D E S I G N T R A I N :: winter 08 :: DESIGN BRANDING MARKETING NEWS

Big things grow from small

Hi, welcome to our winternews08. Thanks again for your valued support as we're out there kicking goals for many clients and naturally the Murray River. Discover Murray has been growing nicely. We launched our Discover Murray Trail in late 2007. It's proving to be a valuable tourism tool as it helps promote a positive difference for the Murray River nationally. Watch this space, we're about to really ramp things up!

The Petition for the Murray-Darling Basin has attracted significant attention. Thank you if you've signed it as we have over 36,000 signatures to date. We'll keep it going until we see some action in the Basin and not just talk. Please pass the petition onto family, friends and colleagues as every signature counts.

This is Design Train's BIG newsletter. We've been working on some very large projects and wanted to showcase that we're great with logos, brochures, websites and branding, however we're just as good with large, spatial projects as well. Our most recent project was a mural for the Department of Health and Ageing. It looks fantastic and really gives depth and warmth to the department's foyer. The Discover Murray Trail is now a large display and All Seasons Houseboats continue to roll out their 5 star houseboats with the established Design Train branding bringing them great rewards. So kick back, scroll down the page and enjoy the journey! Thanks, Shane

Website Optimisation Tips: We've had continued great success with the revamp of the Design Train website designtrain.com.au. Additional leads from strategic search engine optimization can dramatically improve your website results. Our top tip is to develop all your website pages with search engines in mind.

Get other sites linking to yours (important).
Ensure you have html text on your page for the engines to read (Flash files and graphics are not easily identified).
Ensure that your relevant titles are in place.
And finally your site needs to be professional, easy to get around and easy to find information but ultimately you want it to build trust with your potential clients.

Contact us if you need to improve you website strategies and marketing. A good strategy will save you money and time in the long run.

Shane's winter image
Here's something different. The Road to Death Valley in California. Death Valley is the only place in the world that is actually below sea level. It's a wonderful yet hot, very hot place. The local town is called Furnace Creek which is a good indication. The scenery is arid and it has been used to film parts of the Star Wars movies. I really enjoy photographing arid environments for they offer a unique beauty and infinite space. See some other Death Valley and Arizona images.

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Department of Health and Ageing Mural
It’s your journey - The Department of Health and Ageing mural highlights our diverse community, culture and landscape.You create the story through your life’s experience and connection to the community. The mirrors reflect your childhood memories of possibilities and innocence. As they float, the hangings represent our society’s layers and the Department’s respect for the communities’ needs and values. South Australia’s spacious outback connects us to the land and the sky. As you move along the mural, re-create your life’s journey. See your community and experience our way of connecting all South Australians through better health and active ageing. The mural is 11x2.5m on one floor and 4x2.5m on another. We've used multiple mediums to communicate the departments vision and it's roll in the community.

Department of Health and Ageing

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All Seasons Houseboats
5 star houseboat luxury. Part of the rewarding nature of design is seeing the long term benefits clients receive from following our strategies. The benefits of quality identity branding are valuable, however they take time to show results for the investment. All Seasons Houseboats have set the new benchmark for houseboating along the Murray River nationally. Their fleet are amongst the best on the river. Their branding is highly distinctive and their quality customer experienced is outstanding. All Seasons identity branding established by Design Train gives the impression that their fleet of boats are everywhere. It's the consistent message of the identity that builds the brand. The quality of the design is fresh and works for their marketplace and adds enormous value to their business. www.allseasonshouseboats.com.au

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Discover Murray Trail Display
In February we officially launched Discover Murray as the marketing and PR entity for the Murray River nationally. As part of that campaign was to promote travelling to the Murray River and appreciate it's incredible diversity and experience the unique landscapes and towns. We created a large 3.5 x 2.2m version of the trail as a display feature for the South Australian Caravan and Camping Show along with our own Murray marketing promotion booth. It was a great way for visitors to see the size of the region and plan their trip while bringing benefits to visitors during this difficult time of drought and negative media attention. As part of our marketing, Visitor Centres are undertaking establishing permanent displays with the Mannum Visitor Centre featuring a permanent trail on their wall as a 2.2 x1.3m display. The design of the display was complicated but is very striking and naturally attractive. www.rivermurray.com

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Seed Distributors Penfield Research Station Sign
We recently launched the new Seed Distributors website aimed at promoting the emotion of rural Australia. Part of Seed Distributors successful business model is their research station. Seed Distributors asked Design Train to design 2 large external signs that reflected their branding identity along with their core brand logos. We will feature the new Seed Distributors website in the next newsletter but if you can't wait check it out now...turn your sound up! www.seeddistributors.com.au

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Once again, thanks for your support. Please visit designtrain.com.au for more of our portfolio, services and testimonials. It’s our goal to communicate to your marketplace with high quality and well targeted messages while adding equity to your organisation. We know how to get you the best solutions for your strategies. Please phone me 0409 678 654 if you need anything.

Best wishes always, thanks, Shane

PS Check out our tips for great tourism marketing and branding. Including websites, brochures and map designs.

Design Train :: Visual Communications for Print & Web
ph 08 8363 6244 :: mob 0409 678 654 :: email shane@designtrain.com.au :: 1 Edmund St, Norwood SA 5067
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