Keep Creative jobs in Cumbria

After reading news on 'in-Cumbria' and seeing local press it really frustrated me that yet again a major contract to help develop local tourism in Cumbria whilst creating local economy growth has been contracted out to an agency in Manchester.  WEST Cumbria Tourism has announced the appointment of Creative Concern from Manchester, as the preferred partner to deliver its marketing and promotions campaign for the next 15 months and possibly beyond. After what I would imagine was another lengthy and mostly 'suspicious' process of asking a number of creative marketing businesses in and around Cumbria to tender for this project. After spending many years in this county and working with some award winning and very experienced businesses and individuals here, who deliver quality communications online, in print, through PR and other media streams. It's really sad to see that a local business was not chosen. This could be for a number of reasons, but surely it can't be for the lack of talent, experience and local passion from the many creative agencies or individuals and partnerships we have here. I'm not sure there are many Manchester, London and even Newcastle businesses/organisations that use creative agencies in Cumbria for boosting tourism for them, so why do we give our projects away to them? And then to rub salt in the wound, we bragg about it in the local press.  For me personally that's not 'Good Marketing'. 

Yes I agree the West Coast of Cumbria needs help to deliver sustainable long-term ideas that are innovative and can bring economic growth to the area (don't most places want this). But surely to help economic growth we should be developing what is on our doorstep and encouraging the creative industry in Cumbria that there is work to be done in our County from our own crop of talent. I fear the message that this type of news from Katie Read and her team at West Cumbria Tourism give's out, is once again demoralising and damaging to the economy of the Creative Industry in Cumbria and a big 'NO JOBS HERE' sign to many creative students in Universities throughout Cumbria, who love to study here and would possibly stay in this county if there were jobs in their chosen fields. The future of the Cumbria economy, especially the West Coast is in our own hands. Instead of letting all the local potential and growth fall through our fingers, we must grab opportunities like this with both hands and hold onto what creative talent is in our County. Support what is here and work together for a collective goal.

There are many networking organisations, cluster groups and business forums in Cumbria and they all continue to demand generating economy for the county on a local level.

Let's hope the appointment of a business in Manchester delivers the true hopes and aspirations of people around the West Coast of Cumbria and that of all the partners involved.

I would be very interested to hear any comments from organisations in the County and from the many creative agencies in Cumbria regarding projects they know of, or have been involved with (or not) that have been passed outside of the County.  Some transparent reasons why this is happening may also be a useful insight for all concerned.

Lovemarks Book signed by Kevin. Neat!

 

Happy New year to everyone. My Christmas present was a signed book by Kevin. The interview went well and I've just seen the first draft of the video. A few changes to be done in the editing suite, but shouldn't take too long.  Hopefully I will have it ready to post on this blog and my website in the coming days. Cheers Paul

Do you have a question for Kevin Roberts?

Kevin Roberts - CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi

On December the 20th Kevin Roberts - The worldwide CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi will be talking at the well known Rheged Visitor Centre, Penrith. Paul Smith the founder of The Brand Group has been given an exclusive one 2 one interview with Kevin prior to this event. Paul will be putting a few questions to Kevin on subjects relating to Cumbria, brands and off course Lovemarks. The interview will be filmed and will appear on The Brand Group website in January. What we would like to do is gather some questions that Cumbrian businesses would like Paul to ask Kevin for the interview. Your question can be anything related to branding, lovemarks or Cumbrian brands or business. Paul will choose the best 2 questions along with his own and put these to the advertising maestro on the night. 

If you would like the chance to put your question to Kevin Roberts then please email your question to:
info@thebrandgroup.co.uk  Paul will notify the 2 winners following the interview.

Don't miss this unique opportunity to ask a leading CEO something you would never get a chance to otherwise.  Thank you.

The cost of the most famous logo in the world- £22.00

Yes that's right. Nike's iconic swoosh logo cost them just $35 (£22). And the now infamous and ever tweaking (or should that be tweeting) Twitter logo was bought for just £10 from i-stock. Now this is all well and good, but behind these logos or brand marks there is a very strong strategic brand belief to make these logos become memorable. It also takes time and investment, let's not forget these logos were not iconic overnight. On a more local level it's all too easy to argue over the cost of creating a logo, but in my experience it's always a different in story.  Some logos I have created have cost nothing and been very successful and others have cost over £1,000.00 - It all depends on the client, the budget and also what their business and brand aspirations and strategies are. What real value will they place on having a well thought out logo that will represent the company correctly and at the same time become memorable and a recognisable symbol or badge for customers.  What logos do you know in Cumbria of businesses , charities or any organisation for that matter and try the following experiment.Now be honest as you're only kidding yourself..

