.com Turns 25
Posted by admin in Web Design on March 4th, 2010
Marion would like to wish a very “Happy Birthday” to .com who turns 25 on March 15th. That’s right, it’s been 25 years since the conception of .com.
VeriSign, the global registry operator for .com and .net, released an industry brief discussing the performance of .com and other Top Level Domain Names (TDLs).
In the past 25 years the Internet has transformed lives around the globe. It has radically altered our world-view by providing access to people, places, information and things that at one time were unattainable and unknowable. It has made us all virtual explorers not only on our own journey but also, collectively, as part of others’. It has narrowed the definition of neighbor to mean not simply someone who lives next door but rather a person in London, Moscow, or Beijing with whom one shares a common experience, shared interest, or personal struggle. In doing all these things, the Internet has opened our minds to a world of endless possibilities, created new found opportunity, and inspired action like nothing else before it.
In our of .com’s birthday, we thought that we would post some fun and interesting facts about .com and other TDLs:
- The first .com was assigned to symbolics.com on March 15, 1985
- At first, .cor was proposed as the domain name for corporation, but when the final version came out, it switched to .com
- 2 ½ years after the first registration, only 100 total .com domain name registrations existed
- By 1992, there were still less that 15,000 .com domain names registered
- 88% of .com and .net domain names resolve to a website, meaning that an end-user visiting that domain name would find a website
- At the close of 2009, there were more than 192 million domain name registrations, an increase of nearly 15 million since the close of 2008
- While .com continues to have the highest number of total registrations, .cn (China), .de (Germany), .net and .uk (United Kingdom) follow
- While .com actually ended the fourth quarter of 2009 with a 1% decline, previously it had seen growth as high as 467% year over year
- The fourth quarter of 2009, VeriSign saw 52 million Domain Name System (DNS) queries per day, with peaks as high as 61 million per day
- Marion received their domain June 16, 1995; Google.com received their domain name in 1997; Linkedin.com received their domain name in 2002; Flickr.com received their domain name in 2003; Youtube.com received their domain name in 2005
When interviewed, Jack Haverty, one of the Internet pioneers at MIT, speaks about his amazement about the creation of the Internet:
“I don’t recall anybody ever thinking we were creating an organizational structure to encompass hundreds of millions of entities covering the entire planet in support of all human activities. And it certainly wasn’t supposed to last for 30+ years, even as an experiment. It just happened to turn out that way.”
For your own .com and custom web design, contact The Marion Group at 713.623.6444 or email us at info2@marion.com.
See the entire VeriSign Domain Name Industry Brief.
Marion Designs 2009 Year-End Review for DISA, Inc.
Posted by admin in Annual Report, Brand Building, Brand Positioning, graphic design on February 25th, 2010
The Marion Group had the honor of providing our graphic design services for DISA, Inc.’s 2009 Year-End Review.
DISA is a leading provider of innovative employee screening solutions and third-party administration services. So, when creating this year-end review, Marion needed to be able to take technical information and graphically represent it in a creative and attractive way.
For the cover, Marion used a textured black paper called Classic Columns XL and applied a silver foil that was stamped and embossed with their logo. The contrast of the silver on the black, combined with the texture of the paper, creates a striking juxtaposition for the reader, even before they open the year-end review.
On the inside of the year-end review, Marion used a 100# gloss paper with dull text and applied a spot ultra varnish on various images and throughout the inside of the review. Like the cover, the contrast of the dull paper with the spot UV coating created a nice distinction that is visually stimulating.
Visit Marion’s graphic design portfolio to view more of our work.
This is the second year-end review that The Marion Group has created for DISA, Inc.
About DISA, Inc.
DISA has been providing full-service employee screening solutions for over 20 years. DISA offers a comprehensive line of employee screening services that are designed through experience and innovation, delivered with today’s most advanced technologies and with workplace safety in mind, including drug and alcohol testing, background screening, occupational health screening and online safety and substance abuse training.
For more information of how The Marion Group can provide your company with creative and interesting graphic design that showcases your corporate identity and brand position, call us at 713.623.6444 or email us at info2@marion.com.
Microsoft & Yahoo! Get In the Paid Ad Bed Together!
Posted by admin in Internet marketing on February 19th, 2010
One Account Can Now Manage Paid Ads on Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Properties and Partner Sites
By end of the year or in early 2011, Yahoo! and Microsoft will share the same bed to create the Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance. The new YMSA will enable a new, unified search marketplace combining the Yahoo! and Microsoft paid ad networks. Now, Marion Internet Marketing Specialists can purchase ads for our customers through one account covering both search networks.
We can log into one place – the Microsoft’s adCenter – to manage campaigns with greater efficiency and a better ROI. With just one buy, the ads we place for our customers can reach users of Yahoo! and Microsoft sites (MSN.com and Bing.com), as well as their premium partner sites. The combined effort of the two companies will help us reach more customers for our clients with greater ease and efficiency.
With just one account for the two networks, we will be able to reach up to 150 million searchers and get approximately 62% more search volume than on Yahoo! alone.
