air-creative-marketing

The one that got away

andy@aircm.co.uk (Andy Litton) — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 12:02:16 GMT

Sometimes it's just not meant to be. Despite everyone loving the work we did to help the evolution of the Office Outlet brand, the stars didn't quite align for it to become reality.

Our rationale was that the name Office Outlet implied end of line, seconds or imperfect goods. In addition, the overall appearance of the brand, and its warehouse approach, just prompts a price-based discussion from the start, not a sustainable strategy in our view.

The client was already onboard with this thinking and had suggested refining the name to OO, to create a more graphic expression of the brand. We really liked this and wanted to bring it to life, making it mean something useful to the clientele, both personal and business.

Using Archetypes in Branding, we pinpointed NETWORKER as a key character trait. With this in mind, the OO brand could be positioned as a vital component in making connections between people, products and business services.

We applied this thinking to three elements;

1. A revised OO logo featuring interlocking Os to reinforce the idea of making connections.
2. Communication using words containing double Os.
3. Using the double O's to own the idea of % discounts.

All of these were designed to place the brand at the heart of the message, and link it more closely with OO's customers.

We were very pleased with the results but do let us know what you think?

The revealing truth about direct mail

andy@aircm.co.uk (Andy Litton) — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 12:02:16 GMT

We all instinctively realise that interactive mailing packs have more impact and resonance that a simple leaflet. But what’s the science behind this belief? On our internet travels we came across this fascinating information and we thought it worth sharing with you.

1. Radiating Effect

Tactile features felt by the hands affect a person’s subconscious perception of the quality of an object and its benefits – something that feels good is good. This not only applies to products, but also to communications media and the messages they serve to convey. A precision finish, high-quality materials and intriguing folding mechanism implicitly convey notions of expertise and competence, creativity and flexibility as well as versatility and inventiveness.

(e.g. Krishna & Morrin, 2008; Peck & Wiggins, 2006)

2. Embodiment

The successive “unfolding” of your promotional message serves to promote a playful desire for action. The success enjoyed by a person in revealing your message triggers positive feelings that are then immediately transferred to your brand. Movement codes activate mental concepts: for instance, moving the palms of the hands towards the body promotes receptiveness for and acceptance of new information and products.

(e.g. Cacioppo, Priester & Berntson, 1993; Förster, 2003).

3. Social Multiplication

A good interactive mailer will prompt the recipient to share it with colleagues and friends, as a result of which the number of people exposed to the message multiplies. Furthermore people willingly keep such items – they are harder to throw away. Mostly they stays in the possession of the receiver for a long period of time, thus generating high media value for the advertiser.

4. The “DIY” Effect

Interactivity ensures people do more than just read your message, they literally have a hand in making it come together. And in so doing, they’ll be exposed to linguistic, visual and tactile stimuli. The human brain finds it considerably easier to store information if the learning experience involves some kind of physical activity. And thanks to reactivated motoric memories, newly acquired information is easier to remember afterwards. The phenomenon known as multisensory enhancement intensifies cognitive processes and memory recall.

(e.g. Scheier, Held 2010, Kiefer, Sim, Liebich, Hauk & Tanaka, 2007)

5. The Endowment Effect

Handling or touching an object makes a person take psychological possession of it more quickly – and that raises its subjective value and increases the willingness to buy. Interactivity can make abstract concepts vicariously tangible and promote the psychological process of taking possession of an object.

(e.g. Peck & Shu, 2009; Wolf, Arkes & Muhanna, 2008).

6. The Priming Effect

Tactile signals stimulate subconscious perception and behaviour. Heavy objects influence judgement of competence; soft surfaces and movements make people feel more favourably inclined and put up less resistance when it comes to making decisions. Perception is positively influenced by both the fluidity of the experience as well as the associated movement code.

(e.g. Ackermann, Nocera, & Bargh, 2010; Williams & Bargh, 2008).

7. The Reciprocity Principle

Some even call it a “magic trick for the untalented”. For that reason, interactive mailings can often be seen not so much as advertising, but rather as something of a gift. And when someone receives a present, they want to reciprocate and give something back, and therefore will (at least) give you their attention. (e.g. Regan, 1971).

If you'd like to talk more about Direct Mail, or any other form of Marketing Communication, just give us a call on 01794 389 582.

Is there a shortcut to brand authenticity?

andy@aircm.co.uk (Andy Litton) — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 12:02:16 GMT

Despite some still thinking that a brand is your logo, a brand should be an authentic promise of an experience, and it’s actually visible through every form of contact with your customers or prospects, visually, verbally and in person.

So why do you need a brand rather than a logo? Simply, it differentiates your business from your competitors in a more meaningful way, vital in such a competitive business landscape. Give people a good reason to buy from your brand and it can lead to better sales, higher prices and improved profits. Some brands evolve over time as the business slowly gains a reputation in their sector, but might it be possible to take a few short-cuts?

The starting point is to identify what your best customers really love about you. Why do they engage with your business rather than your competitor’s? It might be the product, but it also might be your service. It could even be that they see your other customers as part of a crowd they want to belong to. You, or your product, might just be very cool. This sounds like a simple thing to do but in our experience it rarely is. Research is important and almost always worth listening to.

Some businesses can’t afford the research required to deliver this sort of insight. So what do they do? Genuine USPs are very hard to find these days, so working out what your business believes and what it’s going to do about these beliefs can really help to separate you from the rest.

To assist in this process we often use Archetypes in Branding, a system that allows us to allocate one or more personality types to a brand. This unlocks how the brand would behave if it were a person, which feels much less theoretical than other systems. Based on the work of Freud and Jung, each of the 60 Archetypes available is a well known human characteristic, very recognisable to all involved in the process. Selecting one or more helps to humanise the brand and makes connecting with customers a more natural experience.

Brand Conviction and Archetypes in Branding share a common benefit. They begin to include non-marketing people in the process of brand development, ensuring the whole business begins to take ownership of telling an authentic brand story.

Once you have pinned down your differentiation, you can decide whether a rebrand is needed. In our view you should only refresh, or change your brand, if there is a very good reason. Maybe the company has grown in a different direction to its original plan? Or the current approach just doesn’t match the differentiation you have just discovered.

Matching this story to the visual presentation is the next challenge. How to visually articulate the brand in a way that you can own. This comes down to a good agency and a top designer, but it will be your groundwork that will make the difference. It’s important to remember that good creative doesn’t come out of nowhere. It almost always comes from a good strategy and that takes hard work and a good process.

The key to all of it though, is in proving that you can deliver what you promise. If your brand, and therefore your promise of an experience, doesn’t match what customers are seeing every day, you’ll have something of a problem. If you claim to be purveyors of fabulous design, make sure you are. If you claim to be fantastic value, make sure that’s true. Customers these days are a very sophisticated bunch who can smell a sales pitch from a thousand miles. You need to be authentic and honest and tell a story that resonates. Believe in something that matters to you and you’ll attract people that it also matters to.

At Air we care about our clients doing well and we are always determined to offer honest, impartial advice that makes a real difference.

If you are reviewing your brand, please feel free to give us a call.