Savvy and Victor - Branding, Design and Creative Communications. Uckfield, Sussex.

Savvy & Victor has a new blog

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 15:40:00 +0000

By Savvy HQ

Savvy & Victor are delighted to have launched a new blog, which we have integrated into our website. The new blog will continue to feature the latest news and opinions from the Savvy & Victor team and we hope that you’ll visit the site soon.

As one blog is launched, another has to close and this will be the last post on the standalone Savvy & Victor blog site. All our old posts have been transferred to the new website, so no past S&V articles have been lost.

To visit the new Savvy & Victor blog site, please click here.

Praise for S&V designed exhibition stand

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 15:10:00 +0000

By Savvy HQ
Twitter: Savvy_Victor

Savvy & Victor has received excellent feedback for an exhibition stand designed by our Head of Design, Adam Claxton. The stand was created for the Geotechnica ME exhibition in Doha for our client itmsoil, and was replete with brochures and other marketing collateral, also designed by Savvy & Victor.

Head of Design, Adam Claxton, commented:

“In our roles as brand managers for itmsoil, we have strived for a consistent identity across all marketing channels. When a company’s identity is consistent and strong, a greater brand recognition and understanding of their values is achieved.”

Success for Savvy & Victor client itmsoil at Uckfield Business Awards

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 14:51:00 +0000

By Savvy HQ

Twitter: @Savvy_Victor

Members of the Savvy & Victor team attended the Uckfield Business Awards last night, and our client itmsoil won the Fastest Growing Business category.

The winners were announced at a prestigious black-tie awards ceremony at the East Sussex National Hotel, celebrating business achievements in Uckfield. It was an extremely successful evening for itmsoil as Jon Scott, Business Development Director, also deservedly won the Outstanding Achievement award.

The Awards were co-sponsored by Savvy & Victor client The Picture House Uckfield, with The Laughter Lounge comperes Dyball and Kerr providing the entertainment.

Commenting on the event, Jo Allen said:

“I’m delighted that itmsoil has been recognised with two awards. Winning the Fastest Growing Business is extremely well deserved, during the past 12 months we have all worked very hard and this has resulted in fantastic international growth. Add to this Jon Scott winning the equally deserved Outstanding Achievement Award and it really was a great result! It is a joy to work closely with itmsoil and to join them in their success.”

On winning an award Mark Kirkbride, Group CEO at itmsoil, comments:

"Winning the Fastest Growing Business award and being a finalist in the Business of the Year category at the Uckfield Business Awards is an incredible achievement for itmsoil. It’s a great reflection of the hard work and dedication shown by our international team and fantastic recognition for everyone that has been part of itmsoil’s continued success and growth. I’m delighted for Jon Scott for winning the Outstanding Achievement award. It’s a terrific acknowledgement of the success Jon has had in business and also his contribution to the local community over the years."

We would like to extend our congratulations to all winners, nominees and sponsors who contributed towards a successful evening. We'll be uploading photos of the event on the Savvy & Victor Facebook and Flickr pages very soon, watch this space.

Client News: Adam and Cara go to IRM launch event

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 13:52:00 +0000

By Savvy HQ
Twitter: @Savvy_Victor

Head of Design Adam Claxton and Office Manager Cara Delaney were recently invited by our client IRM (Institute of Risk Management), to attend the launch of IRM's Risk Culture guidance meeting, sponsored by Protiviti.

The event was held at the America Square Conference Centre in London and attended by individuals representing a large number of the world’s leading Risk Management companies. At the launch IRM unveiled their new Risk Culture Resources for Practitioners Guide Book, which was a project lead and designed by Adam. The Guide Book is regarded as an important tool for Risk Practitioners across the world and at Savvy & Victor we are delighted to be part of this project.

Cara and Adam raise a toast to a successful event

Commenting on the event Adam said:

“I was very happy to be invited with Cara to the launch of IRM’s Risk Culture Event and to receive extremely positive feedback on the Practitioners Guide book we designed. IRM are a great company and are always a joy to work with “

Jo and Adam join itmsoil to conquer Gran Paradiso

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 15:37:00 +0000

By Savvy HQ

Twitter: Savvy_Victor

On Friday 7th September, Jo and Adam joined employees from our client itmsoil to successfully scale the highest Mountain in Italy, Gran Paradiso, to raise money for The Mental Health Foundation.

The initial plan was to reach the summit of Mont Blanc, which unfortunately had to be called off due to southerly winds creating a high avalanche risk. Undeterred, the team travelled to Italy to climb Gran Paradiso, located in the beautiful Gran Paradiso National Park. Standing at 4,061 metres, only 700 metres short of Mont Blanc, scaling the mountain would be an equally immense challenge.

