• SHAMROCK'S 'BRAND' NEW LOOK <read>
• Q&A: HOW MUCH DOES A BROCHURE COST? —
  (Or the importance of a thorough brief) <read>
• MARKETING IN ACTION — The Philip George Salon <read>
• WHO'S CHECKING YOU OUT? — E-news tools track your hot prospects <read>
• PLEASE HOUSE-SIT MY CAT —The business of keeping in touch <read>
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SHAMROCK'S 'BRAND' NEW LOOK

Many office workers in Central know Shamrock and its sandwiches, but did you know that this 14-year old company does so much more? Shamrock also supplies baked goods for other caterers, has a premium catering service for high-end events, organises and caters for  kids’ parties, junk trips,  sporting events and tram parties, and runs school cafeterias.

While the company has grown over the years, the brand image had not kept pace. An observer looking at the logo or other graphic material wouldn’t appreciate the breadth and size of the business, nor get a feel for the qualities of the service. A missed opportunity to build business!

The brief
Katie McGregor Marketing worked with Shamrock to develop a new look for the Shamrock Catering Group, a look that would position the company as a quality caterer for all occasions. A brief was put together to develop a fresh, clean, professional look that could be used consistently on everything from packaging, through office communications to marketing communications. This consistency would reinforce the brand values every time is was seen and quickly help the market appreciate that Shamrock Sandwiches had moved on!

The logo
And we began at the very beginning by taking a look at the logo. The Shamrock logo had many forms, many colours and many applications. Managing Director, Mark Dinely, was ready for a change if it made sense but it was soon agreed to keep the shamrock  since this image had accrued value over the years.  A lot of people know the logo and name no matter what form it had come in.

In the same vein as the Pure New Zealand campaign, it was agreed to capitalise on the fresh goodness that many people associate with Ireland. The logo now incorporates a graphic of the famous Mountains of Mourne, along with the original shamrock. A calligraphic arc encloses the logo and brings a touch of Asia. Finally, it was agreed to use the words, ‘Shamrock Catering Group’ with the tagline, ‘Leisure, Premium, Business’ to emphasise the extent of the services provided.

But what about the people who didn’t get the Irish/fresh connection? For many, the image of mountains conveys permanence and stablility – and that’s not a bad thing. Two greens were also chosen to be used consistently – a fresh highlight green and a deeper, calmer, steady green. Click here to see the logo design process.

The template set up
With the new logo as a starting point, stationery and a design template for brochures were set up, using the colours, typeface and also the brush stroke graphic device to create a distinctive look. A Word template was also designed so that even in the office, communications would look professional and continue to reinforce the brand message and identity.

Finally, a set of guidelines were written up so that no matter who used the graphic elements, they would be used consistently.

Click here for more on the Shamrock Catering Group.

Q: HOW MUCH DOES A BROCHURE COST?
A: The flippant answer is: “as long as a piece of string,” — and that is twice the distance from the middle to the end — but the real answer is that it is all in the brief.

The distance from ‘the middle to the end’ depends very much on the beginning, and in my experience all beginnings should begin with a very good brief because the design is the biggest variable when it comes to time spent and charges made. With a precise brief the design process should be quick and efficient and charges are consequently kept low. Without a precise brief…

In most cases, clients do not know the issues they should be considering when creating a brief but an experienced agency will have a checklist of questions to ensure that design brief is thorough. Questions will include obvious ones such as: who is the target audience? Or, what is your budget? But a key question is: who are the decision makers?

Unfortunately, in some cases the marketing manager may think they are the decision maker. They may think they know the target audience but suddenly, once the brochure design is presented to their boss, we discover that the boss had something else in mind. He may have delegated to the marketing manager but bosses can also assume that marketing managers read minds.

This is when redesigns happen and charges start going up. This is when agency and client fall out.

How do you prevent this state of affairs? Here are some tips for creating an excellent brief:

• Whether you are a marketing manager or the boss, discuss your brief with all stakeholders before you hand it over to the agency for final action. Stakeholders can include your best friend, you boss or your partner; anyone whose opinion you respect and who you will show the design to for their comments. If you haven’t involved them in the original discussion, then don’t show them anything except the finished product!
• Collect samples of design work you like but more importantly, work you don’t like.  Although the brochure design will be strongly influenced by the preferences of your target audience, there is always more than one way to skin a cat and the designer can work to meet both requirements. After all, you have to be comfortable working with the final product and if you are the business owner, it has to reflect your values to the target audience.
• If you don’t know from personal experience, ask the sales people why people buy your products and services. Also ask them why people don’t buy your products and services.
• See what your competitors are doing.
• Set a budget and tell the agency. A decent agency will give you the best product/service for your budget because they will assume you are getting at least one other estimate. In this way the agency is concentrating their efforts for your benefit rather than hedging their bets because they can’t be told what the budget is (and this does happen). You can always spend more or less once you see what that particular budget buys you.

In the business world, information costs but if you have the information, it won’t be you paying for it. A precise and accurate brief, approved by all stakeholders, will get the best brochure for your budget and that should take a weight of your mind.

