Slice Issue 2

september 2014

Pencils aloft!

Well here it is, welcome to the 2nd edition of SLICE – a newspaper designed and published by Toast.

We received some great and positive feedback on the 1st issue, and we want to continue to share with you an insight of what goes on behind our bright orange front door. So have a peek and let us know what you think.

Enjoy!

Artisan Bakers Haddie & Trilby needed a branding agency that wouldn’t burn their bread when creating their brand identity – so they turned to their perfect partner, Toast.

George Casey is the man behind Haddie & Trilby which is the only Real Bakery in Royal Leamington Spa, where everything is crafted on site by hand, with no short-cuts or cheats, producing incredible breads and amazing baked goods.

recent work by toast

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George needed an agency that could help him define his offering and create a compelling brand that would allow him to create the business he had always dreamed about. Toast worked with George to investigate and develop the name and brand identity for the new bakery and then bring the brand to life by applying it to everything from shop front designs, signage and staff uniforms as well as the usual marketing materials.

Toast followed it’s tried and tested (and preferred) approach to projects of this nature.

We sat down with George and got to truly understand the needs of the project both implicit and explicit. It was identified that the bakery had to have a strong link with its location of Leamington Spa to ensure that it could instantly establish a deep-seated relationship with it’s core market as a bakery lives or dies based on local patronage.

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Through the process of investigation and research, historic details were found about Sam Lockhart’s Victorian circus which was based in Leamington about 150 years ago with key attractions being two talented baby elephants named Haddie and Trilby who fascinated the local crowds. The exciting experience and enjoyment of something new resonated with how George wanted customers to feel when they engaged with this new brand. From these foundations a name, identity and brand was created, developed and finessed.

The identity was used to create a buzz and interest as the bakery was fitted out and created, increasing awareness and creating intrigue ready for the big launch.

On launch day the branding came to the fore and was applied to every touch-point. From the shop front and signage through to bags and packaging. The result was a very successful launch with the company’s name and brand firmly embedded in the customer’s minds.

Since opening, Haddie & Trilby have firmly established themselves as the ‘real’ bakery of choice for locals and visitors alike.

Haddie & Trilby, 10 Regent Street, Royal Leamington Spa, CV32 5HQ

Other august news from toast towers 6

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Our client and friend Sarah Churchill at The Artisan Kitchen, won 8, yes 8! Great Taste Awards and her Blaisdon Red Plum Jam was awarded the Top 50 foods by the Great Taste Awards. Congratulations Sarah!

We’ve put the finishing touches together for the design of an exciting new food product launch by our friends at Ross & Ross Foods. Watch this space.

Our branding work for Mama Eti’s Indonesian Street Food was the most viewed piece of work on Creative Brief’s website in August.

The website designed and built by Toast www.paddingtonfestival.co.uk was nominated for an award by internet providers Heart.

1. Final brand identity.

2. Shop front visual.

3. Final shop front.

4. Some of Haddie & Trilby’s tasty treats.

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5. George, Annabelle from Haddie & Trilby & Countryfile’s Adam Henson at the opening.

6. Staff uniforms.

7. Brand elements.

8. Packaging.

Are you ready Mr Bond?

Components that comprise a comprehensive brand strategy Your brand’s strategy should be based on company goals. And just like James Bond wouldn’t have gotten too far without a plan, your business will eventually hit a wall without a cohesive brand strategy. Sure, maybe you can finagle a big sale or trick a Russian spy or two, but one day you’ll wake up and have no idea how your company got from A-to-Q -- it’s supposed to go from A-to-B, remember? And skipping steps is not how a great company that stands the test of time is built.

Brand strategy is the how, what, when, and to whom you plan on communicating your product or service. Having a clear and concise brand strategy leads to stronger overall brand equity -- how people feel about or perceive your product, and how much they are willing to pay for it.

It’s the stuff that feels intangible, but it’s that hard-to-pin-down feeling that separates powerhouse and mediocre brands from one another. So to help you reign in what many marketers consider more of an art and less of a science, we’ve broken down seven components of a comprehensive brand strategy that will help keep your company around for ages. So is your company’s brand strategy smooth like Bond?

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Let’s clear up the biggest misconception about brand strategy right now. Your brand is not your product, your logo, your website, or your name. It’s what your customers perceive about you, and how you make them feel. Chances are you’re not the only company out there selling your product or service. Figure out what your company does best beyond what you sell, and make it a part of your brand strategy.

