Your brand is the most potent weapon you have to grow your business. A strong brand is like a magnet for your business in helping you to attract new customers, team members and increase the desirability of your goods and services. At the loft, we help companies of all shapes and sizes create brand communications – everything from beautiful identities to informative infographics to show stopping campaigns.

We are always working within the constraints of tight budgets.. In a few weeks time, we shall be giving a talk on how best to ‘build a brand on a budget’ for Young Enterprise Scotland and Bridge2Business.

In the meantime, here are a few ideas we’d love to share…

Imagination is everything…

Start-ups rarely have cash to build their brands so a great imagination is absolutely essential. You have to make every pound of money and every minute of time go that bit further than all the others to break through. One of the best companies who do this is Brewdog – with everything from roadkill beer packaging to driving tanks past the bank of England – they are the masters at making the mundane interesting and getting lots of attention for doing it in the meantime.

One of our favourite examples of this is the design of these beermats a few years ago. Beermats tend to be one of those unremarkable items that modern-day brewers overlook and just stamp their logo onto. Not Brewdog who created these lovely little gems – giving the coaster a life of its own while hilariously endorsing the brand. Something that is bound to get everybody talking about your company and a definite social media hit – exactly what is required for building an effective brand. Amazing ideas like these cost not a penny more to create and require only a little bit of imagination. Brilliant.

Leverage that content…

Brand, marketing and creative activities for small to medium sized enterprises are considerable investments in time and money for both the company and individual involved. For those that are looking to really build their brand on a shoe-string, it is absolutely essential that a little bit of start-up resourcefulness is used to help get the most out of your investment. We recommend leveraging everything you do so that each and every activity gives you a great return.

Two of the most common activities that SME’s engage in are the design of brochures and the building of websites.

If you are about to engage in either of these activities., you definitely should…

– Make the most out of days with professionals such as photographers/ copywriters/ graphic designers. Most professionals do require a few hours to get into a flow with new clients so the greater number of activities that you can schedule at one sitting the better. They will be able to work much more quickly, efficiently and effectively. You will definitely receive a bigger bang for your buck.

– Leverage any written copy from a professional copywriter for the creation of these individual campaigns.

– Have any infographics re-formatted and prepared for social media channels. You can create a series of mini-campaigns on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube and Instagram with some basic infographics.

– Create mini-social campaigns around photography displaying service imagery, team members in action and even company processes.

– Re-format testimonials and case-studies into individual PDF documents that can be kept on file as print or digital files to be sent out to prospective clients or customers.

– For a little added impact – you can take your infographics, photography and ask your professional to convert them into little animations such as animated GIFs which can also have a great effect on social media.

Continuity is king…

For companies who want to maximise their brand/marketing/communications spend – working with established partners over a longer period of time is definitely a great way to maximise your investment. Building long-term relationships with trusted partners will allow you to build harmonious working relationships between the individuals in teams which is obviously invaluable, it also allows suppliers to give preferential rates for larger projects or additional items, there is a consistency to the the work produced which is of huge benefit to the other party. Finally the time saved in not having to continuously source new suppliers is a huge big deal.

Just a few ideas on how to build a great brand on a budget.

Benedetto

Benedetto is an ideas-driven Creative Entrepreneur. He is on a mission to unleash the power of creativity to create a better world – for people, business and society.

He is the founder of the loft, a design and branding house which operates worldwide helping companies bring their brands to life in the most imaginative and effective ways possible.

The loft serves companies in every sector and is quite simply the best in the business at creating brands that capture the imagination.

In addition to his role with the loft, Benedetto is an avid supporter of young people into enterprise. Having been supported by organisations such as PSYBT and currently by E-Spark, he does all he can to support young entrepreneurs. He provides assistance to organisations such as Bridge2Business, Young Enterprise Scotland and acts as a mentor for young business owners with Entrepreneurial Scotland.

His support to the next generation doesn’t end there, Benedetto is a big supporter of MCR Pathways, an organisation which helps disadvantaged children secure better futures through mentoring. Alongside his team at the loft, he provides creative support to the organisation as well as specialist work experiences for the students in the studio.

A real man on a mission. Benedetto likes to make things happen and happen fast and in a big way. He always wants things done yesterday and is relentlessly driven in his quest to make tomorrow better than today for his company, the people he serves and the wider community.

Client’s are at the heart of every project we create — an integral slice of the delicious design pie. So understanding them is massively important, especially when it makes both parties lives a lot easier.

Throughout my time working in a design studio, I have picked up some handy tips that I feel will help designers of any level. It’s super simple stuff, but it can be easy to forget. I give you, ‘Clients: A How-To Guide’.

Presentations — something that can turn even the most confident designer into a shriveling, sweaty mess.

