Silverback Studios
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Dec 19, 2022
Bringing the magic of Christmas to life at Fishers Farm
Share: Fishers Farm Park has a rich history of providing Santa’s grotto experiences and this year they wanted to make it the biggest yet! ‘Festive Fishers’ is an experience jam-packed with festive fun and activities for the whole family to enjoy. Fishers Farm Park, who are a long-standing creative partner, asked Silverback® to help bring their Christmas 2022 experience to life. We streamlined their existing ticket-buying experience to make it quicker and easier for the end-user and reduce the admin time for their internal team. @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_63a08aa47ab98 img { height: px!important; } } We created a dedicated landing page for the Christmas experience, where all the amazing activities included in the package were detailed and the page was brought to life with a bespoke Christmas logo and theme and engaging graphics – including a subtle falling snow animation to achieve that ultimate Christmas feel. The design incorporated the existing suite of illustrations that we had previously designed but with a festive twist, engaging both adults and children, whilst keeping everything on-brand. Click below to see the design in all its festive glory: View website @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_639b51d666491 img { height: px!important; } } Their existing offsite payment solution also needed a facelift to match the landing page and improve the existing user journey. Our hands were tied somewhat by the offsite payment solution but the team worked alongside the provider to integrate the design to achieve a streamlined and festive solution. The landing page has been a huge success internally and with customers alike, resulting in tickets flying off the shelf! @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_639b58b766493 img { height: px!important; } } Share: “We’ve worked with Fishers Farm Park for a long time now and always enjoy the creative nature of the briefs they come to us with. This was no exception – it was a Troop effort with the creative team working on the Christmas identity and festive illustrations and the digital team working on the web visuals and building a super engaging landing page. We also enjoyed the challenge of theming an external payment system to ensure a complimentary and streamlined user experience.” Jarrett Owen Head of Digital @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_639b590566495 img { height: px!important; } } Share: “We’ve always loved working with Silverback®. They have such a friendly and knowledgeable team, and they take care to work closely with us to always exceed our expectations on projects. This Christmas the task we set was almost impossible! But, thanks to their dedication to the project, they succeeded, and our Christmas event is sold out. I couldn’t recommend them more.” Kate Rollings Director
Read moreMay 16, 2022
10 lessons learned from 10 years of running an agency
Share: There are a lot of online articles that share tips and tricks on how to build and grow a successful design agency and I’m sure a lot of them speak many wise words. But the truth is, nothing beats hearing it from someone who’s been there, done it, and yes, got the t-shirt. So here we are. Welcome to my blog of the 10 lessons learned from 10 years of running an agency. Let’s get going, shall we? Malcolm Gilbertson MD & Creative Director Never stop learning This one’s a biggie, something that applies and is important to pretty much every professional on the planet but despite that, something a lot of people ignore. What am I talking about? Continuous learning, that’s what. You see, the day you wake up and think ‘I know everything there is to know’ is the day your business will stop moving forward. It’s as simple as that. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been in the game for two years or twenty-two years, you need to stay up to date with changes in your industry, technology and your audience. It’s the same for new trends, too. The last thing you want is to look outdated because you’re still obsessing over dark mode while your competitors are all over what’s current. Continuous learning is the only way to avoid this. So complete courses. Sit through webinars. Network. Read. Binge on your favourite podcast. It’ll all pay off – stay relevant. Laugh as much as possible Relationships matter at work. Whether it’s with your team, clients, contractors or suppliers — it’s important to be on the same level. To understand, respect and appreciate one another – have fun! You hear a lot from the gurus living the ‘hustle’ lifestyle that you should keep people at arm’s length and only focus on yourself. But if I’m brutally honest — which, I always am — that’s a load of rubbish. Building a strong relationship with your team is what matters most. Because, I mean, you’re with them every day, aren’t you? It’s those people who are putting in the hard graft to make your business a success. So it’s only right that you put in the effort to get to know them as humans, not just as colleagues. Trust me, it’ll pay off massively when it comes to building your business, because the more comfortable and valued your people feel, the better they’ll perform. Treat it like a long-term relationship, not a one-night fling in front of the box. Do this, and there’s no reason why you won’t be friends (and colleagues) for life. When things get crazy, it’s okay to take a breather I know, I know, it’s stressful running an agency. One minute you’re going for a walk to chill out and the next you’re jumping for joy. In all seriousness, though, in the early days it’s so easy to get caught up in your to-do list and before you know it, you’ve worked a 15-hour day — and it’s the fifth time that week! But that’s not good. A poor work/life balance can easily destroy you and your business. You’ve heard of burnout, right? Well, that’ll soon come knocking if you continuously overwork. So set boundaries around when you work, and try your best to stick to them. Easier said than done, I know, especially when you have a deadline and you’re saying your clients’ names in your sleep. But try to give yourself a break. Take time to do the things you enjoy. Your body will thank you, your family and your friends too. Sorry to break it to you, but it is all about the money For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had a huge love for design. Probably too much, when I think about it. During the early parts of my career, money was a second thought — nothing more than a bonus. But not anymore. I’ve learned that if you want to take your business places, you need to be somewhat money-focused. To buy a bigger studio, you need money. To grow your team, you need money. To deliver big projects, you need money. To support local charities, you need money. Without being money-focused, none of this is possible – see it as a facilitator. (By the way, when I say money-focused, I don’t mean money-obsessed. There’s a big difference.) Be bold but have rationale Identifying the right concept can be hard — especially if you mull over too many ideas and concepts. Or in other words, if you don’t sift out the crap and focus on the golden nuggets! So my advice is this: find the golden concepts that work well with a good strategy behind them and then find what makes them effective and develop a creative that compliments it. Focus all your time on two or three REALLY good ideas, rather than four or five average ones. As well as producing better results that hit the brief, it’ll come across less as confusing for your clients, too. When working with your clients, it’s always good to have a safer option that nails the brief, and a more creative option that’s so good, as well as nailing the brief, it makes your client’s jaws drop. This is where collaboration comes in. A good place to start is by briefing the designers properly so they understand who the client is, who the target market is, what the project is and most importantly, the why, what the purpose of this project is – check they understand and everything is clear. It’s important to not collectively brainstorm yet, ideas need time, let them go away, get inspired through research, create mood board and sketch up ideas. Then, once this is done, get together, discuss everyone’s work and start brainstorming. This is a recipe for a cracking concept – we call it strategic procrastination! Trust your gut Over the past few years, I’ve refused work because my instincts saw red flags. Things that might have damaged my business, or proven a bigger headache than a Christmas game of Monopoly when you’re in debt. When I first started, I ignored these instincts to my detriment. You live and you learn. As an agency owner, you develop instincts over the years through working on lots of different projects for lots of different businesses. Listening to these can help you figure out whether a client is a good fit, for example, or how they might react to a specific piece of content. Not only this, but trusting your gut with people can help you avoid negative culture, and a general negative energy in your business. This is important when making new hires, or bringing new people into a project. Be true to yourself Sounds simple, right? Like, does it really need its own point in this blog? Well, yes it does. Because you’d be surprised how many businesses get this wrong. First off, to be true to yourself, you need to be real and consistent. You need to be true to who you are, what you do and who you serve. You need to have a purpose for your business beyond making a few bob. Getting back to grassroots and remembering why you started is the best way to do this. Revisit your values, beliefs and goals. Do they align with what you’re currently doing? Being true to yourself has a ton of benefits for your business. It makes you relatable, it makes you memorable, it builds a strong image, and it helps people understand what you’re offering. Not only this, but it’ll help you choose the right clients, hire the right people, and even get you out of a hole when you doubt yourself. What’s also helped me, is making sure I hire people with a shared passion and purpose, focusing on culture, not skillset, when I hire. Because anyone can learn the skills, but it’s a lot harder to get someone on board with your culture. Keep your head switched on When I first started Silverback®, as with any other agency, we saw an influx of clients pretty quickly. I thought to myself, ‘this is easy, why didn’t I do it sooner?’