For example, Apple doesn’t just sell computers and music equipment; it sells well-designed products that are easy to use. Are they the best computers on the market?

No. (Well, I guess that depends on what side of the Mac-PC debate you’re on.) But Apple sells a lot of them at twice the price because of the way Apple positions its brand in the market. This goes beyond your product itself -- it’s about selling the problem you are solving.

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Be Consistent Now that you have decided your key brand attributes, make sure it is clear and understood through all your communications -- especially inside your own company.

Don’t talk about things that don’t relate to or enhance your brand. Added a new photo to Facebook? What does it mean for your company? Does it align with your message, or was it just something funny that would, frankly, confuse your audience? If it doesn’t tie back to your brand’s message, you will have trouble differentiating yourself from competitors.

You might be thinking, “Volvo doesn’t say safety, safety, safety all the time, though.” But listen to how Volvo describes its cars and how long they last, as well as how it describes features. It all ties back to Volvo’s underlying brand theme of safety, and customers know what they will get when they buy that product.

Connect Emotionally Customers can either think rationally about your product or service, or they can think emotionally about it.

How else do you explain the person who paid thousands of dollars more for a Harley rather than buying another cheaper, equally well-made bike? There was an emotional voice in there somewhere, whispering “Buy a Harley…open road…tough.” It’s the way the brand makes you feel. You feel like you belong, like you’re part of a larger group that’s more tight-knit than just a bunch of motorcycle riders. Where do you think HOG came from? Harley Owners Group.

Tie Your Brand to Your Business Model

Don’t claim to solve generic problems; your customers have specific problems. Play the word game.

Volvo = safe; Coke = refreshing; Disney = magic.

What does your brand equal? You always knew Bond was going to get out of a pickle, but you wanted to see how, because he did it with resourcefulness and flair.

Decide which aspect is the most important about your product or service, and make it a part of every aspect of your brand communication.

Just because you come up with a campaign to reinforce your brand strategy, doesn’t mean it will work. There have been plenty of schemes and plans that have ended with our beloved heroes in the clutches of an evil foe.

How the Penguin catches anyone, I don’t know, but if it can happen to Batman, it can happen to you. Watch your return on investment as you implement new campaigns to strengthen your brand. If your brand isn’t resonating with enough people through the campaign, you have not given them a good enough reason to love you.

Find a way to connect to your customers on a deeper level. Do you give them peace of mind? Make them feel like part of the family? Do you make life easier?

Connect with your customers on this point before and after a sale. Answer their questions and concerns on social media. A little goes a long way. Batman doesn’t have any real superpowers, but whenever that signal lights up the sky, people trust that he will be there -because he always is.

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At the start of each new campaign, check your marketing analytics for branded and organic search. If it goes up when you launch your campaign, it means people are hearing about your campaign and becoming interested in your brand. They are searching for you -- often by name -because you have provided them with enough compelling content that they want to know more. Just don’t get stuck on one tactic or campaign. By staying agile, you can better measure whether your tactics are aligning well with your overall brand strategy, and if they don’t, you haven’t invested so much that you can’t re-evaluate.

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In this fast-changing world, marketers must remain flexible to stay relevant. On the plus side, this frees you to be creative with your campaigns. Old Spice generated quite the buzz over the last few years because it took its old brand and made it relatable to a new generation.

Old Spice still held true to its brand; they just did it in a different, buzz-worthy way that opened them to a new customer market. I’m still talking about them, and that horse left the barn over a year ago.

Reward and Cultivate If you already have people that love you, your company, and your brand, don’t just sit there! Reward them for that love. These customers have gone out their way to write about you, to tell their friends about you, and to act as your brand ambassadors. Cultivating loyalty from these people early on will yield more returning customers -and more profit for your business.

Sometimes, just a thank you is all that’s needed, but great brands also tend to give more than that. Write them a personalised letter. Do you have some extra special swag? Sent it to them. Ask them to write a review, and feature them prominently on your website.

For example, Porsche reached 1 million Facebook fans quicker than any other automotive brand, so to thank its fans, Porsche made a wraparound for its GT3 Hybrid that included all 1 million names. No doubt the car company also received an extra bit of buzz for it. And showing how happy your current customers are with your product certainly helps your sales organisation, too, because it shows the positive end result of becoming a customer.

Be Flexible

So if your old tactics aren’t working anymore, don’t be afraid to change them just because it worked in the past. Take the opportunity to engage your followers in fresh, new ways. Are there attributes about your product you never highlighted? Use those to connect with new customers and remind your old ones why they love you.

