Who doesn’t want attention? You want to be noticed, so you style your hair that’s most suitable to the shape of your face; dress up in clothes most flattering to your figure; and place yourself among the ‘in’ crowd. You know the feeling of being the center of attention. Now imagine you’re a product. Wouldn’t you crave the same kind of attention?
Studies have proven that consumer buying behavior is dictated by the way products are presented on the shelves. “When you display in a vertical block, you get much more visibility than anything you do horizontally,” says Regina Blessa, merchandising keynote speaker of the Institute of Retail Studies (www.IEV.net.br), in a video posted on YouTube’s Varejo Na TV channel. “Varejo na TV” means retail on TV in Portuguese.
This video is just one of the many that the Institute has produced under Regina’s supervision to educate retail workers. The Institute aims to link distributors, retailers, agencies and academe by informing, educating and preparing retail, marketing, and merchandising practitioners and students through the combination of on-site courses and retail laboratories. “We try to teach clerks and salesmen how to behave in front of the consumer,” explains this merchandising books author and doctor in design. “We show store owners the tricks to increase sales. We make courses and videos by demand for our clients and free videos for our site and channel for anyone who cannot afford to learn in our courses.”
The video opens and ends with a static Varejo Na TV logo. To boost the Institute’s image as being more dynamic much like the industry it is in, Regina hired a freelancer from the world’s most preferred outsourcing marketplace, Freelancer.com, to create an animated version. Her requirement was simple: create a 10-second motion graphic and transform the logotype as a water drop and show the ripples getting bigger to signify the waves of communication.
The decision to outsource was an easy one. “Our Institute is small, but we have good taste,” she says. For US$250, she got the quality she wanted within the Institute’s tight budget on Freelancer.com. “In Brazil, the design jobs are expensive—about US$2,000 with good quality.”
Deciding first on her budget, she then chose four bidding freelancers with high reputation. “I was planning to pay the lower bid with good quality,” she reveals. “When I saw Asmaa’s portfolio, I was amazed. I loved his work.” Aside from his portfolio, she also selected him based on his communication skills. “After talking with Asmaa (from Egypt) through messaging, I knew he was the right guy for the job. He was sincere.”
With the site now available in Portuguese, Regina finds it easier to use the platform to meet her requirements. “The idea of putting together those in need and those who make is fabulous. And the site’s guarantee to hold the money in reserve until you’re assured that the work has been done really well is perfect.” She is currently having the Institute’s website changed and having her new books translated through Freelancer.com.
