Tag: Graphic Design Glasgow

7 Years, happy birthday the loft…

Posted by benbordone / News

It’s kind of unbelievable to think, but on the 27th of April 2012, I got the Companies House certificates e-mailed from our accountant and the loft was officially born.

7 years ago today.

It’s been an incredible journey and if somebody had told me what the future would hold, I would have thought they were absolutely mad! So I wanted to take a moment and celebrate the 7 best things about the journey so far. Here they are, in no particular order..

1. Friendships

Some say you shouldn’t mix business with friendship. I honestly don’t think you can have a business which doesn’t have true friendship at the heart of it – particularly in the services sector. I’m truly humbled and honoured with the friendships we have made in the last seven years – clients, partners, suppliers, some of our old staff and even people we’ve just happened to meet along the way. We’ve had friends lend us office space when we didn’t have a home, we’ve been paid early at times by people who wanted to help and we’ve been the beneficiaries of some great advice too.

To give an example of just how amazing our friends are… A few weeks ago, I was discussing a challenge we were having with a lawyer friend and old client. In addition to some good advice, he ended our coffee meeting by asking ‘what’s your mailing address?’ and one day later I received the absolutely amazing ‘Shoe Dog,’ the biography of Phil Knight, the founder of Nike in the post – an Amazon Prime gift. The most incredible gesture from a wonderful person and we’ve been blessed to have experienced so many of these in the last 7 years. People really are good, full stop.

2. Mentors

Mentors are great, they provide inspiration and a pathway to a better tomorrow and I’ve been so lucky over the years with the ones I’ve had. Lots of people have mentored me in some small way but I’ve also been fortunate to have three ‘kind of’ official mentors too. All three are business owners, all are incredibly successful and titans in their own ways. I can’t tell you how much wisdom, support and great ideas I’ve had from all three of them.

3. Values

There is nothing better than making a living from just being yourself and I’m so proud that the loft has an abundance of great values and lived them to the max too. Everything from pushing the limits of what is possible, to giving great ideas energy to grow, to doing more than you’re paid for, to treating clients like partners not customers, giving something back, finding the beautiful in the seemingly mundane and taking ‘Action’ at every opportunity. There are just so many and we’re at our very best when we live them in the truest way possible.

4. Great Work

We have done some staggeringly good work over the years, and again it goes way beyond what I’m personally capable off, something thats been truly satisfying. Branding projects packed with meaning to infographics that are almost works of art to brochures that are so inviting that you have to read what’s inside. Soooo many great projects and we invest so much time, effort and energy to painstakingly get it right time and time again and without this it just wouldn’t be worth doing. ‘Design With Soul’ IS more than a tag-line, IT IS a way of life.

5. Learning & Limits

You don’t really learn anything until you jump in and test your limits and boy have we jumped in at times. Some times we’ve got hurt, some times it’s been sore but each time we’ve gained something of incredible value. The kind of experience school can’t teach and money can’t buy.

6. Teamwork

We’ve been fortunate to work with some outstanding creatives – both in the team and also contractors and it is their contribution which really should be celebrated. Each of them have given and developed thousands of ideas, some of them absolutely mind-blowing and it is their energy that has helped our hundreds of clients over the past 7 years to achieve their outcomes using design and branding. They are the giants whose shoulders we stand on to make us taller as a company, a creative provider and as a brand.

7. Gratitude

This whole post is a little bit of an acceptance speech but it is worth mentioning again. I am just so grateful to the people that have helped, and you know who you are. But I am even more grateful to have had this experience, it has truly been a blessing. Every day I wake up – sometimes insanely early, sometimes with virtually no sleep, sometimes running on empty – but I just absolutely love what I do. I really love it in a way that words can’t describe. Helping people bring brilliant ideas to life is the most rewarding profession in the world and I’ll happily do it until the day I die.

Or at least for another 7 years.

Happy birthday the loft…

Benedetto

Benedetto is an enthusiastic Creative and Business person.

‘Design with soul’ may be the company tag-line, but to Benedetto, it is also a way of life. He believes that creative and commercial enterprise is about purity of thought, honesty of construction and boldness of execution.