. But then reality hit. Things quietened down. I started to doubt myself and my decisions. But it was all for nothing. The problem wasn’t me. I hadn’t done anything wrong. It was just the reality of starting a new agency. This taught me a valuable lesson of not to be complacent and accept that, throughout your journey, there will be ups and downs — busy times and quieter times. Being self-aware is another thing I’ve learned. Your actions as a business owner affect others and their output. While you need to lead the line, don’t get in the way. Let your team make mistakes and learn. It’s what they’ll need to progress. Pen to paper before pixel Does a bricklayer turn up to a job and start laying bricks? No, they don’t. They look at the plans first. Does a pilot just start up the engine and take off? No, they don’t. They check the route, weather and safety features first. So, with that in mind, why do so many designers jump on their computers at the first sniff of a new job? Before you start designing, you should research, sketch and brainstorm first. Forget Adobe for a second. Fetch the pens, paper and whiteboard, and get all your ideas down. As well as aiding collaboration — which we already know sparks better results — it frees up space in your brain to focus on turning your good ideas into great concepts. Work with your clients We work with brands that are up for a challenge, get how important design is and want a collaboration (not the cold shoulder and then a big fancy one-sided presentation). The last point is key. You see, no matter who you’re working with, they’ll know their business best. They’ll also have a better understanding of their vision, mission and values. So it makes absolute sense to create with them, rather than alone. As well as achieving better results, collaboration helps you build long-lasting relationships too. That’s something we should all get behind. var gform;gform||(document.addEventListener("gform_main_scripts_loaded",function(){gform.scriptsLoaded=!0}),window.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){gform.domLoaded=!0}),gform={domLoaded:!1,scriptsLoaded:!1,initializeOnLoaded:function(o){gform.domLoaded&&gform.scriptsLoaded?o():!gform.domLoaded&&gform.scriptsLoaded?window.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",o):document.addEventListener("gform_main_scripts_loaded",o)},hooks:{action:{},filter:{}},addAction:function(o,n,r,t){gform.addHook("action",o,n,r,t)},addFilter:function(o,n,r,t){gform.addHook("filter",o,n,r,t)},doAction:function(o){gform.doHook("action",o,arguments)},applyFilters:function(o){return gform.doHook("filter",o,arguments)},removeAction:function(o,n){gform.removeHook("action",o,n)},removeFilter:function(o,n,r){gform.removeHook("filter",o,n,r)},addHook:function(o,n,r,t,i){null==gform.hooks[o][n]&&(gform.hooks[o][n]=[]);var e=gform.hooks[o][n];null==i&&(i=n+"_"+e.length),gform.hooks[o][n].push({tag:i,callable:r,priority:t=null==t?10:t})},doHook:function(n,o,r){var t;if(r=Array.prototype.slice.call(r,1),null!=gform.hooks[n][o]&&((o=gform.hooks[n][o]).sort(function(o,n){return o.priority-n.priority}),o.forEach(function(o){"function"!=typeof(t=o.callable)&&(t=window[t]),"action"==n?t.apply(null,r):r[0]=t.apply(null,r)})),"filter"==n)return r[0]},removeHook:function(o,n,t,i){var r;null!=gform.hooks[o][n]&&(r=(r=gform.hooks[o][n]).filter(function(o,n,r){return!!(null!=i&&i!=o.tag||null!=t&&t!=o.priority)}),gform.hooks[o][n]=r)}}); Let’s have a chat… "*" indicates required fields First name* Email Address* TelephoneCompany* CAPTCHA gform.initializeOnLoaded( function() {gformInitSpinner( 5, 'https://silverbackstudios.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/images/spinner.svg' );jQuery('#gform_ajax_frame_5').on('load',function(){var contents = jQuery(this).contents().find('*').html();var is_postback = contents.indexOf('GF_AJAX_POSTBACK') >= 0;if(!is_postback){return;}var form_content = jQuery(this).contents().find('#gform_wrapper_5');var is_confirmation = jQuery(this).contents().find('#gform_confirmation_wrapper_5').length > 0;var is_redirect = contents.indexOf('gformRedirect(){') >= 0;var is_form = form_content.length > 0 && ! is_redirect && ! is_confirmation;var mt = parseInt(jQuery('html').css('margin-top'), 10) + parseInt(jQuery('body').css('margin-top'), 10) + 100;if(is_form){jQuery('#gform_wrapper_5').html(form_content.html());if(form_content.hasClass('gform_validation_error')){jQuery('#gform_wrapper_5').addClass('gform_validation_error');} else {jQuery('#gform_wrapper_5').removeClass('gform_validation_error');}setTimeout( function() { /* delay the scroll by 50 milliseconds to fix a bug in chrome */ jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery('#gform_wrapper_5').offset().top - mt); }, 50 );if(window['gformInitDatepicker']) {gformInitDatepicker();}if(window['gformInitPriceFields']) {gformInitPriceFields();}var current_page = jQuery('#gform_source_page_number_5').val();gformInitSpinner( 5, 'https://silverbackstudios.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/images/spinner.svg' );jQuery(document).trigger('gform_page_loaded', [5, current_page]);window['gf_submitting_5'] = false;}else if(!is_redirect){var confirmation_content = jQuery(this).contents().find('.GF_AJAX_POSTBACK').html();if(!confirmation_content){confirmation_content = contents;}setTimeout(function(){jQuery('#gform_wrapper_5').replaceWith(confirmation_content);jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery('#gf_5').offset().top - mt);jQuery(document).trigger('gform_confirmation_loaded', [5]);window['gf_submitting_5'] = false;wp.a11y.speak(jQuery('#gform_confirmation_message_5').text());}, 50);}else{jQuery('#gform_5').append(contents);if(window['gformRedirect']) {gformRedirect();}}jQuery(document).trigger('gform_post_render', [5, current_page]);} );} ); Rebranding a gorilla Creativity with 13th century constraints
Read moreApr 21, 2022
How to create great marketing images before you’re ready to launch
Share: “3D renders can be incredibly useful where it’s not possible to photograph the product or in many cases, the product doesn’t even exist yet!” Malcolm Gilbertson MD and Creative Director, Silverback® What can you do when you simply do not have the images you need to market your products and services? Our clients usually have one problem in common when approaching their print and marketing collateral; a lack of images. An architectural or construction company will sell bespoke designs and struggles with time and budget to draw every alternative concept for their varied customer base. A company who builds large and costly pieces of technology doesn’t have the time to schedule an expensive photoshoot on a working model, but needs that imagery to show a future customer their product in the right environment. A car manufacturer needs to show the same car in varying colours and specifications – on and off road. A furniture company needs to show a corner sofa in a studio apartment as well as a country cottage to attract different home-owners. All these problems can be resolved with photorealistic imagery. Photorealistic imagery – known in the trade as 3D Rendering – has become an essential marketing solution for many of our customers, allowing them to show their product and not just tell. High quality catalogues and brochures are an essential part of the marketing plan for most businesses. Three-dimensional rendering allows companies and industry professionals to showcase products in the best light and surroundings. Once a render is created you can change colours, sizes, direction, locations and add branding. 3D renders also have the unique advantage of conveying 3D distance information that allows for precision measurements within the rendering itself. Our clients often come to us with an idea and a vision for their product but don’t have anything tangible to photograph – the answer is to create 3D renders, which makes the difficult process of getting your customers to see your products a whole lot easier… and better! @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_62320bbfbe798 img { height: px!important; } } Spot the difference! You may be concerned that renders look fake and unconvincing but when they are done well it is hard to tell the difference. Look at our supporting images to see how realistic modern 3D renders can be. Technology has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years – today, we are surrounded by 3D animations and rendered graphics. We now take them for granted and it is often difficult to tell whether a product is real or computer generated. It’s worth saying that we love photography, nothing beats it but sometimes it is just not feasible or cost effective. Here are some examples of using 3D rendering to solve a range of marketing problems across different sectors. Property – sell it before you build it! The property market relies on 3D renders, to help an architect share their vision with their client or a developer sell houses when their development is still a building site. Paradigm Land came to us a few years ago with a vision for a development they were working on near Ashtead in Surrey. To ensure the project was a success in terms of return on investment, they needed to get cracking; marketing the properties ahead of completion. They needed a high-end, informative and visually appealing sales brochure to engage with clients on a deeper level. We are pleased to report that with the help of the renders, the apartments were snapped up whilst they were still being built. @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_611b9b8696ccc img { height: px!important; } } Architecture and planning applications 3D renders can help with aid planning applications, convey plans to possible investors, buyers and tenants. In 2018, we met Will Elliott, The owner of Whipley Manor Farm, he had a vision to create a real destination and experience centre for the local community. He wanted to attract the right kind of businesses to make it a high-end retail destination for visitors. His problem was attracting tenants to a site that didn’t yet exist. With office space for hire on every corner, his ideas needed to stand out, create a buzz and spark the imagination of potential tenants. We created a 3D render, working off the architectural plans, to bring the destination to life. The render really captured what the site could be and was the perfect sales tool to share with prospective tenants. Those visuals helped attract a farm shop, gallery, yoga studio and café. In the end we were so blown away by the vision of the future site that in February 2019, we decided to move our own offices to the farm. You will find the Troop in our design studio, on the second floor of the idyllic and newly-built converted barn in Bramley, Surrey. @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_5fbe8a900ae97 img { height: px!important; } } Picturing your products perfectly Health & wellbeing sector 3D Renders can be extremely useful when there might not be a chance to see the product before purchasing. Creating product renders allow businesses to show off their products online or in print, even before they have been launched. Henshaw Hyperbaric Chambers (HHC) uses the very latest technology to produce exceptionally high quality oxygen chambers that are used for a wide variety of treatments and health benefits; either in a clinic environment or for health at home. The company needed to generate promotional and instructional material for an upcoming trade show. It just wasn’t possible for them to photograph every chamber in a variety of settings, colours and shapes. Given their size, it would have been difficult to photograph them in-situ and to capture the detail. With such a bespoke and specialist product, the company wouldn’t be able to sell what they do without the visuals; their customers want to see the choice available to decide which product is right for them. We decided to create 3D renders for 10 different types of chamber, both as studio images and also in their environment. This way we were able to tailor them to the different audiences, from specialist sports and medical centres to health at home and vets. Share: “The design work and particularly the 3D renders has helped to showcase our excellent products and really show them off to