The gruelling terrain included rocky boulders, glacier ice, snow plains sliced through with crevasses and finally sharp gnarly rock formations leading to the peak. In total the climb, including six hours of sleep and meals, took the team 24 hours to complete. Everyone at the Savvy HQ offer their warm congratulations to everyone who accomplished this fantastic feat.

Commenting on the experience Jo stated:

"The whole team were just fantastic, so enthusiastic, optimistic and supportive of each other. There wasn't ever a cross word… just plenty of banter and rather a lot of micky taking which kept spirits up nicely! Even those who suffered injury, fear or pain did so with humour and dignity - all in all it was a seriously spirited and strong team. I'd like to say well done to all, not just for overcoming the challenges but also for the way they treated each other. Of course we would also all like to publically thank itmsoil and Mark Kirkbride for this amazing, work and life enhancing opportunity."

In addition Adam said:

"It's a great feeling to be selected for a challenge like this. Especially with it being the inaugural landmark event for their new JET training programme. As the experience of a lifetime I look forward to the next challenge."

So far over £2,265 has been raised for The Mental Health Foundation, donations can still be made at https://www.justgiving.com/company/itmsoil/.

The Picture House Uckfield Focus Group - my experience

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 14:29:00 +0000

By Tom Primrose
Twitter: @tomprimrose

Over the past month we have been working on something very important to us at Savvy & Victor and the town of Uckfield. This is of course the upcoming refurbishment of The Picture House Uckfield, owned by the well-known Kevin Markwick.

The process started with an online questionnaire, which hundreds of film and cinema fans flocked to fill out, asking what people would like to see happen to the famous building. The sheer volume of questionnaire volunteers was staggering and this gave us a fantastic pool of people to choose from for our focus group. After whittling down the numbers we were left with 12 individuals of different ages, places of residences and opinions.

Throughout the process I worked on a number of different areas. The first being market research, which involved gathering a selection of images showing auditoriums, lobbies and of general cinema décor. With this data I then went about producing a document which would be used during the focus group meeting.

Another of my assignments was to compose a thank you message for the inside of a card which would be given to the focus group candidates. I was happy with the outcome and I hope the participants were as well.

The focus group was headed up by Creative Director Jo Allen and in support were Ed Chartier, Cara Delaney and Tom Primrose.

In the course of the session Jo covered areas such as the current experience, the environment, food and drink, behaviour and the refurbishment. From the off the candidates didn’t hold back and in no time at all the focus group was in full flow. It was fantastic to see just how passionate people still are about cinema and the films they show.

By the end we had not only had a few laughs and eaten well! We had also achieved everything that we were hoping for: precious qualitative data that will give us a true insight into what the public wants.

We have all been working on the findings and hope that they will lead to a positive result for The Picture House Uckfield and the surrounding community.

My time at Savvy HQ

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 12:44:00 +0000

By Tom Primrose

Twitter: @tomprimrose

Savvy & Victor are a full service branding agency which specialises in areas such as communications, marketing and design to name but a few. In my opinion it is the creative and strategic heart of Sussex. I had been studying Advertising at Southampton Solent University for nearly 2 years, when I discovered that this agency was based in my home town of Uckfield. After looking at the website the thing that struck me was the central image of the team. They looked young, cool and full of ambition. From then on I knew I had to get a summer placement.

When I arrived on my first day the stylish Old Mill building greeted me. Inside the smart design continued with a modern interior and a few flashes of creative flair.

I was met by Cara, a cup of tea and a chat being first on the agenda. Throughout my time here it has become clear that tea and cake are an important part of agency life, as was the Savvy Social after a hard week’s work! These are things which have made me feel very much at home.

Before long I had met all the team – Jo Allen, MD and Creative Director; Adam Claxton, Head of Design; Cara Delaney, Studio Manager and PA to Jo Allen; Michelle Curtis, Marketing Executive; Jolene Fairs, Artworker and Production; Ed Chartier, Market Research; and Jasper Wallace, Copywriting.

From the off I was treated as a true team member and was able to get stuck in. There was what can only be described as the perfect working environment with good fun and banter. However, there is also a real focus and thirst to work hard and perform to the highest standard possible. A truly great team.

During my placement I have worked on a number of interesting and engaging projects for a selection of fascinating clients. Throughout my time here it has been cemented in my head that this is the industry for me.

I would like to thank Savvy & Victor for all they have done for me. I hope to be back in the future.

The Picture House Uckfield needs your help!

