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History
Febraury 2012
Talk to your
customers
We've noticed something of a resurgence in direct mail lately with brands looking to target consumers in ever more interesting ways. Beyond recently created a high value awareness piece for Powwownow as part of the launch campaign to promote their Premium conferencing service. Having evolved the visual identity we developed a messaging strategy to position the service as ‘the premium service without the premium price tag’. This project was another welcome opportunity to produce a really nice piece of print.
Febraury 2012
Designer
clichés
We tweeted a couple of our 'designer lightbulb gags' earlier this week, which seemed to resonate with quite a few of you designer stereotypes. In fact, we received literally several responses from all around the world and here's a short list of our favourites:
How many designers does it take to change a lightbulb? Dunno, but while you're at it can you make the bulb a bit bigger?
How many designers does it take to change a lightbulb? Not sure, let's make the bulb a bit, I don't know, less 'bulby'.
How many designers does it take to change a lightbulb? What? I've changed it five times already!
How many designers does it take to change a lightbulb? Hmmm, does it have to be a lightbulb?
How many designers does it take to change a lightbulb? I'll need the original vector version of the lightbulb.
How many designers does it take to change a lightbulb? There's not enough time to change it, we'll just have to make it look better.
How many designers does it take to change a lightbulb? One, but can you also change all the other bulbs while you're at it? It won't take you long.
How many designers does it take to change a lightbulb? Not sure, but I'll know it when I see it.
How many designers does it take to change a lightbulb? Lightbulb? It's a bit cliché, everyone's doing lightbulbs.
How many designers does it take to change a lightbulb? Can't you just hit a button and make that bulb light up?
January 2012
WELCOME TO THE
REVOLUTION
The digital landscape is rapidly evolving and 2012 is set to tip the balance. As more advanced digital services hit the mainstream, emerging trends are becoming more accessible and media channels are redefined for a new age. It's worth considering how these technological changes will affect your business from a marketing perspective, so these are our top-tips for digital communications in 2012.
Mobile
With the smartphone rapidly replacing the PC as our digital hub, more of us than ever before have the ability to access digital content from a mobile device. This changes the way people interact with their favourite brands, which in turn effects the way we define our strategy for digital marketing. 2012 is set to be the year of the tablet device (finally?). With iPad leading the way, we're also seeing significant advances for the Android platform, so expect the mobile internet to take connectivity to the next level.
Web
With advances made in HTML5 and contextual design we'll see websites pushing those boundaries further this year. Average home broadband speeds are set to increase, with greater possibilities for higher resolution content and online video advertising, so consumers will begin to expect and demand a higher quality experience from your website. Since we're now able to interact with big brands in so many different ways, the 'company website' becomes just one of many online touch points. It's important that the brand experience remains consistent, right across the board.
Flash
Adobe's Flash has been on shaky ground for sometime, not least since Apple declined to incorporate a Flash plugin within their iOS devices. Although Flash will continue to evolve, Adobe announced last year that they would no longer be developing for mobile devices and Flash Player development for Android and Blackberry has now ceased. In terms of advertising, HTML5 and converging video standards will gradually replace the familiar 'Flash banner'. Does your web content consider the user experience on mobile devices?
Social
Big business has woken up to the social network, simply setting up a Twitter or YouTube account is not going to cut it as a social media strategy. There has been a shift in the way corporate entities approach social media, realising it's a far more powerful tool than just another branch of the customer service department. These communication channels allow people to build stronger emotional connections with brands. It's now possible to take a customer from being a casual fan to a brand loyalist, which means ROI remains a key metric to any social media strategy.
Gaming
Our work within the gaming industry means we keep an eye on the cutting edge world of video entertainment. The impact of downloadable games is already reducing the need for packaged product. Although we're not necessarily expecting to see the next-gen console revolution just yet, we'll be interested to see how services like OnLive have an effect on the way the console platforms evolve. Mobile gaming is set to take a great leap forward this year. Research shows that more of us fill our 'downtime' with digital entertainment, particularly when we're on the move, and mobile advertising is generating more revenue than ever before.
Television
TV will be redefined for the consumer as we become less concerned about the size of our flat screen in the lounge and more interested in when and where we're able to access relevant content. IPTV services offer a broad range of on-demand programmes and will gradually replace traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats. This fundamental change in the way content is delivered has created huge possibilities for more targeted mainstream advertising. Television, as we knew it, is about to change forever.
It's certainly going to be an interesting year for technology and digital marketing as a whole. Some brands will leap onto a passing bandwagon, some will fall off in spectacular fashion, while others are content to sit back and watch the world go by. If you would like to discuss any of these points in more detail, email Andy Brattle for a chat about the future. We look forward to taking you through the digital revolution.
January 2012
We’re seeing an increased interest in the use of motion graphics to convey business messages. These projects are always interesting as they require a careful balance between narrative and information. To be most effective the sequence must be visually engaging yet clear and informative.
As one of the world’s largest conferencing services providers, MeetingZone approached us to help them more effectively articulate the features and benefits of their core service whilst evolving the current brand identity. Following some comprehensive storyboarding we identified the optimal structure and designed a branded virtual environment to glue everything together. The result is a 4 minute animated video sequence that clearly explains the service whilst giving the existing brand a fresh sense of personality.