prospective clients. Through targeted marketing, we have managed to tap into a niche market.” Peter Guimaraens Henshaw Hyperbaric Chambers jQuery(document).ready(function($) { $("#postGalleryCarousel-block_6238a1f2921d9").slick({ dots: true, infinite: true, centerMode: true, centerPadding: '260px', slidesToShow: 1, slidesToScroll: 6, responsive: [{ breakpoint: 768, settings: { dots: true, infinite: true, centerMode: true, centerPadding: '10px', slidesToShow: 1, slidesToScroll: 6 } }] }); }); Construction sector Renders can be used to communicate a range of products or services, in a snapshot, rather than having to show or write about each item individually. This was exactly what we did for building merchant, Chandlers. They do everything ‘from the kitchen sink up’ as they put it. Renders don’t always have to be photorealistic; as you can see below, they can be used as a creative tool to support your marketing objectives. In consultation with the client, we decided to show a house to highlight the breadth of products and services on offer. Images like this couldn’t be photographed easily and would need a lot of retouching, so renders were the perfect option. @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_5f57ef74e7bd3 img { height: px!important; } } Selling a lifestyle Our client Springhill Products has over 40 years experience designing and manufacturing high quality glass doors for offices and shower enclosures. Their customers are not just buying a glass door for their shower, they are buying into a lifestyle and want to see how it could look in their own home. There is an expectation that if you are making a premium purchase, there will be a high-end catalogue and image to match. However, they didn’t have much photography and what they did have didn’t show their products off in the best light. Showers in particular are difficult to photograph because of restricted space and awkward camera angles. We set about creating a set of CGI images that really showed the products off in multiple environments. These images were then used on the website to help customers imagine what the products would look like in-situ. jQuery(document).ready(function($) { $("#postGalleryCarousel-block_62501f22ce073").slick({ dots: true, infinite: true, centerMode: true, centerPadding: '260px', slidesToShow: 1, slidesToScroll: 6, responsive: [{ breakpoint: 768, settings: { dots: true, infinite: true, centerMode: true, centerPadding: '10px', slidesToShow: 1, slidesToScroll: 6 } }] }); }); Car industry – allowing clients to customise their own products 3D renders are widely used in the car industry to help sales teams market and sell new model cars and for a customer to visualise different colours and interiors when choosing their car. Working for Jensen International Automotive, we built a customisation page allowing the user to build their own car from the chassis up. We worked from basic photos, using computer software to create the car, so that the user is then able to specify details, such as colour, wheels, engine options and interior finish. Allowing customers to actually create their own design, creating the excitement to encourage potential sales. @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_624419cc2e49d img { height: px!important; } } Share: “At last, we have an online presence to reflect our excellent product! The website is slick, easy to use and we love the customisation page.” David Duerden Managing Director, Jensen International Automotive Like what you see? First impressions are everything and renders give you the ability to impress prospective clients, the general public and even potential employees. Being able to produce photorealistic renderings of a new product or service can be extremely beneficial and can give you the edge over your competitors. Do you have a product that you need to market but you haven’t produced the project yet? Do you need to customise your products but are struggling to photograph every eventually? Do you need to sell something ahead of time that is far from being built? Do you want to visualise the possibilities and range of a product before you decide what to build? Do you need to show the detail of your products but photography isn’t capturing what you need it to? If any of this applies to you, then maybe 3D Rendering could help. If you would like to find out more, why not get in touch below. Let’s have a chat… "*" indicates required fields First name* Email Address* TelephoneCompany* CAPTCHA gform.initializeOnLoaded( function() {gformInitSpinner( 5, 'https://silverbackstudios.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/images/spinner.svg' );jQuery('#gform_ajax_frame_5').on('load',function(){var contents = jQuery(this).contents().find('*').html();var is_postback = contents.indexOf('GF_AJAX_POSTBACK') >= 0;if(!is_postback){return;}var form_content = jQuery(this).contents().find('#gform_wrapper_5');var is_confirmation = jQuery(this).contents().find('#gform_confirmation_wrapper_5').length > 0;var is_redirect = contents.indexOf('gformRedirect(){') >= 0;var is_form = form_content.length > 0 && ! is_redirect && ! is_confirmation;var mt = parseInt(jQuery('html').css('margin-top'), 10) + parseInt(jQuery('body').css('margin-top'), 10) + 100;if(is_form){jQuery('#gform_wrapper_5').html(form_content.html());if(form_content.hasClass('gform_validation_error')){jQuery('#gform_wrapper_5').addClass('gform_validation_error');} else {jQuery('#gform_wrapper_5').removeClass('gform_validation_error');}setTimeout( function() { /* delay the scroll by 50 milliseconds to fix a bug in chrome */ jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery('#gform_wrapper_5').offset().top - mt); }, 50 );if(window['gformInitDatepicker']) {gformInitDatepicker();}if(window['gformInitPriceFields']) {gformInitPriceFields();}var current_page = jQuery('#gform_source_page_number_5').val();gformInitSpinner( 5, 'https://silverbackstudios.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/images/spinner.svg' );jQuery(document).trigger('gform_page_loaded', [5, current_page]);window['gf_submitting_5'] = false;}else if(!is_redirect){var confirmation_content = jQuery(this).contents().find('.GF_AJAX_POSTBACK').html();if(!confirmation_content){confirmation_content = contents;}setTimeout(function(){jQuery('#gform_wrapper_5').replaceWith(confirmation_content);jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery('#gf_5').offset().top - mt);jQuery(document).trigger('gform_confirmation_loaded', [5]);window['gf_submitting_5'] = false;wp.a11y.speak(jQuery('#gform_confirmation_message_5').text());}, 50);}else{jQuery('#gform_5').append(contents);if(window['gformRedirect']) {gformRedirect();}}jQuery(document).trigger('gform_post_render', [5, current_page]);} );} ); Jensen International Automotive Build your own British classic Springhill Creating a luxury brand that reflects quality
Read moreSep 2, 2021
The power of a rebrand and website for local club Cranleigh RFC – the right attack
Share: “3D renders can be incredibly useful where it’s not possible to photograph the product or in many cases, the product doesn’t even exist yet!” Malcolm Gilbertson MD and Creative Director, Silverback® Spot the difference! You may be concerned that renders look fake and unconvincing but when they are done well it is hard to tell the difference. Look at our supporting images to see how realistic modern 3D renders can be. Technology has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years – today, we are surrounded by 3D animations and rendered graphics. We now take them for granted and it is often difficult to tell whether a product is real or computer generated. It’s worth saying that we love photography, nothing beats it but sometimes it is just not feasible or cost effective. Here are some examples of using 3D rendering to solve a range of marketing problems across different sectors. Property – sell it before you build it! The property market relies on 3D renders, to help an architect share their vision with their client or a developer sell houses when their development is still a building site. Paradigm Land came to us a few years ago with a vision for a development they were working on near Ashtead in Surrey. To ensure the project was a success in terms of return on investment, they needed to get cracking; marketing the properties ahead of completion. They needed a high-end, informative and visually appealing sales brochure to engage with clients on a deeper level. We are pleased to report that with the help of the renders, the apartments were snapped up whilst they were still being built. @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_611b9b8696ccc img { height: px!important; } } Architecture and planning applications 3D renders can help with aid planning applications, convey plans to possible investors, buyers and tenants. In 2018, we met Will Elliott, The owner of Whipley Manor Farm, he had a vision to create a real destination and experience centre for the local community. He wanted to attract the right kind of businesses to make it a high-end retail destination for visitors. His problem was attracting tenants to a site that didn’t yet exist. With office space for hire on every corner, his ideas needed to stand out, create a buzz and spark the imagination of potential tenants. We created a 3D render, working off the architectural plans, to bring the destination to life. The render really captured what the site could be and was the perfect sales tool to share with prospective tenants. Those visuals helped attract a farm shop, gallery, yoga studio and café. In the end we were so blown away by the vision of the future site that in February 2019, we decided to move our own offices to the farm. You will find the Troop in our design studio, on the second floor of the idyllic and newly-built converted barn in Bramley, Surrey. @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_5fbe8a900ae97 img { height: px!important; } } Picturing your products perfectly Health & wellbeing sector 3D Renders can be extremely useful when there might not be a chance to see the product before purchasing. Creating product renders allow businesses to show off their products online or in print, even before they have been launched. Henshaw Hyperbaric Chambers (HHC) uses the very latest technology to produce exceptionally high quality oxygen chambers that are used for a wide variety of treatments and health benefits; either in a clinic environment or for health at home. The company needed to generate promotional and instructional material for an upcoming trade show. It just wasn’t possible for them to photograph every chamber in a variety of settings, colours and shapes. Given their size, it would have been difficult to photograph them in-situ and to capture the detail. With such a bespoke and specialist product, the company wouldn’t be able to sell what they do without the visuals; their customers want to see the choice available to decide which product is right for them. We decided to create 3D renders for 10 different types of chamber, both as studio images and also in their environment. This way we were able to tailor them to the different audiences, from specialist sports and medical centres to health at home and vets. @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_61125d0c3132f img { height: px!important; } } Construction sector Renders can be used to communicate a range of products or services, in a snapshot, rather than having to show or write about each item individually. This was exactly what we did for building merchant, Chandlers. They do everything ‘from the kitchen sink up’ as they put it. Renders don’t always have to be photorealistic; as you can see below, they can be used as a creative tool to support your marketing objectives. In consultation with the client, we decided to show a house to highlight the breadth of products and services on offer. Images like this couldn’t be photographed easily and would need a lot of retouching, so renders were the perfect option. @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_5f57ef74e7bd3 img { height: px!important; } } Let’s have a chat… "*" indicates required fields First name* Email Address* TelephoneCompany* CAPTCHA gform.initializeOnLoaded( function() {gformInitSpinner( 5, 'https://silverbackstudios.