Time to refresh your ads, website or logo?

The new year is not only a time for personal renewal, but a time to refresh the look of your business.

I’m not talking about getting new furniture or moving to a new building (though if you are, then congratulations!). I’m talking about updating your ads, your website, even your logo.

Ad fatigue generally refers to over-saturation of your market with your ad message (remember the 2012 presidential campaign?). But it can also refer to stale ads — using the same artwork and message well past their sell-by date, with the mistaken idea that “if it worked once, it will always work.” If your ad has become overly familiar — in print or on the web — readers are more likely to gloss over it. Changing it up will catch their eyes anew.

Website redesign is a slightly different animal. The main reasons to consider updating your site:

• Professionalism. If it’s a do-it-yourself site, or you built it from an online template (which makes it look vaguely like so many others), you may want a designer to give it a more tailored and professional look.
• Technology. If your site uses yesterday’s technology, you may want to upgrade. In particular, if your site uses Flash, consider moving to HTML5 or Javascript so it will function across all mobile devices and tablets. A redesign may also be in order to make your site more user-friendly on touchscreen devices.

Then take a good look at your logo. Does it stand out? Does it work well in print, on the web, and in all sizes? Or is it just time for an updated look, like Starbucks, Wendy’s and Chuck E. Cheese?

The Walk-away: Keeping your look fresh keeps people interested. A graphic designer can review your ads, website and logo and work with you to breathe new life into all of them.