He believes in bringing out the true essence of human endeavour and considers his job of articulating the great work of people and companies an absolute privilege.

His journey has taken him from a career in car design through to his current role as the Founder and Creative Director of the loft, a branding consultancy in Glasgow.

He is honoured to manage a great team, work with great clients and have a lot of fun mixing with so many great people in business

branding branding Glasgow Creative Agency Creative Agency Glasgow Design Agency Glasgow design with soul Graphic Design Glasgow The Loft

21
Aug

The F-Word

Posted by benbordone / News

‘A company that pushes the limits of Creativity, Quality and Service.’

These are the latest words we have picked to differentiate the loft from all the others in the tightly packed, multi-faceted and incredibly competitive, creative sector which we operate.

Just to break it down a bit…

We want creative concepts that stir the soul to get us pumped about what we are doing.

We know that quality is a non-negotiable

Finally, excellent service is the foundation to any successful business.

At the loft – we are absolutely obsessed about all three.

How do we achieve the optimal mix?
The secret lies in the F-Word and no not the one you are thinking off.
While some may be terrified of it and others do their best to completely avoid it.

At the loft, we wholeheartedly embrace the F-word.

Failure.

We are comfortable in its presence, we use it as an opportunity to learn and we treat it as rocket fuel to break down those creative brick walls we face on a daily basis.

For us, it is the first step to success.

Fail Fast, Fail Often, Fail your way to Success.

Its something you will hear a lot of in our studio, alongside the example of a rocket which is almost permanently of course as it fails its way to the moon.

A love of failure might seem counterproductive but the biggest problem most creatives face is the enormity of the initial brief.

It can be so overwhelming that procrastination reigns supreme – ‘lighter/ darker, coloured/ monotone, in-line/ staggered…’

Endless analysis is followed by very little action. People build such large walls in their own minds that they are stunted into in-action. So much so, that the scale of even the first task overwhelms them.

At the loft, we just don’t have time for that.

We want to reign supreme in not one but three different areas – who has time for procrastination?

We believe action is key – work fast, smaller actions, quick decisions, minimise guess work, face uncomfortable truths, de-risk the concepts. Each of these behaviours help us to get through a massive workload – we get through more in a day than some would get through in a week.

Oh and it leaves plenty of time for barbecues, parties, drinks and the other fun stuff we regularly enjoy.

What’s more and this is the best bit, working faster and with greater intensity may seem like harder work but actually the opposite is true.
Its energising.

Guesswork is tiring, procrastination robs us of momentum and playing it safe is the surest way to completely lose interest.

Whether it is the ‘Lean Start-Up’ philosophy, the E-Spark philosophy or the Silicone Valley philosophy – it is one that we wholeheartedly believe in and use every single day.

Want to start succeeding, time to start failing.

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.

branding branding Glasgow creative process design Glasgow design process design with soul Glasgow Graphic Design Graphic Design Glasgow The Lean Start Up The Loft

28
Feb

MCR Pathways – Changing Perspectives

Posted by benbordone / News

Right, this is my first blog post so go easy. I talk about the most inspiring three hours of my short design career so far – so here goes..

I arrived at work last Friday feeling rather different. The last time I walked into our studio feeling this nervous I was clutching onto my portfolio and CV, prepared to beg Benedetto for a job.

But why was I so nervous? Was there a 9am meeting I wasn’t prepared for? An impending deadline at my desk? Had trainer Jamie from Puregym made me want to vomit before work? No, not this time. In fact, today we’re ignoring our deadlines, meetings as well as Jamie and opening our door to four young students into our office for a ‘Talent Taster’.

This ‘Talent Taster’ was organised by MCR Pathways, a Glasgow based organisation that ensures young kids from disadvantaged backgrounds, remain inspired and confident about their future. These talent tasters are organised for secondary school students to learn more about the jobs they think they might want when they’re older. Which means a big part of what they do is help young people discover what skills and capabilities they have up their sleeves.

So back to that cold morning..