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/images/spinner.svg' );jQuery('#gform_ajax_frame_5').on('load',function(){var contents = jQuery(this).contents().find('*').html();var is_postback = contents.indexOf('GF_AJAX_POSTBACK') >= 0;if(!is_postback){return;}var form_content = jQuery(this).contents().find('#gform_wrapper_5');var is_confirmation = jQuery(this).contents().find('#gform_confirmation_wrapper_5').length > 0;var is_redirect = contents.indexOf('gformRedirect(){') >= 0;var is_form = form_content.length > 0 && ! is_redirect && ! is_confirmation;var mt = parseInt(jQuery('html').css('margin-top'), 10) + parseInt(jQuery('body').css('margin-top'), 10) + 100;if(is_form){jQuery('#gform_wrapper_5').html(form_content.html());if(form_content.hasClass('gform_validation_error')){jQuery('#gform_wrapper_5').addClass('gform_validation_error');} else {jQuery('#gform_wrapper_5').removeClass('gform_validation_error');}setTimeout( function() { /* delay the scroll by 50 milliseconds to fix a bug in chrome */ jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery('#gform_wrapper_5').offset().top - mt); }, 50 );if(window['gformInitDatepicker']) {gformInitDatepicker();}if(window['gformInitPriceFields']) {gformInitPriceFields();}var current_page = jQuery('#gform_source_page_number_5').val();gformInitSpinner( 5, 'https://silverbackstudios.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/images/spinner.svg' );jQuery(document).trigger('gform_page_loaded', [5, current_page]);window['gf_submitting_5'] = false;}else if(!is_redirect){var confirmation_content = jQuery(this).contents().find('.GF_AJAX_POSTBACK').html();if(!confirmation_content){confirmation_content = contents;}setTimeout(function(){jQuery('#gform_wrapper_5').replaceWith(confirmation_content);jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery('#gf_5').offset().top - mt);jQuery(document).trigger('gform_confirmation_loaded', [5]);window['gf_submitting_5'] = false;wp.a11y.speak(jQuery('#gform_confirmation_message_5').text());}, 50);}else{jQuery('#gform_5').append(contents);if(window['gformRedirect']) {gformRedirect();}}jQuery(document).trigger('gform_post_render', [5, current_page]);} );} ); Jensen International Automotive Build your own British classic Springhill Creating a luxury brand that reflects quality
Read moreAug 19, 2021
The Rose Tree – Being seen is the challenge
A conversation between: Olga Rumble – The Rose Tree Malcolm Gilbertson – Silverback® Larry Dilner – Decision Magazine Planting the seed For Olga Rumble, it was the exasperating experience of travelling to work which planted the seed for The Rose Tree, the organic and natural skincare brand she set up. “In many ways it happened by chance,” she explains. “When I started, it was very much just about having something to do while I time out from being an IT consultant. I just felt there was more to life than getting on a train to London at six in the morning and then staggering back at nine at night. “I was fascinated by aromatherapy, brewing up concoctions which I started to give to friends as presents for Christmas. They always said how much they liked it and asked if they could pay me for some more, so at the back of my mind there was this thought that maybe I could do something as the green beauty market is growing. Do you know what, I thought it would be enjoyable to do, I could sell a bit on the side and then still do some contracting.” In fact, she also has the role now as projects director at an IT company. “We are not part of the ’99% rubbish, 1% natural ingredient brigade’” Her organic and natural skincare brand is about sustainable luxury – also quality over quantity, she says. “There are so many products which have some good ingredients in a soup of what is not so nice. For example, shea butter can be processed and refined to such an extent that it doesn’t have much relevance to the properties people expect it to have. We are not part of the ’99% rubbish, 1% natural ingredient brigade’.” Talking the right language She also had some questions about how skincare products are promoted. “Women in their forties and fifties have been being marketed to with models in their twenties,” she points out. “That’s insulting. Marketing skincare has to be real and grown-up – it isn’t about dissolving wrinkles off your skin.” Rumble couldn’t have picked a more difficult sector for a start-up. “It is incredibly competitive,” she concedes, “with major brands launching organic products to compete against their existing range, and celebrities putting their name to new products.” “Marketing skincare has to be real and grown-up – it isn’t about dissolving wrinkles off your skin.” “Actually being seen is the challenge,” she says, “and it’s just as hard for the consumer to define the reality of a product. How does a brand take them on that learning curve? There isn’t one straight answer. It’s about tone of voice to engender trust, showing the process of making the product and sharing your thinking. Why do I use marshmallow root oil from leaves? Because the sticky, sweet resin is the ideal ingredient for our intensive balm to hydrate and soften dull skin. But we have to tell the story why we picked that particular ingredient. Marketing The Rose Tree is primarily on Facebook, which is the main deliverer of new customers. “We have a presence on Instagram, but I question whether it’s really where my customers are,” muses Rumble. “I treat it as a shop window, and all visibility is good at this part of our journey.” In store vs. online Early on, a disproportionate amount of communication through The Rose Tree website was from potential suppliers looking to sell the company ingredients or packaging, rather than from customers, but then Rumble got a missive from the British Malaysian Chamber of Commerce to say that a member with department stores was interested in her products. For a small business, this was exciting stuff. Rumble flew out there and as part of the sale trained some of their shop floor staff in the properties of the products. Another enquiry which has resulted in sales came from a spa in South Korea. “Having the brand in spas is a good environment because people are getting to experience our products in their treatments,” she explains. ”For any new product, the hardest thing is to get it into the hands of the prospective customer. “You can revisit your brand values for myriad reasons: environmental, cultural, and technical…” Not that the High Street is her prime target. “The problem for a small company is that while you would like to be asked by a major retailer, they can either re-order or de-list you with forty-eight hours notice, and that doesn’t work for a brand of our size trying to make its way,” says Rumble. “Our product sells on the story behind it, and I wouldn’t be at all confident that the sales person at a store with thirty other brands being stocked would be able to talk about us with any authority. “The online model also means I can control what I put in front of the customer; I’m not having to adjust the ingredients to meet the price-point of a multiple retailer. I choose the right ingredients for the job. Otherwise if the equation of power changes, it’s a slippery slope for a brand reliant on its ethos. I realise in the commercial world there are going to be times when you have to make certain compromises, but I’m not going to have my arm twisted and be forced to do something which might compromise the brand.” @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_5f929f2ddfbfe img { height: px!important; } } Avoiding customer fatigue So would her strategic thinking touch on opening The Rose Tree Organic Luxury retail outlets? “From a personal perspective that would be really exciting, because having that physical presence equates to recognition,” Rumble says. “An exciting proposition, but the reality is that it would be time consuming and costly.” “Customers are more aware of what they want to spend time looking at on the internet. People are increasingly savvy…” And compared to competing on a bricks and mortar basis, for a brand such as The Rose Tree, social media is the equaliser. “We wouldn’t be able to compete, probably even exist without it,” she believes. “But there is so much choice, such a proliferation of messages every minute of the day that you only have a second to grab attention. Customers are more aware of what they want to spend time looking at on the internet. People are increasingly savvy, they want to know how their data is being used, and brands have to work harder to avoid consumer fatigue. In the middle of all this is a grey area, the paid for influencers who endorse products, but I think this will increasingly be seen as a transaction, without authenticity. But of course for now there is a dichotomy. While the new generation is very conscious of the provenance of a product, they’re still influenced by what they see on YouTube.” Getting people thinking “For me,” says Rumble, “while a product will develop as time goes on, I expect its brand values to be constant because that’s the foundation piece, the platform, not a marketing-led piece which can be bolted on. For example, there is far more consumer awareness of sustainability, and I get that companies need to take account of that. But if they do so because their competitors are doing it, then that isn’t an evolution of values but a bolt-on, a purely commercial response rather than a belief. “[…] it is both an opportunity and a privilege to make a positive difference and to enrich my customers’ lives.” “I really think that The Rose Tree can help the older demographic, and it is both an opportunity and a privilege to make a positive difference and to enrich my customers’ lives. I know that all sounds pretentious, but I want them to think about the quality of the products they are putting on their skin, in the same way they consider the provenance of what they are eating and drinking.” Trust is everything Does a new brand have to be disruptive to achieve its goals? “I guess it depends on your definition of disruptive,” Rumble replies. “You’ve got to be doing something different to get attention, but the brand can be disruptive by living its values if others aren’t. “What is important is that the customer trusts your brand and is willing to come back to you. According to Google Analytics, someone can visit our site seven times before making a purchase.” @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_6116911b29496 img { height: px!important; } } Back to Conversations Part of a report commissioned by Silverback Studios Ltd, publisher Decision Magazine.
