Anniversary heaven

What is it about years that end in 4? or 9?

In 1909 the 'Amazing Oxygen Washer' was launched in the UK. Persil. The current TV ads give a delightful amble through the last 50 or so years of persuading Mum that her kids will love her more if she keeps their clothes clean. And yes 100 years is indeed an achievement to be celebrated. But it seems that today's rather unsettling economic climate makes it even more important. I have never noticed so many significant anniversaries being so vociferously celebrated.

The connection with the past, being here for the long-term, having bricks and mortar behind you, having a heritage, a provenance, a human core, seem to be more important than ever. Brands depend on a central idea that outlives the short-term ups and downs, that makes a connection with its customers. Those ideas are damaged by thoughtless, 'commercial' decisions and enhanced by heart-warming, well-rooted endeavours.

The human side of Virgin Atlantic, celebrating its 25th anniversary, has always been embodied by Richard Branson. And sexist or not, its recent advertising has capitalised on its reputation for beautiful girls and glamour. Virgin has taken that opportunity, only available to those who do have something to celebrate, to demonstrate their comparative age and reliability in a fairly threatened business sector. Other things that are celebrating 25 years - the launch of the Apple Mac and Michael Jackson's Thriller. Of course 2009 may now be a rather more poignant Michael Jackson anniversary.

Whilst you can only have a good anniversary year if you clock up a reasonable number - which has to end in 0 or 5, it does seem more people are taking the opportunity this year than usual. It was indeed 200 years since Charles Darwin was born and 250 years since the founding of Kew Gardens, taking its year if 'birth' from the date that William Alton was appointed to take care of and expand the gardens for Princess Augusta. It is 200 years since Arthur Guinness signed the contract for his brewery in Dublin, and started brewing porter and ale, 80 years since the first Guinness advertising in 1929. And, wow, 800 years since the founding of Cambridge University. All fantastically great achievements, but probably all needed a little bit of extra research to firm up on the best date to actually celebrate.

The celebrations are a welcome relief in the doom and gloom of this recession-laden time, don't require any new investment and elevate the discussion to something higher than just survival (which for most of us today is achievement enough).

Probably the most effective anniversary from the 'it wasn't that important a number but it's good enough for our purposes' perspective is Marks and Spencer. 125 years is a great number of years, but I think more importantly has given M&S a reason and focus to their communications, an effective brand story that links them back to what we all feel is important in life, matching nicely the slightly more make-do-and-mend mood in the air, and giving them lots of new product and packaging ideas. Or as The Guardian put it, "Marks and Spencer have jumped on the nostalgia bandwagon." They even had 'Penny Bazaar' days selling certain items for 1p. It certainly stirred up some news stories and plenty of tweeting.

Writing in January, Lucy Barrett had warm things to say about the Virgin Atlantic campaign, including 'The ad portrays a brand with self-belief' but also had a dire warning for another brand, "And I may be wrong, but there is one birthday celebration I can see being put on ice. This year will mark 125 years since Michael Marks, a Russia-born Polish refugee, opened a stall at Leeds Kirkgate Market. He went on to build the empire that we know as Marks & Spencer. Although it has 100 years on Virgin Atlantic, given its Christmas sales, gloomy outlook and store closures, don't hold your breath for the retail chain to throw a spectacular party. And it would be right not to. A milestone can be in danger of being a millstone if it is flagged up at the wrong time." Ah well.

If this year is anniversary heaven, what will next year bring?

Photographers' self-branding

Catherine Gratwicke

An article for the current (June) issue of the Association of Photographers journal, Image:

What’s the point of employing a photographer? I’ve got a Nikon DX40. I love it. I need an image. I take it. Download onto the laptop. Into iPhoto. And there it is, ready to use - whether it’s just for a blog, an article, a report, a bit of packaging, an ad - what’s the problem?

Along with all the general cut-backs, downsizes and rationalisations going on - everybody thinks they’re a photographer. And on top of that, what about picture libraries? Do they just create a Getty-esque photo-soup where buyers can search, click and buy with no human interaction?  What can you do?

One approach is to ensure people know who you are and why they should contact you, in particular. We have two rules of thumb in deciding how to communicate a brand: Who are you? and Why should I care? The first question implores you to sum up your ‘brand positioning’, where you place yourself in the market, what you stand for, what sort of photographer you are. The second question ensures that you have an offer that is appealing to your target market - what is it you are doing that will improve their ad, design, exhibition, book, report - how are you going to make them look better - and how is this different from the next photographer (or any old bod with a Nikon)?

