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Archive for the ‘Marketing’ Category

Artists’ Product Photography

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011

Thomas Knowles is a local Liverpool based artist that creates simplistic, earthly and fragile narratives with an ambiguous content. Working with real issues, scenarios and contexts, and process them within a playful and fictitious method, applying flares of fantasy, melancholy and myth.

We were approached by Tom who told us that he wanted photographs of his art to use on his website and to send to galleries to raise general awareness of his work and establish himself as an artist. Tom’s work is something that has to be seen to fully appreciate it, the works are painted onto objects and so having a single image to showcase the work wouldn’t do them justice. The works stretch around the object a whole 360 degrees, so a series of photographs were needed to try and show the full extent of the work.

Tom is looking to display his work in galleries. The photographs are something that would be featured on his website and then viewed by galleries. Tom wanted the pictures to try and show off his art as much as possible without having the person look at the piece directly in person. Due to the size of some of the pieces, this would be almost impossible to be sending out or carrying around.

Tom was looking for the pictures to raise awareness of the art that he produces. The pictures need to show the attention to detail that Tom undertakes when painting each of his pieces.To solve this problem, we proposed a series of each photographs for each piece. Three main ‘establishing’ shots that show the piece as a whole from different angles and then a further three macro shots that will show the detail in each of the paintings.

At some point in the future Tom has stated that he would be using our 360 degree photography facilities so that people are able to rotate his pieces virtually and experience them almost as if they were viewing them in a gallery.

In total we took 39 photographs of Tom's art work, all ready to be put in his website. Tom is hoping the photographs will raise more awareness for the art that he produces. The photographs are also helping Tom sell his £2,000 artwork pieces.

Testimonial;

“I recently worked with Studiowide to complete a portfolio of product photography, capturing my artwork. I found working with Studiowide a real pleasure. On a personal level they showed genuine interest in both myself and my work, and went above and beyond to provide me with an excellent service, practical guidance and technical help. With regards to the photography work; I approached them with a difficult task as my artwork is very challenging to photograph due to its 3-Dimensional shape, its size and lacquered finish. These factors did not cause a problem for the Studiowide team who expertly, professionally and innovatively tackled the brief. As an artist it was fantastic to work with a creative team who understood art and my product, and how to show it at its best. I could not recommend Studiowide enough to any artists wanting to develop a portfolio, or anyone with a product that needs to be shown to its full potential.” Thomas Knowles, Artist.

Tags: art, painting, photograph, product photography
Posted in Advertising, Marketing, Photography | No Comments »

Product and Location Photography

Wednesday, November 30th, 2011

Over the past few weeks we’ve been busy snapping pictures to help promote ‘Beautiful Brows’;

‘Beautiful Brows is a specialist Cosmetics Company based in the UK. We manufacture and supply a unique brow makeover product, to retail and trade outlets across the UK. Beautiful Brows is a revolutionary system that creates perfectly shaped and coloured eyebrows in just minutes!

Our unique eyebrow powder is made in the UK, ensuring the highest quality – the product has fast become a UK top seller. Proven to quickly transform thin, short and pale eyebrows into the perfect shape, every time!’

We were asked to take a series of product shots that would be used both online and in a shiny magazine that would be available in Dubai. The product shots were all taken here at our Studio in Liverpool; using professional studio lights and a white backdrop we were able to create a stylish looking product shot for each of the products in the line-up. Once the picture had been taken and we were happy with the positioning of the light and the composition; it was time to take it to the next level! Well, into Photoshop. This is where we do all our post-production work to make an image come alive. Once the image has been touched up and enhanced, it’s ready to save for the web. This is where we will save the image at a specific resolution and file size so that it is easily viewable for everybody on the web, regardless of internet speed or monitor size.

Not only are we able to take photographic images in the confines of our own studio, but also out and about in the real World, aaawwwwhhh yeah! You heard correct. We’ll come to you and provide a location based shoot. This is something that was also required as part of the Beautiful Brows brief. We were given media passes to the ‘Professional Beauty North 2011’ show in Manchester. Armed with our go-anywhere-and-photograph-anything badges we made our way over to the Beautiful Brows stand and started snapping as customers continuously queued up to try the new products out! Making sure we showed the beauty of the product and the sheer excitement of the customers trying it out.

Overall, our client was very happy with the photographs we produced and has them proudly displayed on their website. Success.

If you’re interested in any of our photography services then don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Tags: camera, location, photography, product, studio
Posted in Advertising, Case studies, Marketing, Photography | No Comments »

Marketing Campaign

Wednesday, November 16th, 2011

We are currently working on an exciting marketing campaign for a local environment / charitable organisation, in partnership with Wirral Council. Studiowide was selected from a number of companies to provide a 4 month marketing campaign, aimed at raising awareness of a Government grant, free home insulation scheme.