Read moreJun 14, 2021
Designing the employee journey: Attract, Engage, Retain, Repeat…
Share: How do you engage with and motivate staff on their work journey? Now, more than ever as many of us work remotely, employees need to feel a sense of belonging and an emotional connection to the company they work for. Even before a future employee joins a company, they may already have a sense of the culture through social media, what a friend that works there has told them or they might even be a customer. Over the past few years, we have been lucky enough to work with some of the best people in the industry who know a lot about how to engage their people. Together, we have seen the benefits of using design to engage and retain staff, so we’d like to share some of our insights. Design has an important role to play in getting these messages across and can help to inform, motivate and engage employees. If they understand the business strategy, they will feel empowered which helps them become your biggest brand advocates. As an employee, you go on a journey with your company, from that initial contact or job application to the first year of employment and beyond. Internal branding is just as important as external branding. It is very easy to focus on your customer facing brand, at the expense of the employee brand. In fact employees have an invaluable role to play, no matter what their job title is, as they all have the ability to influence external perception. Your employees represent your brand and everything it stands for, so it is crucial that they understand the brand story and what it means to them in their day-to-day job. This in turn will create a consistent customer experience. You could argue that any external marketing efforts are wasted if your employees don’t understand the brand story. Not surprisingly, customers are not going to buy into a brand if the staff don’t act in the way that they expect. Companies need to make sure their culture aligns with their customer promise. For example, if a customer phones with an enquiry and is met with an unhelpful, or even rude, member of staff the chances are they will not use that service again. Your internal brand needs to be clear and understood by your people and live up to the external brand promise. It’s no good saying one thing but doing another. Big brands like Apple and Google are clear about how they represent themselves to potential employees and they are not afraid to shout about the perks of working there. Google puts a value on keeping talent and goes to great lengths to hold on to good people. Among many of the perks they offer are childcare, paternity leave, a bowling alley, free haircuts and nap rooms. They also allow engineers 10% of their time to innovate as they recognise the importance of time to come up with ideas. They donate money to charities for employee volunteering. They also happen to have some of the highest paying salaries in the tech industry. The list of perks goes on but they realise how important their talent is to them. Google say on Glassdoor, “At Google, we know that every employee has something important to say, and that every employee is integral to our success.” Google also puts a huge value on design and their offices are renowned for being inspiring, engaging and innovative workspaces, to help get the best out of their employees. Similarly, Apple is renowned for treating their staff well. There’s no doubt that it is a challenging place to work but employees seem to agree that the pros outweigh the cons. As you might expect, Apple places a large emphasis on the design of their HR materials. Everything is sleek in appearance and well designed to impress potential employees. They always put the employee at the centre of the materials so they feel it’s about them rather than the company. Clever. The employee journey We all know how important the customer journey is. We like to think that the employee journey is just as, if not more, important. As we see it, there are three main steps in an employee’s journey with a company. Here we look at how you can use design to help bring each step to life. It’s important to think about your audience, in the same way that you would with your external comms. Think about who you are trying to reach and what you are trying to say. What’s the best way to reach people? What works for one audience, might not be right for another. Perhaps it’s by email or leaflet or digital animation or you could turn to more traditional formats, sending something thoughtful and personal in the post. Be creative, you know your employees better than anyone, so consider what will appeal to them. Think about what’s worked well in the past and don’t try to second guess, why not ask them? @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_602e968942b08 img { height: px!important; } } Attracting talent When attracting people to your brand, it’s important to consider what you want that external message to communicate and what impression you want them to take away. By creating a strong, distinctive visual identity and tone of voice, your prospective employees should have a good sense of what you’re about and your company culture. Show stands and comms There are many companies offering apprenticeships, particularly since the government initiative put in place in 2019, so attracting the right talent is competitive. How do you engage parents and students alike, especially now that a lot of the careers fairs have moved online? If you are exhibiting at a busy careers fair, your stand needs to spark curiosity and intrigue to make the prospective student or parent engage with you in the first place. From our experience, infographics can be a useful way to get information across quickly and succinctly, showing statistics in a clear, visually appealing way. Often, companies have a tendency to put far too much information on their stand, making it look cluttered and confusing. It’s much better to have a simple message or theme that grabs attention. We’ve also found that something to do (or eat!) is often a good way to draw people in and start a conversation. Good design can help to create a unique, ownable and memorable look for your ‘stand’, whether it’s in person or online. It’s always good to have some sort of take-away too, whether it’s a leaflet or postcard or something more memorable. @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_602e984442b0b img { height: px!important; } } Digital media Videos of real apprentices and employees talking about their experience of the company can help to further engage and embed the brand. They are a powerful way of communicating to prospective employees and if well done, are relatable and authentic. These can be effectively topped and tailed with integrated motion graphics to bring the video to life and give it some energy. These videos could be used on social media and appear on your website and YouTube channel. Careers site A dedicated area on your website for jobs is often the first place prospective employees will look for work. The impression you give here is key as it will give the person searching for a job a feel for the company and whether or not it’s right for them. Design can really help set the tone for the type of person you are trying to attract through your visual identity, tone of voice and photography style. Oven Rescue Oven Rescue, a successful independent oven cleaning company, came to us as they wanted to attract more franchisees to the brand and so we suggested a microsite entirely focused on them, rather than aimed at customers. We recommended that we develop a specific franchise identity using different colours so that it was differentiated from the customer comms. The tone of voice used is friendly, simple and informative. We also did a photoshoot and video of the existing team to give it an authentic feel. In the video, the franchisees talked about their experiences and what to expect – these were used on the website and in a social media campaign. We also used pay-to-click to target a specific demographic and areas. With a fresh new look, Oven Rescue has a more professional and approachable way to sell their services. The social media campaign which used PPC, helped to attract new people to the opportunity and has resulted in new franchisees. @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_607d9ce75bab6 img { height: px!important; } } @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_602e9c2042b0e img { height: px!important; } } Engaging employees Of course, attracting talent is only the beginning of the employee journey. Sometimes people find that when they join a company, the experience is quite different and potentially a let down after the initial recruitment phase. First impressions last so make sure your first interaction with a new employee is a memorable one, using inspiring and engaging communications. Their experience of the internal brand should be consistent. So often, a company will have a great recruitment ad and if the applicant is successful, they receive a shiny Welcome book. But beyond that, the internal brand is forgotten and plays second fiddle to the customer branding, which comes as a disappointment and the employee is left to find their own way. From our experience, those companies that go the extra mile to make sure that their employee’s experience of the brand is consistent every step of the way, enjoy better staff retention and loyalty. Welcome book A company Welcome book is a great way to induct your employees and to help them to quickly understand your brand ethos and what to expect. It should be an opportunity to set the tone, to excite and inspire your employees and also to act as a useful reference for where to get a great sandwich as well as checking how many days holiday they get. Sadly, all too often handbooks are rather dry in content, dull visually and are quickly stuffed in a drawer and forgotten. Design and tone of voice can really help to create something inspiring. It needs to be something memorable and functional that they will want to keep referring back to. More and more, companies are giving thought to that first impression and are making sure their new recruit feels welcome on their first day. With remote working it is even more important that a new employee feels welcomed and a sense of belonging. A well designed ‘kit’ can still be sent out to new recruits to welcome them. @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_602e9f0542b12 img { height: 500pxpx!important; } } Onboarding materials Those first few days and months after an employee joins are critical and they will form an opinion of the company. Staff retention can be a real problem for a lot of businesses and new employees often leave in the first year. One of the biggest reasons sighted is that the job is not what they expected or they didn’t know what was expected of them. A thorough onboarding process is essential for new staff to feel a sense of belonging and to be accountable. Design can really help to make this process look attractive and manageable for a new starter and help managers to keep them on track as well. Harwoods Group Harwoods Group is a high-end car dealership mainly in the South East of England. Like many businesses in this industry, they had a high turnover of staff and this was something they wanted to address. They appreciated the importance of staff retention and aimed to make a good first impression. They wanted to look professional and slick, whilst appealing to a broad range of employees and getting across the friendly, family feel of the business. So they rethought and wrote their onboarding process and then asked Silverback® to design the new starter materials. Together, we created a suite of