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Watch Out for Competitors... a Little Take the competition as a challenge to improve your own strategy and create greater value in your overall brand. You are in the same business and going after the same customers, right? So watch what they do.

Do some of their tactics succeed? Do some fail? Tailor your tactics based on their experience to better your brand and company.

That being said, don’t let your competitors dictate each and every move. Sure, you probably sell a similar product or service as many other companies. But you’re in business because your brand is unique. By harping on every move your competitor makes, you lose that differentiation. Soon your customers won’t be able to tell you apart, making it even easier for them to leave you.

Keep your eye on your competitors when experimenting with your brand strategy -- just not a hawk’s eye.

What are some ways you evaluate the effectiveness of your brand strategy?

Article courtesy of www.hubspot.com

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Measure

D2 -Final Logo in colour

Some of our recent branding work:

Tribeca

Artworks

LCMB

Tornado Boiler Co

The Wedge ©Toast Design Consultancy Ltd 2014

SLICE 2 / september 2014 / 3

AUGUST

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Typographical Weather Updates

Lovely weather website – great typography.

Simon: “You have probably all seen this but it is very nice” www.typoweather.com

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The Do Book Co

Great little books.

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Chris: “Some more great books here – The Do Book Co produce a few little books on a variety of subjects and they’re really good, inspiring stuff. The Do/Purpose one on branding I’ve got is excellent as is Do/Disrupt.”

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www.thedobook.co

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Wolf Olins Beehive

Every studio should have one.

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Chris: “We talked years ago about having a bee hive in the garden at Toast. Now Wolf Olins are doing it.” www.thedrum.com/news/2014/08/20/wolff-olinsexplains-why-it-has-rooftop-beehive-should-allagencies-have-one

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Tarantino Film Poster

The Hateful Eight.

Adam: “Check out the first poster for Tarantino’s next film. Nice minimal design.” www.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/the-hatefuleight-poster1.jpg 5 5

Nerdblock

Get your nerd fix!

Simon: “Want to get a nerd fix without going to the comic shop? Then check this – it’s like graze for desk clutter!!” www.nerdblock.com 6

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Moleskine Livescribe Notebooks

Translate notebook drawings straight to your iPad. Chris: “I want one of these, a Moleskine that translates drawings and notes to an iPhone or iPad. Great for digitising project ideas and thoughts.” www.moleskine.com/gb/news/livescribe-notebook

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Looking for a holiday

Laila: “If you are looking for a holiday in the UK check out Tor Farm in Somerset.” www.luxuryselfcatering.uk.com

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Makers Cafe

A Café For Designers, 3D-print your ideas while you sip on coffee.

Chris: “Just saw this on Design Taxi – it looks awesome!” http://designtaxi.com/news/369001/A-Caf-ForDesigners-3D-Print-Your-Ideas-While-You-Sip-OnCoffee/

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Made in Wales

Simon: “ A lovely little video by Monocle” http://monocle.com/film/business/made-in-wales/

Team instagrams of the month

4 / September 2014 / SLICE 2

Over the last 17 years we have created thousands of brochures in every shape and size, using the latest technology and constantly pushing the boundaries of print. Brochures are used to sell, advise, educate and promote for a whole range of organisations operating in an even broader range of sectors.

They are consistently effective and form the backbone of many of our clients marketing strategies.

With the above in mind we are still mindful every time we are asked to question if there is a better way of doing it or investigate other options. This is part of our approach and fundamental to the way we think, we always want to create the best possible solution.

To create the best solution it’s essential to know exactly what the problem is, with any form of branded communications this is best identified through a well-defined creative brief.

A creative brief can take many forms but it is essential to any creative project, without it there is no real way for the designer to truly understand the wants and needs of the client.

A creative brief can take the form of a conversation, a meeting, rough note, an email or a mixture of these but is always best as a well-written briefing document.

Having a document that clearly explains who the piece is aimed at, what it should do for them and how they should respond to it can be discussed and agreed. It allows both the designer and the client confidence that the fundamental purpose of the project will be delivered whilst also providing a central point of reference for relevant information on the big idea, brand requirements, measurement criteria and a host of other factors.

A well written and agreed creative brief can then be challenged and the best solution found, for example if the project is identified as a product launch then a standalone brochure could be more effective if supported by a tailored landing page for the website. Alternatively a project that is looking to be mailed to a client may benefit from being split into a range of smaller brochures or other modular solution rather than one large brochure, which would allow a client to reduce postage costs.