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 11:35:00 +0000

By Savvy HQ
Twitter: Savvy_Victor

Our client The Picture House Uckfield is seeking help from the public as cinema owner Kevin Markwick is considering refurbishing the cinema.

We’ve been asked to create an online survey to test whether new and improved facilities would make a difference to attracting new cinema-goers from within the town and further afield.

The questionnaire focuses on many key areas, which are integral to the extent The Picture House Uckfield will be refurbished. Questions include whether you have ever been to cinema and what your impressions of it are and the top three improvements sought if The Picture House was refurbished.

A list of suggestions includes:

· Improved access

· Improved access for disabled customers

· An improved bar/cafe

· Well designed and decorated

· A more personal and intimate atmosphere

· Larger seats

· Larger lobby

· Greater selection of snacks and refreshments

· More professional/attentive staff

After enough questionnaires have been completed we’re looking for volunteers to join a small focus group to discuss future developments at the cinema.

If you would like to be involved or are a shop or organisation that would be prepared to help by holding copies of the questionnaires please contact Cara Delaney on 01825 763310 or by email at cara@savvyandvictor.com.

You can complete the questionnaire and be entered in a special prize draw by going to this website - http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WLTS67C

Savvy & Victor: A license to thrill

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 11:35:00 +0000

By Savvy HQ
Twitter: Savvy_Victor

Following last year’s success of ‘The Uncivil Engineer', Savvy & Victor were once again thrilled to be asked to organise an event for their client itmsoil – this time their annual Summer Ball.

Marketing Executive Kate Emmerson worked closely with itmsoil’s PA to Group CEO, Elaine Davis, and with the strong support of the Savvy & Victor team they organised the event to be fun, classy and memorable.

There were many elements needing to come together to ensure the event was a major success. A theme for the ball needed to be decided, the venue and hotel chosen and booked, the entertainment selected and designs for the artwork and invitations to be created.

A James Bond Casino Royale theme was decided by the client, so it was Savvy & Victor’s task to plan the right mix of entertainment for the evening. To appeal to a diverse demographic a number of elements were planned, including casino games, a sultry singer and actors posing as Bond villains who would add a lot of fun to the evening with their amusing interrogations of the guests.

Part of the organisation of the event was designing the artwork. After an initial brainstorm Savvy & Victor designer Jolene Fairs took her inspiration for the artwork from the iconic opening credits and the many famous Bond characters. As you can see below Jolene incorporates this theme throughout.

The James Bond theme incorporated the device from the itmsoil logo, and where possible a humourous message written in the style of a supposed mission was used.

Every guest had their very own 00 Name Card

Mission Complete: Prize winners collected this reward card after being announced a winner.

The final result

We’re pleased to report that all the hard work paid off with the Summer Ball declared a great success. A thank you must be offered to The Brewery and its partner Hotel The Montcalm for their exceptional service.

Speaking about the event’s success Kate Emmerson said:

“Organising an event like this is always a pleasure. I think the universal appeal of James Bond allowed all the attendees to feel included and glamourous, and it was gorgeous to see everyone dressed up to the nines and having a good time. The artwork was the icing on the cake for me; the room looked fantastic with all the James Bond itmsoil branding. I can’t wait to see what next year’s event will be!”

With mission accomplished for the Summer Ball, we keenly await the details for our next event to host.

When brands and a band collaborate

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:49:00 +0000

By Adam Claxton
Twitter: Savvy_Adam

This morning I discovered the new music video from the band OK Go, which was made in partnership with Chevrolet. It is not OK Go’s first collaboration with a major brand, having partnered with Google to create a video that promoted HTML5 web technology. OK Go have a burgeoning reputation for creating ingenious videos, that has helped them earn a cult following. This new video is certainly among the best and they certainly deserve all the plaudits they get.

OK Go set up the shoot with over 1000 instruments over 2 miles of desert outside Los Angeles. A Chevy Sonic was outfitted with retractable pneumatic arms designed to play the instruments, and the band recorded a version of Needing/Getting, singing as they played the instrument array with the car. The planning for the video took four months of preparation and four days of shooting and recording.

There are no ringers or stand-ins; Damian (Singer) took stunt driving lessons. Each piano had the lowest octaves tuned to the same note so that they'd play the right note no matter where they were struck. Being a music video fan I find OK Go are at the top of their game, so innovative, original and clever you sometimes have to watch it a few times to work out what is actually going on... OK Go make videos you would definitely show your friends, share on Facebook and post on Twitter (OK Go was trending on twitter this morning), and I'm sure you will to once you have seen the video.