materials including a Welcome Pack, a Log Book with easy ‘Pit stops’ along the way to track their Induction Journey for the first 6 months and a Support Guide for both the Line Manager and Buddies to help them mentor and monitor their progress. We used a mixture of aspirational images as well as real people photography of employees to make the materials feel authentic. Retention rates went up 5% in the first year of having the starter materials. Share: “The Welcome Pack makes such a positive statement of intent especially. I have some pretty compelling evaluation stats to prove it’s been a winner.” Elaine Henderson Harwoods Consultant Training Staff training is an area where design can really help to make the content come to life and resonate with the employees. We have all been to training with ‘death by Powerpoint’ presentation and uninspiring handouts. Training needn’t be dull and is actually a great opportunity to engage your employees as you have their full attention. Well designed interactive workbooks, graphics to dress the room and a few slides or even video or animation can really help to make the training memorable. One of our clients is a leading health and beauty retailer (naming no names!). They realised a few years back that training was often just telling people to adapt their body language and smile. They also knew that many of the complaints they received could have been addressed through better staff training. So they set about creating a programme that would work for them, combining video, online learning, print and face-to-face learning to immerse their employees in an interactive customer experience training programme. They knew that design needed to play a big part in bringing this to life. This included a distinctive visual identity and a set of icons to help embed their training toolkit. These were later made into an app and rolled out across 700 stores. As a result, they enjoyed sales growth and a huge drop in customer complaints which could be directly attributed to the training. Digital engagement A staff intranet can be extremely effective as a tool in the engagement process, especially at the moment with so many people working remotely. A well designed intranet allows cross-functional collaboration and engagement in large companies, enabling employees to be close to their business via their personal devices. It’s also a way to access learning and most of all, to feel a sense of belonging. Even on a small scale, a staff intranet can be a great way for people to feel connected and it can be used as an online suggestions box, to give recognition, celebrate Birthdays, to give people a sense of belonging. A well thought out launch strategy to support the new platform can really help staff awareness and drive them to use the intranet. This could include a teaser and launch campaign, across both digital and printed media, such as posters, cutouts, floor stickers, coffee cups, roller banners, web banners and themed merchandise! We did just this for one of our clients (who sadly can’t be named). Within 8 weeks of the launch, the intranet had been a resounding success with over 10,000 employees logging on, 4,500 employees installing the app on at least one device and over 8,000 images shared. Our client commented, “Launching this social media platform has far exceeded our expectations. It has really built a community feel across the company.” Work environment Having moved to a new studio space recently, we have seen first hand how the design of your working environment can impact people’s moods and productivity. A space that is specially designed for you and how your company works can make a huge difference. It’s also a great opportunity for your employee brand to come to life through your choice of colours, shapes, textures, even graphics and words to help embed your brand. @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_602ea64642b19 img { height: px!important; } } @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_6035448ad4dfd img { height: px!important; } } 3. Retaining staff One of the most challenging jobs a company faces is how to hold on to valued employees. Particularly in the retail sector, businesses typically experience low retention rates which means investment in those people may have been a waste of time and precious resources. Company culture is so important to keep people engaged and motivated and we believe that design can play a role in that too. Meggitt Meggitt PLC is a UK based international company specialising in components and sub-systems for the aerospace, defence and selected energy markets. Innovation is at the heart of everything they do and they have a clear vision, “Enabling the Extraordinary: To Fly, To Power, To Live”. The company approached us to help them create an internal engagement piece to be rolled out globally. The idea was for employees to nominate their peers based on their achievements. The initiative was called ‘Extraordinary people’. We realised that we needed to come up with an idea that was easily understood, would translate across multiple languages and was practical to transport to numerous countries. Based on Meggitt’s existing brand guidelines, we created a pack of items including a nomination form, promotional posters, cardboard engineered voting boxes for offices, all on the theme ‘Extraordinary people’. We also designed a ‘wall of fame’ to celebrate people’s successes. Throughout the project, our aim was to create a consistent brand but also something workable for each country where office size varied from very large to very small. The designs needed to translate into multiple languages so iconography was helpful for this. The result is a striking, functional and motivating piece to engage and inspire employees. @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_607ee0fdfd060 img { height: px!important; } } Recognising success One of the main ways to motivate and inspire staff is by recognising success. Companies do this in a range of ways to suit their business and design can help bring these ideas to life. You could even go as far as naming your rewards and recognition brand and giving it its own identity, so that it stands out and is immediately recognised internally. In the past, we have designed nomination voting boxes and postcards, recognition greeting cards, even a ‘hall of fame’. Motivating staff Beyond recognition, there are all sorts of tried and tested ways to keep staff motivated. Sometimes, particularly in a large company, departments want to have their own identity to better communicate what it is they do. They might also think about communications internally to explain why they are there, what they do and importantly how they can help other staff. This might take the form of a leaflet or a small event (in a canteen for instance) to help ‘up’ their profile and general awareness internally. This approach can also be useful when trying to explain an external concept. For example, how do you explain to staff who your customers are? Words are fine but imagery can help to build a better picture of your customers. These can even be brought to life through animation and videos. Making an inclusive culture Diversity and inclusion in the workplace is a high priority for most companies. Design can be used effectively and sensitively to show what this means to your particular business. It may be that you want to put together a policy or go a bit further and create an internal campaign or even a suit of logos. By creating something tangible and concrete, you are making a stand and signalling to staff and externally that it’s important and that you take it seriously. Case study Utility Warehouse (UW) is a successful discount club offering a wide range of utility services. They are a company that understands the importance of employee engagement. In fact their business model relies on good internal comms with 45,000 distributors! They have done a lot of work around distributor engagement, finding ways to motivate their people, known affectionately as the Purple Army. Over the years, we have designed many of UW’s distributor communications. We began by rebranding all their partner packs to make it clear what the different levels are for Partners. Each one is a different colour to help differentiation and contains different materials. We have also designed their distributor magazine, News Plus, several years running, talking about Partner success stories and tips. This is often on a tight timeframe which requires working together very closely with the UW team. When the company moved offices a few years ago, we helped them by designing a ‘moving office’ booklet with fun but practical information about the move. We also designed graphics and wayfinding for the new office to give the staff a sense of belonging. @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_602ea75142b24 img { height: px!important; } } Every year, we look forward to working with UW to come up with creative ideas and a visual identity for their annual event, Express Day. This is a huge event for their distributors and involves not only coming up with a great idea but then executing it across numerous items including show stands and banners, signage, tickets, merchandise. It’s a great opportunity to let our creative juices flow as we come up with fun interactive ideas for the attendees which seem to get more ambitious every year! jQuery(document).ready(function($) { $("#postGalleryCarousel-block_602ea76c42b26").slick({ dots: true, infinite: true, centerMode: true, centerPadding: '260px', slidesToShow: 1, slidesToScroll: 6, responsive: [{ breakpoint: 768, settings: { dots: true, infinite: true, centerMode: true, centerPadding: '10px', slidesToShow: 1, slidesToScroll: 6 } }] }); }); On the digital side, we have designed email teasers as well as new product launch campaigns. UW recognised that design played an important part in the success of their training, as often these sessions were the only place they would see distributors face-to-face. We worked with UW to create a suite of materials for the UW College of Excellence, including designing a logo and interactive workbooks for the various courses. All the training materials used a simple and playful identity to make them easy for the participant to complete. Dealing with change Mergers and acquisitions happen in business and a big consideration for the companies in question will be how to communicate this internally and how to bring different workforces together. It obviously has to be sensitively handled and communicated which is where design can help, laying out clearly why the changes have come about, what the benefits will be to the businesses and how it will impact you as an employee. Chandlers have recently merged with Parkers Building Supplies and sister companies Stamco and Fairalls. The new enlarged company has 37 branches operating from the Midlands to the South East, with over 750 employees. They are very similar businesses, with the same commitment, values and approach to working with their customers; so the management is confident that both staff and customers will benefit from this relationship. Following the business merger, the business asked us to come up with a creative campaign to communicate that it was business as usual and to get across the family feel of this independent business. Although the campaign was primarily aimed at customers, it was just as important to send out a positive message to employees about the merger. jQuery(document).ready(function($) { $("#postGalleryCarousel-block_607ffbf2f36d9").slick({ dots: true, infinite: true, centerMode: true, centerPadding: '260px', slidesToShow: 1, slidesToScroll: 6, responsive: [{ breakpoint: 768, settings: { dots: true, infinite: true, centerMode: true, centerPadding: '10px', slidesToShow: 1, slidesToScroll: 6 } }] }); }); In a different league We knew that their people were key to the company’s success and so we suggested we communicate their strong team and combined knowledge. We decided on a football theme which resonates with a largely male audience and gets across that team spirit. We came up with the line “We’re in a different league” as a theme for the campaign to make them stand apart from their competitors. We ran a fun photoshoot using actual employees from all the businesses and we included building and football props, we even created a football strip using the colours from each business. This was used in photography and as a standalone graphic device on and offline. The concept was then rolled out across a large range of items including ad vans, billboards, posters, flyers, coffee cups and a fun, in-store cut out promotion. We also created web banners and social media templates as well as some videos, topped and tailed with graphics and sound; the sound was also used for their radio ad. The creative campaign really captured the spirit of the newly formed group which is all about celebrating their people and keeping the independent feel. The campaign has been well received by staff and customers alike. Share: “This was always going to be a tricky brief as we were bringing three brands under one roof. We had no set look and feel and wanted all the brands to have equal emphasis. The team came up with a number of concepts, any of which would have worked but we felt the football concept was right for us. The photography shoot was great fun and they managed to put everyone at ease. We are delighted with the final creative, which has been rolled out on and offline. The designs have been very well received so far.” #Troopwork Sue McKinney Head of Marketing, IBMG (Independent Builders Merchant Group) @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_60478d5ac9cc4 img { height: px!important; } } An ever-evolving process Never has it been more important than now for companies to engage their people, to make them feel appreciated and motivated, in a time that is otherwise rather unsettling. Beyond online quizzes and socials, your employee brand can really make a difference right now. It’s important not to become complacent. Your employees are all on the same journey, just at different stages. Design is an effective way to reach your staff at different points along their employee journey and can make a huge difference to their experience of the company. If they are clear on the business strategy, they feel empowered which helps them become your biggest brand advocates. So companies need to be constantly finding new ways to Attract, Engage and Retain staff, then Repeat this again, and again. It’s an evolving process and something that needs to be reviewed and improved all the time from our experience. Get in touch! Need some help with your Internal Comms? We’re passionate about helping you attract, engage and retain staff. Whether it’s one step you need help with or all three, why not give us a call and book a meeting to talk about what you could do to up your internal communications game. Arrange a call Meggitt Celebrating extraordinary people worldwide Superdrug Employee engagement soars with app-based intranet
Read moreMay 25, 2021
Wingtip Brewing Company – Onwards and upwards
A conversation between: Olga Rumble – The Rose Tree Malcolm Gilbertson – Silverback® Larry Dilner – Decision Magazine Planting the seed For Olga Rumble, it was the exasperating experience of travelling to work which planted the seed for The Rose Tree, the organic and natural skincare brand she set up. “In many ways it happened by chance,” she explains. “When I started, it was very much just about having something to do while I time out from being an IT consultant. I just felt there was more to life than getting on a train to London at six in the morning and then staggering back at nine at night. “I was fascinated by aromatherapy, brewing up concoctions which I started to give to friends as presents for Christmas. They always said how much they liked it and asked if they could pay me for some more, so at the back of my mind there was this thought that maybe I could do something as the green beauty market is growing. Do you know what, I thought it would be enjoyable to do, I could sell a bit on the side and then still do some contracting.” In fact, she also has the role now as projects director at an IT company. “We are not part of the ’99% rubbish, 1% natural ingredient brigade’” Her organic and natural skincare brand is about sustainable luxury – also quality over quantity, she says. “There are so many products which have some good ingredients in a soup of what is not so nice. For example, shea butter can be processed and refined to such an extent that it doesn’t have much relevance to the properties people expect it to have. We are not part of the ’99% rubbish, 1% natural ingredient brigade’.” Talking the right language She also had some questions about how skincare products are promoted. “Women in their forties and fifties have been being marketed to with models in their twenties,” she points out. “That’s insulting. Marketing skincare has to be real and grown-up – it isn’t about dissolving wrinkles off your skin.” Rumble couldn’t have picked a more difficult sector for a start-up. “It is incredibly competitive,” she concedes, “with major brands launching organic products to compete against their existing range, and celebrities putting their name to new products.” “Marketing skincare has to be real and grown-up – it isn’t about dissolving wrinkles off your skin.” “Actually being seen is the challenge,” she says, “and it’s just as hard for the consumer to define the reality of a product. How does a brand take them on that learning curve? There isn’t one straight answer. It’s about tone of voice to engender trust, showing the process of making the product and sharing your thinking. Why do I use marshmallow root oil from leaves? Because the sticky, sweet resin is the ideal ingredient for our intensive balm to hydrate and soften dull skin. But we have to tell the story why we picked that particular ingredient. Marketing The Rose Tree is primarily on Facebook, which is the main deliverer of new customers. “We have a presence on Instagram, but I question whether it’s really where my customers are,” muses Rumble. “I treat it as a shop window, and all visibility is good at this part of our journey.” In store vs. online Early on, a disproportionate amount of communication through The Rose Tree website was from potential suppliers looking to sell the company ingredients or packaging, rather than from customers, but then Rumble got a missive from the British Malaysian Chamber of Commerce to say that a member with department stores was interested in her products. For a small business, this was exciting stuff. Rumble flew out there and as part of the sale trained some of their shop floor staff in the properties of the products. Another enquiry which has resulted in sales came from a spa in South Korea. “Having the brand in spas is a good environment because people are getting to experience our products in their treatments,” she explains. ”For any new product, the hardest thing is to get it into the hands of the prospective customer. “You can revisit your brand values for myriad reasons: environmental, cultural, and technical…” Not that the High Street is her prime target. “The problem for a small company is that while you would like to be asked by a major retailer, they can either re-order or de-list you with forty-eight hours notice, and that doesn’t work for a brand of our size trying to make its way,” says Rumble. “Our product sells on the story behind it, and I wouldn’t be at all confident that the sales person at a store with thirty other brands being stocked would be able to talk about us with any authority. “The online model also means I can control what I put in front of the customer; I’m not having to adjust the ingredients to meet the price-point of a multiple retailer. I choose the right ingredients for the job. Otherwise if the equation of power changes, it’s a slippery slope for a brand reliant on its ethos. I realise in the commercial world there are going to be times when you have to make certain compromises, but I’m not going to have my arm twisted and be forced to do something which might compromise the brand.” @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_5f929f2ddfbfe img { height: px!important; } } Avoiding customer fatigue So would her strategic thinking touch on opening The Rose Tree Organic Luxury retail outlets? “From a personal perspective that would be really exciting, because having that physical presence equates to recognition,” Rumble says. “An exciting proposition, but the reality is that it would be time consuming and costly.” “Customers are more aware of what they want to spend time looking at on the internet. People are increasingly savvy…” And compared to competing on a bricks and mortar basis, for a brand such as The Rose Tree, social media is the equaliser. “We wouldn’t be able to compete, probably even exist without it,” she believes. “But there is so much choice, such a proliferation of messages every minute of the day that you only have a second to grab attention. Customers are more aware of what they want to spend time looking at on the internet. People are increasingly savvy, they want to know how their data is being used, and brands have to work harder to avoid consumer fatigue. In the middle of all this is a grey area, the paid for influencers who endorse products, but I think this will increasingly be seen as a transaction, without authenticity. But of course for now there is a dichotomy. While the new generation is very conscious of the provenance of a product, they’re still influenced by what they see on YouTube.” @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_5f92a059dfbff img { height: px!important; } } Getting people thinking “For me,” says Rumble, “while a product will develop as time goes on, I expect its brand values to be constant because that’s the foundation piece, the platform, not a marketing-led piece which can be bolted on. For example, there is far more consumer awareness of sustainability, and I get that companies need to take account of that. But if they do so because their competitors are doing it, then that isn’t an evolution of values but a bolt-on, a purely commercial response rather than a belief. “[…] it is both an opportunity and a privilege to make a positive difference and to enrich my customers’ lives.” “I really think that The Rose Tree can help the older demographic, and it is both an opportunity and a privilege to make a positive difference and to enrich my customers’ lives. I know that all sounds pretentious, but I want them to think about the quality of the products they are putting on their skin, in the same way they consider the provenance of what they are eating and drinking.” Trust is everything Does a new brand have to be disruptive to achieve its goals? “I guess it depends on your definition of disruptive,” Rumble replies. “You’ve got to be doing something different to get attention, but the brand can be disruptive by living its values if others aren’t. “What is important is that the customer trusts your brand and is willing to come back to you. According to Google Analytics, someone can visit our site seven times before making a purchase.” @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_60a63b5202ef7 img { height: px!important; } } Back to Conversations Part of a report commissioned by Silverback Studios Ltd, publisher Decision Magazine.