After a quick breakfast with the guys (becoming a Loft tradition), we had a team talk on how the morning would pan-out. I was still apprehensive about the idea, but I guess what excited me most about this opportunity, was the prospect of a young person leaving our little studio in Merchant City, on the right path, ready to take on the big design world.

Before I knew it, the team talk was over and the kids were arriving. One by one they hesitantly walked through the studio door. What I was looking at was four future Creative Directors, all be it slightly shorter than Benedetto (Only slightly), clutching onto their bags, lunch boxes and jackets.

After a brief introduction we dived from the highest springboard into the deep-end, head first. Each member of the team was paired with a student. I was picked last, something I remember all to well from the gym hall at high school.

My partner in crime’s name was Callum, a curious chap. Before I could show him some of my work for the loft he asks for a business card, obviously after some credentials – this young man means business.

Callum instantly comes out of his shell as soon as we start chatting and interacting. I guess this is what MCR Pathways is all about: Giving young people that confidence, especially when they get one to one attention from someone who cares.

We slowly make our way around the room as I show him some of our most recent projects. Callum seems not only enthralled but inquisitive. He kept me on my toes by asking loads of questions on concepts and design choices, which to be honest, I wasn’t expecting. This no longer seems like a Talent Taster experience but more like a discussion from designer to designer. It was lovely to have someone who not only wanted to hear what I do day-to-day, but to actually question it and offer opinions and ideas.

I turn to Callum and question his age, my jaw almost hits the floor when he replies with: ‘Fourteen’.

We grab a chair (I definitely needed one) and start the exercise I prepared on the bus into work. Our idea was to replicate the creative process, with one of the hardest briefs a designer ever has to face: Personal Branding.
It starts with a mind map where the creatives had to fill in the blanks. What’s your name? Hobbies? Your favourite colour? What’s special about you? What memorable logos can you think of?

Immediately after filling in the gaps Callum lifts his pencil case out and begins to sketch ideas, explaining his ideas as he does so. It feels like he understands the creative process back to front. I try to fuel his mind with some ideas to build on, but I see he’s in his own world so I let him be and grab a pen and paper myself. I glance over every so often, and see an intense look of concentration, matched with a smile.

What I remember most about this experience is being astounded by Callum’s sketching abilities, and how fast he was bringing his ideas to life.

With a dozen possible routes we head over to my Mac – we fire up Illustrator and after a very brief demonstration, get to work. This part of the process is where I’m needed most. Callum explains to me that his school doesn’t have a Adobe software such as Illustrator or Photoshop and he doesn’t have access to a computer at home.

My heart sinks a little.

With such a creative mind and with so much potential, I offer some advice on where he may be able to match his creativity with useful skills that could develop his ideas and take them to the next level.

You can see a light in his eyes as he watches me closely whip up some of his designs. There was an air of excitement in the room. Callum commented on how he loved how his design was coming to life and I explained to him that’s what I loved most about this job: that ‘buzz’. How our ideas start from a quick sketch and develop into finished brands, campaigns etc.

Before we know it, the experience is over and we’re saying our goodbyes. Callum and the other young creatives have something valuable to take back with them – a brand – but more importantly, a realistic view of what it really means to be a designer.

Reflecting back, I really got the feeling that some perspectives on life may have changed for the better that morning. Not just for the young creatives, but for ourselves as designers. It certainly made me stop and think. Think about the opportunities I’ve been given over the years, but think more about how incredibly lucky I am to be doing something I love each day – and earning a living from it.

I would urge any professional to get involved in MCR Pathways. I challenge you to find any other experience so moving and uplifting that will make you or your team feel this inspired. Good luck, you’ll need it.

branding Glasgow Charlie Law Community Creative Agency Creative Agency Glasgow design agency Design Agency Glasgow Design Studio Experience Glasgow Graphic Design Graphic Design Glasgow MCR Pathways Studio Talent Taster The Loft

28
Feb

Bridge to The Future – ‘A Magical Evening at The Kelvingrove’

Posted by benbordone / News

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

Reiss is a multi-purpose designer with a broad range of skill-sets.

