Trends, Ideas and Inspiration

Are Design & Advertising A Waste of Money

By Jeremy Waite for NW Business Insider Magazine

YES! It is if you don’t do it properly. That’s probably why Duncan Bannatyne,  the entrepreneur and ‘dragon’, famously said “I’d rather have an impressive looking balance sheet than an impressive image ”. The thing is, most people know that they need to make their company stand out in an over-crowded market place,  but they make the mistake of thinking that simply having a marketing strategy and a prestigious advertising agency behind them will guarantee success. (It won’t).

What you should be doing is looking at design as an investment  and what the likely return on that investment will be. The Unilevers’ of the world measure their design and advertising spend and monitor the results. They regularly show a return of 400:1. That’s £400 of additional profit for every £1 that they spend on design and advertising.

Every company regardless of its size, should look at design in these terms. Design is, after all, an investment and not an expense. Only one company can ever be the cheapest, therefore everyone else must use design and their identity to stand out - across every form of communication. It is no surprise that 70% of the fastest growing companies in the UK claim that design is an integral part of their business’ success (www.designcouncil.org.uk).

So where do you start? Should you print beautiful brochures,  do a direct mail campaign,  advertise on billboards or buy some print advertising?  The response rates of all these forms or marketing are so incredibly low, that they are all a waste of time for most companies (especially SME’s). Advertising is great for building brand awareness for larger organisations, but most smaller companies need to make sales – not build brands.

Did you know that it costs on average 10 times more to find a new customer, than it does to keep an existing one? Think about it, you are lucky to get a 1% response rate from an e-marketing campaign or 3% from a direct mail campaign. Maybe even 17% if you personalise every leaflet, but we recently got a 47% return on a brochure we printed for every customer who had ever ordered from us – so we know this works! Success almost always comes from existing customers, rather than new ones.

So basically, spending money on pretty design and a new brand identity for the sake of it IS a waste of money, as is most advertising. The key is approaching creative services in the same way as you would invest in any other professional service. Be careful not to get too carried away by emotional pitches. Spend your money wisely and be careful to monitor the results. Many design companies will give you a very strange look if you ask them to qualify the money you spend on design, in terms of ROI, but the ones that can are usually the ones that will make a big difference to your company.

FACT FILE

THE MOST SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES IN 2008 WILL BE DOING THE FOLLOWING…..

• 1. KEEPING IT REAL – Communicate with real people (eg. Dove’s campaign for real women). Make genuine promises and sell with integrity.
• 2. TELLING STORIES – Case studies and testimonials from happy clients will be the driving force behind the fastest growing companies, not products and prices.
• 3. MAKING THINGS SIMPLER – Don’t try to be all things to all people. ‘Niche’ is good and simple advertising messages are much more memorable.
• 4. FEELING THE DIFFERENCE – Web advertising isn’t everything, it’s just one element of a great campaign. Customers will spend up to 35% more online, if they’ve also got a printed brochure in their hands. 
• 5. CARING FOR OUR COMMUNITIES – CSR matters. Giving a percentage of your profits to a charity related to your business really will make a difference to your clients.
• 6. DARING TO DREAM – People buy with their hearts, not with their heads. Emotions are everything, so make sure all your marketing aims to get your customers excited.
• 7. CUSTOMERS DON’T JUST WANT A GOOD DEAL ANYMORE - THEY WANT TO BE INSPIRED.

The Design Battle

We recently read about the Cut and Paste Digital Design Tournament soon coming to London. This movement began in New York at the back end of 2005. It involves a few designers going head to head to produce a piece a design on a given theme before a live audience. The London event it taking place on 20th October. (Ticket information here). It sounds a lot of fun. But what we really like about it is that it's not about the established agencies or the big names. It's a rare place to see designers, graffiti artists, photographers and creatives coming together and for unsung talent to shine.

Juicy is 1 Year Old

No coincidence perhaps that as we look to celebrate our own first birthday, I've just been to an exhibition celebrating the Hacienda's birthdays in Manchester. The showpiece was their very own first birthday poster designed by Peter Saville. We haven't got our own celebrity designed poster, so we'll celebrate with the most iconic birthday poster of my generation here .....