1. Firstly think of a well known brand that you know in Cumbria..
    (something most of the county know or have heard of).

2. Now grab a pen or pencil and some paper (or whatever is closest to hand) and sketch out that logo from memory.

3. Now go online and find the brand you thought of and reveal just how close to that logo your sketch is.

You can then mark your score out of 10.  1 being no way near the correct logo and 10. being bang on, colours, typeface and everything.


This is a really interesting experiment for the business owners or the marketing depts of these logos.
Let's see just how memorable your logo is and then ask yourself... how much did I pay for this.
That's when you will understand the true value of your logo.

Good luck and happy sketching.

PS

New British Gas brand identity.

I have just seen the new brand identity from CHI & Partners for British Gas. I have also read many reviews and comments about in on several blog sites. My initial reaction is not great I'm afraid, but I feel it's not fair to be to negative without seeing the brief CHI was given by the client which should reveal what was the business and brand strategy for this logo. You will see for yourself that there are comments such as. " Not very British looking" " Looks like a GCSE project", "Typeface is dreadful" etc.. but what I find interesting is the underlying message behind this new identity. Firstly I think my initial reaction from many BG customers will be...'Why on earth are BG spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on this rebrand now when our bills are increasing by the month. The new vehicle wraps throughout the country will alone be astronomical. I can't help but think this new branding could have waited several more years until Britain was kind of back on it's feet again financially and our collective emotions weren't as gloomy. The actual stand alone logo itself for me looks a bit cheap (unlike their prices) especially the intended flame. Using blue and green gradients in a logo has been done to death and looks very naive. Hard to believe the creative director passed this.  The negative space within the flame is not an attractive shape at all and to bring in a hint of green smacks of jumping on the environmental band wagon, which to me they didn't really need to do. We as a population understand what BG's product is and what it does to our environment through our consumption... we don't need this feeble attempt to make us feel better about BG.  This leads me onto this strap line or brand promise if you want to call it that. "Looking after your world" again I'm not sure this will not come back to haunt BG in the future if something does go wrong (think BP). I personally don't need a utility company to look after my world. For a company like BG to settle for something this uninspiring and slightly mick taking for it's brand badge is quite incredible. How tightly tied were the agency's hands on this brief I wonder?  The actually typeface itself is not to bad, but yet it still falls short of the mark in aspirational terms for me. (Feel free to comment all you type designers). I was lucky enough to have worked on a BG project 'Happy to Help" in 2002/3 which I helped create the identity, so this project has interested me on a personal level. I'm not sure how the customers will react to this brand change, but I do know there will be comments made about this in every design and brand magazine and web forum around the globe and alas I feel the majority will not be positive. If you have any feedback or would like to a add your comments then please do so.

Hamish takes the lead.

Fantastic talk this morning from Hamish Taylor at the Energus building in West Cumbria. Great to see some familiar faces there to. Hamish touched on many things that determine the strengths of great leadership. He told stories of some great moments when he was part of P&G, British Airways and more recently Sainsbury's banking. I personally liked the fact that he stressed upon the importance of revealing the 'soft insights' into what the real benefit for customers are from a brand, product or service. This is something we at the Brand Group have been asking our customers and talking about for some time now. Let's hope the penny finally drops and the Managers and CEO's of the Cumbrian organisations who were listening today take this on board going forward. This insight comes through emersing oneself into a customers situation and their desires/needs. It also creates enthusiasm which gets people on board and ultimately drives sales through the roof. All because of listening to what customers want and not shouting about how good your company or your products/services are. It's also about clear communication which excites and moves people, not just bullet points and business speak that's dull as dishwater of which no-one takes a blind bit of notice. This is the only way great Cumbrian businesses can make their brand something to be loved and have real meaning for people...thus ending the continual struggles of being just a commodity that noboday truly cares about internally or externally. So go get some 'soft insight' into your next board meeting and make a real change. You can also speak with us or any member of our Group for advice. We're here to put your business where it really should be, in people's heads and more importantly - their hearts!

