by Madi Secareanu | Apr 9, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Creative, Interactive, Social Media
On or around March 30th, you may have noticed that Facebook has automatically changed your brand page to Timeline. While some were resistant to the change, let’s remember that if we don’t move forward, we get left behind and for brands on Facebook, hopping on board and getting to know the new Timeline is imperative. The nature of the Facebook brand page has changed so here are some of the pros and cons of the new Timeline for brands: Pros
- Visuals Traditionally social media has focused on words, but as we’ve seen with Pinterest, visuals are starting to have a more significant impact. With Timeline, brands now have more visual space to work with. There is now a large cover photo, a profile photo and larger photo stories. Brands can also pin images to the top of the Timeline. Apps are also now visually represented under your cover photo. This is very valuable for consumer engagement and creating a dynamic page.
- Highlighting and Pinning A great opportunity for brands to showcase important content and engage followers. By pinning a story or an image, it automatically gets priority on your page, remaining at the top of the timeline for up to 5 days. It lets important posts “cut through the clutter” and drives attention to what’s new or what’s important to your brand’s followers.
- About The “About Us” section has been given a facelift. Right below your cover and profile photos you now have a small “About” space where you can write an engaging description about your brand. The “About” link found right below this description takes you to a page where you can share more comprehensive information about your brand.
Cons
- No more default landing tab Currently working on several Facebook campaigns, I’ve realized that the loss of the default landing tab has really changed the way brands can drive people to their Facebook pages and promotions. Facebook has taken away the privilege of putting promotions, welcome pages, or other customized apps as default landing pages. Brands have to get creative – and use the available features to support and promote Facebook campaigns on Timeline.
- Cover Photo Restrictions Putting restrictions over the kinds of images that brands can use in their cover photo can be a good thing if they are limiting offensive and inappropriate content. However, Facebook has restricted the option to encourage new followers to “Like” a brand, show promotional and brand information or use a call to action in a cover photo. Considering that the default landing page option has also been removed, a cover photo without these restrictions could have been a useful area for brands to showcase new and exciting promotions or important information.
At 3H, we’ve embraced the new timeline. But what do you think of the new Facebook Timeline for brands: Like? Or Dislike? Does it give brands more or less opportunities to successfully market themselves on Facebook?
by Miriam Hara | Apr 3, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Creative
Way too often, ads are filled with too much information and lots of copy. How does that happen? Why does it happen? I can almost hear the collective grumble from all my peers saying…. “Clients!” But I believe that laying blame at the doorstep of clients, absolves us, the creative professional of any blame. I believe as Creative Professionals, it is our role to accommodate but also to advise. In my experience, once you explain the reasons why you shouldn’t do something , or even show them what is being compromised, clients really do get it.
Just think back… even recently and consider this:
- Ever watch a TV commercial and say, I don’t get it?…. or worse, what’s the brand? Remember the Head On ad?
- Drive and spot an outdoor billboard and you can’t read the caption because there’s too many words like the one below…. and the type is so small?
- Flip through a magazine ad and miss the total point of the ad? Like this one.
It always amazes me that there are ads that actually get to the marketplace without a clear single focused message. Or the creative is sooo out there, that it doesn’t circle back to the brand or to the product. This is a particular pet peeve of mine, as I just recently wrote an entire blog on this issue! An ad (any kind of ad) shouldn’t be closing the sale…. it should be generating interest… It needs to communicate benefit and to engage consumers enough so that they take action. Ads were never meant to replace sales people! They were meant to increase awareness of a product and service and increase the knowledge of the benefits within that product or service. Ads are meant to get traffic, whether it’s a website or a physical location.
So the next time you face a challenge, think back on what makes you a creative professional. Advertising isn’t about pretty pictures and for it to work there are certain protocols that need to be followed. At times it can be challenging, but that is what our profession is all about. How often are we faced with and given mountains of information to decipher and create a single succinct statement that says is all. Or given so many logos and visual elements to layout into a visual flow that directs the consumer’s eyes and makes sure that the main message is delivered. The minute we let go of this basic standard, then everyone and anyone who owns a computer can “create” an ad. All they need is Indesign or Illustrator knowledge.
by Lindsay Sleightholm | Mar 27, 2012 | Branding, Business Success, Creative, Design
It’s been said that nothing is new, and everything old is new again. Never has that been more obvious than in today’s retro-infused consumer market. The trend towards aesthetics of the past are everywhere: fashion, art, music (the amount of remakes out there are enough to make your head spin), home decor, cars, architecture – you get the point.
So what is “retro” anyway?
According to Wikipedia, retro is “a culturally outdated or aged style, trend, mode, or fashion, from the overall postmodern past, that has since that time become functionally or superficially the norm once again.”
Basically, it’s a blast from the past. And we can’t seem to get enough of it. It’s part of human nature to gravitate towards the familiar. Psychologically, going retro gives the impression of standing the test of time. It has merit. Not to mention, it gives us that warm, fuzzy feeling that we so often crave.
Jumping on the Radio Flyer
Nostalgia seems to be something of a “new” commodity these days. Many are jumping onto the retro bandwagon, and not in an entirely elegant way. A lot of it is far too deliberate. There is no subtle throwback to a bygone era; it’s become outright blatant, down to the letter (or typeface if you will). Some may say it’s actually “retro reinvented,” meaning that it’s taken on a modern spin. But when that modern spin is just a whisper against the overall retro message, it can hardly be considered modern.