The good thing about brands is that they still work when you’re not actually there. There is a story, a point, a raison d’etre, that exists and lives beyond your physical presence. Your task is to communicate. There are lots of avenues to pursue, with varying cost/time penalties attached. An exhibition is great - but who, how, where, why? A bit of PR would be lovely. Lots of phonecalls to artbuyers. Using Shank’s pony to take your portfolio from glitzy ad agency to warren-like publishing house to too-often overly resourceful designers (who are quite good at d-i-y photography).

A relatively simple way of creating a shop window is a website that works for you. This helps because it gives you somewhere to refer people to if you meet them at a party, give them a card, phone them, leave details, drop in and leave a card at reception.  If you are one of the 1800 or so members of the AOP you can get a link from their website - the AOP Members Portfolio.

I’ve been commissioned to write this article from a position of knowing little about photographers these days, not being over familiar with their websites, but having a professional practice developing brands. I’m fresh to what’s out there and unbiased. I’m just going to react to what I see.

The first place I go to to look for photographers’ websites is the above mentioned AOP Members Portfolio. There’s lots of ways to search it - by specialism, by region, by country, by photographer’s name. 

I start by a few random clicks just to see what sort of things are out there. There’s two things you can do. Click on the photographer’s name and get a new little window open. This gives a mini-portfolio on white, contact details, as much info/biog as you want and a link to your website. Alternatively you can go straight from the listing to the website.

The first few I look at give me some clues to what works best. A good example is David Parmiter . His home page, whilst clean, fresh and uncluttered, includes a slide show of his photographs, his contact details and a straightforward proposition, “I specialise in the creative photography of commercial and domestic interiors and exteriors, working throughout Europe.” Others take too many clicks to get to a photograph, two clicks to get to contact details or lost me so that I couldn’t get back to the homepage. Another very elegant site was Sophie Broadbridge’s. You do have to click to get to contact details, but her portfolio comes up by default and looks stunning. So simple, white, show off your work seemed to be the first general hints.

My next ‘search criterion’ was people I know. First I looked at Edmund Clark’s site. A beautiful site, white, elegant, an intelligent mix of pictures and words. Ed’s site begins to articulate his position in the world of photography. He clearly communicates why I should care about him. He is a story teller - his documentary work has curious, moving narratives. This illustrates the next vital ingredient of the self-brand. Somewhere on the internal map of the potential buyer you must plot your space. What are they looking for? Narrative? Colour? Texture? Commercial and domestic interiors? What’s your thing? Ideally something people can’t do so easily themselves. Just look at the work of Martin Wilson, an intriguing designer/artist/photographer or Cenci Goepel and Jens Warnecke at Lightmark.

What’s the role of your website? Step one is to prove you exist. It’s a reassurance to any potential commissioners. A good example of a simple, straightforward website that can achieve this initial result, without too much financial outlay, is Richard Cooke’s  where he has created a simple online portfolio. He has the problem of having a namesake photographer so has had to be a bit more creative in choosing a domain name.

The next step is to use it as part of the relationship you build up with your client base. I talked to Catherine Gratwicke about her website. She didn’t think that it brought in work, but it did give people something to look at before calling in her book. It creates a focal point for maintaining relationships with the loyal clients that she has nurtured over the last ten years. Her original brief to the designers was, “Simplicity, no music, no flash plug-ins, quick access to the pictures.” Importantly for Cath, the website is just part of her toolbox. By refreshing her website, and then mailing her clients, she can renew contacts, remind people she exists and point them in the direction of her new work. She shies away from looking too flash and slick and likes to keep something textural and tactile in her work, and a personal touch to all her communications - redolent of her roots as a textile designer. When I ask what is her point of difference, her ‘why should I care?’ she’s very lucid, “My work is painterly, tactile - I’m known for rich colour, textural images.” A clear point on the commissioner’s mind map.

Relationships tend to work best when you are alive. A dusty website with images a couple of years old often worries a potential commissioner. A useful tool is to add a blog. Yes, it’s a bit of a cliche perhaps, but it does give you an effective way of communicating your personality, posting up your latest work very easily, show that you’re active (you can always talk about ‘personal’ projects) and create a two-way exchange with your audience. 

