From the USA comes a story giving us another reason to love chocolate!

Chocolate is yummy and can lift the spirits – and now it may have a place in saving the environment by providing a new green energy source.

Cocoa bean shells, left over after the chocolate is made, are no longer being disposed of – instead they’re being burnt to produce electricity.

Producers of fine chocolate, Lindt, recently announced a partnership with the Public Service of New Hampshire, USA, to provide cocoa shells to provide electricity for one of three 50MW boilers at a local power plant.

Lindt is expected to soon deliver the first load of shells to be burned under the agreement.

Bill Smagula, of the New Hampshire Public Service said for every tonne of cocoa bean shells used to generate electricity, half a tonne less coal was needed.

As a result, the 50MW boiler would emit approximately 6.8 million kilograms less CO2 per year by incorporating the shells.

So the next time you indulge in some Lindt chocolate, don’t feel guilty – you’re doing your bit for the environment!

What does your logo say about you? More than you think.

Your logo – particularly its colour – can influence your customers’ subconscious reaction to your business, even before they deal with you.

Colour is registered by the brain before any other part of an image – and can increase brand recognition by up to 80 percent (Source: University of Loyola, Maryland study) making it something very important to ‘get right’.

Brad Htoon, one of Snap’s many Art Directors agrees.

“We know that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but in many cases customers do judge a business by its brand – especially first time customers,” Brad says.

“I like to get to know the business, its target market and how it wants to be perceived before even thinking about what colours to recommend.”

According to Brad, a client’s industry can influence the colours used.

For mining companies, he suggests deep earth tones, blacks and charcoals – symbolic of strength and reflective of the natural resources they extract. Alternatively for a marketing company, Brad recommends colours that portray a vibrant personality with creativity and exuberance such as orange or pink tones.

Brad says that a greater trend towards being ‘green’ also influenced colours being chosen in recent years.

“We have seen a resurgence of colours sitting in the pocket of organic, earth and sustainability (environmentally friendly) colours.”

“These include combinations of greens, blue’s, earth tones and burnt oranges often complemented with a neutral colour such as grey or charcoal.”

Like most things, brands do need to be ‘refreshed’ from time to time and sometimes, changing a colour can make a huge difference.

Luckily the experts at Snap Level 2 can help you decide what colours are best for you. Your Snap Level 2 consultant can talk you through some of the best colours for your business and which colours to avoid.

As for Brad, his favourite colours are those that reproduce well across different printing methods.

“If I had to choose a favourite, I prefer to use warm colours like orange.”

Of course if you are still stuck, you can always choose the colour of 2010 which, according to colour experts Pantone, is Turquoise!

What your colour says about you

Red. Courage or attention. Also associated with love, passion, energy and strength.

Orange. Enthusiasm, strength, creativity and high visibility.

Yellow. Warning/danger, excitement, high energy and loyalty.

Green. Growth or something new. Endurance and stability. Environmentally aware.

Blue. Expertise, stability, trust and intelligence. It is calming and relaxing.

Purple/Violet. Royalty, power, wisdom. Fun.

Black. Power, strength and authority.

White. Safe and pure. Non-aggressive, calm and represents a new beginning.

Have you checked your email today? If you have you’re not alone. In fact over half of internet users check or send email every day. So it’s no wonder eMail Marketing is one of the most effective online marketing tools.

eMail Marketing involves contacting past, current or prospective clients by email. The email may include an eNewsletter, high-impact promotion, invitation or online survey.

Popular and easy

eMail Marketing allows businesses of any size to communicate with customers quickly and professionally on a regular basis.

Other reasons eMail Marketing is so popular include that it:

• Allows you to speak directly with your clients rather than waiting for them to visit your website, or business
• Is much faster than mailed marketing material. Email is immediate which means customers may respond within seconds
• Can be tracked allowing you to monitor the success of your campaign
• Is an easy and personal way to stay in touch with customers and subscribers, helping promote dialog with your clients, increasing their lifetime value
• Is much more cost efficient than a printed newsletter with significant savings in time, printing and mailing costs
• Drives clients to your website simply, allowing them to simply click through from the email message

eMail Marketing is also an excellent strategy given the federal government’s recent announcement that it would widen the scope of the Do Not Call Register (DNCR) to allow registration of business and fax numbers – rendering cold calling, in many cases, illegal.

Results at the cash register

While there are many benefits of eMail Marketing, the best reason for using eMail Marketing is that it boosts sales.

• According to research conducted by the Direct Marketing Association (USA), eMail Marketing generated an ROI of $43.62 for every dollar spent on it in 2009. The expected figure for 2010 is $42.08. It outperformed all the other direct marketing channels examined, such as print catalogues (Direct Marketing Association economic-impact study, 19 Oct 2009)
• An Ad Effectiveness Survey commissioned by Forbes Media revealed that eMail and eNewsletter Marketing are considered the second-most effective tool for generating conversions, just behind SEO (Forbes.com 2009 Ad Effectiveness Survey 1 June 2009)

Getting started

The great news is that eMail Marketing is no longer the domain of large corporate organisations. Even the smallest businesses can set up eMail Marketing tools simply and cost effectively through Snap Level 2.

A Snap Marketing Consultant will guide you through the process of devising an eMail Marketing concept with clear business goals in mind – for example to generate direct sales through your website or to develop an ongoing relationship with current customers.

The Snap creative team will then develop an eMail Marketing campaign, including design and copywriting. The team will continue to work with you until you are happy with the final product.

Distributing the email is simple – either you can supply a client list or we can even purchase a data list on your behalf. We can even send and track the campaign for you, or if you prefer you can manage it yourself.

To get started come in to your closest Snap and ask one of our Marketing Consultants about eMail Marketing. It might just give your business the boost you are looking for in 2010!