Important to this video, and the success of previous OK Go videos, is the fact that they are obviously picky with the brands they work with; bands who have received corporate sponsorship in the past have often been accused of ‘selling out’ and damaging their credibility. In the case of OK Go it appears that they have not suffered this fate because they have partnered with brands that stand for innovation and that is something that they try to represent in their videos.

Here are my top four favourite OK Go videos including the new Needing/Getting and the one that started it all A million ways, Enjoy:

The Savvy team captured on camera

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:20:00 +0000

By Savvy HQ
Twitter: Savvy_Victor

Last October the Savvy team embarked on a team building exercise, at the studio of professional photographer Andy Sutton of Captured Imaged Photography. It was an important time in the development of Savvy & Victor as we welcomed Kate Emmerson to the team and we were in the final stages of moving into our new and larger HQ in Uckfield. It was our intention that the day out in the studio would help us get to know each other even better and create even more of a buzz about our fresh new set up.

The photography involved each member of the team bringing in items that represented their interests. Each portrait was carefully set up by our Head of Design Adam Claxton, who directed the shoot so that each photograph would be of the highest quality. Speaking about the shoot Adam said "I really enjoyed directing the shoot and dressing the sets. Seeing everyone’s important items gave us a real insight into each other’s lives.The pictures are professional in their approach but allow our individual personalities to shine through."

How many items can you spot in each photo?

The Savvy team from left to right Edmund, Kate and Badger, Jolene, Adam, Jo and Jasper

Jo Allen - Creative Director

Adam Claxton - Head of Design

Jolene Fairs - Design and production

Kate Emmerson - Marketing Executive

Edmund Chartier - Brand Executive and Social Media

Jasper Wallace - Copywriting

A Christmas celebration at our new HQ

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:56:00 +0000

By Savvy HQ
Twitter: Savvy_Victor

It has been a huge year in the history of Savvy & Victor as we’ve welcomed new members into the team and have moved into new and larger premises. Undoubtedly everyone is excited for the future and raring to go for next year and the start of the next stage of development for Savvy & Victor.

Keen to end 2011 with a bash we were delighted to be invited by Peter Taylor of Peter Taylor Associates, our landlord at the Old Mill, to join him and our neighbouring businesses for a special Christmas celebration.

The festivity started with Peter Taylor welcoming everyone to the party and providing a fantastically detailed history of the building Savvy & Victor now call home. Among the snippets we heard were that the foundations of the Old Mill were originally built upon oil drums meaning the building would sway during a storm. Thankfully this was one of the first renovations he made to the building when he purchased it in 1988. Peter finished his speech by presenting every business in the building a beautiful print of the Old and Roller Mills. We instantly fell in love with our copy and we’ve already given it pride of place in our client room.

Following Peter’s speech all the businesses in the building spent 5 minutes introducing themselves, after which we then spent an enjoyable time talking to our new neighbours over drinks and a festive feast. Being the newest business in the building everyone at Savvy & Victor enjoyed meeting with staff from Peter Taylor Associates, Micro APL, Phormium IT Solutions and Efficient Air Ltd, whom we straight away established a rapport with. Unsurprisingly, the festive celebration continued in Savvy & Victor HQ,

A highlight of the afternoon was the Savvy & Victor novelty gifts exchange, which led to a lot fun games that included table tennis, a bubble machine and a make your own boyfriend that was amusingly picked by Ed! Perhaps, the most popular gift for some were the silly fake moustaches, see below for the incriminating photos.

After the fun and games the day was capped off with a delicious dinner. It was sincerely a very enjoyable day for the Savvy & Victor team and we’d all like to express our gratitude to Peter Taylor for arranging the party and for the generous gift. We’re all looking forward to future events with our new neighbours.

The value of a good office party

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:23:00 +0000

By Savvy HQ
Twitter: Savvy_Victor

We have been asked by our clients to devise and implement an eclectic range of projects over the years. From creative communications and graphic design to customer and employee events, and it has to be said, we’ve achieved some great results. Right up there with the best was a recent request from itmsoil to plan and organise their 2012 Christmas Knees Up.

After spending several weeks of planning to deliver something fun, engaging and surprising the company’s boardroom was transformed into the ‘The Uncivil Engineer’. Replete with oak barrels, a stag’s head mounted on the wall – above an inviting fireplace, which itself has only just appeared - and a well-stocked bar set up in a corner. The centrepiece was a candlelit table, laden with a feast worthy of Dickens. In an adjacent room a mulled cider and champagne bar kept the more tranquil party goers happy.

We’re pleased to report that feedback suggests our efforts were an unqualified success.