To help drive future growth in search volume, Yahoo! will continue to significantly enhance the search experience on their leading web properties. They will deliver new features and innovations in the form of new content and web products used by hundreds of millions of consumers.
Microsoft will continue to innovate the underlying technologies that drive high quality algorithmic and paid search results.
With this alliance, the combined Yahoo! and MSN share of searches comes to about 23.75%, leaving Google still very much the King of Search with a 72.25% share according to the latest info from Hitwise.
If you are interested in Internet Marketing Services at Marion that include paid ads not only on Yahoo! and Microsoft sties, but also on King Google, call us at 713.623.6444 or send us an info2@marion.com.
The Art of Brochure Design
Posted by admin in Brochure Design on February 12th, 2010
The Wright Asphalt brochure project was a fun challenge for us, since it dealt with an industry we had not previously worked with. The design utilized images of asphalt in various ways to bring out the essence of the product and highlighted the beauty of the open road. The completed piece was a 9” x 12”, 4-page plus cover brochure.
Corporate brochures are important as sales tools and positioning pieces. However, if the brochure is not strategically planned out and professionally designed, your new brochure may end up in your potential customer’s trash can.
Consider the following points, when you decide to redesign an existing brochure or create a new one.
- Does your brochure communicate the message intended and stand up against the competition?
- Does your brochure connect emotionally with your prospective customers?
- Is your design professional?
- Does the design use high quality imagery?
- Does your brochure connect personally with your target audience?
- Is your brochure easy to read and follow?
- Is the brochure in language the customer will understand and relate to?
- Are the benefits of the product or service listed up front?
- Does the brochure convey a strong message?
- Is the customer asked to complete a specific action such as calling the office or visiting the website?
When it’s time to produce a new brochure, it should be for a definite purpose and the appropriate investment should be made. Cutting corners may end up with an unimpressive piece.
Check Marion’s latest brochure creations.
Learn more about Marion’s brochure design processes at www.marion.com.
Points pulled from Darrell Zahorsky’s Design Trash TestWhat’s the difference: Web vs. Internet
Posted by admin in Internet marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Uncategorized, Web Design on February 3rd, 2010
Ever used the terms “Web” and “Internet” interchangeably? Like “Surf the Web” or “Browse the internet”? Most of us have. But the truth is that the Web and Internet are different.
The Internet is a huge network of networks- it connects computers together, so that they can communicate and trade information. If a computer is connected to the Internet, it can exchange information with any other computers that are also connected.
The Web (aka World Wide Web) is just one way of accessing the Internet. The Web is an information-sharing application that is built on top of the Internet. The Web cannot work unless the Internet is connected. Simply put, the Web runs on top of the Internet the way a train runs on tracks.
When you are shopping on Amazon or watching videos on YouTube, you are using the Web. However, when you send an email, you are using the Internet, not the Web. The Web is by far the largest and most widely used subnetwork of the internet.
Here, at Marion, we provide a wide range of Internet and Web marketing services. For the Web, we can increase traffic to your page through our Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing. For the Internet, Marion can create and broadcast e-newsletters, so that you can stay in constant contact with your customers. Check out our full range of online marketing services or contact us today at (713)-623-6444.
Google Still King of Search in December 2009
Posted by admin in Internet marketing, Search Engine Optimization on February 1st, 2010
Experian Hitwise announced that Google accounted for an amazing 72.25% of all U.S. searches conducted in the four weeks ending Jan. 2, 2010. Trailing far behind, Yahoo! Search, Bing and Ask.com received a mere 14.83%, 8.92% and 2.54% respectively. Trailing even further behind, the remaining 66 search engines in the Hitwise Search Engine Analysis Tool accounted for 1.48% of U.S. searches.
Searches of one word comprised the majority of searches, amounting to 24.34% of all queries.
View the rest of article.
At The Marion Group, our customers rank consistently high on searches on Google. Let us do the same for you. Call us at 713.623.6444 or email us info2@marion.com.
Find Your Brand Identity, Don’t Let It Find You
Posted by admin in Brand Building, Brand Positioning, Brochure Design, Logo Design on January 27th, 2010
At the root of your corporate image and corporate identity is your logo, your single symbol to the world of what your company stands for. It is the foundation and the icon for your company. When your customers see your logo, they are reminded of all their experiences with your company; what they have seen, read, heard and felt about your company. It is critical then that your logo reflects the nature and spirit of your company in a positive way, and if you don’t clearly identify who your company is, you might get an identity that you don’t necessarily want.
Recently, The Marion Group designed a campaign for Venture Cotton Cooperative. We began with their logo design. In order to determine their corporate identity, we first looked at their business plan. We needed to find out who their target audience was – who they were speaking to – and what they wanted to portray as a company. What did they want their customers to know about them? Where did they want to go, as a company, in the future? These were things that needed to be identified before the “digital paintbrush” touched the canvas.
Finding Who Your Target Audience Is
We determined that their target audience was the independent cotton farmer. Contrary to the stereotype that the cotton farmer is simple and uneducated about concepts of “finance” and “world markets” and “cooperatives,” they are, in fact, hard workers and very intelligent, especially regarding the interests of their business and the world markets for their industry. They have to be. This business is their livelihood!
