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The Blow
thought
fest!
Read, mark, and inwardly digest our thoughts on the world of design and communication.
The Blow
Another win for Blow Creative
Another win for BCC
After being shortlisted for two of our front cover designs we were informed that our design for Surf Twilight Sensations was the overall winner. Unfortunately the power of the web cannot show the specialist print techniques used on the cover that hopefully helped secure the win. We are working much more closely with magazine publishers by using technologies like heat revealing inks, spot UV’s with frosting textures, build up texturing and scratch and sniff technology to really push the boundaries on reader interaction and brand engagement. This year we are pushing these technologies even further changing the way readers engage with advertising.
Mindbubble – New Media Age
New Media Age
Mindbubble, branding and web creative developed by BCC, is Face Group’s online co-creation community for the historically challenging to target 25-50 female market. The innovative tool was included in a very informative article on the New Media Age website earlier this month. It included Mindbubble as an example of an effective tool that brands can use to collaborate and connect with their consumers, something we at BCC strongly believe is the future for brand development.
The article discusses strong examples of how brands are successfully using all sorts of social networks and communities to close the void between themselves and their target market:
Other FMCG brands are experimenting with tapping into third-party communities. Mindbubble, an online community aimed at women aged 25 to 50, was launched in May 2009 by co-creation agency Face, allowing collaboration with brands on product development and marketing.
Aquafresh, Boots, Comfort and Surf have been involved in piloting the concept. “It provides a platform for exploring ideas more dynamically, building on consumer feedback iteratively with input from various people internally as well,” says Joel Dawson, head of digital marketing at Boots UK. “This approach has proved to be a useful tool for product innovation and has provided us with a number of ideas which are currently being brought to market.
To see the full article click here
Macmillan Cancer Support De’Longhi Art Auction
Macmillan De'Longhi Charity Art Auction
For the 3rd year in a row Blow Creative supported the annual Macmillan De’Longhi Art Auction by providing free design and consultancy. Even in the current climate the evening raised over £80k for Macmillan, an extremely worthwhile cause. Some of the BCC team went along (the photograph shown is Tony Steadman – BCC Client Services Director, Fearne Cotton from Radio 1 and Nicholas Feurtado – BCC Creative Director) to take part in the auction and picked up a wonderful piece for the studio by James Jessop! Other Artists from this year and past have included Sacha Jafri, Gavin Turk, Sir Peter Blake and Damien Hirst.
Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer. They provide practical, medical, emotional and financial support. They are a force for change: listening to people affected by cancer and working together for better cancer care. Click here for more details on Macmillan.
Painting with Balls
Painting With Balls
Rather than our usual type of ‘painting’ Blow Creative downed tools for a bit of well earned Paint Balling fun. We have no idea which of us are in these photos, but we still have the bruises to show from the day!. Our Creative Director made some wonderful ‘designs’ on the back of one of the artworkers…Living art!
Brand Style Guides
Brand Style Guides
Brand Style Guides / Activation guides / Brand DNA documents are an extremely effective tool for any brand/activation/marketing manager. We still find some brands are not using these, and paying the price, so thought it would be good to note the worth of such a tool.
Style guides are an important addition for any brand or marketing manager. Not only do they drive consistency across communications but they also save a great deal of time, money and minimise the chance of any mistakes being made when deadlines are extremely tight. They are an effective tool for internal brand understanding as often there is a great deal of change within organisations and people are required to hit new roles running. With detail on history, tone, strategy and brand application a guide is a perfect way to get an overall understanding of a brand’s makeup.
Blow Creative has developed our teams and systems internally to allow the required flexibility to effectively run style guide projects from initial conception to refinement and roll out. We have worked on master brand guides, activation guides and corporate brand guidelines in the UK and Globally. In order to deliver in a short time frame, keep costs down and the on-brand creativity high, it takes an agency with experience and expertise in this field. I have often seen guides running into the tens of thousands of pounds when this is purely down to poor management, understanding and experience.
Style guides require a rigid agency support structure as well as a number of other key factors:
- Creative team, Artwork studio, 3D studio and New Media
- Account handlers with direct style guide experience
- A dedicated studio trafficker, who is office based. This allows amends to be fed into the studio even when Account Handlers are in meetings
- A dedicated studio artworker who takes responsibility from a studio design perspective on the development of the guide and becomes an internal brand guardian
- A 4 stage signing-off process.
Blow invests a great deal into the latest hardware and software to ensure we can work as efficiently as possible. Account handlers have the technology to pick up e-mails when on the move ensuring nothing is missed.