The Savvy team inside the 'The Uncivil Engineer'

Some of the comments that we particularly enjoyed were from staff recalling their anticipation on the day of the party. One employee Emily Clarke, group health and safety manager from London admitted she couldn’t resist a sneaky peep around the boardroom door: “I have spent the last two days training in this room and it is transformed. It’s really nice that this effort has been put in. It’s been exciting all day. I had a sneaky peep through the door earlier.”

A view that was shared by Sheridan Elliot, monitor and technical services engineer: “It’s really good, very quirky, an amazing transformation of a boardroom.

Joanna Allen from Savvy & Victor, commented, “It was great fun organising the party. Our brief was to pull the stops out to make this a special occasion for itmsoil staff and I think we achieved that. People were amazed by the transformation of their workplace and very much enjoyed visiting The Uncivil Engineer and tucking into a Dickensian-style feast.”

With a successful end to 2011 for the staff at itmsoil, roll on 2012 where we might see ‘The Uncivil Engineer’ again.

How to optimise your website with the perfect formula

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:30:00 +0000

By Edmund Chartier
Twitter: Savvy_Edmund

A key objective for any business with an online presence is to optimise their website to encourage more traffic and achieve higher rankings on search engines. It is often a daunting task and even the most committed and enthusiastic individual can be confused by blogs and websites recommending different approaches.

There are many factors that you have to consider, for me the most important one is focusing on writing good content that will not only rank high with search engines, but also interest the reader.

For the budding SEO specialist a good read is the easy to understand and well laid out Periodic Table of SEO Ranking Factors created by Search Engine Land.

As they have stated:

“SEO — may seem like alchemy to the uninitiated. But there is a science to it. Search engines reward pages with the right combination of ranking factors”

Enjoy!

Is the email dead, I don’t think so!

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:36:00 +0000

By Edmund Chartier
Twitter: Savvy_Edmund

With a reputed wealth of $17.5 million by the age of 27 and having created the most popular social networking site in the world, you should really forgive Mark Zuckerberg for any hyperbole he might spout. There have been far less talented individuals, who have become unbearable egotists after even a momentary brush with fame (my current anti celebrity list would include the majority of the X Factor no hopers, Mark Wright from TOWIE and Dappy).

Now, of course Mark Zuckerberg cannot be compared to those people, but this week he has certainly got a little ahead of himself when he announced the demise of the email at the launch of Facebook’s new messaging platform. It is certainly true that with different platforms now available
Facebook, Google + and Twitter that there is now a greater variety of ways people can send information across the net.

With the email being the elder statesman, it was always going to be the case that newer rivals would want to win over that market share. However, how confident can Zuckerberg be that they’ve finally struck a fatal blow to the email or is this the case of Zuckerberg's wishful thinking.

Are we witnessing the death of the email?

A recent research report by the Radicati Group indicates that email accounts are expected to grow by 7% per annum and will number 4.1 billion by 2015. Social Networking is also expected to grow from 2.4billion to 3.9 billion growing at a pace of 11% per annum. This shows that while social networking is growing quickly, it is not growing at the expense of the email with both platforms splitting the market with a near equal market share.

The detail in the report that interested me the most was how email use is increasing, according to the report, it is mostly through business email accounts. This is significant of course because it supports the view that the greater the number of messaging platforms, the greater our choice in how we communicate.

For instance I love twitter! It’s easy to use, instantaneous and is great way to get a short impactful message out to a large audience. Similarly Facebook is a great medium in which you can share photos, music and stories with a close (if you so choose) network of people. For that reason the amount of emails I send to friends have now decreased majorly from 8 to 9 years ago. However, despite the fact I send less emails to friends now, I haven't become less reliant on them. For work I couldn’t function without them, they’re absolutely vital to send information, reports and other files to clients. You can also certainly hold a more detailed discussion via email than you can do on Twitter and Facebook.

In an article on the BBC Head of Microsoft’s Envisioneers team stated “Everything has its place and it’s really understanding which is the right tool for the job”. I couldn’t agree more, what we’ll see over the years is not a situation where one platform dominates over other, but a market where there is genuine consumer choice. One of the most exciting aspects of the rise of social networking is the increasing number of innovative sites that are being created to provide an even greater user experience.
Currently we have Facebook, Twitter, Google +, Linkedin and Diaspora all offering us something a little different. Emails may become a more niche mode of communication but they will remain important and be one of many platforms with which we’ll be able to communicate in our own way. The fat lady has certainly not started to sing yet!

