february 2011
	too much of a good thing Here's an increasingly common scenario: you've run out of something so you're off to the store. Let's say for the purpose of this story, it's toothpaste. Sounds like an easy enough task, right? When you get to the store, you're confronted by a wall of toothpaste; you have a lot of choices. So you think to yourself, “Well, I've always used Brand A, but maybe there's a better choice." "Let's see...this one has tartar control. That one contains baking soda. That one has mouthwash. This one has whitening while that one has extra whitening. Do I want a gel, paste or a swirl of both? Do I prefer a traditional tube, a stand up tube or a pump? What about flavor? There's mint, cinnamon, orange...green tea? Oh, I like this one, but it costs more than Brand A. What is the size compared to Brand A? Hmm, it's actually larger, maybe it's a similar price per ounce?” Before you know it you're overwhelmed with product features, flavors, sizes, packaging and price points. Mentally exhausted, you throw Brand A into your cart just to get the heck out of the store. You have toothpaste now, but you're also cranky and not sure you purchased the best product. Sound familiar? It looks as though too many choices will be our retail reality for some time. Shoppers who are confronted with too many products often default to the brand they already know. They simply don't have the time, desire or mental bandwidth to process all the choices. Studies using in-store eye-tracking technologies have estimated that over two-thirds of all product offerings are never even seen. In this retail landscape, emotional triggers, instead of logic, end up driving the purchase decision. The average time it takes a shopper to make a choice at-shelf is 15 seconds which means packaging plays a more important role than ever. After all, your product won't sell if it is never seen, and therefore, never considered. While there is no one-size-fits-all strategy that works for all products, there are a few general principles that will help your packaging get noticed. click here to view the general principles
	how to put your company on the google map (and improve your local search rankings!) At the end of last year, Google made some radical changes to Google Local Search, which is now called Google Places. Business owners can now "claim" their page on Google and enter information. If they don't, Google automatically generates a Place page for them based on information it finds online. This recent change makes it more important than ever for you to claim your Place page. Here's how to claim your Place page correctly: 1. Claim your listing Google robots search the web to find information on business locations in order to return the best results when someone enters a local search, such as "pizza Appleton." Now you can provide this information yourself by "claiming" your page. Sign up on Google.com for a free account and then go to http://www.google.com/local/add/businessCenter.
			2. Fill out the forms Be accurate and consistent. Google Place Search returns what the search engine determines are the seven best results for a search, based on its top-secret algorithms. While Google won't divulge how it determines the rankings, it appears that a major factor is accuracy. 3. Get reviews Google is now making reviews an important factor in ranking local businesses in search results, so courting reviews is essential. Ask your satisfied customers to provide positive reviews of your business. Remember, offering anything of value in exchange for a review, or writing your own reviews is not only unethical, it can destroy your Google rankings. When you've finished adding information to your page, Google will have you verify that you are authorized to "claim" your page by sending you a 5 digit code by mail or phone. Be aware that if you choose to receive it by phone you will get an automated call within seconds. Be prepared to answer that call.
	InnoVision Labs USA website Design: Leibold Original Taiwanese InnoVision Labs website		grand illusion Our friends at InnoVision Labs turned to Leibold for web development assistance to showcase their HoloAD™ Player, a three-dimensional holographic messenger lending itself to a variety of uses in advertising, sales promotion, medical training and the exhibit industry As the US affiliate of InnoVision Labs was gearing up to roll out their new line of holographic messengers, it became evident that they needed a strong web presence to support their exhibition booth at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year. A website for the Taiwanese corporate office existed, but the local office wanted something simpler, cleaner and more cohesive for the US site. Leibold responded to their desire for a premium technology driven site by standardizing the page layout and navigational interface and by adding more dramatic and simplified images to substantially reduce the clutter. Additionally, our Visualization Services team was asked to provide technical guidance for developing the content running in the HoloAD™ Player. Pleased with the results, InnoVision Labs USA invited Leibold into a partnership to become one of their content providers.
			holiday Lego® creations winner Congratulations to the winner of our holiday Lego® contest, Aimee Slater. She's won a $50 gift card for her awesome Space Invader creation! click here to view all the entries