Whether you require translation of your above-the-line campaign or complete origination for below the line we are on hand to give you the creative assistance you need. Corporate clients will also see the value and effectiveness of such a tool and we can help drive clarity and consistency for your business.
As a through-the-line agency we can create everything you need to build a comprehensive brand bible. If you want to know more please e-mail us on: styleguides@blowcreative.co.uk
Brand Building in a Recession
Brand Building in a Recession
With any economic downturn every company naturally looks at its outgoings to see where they can make cut backs. Reducing the marketing budget can seem like a quick and easy fix, after all it’s not going to effect sales in the very short term, and can make an instant sizeable saving. Some of the biggest names around including Coca-Cola have reduced budgets in reaction to the current climate. Its surprising that this is the case as history has shown that continuing spending through a recession can reap big rewards when others are pulling back. With less competition the impact per £1 spent will be more effective gaining valuable market share and voice.
Overseas in America and in the UK the likes of Diageo, Kellogg’s and Kleenex have been increasing their marketing expenditures in relation to forecasted sales. The good advice is to keep spending, yes we would say this, but again looking back this can be a wise move in a knee jerk environment. In a downturn consumers think longer and harder about what they expect in order to part with their hard earned money. Brands need to work harder, not pull back, to motivate purchase and build their brand equity. When the bust turns its ugly head back into a boom the brands that have spent smart will be riding high and reaping the rewards – sounds simple right? Okay, it’s not that simple, as many factors determine whether marketing expenditure in a downturn will really reap the rewards. This is when it comes down to the knowledge, insight and understanding of your consumers and the right agency to originate and activate your communications.
The recession can leave consumers tainted and your consumer’s behavior can be very different to what you once knew. With less spending by brands on building equity and consumer’s propensity to question a brands value and consequently their loyalty to it, it can be a real uphill struggle.
Brands such as Kellogg’s have been increasing expenditure with great effects. Even in light of a mild recession in 2001 they continued to spend money and in 2007 spent $1 billion on advertising, a first for them. They increased their price points following increases in higher production (ingredients) costs which many would have advised against in view of the markets. Their second quarter profits were up just over 9% proving that this was a good move. Mark Baynes, Chief Marketing Officer stated, “Brands are much more than flakes in a box. We believe it’s critical, when the economy gets tougher, that people should be seeing the value of our brands constantly.”
Strong spending now feels like a real risk to those holding purse strings but with risk comes potential large rewards. It’s imperative, now more than ever, that a marketing/brand manager has the right ‘real time’ advice and the right agencies in their tool belt.
Trends in Packaging
Packaging Design Trends
Packaging design in both visual and physical sense is inextricably linked to consumer preferences. The difficulty is that with trends there can be a wrong time and a right time to use these to a company’s best advantage. If you are too early you could miss the attention of your target consumer and if you are too late the early bird will have defiantly taken the worm.
The application of trends within packaging design need a great deal of consideration. Many questions need to be asked and considered and decisions made to ensure the designs fit with the brand strategy in the long term. Big brands can be very hesitant to market due to the potential pitfalls of following trends early and often the difficulties put in place by the logistics of the organisation. Unusually Coke have taken a big step with 5 limited edition cans for this summer which, following a packaging fiasco for Tropicana, is a brave move. A move that we like though, with its clean and crisp design that does not stray too far from the can design we are familiar with. This usual hesitancy of big brands normally paves the way for smaller innovative brands taking the reign and heading towards the fire of early adopters in the hope they have got it right. The bigger brands will follow later when the trend is ’confirmed’ and the business case is strong to follow.
It’s no easy task to discover an emerging trend and there have been many cases when brands have got it wrong which can be a costly mistake (as with Tropicana). The best safe guard would be to arm your organisation with real time consumer understanding collected specifically to feed into a brands consumer understanding. Within packaging you must understand the views, opinions and motivations of consumers when they are making their purchase decisions. It is important to understand not only what they think but also what importance they put on each consideration they make. The critical factor here is also what effect price has on these motivations. Working within packaging boundaries that motivate your key target demographic will keep a brand on a steady path. In an ever growing packaging savvy market place the understanding of trends is imperative.
Utilising Trends Too often design agencies are blinkered or rely on out of date information when looking to understand packaging. Trends in the fashion industry tend to filter through relatively quickly and fashion moguls are hard wired into the key areas where fashions trends are born. For example leading fashion stores often trawl fashionable London markets like Portobello looking for ideas from small designer stalls selling their wears. Music, internet, theatre and underground sport are also breeding grounds of early trends which often make their way into the mainstream market place. As they filter in and influence the mainstream they take many twists and turns and can become diluted, which is a safer bet for the big brands.
