In 1984, Steve Jobs changed all that. Click here to watch comercial. His Apple was built for us “creatives”. Design mattered. Fun mattered. Music mattered. Art mattered. Macs were intuitive, Iphones were smarter, and Ipads turned octogenarians and babies into believers every minute of every day. Genius is an overused word, but Jobs was pure genius, there’s no way to eulogize the man. Look around your home, your office, your world, at all the products you love. Do you know the names of the CEOs of the companies who made them? It is remarkable to feel so much loss and sadness and to see it echoed all over the Internet by millions of others, like us, like you, who didn’t know Steve Jobs, but knew he changed the game, changed our lives, changed the world.

Today, when so many people are “thinking the same” let’s remember, moving forward, to think different. (Or for you grammarians, to think differently.)

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Who you were with.

Who you knew who might be in danger.

I moved here on September 1, 2001. The morning of September 11, I was living in an East Hampton rental with no TV. A friend instant messaged me saying a plane had hit the WTC. I assumed it was a small Cessna, until my phone started to ring like crazy.

Jill was editing a TV spot. When she got back home to Montauk there was great surf, but she couldn’t bear the thought of enjoying it while so many people were suffering. Unable to face a scarred Manhattan, Jill didn’t venture into the city for six months. A few days later I returned for meetings and was devastated as the Jitney headed towards the tunnel, Ground Zero was still smoldering and my “true South” was gone. I felt lost. Haunted by the people searching for their loved ones. And my thriving work as a freelance writer was gone indefinitely.

September 11, 2001 changed history. It also changed this place we call home. Quaint villages became year-round communities. City slickers gave up Manhattan for a different life. School enrollments expanded. New businesses grew. The Internet was in place. The impetus was there.

Ten years later, life has changed. blumenfeld + fleming wasn’t even a dream then and is now a nine-and-a-half year old reality. I met our first client on the beach the day after the towers went down. I doubt we’d have spoken if it hadn’t been for 9-11. On September 11, we both were grateful to be here. That’s one thing that hasn’t changed.











What do you remember? How has your life changed?

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In May, the manager of Prudential’s Southampton office called us. He’d heard us give a presentation on branding hosted by Hampton’s Magazine. He wanted to brand himself – make his name better known. “Are you sure you can do that? Don’t you have to stay within Prudential’s campaign?” we asked. “No, I’ve spoken to Dottie. I have permission to go outside the campaign.”

Great! We were all over it. In less than two weeks we turned around a campaign. We presented to the client and the Prudential marketing team in Bridgehampton.
The campaign was approved by all.

The first ad ran Memorial Day weekend and our phone started ringing. “Did you do that ad, it looks great!” “This is the publisher, we LOVE the ad!” The client’s phone started ringing. “Great campaign!” “Very attention getting.” So attention getting, he got a call from one of the owners of the company. “You’re fired.”

Why did he get fired? The corporation says it’s because the ad violated corporate ad guidelines. He (and we) had been assured that he could go out of the guidelines. What really (really!) happened is a mystery, and the resolution will probably occur behind closed doors. We thought we’d share the campaign you would have seen had it run as scheduled. We never thought it would result in anything other than raised awareness and sales.

Tell us what you think. And call Lynn for a print campaign that’s sure to get noticed! 631 668 0007

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1. Strategy. Don’t even get started without one. As much as you’re chomping
at the bit to start designing, wait and answer these questions: Who are
you talking to. What do you know about them? What is the main point
of difference that they need to know about your product or service?

2. Look at the competition. Don’t do something that exists (Doi! It’s not
flattering, it’s copying.) Learn how people in the sector are communicating.
You don’t want to be inappropriate, arbitrary or irrelevant but you don’t
want to blend in. It helps to have a good name to work with. Make sure
you don’t look exactly like another company.

3. Color. Color has to do as much with the category as the brand personality.
Of course don’t do the same color as your competitor! We tend toward
simple, pleasing, 1-3 color logos. Clients often tell us their favorite color is
green, but that doesn’t mean that’s the right color for their logo. For Race
Lane we mirrored some of the colors of the room, and kept the palette
very ‘Hamptons.’

4. Font. Font is your tone of voice. It conveys whether the company is
elegant, strong, restrained, conservative, bold, energetic, organic, hip,
(cheesy, cutesy). Font tells all of those stories, it’s about communicating
the brand’s personality. For Hampton & Co. we had a whimsical Jack
Russell representing the beach and chose a more conservative font to
anchor it in the tradition of the Hamptons.

5. Be Memorable. Think about the category benefit, or your product
or service’s benefit. Think about the company’s first initial to dial up
distinctiveness. For Endeavor, a sophisticated restaurant holding
company, Jill used the tines of a fork to create an E. Even the tines’
placement – upward, for energy and aspiration, are intentional. For
Aquatica Aviation, Jill created the A by having a seaplane ‘fly through it’ creating motion.
For HelpCare, the H actually ‘hugs itself,’ conveying warmth and support.

6. Does it pass the T-Shirt test? Does your logo make you proud? Will it work
on a T-Shirt, the side of a truck, your website and your business card?
These are some of the award-winning logos blumenfeld + fleming has
created in the past 8 years.

Click here or call 631 668 0007 if you want to learn more about how we can help you build a distinctive and memorable brand. Tell us what your favorite
logo is. And if you know someone starting a business, pass this on!

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The magazine, Homes of the Hamptons, says their readers’ average household income is $626,000. Dan’s says their readers’ average household income is $381,000. According to Saunders, the average price first quarter for homes in 2010 for the Village of Sagaponack is $6,053,571. And Range Rover of the Hamptons sold 254 Range Rover HSE last year…. starting price is $79k. Not surprising when you realize that Alec Baldwin gets $150,000 for one Episode of 30 Rock (and that’s not counting residuals!)

These statistics could make you feel woefully inadequate, but for many of us who live and work here they’re actually good news.

Manhattan movers and shakers take over our charming hamlets from July 4rth to Labor Day, making our towns unrecognizable (the population jumps from 90,000 to 300,000!) our roads unbearable, and our businesses boom.

We love the onslaught! (though you might not believe it when we’re behind the wheel of a car.) These Prada wearing invaders rely on the builders, restaurants, retailers, caterers, banks and other businesses that rely on us to make them stand out.

So for those of you lucky enough to be in the elite demographic of the Hamptons, SHOP ON! For those of us lucky enough to live and work here, keep smiling and lay off the horn!

If you want to reach folks in the fabulous Hamptons, we know how to get their attention. email us! or call 631 668 0007 and ask for lynn.