"It's not big enough!"

In case you wondered, I’m referring to what often happens when an art director or a designer occasionally ‘goes off on one’ and attempts to use the ‘less is more tactic’ regarding the use of a brand logo on a page. We poor souls seem never to be able to get away with it and so, we often hear those all too familiar words… “It’s not big enough, make it bigger!”

But recently, whilst leafing through a ‘glossy’, I actually saw an advert which was missing the logo completely, and deliberately so. Just a beautiful product shot of a glistening Breitling watch on a black background, a small amount of copy, and that was it. No logo.

Brave Breitling!

Not really, they’ve spent years building their brand and have been so utterly consistent with it, that they can now take that liberty with little concern.

Maybe it’s an easier feat to achieve when you’re in the luxury goods market, I don’t doubt it for a ‘minute’ (teehee), and I’m not suggesting that all brands should drop their logos, goodness no. But if brands in other sectors can be equally consistent with their communications as Breitling have been, then who knows, they may just find a way to communicate with their customers in a way that would set them apart from their competitors. Just a thought.

Immerse

verb trans. fig. Involve deeply, absorb in a particular activity or condition. Usu. in pass. or refl.

We’re a diverse bunch here at Tangible Towers, with a diverse bunch of lovely clients too.
One week we’re working on a campaign to sell pet food. The next week we’re developing ideas promoting incredibly complicated financial instruments, and the week after that we’re suggesting if people get into legal hot water, they consider employing a friendly, nationwide team of lawyers who actually speak plain English. And the list goes on…

I’ll forgive you at this point should the phrase ‘Jack of all trades…’ suddenly pop into mind, because I have a better one to eliminate those naughty thoughts; something to do with variety being the spice of life. Surely it’s better to have different people with different life experiences working on different products and services, ensuring all communications remain consistently fresh and impactful? It’s the reason why a number of world famous agencies grew out of in-house marketing departments all those years ago.

Of course back then, there may have been a little more time to investigate the service or product. But in today’s world with the development of all this exciting new technology we’re switched on 24×7, and no prizes for guessing, we’re all rather time-poor.

So how do we avoid becoming ‘Jacks of all trades’ in these hectic modern times? We immerse ourselves on a personal level – something we’re all quite good at here at Tangible Towers.

Take my three loony dogs and two crazy cats. Because of those little critters I know the lovely world of Purina pet foods inside out. And my bumbling stock market ventures, because of them I know how complex investment vehicles like Contracts for Difference, ETFs and Investment Trusts work in the scary world of investing. Then there’s my personal knowledge of QualitySolicitors, our extremely straightforward and plain-speaking lawyer friends. 
I remember just how relieving it was when they didn’t use all that confusing legal jargon when my ageing parents had a problem. And the result of all this personal involvement? Communications that hopefully hit a nerve and stand out, because I live in the world of my target audience.

But for now I’m just waiting for the day when a brewery account comes bursting through the doors, and then you’ll see what ‘immersion’ is all about.

Wiper Blades and Flyers

It’s quite amazing really that a small A6 flyer can have just as much impact on an individual as a huge poster, a targeted DM piece,
a whizz-bang digital campaign or indeed a TV ad that has had a bucket-load of money thrown at it. But that is exactly what happened to me recently, I am happy to report.

Think of a cold dark January evening and it’s belting down with rain. I hop off the train after a long day in London, exit the station and make the trek towards my car, in the farthest corner of the car park. I’m getting wetter. As I approach my small Italian van-like steed (there’s a clue) I suddenly notice it, rammed under my precious wiper blade; some vile sneak has had the audacity to prowl the car park once again, lift my blade and deposit something nasty on the windscreen. An A6 flyer!

Yet on further inspection I am utterly delighted, neither because of the most boring headline that delivers the message ‘Cheaper servicing with all the care of a main agent’, nor because of the very average design of the the thing. But because of something else...... it’s encapsulated with plastic, so it’s waterproof. And don’t forget it’s raining, so it doesn’t rip into fifty soggy pieces of paper when I try to peel it off the windscreen.

Now if you ask me, that’s thoughtful and it certainly demonstrates ‘care’ well beyond that of all the other flyers deposited there on a monthly basis. Add to that a cheaper servicing message, a couple of testimonials (yes I know, the oldest trick in the book) and
suddenly guess what? All is forgiven, they can have my business.

Well done ‘independent servicing specialist’. My Italian van-like steed will revel in your care as will my bank balance, and my windscreen is incredibly thankful.