Revolt-ing

Go on then lets do it; Let's say 'it's revolution not evolution.' (I hate tired old marketing terms more than Ikea even if you do turn them on their heads.)

Right, well we've got that out of the way but come on let's really go for it. If you want to stand out, if you want to be seen as different and if you want to take the lead then you are going to have to revolt. You are going to have to say: screw everybody else I am better than them and the way I do it is the best. By god it takes guts to do that and you may find yourself stood alone but soon everyone else can see that because you have had the balls to stand alone and you have positioned yourself exactly how you want to, without any influence from your competitors. That this sets you miles in front of them.

Great design and great marketing comes from revolution and ultimately having the guts to believe so much in who you are that you will go out on a limb and revolt. So hats off to the revolutionaries and long may they find the courage to stand-alone.

It's great to stand alone when it gives you the time to watch everyone else catch up

we know the marketing that goes

'We know the colours that go.'
What a statement. 'We know.' Not we will suggest or recommend but 'we know.' No messing, no flannel. We have positioned ourselves as the experts and everybody else really can't question our understanding. It's a standard marketing ploy to position yourself as an expert and hats off to Dulux as they have done this so well and have a great campaign to back up this statement. So much so that I bet their colour charts have become the dog eared bibles of home decorating across the country. Designers may stick they collective necks out to say that tonally some of the matches could be better or that some of the colours that 'don't go' could with a little tweaking, but the success of the campaign means that they would be questioning the new colour experts. Modern marketing done well and backed up by a great advertising campaign. Dulux say they know the colours that go and if they have the balls to say that who are we to question?

cut the class

Lifestyle....We've all heard the term and boy do agencies love to band it about, like it's something they came up with. I once fell into this trap during a presentation and stated that my client should use 'lifestyle' images. I was then asked: 'What is lifestyle?' I really couldn't answer. I also doubt that other agencies could have come up with a suitable answer. It's become a buzz word that really doesn't reflect the true meaning of the word. Lifestyle could be anything! Whos lifestyle? I like to read poetry when I'm drunk. That's part of my lifestyle. I sit in my garden and punish myself for the weeds that seem to be taking over. That's part of my lifestyle. So what does this awful word really mean?

Creatives would tell you that it's aspirational and that it illustrates what people want out of life. Bit general! I want a new guitar and motivation to dig up my weeds. Is that lifestyle? NO. Lifestyle has become the new class. Personally I hate the word 'lifestyle' almost as much as the word 'class' but pigeonholing is what marketeers do best, so if we have to embrace marketing and their sickly tags then we must try and understand that now, living in an environment of 'you can get what you want if you have the drive' a class system is out dated and so 'lifestyle' takes over. That's all it is. An adaptation of class to fit in with modern living.

So if ever you are told that you need to appeal to lifestyle do me and yourself one favour. Ask who's lifestyle and watch them squirm.

create problems, not solutions

So you've gone to your design agency and said something along the lines of: 'I need a leaflet, you know one of those A4 folded ones.' So off they pop, do there stuff and produce just what you wanted.

But here both you and the agency have fallen into a simple trap. You have given them what you think is the best solution to you, and the agency have been happy to get some work in, however dull because hey, at the end of the day it's work.

If you want to get the best from a design agency don't give them solutions, give them problems. Tell them you need to promote your company, tell them you want to raise your company profile, tell them you need to sell more products then let them create something wonderful for you. Most agencies would love to be challenged and have the opportunity to exercise their minds to create some wonderful and hopefully surprising solutions for you.

So pass on your problems, sit back and enjoy the solutions.