I'll try and report back on the success of the ads.
Another idea we've been toying with is offering a Shopify theme design service for brands with lower budgets or tighter timelines. We often get interest in this type of work but struggled to find a way to tighten up the deliverables and still create good work. It will probably take some creative thinking and letting go of some the higher touch services we provide with EE, but I think it can be done well.
Ultimately we want to be able to provide a beautiful Shopify 2.0 theme designs with all the pages necessary to sell products, all in a matter of weeks (instead of months). There will likely be one revision round included, not much communication or support, and little to no customization. We make something awesome and you like it :) If this sounds interesting to you or someone you know, just reply to this message and maybe we can trial an offer together.
Sneak peak at the DAE site, built on a tight budget, but still avant-garde and fun
At Feel, we are poring over copy for an introductory deck that we can send out to friends and potential clients. The type of stuff you can work on forever and not be happy with the outcome. I believe it's getting close though, and at some point we'll put the pencils down and run with it. At the end of the day, nobody reads this stuff right? They just look at the pictures and logos?
Sample page from the forthcoming Feel deck.
We have a similar idea with Feel and trying to find a way to create some memorable, artistic brand identities at approachable rates. Again, it will take a bit to dial in the process, but there's a ton of energy and freedom in exploring these smaller, looser projects. Not everything has to be a huge, expensive ordeal. If you know someone with a new business that needs a simple branding package (logo, type, color, etc) or someone looking to refresh their brand just hit me up.
Have you seen us?
Book
I finished Trust by Hernan Diaz, who wrote one of my favorites In The Distance. I can't say Trust was nearly as good, but did have some enjoyable moments. My reading comprehension is admittedly low, so I went back and read some commentary on the book and listened to a podcast interview with the author to make sure I understood things. This idea jumped out at me... how American.
It’s about money fetishism. Throughout the book it’s clear that these characters aren’t interested in spending it. They’re interested in money for money’s sake.
Film
I finally watched Le Haine and it blew me away visually. Shout out to my buddies that recommend so many great films that I add to Letterboxd hoping to eventually watch. Maybe when I retire early I'll watch every single one.
Vinz, protagonist
Logo of the Month (pulled from USPTO trademark search)
