Do You Play Offense or Defense at Work?

Whether or not you are a football fan, there are many similarities between the workplace and the football field. The biggest similarity is understanding the difference between playing offense and defense.

No matter if you are on the field or in the office, it is often easier to learn defense, meaning you are simply reacting to the actions of others. When we are on defense, we typically don’t need to think as hard or make as many decisions, although defense can also be more exhausting and mentally draining. Many of our workdays are bogged down playing defense – answering phone calls, replying to emails, and attending meetings.

In comparison, playing on offense requires a proactive approach. In the workplace, this means creating goals and setting priorities for items you want to accomplish above and beyond the typical daily tasks. Being proactive requires more thought, planning, and dedication to achieve success, and also results in a greater sense of accomplishment and excitement for the future. So, what do you play most frequently at work – offense or defense?

Here’s the way I see it: A wise man once said it best: a good offense is the best defense. Give us a call if we can help you create print materials that will crush the competition.

Envelopes are just as important as the marketing materials inside them. If your audience doesn’t open your envelope, your entire effort is a loss. Here are a few ways to ensure your envelopes get noticed and opened:

• Plan your envelope design early – it shouldn’t be an afterthought. Design your envelope with the contents in mind, including a teaser, deadline, photo, or description of what’s inside.


• Consider a variety of colors and textures (linen, cockle, matte, translucent, coated, glossy, metallic, etc.).


• Include a hook message that piques the curiosity of your reader, such as “Open immediately to see your savings!”


• Consider an oversized envelope that will stand apart in a stack of mail.


• Address the reverse side of an envelope (the side with the flap) and reserve the full front as a mini-billboard for your marketing message.


• Take advantage of your marketing real estate by printing on both sides of the envelope.


• Consider adding stickers to add emphasis, such as anniversary seals, product guarantee labels, or a warranty sticker.

Do you need help getting your creative juices flowing? Ask us for some promotional envelope samples today!

Send this article to a friend

Every business has a story to tell, and brochures are a great way to tell it! Depending on what you’re selling, sometimes it’s necessary to tell a more complete story, which often requires more room than a standard brochure.

Fold-out brochures are a great way to double, triple, or even quadruple the size of your marketing real estate.
Fold-out panels are a great option no matter the size of your brochures, such as a mini-brochure, standard size, or oversized leaflet. Popular choices include a four-panel bi-fold, six-panel tri-fold, or six-panel z-fold.

If you’re looking for a creative way to distribute your fold-out brochures, consider designing them as a door hanger. You can also add tear away coupons, information about upcoming specials, or a customer loyalty card as incentives to visit your business.

Or, if you’d like your fold-out brochure to hold additional materials, you could even consider designing it as a foldout pocket brochure, featuring heavy paper and pockets to hold additional materials.

Give us a call today if you’d like help creating the perfect fold-out brochure for your upcoming project.

Send this article to a friend

Here are a few popular free conference call tools to consider for your next remote meeting:

• UberConference provides unlimited conferences, screen and document sharing, and call recording. They do not require conference pins. Instead, when you sign up, you’re given a conference phone number that remains static.


• Skype is a convenient tool for text, audio, and video conferencing and can be used via a web browser, desktop app, or mobile app.


• Google Hangouts can be used for conference calls, text, video, or audio conference from any device with a microphone and camera. NOTE: For text and video, the party you’re trying to reach must also have a Gmail account.


• Free Conference Calling does just what its name suggests. They offer pure audio-teleconferencing for up to 1,000 users on-demand for free.


• AnyMeeting is a web-based solution that allows for meetings of up to 200 people and offers screen sharing, VoIP and phone conferencing, meeting recording, and it even has a follow-up functionality.


• Consider your Android phone or iPhone to conference a few people easily. Simply call your first participant, select “Add Call” on your mobile phone’s screen, call the next participant, select “Merge Call” on your mobile phone’s screen, and then add other calls as needed. iPhones support up to five callers (including you) and Android up to six total.

If you’d like help creating professional marketing materials your audience will love at your next in-person meeting or tradeshow, give our creative team a call today!

Send this article to a friend