“At Toast we do not measure the success of a project on just the look and feel of the end product, in the same way that when people by an electric drill it isn’t a drill they are after it’s a hole!

When clients ask us to create a brochure or other branded communications piece we know they don’t want a brochure – they want to sell something, they want to promote something, they want to engage with a target audience they want to achieve the goal set out in their creative brief.” Simon Browne So if you are working with Toast and ask for a brochure or a leaflet and we ask “are you sure?” you now know why.

10 points in a Toast design brief: Point 1/ What’s the big idea? What do you want to do?

Point 2/ What audience do you want to speak to?

Point 3/ What do you want them to do (CTA)?

Point 4/ What single message MUST

this communication convey?

Point 5/ How will you measure success? Do you have a target?

Point 6/ Do you have everything (content) you need?

Point 7/ Are you using your existing brand or need a new one?

Point 8/ How do you want them to feel about you

and your product/service?

Point 9/ Is this project part of a campaign or larger strategy?

Point 10/ Do you have a budget, schedule

or format/channel in mind?

SLICE 2 / september 2014 / 5

6 / September 2014 / SLICE 2

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Email your answers to hello@toastdesign.co.uk

The first person to correctly tell us the titles of the below posters wins an A2 print of their choice.

So do you know your stuff when it comes to film quotes? - Is your favourite film here? If so, how many can you guess correctly?

Just for a bit of fun, the designers at Toast have been creating posters containing quotes from our favourite films to share on our Facebook page.

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facebook.com/wearetoast

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twitter.com/toastdesign

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Step checklist for your next website redesign

1. Benchmark your current metrics

4. Analyse the competition

Before you start thinking about anything, document your current performance metrics. Start by analysing your existing site over its history, including:

While we don’t recommend obsessing over your competitors, it helps to know how you compare.

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Number of visits/visitors/unique visitors Bounce rate Time on site Current SEO rankings for important keywords Domain authority Number of new leads/form submissions Total amount of sales generated

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Once you run the analysis, put together an action list of what areas you can improve and what you can do differently than your competitors.

2. Determine your goals

If you’re considering a redesign, there needs to be a good reason for it.

Many times we hear “just because it’s been a while since we’ve done one,” or “I want our business to look bigger.” These are not good reasons for a redesign. It’s not just about how your site looks, but how it works.

Be really clear about why you’re doing the redesign in the first place and tie it to measurable results. You can then communicate your goals with your team, designer or agency. Consider the following objectives for your own website: • • • • • • •

Run your website through Marketing Grader (http://marketing.grader. com) to get a report card of how your website and marketing is performing today.

Next, run your competitors through Marketing Grader so you are aware of their strengths and weaknesses.

Take a look at their websites, note what you like and what you don’t.

BUT, this is not meant to copy them. That’s the last thing you want to do.

Instead, you’ll uncover what you can do better.

Number of visits/visitors Bounce rate Time on site Domain authority Number of new leads/form submissions Total amount of sales generated Current SEO rankings for important keywords

5. Identify your Unique Value Proposition

Before you begin crafting your content, be clear about you Unique Value Proposition (UVP) so that it is consistent across your entire website. If you attract a high number of unique visitors, or you’re a new business, your visitors might not be very familiar with you and what you do.

You need to immediately answer if what you do is right for them, and why they should buy/ convert/stay on your website and not flee to your competitors.

When crafting your UVP, make sure you sound human. Do not use gobbledygook.

Consider the following example of how we could describe HubSpot in a gobbledygook way:

Many of these goals are dependent on each other. For example, in order to get more conversions, you need to increase traffic while decreasing the bounce rate, so it’s common to have many of these objectives. Some may be more important than others for your business. Once you determine this list, tie those objectives to a specific success metric e.g., “to increase site traffic by 50% in the next six months.”

HubSpot assists organisations across multiple countries reduce churn by backfilling the sales pipeline with highly qualified traffic that generates leads that convert into customers with high lifetime value. We achieve this through leading-edge software that integrates all marketing channels for a synergistic view of the data that determines and prioritises the high-value marketing activities.

What? Let’s translate that into the way people actually speak:

Ahh yes, I got it! This step defines how the world communicates with your website. It can dramatically affect your bounce rates and conversion rates.

Don’t skip this step!

3. Avoid pitfalls. Inventory of your assets

6. Design your site around personas

While a redesign is a great way to improve results, there are countless ways it can hurt you. Your existing website contains a lot of assets that you have built up, and losing those during a redesign can damage your marketing. For instance, such assets might include:

Your website is not just about you. Your visitors ask, “what’s in it for me?”