Our favourite Google logos

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:16:00 +0000

By Savvy Savvy HQ
Twitter: Savvy_Victor

We all loved today’s Google logo, which celebrated the 60th anniversary of the first book publication by Stanislaw Lem, a Polish science fiction writer. Google have become increasingly renowned for highly imaginative, entertaining and informative logos and today’s effort is certainly one of the best.

As a brand development and creative agency we really admire the constant evolution of the Google logo and as a salute to them, we have listed here some of our favourites.

The Lem inspired logo features a character confronting a giant robot, which you're able to interact with.

For guitarist Les Paul's 96th birthday Google created an online guitar, so people would be able to play some of their favourite compositions.

This reimagining of Edvard Munch's The Scream with the Google logo is one of our favourites.

In 2006 Google celebrated Louis Braille's birthday with this tribute.

Today's logo was not the first playable game Google has created for their homepage. In 2010 they celebrated the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man with this effort.

Google always has great logos for Halloween, but this logo designed by legendary horror director Wes Craven was the most notable

We hope that you have enjoyed these logos as much as we have and please share with us some of your favourite Google logos.

Savvy & Victor have moved

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:36:00 +0000

By Savvy HQ
Twitter: Savvy_Victor

As our followers will already be aware Savvy & Victor have moved to a brand new Savvy HQ in Uckfield. We began moving people, computers and equipment over from last Monday and completed the move on Friday. The much larger premises look absolutely brilliant and we’ve already enjoyed showing clients the new building. With a few final touches to be made, such as the arrival of our downstairs sofas, we’ll soon be hosting images online for everyone to see.

In the meantime if you’d like to meet us at our new HQ to talk about your marketing, creative and brand development needs we would be delighted to arrange a meeting.

Please contact us at:

Savvy & Victor HQ

The Old Mill

Mill Lane

Uckfield

TN22 5AA

(0)1825 763310

Fantastic use of QR codes by Sussex brewery

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:02:00 +0000

By Edmund Chartier
twitter Savvy_Edmund

I feel compelled to write a short blog today on the excellent use of QR codes by the Sussex microbrewery WJ King.

For those people who are unfamiliar with them, QR Codes (see below) are a form of unique barcode that allow people to download digital content via their smartphones. QR Codes are increasing in popularity as
marketers begin to utilise them for billboards, posters etc. Certainly, if you’re not already familiar with them, you are likely to be over the next 12 months.

When new technologies and social networking platforms become available, it is to be expected that there will be some early adopters, notably brand giants who have time and money invest in creative marketing. That’s why it is great to read that WJ King, a small microbrewery in Horsham, West Sussex, have made innovative use of the technology and showed some larger brands a thing or two.

W J King has exploited the technology by adding a unique QR code to the pump clip and bottle label of each of its beers. If you scan the code with a smartphone, then you’ll link to a video of head
brewer Ian Burgess, who talks about the beer you’re drinking and the ingredients from which it’s made.

Now I know personally as a real ale drinker that I would be interested in the different brewing processes involved with the various beers. In addition, having been on a tour of the Harvey’s brewery in Lewes, I would be interested to see a QR Code link to a video tour, highlighting the potential scope of the promotion.

The QR codes have a further bonus for WJ King compared to some of their larger competitors. As a bit of a foodie and real ale fan I’d like to know where my food and drink come from and the narrative
behind how it has been produced. In contrast to larger breweries such as WJ King Greene King, small independent producers like WJ King have uniquely personal stories to tell. Videos of Ian Burgess help promote this story.

The use of QR Codes by WJ King is not just a great story about the innovative use of new technology, it's about how small independent companies can utilise it to give them a competitive edge and provide great service to their customers. I'm sure more retail and service businesses will be following suit... I least I hope they will be!

Worst Cadbury's advert ever

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 08:52:00 +0000

By Edmund Chartier
Twitter: Savvy_Edmund

At Savvy & Victor we’ve have long been fans of a number of Cadbury’s adverts, from the iconic Gorilla advert to more recent editions such as the Cadburys Fingers World Party by Adam + Eve. During the past twelve months we’ve written regularly and offered our opinions on their often brilliant campaigns.

Yet, despite a great history in advertising the most recent Cadbury’s offerings have left the team very disappointed. Particularly their latest ad that features British athlete Chris Tomlinson running to Europe’s ‘The Final Countdown’ is utterly abysmal.

Cadbury’s are a Tier Two London 2012 sponsor and are naturally rolling out a series of campaigns to cash in on the Games next year. Last year saw the launch with much fanfare the Cadbury’s Spots vs Stripes campaign that was supposed to gain nationwide attention as they ambitiously set out to create the ‘largest game the UK has ever seen’ by dividing the nation into teams of Spots and Stripes. As the campaign faltered the Fallon Agency created this new campaign (see below), which features various British athletes.

