The Design League Blog By Paul Lucido

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T12:46:00.000-08:00

From all of us to all of you... Happy Thanksgiving!

The Design League Celebrates - 3 Year Anniversary!

2011-11-18T01:14:00.000-08:00

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The good news is, it has been three years now. The bad news is,,, it has been three years now.

Seriously though, it is true what they say, let's see how you fair in the first three to five, then tell me how your business is doing. Well, were still here and although it hasn't been a hay ride, it has been quite an interesting journey. We have licked our wounds, honed our skills, sharpened our swords and have grown a little wiser to say the least.

Historical Verbal Building

As a recap, we opened our doors back in November 2008, right here in the Village of Claremont, in a small 375 square foot office space within the old Historical Verbal Building. Considering the fact that we started this company during perhaps what is still considered to be the toughest of economic times since the great depression, we have actually been fortunate enough to have developed a few good solid business relationships along the way. Many of the businesses we've worked with are very diverse which not only makes our jobs interesting, but educational as well.

Currently, we are re-thinking our own business model and looking at better ways to increase efficiency when it comes to project management. Other areas will be upgrading our computers; networking with freelancers; and revamping our website; all in an effort to better support our customers and help drive more business.

Keep your eye on us going into 2012.

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How to Contact Us!

2011-10-18T01:35:00.000-07:00

We can be reached at the following:

Paul Lucido Sr.

paul.lucido@thedesignleague.com
tel: 909-525-6252

Paul Lucido II

paul.lucidoii@thedesignleague.com
tel: 909-997-7417

Today's Economy and How it Affects Us

2010-09-30T01:57:00.000-07:00

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The Design League continues to gain momentum going into nearly two years of business. Over the last year and a half we have been working with a diverse client base. Most recently we have been focusing in on areas such as health care, insurance, payroll and data processing services.

While a large part of what we do is brand development and corporate image, we are pushing to become more involved in business development. We aim to have a well rounded understanding our clients business model, which is important in order for us to really provide creative solutions in the way of marketing and multimedia.

That said, the biggest challenges we face in today's economy is most of our customers are somewhat limited on their spending budgets for marketing and advertising. They tend to do things in part rather than put together a comprehensive marketing plan and budget for the year. At best, most of our contracts are 90 days or less. Our goal is to form long term relationships with our customers whereby we can be retained on a monthly or even quarterly basis to provide on-tap ancillary marketing and creative services in helping them establish brand and product awareness as they look to expand their footprint.

Also, don't forget to visit us on Visit us on Facebook . LinkedIn . Twitter

More to follow...

Welcome Jack Williams!

2010-04-01T16:40:00.000-07:00

The Design League, Inc. Welcomes Jack Williams!

Jack Williams will be heading up business development for The Design League, Inc. Jack brings with him a diverse background of more than 20 years in the mortgage/real estate industry, and is licensed with the Department of Real Estate. In addition, Jack has a distinguished track record including his military service in the US Air Force, law enforcement experience and involvement with several industry trade associations and non-profit organizations. Jack is a former State President of the California Association of Mortgage Brokers. He will be very instrumental in helping a diverse range of clients who are looking to develop or expand their business model.

You can email Jack Williams at jack.thedesignleague@earthlink.net

We are very excited to have Jack as part of our team!

Linkedin

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-18T14:48:00.000-08:00

We just want to wish all of you out there a Happy Holiday Season. While you are here please take a look through our blog to see some of the most recent ad campaigns we have been working on including BRAND X.

As we continue building relationships with our clients we will be posting some of the projects and progress here online for you to see. So be sure to stay tuned.

Also, don't forget to visit us on Visit us on Facebook . LinkedIn . Twitter

Happy Holidays!

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Brand X Sweeping the Nation!

2009-12-02T14:49:00.000-08:00

Brand X Series of Ads!

The Modern Man
Chooses Brand X?
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Have You Heard the News
About Brand X?
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The Future is Now!

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Mom Always Trusts
BrandX!
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Remember the old television commercials always comparing their product to the mysterious BRAND X?

If you're of the baby boomer generation, I am sure you will remember the old advertising campaigns spotlighting a particular product as compared to the otherwise less popular Brand X. Or, if you ever watch TV Land or the Boomerang network, you just might get a glimpse of what I am referring to in an old commercial or cartoon.

Brand X was always positioned as the mysterious product in a plain brown wrapper; never publicly revealed, yet ironically was always compared to the otherwise well known trusted brand.

So who is Brand X? Perhaps Brand X is your company?

