Studio 22 Celebrates National Trails Day
In honor of National Trails Day, coming up on June 6th, we've launched a little promotion called "Get Out!" You may have received our gift encouraging you to get outside and enjoy yourselves.*

We hope you do (or did) "Get Out!" and have a story to share with us here. If you have a photo, just post the link with your story. Whether it's a weekend of camping or quick spin around some single track, we'd like to know how you celebrate National Trails Day.

Update: Even while at the beach, Eryn was able to "Get Out!" and hit the trail for some bike riding. She logged about 8 miles on a clunky single speed beach cruiser with her husband and mother-in-law before enjoying some rest on a beach chair. Photo courtesy: destateparks.com














*If you didn't receive a gift and feel left out, send us an email (info at studio20two dot com, subject line: Get Out!), and we'll see what we can do...

VIEW: Moosejaw Mountaineering on Cross-Channel Marketing
Yesterday, MultiChannel Merchant posted their interview with Moosejaw Mountaineering's creative director Gary Wohlfeill on their success with digital catalogs.

While they still produce a printed catalog, Moosejaw uses the digital version as a cost-effective way to get more potential customers to see their merchandise across channels. Moosejaw has also implemented a mobile version of their website and uses their texting list to further engage customers.

Moosejaw is on it!

VIEW: The Color of 2009
"Mimosa," a "warm, engaging yellow" is the Pantone Color Institute's choice for 2009's color of the year.












Image courtesy Pantone.com

Not only is the institute endorsing the color as a great choice for print as well as men's and women's apparel, but the color is also available from Pantone's line of eco-friendly interior paint.

"The color yellow exemplifies the warmth and nurturing quality of the sun, properties we as humans are naturally drawn to for reassurance," said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, as quoted on Pantone's site.

OIWC's logo uses a very similar color for their sun icon - imagine! As their Graphics & Materials Manager (I'm also a member), I am currently updating the group's logo and identity package. Interesting to apply the color qualities above to the mission of the organization: "...equip, educate and support women in the outdoor industries to recognize their professional goals."

While we're not fans of using exact complements on the color wheel to create clients' color palettes, deep blue-green and rusty orange would look hot (excuse the pun) with "Mimosa." Stay tuned. Maybe we'll be able to work the color of the year into an upcoming piece.

VIEW: Communicating Your Sustainability...or Communicating Sustainably?
What should you do during "recessionary times?" Both.

As stated on Twitter earlier this week (find us @studio_22), consumers 18-34 will be driving green trends in the next decade. We also said that when you promote your products to this group, you should do so in a sustainable way.

If you're a brand that can demonstrate a genuine commitment to responsible practices, tell consumers your sustainability story. Do it authentically. Brands can gain a competitive edge when they engage consumers on issues that they care about. Do it on a hang-tag. Do it in your catalog. Do it on your website. The person buying your product or service will feel good about making the purchase because it supports a belief that they subscribe to. You'll provide added value - an important quality at the moment.

Now, about those sustainable communications...those hang-tags, brochures, catalogs, reports. There's more to a sustainable marketing piece than slapping some ink on 30% recycled content paper. We won't bore you with substrates here, but care must be taken with the imagery and text, colors, sizing, and ink used in producing your communications. Even the firm you choose to work with has an impact on the footprint of your printed materials. Embracing this concept on the back end will push you even further ahead of the competition in the eyes of your customers.