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Company logo

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

Just ONE is a multi-disciplinary education, healthcare & social care consultancy that covers a range of sectors including housing and education. This client came to us with the request to redesign their overall image, including, logo, website design and company brochure.

The current company logo and website had been with them since the company was set up over 10 years ago and it was felt the time was right for a refresh.

Our main challenge in this project was to inject a creative edge whilst still conforming to the professional standards for the sectors which the company operates in.

As usual, even though we were all itching to jump right into the logo design project, before we pick up any tools we must first review the project in full to find out exactly what we are producing and what the desired outcome is. These questions are typically written in a design brief, but, more often than not, as in the case of this client, can be talked through at the first briefing meeting.

Just ONE gave Studiowide an overall brief of; simplicity, clean, crisp and uncluttered, and something that is unique for their industry.

Armed with this information for the new company logo we can then move into the research stage. We analysed the competition to see what types of logos they were using and to see if there are any trends or clichés that stood out, and which we should steer well clear!

Designing a logo is a collaborative process, meeting with the client, hearing their needs and taking on board their suggestions. The company had an idea for the prominent use of colour in their identity, in order to portray eight business streams which make up the company divisions.

Our client also gave us explicit instructions that whilst they would like to incorporate as much of their idea as possible, they wanted Studiowide to steer them towards good design decisions.

We then worked on creating a number of design concepts which we then whittled down to the three best designs. From the three concepts we explored slightly different variations of each one and presented them to the client.

Whilst undergoing this process there is always a natural winner in the three concepts. The one concept which stood out for us was the use of the eight strong colours warping in a circular motion. This was a visual representation of the cross sectional working of the business streams, able to move together whilst remaining a separate entity.

The warped shape of the symbol was also utilised in the logo type. We chose a simple san serif font with a light-weight stroke, in lower case for the words “just”, moving into a capitalised and stronger font type for the word ‘one’.

Out of the three concepts we had submitted the client had selected the one which we also felt was the strongest concept.

Following this agreement of concept we then moved into the refining process of laying out the symbol and typography in a variety of formats to come up with the final company logo – above.

All that remains once we have created the final logo is to prepare the digital files in print and web versions and submit these to the client.

Every business and brand needs a company logo, more so in fragmented market spaces. No brand or product should wander faceless, in the competitive marketing jungle without one.

Testimonial;

“Really pleased with the work carried out by Studiowide. Consistently offered advice and guidance and provided a first class customer service. We've now got a website, brochure and logo that is unique to our marketplace. All the feedback we've received has been positive and it's helping us move into new business areas.” Greg Price. Business Development Manager, Just One Recruitment & Training, Merseyside.

Tags: company logo, Logo design
Posted in Case studies, Design, How To Do... | No Comments »

Setting objectives

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

Corporate objectives form the foundation of your marketing plan and also create the metrics for future control and evaluation. These objectives contain the detail that lies behind the forever vague corporate mission statement.

Once objectives have been determined they can be further broken down into multi-level objectives such as; corporate level objectives that concern the business as a whole; divisional objectives that focus on specific areas or departments within the company; functional objectives such as marketing mix objectives and lastly, campaign objectives.

Examples of Multilevel Objectives

Corporate objectives (derived from vision or mission):

Market standing – total sales or market share
Innovation – targets for product or service development, cost reduction, financing, operational Performance, human resource and management information
Physical and financial resources – acquisition and use of resources
Profitability – increase earnings per share or return on equity
Manager performance and development
Employee performance and attitude
Public responsibility

Divisional objectives;

Increase new customers by 10%
Increase retention levels from 50% to 75% within 18 months
Acquire 15 new customers every month within 12 months.

Marketing Mix Objectives;

Increase market share by 10%
Aim to achieve 75% customer awareness of our brand in our target markets
Improve profitability by 5%

Campaign Objectives;

Generate 1,000 new leads for sales team
Increase direct mail response rates by 10% through creative tests

When setting objectives you must also consider the micro and macro influences that can have an overall effect on your mission and objectives – such influences are sometimes overlooked in the planning and objectives stage.

Environmental factors;

PESTLE
Micro
Corporate social responsibility
Globalisation

Nature of the business:

Market situation
Products
Technology

Organisational culture;

History and age
Leadership and management styles
Structure and systems
Mission and vision
Culture

Stakeholders;

Who do you server?
Balance of power and influence of various Stakeholders
Governance and accountability

And last but not least, don’t forget that all objectives need to be SMART;

Specific
Measurable and expressed in quantifiable terms
Acceptable to stakeholders
Realistic and achievable
Time bound

Tags: campaign objectives, corporate objectives, marketing plan
Posted in How To Do..., Marketing, Strategic Marketing | No Comments »

Mind mapping for situational analysis

Friday, February 25th, 2011

What is it?
I think it’s safe to say that we’re all familiar with the process of mind maps. Recently we’ve been using this highly organised system of planning and note taking more and more to help us in our client situational analysis and briefing work.