He loves being a part of any creative activity — whether it’s mapping out a user experience, getting his hands dirty with some copy or even re-building bits of his motorbike.

A born people-person, Reiss is never happier when showcasing ideas from his vividly wild imagination and working with clients to see them through to completion. Once an architect, he has a keen eye for conceptual ideas and never tires of learning new things.

branding Glasgow Creative Agency Creative Agency Glasgow design agency Design Agency Glasgow Design Studio Glasgow Graphic Design Graphic Design Glasgow The Loft

21
Feb

Great brand?? It’s already there…

Posted by benbordone / News

Unsurprisingly for a branding and design house, we are often asked about the best ways to build a great a great brand?

And we always do our best to keep it relevant to the people we are talking too – ‘your brand should be shaped by your commercial objectives,’ ‘every brand is different,’ ‘branding is an extension of values’ etc, etc…

But more often than not and with the sincere desire to be helpful – we’ll say to people that they probably already have a great brand story and it’s just a case of bringing some more of it to life.

Yes, campaigns can help.
Yes, logos are important.
And yes, tag lines do make a difference.

But it’s the small intangible things that really make a difference and most of the time they’re already there.

Its the stories of great customer experiences, examples where staff went above and beyond, particular achievements, values that you live up to every day, ways that you do things that are unique to you, products that make a difference.

Everybody has these and they are the building blocks to that great brand that you want to build.

Creating great brands is less about set-piece activities and more about capturing the spirit of the organisation.

While compiling The Sustainability Report for Scottish Leather Group in 2016. (An easy task because Scottish Leather Group have outstanding sustainability achievements.) We completed a special feature on the sustainability of the workforce of Scottish Leather Group companies.

John from Scottish Leather Group was celebrating more than 41 years of Service and Social Media definitely appreciated it.

As we found – at the heart of Scottish Leather Group’s sustainability achievements was the retention of their staff where they have a tremendous record. One page of the report featured John – one of their operators, who began working with the company in 1975, we recorded a timeline of his service showing how he started as an apprentice and is now helping other apprentices.

What was incredible was that we shared this image as a piece to show what the loft could do on LinkedIn and we were inundated with comments and likes each celebrating and congratulating the well-deserved success of a Scottish Leather Group employee. It shows how the small things can truly make a difference.

A wonderful piece of brand storytelling for Scottish Leather Group and something we still get asked about today.

It is the small things that bring a tender to life, makes a presentation memorable and helps a company to build a reputation.

Bring your culture to life and you’ll bring your brand to life and the best bit is that for most of you – it’s already there.

Benedetto is an enthusiastic Creative and Business person.

He believes in bringing out the true essence of human endeavour and considers his job of articulating the great work of people and companies an absolute privilege.

His journey has taken him from a career in car design through to his current role as the Founder and Creative Director of the loft, a branding consultancy in Glasgow.

He is honoured to manage a great team, work with great clients and have a lot of fun mixing with so many great people in business.

branding branding and psychology branding Glasgow company vision culture design Glasgow Graphic Design Graphic Design Glasgow The Loft

01
Dec

Entreprenurial Scotland Awards 2016, Inspiration Overload!

Posted by benbordone / News

Entrepreneurial Scotland dinners should come with a health warning.

I sit writing this in a slightly-more-hyper-than-normal state. You see I was at the Entrepreneurial Scotland Annual Dinner last night for the fifth year in a row. And despite only getting around 3-4 hours sleep – this morning I feel like a man possessed with plans for the business – time for new people, time to get the website done, time for more clients, bigger clients, what more can we do for existing clients, let’s get that international studio off the drawing board and into reality – action, action, action! Procrastination is the enemy!

You see the magnificent stories of Mike Loggie of Saltire Energy Group talking about dominating his space and ‘increasing CapEx when everybody else is retreating,’ seeing Chris Gauld win his richly deserved award for the magnificent work with Spark Energy and hearing the amazing straight talk from the main winner of the night Jim Milne CBE of The Balmoral Group. A man who can’t wait to get back to work after 3 days of holiday like (and I think this is a quote) ‘ an absolute lion being let out a cage,’ alongside chat with some equally amazing peers has left me feeling absolutely ready to take on the world.