Being fair to the Fallon Agency, creating original, witty and/or inspiring adverts is not easy, but this campaign has all the hallmarks of a rushed creative piece. For an award winning agency that is (currently) widely respected by their peers, how did they come to the conclusion that a badly shot advert featuring an athlete running to a sing-along track being sung excruciatingly badly was the way to go!!!?

To examine how poor this advert actually is let’s briefly note what we would expect a positive advertising campaign aiming to unify the country to feature. We would certainly expect to see lots of smiling and happy faces and people singing in tune, such as in this Halifax Advert. You would also expect to set the advert during the day when the majority of the nation is in school or going to work, such as in this Capital FM advert.

Fallon and Cadburys, however, have bypassed these obvious rules of positive advertising by setting the advert in a dystopian future, where our athletes have to train at night with manic faces chanting the final countdown at them. Maybe in the modern world of targets and league tables, this new-look future would be conductive in ensuring that Team GB attain their medal targets. But, how it represents bringing the nation together in supporting our athletes I do not know and I would really like to hear an explanation from the Fallon Agency.

What is your opinion? Is this among the worst adverts ever and how damaging do you think it is to the Fallon Agency?

Diet Coke gets a limited edition re-design

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:20:00 +0000

By Savvy HQ

Twitter: Savvy_Victor

The World’s most popular diet fizzy drink Diet Coca Cola has undergone a redesign with a new limited edition can to be on the shelves this autumn. The new design comes in time for Coca Cola’s 125th anniversary and it has been one of many recent rebrands that have been initiated within the last year – most notably Starbucks and Gap, both of which we commented on at the Savvy blog.

The design was created by San Francisco-based design agency Turner Duckworth, who had previously worked for Coca Cola designing several lines and creating the Diet Coke brand image. The new look image features a section of the Diet Coke logo, cropped to feature the letters “D” and “K” set to the brand’s recognisable silver backdrop.

Are you a fan of the new re-design? It certainly is striking, while maintaining a gentle evolution of the Diet Coke brand Image. Though it's not an irreversible evolution, as it is just a new look for 'fall' - which suggests the tough job of coming up with a 'spring' look is just round the corner."

A new website for itmsoil

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Mon, 16 May 2011 12:48:00 +0000

By Savvy HQ
Twitter: Savvy_Victor

Savvy & Victor are proud to announce the launch of itmsoil's new website. After three months of hard work and dedication from all teams involved, here it is: http://www.itmsoil.com/

Last October Savvy & Victor were commissioned by itmsoil to undertake a complete rebrand that brings the corporate identity inline with a newly developed company structure. Following the rebrand a new website was developed to support itmsoil's positioning as a world leader in the design, manufacture, installation and monitoring of premium quality geotechnical and structural instrumentation.

The new website has increased levels of functionality including live news feeds, social media integration, case studies and comprehensive information about itmsoil, it's employees, products and services.

Our social media planning seems to be working too... From Group CEO Mark Kirkbride's early tweets we can see that he is already pleased with the new website.

“I'm like the proud owner of a new car....our new website is up and running; lots more to come soon too http://www.itmsoil.com/”

The Picture House presents The Laughter Lounge

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 16:44:00 +0000

By Savvy HQ
twitter: Savvy_Victor

We are delighted to announce that our client, The Picture House Uckfield, has launched its first ever 'Live and in person' Stand Up Comedy night featuring many of the country's favourite comedians.

The Laughter Lounge will open its doors for the first time on Monday 4th April and then continue on the first Monday of every month.

The line up for Monday 4th April is Joanna Neary as compere, Dan Antopolski, Dyball and Kerr and Robin Ince headling. Tickets are just £12.50, which is a steal!

Doors 7.00 Show 7.30 Book now to avoid disappointment.

Brand Advertising - Volkswagen has the force

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 15:12:00 +0000

By Savvy HQ
Twitter: Savvy_Victor

The Green Bay Packers may have won on the field, but winning off it is Volkswagen with this brilliant advertisement that was screened during the Superbowl final. In the 60 second Ad a mini Darth Vader attempts to use the force around the house to no avail, but finally succeeds when his dad arrives in his new Volkswagen 2012 Passat.