But do not fret, there are ways to bypass the instinctive flight option.

Here are some top tips to holding a killer presentation…

• Practise Consistency — No two presentations are the same, but that doesn’t mean we can’t keep them consistent.
• Preparation Is Key — We use different layouts for different stages of presentations. Winning a pitch is, of course, important to us, so being prepared is a key part of that. Concept presentations should be slightly more refined, clearly outlining our thought process behind each concept in a concise manner. If the wording is too long, the concept isn’t strong enough to be explained in a couple of sentences. These presentations include initial sketches, maybe some illustrator mock ups and some reference material.
• Know Your Audience — If you are designing for someone with particular taste, you should tailor the entire process to their mindset, including presentations. Some clients are decision makers and like to have the important stuff bullet pointed. Others like to get into the detail; design accordingly.
• Final Presentations — These should be much more honed in on a specific idea, showing slight variations on the chosen concept. Again, make these changes as clear as possible so that the client’s job of choosing one is made simpler. We want the entire process to be as easy as possible for the client, in turn making it easier for the team.

What’s more important than the precious moments you get to spend with your client, one-on-one, excitedly discussing the direction of the project? You guessed it — nothing (apart from the boss’s birthday).

Fast-paced and full of ideas; your meetings should aim to clarify with clients and gather crucial information.

Here are some top tips for hosting a top meeting…

• Timing is Key — No one likes to be late to a meeting, let alone turn up on a wrong day! Be very clear with your clients when deciding on a meeting time/place, no more awkward moments of confusion. If you can skope out what your client is looking to achieve in the meeting as well — even better!
• Ideas, Not Problems — Extra brownie points for those who can sketch on the spot. Transferring the client’s words to paper in a visual form is a fantastic way to get the client excited about the project and gain their trust.
• Small Ideas Sheet = Big Success — By creating a small ideas sheet and taking it to potential clients it shows that you are prepared and know what you are talking about. Having already thought out the client’s ideas and solving problems beforehand lets the client know that we’re serious about their business and are already invested in what they do. These sheets should be loose, giving the presenter a point of reference, maybe some initial sketches; essentially a conversation starter.

Lack of communication is a big no-no. Having clear communication channels with your client’s ensures that both parties are heading in the right direction.

Here are some top tips to keeping in contact…

Emails

• Make it very clear what your intentions are in the email; clarity is key to communication.
• Always summarise and reiterate what a client is looking for.
• Triple check spelling; especially when it comes to names/subject.
• Communicate in a professional manner, but do not shy away from expressing your excitement on projects and work.

Phonecalls

• A lot of clients are comfortable speaking over the phone, it adds a more human element and the clients are more likely to express their true opinions in this form of communication.
• Phone calls are for less formal/time constrained situations — emails give you important information that is written in text that we can refer back to.
• If the client has made a lot of points, it can be very helpful to send them a summarised email of the conversation via email after the conversation
  for clarification.

Doing the thinking for the client can earn you mega brownie points; additional content can really make their job easier.

Here are some top tips to going the extra mile…

• Stop & Think — Sometimes, doing the thinking for the client can earn you a lot of brownie points. This lets your passion shine through for the project.
• Never Over-Promise — The trust you have with your client will be hurt and they made look at you in a more negative light — understand what you can deliver and make sure it’s on time.
• Additional Material — Supplying the client with additional material that can show them potential directions for the future and will maintain a positive relationship. If there is any area you can improve on with regards to making the process easier for the client then it should be implemented. For example, providing clients with not only the print format for some of their work but also a digital RGB version that has been cropped to social media sizes.

We’re not just talking about secret handshakes here — having a sustainable relationship with a client solidifies the aspect of trust and results in many more seamless projects.

Here are some top tips to going the extra mile…

• Memory Game — Note any interesting points about the client that you can bring up in conversation, i.e. they have mentioned that they are hiring within the company, ask how the hiring process is going and show that you are genuinely interested in their business. Remember names; we will be interacting with many different clients so knowing exactly who you will be speaking to may seem like common sense, but it is something that can have a big effect on client confidence in yourself and the team.
• Make An Appearance — Jump at the chance to meet the client face to face. The difference this makes to the relationship is big, clients will feel much more comfortable talking to you in the future after your first encounter.
• Match Their Energy — Are they excited? Copy this behavior, and then some; if a client is excited about a project, match their excitement, plus 1. This goes for if they are quieter too; don’t bounce around the room with excitement if the client is more introverted — match their tone of voice plus 1 in order to build trust and rapport.
• Our Business — Treat their business as your own; learn about the product/service beforehand and show a genuine interest in what they do. Not only will this bring your passion forward for the client to see, but it makes it easier to work on a project you have an interest in.