ARTICLE: In a knowing and gleeful way, Peter Saville, the graphic designer and art director, is contemplating his own greatest creation: himself. "When people started looking at the 1980's, Peter Saville became a classic. The work I did for Factory Records had a predictive quality - it showed the shape of things to come. I became lionised, which was lucky, because business and I weren't getting along. I became bigger than the the thing I would have set my name to.

I'm more interesting than most of my clients. So for the last few years, I've been coming to terms with this, being the legend. Peter Saville is Peter Saville, it's an end in itself. I decided I had to present what is most personal and important to me. I've been less inclined to do commisioned work which doesn't have a space for me. My biggest client this year is Peter Saville, but the problem with him is that he doesn't have any bloody money."

Read more

Hacienda Exhibition @ Urbis

Two words. GO NOW. It's a superb exhibition showcasing the best of Madchester design in what was probably the cities most formative period culturally. We've just been and it is simply stunning. Even more so if you were lucky enough to be a part of the FAC/HAC movement between 1978 and 1991. Many big ideas were birthed and many great bands and design companies sprouted up. And we're more than happy to be one of them. We've got a lot to thank Peter Saville and Ben Kelly for.

So go to Urbis and check it out as soon as you can, because it will be gone before you know it. And it's FREE, so what more do encouragement do you need? But remember to take a few spare hours with you. And don't forget to dig out your Happy Monday's t-shirt and a horn.  Happy memories indeed.

Legendary Manchester Designer Peter Saville Talks About His Inspirations

Award Winning Advertising in Prague

No stranger to the odd field trip, we thought it would be rude to not get involved in the installation of some award winning advertising in Prague last weekend. These little beauties only cost £40 per square metre to print, but the estimated ROI for Renault with the 1.5million tourists that pass each week is estimated to be a record.

The most complicated part was getting the placement right as you have to stand just far enough away to have the posters feel like you are actually looking at a building. The beauty of the placement here is that the ideal distance is almost the same as the corner of the square, so it hits you as soon as you turn the corner. They are printed onto mesh and mounted on scaffolds, so the wind has no problem blowing through the posters.

Give us a ring on 0161 953 4080 if you'd like to commission us to do a tasty version for Manchester city centre! Not sure if we could get away with expenses for another research trip to Prague though ...

Don't get too personal

I recently came across this article. I would love to hear what you think.

"Designer's Corner: Don't Get Too Personal
Graphic design tips by David Dresen, Director of Design, Logoworks

So, you’ve just received your registration confirmation from the state for your new business name, and you’re excited about the potential success of your company.  Congratulations, you’ve put your heart and soul into this, and can think of little else.
As you approach a designer to have your company logo designed, my advice to you would be, don’t get too personal.
You have put your time and money into this project, and you are emotionally invested in it. But now is the time to step back, distance yourself emotionally, and let your designer take some control.  If you come to me to design your logo, here is what I will tell you.
I want to help your business succeed and make your hopes and dreams for it become a reality. You are relying on me to help your company succeed. That may sound a little presumptuous, but in reality a logo can either help you build a strong brand identity and have a strong position in the marketplace, or it can be a detriment to your business. Your logo is your company's face, and that first impression will influence people to either find out more about your company or ignore it. That may not be fair, but it's a reality."

Read more...

Wise words...

I was recently reading Design Week and stumbled across a great article about the Next Big Thing. Here are some of John Allert's thought's for 2007.

"Effective Design has its roots in order, clarity and beauty. In 2007, brand owners will continue to realise that these outcomes of design, while still relevant, are no longer enough to win the hearts and minds of consumers.

Increasingly, words are being used by more visionary brand designers to facilitate and encourage a dialogue between brand and buyer. Not advertising, but genuine brand communication. Integrating a brand's tone of voice or verbal identity with a relevant visual personality is not in itself new. When was the last time you were able to sit through a workshop without someone mentioning Innocent Drinks?

What is new is the level of pressure on designers to forge connections between brands and punters by using words cleverly. Clients, many let down by the absence of real resonance generated by traditional advertising, are being forced to take risks in how they communicate.

Words are their new weapon, not price deals, loyalty schemes and endless punning. It seems to me the term graphic design will be a long time dead. Design can no longer be defined by the visual. 2007 will be the year off the words used wisely."

Your thoughts please...