Mind mapping is the easiest way to put information into your brain and to take information out of your brain – it’s a creative and effective means of note taking that literally maps out your thoughts.

Situation analysis is the marketing tool commonly used when auditing an organisational marketing strategy – finding out point A of a company in order to move them to point B. When Studiowide begins working with a new client we like to undertake some form of analysis to understand their current segmentation, targeting and positioning – this allows us to provide work that integrates seamlessly with their current communications and strategies.

As a creative company underpinned by the Chartered Institute of Marketing professional codes of conduct, we have created what we like to think as a unique way of conducting a formal situational analysis using mind mapping.

Case Study:
Company A requested for Studiowide to provide them with a corporate brochure. Following our initial briefing meeting it was agreed that in order to create the exact communications we needed to understand more about the organisation; products, services, markets and competitors. In order to obtain this information in a creative and visually engaging way we employed the use of a mind map (above).

The map began with the company at the centre and then all of the information that will make up the current situation branches out from the centre – starting with market orientation at number 1 and ending up with marketing strategy at number 7. Each route then has second and third level branches associated with that topic.

The event covered a 4 hour morning and was conducted to 10 key decision makers within the organisation. We utilised a white board to draw the map on, which remained front of view for the whole event. We also used a flip chart which allowed us to tear off the sheets and blue tack them around the room.

This format proved to be highly engaging and allowed the group to arrive at the key deliverables which are marked on the map with ‘Key’ symbols.

The event was of real benefit to our client not only because it provided current information to allow us to produce the corporate brochure, but by focussing the morning on the current marketing strategy some issues where flagged up for further investigation by the company.

Why not give this format a try at your next planning meeting. It doesn’t have to be presented to a room of delegates on a flip chart and whiteboard, it can quite easily be done one-on-one with an A3 sketch pad, and will leave a lasting memory both for you and other participants.

Tags: market orientation, marketing strategy, mind maps, segmentation targeting and positioning, situation analysis
Posted in Digital Marketing Planning, How To Do..., Strategic Marketing | 2 Comments »

Press Release Writing

Friday, January 14th, 2011

Press Releases are on the rise.

Business owners want to share their news again and are doing so through a variety of free digital portals that are available. However, the amount of exposure you can get from a Press Release depends on how well the release is written and where/how you publish it – there are loads of free Press Release hosting sites that have social media publishing tools built in, allowing you to distribute your news release across your own networks.

However, for a Press Release that’s so hot you want the whole media to know about it, you will probably have to go down the paid distribution route in order to guarantee the right kind of exposure (unless you have your own database of journalists and news desks). Our Press Release Wire service is available for this purpose. We check and rewrite your document (if necessary), then digitally publish your Press Release to thousands of industry specific key journalists and media outlet news desks. How do I make journalists pay attention to my Press Release? Every PR practitioner asks this question. When looking for the answer to journalistic attention, PR practitioners need to ask themselves a few questions.

Before Writing the Release:

1. Is this newsworthy?

This is the first and major question. The information has to interest the press and the rest of your targeted audience or else your efforts will be wasted. The following are typical items announced via news releases:

• New product/service

• Improvements or expansion of products/services

• Noteworthy new accounts

• Organisation/staff changes

• Quarterly earnings

• Achievements by company or personnel

• Information resources

• Response to a controversy or crisis

• Special events

• Charitable donations

• Awards won/given

• Giveaways or promotions

• Research findings

• Human interest stories Different items will appeal to different segments of the press and public, so choose the media outlet carefully. The Studiowide Press Release wire service allows you to segment by industry type to make sure your release matches your intended target market needs. If possible, find a special angle for your story. Does it have local appeal? Is there a unique aspect? Can you combine two items (e.g. a product announcement with a human interest story) to expand its appeal? Using an angle may mean you have to write multiple specialised releases instead of one generic piece.

2. What is the purpose of the release? The question above sounds obvious, but at times people issue releases without a clear goal in mind. Knowing your objective gives your writing focus and helps in the selection of distribution channels. Setting goals also aids in tracking and measuring the overall effectiveness of your strategies. Below is a mixture of short and long-term goals.

