THE BEER REPORT... CHEERS!

We’ve been been working together with our PR partners Trinity, The Beer Academy and the British Beer and Pub Association on a report and national survey titled “Beer, the health choice?”.

The goal of the report is to instigate a change in the public perception of beer, and demonstrate that when consumed in moderation, beer can actually be part of a healthier lifestyle: elow is and extract from the coverage of the report in the Metro Newspaper:

“Beer contains vitamins which can help you to maintain a well-balanced healthy diet, fibre to keep you regular, readily absorbed antioxidants and minerals such as silicon which may help to lower your risk of osteoporosis.” The report, commissioned by The Beer Academy, which aims to help people enjoy beer sensibly, found that when drunk in moderation, beer is one of the healthiest alcoholic drinks available.
A survey found that while 68% of people consider beer to be Britain's national drink, some 10% wrongly believe that beer contains fat, and 13% incorrectly believe that beer is made from chemicals rather than malted barley and hops.

The report also explores the psychological and sociability benefits of people enjoying a pint in their local pub - yet pubs are closing at a rate of 39 a week.

If you would like to read more about the health benefits of beer, read the digital edition below as designed by Hughes Design.

Posted by: Julia and Mike 2010-06-22

EAST FINCHLEY FESTIVAL

We redone the identity for the 2010 East Finchley Festival.

Project includes 10,000 36 page A5 programmes and 5000 posters to publicise the event, which will be be on sale at the event.

Merchandise available from http://www.cafepress.com/EF_FEST

Sunday June 20th 2010.

Posted by: Julia and Mike 2010-05-26

A FORWARD LOOKING WEBSITE FOR A MAN WHO'S PAST IS WELL DOCUMENTED

We've been working away on a new 'official' web site for rock'n'roll guitar legend and former Rolling Stone, Mick Taylor. A project we are very pleased to be associated with. The brief included developing a contemporary logo for Mick, that could be applied to merchandise. The brief also required us to develop the content of the site to be 'forward looking' - focusing on what Mick is planning to do, while acknowledging his past accomplishments. For those of you readers, who have no idea who Mick Taylor is, below is a extract from his site:

Mick Taylor’s legend and contribution to rock’n’roll cannot be overstated. Mick is a pioneer of electric blues, whose unique style helped define the genre. Taylor invented modern rock’n’roll lead guitar in the early 70’s when he helped turn a pretty good band into the greatest rock’n’roll band in the world, what’s more, his playing is as brilliant today as ever.

Guitar Legend
Taylor is an alumnus of the legendary school of British guitar gods of the mid 60’s. This exclusive group boasts such names as Beck, Clapton, Green and Page. Never in the history of music has such an influential class of musicians had such a lasting impact on music development. Despite their common roots in the blues, each of these guitar greats went on to create new musical genres that persist until today. Page forged heavy metal, Beck created jazz/fusion, and while Clapton championed the blues in various forms, Taylor invented rock’n’roll lead guitar. The phenomenon of having this number of influential guitarists developing at the same time and place is unprecedented in music history and is not likely to ever be seen again.

Unique Style
Taylor has a distinctive playing style and sound that is unique, rich in tone and universally recognisable. Of his British contemporaries, Taylor’s style is the most expressive, melodic and inventive. His trademark vibrato gives his playing an incredible feeling of power and beauty which accentuates his work like an exclamation point, and his slide guitar is the most fluid of any of his contemporaries.

The magic of Taylor is not just in what he plays, but also in what he does not play. He has an uncanny ability to capture the essence of a musical passage, no matter how complex or primal, with sheer precision and intense feel. His masterpiece solo in The Rolling Stones ‘Can’t You Hear Me Knocking’ is a case study in perfection. This spontaneous, one-take effort begins with a very minimalist, ethereal run of notes and builds in intensity until the listener is locked into an intoxicating repetitive loop with seemingly no escape until it all comes to an abrupt end. This beauty is contrasted with Taylor’s ability to send a three-chord, Chuck Berry barn-burner like ‘Bye Bye Johnny’into the stratosphere with his blistering rhythm chops that give the song just what it needs and takes it completely beyond being a mere cover tune.

