Brand voice

Just a reminder that a good brand communicates using every medium.

Here some clever use of packaging adds personality and purpose to the use of the humble carrier, transforming it into a channel for the brand voice rather than just a badge on a bag.

Good communication can cover every single application when thought through creatively.

Five hot trends to embrace for drinks communications this year

Ever more ethical,right on and equally status conscious… British drinks consumers are looking for diverse lifestyle messages from their beverages - and it isn’t about drinking!

1. Health juice and wonder waters
Time poor, cash rich consumers are seeking optimal health in a convenient form so drinks with functional properties continue to fly high this year, whether it be energy, detox, vitamin, oxygen… find a function in your drink.

2. Bling booze and style smoothies
Higher income consumers are looking for the ‘next big thing’ in drinks. More people are keen to become connoisseurs of particular types of drinks such as wine and whisky, so piling the right lifestyle premium messages into the drinking occasion and experience can gain improved returns.

3. Drinks do grow on trees
The provenance of product continues to grow as more consumers seek reassurance about the quality and perceived health value or premium authenticity of their drinks. There is increasing criticism surrounding freshness, quality and food miles, so calibrating the brand provenance to the consumer’s expectation is crucial.

4. Shaken not stirred
Development continues in producing drinks products that are ready to serve at the desired temperature and easy to dispose of at the point of purchase, especially when incorporating Portman guidelines into drinking experiences, brand ritual for serve and consumption needs to be at the heart of any on-trade strategy.

5. Eco Pops
Within the drinks industry, Green issues means addressing amongst others;

• Recyclable and less packaging
• Organic ingredients
• Reducing the carbon footprint/ neutrality
• And a commitment to environmentally-friendly practises.

Where this practice just isn’t viable yet, it can be overcome by leveraging eco partners into brand activation activity. Either way it’s not to be overlooked.

So there you go – there’s five, there are plenty more! If you want to discuss any of these, drop us a line.

(Image by Rachel Notting Hill Carnival 07)

A trip to Wieden + Kennedy

We had a meeting with those lovely folk at Wiedens today. Hopefully we maybe collaborating on some projects with them to test the boundaries of brand communications in this ever more media neutral world.

They have a nice office space in Shoreditch with a really buzzy vibe to the place.

Their culture's great too with creative mantras that guide them like 'Walk in stupid every morning' and 'Embrace Failure'. We admire their philosophy and hope that if Open ever grows to the dizzy global heights of W+K that we could hope to keep the edge they have.

Good luck with your baby Emma, best wishes from Open!

Helter Skelters in Barcelona

A reminder that copying innovative ideas is not innovation!

We were in Barcelona recently and came across some nice street advertising annoncing a 'pop up' store opening for 4 days only by Lee Jeans. Now the idea of pop up stores is an exciting one, people like Comme de Garçon and SAB Miller's Peroni beer using the concept well to innovate their brands.

Thing is you see, in both those cases, the idea was clever. Peroni made a spoof store/ gallery on Sloane Square and CdG used an industrial space in Camden. Each was a positioning statement for the brand and played on different social/ cultural juxtapositions.

Unfortunately the Lee store that opened, was, well just that actually, a little store. Moreover it was in the Born district well known for boutique clothes stores.

So as the media types responsible hung round outside taking pics of their creation, you couldn't help but feel that it was a job half done.

That said, the wallpaper was nice and clothes weren't bad either. However if they had built an homage to gaudi, created as a helter skelter with the small store pirched at the top of the staircase/ slide and dropped it in the middle of a park... well it may have been something a little more special.

It highlighted to us that whilst ideas may sound innovative around the meeting table, if they're already out there being done, then you need to reconsider the impact and originality of your concept, especially when your target
consumers are fashion oriented opinion formers.

If you are interested in finding out more about Open's line in architecturally inspired fairground attractions, please do get in touch.

just a ride

Agency life is a funny ride. It never feels like a groundhog day, it's never boring or repetitive. It can be frustrating and disappointing, but also frenetic, challenging, exciting and always headed somewhere - all this usually within the space of an hour!

To remind ourselves why we took this ride at Open, it's always good to look around us.

We live in possibly the most creative and expressive era since the 60's and our job (if we get it right) is to work with fun and exciting brands to create new ideas that will influence and enrich our culture.

Now some say what place does a commercial business have claiming influence on culture? But we believe our 'Age of Experience' in marketing means brands and consumers are now, more than ever, able to forge relationships that are honestly based on a mutual respect and a desire to enjoy and embrace creativity.

And that's why we get up in the morning.

Looking for anything in particular?

Zane Lowe's good isn't he?! The slick kiwi Radio 1 DJ was waxing lyrical about how we live in the midst of the 'genreless genre' the other night.

We like this. Music, fashion and culture have been in a 'mash up' for quite sometime and it's been spilling into some interesting thinking for us here at Open.

As businesses and brands have become increasingly focused on the power of new ideas and innovation, at the same time consumers have been handed the reins to guide their own creative expression, the same perrennial question is where next?