Another way to both create interactivity and keep control and ownership of your brand is to create your own archive. With people turning more and more to picture libraries, there is a temptation to take pictures specifically to sell to them. Yes, it’s an income, but there is a tendency for you to become anonymous and commoditised. With your own transactional offer you can retain your distinctive position. Tessa Traeger has a career’s worth to offer, but everyone has to start somewhere, and the potential of technology today makes things a lot more possible.

10 top tips to using a website to help build your personal brand

1. Why should I care? What’s the thing you want to be known for? What can you be best at? That’s your positioning. That’s the start of your design brief.
2. Simplicity
3. The photos should be hero - have a look at Rankin's
4. Build a relationship with your contacts - contact details on homepage, blog once a week, link to other sites - exhibitions, galleries, friends
5. How are you driving people to your website? Get some good cards, try moo via flickr 
6. Use your toolbox - anything you do on the website is worth telling people about - e-newsletter, postcards, phone calls...
7. Keep control of your brand - think about your own picture library
8. Make it personal - make sure you love your website, it feels like you and everything you send out has that little extra you-ness, tell your story
9. List yourself wherever you can - AOP Members Portfolio for example
10. Don’t let the dust build up - refresh, renew, re-energise

Unpacking the brand

Never knowingly disappointing. Unwrapping our new MacBookPro is as satisfying and delightful experience as ever unwrapping an Apple product has been. Dramatically slimmed down into a briefcase sized box, it reveals its layers elegantly in chichi black and white, the carved aluminium of the MacBook itself temptingly oozing style and potential.

The experience of being in the Apple Store is still a delight, embuing a sense of feeling good in this tattered world. The staff are lovely with their sky blue t-shirts and perky attitudes. Jonathan had to go back today because he was worried about a kind of screen drag/ripple when he plugged his mouse in - I suspect he might just have wanted to bask in the Apple-ness and enjoy the feeling of belonging to a better place. 

The roots of branding

So...carrying on from the idea of "there's never been such a good time to create a brand", we thought we'd have a go ourselves.

Whilst brand strategy is all very intellectually rewarding (and still our proper job!) both Jonathan and I have (a not very well hidden) artistic streak. Both having been trained as designers we have over the years maintained a strong interest and practice in drawing, painting and illustration and have a deep love of letterpress printing, pattern paper and book design. We decided to dust off the printing press and create a brand offer combining the best of today's empowering technology with our love for the smell of ink, texture of paper and satisfaction of pattern. And bring to bear our branding expertise.

Starch Green is something we love doing and gets back to our roots as artist/designers - and is an excellent exercise in developing an authentic brand and seeing if we can grow it organically with a community of customers - we like the idea of 'viral' word-of-mouth growth, responding to what our customers like best and hoping they'll become advocates. A few key drivers that we have learned from developing brands are:

• authenticity is king
  
• real brands take time 
  
• believe in what you do
  
• listen to customers
  
• reward advocates
  

Our aim is to develop a brand that is charming and delightful. We have an offer of handmade design that stretches the not very great distance from wood engraving and pattern paper, through what is these days known as graphic design but we might prefer to call commercial art, to artefacts decorated with our pattern papers. Our inspirations are Ravilious, Picture Puffins, Curwen endpapers and the growing band of artist/retailers inhabiting Artisania including St Judes, Harrington & Squires, Labour & Wait and Rennies. 

While Brand Guardians consultancy carries on from strength to strength, there's a thrilling excitement about creating a new brand that is all about doing things because we like them. Listening to Start the Week on Radio 4 this morning Katie Mitchell, opera director, asked Sir Peter Hall on what basis he put his repertoire in Bath together. His answer, "The basis is entirely egocentric based on the plays I want to do and the actors I can get." Which leads me nicely to the other ingredients of branding that we hope to exploit:

• a vision that we are passionate about (what we want to do)
  
• that we are able to do (available 'actors').
  

Here’s one we almost forgot about...

We have been working with Sony for a few years now naming computer games, and one we were particularly proud of was MotorStorm for the Playstation 3 – a top seller in Europe (and everywhere else for all we know). A year ago our client rang us up and said we had a week to come up with the sequel.

Much scratching of heads and game playing took place (strictly for research purposes you understand) and our list of names was dutifully despatched.

Due to various conference/presentation client complications our client told us the final decision was on hold, but he would definitely get back to us when the powers that be let him know what name they would be going with.

We promptly forgot all about it as other assignments took our attention, and before we knew it – there it was – MotorStorm Pacific Rift – and it’s one of ours!

Now all we need to do is send off the invoice for the success fee…