They say you can’t judge a book by its cover. The problem is people do… and these days even more so. According to research, the fast moving smartphone lifestyle we enjoy today has decreased our attention span to just 8 seconds. On the plus side, however, we are now quicker at identifying exactly what it is that we want and conversely, what we don’t want!
In the information overloaded world we live in, engaging with your target audience has therefore become harder than ever before. Getting noticed is tough, so you have to give your brand and marketing collateral the best chance of visually standing out from the crowd.
Our decreased attention span means your brand has just a few seconds to make its mark and grab the attention of your audience before they’re up and gone. So, what can you do to make sure that your brand is up to the task?
Understand your core values and company ethos
Your brand is the beating heart of your business. It is the visual identity of everything your company stands for. It has, therefore, to effectively portray the core values and ethos of the business. So, before you embark on a brand refresh or the creation of a new brand identity, your first task is to ensure that you thoroughly understand what your company’s brand values and ethos are before you begin. Write them down and get them crystal clear in your mind – if you’re not clear, what chance does anyone else have?
Make it memorable, be different and give it a personality
Pushing the boundaries can feel risky, but ‘same old, same old’ is boring and you’ll disappear without a trace. An impactful design will make your brand identity instantly and easily recognisable. You have to make it count; it’s your unique calling card and it needs to have a bold personality that draws people to it.
Consistent, cohesive and versatile
You need a great graphic design concept that will work across all areas of your business; interconnecting each part into a rock-solid whole. Take time to consider each brand ‘touch point’ and ensure that your identity is sufficiently versatile to work consistently across all your marketing communications.
Call in the experts
Whether you are looking for a new corporate identity or wanting to refresh an existing one, you need to call in the help of brand experts, preferably with knowledge of your industry. The good consultancies will lead you through a thorough brand/company evaluation to enable a detailed brief to be drawn up before they get out their coloured pens. If they jump straight in offering design concepts, alarm bells should start ringing.
Reap the rewards
Get it right and a strong brand identity will help reinvigorate your business. Get it wrong and your prospects will need less than their limited eight second attention span to skedaddle, deciding that your brand isn’t for them.
Retro robot wins Leapfrog the creative contract for IMHX 2019 Competing against tough London opposition, Leicester based Leapfrog Marketing has been awarded the creative design contract for IMHX 2019. The largest event in the UK for the logistics and supply chain industries, IMHX (International Materials Handling Exhibition) is a tri-annual event held at the NEC in Birmingham.
The exhibition attracts over 400 exhibitors and more than 20,000 visitors. It is organised by Informa Exhibitions and co-owned by Informa and BITA (British Industrial Truck Association).
Earlier this year, Informa approached a number of leading marketing and design consultancies with an invitation to pitch for the creative design theme for the 2019 IMHX event. The chosen theme would be used extensively over the next three years for both exhibitor and visitor promotion campaigns. It would also be used for onsite signage at the exhibition.
After carrying out research with influential figures in the industry, including the editors of leading trade publications, Leapfrog developed three strong creative concepts to present to the Informa executives. Each concept was designed not only to be recognisable, memorable and versatile, but also to give the IMHX brand a strong personality.
The first, ‘Arrows’ featured a stylised Union Jack, the second ‘Child’s Play’ was a fun theme with headlines focussing on hot topics and the third was ‘Retro Robot’, an eye-catching, versatile creative theme with ‘legs’. The robot concept proved to be a winner, giving Leapfrog the creative theme contract.
Alan Myers, managing director of the company explains, “We chose to make the robot ‘retro’ because we wanted something that wouldn’t date in the run up to the show. The speed of technological advance is such that if we had used a current robotic model there is a danger it would look out of date by the time the show came around. Our ‘retro’ robot approach overcomes this and will still look fresh and fun in 2019.
“To be awarded the contract was a real coup for Leapfrog Marketing as we were competing against some significant London agencies. Over the next three years we are looking forward to working with Informa’s young, dynamic marketing team and together, our goal is to make the 2019 event bigger, better and more successful than ever before.”
Rob Fisher, Director, Materials Handling Group, Informa Exhibitions Ltd comments, “Leapfrog Marketing has many years’ experience of our industry. They displayed a thorough understanding of the design brief we gave them and any one of their concepts could have worked. Their idea to use a retro robot theme to promote IMHX 2019 was, however, inspirational; it was a concept we all loved right from the start.
“Overall, Leapfrog’s creative campaign proposal ticked all the right boxes – it’s not only eye-catching, imaginative and adaptable, but also it clearly reflects the technology driven industry that our exhibition serves.” For more information call Jane Nuthall or Alan Myers at Leapfrog Marketing on 0116 278 7788 or email: ideas@leapfrog.uk.com
LEAPFROG MARKETING LTD
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