Just our type

If he were reduced to a letter and a type style, Simon Garfield would be the lowercase “i” in Goudy Old Style—elegant but playful. And very readable. Recently, I came upon Garfield’s Just My Type: A Book About Fonts. On the front cover, the title was treated as a hodgepodge of eight fonts, from Adriator Regular to Polytone Reliant; the back cover assigned the book, in tiny type and in a bizarre bifurcation, to “Reference/Humour.”

Fonts surround us every day, on street signs and buildings, on movie posters and books, and on just about every product we buy. But where do fonts come from, and why do we need so many? Who is responsible for the staid practicality of Times New Roman, the cool anonymity of Arial, or the irritating levity of Comic Sans (and the movement to ban it)?

Beginning in the early days of Gutenberg and ending with the most adventurous digital fonts, Garfield explores the rich history and subtle powers of type. He goes on to investigate a range of modern mysteries, including how Helvetica took over the world, what inspires the seeming ubiquitous use of Trajan on bad movie posters, and exactly why the all-type cover of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus was so effective. Of course, it’s a must-have book for the design conscious.

Filed under: Communication, Design

Biker branding

Here’s a clever piece of branding that was extremely well executed. Carlsberg has staged a cinema stunt featuring couples negotiating an auditorium packed with bikers to promote its new global tagline: “That calls for a Carlsberg”. The stunt, which took place on Thursday, September 22 has already attracted more than 3 million views on YouTube. Brussels-based ad agency Duval Guillaume Modem came up with the stunt, which was staged in a cinema in Belgium.

After buying two tickets at the box office, innocent couples were confronted with a cinema packed with hairy bikers. Their seats were directly in the middle of the crowded venue, with their reactions captured on camera. While many walked out of the cinema, those who took the seats were greeted by huge cheers from the crowd and also handed a bottle of Carlsberg as the tag came up on the cinema screen. The reaction of some of the couples is, not surprisingly, priceless.

Filed under: Communication

Hunkering down

Across the country, budgets are still tight on many campuses and colleges are struggling to find new sources of revenue. State budget cuts and reductions in private donations present mounting challenges. A recent report on U.S. institutions from The Chronicle of Higher Education details many of the issues including these highlights:

• Private colleges are more dependent than public ones on tuition
• College endowments began to grow again in 2010
• Public financing for colleges fell in many states in 2010-11
• 63 gifts of $101-million or more were given to institutions last year
• 99 institutions charged $50,000 or more for tuition, room and board during 2010-11
• Student costs at 4-year private colleges are almost double those at public colleges
• Tuition discount rates are rising at private colleges
• Federal science funds doubled at 28 colleges

Given our heavy involvement in institutional fundraising, of particular interest to us were details on the top fund raisers including our clients Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania – both in the top ten for total support and support from non-alumni individuals.

Filed under: Higher Education

On the campaign trail

Nationwide, the start of capital and comprehensive fundraising campaigns has risen dramatically over the past six months according to various indicators in higher education and philanthropy. Institutions and other non-profits have more confidence in their ability to raise significant funds than they did just one year ago. From the conversations we’ve had, many would have liked to begin a campaign last year but felt market conditions would not sustain such an initiative. We’ve certainly seen an upswing in clients seeking campaign communications – covering planning and identity to case statements and online/video components. We’re currently managing campaigns with goals ranging from $10 million to $500 million for clients including Drexel University, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Calvert Hall College High School, and Rochester General Health System in New York. Please contact us if you would like to discuss positioning and marketing a campaign.

Filed under: Communication, Higher Education

Codes for contact

QR – or “quick response” – codes are finally starting to pop up around the country. While still not fully mainstream, QR codes are appearing in print publications, on bus sides, and plastered on storefronts. At this rate, it won’t be long before most people can immediately recognize and use QR codes. So how are colleges and universities taking advantage of this technology? We’re seeing them in a wide variety of applications. From codes on math worksheets that direct students to video tutorials of how to solve problems…to QR codes on literary magazines to lead people to a gallery of all the artwork that was submitted but couldn’t fit in the print version. Our primary usage? On alumni magazines to direct readers to alumni events and community. On campaign case statements to link donors to leadership videos. And of course in viewbooks, for prospective students to see all kinds of up-to-date content. Are you interested in using QR codes for your institution? Please let us know so we can share samples and ideas with you.

Filed under: Communication, Higher Education, Technology

Study: The iPad is the biggest problem with iPad magazines

A new study, reported by Time Techland, suggests that iPad magazines have one major drawback when compared to their print editions: The iPad itself. A study carried out by Bonnier, publisher of Popular Science, Parenting and other magazines, discovered that the iPad is so distracting for most people that they may not even be able to finish an article without going to do something else.

Bonnier program director Megan Miller explains: “We thought that of course there’s a lot of activity going on with an iPad, when there’s so many things you can be doing — email, Netflix, playing games, reading magazines — but they’re actually bouncing around a lot more than we thought. If you sit someone down with a magazine, within seconds they’re researching the products that they could buy. If they see a snowboard in a snowboarding magazine, they’ll bounce over to Amazon to check the prices on it.”

It’s not just the distraction issue that’s a problem, Miller adds; “iPad magazine readers tended to think things were advertisements even when they weren’t:

When there was a full-bleed whole page dedicated to a product, people said, ‘Yeah, that’s an ad.’ And we selected people who were from an educated demographic. They were not dummies.” The dummies study group was too busy trying to eat the iPad to even notice there was a magazine to read, apparently.

It all adds up to the possibility that the iPad isn’t quite the savior of the magazine industry that everyone hoped it would be – or, at least, not yet. Bonnier plans to take these findings and create a next-generation iPad magazine that will be stickier and more clearly defined for readers.