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WHO'S CHECKING YOU OUT?
E-news tools track your hot prospects

It's addictive and I know I'm not the only one who has been hooked. This is not about eating chocolate or shopping for Manolo Blahnik shoes, but about the tracking tools on my e-news software.

As soon as I hit send, I can flick to a screen and see who has opened my email. I can see who has clicked on which link and I can see who has forwarded my email to a friend. It is voyeuristic it's true, but it's exciting to see who is interested in your news and exactly what topics interest them.

This information is gold to a business person. It tells you who the hot prospects are and gives you a lead to follow up; perhaps with a phone call, perhaps with a brochure. The contact will be amazed at your intuition but here's an observation; it's probably best you don't burst their bubble and tell them how you came to call. Nobody likes to think they are being spied upon.

There is a down side too, however. You must put your sensitivities aside and swallow the disappointment when your friends appear not to read your 'fascinating' email. They may be using anti-spy software—nothing personal.

If you suspect you have voyeuristic tendacies and would like to learn more about using e-news tools to build your business, please contact me for a free demonstration. Call 9051 2545 or email me by clicking here. You know I'll be watching!

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PLEASE HOUSE-SIT MY CAT

The business of keeping in touch

If you want somebody to do you a favour—let's say house-sit your cat while you spend a week in Bali—your first call wouldn't be an old school friend you'd been ignoring on FaceBook for the last year. You know you'd get a disbelieving "no" as an answer — and that's before they saw the cat in question.

Sales is much the same. You're much more likely to get a "yes" if you're no stranger to the prospect. And since most people hate cold calling anyway, it makes sense to 'soften up' the target first. If you're lucky, they may call you first.

Prospects may get to know you through a monthly newsletter, adverts, direct mailers, seeing your name as the prize sponsor at an event, by visiting your web or even through being handed a well-designed namecard at a cocktail party.

We can help your market get to know you, your values, services and products. And this is not limited to potential clients. Your 'market' may include current clients, staff, the press or even shareholders.

By analysing your business, together we can develop a communications strategy which may include letters, brochures, adverts, newletters, web sites, displays, advertisements, press releases, manuals, guidelines, seminars, launches, standard operating procedures or staff manuals (every business should have one).

Strategies to engage your market may include competitions, must-have free information, offers, loyalty programs, case studies, forums or even the opportunity to share pet photos.Really!

By keeping in touch on a regular basis you won't miss the moment when your prospect wants to act. People don't like to take chances with the unknown so by being the 'friend on the end of the phone', there is every chance that it is you who will get their business. As they say: "Don't be a stranger."

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MARKETING IN ACTION

The Philip George Salon

"Perfect," said Philip, owner of The Philip George Salon looking over the first draft of the salon's new newsletter. It was good to know we'd struck close to the target on the first attempt!

The informative newsletter forms part of the marketing programme put together with the objective of bringing in more clients to support the new, larger salon that Philip has recently moved to.

The salon is a Hong Kong icon, styling and cutting hair in Hong Kong for close to 25 years, and with a loyal following amongst the expatriate and local community. But Hong Kong is a whirlwind of a place with people coming and going. While Philip's loyal clients may appreciate his caring professionalism, his work in the community, the new spacious, modern and funky salon, and know about the arrival of international stylist Jon Clifford, there were many people out there who didn't know and had no way of knowing either.

In the original briefing meetings we talked about all sorts of exciting ideas to promote the salon, but priorities had to be set. A programme was put together which comprised a burst of advertising to quickly raise awareness, followed by a longer-term plan to build a relationship with clients and prospects through a regular newsletter, story placements in the media and reciprocal marketing.

The campaign itself placed small adverts in a range of media targeting an audience that matched the salon's client profile, across a broad geographic range and of course maintaining a minimum 6x exposure in each medium. As there is little advertising 'noise' from the hairdressing industry, small adverts were considered more than adequate to catch the attention of potential clients.

The design took up the funky signature pattern used in the new salon and the message emphasised the salon's international spirit, while still standing as a Hong Kong icon.

The newsletter provides an opportunity to build relationships and a reputation by sharing Philip's expertise. The newsletter also provides something to offer people who call the salon with a casual enquiry, or visit the Philip George blog. They may not take up on the service on this first contact, but by offering a way to stay in touch there is every chance that the prospect will one day become a client.

The next stage is to work with the media, pitching stories about many of the fascinating and worthwhile projects that Philip and his team are working on, as well as offering his expert advise on hair care. If you see a story in the media about The Philip George Salon, you'll know where it came from.

Finally, there is another audience to engage; other business owners. Joint marketing opportunities such as sharing databases or cross marketing can be extremely effective as you leverage off eachother's reputation so that the two parts add up to more than the whole. Naturally, this only works for busineses that share the same client profile but not the same business!

Marketing is not about big budgets and agencies winning awards, but about strategic thinking and using what you have to its full potential. The Philip George Salon provides an excellent and respected service and after 25 years in the business, Philip has a great deal of experience to share. Our job is to get that information out there to the right people, in the right way, at the right time — and bring in the business. It's a job we love.

If all this talk about hair is making you feel the need for an exciting new look, why not call The Philip George Salon. They are welcoming new clients — 2524 3143

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