Month: March 2015

For many business owners, choosing office signs and other advertisements can be a big decision. However, in Atascadero, CA, this choice may now be a little easier: signage costs in the city have been temporarily reduced in an attempt to clean up non-permitted signs throughout the area. For the last two years, the City Council of Atascadero has reportedly been receiving numerous complaints about temporary signs, such as sandwich boards, flags and banners. Finally, on Tuesday, February 24, the council unanimously approved short-term changes to its fee schedule, to encourage businesses to use official signs. Under the usual regulations, those looking to install a permanent sign must pay $450 for a building permit, as well as an additional $200 for a signage administrative use permit for sig...

Adam Hegge, a 31-year-old graphic designer, became tired of, in his words, "making money for someone else." So, a few years later Hegge quit his job designing signs in San Diego and opened his very own digital printing business. Sun Prairie, Washington local newspaper The Sun reports that Hegge, a 2007 University of Wisconsin Oshkosh graduate, opened Madison Graphics in 2012. The sole owner and employee of the company, Madison Graphics specializes in producing high-resolution graphics inside a mini-mall storefront in Fall River, near Olympia. Hegge single-handedly takes care of design, sales, marketing, and other business tasks from his home in Sun Prairie. "I've always been a fan of crazy, cool graphics," Hegge said. "So I thought I would put my own spin on them." Madison Graphics focuses...

Subaru cars have always been well-regarded for their longevity (among other things) and now, they are getting a prestigious affirmation. Consumer Affairs reports that the Subaru has been awarded the 2015 Kelley Blue Book 5-Year Cost to Own Award for economy (non-luxury) cars. Granted by Kelley Blue Book (KBB), the leading automotive consumer report publication in the United States, the award goes out to new car brands which have the projected lowest cost of ownership during the first five years of ownership. The award is divided into two categories: brand cars and luxury brand cars. The luxury brand winner this year, Lincoln, is also projected to have the lowest cost of ownership through 2020. "New car shoppers usually pay a lot of attention to how much a car will cost upfront," said Da...

This week, the Defense Information Systems Agency released the Department of Defense's new Cloud Computing Security Requirements Guide, which is meant to help cloud service providers looking to be included in the Department of Defense Cloud Service Catalog. It also defines policies, requirements, and architecture for Department of Defense cloud usage, and provides a basis the department can use to assess cloud providers' security posture. A draft of the Cloud Computing Security Requirements Guide (SRG) was released back in December, but acting Department of Defense (DoD) CIO Terry Halvorsen then later changed a rule allowing the department to procure commercial cloud services without having to go through the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). "The [Cloud Computing Security Requir...

Brands hoping to reach Hispanic audiences -- the second-largest and fastest-growing segment of the American market -- must have specific digital media strategies, a newly released study suggests. “It will be increasingly meaningful for marketers to consider Hispanic users as they develop online and app-centric calls to action,” said Marla Skiko, executive vice president and director of digital innovation for SMG Multicultural, a brand communications organization. The research was performed by Millward Brown Digital through behavioral observation and surveys, and was commissioned by SMG Multicultural and Specific Media. The researchers found that Hispanic Americans outpace other groups in their time spent online, use of mobile devices, and receptiveness to advertising. Hispanic Americans...