Paul

Which brands in Cumbria do you love?

Hello to you all who follow this blog. I have recently been re-reading the book 'The Future beyond brands - Lovemarks' by Kevin Roberts. I read this initially last year. I have recently picked it up again due to the fact the man himself will be appearing in my neck of the woods this December at Reghed nr Penrith (I already have my place booked). I urge all designers, business owners, marketeers and anyone else to go to this event and also read this book. It is full of inspiring stories and guidance into the brands that really make an impact in people's lives to such a point where we love them.. hence making a real mark on their lives to a point where the consumer becomes 'loyal beyond reason'. I particularly love the story where Kevin brought a real lion into his first board meeting with the client 'Lion Nathan' in New Zealand..the board never forgot the Lion as part of their brand. I also love his constant associations and love of The All Blacks, rugby team. For all the great stories just get hold of the book any way you can, it's a must. One of his main points about Lovemarks, was that they all touched on emotions that so many organisations forget about or choose to ignore, which are Mystery, Sensuality and Intimacy - 3 building blocks that can make your brand become a 'Lovemark' giving you loyalty beyond reason. Now a lot of you will be saying... yes but my business is way to small to think about this ideal..in reality the opposite is never more true and in these very tough economic times, we simply can't ignore the fact that we need to have strong brands that people value and really love. In Cumbria many people choose to live here who were not necessarily born here. Many of the Brandgroup members moved here or have moved back here (including myself) because we 'love it'. We love it for many reasons, the beauty, the calmness, the accessibility to other great places, the friendliness, the ability to bounce back through adversity, the ideal place for children and families to grow... their are many things which make Cumbria for me personally a true 'Lovemark'. It would be interesting to hear what your 'Lovemarks' would be of businesses, products or people throughout Cumbria. Which Cumbrian brands do you really love? You can let me know at this email address: info@thebrandgroup.co.uk

I hope to see many friends, clients and the brand group members at Reghed for the visit of Kevin Roberts - Saachi & Saachi worldwide CEO I hope the evening will be as inspiring as his book and it will help all who come embrace their own brand with the aim of becoming a 'Lovemark' within Cumbria and beyond.

Love to you all!

Paul Smith

Website is now live

Hello and welcome to a very much anticipated post on this blog. Just a quick message to let you all know that The Brandgroup website is now live, so please take a look around. It's been a while in the making (due to it being done almost free of charge). There is still a little bit to do and things to clean up, but it's here for all the world to see. In the coming weeks there will be some new videos (from more than just me) from other group partners and also new projects will be on show to showcase the highly skilled and creative talents of all our partners. I can also start dedicating some time to this blog again to keep you all updated on important news and refreshing insights into the world of branding. It goes without saying that if you require The Brandgroup services or the services of our partners, please get in touch. It could be the the most powerful thing you do for your brand today.

Thanks

Paul Smith - Founder of The Brandgroup

Design and Strategy

What comes to mind when you think of design? Your last office makeover? Your business cards? Perhaps the artwork on the last CD or DVD you bought. Or the last house you saw built on 'Grand Designs'. Yes, these are examples of design, but are you just identifying design as a superficial feature, employed purely for aesthetic reasons, rather than a rigorous process? If you are, then you're missing the real value that design can bring to your business.

Businesses only really get the best out of design when they view it as something of core strategic importance rather than a coat of surface gloss. Think less about, say, the logo on your website's homepage and more about why you have a website in the first place.

It's important to think of design not just in terms of the look and feel of a product or service, but instead think of design as a process, a way of thinking and working that allows you to sift ideas and develop them into products and services that people can believe in and value in their own lives.

Does your brand make any SENSE?

When it comes to your brand appealing to all our senses, only around 84% of all communication in the commercial world appeals to only one of our senses - our vision.

This means that only 16% of communication actually stimultes our other senses.

So what? you may say, but think about this, 75% of our daily emotions are influenced by what we smell, there's a 65%chance of changing someones mood by a exposing them to a positive sound. As brand choices are made emotionally and not rationally then shouldn't we all be thinking of ways to introduce our brand to our customers other senses - touch, smell, sound and taste. Q: What does your brand taste like? Does it have a specific smell? Do your customers recognise your brand just by touch?

For entrepeneurs who love reading, use your eyes and purchase this if you have time:

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/martin+lindstrom/brand+sense/7218876/