We are looking for an experienced designer to join our talented interactive team. The interactive designer creates awesome user experiences through websites, email marketing, digital signage and mobile apps. The ideal candidate must be able to work effectively with executives, project managers and directors on a strategic level as well as thrive in a highly collaborative and fast-paced work environment. Candidate Requirements: • Stunning portfolio of previous interactive design work • Strong understanding of user experience, UI design and brand aesthetics • Experience with front end development (XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, SEO best practices) • Experience working with Adobe Creative Suite (Dreamweaver, Photoshop and Illustrator) • Self starter that’s directly responsible for maintaining project scope, timelines and QA in a deadline-driven environment • Excellent written and spoken communication skills Candidate Extras: • 1-3 years of agency or related experience • Mobile web or mobile app design experience • Keeps current with emerging web technologies and services • Social media marketing experience So What’s Our Story? We love food and have become an innovator in the industry over the last 20 years. We create unique brand positions that let anyone compete against the biggest competitors. What do we offer? Competitive salary based on [...]

DW Green Company is proud to welcome a new team member, interactive developer Charles Voita. Charles has jumped into our workflow and is already making an impact. We asked Charles a few questions today, here are his responses: Q: What did you do before coming to DW Green Company? A: Before I came to DW Green I free-lanced as a web designer and developer as well as followed a strict study regiment focused on gathering more knowledge of web technologies in real time applications and worked on personal projects. I studied and worked with PHP primarily while focusing on implementing ‘new’ web technology such as AJAX in innovative ways. Q: What do you love to do (both at work and away from work)? A: When I am working I love breaking down procedural tasks into more abstract frameworks. I love coding from absolute scratch. I love learning new technology, from individual functions to full-fledged languages and using them effectively. If I am not learning something new or trying a new idea then I have the chance to get bored. When I am not at work I enjoy writing music, studying, and painting. Q: What are your areas of expertise? A: [...]

Bill Donahoe, President and COO of one of our clients, Allegiance Retail Services LLC, will spend the night on the street in solidarity with homeless young people, raising awareness and funding for the work of Covenant House. Way to go, Bill! Try to stay warm—we’re proud of you!

DW Green Company seeks an art-directing, team-collaborating, project-managing, deadline-meeting, brand-building, forward-thinking Graphic Designer. What’s the job? Brand Development & Design We are looking for a seasoned branding and advertising graphic designer experienced in: •Brand research and development •Developing unique advertising campaigns •Developing a personality, look and feel for a brand Production & Production Management Also responsible for managing a few weekly production accounts and related collateral materials such as ROPs, posters, circulars, signage, etc. What are we looking for? •Experience. At least 4 years as a full-time designer. We’re seeking a graphic designer with an ability to verbally articulate important strategic concepts to team members and clients. Experience in consumer retail/food/grocery a plus.•Know your design software (Adobe Suite). •A stunning portfolio a must. Strong skills in logo and web design a plus. •A team player. We are seeking a designer who cares as much about the process as the result. Candidates who enjoy collaboration and approach the work with humility and passion will love our process. So what’s our story? We help the little guys compete against the big chains by creating a unique brand position. Our design philosophy In an industry of clutter, our work is clear, creative and [...]

1. Use wayfinders to invite rather than just direct. Center store aisles are often perceived to be lifeless and uninteresting. The flat symmetry of aisle after aisle that look the same can be broken by three dimensional four foot shelf headers that signal to shoppers that there is something special, worth walking the aisle. 2. Connect with your customer’s lifestyle. One of the problems with the presentation of many center store categories is that they are not organized the way most shoppers think. For Good Food Market we presented category identifiers by customer usage. Frozen fruits were positioned as a smoothies story, basic canned and boxed goods featured a banner stating that “with a well-stocked pantry anything is possible.” 3. Increase category sales. Categories like pet products and baby products are bypassed by many supermarket shoppers who would rather buy them at Walmart or Costco. Roche Bros in Boston uses attractive, canopy-like category identifiers to make these areas of center store a more substantial stop. If category identifiers are done right, they also all tie to a central brand purpose and support your brand relationship with customers.

