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/

Brand Damage by Association

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/66d1d3ec-2f19-11e0-88ec-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1Cyta2vMn

Very interesting article here on the FT website. What would happen if your company or your product was adopted by a demogrpahic or customer that you would never choose to be associated with and what would the implications be to your brand. Think; Burberry and Chavs, Toyota vans being used by the Taliban, Crystal Champagne and Rap Music, Stella Artois now nicknamed 'wife beater' by many and Ferrero Rocher being associated with cheap receptions at party's.

Sometimes brands have no control over their product once it is released into the world.

So what can a company do? If only a small percentage of the wrong type of customer buys its product, a pragmatic approach is to ignore the problem.

If you do need to address it look for a positive spin. Perhaps the first thing to do is to look for a kind of positive that the undesirables represent.

'Marketing is often a process of discovery' - Professor Barwise of London Business School.

It's the final countdown..

Hello,

Just wanting to inform everyone that 'The Brand Group' website will be launched very soon.

We're putting the final nuts and bolts together as we speak and we are hoping to be live by the end of February. Some exciting stuff happening in the coming weeks for the group to, which I will inform you of as and when they are 'blog worthy'. You can keep up to date with our tweets and if you require any help with your brand then please don't hesitate to contact us: info@thebrandgroup.co.uk

The Designer's Prayer

Johnson Banks writes a fantastic 'thought for the week' blog and I spotted this on it which made me chuckle.

PS Design Group becomes part of The Brand Group

The Brand Group is here. Yes that's right folks, PS Design Group is now a partner of The Brand Group. There has been lots of work in the background and reasons why this partnership is not only necessary, but also very relevant. Over the years I (Paul Smith) have been privileged to work with some top creative talent throughout Cumbria and across the UK - in fact I still do and will continue to do so. I am however going to focus on the reason that brought me into this creative profession originally... Brands!!!!

Branding is what makes me get up in the morning - and is my passion. Your brand is not just a logo, an advert or a brochure, your brand is everything your current and prospective customers think, feel, say, hear, read, watch, imagine, suspect and even hope about you or your product, service or organisation...

It's about real meaning! And that's what's important and why people use their emotions to choose a brand and stay loyal to a brand for many years.

Although I will be taking a step back from the actual graphic design duties and development process that takes place once a brand has been established, I will be overseeing the majority of the creative output and I will still be hands on when it comes to delivering the tangible stuff for PS Design Group. I will be spearheading The Brand Group along with some very creative talent - from cool Graphic Designers and amazing Photographers to brilliant Web Developers and Marketing Gurus, who are all at the top of their game. And we will be giving businesses in Cumbria and beyond the chance to have a 'full service' and true 'branding agency' to call upon to help their brands become what they really should be and reach their true authentic potential.

The new website and introductory material for The Brand Group will be rolling out to our current clients in the coming weeks and months, but in the meantime I wanted to announce this first from my blog. I would like to remind everyone that The Brand Group, will be all about creativity, strategy, and development over the long term. PS Design Group will be the Graphic Design partner along with other sectors including Online Developers, Photographers, Marketing and much more. Thus making us (and our clients) better, adding more value and becoming a relevant partner to anyone who is serious about their brand.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and if you need any further information or would like to talk to us about your brand and how we can help, then please contact us at: info@thebrandgroup.co.uk

A very Merry Christmas to you all and we look forward to working with you in 2011.

And remember... A Brand is like a puppy...it's not just for Christmas.

Straight 6 Classic Car Brand Launch

Straight 6 was a passion for a client of mine whos dream was to own a number of classic cars and then as a business idea, hire these out to enthusiasts or for personal events and weddings etc.. When PS Design Group were first briefed there wasn't even a car to hire out, but since then an e-type jaguar has been purchased and in time a number of other classics will join the fleet. The name Straight 6 came from the 6 cylinder engines associated with these cars. The whole brand needed a vintage feel about it, but with a memorable look and feel associated with the subject. We decided on classic racing Green and complimentary yellows as the main company colours and a stylistic, strong logo marque. A website , business stationery and promotional literature have also been created. We hope you like the branding, and if you need a perfect gift for Christmas this year.. Straight 6 also do vouchers - so visit the website and buy your Dad a present he will never forget. Va va Voom!

Eden Valley Hospice - Bike 2 parliament

Please help raise money for Bike2Parliament . PS Design Group created the logo design and banners to promote a charity cycle ride by some friends and my local Conservative MP John Stevenson. They are raising funds (and getting sore bums and legs) for Eden Valley Hospice. You can also follow their training and the actual rides ups and downs

via their twitter page. Good luck guys and girl. Say hello to Mr Cameron when you get to Westminster.

Penrith & Border Broadband Conference @ Rheged.

I've just attended the "Penrith and the Border Conference today at Rheged in Penrith. Rory Stewart (MP) was hosting the event with some great speakers from around the UK being put on the spotlight about the possible solutions for the communities who are determined to get high-speed Next Generation broadband Access (NGA) and a reliable 2mb connectionby the end of 2012. PS Design Group is proud to be associated with this very important conference and we were responsible for creating the logo and a lot of the marketing material and visual graphics. To find out more please visit: www.rorystewart.co.uk/broadband

The Wheatsheaf Inn gets new branding and website.

The Wheatsheaf Inn is a fantastic public house and caravan park based in the small village of Low Lorton near Cockermouth in Cumbria. They approached PS Design Group to breathe some new life into a tired looking website. At the same time we also created a new identity to sit with the new look, this new identity will be rolled out onto menus, signage and all promotional material in the coming months. The new website is full of useful information on all that is happening in and around the pub. With news on events, the latest award winning ales on offer and a full food menu which will be updated on a regular basis. It was a pleasure working with Mark & Jackie (lanlord and landlady) and we hope to visit them very soon to sip some fine local ales and dig into some scrumptios pub grub.

Chatsworth Tennis Club - Mailer

Chatsworth Tennis Club asked us to design a mailer to coincide with the launch of the new logo that we were commissioned to do a few months ago. Children and teen member numbers were on the down turn, so we neede to create something to generate interest in the club and the excellent facilities that are on offer. We designed an informative trifold leaflet with energetic imagery to reflect the passion and exitement that we found from the children that were currently members. We urge anyone interested to visit their website for more info or why not head down to the club and see all the great facilities that are available.