At The Design League we took a close look at this concept and at the idea of leveraging Brand X in way that speaks to any company looking to become the well known trusted brand. In other words, any company that has not yet reached the aspired level of recognition; brand awareness; or trust and promise by its prospective audience might be considered as a Brand X company.

In our own recent email marketing campaign(s) Brand X is used as a placeholder that would be replaced by any company looking to become the “well trusted brand."

Therefore, our advertising philosophy… Convert Brand X into Brand Trust!

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Stay Tuned for More Brand X

The Design League Celebrates its 1-Year Anniversary!

2009-11-11T22:41:00.000-08:00

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Wow! Hard to believe we actually made it through our first year of business here in downtown Claremont, CA.

We opened our doors November 1st, 2008 right here in the Village of Claremont, in a small office space within the old Historical Verbal Building. Considering the fact that we started this company during perhaps what is considered to be the toughest of economic times, we have actually been fortunate enough to have developed a few good solid business relationships along the way. Many of these businesses we work with are very diverse which not only makes our jobs interesting, but educational as well.

Right now the Design League provides a wide range of services including marketing; branding; advertising; social networking; web design and B2B platforms for a variety of companies serving in the following industries:

Health Care

Aviation

Political
Media

Chamber of Commerce

Debt Consolidation Services

Financial Services

Mortgage Services

Real Estate Services

Retail Outlets

Alternative Energy

Construction

Food and Beverage

Hopefully, we will continue to grow throughout 2010, as we remain in the trenches building our business. Needless to say, we are grateful to all of our clients who have put their trust in us!

Stay tuned:

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Social Networking!

2009-09-15T16:56:00.000-07:00

Social Networking

Getting involved with the whole social networking scene. Is it good for business?

Well the answer is right above... see our most recent ad!

Yes, I thought it was high-time that I put behind me my own self indulging notions and prejudices and get on board with all this social networking activity and start practicing what we preach... building brand and leveraging relationships!

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Beyond the realm of mindless chit-chat.

Up until recently, I was very cynical about the whole social networking scene. As a parent with a “text savvy” teenage daughter who wields a Blackberry like a light saber, I dismissed social networking as just another fun fad for many young folks to have a virtual playground to share their casual quips about everyday mundane tasks like where they went today; who they visited; what their best friend’s sister’s boyfriend said; or what they just ate 5 minutes ago. Twitter this and My Space that….Perhaps I am being a little harsh?

Yes, while I had been skeptical about the social networking scene, I have now begun to notice an ever growing influx of business professionals taking interest in the Web 2.0 stratosphere beyond the realm of mindless chit-chat. In fact, many of them fully embracing the idea of social networking; how it can leverage relationships with other business professionals and how it can tie into their business model…. perhaps there’s more to this than I thought?

Advantages of Social Networking

Okay, here’s what we are learning….Social networking presents a number of advantages for the business professional abroad. For one, it allows you to create a profile for your business with a consistent message that can be deployed on several platforms. Moreover, social networking sites have proven themselves as practical and cost effective forms of advertising. …uhhmmm…Free??

Social networking is organic and ever-changing. It allows your business to evolve and reposition itself via general updates, occasional blogs and posts. Be as expansive as you like; speak candidly and open the door for others to communicate back.

Social networking allows businesses to connect with both customers and other associated business professionals. By linking to other businesses in the same or related fields, small businesses too can have the same opportunity to form mutually beneficial alliances and cross promote their services. It becomes viral!

Example, several small businesses from the same neighborhood can create an association by linking social networking profiles. Residents of that neighborhood can also link their personal profiles, giving the businesses access to a pool of customers and resources.

Open 24-7

We’re here all night! Remember, the internet is open 24-7 round the clock and therefore, so are you! One of the biggest advantages of social networking is it is working for you all hours of the day cross communicating your message to an ever-growing database of users and business professionals around the globe.

Social networking sites allow you to promote your business by building a network of loyal clientele; followers; fans; and other associates. Additionally, your profile allows you to keep your customers and followers apprised of ongoing projects; new developments, special events and other useful information. Similarly, being included in multiple friend’s lists and online forums and chats gives you added credibility and serves as an endorsement.

Perhaps the obvious advantage is the unlimited reach potential that social networking offers. There are many social networking platforms out there and growing. Some of the numbers are staggering. Example: (note: these statistics are subject to change)

LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/ which saw record traffic in September 2008 with 11.9M unique visitors, up more than 10% from August (10.8M) and a gain of 193% since last year. This is terrific B2B platform for the business minded professional. Linkedin offers many applications to the business professional in helping them create buzz and tie directly into other like minded professionals. There is still much to learn about Linkedin and all its advantages. We’re working

on it.