Real Inspiration Overload. Thank you Entrepreneurial Scotland.

I’m off to light a few more fires…

Benedetto

Ps, I was so so happy to see Kylie Forrest receive the very first #LifeTimeMembership of the organisation. She is absolutely amazing. Well done…

Benedetto is a creative entrepreneur.

He believes in bringing out the true essence of human endeavour and considers his job of articulating the great work of people and companies an absolute privilege.

His journey has taken him from a career in car design through to his current role as the Founder of the loft, a design and branding studio based in Glasgow.

He is honoured to manage a great team, work with great clients and have a lot of fun mixing with so many great people in business.

Awards branding Glasgow Creative Agency Creative Agency Glasgow design agency Design Agency Glasgow Design Studio Entrepreneurial Scotland Entrepreneurship Glasgow Graphic Design Graphic Design Glasgow Growth Inspiration The Loft

18
Nov

Alan Meldrum, A Frictionless Experience In a Disruptive World, #GYPSeminarSeries Part-3

Posted by benbordone / News

Part 3, It Starts with Product (or Service.)

In the third part of Alan Meldrum’s talk, ‘Frictionless Experience in a Disruptive World.’ Alan emphasises the absolute need for a strong product or service in delivering great service. “If the product is poor, you are on a hiding to nothing in getting good customer satisfaction.” Later in his talk, Alan advocates the need for a joined-up approach putting the stakeholder front and their needs front and centre of the journey.

#GYPSeminarSeries ‘Frictionless Experience in a Disruptive World.’
Several months ago, Alan Meldrum, Global Vice-President for Strategy and Client Services of Percepta shared some thoughtful insights with the GYP crowd about why – in an increasingly disruptive world it’s never been more important for businesses to deliver a frictionless stakeholder experience. It was the 4th part of a fabulous #GYPSeminarSeries hosted at SocietyM and Alan was terrific in sharing his views in how to create great customer and staff experiences. We were so happy with Alan that we asked him to do a follow-up in front of the camera and that camera was very kindly provided by Gylen of Boardman Media.

What you are now watching is the third part of a new video series taking Alan Meldrum’s #GYPSeminarSeries online.

Huge thanks to everybody involved – The GYP team, Boardman Media, The Loft Team, The Percepta Team and most of all Alan Meldrum for his time and for giving us such a wonderful insight into how to create successful user-experiences.

With thanks,

You can check out all the people who helped to make this clip below…

Alan Meldrum, Percepta, Creating Customer Loyalty
https://www.facebook.com/PerceptaUK/

Boardman Media, Video Production
http://www.boardmanmedia.com

The Loft, Design & Branding
https://theloft.co

The GYP Team
http://glasgowyp.co.uk

03
Nov

Alan Meldrum, A Frictionless Experience In a Disruptive World, #GYPSeminarSeries Part-2

Posted by benbordone / News

Part 2, No Hiding Place with Social Media

In the second part of Alan Meldrum’s talk, ‘Frictionless Experience in a Disruptive World.’ Alan speaks about social media and how it’s changing the entire business landscape. He discusses the importance of companies being authentic and focussed on community building over targeted marketing. He goes on to explain why the companies that are most open, authentic and comfortably willing to ‘engage customers regardless of the other 34 million people in the room’ are those that are most likely to succeed with social media.

#GYPSeminarSeries ‘Frictionless Experience in a Disruptive World.’

Several months ago, Alan Meldrum, Global Vice-President for Strategy and Client Services of Percepta shared some wonderful ideas with the Glasgow Young Professionals audience about why – in an increasingly disruptive world it’s never been more important for businesses to deliver a frictionless stakeholder experience. It was the 4th part of a fabulous #GYPSeminarSeries hosted at SocietyM and Alan, as expected, was absolutely terrific in sharing his views in creating great customer and staff experiences. We were so happy with Alan that we asked him to do a follow-up talk in front of the camera and that camera was very kindly provided by Gylen of Boardman Media. At the loft, we share many of Alan’s values and we are definitely bought into his ideas in this series which we are delighted to support – huge thank you also to Gylen of Boardman Media for his exceptional production work.