Timing Knowledge is key but with action in the right place at the right time the output will not be as fruitful. Brands need to understand when, how and why to use a visual trend. We are looking to motivate, excite, inform and improve the purchase experience at the key point of the shopper journey. To understand consumers you cannot look at them from afar you must work with, listen to, and understand them. To discover an emerging seed of a trend we must understand how cultural, political and social trends are shaping the society we live in.
Politics are interesting as politicians seek out trends to be an early adopter and a leader of ideas. When they get this wrong they ensure amends are made as quickly as possible whipping up plenty of spin on the way. The issue they have is the opposition will always be quick to remind them (with supporting recorded evidence) of the mistakes they made. Luckily packaging design is often far more considered…
In the time of a recession understanding trends is important. Yes it was foreseeable that the likes of Aldi and Asda would do well in an economic downturn but consideration must be taken at the tail end when consumers who have traded down return to the more premium brands. Their experiences in this downturn will directly affect their purchase decisions in the future. Will many have realised that a well known baked bean brand tastes very similar to its Value rival? The only real difference being the packaging? This is the time to protect and enforce the brand message but will this be effective enough to motivate?
The end is nigh! The environment, and the protection of it, is not new news but it seems that way in the past few years. The trend to be environmentally protective is on its way to the top of the bell curve and gaining momentum. Everyone is jumping on the me-too band wagon with very few left behind. The early adopters such as Toyota with its Prius, which is the car of ‘choice’ for celebrities all over the world (parked next to their petrol guzzling Hummer no doubt), are keen to ensure consumers know they sold the original hybrid car in their latest campaign. Looking back this trend seemed obvious so why such late adoption by many key brands? Did they not foresee the power and impact of such a behavioural change in the market place? Or was it a case of waiting for others to try the water first? Now everyone is swimming.
So what’s the next big trend for your brand and its packaging? What will your consumers be doing next? What do they think? find out: trends@blowcreative.co.uk
Flaming Banksy – Charity Art Auction
Flaming Banksy
Blow Creative was invited to Martin Miller’s Glencot House for an eccentric Flaming Art Auction sponsored by his very own Gin label. It was all in the aid of charity and guests were asked to bring along art they wanted to ‘see the back off’. It all sounded sacrilegious until you noted some of the art that was brought along.
A few pieces were of merit and eagerly purchased by the raucous crowd who gave their judgement on each piece by either bidding or shrieking ‘BURN IT!’
One piece, even though it was a log of wood, was not sent to the flames as it was a original tagged Banksy and was auctioned off for a ‘mere’ £1600…
We highly recommend Glencot house for a weekend retreat of eccentricity…
Design your way out of the dark days
Designing your way out of dark times
It’s good to focus on the positives so here are a few topline stories of companies who designed their way out of hard times:
In the 1980’s Swatch designed the Swiss watch industry out of trouble after it ran into a serious crisis when Asian companies swamped the market with Quartz Crystal technologies. Swatch has produced more than 350 million Swiss-made watches in tune with the latest trends in the streets, sports and fashion.
Net-A-Porter, an online fashion store, was launched at the peak of the dot com bust in 2000. It weathered the storm and its fresh, innovative website and considered packaging have seen the company grow from three people to over 300 with a turnover of £37 million.
Virgin Atlantic developed a new seat design in late 2001 at the time of the atrocities of 9/11 and rising fuel prices were adversely affecting the travel industry. They knew the market would return to strength and were well positioned on its return. ‘We knew the market was going to come back, when it did we wanted to have the best product on the market, everything slotted into place,’ says Head of Design Joe Ferry.
Space Invaders
Space Invaders
Following a Space invaders creative piece for Pot Noodle we thought it only right to take this one step further and get some up in the studio…
1 Litre Water
1 Litre Water
1 litre™ is an award-winning water extracted directly from sources in Canada and the USA. Its revolutionary packaging design, which features an integrated cup, combined with a uniquely fresh, crisp, invigorating taste, has made 1 litre™ a must-have at the finest hotels, restaurants, casinos, spas and resorts in over 24 countries. The product is available in one litre and one half- litre sizes. We love the simple chic packaging design.
Cat on a Mac
Cat on a Mac
Forget ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ – We have ‘Cat on a Mac!’ Sometimes taking work home is not that easy… Our Client Services Director’s cat was more interested in Felix meaty pouches rather than Innocent Veg Pots! (lucky for him we have worked on both!)