Read moreJan 11, 2021
Creativity with 13th century constraints
Spot the difference! You may be concerned that renders look fake and unconvincing but when they are done well it is hard to tell the difference. Look at our supporting images to see how realistic modern 3D renders can be. Technology has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years – today, we are surrounded by 3D animations and rendered graphics. We now take them for granted and it is often difficult to tell whether a product is real or computer generated. It’s worth saying that we love photography, nothing beats it but sometimes it is just not feasible or cost effective. Here are some examples of using 3D rendering to solve a range of marketing problems across different sectors. Share: “3D renders can be incredibly useful where it’s not possible to photograph the product or in many cases, the product doesn’t even exist yet!” Malcolm Gilbertson MD and Creative Director, Silverback® Architecture and planning applications 3D renders can help with aid planning applications, convey plans to possible investors, buyers and tenants. In 2018, we met Will Elliott, The owner of Whipley Manor Farm, he had a vision to create a real destination and experience centre for the local community. He wanted to attract the right kind of businesses to make it a high-end retail destination for visitors. His problem was attracting tenants to a site that didn’t yet exist. With office space for hire on every corner, his ideas needed to stand out, create a buzz and spark the imagination of potential tenants. We created a 3D render, working off the architectural plans, to bring the destination to life. The render really captured what the site could be and was the perfect sales tool to share with prospective tenants. Those visuals helped attract a farm shop, gallery, yoga studio and café. In the end we were so blown away by the vision of the future site that in February 2019, we decided to move our own offices to the farm. You will find the Troop in our design studio, on the second floor of the idyllic and newly-built converted barn in Bramley, Surrey. @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_5fbe8a900ae97 img { height: px!important; } } Picturing your products perfectly Health & wellbeing sector 3D Renders can be extremely useful when there might not be a chance to see the product before purchasing. Creating product renders allow businesses to show off their products online or in print, even before they have been launched. Henshaw Hyperbaric Chambers (HHC) uses the very latest technology to produce exceptionally high quality oxygen chambers that are used for a wide variety of treatments and health benefits; either in a clinic environment or for health at home. The company needed to generate promotional and instructional material for an upcoming trade show. It just wasn’t possible for them to photograph every chamber in a variety of settings, colours and shapes. Given their size, it would have been difficult to photograph them in-situ and to capture the detail. With such a bespoke and specialist product, the company wouldn’t be able to sell what they do without the visuals; their customers want to see the choice available to decide which product is right for them. We decided to create 3D renders for 10 different types of chamber, both as studio images and also in their environment. This way we were able to tailor them to the different audiences, from specialist sports and medical centres to health at home and vets. Construction sector Renders can be used to communicate a range of products or services, in a snapshot, rather than having to show or write about each item individually. This was exactly what we did for building merchant, Chandlers. They do everything ‘from the kitchen sink up’ as they put it. Renders don’t always have to be photorealistic; as you can see below, they can be used as a creative tool to support your marketing objectives. In consultation with the client, we decided to show a house to highlight the breadth of products and services on offer. Images like this couldn’t be photographed easily and would need a lot of retouching, so renders were the perfect option. @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_5f57ef74e7bd3 img { height: px!important; } } Share: “It has always been my aim to demonstrate how beautiful heraldry can be created digitally and even to look as if it has been hand painted. Digital heraldry will never (and neither should it) replace hand-created heraldic art, but we are in a digital age and the need for professional digital heraldry is growing. It is my intention to make sure that it is done well and even to serve as an inspiration to other artists. All of my work is achieved through vector-based graphics which are a versatile and professional method of creating the highest quality files for printing and for use on screen.” Quentin Peacock Digital Heraldry Honouring tradition while modernising the brand The Fishmongers’ Company’s full achievement is more interesting than most as it comes from a merging of two companies: the Saltfishmongers and Stockfishmongers way back in 1512. The keys and the three stacked heraldic dolphins are from the Saltfishmongers cost of arms and the crossed fish from the Stockfishmongers. The detailed Full Achievement had been the Company’s visual identity for centuries, and it could not be tampered with unduly. But being so detailed, it was awkward from a design point of view. We obviously wanted to maintain the tradition that makes the Company special, but we also wanted to create a simpler look and feel for the brand, that would work well in a contemporary setting. We had lots of conversations discussing the logo with the Company. They had originally envisaged the Full Achievement as an icon with the wording alongside to create the logo. However, we knew that this would not work due to the detail involved, especially when used with different media, and the smaller it was used the more illegible it would become. @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_5fbfe39f8db49 img { height: px!important; } } Bold and future-proof To get around this we visualised this in different situations and also showed how a more simple logo would work, whilst using the Full Achievement as more of an accreditation. They accepted our advice and the logo was added to the brief. We also created a version of the Full Achievement for a couple of situations where appropriate, for example the brass engraving at the entrance of the hall on London Bridge. The logo design involved various routes to simplifying the Full Achievement, both by deconstructing the element and redrawing with a simplistic, stylised approach. By using the three fish from the centre of the shield as a standalone icon, we maintained the link with the past, while creating an elegant logo that is unmistakably the Fishmongers’ Company. The three fish icon is very bold and future–proof. It has since lent itself beautifully to lots of other applications, including animations, signage, mouldings, and wearables including cufflinks, pin badges and tiepins. This went down really well with the client, so we built on it with the next iteration. For example we highlighted the Company’s Charitable Trust status within the brand architecture, which has really helped the company make the public more aware of what they do. @media (max-width: 767px){ #fullWidthImage-block_5f57fa7d16761 img { height: px!important; } } An enjoyable and effective process This project is a perfect example of how working collaboratively with the client is such a valuable part of the design process, for both defining clear direction from the brief and also the success of the end result. A crucial part of the design process is the relationship with the client. With The Fishmongers’ Company we created a very strong relationship from the outset. We were in contact during the pitch process and built on the relationship through the project. This kind of relationship creates more of a partnership where you work together, making it easier to solve problems at a less hierarchical level. And it makes design a much more enjoyable and effective process, and of course helps ensure further projects to follow, with a brand that you know so well. Share: “I am extremely proud of what the team has accomplished. Initially we set out to launch a new website but with Silverback’s guidance we quickly realised there was an opportunity to do far more. It was very important throughout the project not to ignore over 700 years of history; to maintain the heritage and tradition of the Company whilst making it relevant for today. The branding piece has exceeded our expectations and we are all excited about the the future for The Fishmongers’ Company and our charitable causes. Thank you Silverback” Gareth Coulthard The Fishmongers’ Company jQuery(document).ready(function($) { $(".js-video-button-video-block_5fcdfb215ff91").modalVideo({ youtube: { controls: 0, nocookie: true } }); }); Over to you Have you ever had to work within a very unusual set of creative constraints? How did you rise to the challenge? What creative opportunities did you discover? Jensen International Automotive Build your own British classic Springhill Creating a luxury brand that reflects quality
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