Maybe in a few years, we'll be able to dispense with money completely and barter trade one concept for another. Or a big exchange of art - trade you a self edit short movie for a music arrangement?!

There have been many steps made toward brand and consumer integration with ideas and creative like absolutlomo.com for Absolut's photographic campaign and Red Bull's flugelbinder.co.uk where consumers can create their own ideas locker and decide what to share with others.

More specifically rather than using research to allow brands to respond to consumer demand many brands have used techniques like Nike ID to allow their customers to choose their own application of their product choice.

But with all this there's another thing to consider... Tribes/ Herding/ Trends - call it what you want, but sociologically we're programmed to follow each other in groups and the stronger the shared belief of the group, the more defined the groups behaviour.

Maybe then the 'genreless genre' is more syptomatic of a lack of unified belief. Add to this thought the findings of a recent survey showing teenagers positively enforce their pursuasions toward being active community citizens and you have a recipe that we could be on the cusp of a reformist era in the next 10 years.

So line up and be counted, our global citizens are already amongst us and they want order!

Three new doses of words and pictures

Happy days, the library is stretching out for the Spring, with the early buds of new thinking blossoming from the pages. Okay enough now, 3 new books we've got that are worth checking out:

The Street Sketchbook is a cool compilation of many random urban scribblers stream of consciousness. It's a great feeler for the drive behind what's out there on the walls around us.

To compliment this, there's The Guerilla Art Kit. It's a fun DIY guide for how to create urban street work and get your thoughts into the world around us. I fear for the results this book inspires, but it's a bit of a poke at the 'creative currency' status we live in now.

Finally! If you were ever in any doubt about what branding is, 'What is Branding?' will set you straight. This series of 'What is' books are actually really good. Rather than positioning you as a f@*kwit with no idea, they're actually really good at taking the nonense out of the process and playing visual case studies out in a clear and straightforward way. Good on you Matthew Healey, I can't wait for the 'What is Agency Blogging' book!

Getting Hoochy

Latest pics from the Homeserve party we threw for 800 bods in The Custard Factory.

Complete with all the 1920's gangster trimmings, it was a real success!

Thank you Pernod Ricard!

We've had some fantastic news recently from our drinks marketing world.

The exciting project work we've been doing for Pernod Ricard's Ballantine's and The Glenlivet brands has led to us being awarded a primary status place on their global and UK agencies roster!

For any of you outside the drinks industry... Pernod Ricard is the world’s No. 2 wines and spirits company, with Ballantine's being the second highest selling whisky brand in the world and their portfolio including: Chivas Regal, Beefeater Gin, Havana Club Rum, Stolichnoya Vodka, Jacobs Creek Wine and many others.

As one of only a few agencies selected to support experiential, promotional and event marketing for them, we're really chuffed.

Thanks for choosing us!

Nuts (click this title)

We're recruiting a number of new roles here at Open!

We're looking for folks that'll fit in well, so you need nuts in both the sense of brass kahunas that'll see you take us on our valiant way to become the best experiential and creative agency in the UK.

And it'll probably help if you're ever so slightly mentally unhinged.

So if you're an Art Director/ Creative, Account Handler, Business Development Executive, Designer or someone who just wants to make a difference to our world, drop us your CV or Portfolio to hannah@theopenconsultancy.com

In the meantime, click the link in the title to see a squirrel take on a penguin in 'banjo off'. Burt Reynolds we love you.

The culture wall

We live for culture here at Open, so we've started a little tradition to capture culture through the lens and the heart and keep a record of what's influencing our thinking.

Here's a couple of thought pushers to start you off!

Shaun White you ain't!

Clyde pretty much demanded we share this pic of his recent snowboard excursion in Meribel.

He'll claim this is a mighty air with a sweet 'indy grab'. Looks like he cleared about 2 inches from the snow from this angle!

Open up and out

Our spanky new credentials are printed and out doing their thing now with the best lifestyle brands we'd love to work with. We think they're a bit lovely so here's a few pages to tease you.

If you want a copy so you can see our case studies and creative super glamorama, give us a nudge!

Three quarters of marketers across the globe plan to increase their usage of and spending on experiential marketing in 2008, according to a new survey.

The research, carried out by experiential agency Jack Morton Worldwide, found that 75 per cent of marketers plan to increase their experiential budget in 2008. A further 70 per cent say that the channel is ‘extremely or very important’ to their company.

Almost all of the respondents agreed that ‘brand experiences that deliver on brand promises are central to building commitment and loyalty’. Another 99 per cent believe that ‘what a brand does is as important as what a brand says’.

Jack Morton Worldwide managing director Julian Pullen says: “When 86 per cent of marketers agree that ‘brands need to talk less and do more,’ clearly marketers now see experiential marketing as core to marketing strategy and not just an add on, and as the survey reveals they’re demonstrating this with how they’re allocating and planning their budgets.

“Beyond spend, the survey is testament to experiential marketing’s ability to emotionally engage and generate advocacy.”