The project is a complete single sourced campaign encompassing; micro website, video production, PR, logo design, posters, direct mail pieces, digital marketing – including online and offline response devices.

The Warmer Wirral campaign is one of those exciting projects which we love to get involved with where we have 100% responsibility for all marketing and creative activities – this is where we shine.

Our campaign angle was to create a strong creative visual to which we could anchor the original idea of a Polar Bear mascot. Our client had originally been running this programme without external help, and now felt that professional assistance would bring the additional exposure that was needed. Our overall objective for the marketing campaign was to increase online applications for the free loft and cavity wall insulation scheme.

First off we needed a good logo. The previous company logo had been used in the campaign materials prior to the revamp. We felt that this didn’t present a uniform identity and was contributing to an overall confusing message.

The new Warmer Wirral logo was created along with a main graphic. At first glance, the graphic appears to be an iceberg, supported with the tagline ‘Heating Bills are the Tip of the Iceberg’. On a folded page the top of the iceberg is visible, then, by unfolding the piece the revealed iceberg is actually a roof top. Below the roof top lays the lower two thirds of a house.

When we presented this idea to our client they immediately liked the ‘houseberg’ concept. Having such a quick approval of the logo and visuals meant we could get on with creating the basic assets required for the four individual videos and the website.

Once the visuals and logos had been ‘tweaked’, we transferred this across all pieces, including poster and postcards. The direct mail was designed to be shown folded, which could then be pulled open to reveal the ice/houseberg concept.

We finished the direct mail letters and leaflets following additional briefing and review meetings. This part of the approval process was critical and involved senior representatives from Wirral Council and Energy Projects Plus.

Whilst working on our offline materials we were simultaneously creating our online assets. For the Warmer Wirral website we utilised a JQuery slider function to create the ice/ houseberg effect – this worked really well and provided the perfect landing page, bridging off-line communications with the on-line environment.

In addition to the website we wanted to add a greater visual element to the campaign – video lends itself perfectly to this project. All footage was filmed onsite over a number of days and culminated in short videos which were based on the customer journey. This included; the campaign mascot, Lofty the Polar Bear, including survey, installation and testimonials.

We’re extremely excited about the Warmer Wirral campaign being launched this week. We’re now beginning our promotional activities and hope to report back some exciting results in the coming months!

Testimonial;

“The strength of this company is its creative visual talent. We have gone from our own homemade look to a completely re-branded look that is totally professional, topical, fresh and, well, just plain gorgeous. We have seen an immediate increase in web traffic. Nothing has been too much trouble for these guys to do. Thank you.” Sandra Manning. Energy Projects Plus. Wirral.

Tags: marketing campaign
Posted in Marketing, Strategic Marketing | No Comments »

Video Production Project

Thursday, November 10th, 2011

editing

The past few weeks have been spent working on a video project for our client, Energy Projects Plus on behalf of Wirral Council. Energy Projects Plus have a campaign at the moment to get homes in the Wirral fully insulated.

We were asked to complete a re-design of their website, produce direct mail pieces, take over their marketing and produce a series of videos that would inform and inspire their target market.

The first thing when it comes to shooting video is to understand what the client wants the video to do; the message it delivers and the emotions it makes the viewers feel. In this case the videos would be emphasising the fact that the scheme was free and that it was quick and easy to complete.

Before starting any filming it needs to be storyboarded; this is vital as you don’t want to be panicking at the last minute to make sure you get the right shots, only to get back to the office to discover you missed something important. After drawing up the storyboards and making sure they included everything we needed, it was time to start the filming.

We used a Sony Z5 HD camera on this shoot. There were a series of four videos that required filming, each showing the different steps involved when getting the free insulation fitted. The videos needed to show just how quick, easy and tidy the whole process was. All of the videos were shot on location, so we had to make sure the conditions were suitable for filming as the majority of it took place outdoors.

There were a few occasions where this obviously didn’t go to plan and in true British style it poured down, putting a stop to any shiny expensive camera equipment being outside. I did contemplate filming the whole thing from the warmth of the car; I didn’t see it as being lazy, but sitting in a very, very big camera dolly. Sorted!

As well as getting videos of the actual installation process we were filming testimonials of customers who have already had their home’s insulated through the Warmer Wirral scheme. We did this by approaching customers that have had the insulation for a few months and asking if they were ok to be filmed. We then asked them to tell us what they thought of the whole insulation process, using Sennheiser wireless mics to record their testimonials, which would be used in the final video.

