As a design agency we’ve often been asked to rebrand some unusual products and services – literally form sponges to sheds. We are seriously thinking of calling up the mayor of Margate to give him direction on rebranding his “faded seaside town” because I’m sure we could have done a much better job than the designer suited idiots on the Apprentice.  Put simply, Good design is consistent – whether you are targeting the pink pound or the White House. Good design is immediate - people should not have to read an essay to get your message.

If you struggling with your advertising campaign, stop browsing and call us now! In the meantime if we can give you some advice; it’s the simplest approach that makes posters and advertisements work, try this checklist

1. Impact – choose a great image and a clever headline – make sure the colours complement and don’t clash, stop passers by in their tracks and make your ad leap of the page in the newspaper by cutting the clutter (less is more in advertising, you may love the hyperbole and detail but very often you can drown the benefits in a sea of blather)

2. Information – give a small précis of why you’re the best and why customers cant live without you – the selling points distilled into a few words (people only spend 8 seconds looking at a website homepage so what chance have you got with a billboard). Remember people read from left to right so lead them by the eyes.

3. Call to action – this the most important part, make your web address,  phone number (freefone if possible)  bold and clear

Need an ad campaign that hooks new customers or a brochure with impact? Call us now on 01782 264400

Being a marketing manager during exhibition season used to be like being a roadie for a particularly middle of the road rock band – without the sex drugs and rock and roll (unless you are counting flipping through 30 seconds snatches of adult films on the hotel TV). Arriving at vast empty exhibition caverns at an unearthly hour to oversee a team of “craftsmen” complete with builders backsides and union rules enforced bacon butty breaks slowly unload a fleet of Luton and Bedford vans. All the while praying your stand made the journey down the m6 in one piece. After much sweat, tears, crushed lighting tubes and enough gaffer tape to circle the moon – the stand was in place. So then off with the tour t-shirt (“Birmingham: NEC, Milan: Macef, Frankfurt: Messe, Chesterton: back of the warehouse” listed on the back) and on with the suit and tie to await the customers and leaflet collectors in their hordes – pausing only to prop up the “exhibition smile” with caffeine.  Phew! tiring and exhausting work. A week of manning the stand followed by the dawning realisation that it all needs breaking down again – another city, another show, another hernia.

Well things have changed!

The Bedford van is now the boot of your car, the team of sweaty stand guys are now your good self and the hours of setup are now minutes – including plenty of time to stand back, admire your work and pat yourself on the back.

Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the age of the POP-UP stand, they save you time, space for suitcases, money and hernias.

Need a pop up in a hurry or a stand that delivers – call us now on 01782 264400

The creative director chews furtively on the barrel of his mont blanc pen...

“So then the advertising campaign is ready to roll, Jenkins just run me through the concept again”

“Ok boss, we’ve got Spielberg on the case, we’ve signed up the London Philharmonic and Kanye West, picture the scene; its night time, a gentle breeze ruffles the the Joshua trees as the moon glows like a beacon in the mist above the painted desert – a solitary coyote can be heard singing his song to the night (Jim Carrey’s people say he’s interested). It’s like really quiet, and suddenly a rumble can be heard, the rumble becomes a roar and all of a sudden IT appears like a comet shooting across the sky – the Mothership – it hangs like an unearthly Christmas decoration (industrial light and magic are on board), pulsing hypnotically, suddenly deep in Cheyenne mountain at the NORAD base a computer kicks into life flashing "alert! alert! alien invasion" (you know, like they always do) – a vast display screen opens up on one side of the unearthly craft and forming slowly out of green light like the opening titles to Alien are these words “free chips with every pie at Derek’s cafe”

“So tell me Jenkins, how will that translate to a leaflet drop in the Advertiser?”

The key to effective marketing is knowing your target audience and keeping it simple – think of the average person who will receive your marketing message – why should they choose your product? What is your unique selling point?

Sometimes the simplest approaches can yield the best results – remember KISS -  Keep It Simple Stupid.

Why fill the shelf with awards when you can fill your order book?

For cost effective Design and Marketing with impact call us now on 01782 264400