With last Sundays Superbowl capturing a record audience for a US TV show, we can imagine that the bosses at Volkswagen are already gleefully rubbing their hands. Yet, due to the ad being pre launched on Youtube, the advert has also become a viral hit with over 5 million views and became a trending topic on twitter. Creative and well delivered advertising is so important for adverts to stand out, and is also very important for taking those campaigns online. Social media conversations can begin to perpetuate campaign spread online, but to go viral it really needs to be inspired, and this one certainly is!

Digital communication - Getting the most out of your bird

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 14:39:00 +0000

By Edmund Chartier
Digital Marketing Executive
Twitter: Savvy_Edmund

Twitter has become vastly popular in the last 12 Months; it seems to be used by everyone from teenage children to celebrities and politicians. As a way to communicate it has great benefits like the 140 word character limit, which means that people keep to the point and do not go off on a tangent.

Many companies are now in on the act and use twitter to promote their brand and increase sales. At Savvy & Victor we have found that twitter is an invaluable medium in which to increase our own brand awareness and to communicate with a wider audience.

If you were to invest time using twitter there are several do and don’ts that you should be aware of…

Do's

You want to achieve positive word of mouth advertising for your company, then don’t be afraid to talk to other tweeters. Gaining a following doesn’t happen overnight and you have to build a rapport with other people first.

Choose what keywords you want your company to be associated with. At Savvy & Victor we often use the word branding in our messages so as to allow people to associate us with this.

Do create an informative profile that explains your company using your keywords (and provide a link to your company’s website). Understand that there are two types of keywords that you can use for your twitter messages the normal keyword message such as “Savvy & Victor branding development agency” and the hashtag variety “Savvy & Victor #branding development agency”.

In practice the different keywords work like this; If I was to search the word ‘branding’ in the twitter search engine, then every tweet that uses the word branding will be shown. Therefore it would not just include industry specific tweets about branding, but also tweets about branding used entirely in a different context.

By using the hashtag you are specifying that your tweet is about a particular topic. If other users also use the same hashtag then you will be able to create your own twitter community around a specific topic. This is a great way to find people with similar interests and to build your twitter following.

If you are pasting a url which has a long address first shorten it via sites such as tinyurl.com or bit.ly. If you fail to do this then your 140 word character limit could be entirely used up by linking to another website.

Be aware of the hottest topics on twitter by seeing what stories are currently trending in the United Kingdom and Worldwide. You can see what stories are trending on the right hand panel of your screen.

Do shout out and thank other users who mention you or your company by name.

Retweet content from other users you like.

Use the Direct Message feature on twitter, It is a great way to build rapport with other tweeters.

Don’ts

Don't over use the hashtag keywords, it makes your twitter stream look very ugly.

Don't use poor grammar or spelling – When we type quickly typos do become more prevalent, however checking before you tweet is advisable.

You should always remember the tone of voice of your company. Swear words and even emotions can look out of place.

Don't follow too many people and don’t follow everyone that follows you. You will inevitably be followed by spammers and it doesn’t make twitter an enjoyable experience if you have dozens of tweets in your stream about plastic surgery in Florida. As a general rule I would suggest that you follow no more people that actually follow you.

Don’t worry if people unfollow you, worry about the twitter community you want to create.

Don't forget to add your profile picture to your twitter account and you should use your own picture, unless it is the company account.

Don’t become a spammer. Twitter is very addictive, however if you tweet to much you will start to detract from other tweeters and you will lose followers who dislike their stream being filled with only your tweets.

These do's and don’ts should help you get started when you create a new twitter account. In the meantime you can follow the savvy team Savvy_Victor, Edmund, Jo and Adam for the latest updates.

Advertising installation inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Savvy and Victor) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 10:23:00 +0000

By Savvy HQ
Twitter: Savvy_Victor

If you want to make a big statement about your company in an environment that will seriously engage your audience consider an installation advertising campaign. At Savvy & Victor we enjoy creating imaginative and effective brand building campaigns for our clients and here are the reasons why....

Public space is already saturated with traditional forms of advertising; be it posters, newspaper and magazine advertisements or traditional PR. With such vibrant engagement tools such as video, social media and smart phone media in use, it is no wonder people can tire easily of the traditional approach to consumer engagement. That is why installation advertising can be extremely effective if implemented well. Installation advertising engages people at a deeper level because it puts the brand in context and catches people at a time when an association can be made. For example, this simple but effective installation by KitKat engages the consumer at a time when they are thinking about resting, which means it both reinforces the KitKat ‘Take a break’ proposition and hooks into the consumer emotional state of mind.

Ad installations are great at capturing the imagination of your audience, but you still need to support it further by integrating it as part of a wider marketing campaign. It is important to use channels out such as PR, direct mail and social media to support the effort so that engagement can convert into customer relationships.