What you are now watching is the first part of a new video series taking Alan Meldrum’s #GYPSeminarSeries online.

Huge thanks to everybody involved – The GYP team, Boardman Media, The Loft Team, The Percepta Team and most of all Alan Meldrum for his time and giving us such a wonderful insight into successful user-experiences.

You can check out all the people who helped to make this clip below…

With thanks,

Alan Meldrum, Percepta, Creating Customer Loyalty
https://www.facebook.com/PerceptaUK/

Boardman Media, Video Production
http://www.boardmanmedia.com

The Loft, Design & Branding
https://theloft.co

The GYP Team
http://glasgowyp.co.uk

28
Oct

‘Your Brand Squared’

Posted by benbordone / News

In recent months, we’ve been working with clients who are at that interesting point in the business journey – the point just before hiring their first marketing staff in-house – lots of activities, lots needing done and all hands on-deck for the time-being. In the interim, as long-term suppliers, we’ve been helping them draft their short-term plans and define activities during a crucial period. Most of the time, detailed marketing strategies have value in defining who to target, how to connect, the link between product, pricing and the messages to use.

We created ‘Your Brand²’ a couple of years ago to give organisations a framework to create quick, action-based marketing strategies that help build momentum and in recent times we’ve referred back to it in helping existing clients.

‘Your Brand²’s’ beauty is that it allows you to work on much smaller actions that create momentum, get quicker results and build confidence before moving to larger set-piece projects.

It’s a 7-step process , it can be carried out by pretty-much anybody and it gives you a fool-proof method to de-risk working on activities that may be ineffective or waste time. To carry out the process to its best effect we recommend using the help sheets with the bottom of this mail, post-it notes are tremendously helpful and working quickly on multiple strategies at once then comparing best plans at the end helps to overcome procrastination.

Most company owners and marketing directors instinctively know what they need to do and ‘Your Brand²’ is the best possible method to draw that information out.

1. Define your Commercial Goal

Every single activity, action, modification or amendment must be weighed against a commercial goal. Your Brand must serve the commercial objective and not vice-versa. Write out a couple of commercial goals and go for detail. This really helps in framing the brief for what you are trying to do.

We want to increase the sales of a particular product by 30% over 12 months within our current marketplace with existing clients.

is much better than…

Double the company turnover.

What products/services do you want to increase? When do you want to do it? Are you doing it in new markets or existing markets?

The more specific the better.

Goals can also be emotive or commercial – sometimes you have to do stuff that just feels right. If brand-building is all about capturing the spirit of the organisation – then it is critical that there is some spirit in the business in the first place.

2. People and Relationships

The (number of) and strength of personal relationships between your business and stakeholders is going to define the quality of your brand presence and its ability to help you achieve your commercial goals. We have to define who are the people that your brand should be building relationships with? Existing customers or new customers?

Both have value.

What sector? Tell us more about them? Old? Young? What are their interests in your product or service? What are their interests full stop? Again, the better able you are to define the people that you want to build relationships with – the better able you are to target them with the correct messages or CTAs (Call-to-actions) to achieve the desired result.

3. Big Idea

These can be big and global. Apple – Think Different, Nike – Just Do It, The Loft – Design With Soul, (Sorry, we couldn’t resist.) These are the ideas that bind your company or brand with the stakeholder (person with whom you have a relationship.)

For most companies, set-piece tag lines give way to something a little more practical and benefits-based.

Examples include…

‘Software tools that improve productivity and increase efficiency’
‘A company that wholeheartedly believes in sustainability of production’
‘A professional services company that believes in fast, round-the-clock service.’

Have some fun thinking about the various ideas or benefits of your product or service that your customers buy into. Knowing these will help you align the right messages to the right people. You will usually find that you have multiple big ideas that you will share with your audience.

Write them all down!