• Increase or maintain awareness

• Establish credibility or authority; build image

• Get interviews on television, radio, Internet

• Become an expert source • Promote sales

• Drive traffic to a special event or website

• Change buyer/industry behaviour • Expand market share

Whilst Writing and Editing the Release:

3. News or Feature?

The news style follows the conventional newspaper approach, summarising the story's who, what, why, when, where (and often how) in the first paragraph. A feature story Press Release resembles a magazine article and is written in a more entertaining manner. The feature often sets the tone and background before introducing the main topic.

4. Is the formatting and style appropriate?

There are several ways to format a release, and as long as you follow a few general rules, you should be fine.

• Use one side of A4 paper or approximately 400 words of copy

• Copy should be 1.5 line spacing

• Include release date or "For Immediate Release"

• Put contact information at the beginning or the end of the release

• Add a boilerplate (about the organisation/product/individual) section at the end of the story

• End the release with ‘END’ or "###" When it comes to spelling, punctuation and so on, most writers follow the style guidelines of the Associated Press. There are other stylebooks available or you can use a ‘house’ style sheet. Whatever you choose to follow, be consistent. Note: We also have a free online Press Release tool available to use for formatting.

5. Does it answer the relevant questions?

Some practitioners advocate that releases be written as a complete article, citing the tendency of editors to use stories verbatim. Others state that the release should only outline the story since reputable publications will contact the company. I think the best approach is to include enough information to allow a busy editor to use it without having to telephone you for more information. Write the story in pyramid news style, so less essential information is towards the end.

6. Is it concise?

News writers and editors take about five seconds to decide whether or not to use your release. Go long on facts and short on adjectives. Use short paragraphs for easy scanning. Also use subheadings on long or complex copy so readers can grasp your meaning at a glance. If your release is three or more pages, consider transferring some of the information to an accompanying fact sheet.

7. Is there adequate attribution?

Anything that can be considered subjective, such as opinions or grand claims should be credited to an executive in a quote.

8. Does it need a sample or photo?

Including images gives your release greater impact. The photo caption should also explain the who, where, when, why and what of the picture.

After Writing the Release:

9. Has it been reviewed and approved?

Bigger businesses usually have a series of executives who have to review the release copy before it goes to the press. Ideally, the number of reviewers should not be too long (in order to maintain timeliness), and a process that indicates who has already reviewed the copy (such as dated initials) should be established. If you're a small business owner, it is a good idea to have someone else proofread your copy.

10. To whom do I make follow up calls?

With the proliferation of media outlets, it is virtually impossible to contact each one about your release. Make an A-list of outlets that you think would be highly interested in your story and could give you optimum exposure. Utilising a methodical approach to questioning whenever a new Press Release is being created will leave you worry free to ponder other issues like whether you should create video news releases or audio? How do you build on the success of the release? All good topics for a follow up post…

Tags: free press release, How To Do..., press release tool, press release writing
Posted in How To Do..., Marketing, press releases | No Comments »

Marketing Environment – Macro

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

What is the macro marketing environment?

The macro marketing environment takes into account all factors that can influence an organisation, but are outside of their control. There are six major macro marketing environment forces to deal with (PESTLE): political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, legal and environmental.

• The political environment includes all laws, government agencies and lobbying groups that influence or restrict individuals or organisations.

• The economic environment consists of all factors-such as salary levels, credit trends and pricing patterns that affect consumer spending habits and purchasing power.

• The socio-cultural environment includes institutions and other forces that affect the basic values, behaviours, and preferences of the society-all of which have an effect on consumer marketing decisions.

• The technological environment consists of those forces that affect the technology with which can create new products, new markets and new marketing opportunities.

• The legal environment also affects an organisation – even though a company cannot directly influence any laws – lobbying or becoming part of a trade organisation is widely accepted in helping to ‘shape’ particular legal decisions.

Marketing environments are continuously changing and businesses operating in such turbulent environments need to be flexible. Globalisation and lower barriers to entry now mean that there is an even greater threat of substitute products and new entrants to market.

Even though the marketer has no direct control over the macro external environment, a greater understanding and awareness of these changing market conditions can be achieved through external analysis. External analysis will help identify future events, uncover possible threats and realise potential opportunities.

Key steps in environmental analysis of the macro marketing environment;

1) Audit of environmental influences
2) Assessment of the nature of the environment
3) Identification of the key environmental forces
4) Identification of the competitive position
5) Identification of the principal opportunities and threats (SWOT)
6) Strategic position as a result

Tags: macro marketing, macro marketing environment, marketing environment, marketing environments, new marketing opportunities
Posted in How To Do..., Marketing, Strategic Marketing, knowledge | No Comments »