Virtuosity
Taylor’s technique and instinct are virtually impossible to imitate. While he has been replaced in bands like the Blue Breakers and The Rolling Stones, his shoes have never been filled. Today, despite its success in perfecting the raunchy groove that has become its trademark, even the great band that is The Rolling Stones fumbles its way through trademark Taylor passages in live performances. The Stones have performed these songs hundreds of times, more than Taylor ever did when he was with the band.

Legacy of Bands
Taylor has played in some of the greatest bands in rock history and on some of the greatest albums of the rock ‘n’ roll era.

As if his tenure with John Mayall and The Rolling Stones weren’t enough, Taylor is also one of the greatest hired guns that is still active in rock ‘n’ roll having played with the likes of Bob Dylan, Jack Bruce, Ron Wood, Billy Preston, John Phillips and numerous others. His guest performances demonstrate the strength of his talent and are immediately recognized as trademark Taylor work. Even his solo work has received great critical acclaim. This legacy has commanded deep admiration and respect from fans and the music community.

The site will be launched very soon. www.micktaylor.com

Posted by: Julia and Mike 2010-05-11

GET THE LOOK

We started playing around with CafePress today, and have come up with a range of branded items... check them out here: CLICK

The great thing about the service is that each item is produced to order, so there's no need to buy bulk - but there's also an option to bulk buy if you wish.

Posted by: Julia and Mike 2010-04-27

TOO MANY CHEFS...

Problems arise when too many people are involved in any decision making process. Design follows the same rules as catering, to many chefs spoil the broth.

Invariably when a SME commissions new creative work, a logo, a website or marketing campaign, it generates a lot of interest internally and everyone wants to have their say on the creative direction you should be taking. Initially all the excitement of getting everyone in the company involved can be quite intoxicating, and can be very positive for morale. But eventually it will be necessary to limit the amount of people involved in the decision making process. It fact it is essential.

The larger the group you have involved in commissioning creative work, the more opinions you'll canvas and the more compromises will be made in order to satisfy everyone at the tables agenda. The biggest casualty of this compromise, will be your company and your customers.

Unlike Politics which relies on reaching a consensus and making compromises to move things forward, when it comes to marketing communications, compromises will stifle the creative result.

Think of Goldilocks and the 3 bears. Each bear liked it's porridge slightly different. If you are presented with a bowl of porridge that is "just right" for you, would you mix it with the salty bowl or the sweet bowl just because your colleagues happen to have brought them to the table? You most likely wouldn't. Yet with creative work, when committees try to pander to everyone's needs, perfectly tasty ideas end up as unappetising stodge, simply because there are too many competing ingredients.

Does this sound familiar?
Typically, larger companies appoint a marketing director charged solely with the job of managing their marketing requirements. In smaller companies, this isn't always practical, but a mistake that is often made is to charge someone junior within the organisation to commission and important piece of corporate communications. While this act is well intentioned – giving someone junior some responsibility – the inexperienced junior is more likely to see this as an opportunity for themselves and their career prospects, neglecting the bigger picture which is "what's in the company's best interests."

Other times, teams are appointed from different areas of the business, sometimes with no direct experience of purchasing creative services. Quickly disputes arise as each individual asserts their agenda or point of view first above that of the company. To resolve this dispute, they then start to compromise and the eventual product is substandard, engendering a sense of mistrust in your appointed creative partner, even though they have ticked every box in the brief.

5 tips for Director of an SME:
1) If price is your biggest concern, and you know someone who can "do it cheaper", then you should grab that bargain. But if it's 'professional' creative solutions, service and support that you are after and you acknowledge that you don't have the skill set in-house - then you recognise that you need to purchase that skill set from an experienced professional.

2) Appoint someone senior in your business to oversee purchasing of creative services and make sure they report to you. This individual should be have responsibility for making decisions, preferably have some experience - a knowledge or interest in marketing communications would be a bonus.

3) Shop around, select an Agency on their portfolio of work and where possible meet the creative agency you appoint.

4) Don't be afraid to ask your appointed creative agency to help you write the brief. Working together will help build trust and understanding.

5) Finally, when presenting creative solutions to your staff, explain that these are changes that the management have decided to make. Your decisions might not be to everyone's taste. This is normal. Staff can be reluctant to embrace new ideas. Remember it is your business and you run the show.

Posted by: Julia and Mike 2010-04-23

OUR NEW PROMO BOOKLET

Posted by: Julia and Mike 2010-04-22