b&v creative news

I've just read an interesting article entitled "Why logo design does not cost $5.00" and found myself agreeing with just about everything – but maybe not all – that its author was saying. And it did really set me thinking on why it seems to be that design in general seems to be somewhat undervalued in today's world.

It does seem to me that, as creatives, we designers really do work in a difficult industry. We all trust doctors with our health, dentists with our teeth, mechanics with our cars, lawyers with – OK, maybe we don't really trust lawyers, but you get the idea! But what do all these professionals have in common? Exactly that: they are PROFESSIONALS. They've trained for many years, built up lots of experience and generally know their onions. Well, believe it or not, the same is true of designers. We've all trained for years (usually at least 4) and the more experienced of us have many years of knowledge to draw on. Not only that, but we're constantly having to evolve and adapt, always searching for new, fresh ideas while having to embrace changes in technology.

But why then are designers and their skills so often undervalued and often ignored? Well, quite simply, I suspect it's down to human nature. As human beings, I believe we all have an innate appreciation of art & design and we all have our individual sense of style. So in truth, we can all legitimately say "I know what I like…". But is what we LIKE actually what is best for the job? As designers, it's not that we are particularly more "visually able" than anyone else – it's more that we're trained to really analyse the problems, explore possible solutions and then employ various strategies to best achieve results. It's this professional and technical expertise that we're really paid for. Sure, as human beings designers will always have opinions on a particular solution, but we are also able (or should be!) to step back from those opinions and assess whether it's the RIGHT solution. Factor in the experience element and there are also times when a good designer can almost instinctively cut to the chase and get very close to – if not right on – the money almost from the start. This is the area where most clients who insist on forcing their opinions through can really come unstuck. It's very easy to get hung up on personal taste and opinion, ignoring possible alternatives no matter how logical or suitable they may be.

The solution? Well, it's maybe not always that easy to ignore the human nature side of things, but it might be worth bearing in mind why the designer was employed in the first place. There was obviously an initial requirement to which someone made the suggestion of spending the money on bringing in a professional to help out. So, if a client is spending the money on bringing in specialist help and advice, does it not make sense – financially, if nothing else – to listen to what those outside specialists have to say? After all, if you were suffering from chest pains, would you go to the doctor to find out what's wrong and then disagree with any diagnosis because you once had a Fisher Price medical kit as a child?

Labels: budget, creative, design, professional, value

We've all heard them before: "speculate to accumulate"... "fortune favours the brave"... "adapt or die"... "live long and prosper"... (sorry, that last one just sort of slipped in!). Seriously though, we're all well aware of the recession and the press do seem to love trotting out the old clichés – but, as with many old wives' tales and nursery rhymes, there can be a solid foundation to even the most hackneyed of sayings.

In these days of economic uncertainty, opinion is often divided when it comes to marketing and a quick search of the Internet will turn up literally thousands of blog posts advocating that companies should cut their marketing spend in a recession. Confusingly there are at least as many taking the view that companies should up their budgets rather than cutting them! Certainly for many companies, marketing is often seen as a soft target: an expense which can be easily cut without having to resort to laying people off. But with the need to increase sales in order to survive, how can companies grow their customer base without actively marketing to let those potential customers know they are there?

Well, there can be a third way.

The world of business, just as in nature, really can be a case of survival of the fittest and a deep recession is the equivalent of a tsunami or an earthquake. It is the plants and animals that are able to adapt to new conditions that are most likely to survive. And the ability to adapt is, I believe, the 'third way' which is most likely to produce results in the current economic climate. Cutting marketing spend can result in rendering your company virtually invisible. Increasing it can certainly be a gamble which – although it could reap great rewards – might result in further economic woes. But reviewing HOW that budget is being used and modifying some of the approaches taken could make all the difference, both financially and in terms of customers' perception.

By partnering with a marketing agency who has their clients' best interests at heart (and we certainly do – if our clients do well, then we do well) and applying some strong strategic thinking and exploring possible new avenues, marketing can be one of the most effective and important tools available to businesses – not just in surviving a recession, but also in ensuring you come out of it ahead of any surviving competition.

Here's an example:

It's well known that – although it has its place and can be very effective if well executed – the traditional newsletter or mailshot can be quite costly to produce & send. Many end up in the bin, mailing lists can be out of date and there's no guarantee of a response. But making better use of modern technologies can really improve on this – dramatically.

Email newsletters can reach the intended person directly and have your message right there in their inbox, first thing. Even if they're roaming, with wireless laptops and smart phones emails will still find their target wherever they are. And, by building in links to forward the email to anyone else the recipient feels might be interested, it can be used to propagate more leads. We can design and build the email template for you, test it to ensure it's viewable in all major email client programs and organise and schedule the actual mailing. Even better, we can also monitor how many of those emails actually get opened and, where applicable, how many recipients then clicked through to your website. And the best bit? It really doesn't have to cost the earth! There's no print, no ink, no paper, no waste. Once the templates have been designed, each mailing campaign can cost as little as £20 to set up and a few pence per recipient to actually send out! And with the emails being better targeted and going direct to the intended person, the chance of success is much higher than the more traditional mailer or newsletter.

So it may well be true that you need to "speculate to accumulate" – but you may not need to speculate as much as you thought in order to reap the rewards!!

Live long – and PROSPER!

Labels: adapt, budget, email, marketing, recession, survival