Filed under: Design, Technology

Social marketing trends in 2011

It’s the middle of January so perhaps it’s safe for me add to the glut of predictions about the next twelve months.  As far as social media is concerned, even the most skeptical communications people realize it has a significant role to play in most organizations. What will social media bring to the marketing mix in 2011?

Consumerism ‘as a game’

There have been countless articles recently citing the psychological compulsion of competing, collecting and rewarding.  While Foursquare remains the poster boy for location-based apps, other businesses are starting to offer rewards to their consumers.  ‘Review a product on our website and unlock 5 points’.  ‘Become a fan on Facebook and receive a 10% discount on your next purchase.’ In a sense, this incentivizes consumers with a game acting as a virtual loyalty card, with the added benefit of offering visible kudos.  This won’t be suitable for every business, but in 2011 this phenomenon will continue to grow significantly.

Knowledge

This heading may sound rather vague but ‘knowledge’ will be one of the most important developments in social media this year.  When people started considering the marketing potential of social media, a million ‘social media gurus’ came out of the woodwork, LinkedIn proving the most popular breeding ground for these ‘experts’. However, the truth is that in 2011 brands and businesses now have access to a pool of marketers that have worked in social media marketing for 12-24 months now.  Yes, the medium is still relatively new, but social media marketers have now amassed solid commercial experience, which organizations will utilize effectively in 2011.

Social promotions

So you’ve accumulated 10,000 fans on Facebook.  And?  While 2010 became the year in which we raced to build up communities for visible brand advocacy, 2011 is the year in which marketers have to start making effective use of these groups. It would seem consumer brands are very well positioned to start offering exclusive commercial offers through social channels, especially if these are tied in with incentivized activities such as reviews, ‘likes’ and newsletter sign-ups.  And for B2B businesses, social channels can offer access to ‘exclusive’ content that keeps audiences engaged and informed.  Social marketers sweated blood to build these communities in 2010 – 2011 will see them utilized.

Exploration of technology

There was a time when ‘being social’ constituted ‘having a company blog’.  These days, mention ‘social media’ and that perception will have grown slightly to encompass Facebook and Twitter.  But even this is missing the larger picture. Company videos; podcasts; social bookmarks; social email marketing; LinkedIn; blogs; Twitter; Facebook; Wikis; mobile apps; location-based services.  Digital marketers in 2011 have a wealth of free, high-quality platforms through which to publish content, converse with consumers and market their products, offers and brands.

This year, expect to see big brands and small businesses alike making full use of the social spectrum – which will also highlight the importance of quality content.

Integration

2011 will see social media’s integration with digital marketing as a function.  While social media marketing specialists have valid places within a marketing team, they are no longer bearded university grads who simply ‘get’ Twitter. Social media can offer so much to a brand’s digital marketing activity and aligning this activity with broader marketing strategy is essential to business success in 2011.  We’ve all seen examples of ‘bad’ social media strategy consisting of random tweets and a monthly Facebook update – all too random to achieve any discernable commercial goals. Integrate social media activity with the grand marketing plan however, and we’ll reach more consumers through more channels with the intended message, signaling success for business and streamlined marketing communications.

There’s no doubt that social media has now been validated by the marketing profession – which bodes for very big things in 2011. Thanks to Cal Saunders for adding to the conversation.

Filed under: Communication

Silver and Gold

We typically don’t enter creative award contests but are fortunate in having clients who like our work enough to enter it in various international and regional shows. Recently two such entries garnered awards: Bloomsburg University Magazine won a Gold at the MarCom Awards held by the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals; and a brochure developed for the General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception Laboratory (more commonly known as GRASP) won Silver at the CASE Accolades Awards organized the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Please let us know if you would like us to send you a copy of either piece.

 

Filed under: Design, Higher Education

Social Networking: A Waste of Time?

Here’s a sign of social networking’s growing presence in modern life: It has surpassed TV viewing as the preeminent waster of people’s time. At any rate, it tops the waste-of-time standings in a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll released this week.

Respondents were given a list of six activities and asked to pick the one they regard as “your biggest waste of time.” A plurality (36 percent) chose “social networking,” putting it easily ahead of runner-up “fantasy sports” (25 percent) and third-place “watching television” (23 percent). Few votes went to “shopping” (9 percent), “reading” (2 percent) or “your job” (2 percent).

Filed under: Uncategorized

All to the Good

Cause-related marketing came into its own when the economy was faring well. But, unlike some other fair-weather phenomena, consumers’ interest in corporate support for worthy causes has not succumbed to the recent downturn. A survey from Cone finds consumers still want companies to be engaged with good causes and will reward those that rise to the occasion.

In a 1993 survey (Cone’s first on this subject), 20 percent of respondents said they’d bought a product or service in the previous year because it was associated with a social cause.  In the new survey (conducted in July), 41 percent said they’d done so. Moreover, they expect companies to be engaged in such matters. Eighty-eight percent now say it’s acceptable “for companies to involve a cause or issue in their marketing,” up from 66 percent in 1993.

As with other sorts of marketing, social media has become part of the mix of for cause-related marketing. Are they making sound use of this tool, or have they tended so far to use it more in gimmicky ways? “They have not quite cracked the bigger nut of fundraising and sustained engagement. To achieve this, the next phase will likely better unite consumers’ online and offline experiences for greater impact and relevance.” says Alison DaSilva at Cone. At MSK Partners, that online/offline balance is something we’re dealing with in comprehensive campaign initiatives – particularly in higher education. Not surprisingly, each situation and audience demands a different approach.

Filed under: Communication