We also looked at their competitors. In this case, pretty much all of their competitors, for the most part, had the same look, used the same colors and had a generic feel almost as if no thought was put into it. It seemed that they were targeting the stereotyped farmer.
Implementing Your New Brand Identity
So, for Venture Cotton Cooperative, we introduced new colors, styles and concepts for their logo design. We supplied them with various options to choose from that were unique and different and expressed what their company was about.
Once they chose the logo, we then added to their brand identity with their brochure design and trade show display. In this way, their brand identity and message is consistently showcased throughout their marketing materials.
So, how can my brand identity be showcased? View our Graphic Design Portfolio.
For more information on how The Marion Group can help your company find and develop its brand identity, give us a call at 713.623.6444 or email us at info2@marion.com.
Marion Goes Mobile
Posted by admin in Mobile Marketing, Web Design on January 20th, 2010
Mobile web design has come to The Marion Group. We have just launched our new mobile-friendly version of www.marion.com for most mobile devices. Just enter “marion.com” into your mobile web browser to access our mobile site.
When designing a website for mobile devices, you have to consider the user experience. With a regular site, you can have lots of text, images, links and Flash. When people surf the web via a mobile device, they typically want to quickly access information that is to-the-point and contact information that is easily located. So, accessing “regular” sites on a mobile device can sometimes be frustrating for the user because of long load times and lots and lots of scrolling to find what they are looking for.
To facilitate an easier user experience, the Marion mobile site is pared down to essential text and images to emphasize what new advertising, marketing and graphic design services and technologies are at Marion that can help your business prosper. The text is easy to read so you do not have to enlarge it, and the clickable buttons are spaced so that big fingers can click on links without accidently hitting the wrong one.
At the top of each page is a recent item of news from Marion, an easy navigation tool labeled “Select a Service,” and “Marion News,” which is an RSS feed from our blog. There is a lot happening at Marion, and we want to keep you up-to-date. We have included only our most popular pages and, we plan to add more over time.
At the bottom of each page, we have placed our contact information, and iPhone users can click on our phone number to have it automatically dialed for you. Click on the email to send us an email. Want to find us? Click on “Map.” Want even more information than what is currently on our mobile site? Then, click “Regular Site” to be directed to our main site. You can also visit our FaceBook page and become a fan or visit our company page on LinkedIn.
Click on the Marion logo at the top of the page, and you are taken back to the Home page.
If you are ready for a mobile version of your website or interested in learning more, call Marion at 713.623.6444 or send us an email.
Marion appears in the Houston Chronicle
Posted by admin in Uncategorized on January 18th, 2010
Marion is excited to announce that our CEO Aaron Ellisor has been interviewed by the Houston Chronicle. The article appeared in the Sunday Edition of the Chronicle in the Small Business section and highlights Marion’s creative and unique trade show displays.
A two-story trade booth Marion designed for Forum Oilfield Technologies
Champion Brochure Design Wins Award – A Case Study
Posted by admin in Brand Positioning, Brochure Design on January 12th, 2010
Marion has created thousands of custom brochure designs over the past 27 years from simple and cost effective to elaborate and high-end.
The positioning brochure Marion designed for Champion Technologies is an example of a completely custom, high-end piece.
Champion Brochure Cover Design
Goals
The goal for this brochure was to create a positioning piece that would put Champion Technologies in the same playing field as other larger upstream chemical companies such as Baker Hughes, Nalco… etc. Although Champion Technologies is the world’s largest privately owned upstream chemical company, many in the industry have been unaware of Champion’s presence or have been under the impression that the company was not competitive with large, publicly traded firms.
Champion’s challenge was to position the Champion brand as one of the “Big Players” within the industry and to have their technical capabilities and global experiences stand out from their better known competitors.
Strategy/Tactics
The strategies used to accomplish the objectives were to:
- Determine an overall structure and layout for the text and images, showcasing an overview of company capabilities
- Illustrate each page layout by hand to create unique imagery and diagrams of processes
- Select images that capture Champion’s brand and capabilities
- Lead a custom photography session with hired models and selected props for additional original imagery that would enhance Champion’s new positioning within the industry
- Showcase Champion’s high level of sophistication, technical know-how and global reach to again enhance their positioning, by utilizing high-end printing and binding techniques including:
- Spot dull varnish
- UV coating throughout
- Custom die cut pocket
Results
The end result showcased a full-color, 8-page brochure that encompassed the company image and qualities of leadership and innovation.
Once the brochure was delivered to its intended audience, the awareness of those unfamiliar with Champion Technologies rose significantly. This was determined by an increase in the unaided recognition rating measured from a pre- and post-brochure survey. This positioning brochure has proven to have played a part in the new recognition and awareness of the Champion brand and capabilities.
Additionally, through the use of the selected photography and illustrations, the piece successfully conveyed that Champion is a worldwide player, a technology pioneer, a proactive leader and a people- and service-oriented company in the upstream chemical industry.
The Champion brochure received the Communicator Awards Gold Award of Excellence.
To see other examples of recent brochure designs, check out Marion’s portfolio.