Okay, I’ll be the first to admit that I have a definite inclination towards thing of the past. But if Cyndi Lauper were to walk up to me today and ask me to design her new identity, it would not look like something from her earlier albums. Why? Because even she has moved forward. She’s not the same flamboyant performer of her past. She has evolved – not just reinvented, but changed.
Has retro design seen its day?
The primary goal of today’s retro revival seems simply to be to mimic a style instead of creating one. Actual art and design movements of the past were born in large part due to a cultural shift. And for the most part, they generally shifted forward. But there’s no shifting forward with retro design; it’s going back, because that’s what retro does.
Maybe we’ve run out of ideas, or we don’t know how to design for this nameless age. Or maybe we really do want to go back in time.
Graphic design will always have a strong link to its roots. That is, to those who came before and blazed a powerful trail to follow – great periods such as Art Nouveau, the Victorian era, the Industrial Revolution and, yes, even the latter half of the 20th century. But when we lean on the ideals of the past too much, we stop ourselves from moving forward.
Instead of going back, perhaps we should take a moment to think about where we’re going to be in the future. Maybe – just maybe – we’ll like it just as much. And if not, in 20 years it’ll become retro again anyway.
So, what do you think? What else have you’ve seen? Share your examples of the good, the bad and the downright embarrassing of retro graphic design…
by Miriam Hara | Feb 6, 2012 | Advertising, Branding
Last week there was much talk about the Super Bowl and specifically, of the Super Bowl TV commercials, which is the reason for this post. Over the years, the Super Bowl TV advertisements have been conceptualized beautifully and superbly executed. They have made us laugh, made us talk about them around the “water cooler” and now they have made us “share” them.
The best advertising campaigns are those that show the brand’s features by illustrating the benefits into a memorable 30 second TV commercial, print advertisement, radio advertising, or an online/social media initiative. In short, the ads must be developed to have a one track mind: Brand Recall. Has the creative raised the Brand to be the ultimate star or did the storyline and the execution or special effects become the star? If there are too many creative elements; creative, copy, special effects, design, or information which intrude on the “space”, then you may not necessarily lose your target audience… but you will lose the opportunity of making sure your ad builds brand awareness and recall. This is true of a 30 second TV commercial, billboard campaign, print campaign or online initiative.
Developing campaigns is part of the marketing process, so it’s important that advertising strategies are in line with the marketing plan. It is an extension of the Brand. It must communicate the marketing message though Brand’s persona and its reason to believe. It must without any exception make the brand memorable… not the ad. The objective of any creative commercial advertisement is to Brand Recall. A couple that come to mind are:
Almond Joy and Mounds Ads created an advertising jingle that became their slogan.
“Feel Like a Nut” 1980
Apple
Apple 1984
Bud Light Magic Fridge
“The Magic Fridge” Super Bowl XL Commercial
Chrysler Halftime in America
Chrysler “Halftime In America” Super Bowl XL Commercial
In all of these the creative integration of the features, the promise and the benefits and concept all in one. The Brand is totally integrated.
Next time you are involved in assessing a brand campaign for any media… ask yourself if the proposed concept asks of its audience to do too much to get to the creative message and to your Brand. Here’s a quick checklist:
- Is your Brand Logo and Brand Name prominently featured?
You really don’t want your target audience to say….what was that ad for?
- Does it speak to your Brand’s persona?
Is it too funny? Is it too casual? Is the ad fresh, innovative within the context of your brand?Does it use the right colours?
- Does the creative premise take the product’s features as the main theme?
What is your brand’s competitive edge…its unique selling point and does the advertisement speak to it.
- Does the ad have a single focused message?
You really can’t say it all. Make sure there aren’t too many messages vying for attention. Equally important, is the ad taking off on a creative track that has nothing to do with the intended message. Does the ad show the benefit/experience/promise. Don’t forget, what’s in it for the our intended audience and their psychographics.
- Is the message on brief?
Don’t get caught up in the beauty of the copy or the cleverness of the ad. If it’s not on brief. Then it’s off.
Share with me what you feel is the best advertising campaign (TV, Radio, Social Media, Billboard or Print) you’ve seen that show fabulous creative concept with strong brand recall.
by Angelika Orgacki | Oct 7, 2011 | Creative
Sitting in on a production meeting at 3H and listening to how the team is trying to come up with an innovative idea for a new project caused me to recall a video I had watched in my Design Thinking class. The video was titled “The Deep Dive” and was about the employees at IDEO, a design firm, who were devising a plan to redesign the shopping cart. As with any of their projects, the employees at IDEO stress the importance of brainstorming to help create the best idea. The most interesting part of the video, and the one that seemed most fitting to this production meeting at 3H was IDEO’s acceptance and encouragement of wild ideas. The video reveals several ideas the team comes up with and emphasizes the need to build on wild ideas in order to ultimately achieve something innovative. This type of brainstorming was referred to as “focused chaos” and I have come to understand its practical application here at 3H as the team strives for innovative and creative ideas in everything they do.
The idea of brainstorming has peaked my curiousity of the actual origin of brainstorming. I visited Google for a little help to learn that Alex Faickney Osborn was the first to introduce group-thinking sessions to generate more ideas. He essentially set the technique of brainstorming into action. Osborn developed 4 rules to follow:
- Focus on quantity
- Withold criticism
- Welcome unusual ideas
- Combine and improve ideas.
Looking at these ideas, and comparing it to the brainstorming methods at IDEO and 3H, it is obvious to see that we continue to apply Osborn’s method as we search for the perfect answer to any and every problem at hand. It is with these unrealistic and diverse thoughts that we can step back and see what elements can be combined and eliminated to develop something new and creative.