Reflecting on the year that just was, I learned to appreciate the gift of life. I learned the gift that a blessing can be, the doors it can open, the healing and transfiguration it can bring. When we bless, we work from a place of inner vision, clearer than our hearts, brighter than our minds. Blessing is the art of harvesting the wisdom of the invisible world. From day to day it offers us new gifts. With this blessing by John O’Donohue, I’d like to wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. A Blessing At The End of The Year As this year draws to its end, We give thanks for the gifts it brought And how they became inlaid within Where neither time nor tide can touch them. The days when the veil lifted And the soul could see delight; When a quiver caressed the heart In the sheer exuberance of being here. Surprises that came awake In forgotten corners of old fields Where expectation seemed to have quenched. The slow, brooding times When all was awkward And the wave in the mind Pierced every sore with salt. The darkened days that stopped The confidence of [...]

Within two weeks we’ll begin seeing TV ads for 1.800.flowers and websites promoting the sale of home delivered roses for Valentine’s Day. Since every Walgreens, CVS, Wal-Mart, SuperTarget—even Home Depot—will be promoting Valentine’s Day as well, what are you planning to do to make an impression with your customers and sell some Valentine’s Day products? Did your Valentine’s Day 2010 set new sales records? What are you planning to do differently in 2011 for Valentine’s Day? Valentine’s Day is perhaps the easiest holiday to plan for. It also offers the most “upside” selling opportunities for supermarkets. Why not plan a Valentine’s Day event on Saturday, February 12th and have a record week? Some ideas to consider for Valentine’s Day 2011 include: Brand your Valentine’s Day event and publicize the event in late January. Give it a name. One of our customers calls their event “Sweetheart Affair: An Affair to Remember.” Start with a great name for your event and go from there. Set the stage for romance. That’s a tough order in a supermarket, but you should position the event properly in your marketing materials (e.g. print ads, in-store bag stuffers, website mentions, and e-blast invites). Set up an area [...]

Positioning is one of my favorite topics. Positioning is KEY to differentiating your brand from your competitors. The most dangerous competitors are those that are most like you. And the best way to separate yourself from your competition is to own a distinct market “position.” In talking about positioning, marketers and agency folks define it in different ways. It’s the story you want to imprint in people’s minds about your store and why it’s better, the solution your store is offering to address buyers’ problems, the bundle of attributes and benefits you want to tell people about, or simply your unique selling proposition—the reason consumers should shop your store rather than someone else’s. It’s highly advantageous for a company to stand for something important, to be remembered for something significant. To have a powerful positioning is clearly a good thing. A positioning tells a customer what a brand stands for, what the brand believes in, and what the brand can deliver. It gives the buyer a reason for trying the brand once, and coming back to shop there over and over again. An effective positing offers a company the opportunity to both defend and attack. It helps a company retain [...]

For two decades, there have been “New Resident” programs available to supermarkets. For the most part, the programs included: Mining a list of residents “new” to an assigned marketing area. Mailing (direct mail/US Mail) a letter or packet from the supermarket, welcoming the new resident with a preformatted “welcome” letter from the store manager/owner along with some special offers to encourage repeat visits. In some cases, tracking the response rates of redeemed offers to determine who isn’t responding to the initial offer. In the case of a new resident not responding, determining if an alternate offer should be mailed. Fast forward to 2010. Many of these programs have evolved, and some of the best programs are worth implementing as a way to increase your customer counts and sales per transaction levels in 2011. If you google “new resident marketing program,” you’ll be overwhelmed with over 460,000 offerings. Many of the programs are pretty much identical. So what should you be looking for in a great “new resident” marketing program? Here are seven suggestions to consider in your new program: First, a warning about some of the new resident lists that some companies offer: be aware of the sources from which [...]

During this week of Thanksgiving, I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude for your friendship and for your support of our Idea of the Week. Too often, I take for granted the relationships that God has so graciously given to me. The gift of friendship is what provides meaning and purpose in my life. So thank you. I’d like to acknowledge each of you for your contributions to your peers, to your employees, to your customers, to your suppliers and vendors, and to the communities in which you serve. In the busyness of living, we often forget to acknowledge ourselves for the acts of kindness and generosity that we give to one another without hesitation or expectation of receiving anything in return. I’m thankful and grateful for the many, many blessings that bring delight, magic, love, joy, peace and connection into my everyday, ordinary life. “Whatever our individual troubles and challenges may be, it’s important to pause every now and then to appreciate all that we have, on every level. We need to literally ‘count our blessings,’ give thanks for them, allow ourselves to enjoy them, and relish the experience of prosperity we already have.” — Shakti Gawain [...]