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ still in the top spot with approx 300 million active users of which 50% of those users logging onto Facebook in any given day; and has reported the fastest growing demographic for those 35 years old and older. So there you go, not all just youngsters; again, opening the door for the business minded professional.

Zoom Info http://www.zoominfo.com/ while not necessarily a social networking site is one of the most sophisticated automatic content generation systems in the world. This subscription service provides access to a database of over 48 million people and over 5 million companies. Customers typically search Zoom Info using a diverse range of criteria, such as job title, education, employment history, company name, location and company description. It is a great resume-platform whereby you can look up individuals and their companies. Zoom continuously searches the web and finds related articles; topics; press releases; stories; and general information related to you and your business that helps add credibility.

Here at the Design League we concur that there is without doubt a tremendous advantage to social networking for the business minded professional. We are currently working on ways to combine these social networking sites and platforms into a format that can not only tie neatly into our own brand strategy, but that of our customers.

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Stay tuned.

Design League Email Campaigns!

2009-09-09T10:41:00.000-07:00

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Above are just a few samples of the Email Campaigns we have run. If you would like to be added to our distribution send us your email at: info@thedesignleague.com Or if you would like to know more about Email Marketing and Campaigns then CALL US TODAY! (909) 525-6252 or (909) 997-7417

2009-09-04T13:36:00.000-07:00

Let’s Grow Together!
By Paul Lucido

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The Facts:

It is clear that the result of the economic down-turn over the last 24 months has affected many businesses both large and small across the country. Statistics indicated that 881 U.S. auto dealers closed in 2008, with Detroit’s struggling automakers representing about 80 percent of the market decline. In February, employers took 2,769 mass layoff actions involving nearly 290,000 + workers. Unemployment rose from 7.6 percent to 8.1 percent nationally. Retailers such as KB Toys; Linens and Things; Circuit City; and Mervyns have unfortunately have been forced to shut their doors. Blockbuster; Albertsons; Williams-Sonoma are now part of that list.

Heck, just in the mortgage industry alone which is near and dear to me, 359 major U.S. lending operations have "imploded"; Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corporation most recently. http://ml-implode.com/

Like many of us they just did not see it coming or were clearly in denial. Perhaps a good majority of them not really paying close attention to trends or having the foresight to see what lies around the bend. Let’s face it, it is much easier to turn a blind eye in a thriving economy where many businesses survived by simply wearing their catchers mitt and didn’t have to prospect for customers. I think we have a good idea of what industries tend to fall into that category. It is a little easer to be frivolous as our checking account balances remained north of healthy.

That being said, do we simply put our do not disturb signs in the window; curl up in the fetal position or pack it up and go on permanent vacation? Absolutely Not!

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The Optimists Point of View:

Surprisingly enough, there remains an optimistic point of view in that many business people do in fact think that the current economic crisis will eventually pass and their business will survive and ultimately do well in the near future. This is a good perspective as many entrepreneurs emerge in the time of economic crisis.

Opportunity presents itself in the most trying of times. Today’s economic climate is a breeding ground and platform for new-start up companies and the birthing of creative ideas. This is a vital time to get in the trenches and begin your journey to reaching out to your customers and letting them know you exist and are here to stay. There is much more opportunity for those businesses that choose to stay and are willing to take a look at their business model; reevaluate; be creative; and find new ways to prospect for business opportunities. This ultimately cements you in for the long haul in the way of relationships; referrals and sales.

So if you’re thinking about pulling back or pulling out… Perhaps you should grab your fishing poles; waders; bows and arrows and hunt for prospects. Now more than ever, it is high time to step up your game! Get creative; start social networking; leverage your relationships; bunk up with companies that can help you grow!

Stay tuned...

First Post!

2009-09-03T17:38:00.000-07:00

Hi my name is Paul Lucido,

This is the first post on my new blog platform for me to keep those of you that are interested apprised of what we are doing over here at The Design League.

The Design League is a recently established Southern California based full-service marketing and multimedia agency. Our Corporate Creative approach will help you define, develop, and deploy marketing campaigns and strategies to deliver brand trust and promise with optimal results.

Our goal going into 2010 will be to position ourselves as a trusted resource in providing creative input and expertise on marketing, advertising, and social networking; and how we apply that to a diverse spectrum of business models.

Moreover, I would simply like to be able to provide my own personal insights on the current marketplace, industry trends and perhaps just listen to myself ramble on from time to time. Either way, the goal is to find creative ways on how we can grow our businesses together.

Stay tuned for more to come!

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