4. Channels

Once you know what you want to do, who you need to build relationships with, the main benefits of your service (and therefore what messages should go to different stakeholders.) It is time to think very rationally about which channels are most likely to reach the people that you want them to reach.

– Trade Shows
– Digital Mailshots
– Personal Relationships & On-going dialogues
– Printed Mailshots
– Google AdWords
– Printed Ads
– LinkedIn Groups

These are just some examples.

We highly recommend for this type of quick and dirty marketing campaign – building on existing channels, working what you have in a creative way as opposed to doing anything too new. Of course if the people you are targeting can be found in a new way then go ahead but 95% of the time, we find that people can do a lot more with what they have as opposed to doing new stuff.

5. Little Ideas

Now is the time to get creative. You will have mapped out a pathway (Goal > People & Relationships > Ideas/Messages > Channels.) You should now know exactly what kind of activity you are going to do and who you are targeting. Now is the time to get creative! Get the pen and some blank paper out and start thinking about some ideas that will really make an impact!

Trade shows are big for you? How about more people on your stand or a promotion for people that attend the show only. What more can you give away?

Networking is your thing to win new business? Then you should have the best business card in the room – it will give you a talking point with everybody else there.

Professional firm with lots of clients working in a rapidly evolving landscape for your subject? How about some E-newsletter sharing helpful, targeted, byte-size information with complimentary blog posts?

Google AdWords? Then how good is your ad? How about a punchy image-ad that really shows your product off to great effect. How about a GIF-advert?

Sales based mainly on professional relationships? How about some very informative visual information that can be bespoke’d for different clients.

Most of the time, you would engage a professional or an agency at this stage but you might want to have a little fun yourself. Once you start coming up with ideas, they will keep on-coming. This is a great feeling and opens up new possibilities for you and your business.

6. Measure

Whatever you do – measure its effectiveness! You don’t need to get too carried away with data if it isn’t your thing but digital activities in particular should have measures in places to gauge effectiveness.

7. Action

Our favourite word here at the loft.

Action!!

Just do something. Even if you do something and it doesn’t give you any immediate success – you will have learned something new and that has value. We highly recommend doing multiple versions of everything – instead of one plan – do 3 and that way you won’t be too precious. Preciousness and procrastination are the biggest enemies here against starting new activities. This whole post and guide is about reducing the size of unknown actions required, de-risking the amount of energy required and just helping you to get going.

Go for it!!

And have fun…

Download the help sheets >>>

Or contact us if you need a hand>>>

Benedetto

Benedetto is an enthusiastic Creative and Business person.

He believes in bringing out the true essence of human endeavour and considers his job of articulating the great work of people and companies an absolute privilege.

His journey has taken him from a career in car design through to his current role as the Founder of the loft, a design and branding studio based in Glasgow.

He is honoured to manage a great team, work with great clients and have a lot of fun mixing with so many great people in business.

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28
Oct

MCR Pathways ‘Talent Taster’

Posted by benbordone / News

We always say at the loft, to ‘design-with-soul,’ you have to have a soul so we were absolutely delighted, humbled, honoured, all-of-the-above to have some of the incredibly gifted students from MCR Pathways join us for a Talent Taster. MCR Pathways are one of the organisations that we love helping the most at the loft and it was a real privilege to work with their young students this morning as part of a ‘Talent Taster.’ MCR Pathways are an amazing charity doing great work at a phenomenal pace for the kids of Glasgow and beyond. We highly recommend getting involved, there are details at the bottom of this post.

Just in case, you don’t know…

Who are MCR Pathways?

MCR Pathways are predominantly a Glasgow-based organisation. They acknowledge that there is amazing potential and talent in young people. Varied, unique and inspiring. Is every single one. But for many, that potential has yet to be discovered. Life experience has knocked the confidence out of some, firmly locking away those seeds of flair and hope. It is their aim to uncover, nurture, develop and help to realise the skills and capabilities in looked after young people. They know that each person has a specific set of abilities and passions and they want to see them flourish in the arena that is right for them. MCR Pathways support looked after young people practically. Guiding them on pathways to education, employment and fulfilling lives.

