ADDED value
COLLABORATING AGAINST RISK
Descriptions of the overall global business climate have seemed to
exhaust the general media’s stockpile of adjectives, especially in the
past six months, but “risky” seems to singularly own most writers’
and analysts’ affection. Of course, calculated risk is itself, perhaps,
as good as any synecdoche for modern business. Reducing said
risk entails a multifaceted approach that, according to Sandy
Rabin, CharisseM Design’s newly installed integrated marketing
partner, includes “personal attention, a clear strategic process and
detailed communications—learning clients’ [respective] businesses
intimately and providing solutions that assist in growing their
businesses.”
CharisseM Design is a Chicago-based boutique design
firm, founded by Charisse McAloon in 2002. It specializes in
identity/branding, as well as packaging schema, for national and
international clients—including Modern Organics Skin Care,
private label manufacturer Private Perfumery, Les Petite Perfumes,
Target and the Human Grace Foundation. The key to these
partnerships, says Rabin, must transcend culture and geography.
“Whether our clients are in our backyard or in another time
zone, the philosophy
is still the same—
collaboration.”
Too expand
and strengthen its
portfolio, CharisseM
has recently
instituted a full-scale
integrated marketing
program, headed
by Rabin, who says,
“Outside traditional
integrated marketing
The branding design for Lana Jewelry’s candle
allows the product and packaging to shine,
reflecting Lana’s international brand strength.
by design
components (i.e. Web, direct mail,
advertising, public relations), our aim
is to bring an expertise in printing and
materials, the elements that create a
multidimensional solution. We create
branding through tactile experience.
By integrating all marketing tools,
approaches and resources, we create
custom marketing programs that
build strong, profitable brands at
minimal cost.”
CHARISSE MCALOON
By way of example, Lana Jewelry
recently approached the company to
design packaging and branding for its
first foray into home air care (pictured).
SANDY RABIN
With packaging as “unique as the client
it represents,” this latest partnership exemplifies the necessary
collaborative aspect that has fueled each of CharisseM’s branding
pushes—an aspect that has evolved from within naturally. “The
concentration of energy and experience we bring together as a
team is what sets us apart,” says Rabin. “Charisse brings a creative
and visual genius to everything she touches. I bring a combination
of hands-on client experience and strategic marketing experience.
Together, through our integrated skills, we are able to deliver more
than our clients expect.”
It might go unsaid that “risky” will continue to be an effective,
if vacillating, nom de plume for modern business practice, but
treading water where one has already seen modest, or even
great, success is tantamount to simply falling behind the times.
CharisseM Designs looks to temper its risk with forward motion,
a strategy that has already, in the short time since the deployment
of its integrated marketing program, seen results. “Our clients are
now coming to us for the whole of their marketing programs,”
says Rabin, “not just one piece of it.”
