Flint Township View

KISS and you, your brand will shine





 

 

There is nothing like hosting a yard sale to remind you just how much junk one can accumulate. My family and I were reminded of this fact recently when we hosted a two-day “everything must go” sale in an effort to make my parent’s empty nest a bit more empty.

We sold and gave away about half of the items that needed a new home. The other half was donated to a local charity and in the end, my parents’ house looks shiny and new.

As we near the end of the year, many of us are armed with goals and lists and have strategic planning meetings on the books to prepare for 2017. Before you head into those meetings, now is a good time to remember a key phrase I’ve been repeating since our sale ended: KISS.

According to Wikipedia, “KISS is an acronym for ‘Keep it simple, stupid’ as a design principle noted by the U.S. Navy in 1960. The KISS principle states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated; therefore simplicity should be a key goal in design and unnecessary complexity should be avoided.”

When it comes to your home, KISS is what you repeat over and over when you find yourself staring at the Target $1 bins. Chances are you don’t need any of those items.

It doesn’t end at home. Many of us at work need to adopt KISS as a mantra.

KISS is what aided in the growth and success of View Newspaper Group during a time when some print media companies have not fared well. We have online ads, we have social media accounts, we’ve added video to some of editorial pieces and I see more growth and opportunities in this area, but I know we’ll keep it as simple as possible. We are print first. Michigan Web Press, sister company and print partner of View Newspaper Group, recently announced an investment of $750,000 in production equipment upgrades over the next few months to better serve their print

Rick Burrough, owner of the View Newspaper Group and Michigan Web Press says while his investment in putting on ink on paper may be surprising to some, he believes the outlook for community newspapers looks strong, well into the future, in both printed and digital versions.

Burrough explained, “We hear from many readers and many advertisers, of all ages, who prefer the printed version of our papers. Studies show increased engagement with a printed newspaper versus online. We also hear a lot about ‘screen fatigue’ and readers who are happy to give their tablets and smartphones a rest to enjoy a real paper. Besides, you can’t clip your kid’s photo out of the smartphone and stick it on the refrigerator.”

It’s as simple as that.

As we look to 2017 I’m going to constantly play the KISS card. I bet if you think about it, you’ll agree that your brand, too, is stronger without all the junk. Maybe it’s time for a yard sale.

Let me know what items in your business (or ours) we can KISS. Email me at ecaswell@mihomepaper.com.

Emily Caswell is the brand manager for the View Group of companies.


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