What’s A Talent Taster?

Talent Tasters provide a unique opportunity to experience the world of work in a way that is more engaging and inspiring for young people, and sustainable for the organisation and staff delivering it. The tasters are designed to motivate the young people and help them make positive choices about their future careers.

Think of Talent Tasters as concentrated, high quality work experience. Three hours to get to know more about a company and a particular job it offers. There are 2 other levels to see what a manager does and even time with the boss.

Perhaps it will be the defining moment in a young person’s life. The moment when they say: “I could do this”.

Talent Taster

Wendy Jordan, Project Co-Ordinator extraordinaire for MCR Pathways wrote a blog post this morning. One that is going to appear on the MCR Pathways website later today but we thought we’d steal a march, pinch her words and get it out there as a guest-blog post first. I am sure she won’t mind.

Over to you Wendy…

It’s a clear autumn morning in October. I’m waiting outside South Block, an artist’s collective based in Osborne Street near Glasgow’s Merchant City, for today’s Talent Taster students.

The four young people are from secondary schools across Glasgow. All have an interest in art and creative industries. They’re here for a ‘Design / Web design’ session at The Loft run by creative entrepreneur Benedetto Bordone. Benedetto is going to help the young people design their own personal brand. This is going to be great!

Talent Tasters, by MCR Pathways, are two to three hour sessions for secondary school students who want to learn more about the jobs they think they might want when they’re adults. The Talent Taster team is working with organisations like Wheatley Group, the Citizens Theatre, The Loft and many, many more to deliver these sessions. The aim is to create a spark in the young people that will make them want to stay on in school, gain qualifications and get the job (and life) of their dreams.

Back to the Loft…

We all make our way upstairs to the airy, bright studio where Benedetto and his team work. They work with organisations like Alexander Dennis, Percepta, worldwide software companies, whisky distillers and global automotive companies on their brands, websites, publications and videos. The team of 5 does the work of 20 but they’ve set aside the whole morning to work with our Young Glasgow Talent to help them find, grow and use their talent. We can’t thank them enough.

Benedetto first takes the group of young people on a tour of South Block, showing the youngsters what a creative work space is like. It’s an amazing place – there’s even a ping pong table.

Then he pairs each of the young people up with one of his designers: Reiss, Aiste, Charlie and Adèle. They’re given an introduction to the creative process from mood boards to finished products.

It’s amazing to watch. The young people come out of their shells, start chatting, interacting, engaging, having fun. This is what we at MCR Pathways have always known. Young people just blossom when they get one to one attention from someone who cares. That’s why mentoring works.

The personal branding exercise starts with a questionnaire. What’s your name? What’s your favourite colour? What’s special about you? What logos can you think of? What are your hobbies? This is followed by a creative exercise as the young people start to design their logos based on who they are. Suddenly the room is quiet. You can hear the scratching of pencils. Quiet laughing. Intense discussions between the designers and young people. Everyone is smiling.

It’s time to fire up the Macs – we’re going to use Adobe Illustrator to make the young people’s sketches real. There’s some amazing, really inspired work here. We’ve got one young man whose personal brand is his glasses and hairline. It looks amazing. A young woman on the Taster has created a flowing, stylised version of her first initial – K – cutting through a bevelled rectangle. It’s really beautiful. The designers scan in the sketches by the young people and start work on making the finished, professionally-designed product.

You can see a light in the young people’s eyes – they’re watching the designers closely, taking it all in. It’s such a buzz for everyone. Their designs are becoming real.

And all too quickly, it’s over, but the young people have something great to take back with them – their own personal brand – and a more realistic view of what it means to be a designer. You get the feeling some lives might have been changed for the better today.

Wendy Jordan is a Project Co-Ordinator for MCR Pathways. She has the best job in the world, helping Glasgow’s talented young people find their purpose in life, raise their aspirations and create an amazing life for themselves.

www.mcrpathways.org
info@mcrpathways.com
0141 221 6642

Get Involved!!

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Tag: Graphic Design Glasgow

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