Once all four videos were filmed it was time to get the narration down, so we headed over to the Energy Project Plus main office to record the script that would be laid over the video. We worked with the client to make sure the script was exactly what they were after and that it delivered all the right messages – backed up the visuals being presented in the video.

After the script was recorded it was time to head back to the nerd cave to begin editing everything together, creating motion graphics intros and title screens and adding background music. A few days later, voila! The videos were ready to be embedded into the new Warmer Wirral website (which I may point out, was also designed by your favourite media creatives here at Studiowide). You’ll be able to watch the videos and check out our handy work in the next few days when the website goes live over at; www.warmerwirral.org.uk

Tags: campaign, filming, interviews, video production
Posted in Advertising, Case studies, Marketing, Video Production | No Comments »

Promotional mix

Friday, September 30th, 2011

One of the prominent issues that seems to create a great debate in business meeting, is the point when it comes to defining what the marketing function actually is. We meet a lot of business owners who define marketing as the process to which they get their advert in a magazine, or, by how their sales team have come up with a sales promotion to generate a quick upturn in sales. It is this miss-conception about marketing which fosters the departmentalised way of thinking, ie, pass it onto marketing, they will deal with it?

Who is this ‘marketing’ that sales people look over the fence to and business owners seek to ‘buy in’ as a short term project, in order to bring a quick turnaround to the sales pipeline? Without going into text book answers I will simply say the marketing function, whether you are fully aware of it or not, is your WHOLE business and it involves EVERYONE.

I believe what the majority of laymen actually refer to when discussing marketing, is they mean the promotional mix, or the communications mix as sometimes expressed. The promotional mix is one part of the marketing mix, which consists of Product, Price Place, Promotion. It is the direct way in which an organisation attempts to communicate with its various target audiences and consists of 5 main elements.

Traditional mix

Advertising – Presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. Examples: Print ads, radio, television, billboard, direct mail, brochures and catalogues, signs, in-store displays, posters, motion pictures, Web pages, banner ads, and emails. (Not Always Paid For)
Personal selling – A process of helping and persuading one or more prospects to purchase a good or service or to act on any idea through the use of an oral presentation. Examples: Sales presentations, sales meetings, sales training and incentive programs for intermediary salespeople, samples, and telemarketing. Can be face-to-face or via telephone.
Sales promotion – Media and non-media marketing communication are employed for a pre-determined, limited time to increase consumer demand, stimulate market demand or improve product availability. Examples: Coupons, contests, product samples, cash back, tie-ins, trade shows, trade-ins and exhibitions.
Public relations – Paid intimate stimulation of supply for a product, service or business unit by planting significant news about it or a favourable presentation of it in the media. Examples: Newspaper and magazine articles/reports, TVs and radio presentations, charitable contributions, speeches, issue advertising, and seminars.
Direct Marketing is often listed as a the fifth part of the promotional mix.

Whilst still working within the categories above we have extended the traditional mix to include for social media integration and other digital communications which the internet age has brought. This list below is our promotional mix map which we currently use when assessing tactical marketing activities for our clients.

Extended promotional mix

Advertising
Classified ads
Directories
Online display ads
Magazine/brochure inserts
Small ads

Strapline

Alliance Marketing
Alliance partnerships
Channel Partnerships

Books
Book authoring

Corporate Literature
Business cards
Brochure
Flyers
Folders
Leaflets
Newsletters

Customer
Advocate development
Clubs
Endorsements
Follow-up programme

Direct Mail
Letters
List building
Postcards

Email Marketing
e-shots
Email signatures
Ezines
Personalisation
Subscriber list

Events
Conferences
Exhibitions
Public speaking
Seminars
Workshops

Internet Marketing
Affiliates
Blogging
Columns
Content – useful
e-books
Home page rethink
PDF brochure
Pay per click
Reciprocal links
SEO
Website

Media Relations
Articles
Case studies
Interviews
Photo stories
Press pack
Press releases
Spokespersons

Networking
Elevator pitch
Face to Face networking
Online networking

Promotional Gifts
Article reprints
CDs
Mousemats
Pens
Top tips guides

Public Relations
Charity support
Client lunches
Issue marketing
Opinion leader
Telephone manner

Sales Promotion
Competitions
Free consultation
Incentives
Samples
Special offers
Trial period
Vouchers

Selling
Appointments
Cold calling
Cross selling
Demonstrations
Major accounts
Presentations
Sales training
Sight seller
Training
Up-selling

Telemarketing
Scripts
Segmented lists
Teleconferences
Telephone surveys
Telesales

Word of Mouth
Advocates
Customer referrals
Referral system
Supplier referrals