Are you a commander, an executive or an advocate? Not a question we regularly ask ourselves but one that we were questioning this month. In an effort to get to know one another and ourselves better we all took part in the Myers-Brigg’s questionnaire and got up close and personal with our personality strengths and weaknesses.

It all started with 16 Personalities — which is a great website for breaking down your personality type and puts it into layman’s terms. Be warned though, it is incredibly fascinating and has become seriously addictive, all my friends and family have now taken the test even with all their protests.

Eager to find out more we invited Christine Penman into the studio to explain more about our personality types and focus on how we can work as a team even more effectively – not your usual Friday morning breakfast meeting! Starting off with a simple task to show how everyone thinks differently, we all closed our eyes and Christine said the word “horse” and then we opened our eyes and shared what we thought of. One saw a black stallion, another saw a horse in Spain and of course, thanks to my other half, I saw a horse in Hawick. Next, we broke down each personality aspect and learnt about what it means to be an introvert or extrovert, use intuition or sensing, are thinking or feelings led and whether you use judging or perceiving when tackling work. The most stand out difference is between being thinking or feelings led. In a task, we were split into our two groups and asked to write about how we deal with conflict when we are directly involved or not directly involved. For the feelings led group, we found that we tend to avoid conflict and can feel quite blind-sided by it. Whereas for the thinking led group, all the emotion is taken out of it and they like to get to the point and “explain to them 3 times why they are wrong.” All jokes aside, the full morning was great and we really did learn a lot about ourselves and each other. Being able to understand each other’s personality types and what each person brings to the team was very interesting and should enable us to work more efficiently as a team.

The aftermath — having access to all this valuable information, we wanted to find a way of communicating this quickly and effectively with each other so Nicola got her design on and came up with cheat sheets for everyone. These cheat sheets take pride of place in our studio and outline our personality stats, our ‘devine’ skills and how we activate these skills in a simple but incredibly effective profile design. They have been a talking point among us and clients, giving them a quick insight into the team and all our quirks.

WARNING: ENTERING THE LOFT MAY INVOLVE TAKING PART IN A PERSONALITY TEST

Check out the test>>>

Laura

I arrived at Kelvingrove Museum representing our team for the MCR Pathways event ‘Bridge to the Future’. Once registered, I made my way up the marble staircase to the museums main hall. The building was immense, but it had nothing on the positive atmosphere created by the hundreds of attendees raring to listen to the events talks.

MCR Pathways is an organisation designed to give a helping hand to disadvantaged young people starting out in life. They believe that having a role-model is incredibly important, and the mentors within the organisation fill this position perfectly, taking time out of their busy lives to help the young people fulfil their potential. I feel that it is the connection to a mature adult that the young people really appreciate the most.

It is a belief that all of us at the loft share, and we were delighted to strengthen our bond with the charity by joining other businesses who have supported the ‘Talent-Taster’ sessions which give young people an insight into the world of work.

As the event began; the crowd was quick to hush as the night was going to be predominantly hosted by the young people themselves. I would say that I am a confident person for the most part, but seeing the young people up on stage with hundreds of eyes watching them, I felt I had a lot to learn. Being that age talking in front of 10 people would be intimidating, so I was very impressed with the calmness, maturity and professional approach that the young people took whilst standing on the stage.

Multiple mentors were invited up for an interview, being questioned on how they have found the process, their best moments and why they decided to mentor in the first place. It was easy to see how much they have enjoyed the programs, with their passion shinning through genuine smiles that was spread across their faces.

Performances by the young people then took place, every piece symbolising different aspects of the organisation that had made a positive impact on their lives. Once again, I was thoroughly impressed by the confidence up on stage. It was clear that the MCR Pathways experience has had a massive impact on the young people and I could see that first hand.

Artist Gerard M. Burns gave a small talk on his piece titled ‘Bridge to the Future’ (of which the events name spawned from). The painting involved two young adults linked arm in arm, both reaching out in opposite directions, almost beckoning on the outside world, stronger united. I felt that it really summarised what MCR Pathways is trying to do for the young people of Scotland; build meaningful relationships to better themselves and their confidence in preparation for life after high-school.

As the talks came to an end, an opera singer and pianist took to the stage with beautiful performance. It was very fitting within the grandeur of the museum. An exhibition opened, showcasing featured work from our very own talent taster sessions that the young people had been a part of. We are extremely happy to have our work placed up on the wall, highlighting the excitement of the young people working in the studio. I felt a sense of pride for everyone attending the event, the energy in the room was profound.

We look forward to continue building a strong relationship with MCR Pathways and are delighted that we could be a part of the experience. It’s eye opening to see the difference that the charity has had on these young persons lives – one which was strengthened by the performance they gave at the Kelvingrove event.

I’m sure it won’t be the last.

Reiss