Speak to them in their language by designing content around buyer personas.

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Most shared or viewed content Most trafficked pages Best performing keywords you rank for and associated pages Number of inbound links to individual pages

For example, if you remove a page that has a higher number of inbound links, you could lose a lot of SEO credit, which could decrease keyword rankings.

A buyer persona is when you slice your marketplace into individual groups of people. They are fictional representations of your ideal customers, based on real data about customer demographics and online behaviour, along with educated speculation about their personal histories, motivations, and concerns.

For instance, if you are a marketing manager at a hotel who is looking to bring in new business, you might target five buyer personas: an independent business traveler, a corporate travel manager, an event planner, a vacationing family, and a couple planning their wedding reception.

SOME OF OUR RECENT WEB WORK:

www.paddingtonfestival.co.uk 8 / September 2014 / SLICE 2

www.openovenpizzaco.co.uk

www.bluecapcoffee.com

www.guildfordcathedralconsultation.co.uk

WWW.banburyselfstorage.co.uk

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

Abraham Lincoln

CHOP CHOP CHOP Here at Toast we can’t agree more with old Abe. Don’t get us wrong, we really appreciate that, with any creative project there is a strong desire from all involved to put pencil to paper and create some creative ideas. What we want to avoid is the visual being created without the essential thought and planning, this leads to weak & poor solutions. All too often in the rush to create, there is the opportunity to make presumptions and fill any gaps in the creative brief (or lack of) and produce something that looks good, but will unlikely address the core purpose of the communication.

Only by asking the right questions can you unearth critical answers in order to establish a robust design brief. Something that engages the right audience, in the right tone, and allows them to respond accordingly can ensure that we end up with not only something that looks great, but actually delivers the results you want and need. We refer to this process as Growth by Design: as most great things don’t happen by chance but by application of an intelligent process.

Toast believes in getting the idea right first and then applying that idea to the best channels available. “You need to sharpen that axe”. The alternative see’s some instant action and a lot of noise, but cutting down that tree will take a lot more time and effort in the long run. If that is the case, then you need to give the designer the chop!

SLICE 2 / september 2014 / 9

This, the second of the ‘If Toast Did.....’ projects, where we feature a ‘made-up’ product to show our creativity and passion to create something different to the norm.

We have some fun, do what we want, with very little restrictions, but show our thirst for the IDEA.

...a PET FOOD brand

10 / September 2014 / SLICE 2

For this one, we have branded and labelled a fictional dog food brand, ‘The Mischievous Schnauzer’.

Designed by Chris Tymon, Creative Director at Toast.

THE FIVE CORE SERVICES OF INBOUND MARKETING… THE PROVEN METHODOLOGY FOR THE DIGITAL AGE INBOUND IS WHERE GOALS COME TOGETHER Toast are a UK Hubspot partner – but we don’t just implement hubspot for clients! We use hubspot ourselves, every day, to great effect (we’ve achieved a 70% increase in specific sector projects by using it). In a nutshell, Hubspot looks at everything you are doing online and helps you to run relevant inbound marketing campaigns across every one of your marketing channels. So whether you are looking to get more traffic to your site or to convert more visitors to leads, then customers, you need to look as this revolutionary all-in-one marketing application.

1. ATTRACT The ability to attract qualified visitors (“buyer personas”) to a website.

2. CONVERT The ability to develop custom web experiences and create premium content and CTAs/offers that convert those visitors into qualified leads.

3. FOLLOW-UP The ability to construct targeted follow-up campaigns aimed at closing qualified leads and turning them into customers.

4. NURTURE The ability to create online experiences that continue to delight and engage customers (and influencers) who promote the brand.

5. MEASURE The ability to measure the results of all the numerous online efforts, and analyse and interpret them accurately to implement next steps is critical. This core competency is fundamental to those businesses that are able to repeat successes and fine-tune underachieving campaigns to get better results.

SLICE 2 / september 2014 / 11

“Said Hamlet to Ophelia, I’ll draw a sketch of thee.

What kind of pencil shall I use?

2B or not 2B?”

say hello!

Spike Milligan

Toast 16 North Bar, Banbury, Oxon, OX16 0TF Call: 01295 26 66 44 Email: hello@toastdesign.co.uk www.toastdesign.co.uk facebook.com/wearetoast twitter.com/toastdesign