Don't blame me...

Picture the scene:

February 2015, Austria.

Jonny is out with some friends enjoying a live music gig at Kosi's bar in the picturesque Tyrolian village of Fugen.

I am Joined by Hans (the ski guide for the day) we are all enjoying the live music and the apres ski atmosphere. Its busy and everyone is in chilled fun mood.

Apart from Hans.  He is a little bit shy (unusual for a Dutchman!). So, typically me being me decide to do some matchmaking for him.

"What about her, she looks nice?" I ask.

Hans agrees. So not a moment to spare, I go right over and introduce myself to Nicole. I explain that my friend is a little bit shy and that he fancies her. All a bit of fun really. The result is I get them chatting and the evening continues with even more gusto...

I only see Hans a couple of times throughout the rest of the week and think nothing of the evening.  We bid farewell at the end of the week. I never expect to hear from him again - which is pretty usual for a ski holiday. On my next trip skiing I had my accident and had to have extensive knee surgery so no more skiing for me in 2015...

Anyway, fast forward a year to March 2016  -  my first tentative ski trip on my newly rebuilt knee. As expected, no Hans this year. He had obviously moved on. However, in my hotel room was a hand written envelope addressed to me. Inside was this lovely message for Hans and Nicole announcing the birth of their baby son Ben. I could not believe it!!

So I am happy to have been (almost) directly responsible for this new life and a very happy couple.

If you need any help matchmaking then give me a call on on 01332 291141. I can't promise a baby but I can promise quality creative...

Revive creates the right impression

Impressionist and comedian Jon Culshaw was on hand to raise some laughter at the Denmaur Revive Launch event last night  The event hosted by Denmaur Independent Paper was held at the London Hippodrome and was attended by over 150 leading professionals from the print and publishing industry.

Speakers included Jonathan Porrittt (uk government chief advisor on climate change) Jonathan Tame and Roger Wilson (from World Lamd Trust) and Julia Young (from the World Wildlife Fund). 

All focused on how climate change will affect business in the future with particular emphasis on carbon emissions.

It's good to know that Revive paper from Denmaur is totally carbon offset, in short this means that customers can be confident that the Revive paper they buy is carbon neutral. Good for the planet and good for the future.

Parkhouse Evans Creative are very proud to have helped Denmaur to re-launch the Revive brand. We developed all the advertising, invites, event packs, and collateral to promote the brand. It seems the whole industry are happy to see Revive back and as a true force for good!

It's sometimes hard for customers to see the value or ROI when investing in creative - but proof of concept of ever needed was clear to see at the event! 

If you want to look good in front of your peers or if your organisation needs help with branding or a launch event then give us a call on 01332 291141 and we can advise you how best to achieve maximum impact and results...

HAL...or just a water boiling device?

I spotted this funky Point of sale window in Warsaw on a recent visit.

Even humble kitchen appliances can look super cool with the right graphic approach. 

Such a simple yet eyecatching window. 

Less is more!

Feeling healthy..?

This rather funky kit is likely to be the latest offering from Westfield Health. Designed to promote a healthy lifestyle the kit comprises the latest tech designed to help users keep track of their progress.

We created the design as a sample alongside a rather fun PowerPoint presentation.

Thanks Denmaur!

Here's Ben proudly presenting a Denmaur independent Papers notebook.

Imagine our surprise last month when a large parcel arrived on our doorstep and upon opening we discovered a batch of superb (not to mention indispensable) notebooks and desk pads...

A gift from our valued customer Denmaur Independent Papers, one of the UKs finest paper merchants. 

Thanks Denmaur, we really appreciate this kind gesture!

All good things come to an end

It is with fondness that in 2015 we bade farewell to BBC's Downtown Abbey...

But that is not all we say goodbye to in 2015. We will also wave goodbye to the 'old' Parkhouse Evans logo - we will be introducing our new corporate identity during early 2016.

The old ID has served us well for nearly 10 years but it is now time to more on to pastures new. So, we are currently building a new website, we already have new stationery and business cards. Its all very exciting...

If you received our Christmas card last year you will have been given a sneak preview of our new logo (on the back page). It has been designed to reflect the digital nature of our work. We can use it in any colour and with any ident, reversed out or in keyline - truly flexible, truly digital.

Talking of the cards, take a look at a small selection of our new business cards - these are made using a beautiful 100% cotton rich stock, with a special colour sandwiched between the white outer. You'll be given a massive selection of cards to choose from - just pick your favorite! They really do look and feel ultra cool...

We really do love what we do here...and we want to help you to get the best from new technology and creative opportunities. Call us now on 01332 92114 to find out how we can help you.

Education and other animals...

Some of you may already know that I used to run a creative design course at Loughborough University. I have always had a keen interest in education and being able to pass on some of my
experience to upcoming designers. It's a really rewarding aspect of my job and can also be inspiring too.

Running the PE business takes up most of my time nowadays so I don't get as much time as I used to for my lecturing interests. However I always spend at least three days per year working in education and its always refreshing to do so. It kind of brings you down to earth when you realise that after 30 years you know quite a bit about your specialist subject!

This week I was back in the classroom with some young design students in Leicester. My task was to give a talk on the design business and to hopefully inspire. In addition I was asked to set an "industrial project" for the second year students to undertake.

Part of the brief I gave them was to "create a strapline" for their campaign. This simple request was met with some quizzical looks and I realised that most of them didn't realise what a strapline actually is. Of course it's easy to think that people understand what we are all talking about and I often use phrases and words that mean a lot to us within our profession but to the uninitiated can seem like total gobbledegook!

So, I had to expand on my description about what a strapline is and by means of demonstration asked them to tell me what product or brand I was referring to but by my only saying the strapline.

Below are the examples I used, why not see how many you can get...?
I'm loving it
Is it
Finger lickin' good
Vorsprung durch tecknik
Just do it
Every little helps
Never knowingly undersold
Does exactly what it says on the tin
Helps you work rest and play
Think different
I think therefore I....
Because you're worth it
Believe in better
Taste the rainbow
The ultimate driving machine

I have no doubt that most of these will be easy to recall and it underlines the importance of having a consistent brand presence. It is true that some strap lines have made it into popular culture going way beyond their original intention. When is happens it can be very powerful but can often remove the brand from phrase.

Whasaaaasaaaaaap.....
Go to work on an egg
Beans meanz Heinz
Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet
Tell them Sid sent you
I'm tiger woods
All because the lady loves...
A taste of paradise
A dog is for life, not just for Christmas
Probably the best (anything) in the world
Because she's worth it

This crossover into popular culture has resulted in some becoming a part of our everyday life. A bit like calling a vacuum cleaner a Hoover, or a loudspeaker a Tannoy. Same goes for calling any MP3 player an iPod...or if you were around in the 80s, a Walkman!

And don't get me started on cinematic straplines  - there are so many brilliant ones:

In space no one can hear you scream
He's afraid, he's alone, he's three million light years from home
They're here...
Who you gonna call...?
The greatest fairytale never tld

For the record, one of my absolute favourite straplines was used to change the perception of a seemingly mundane product into a premium brand:

"Reassuringly expensive"

Only two words, just TWO words, think about that....that turned Stella Artois from its Belgian cheap booze pedigree into one of the UKs premier seemingly higher value alcohol brands. Brilliant. Simple.

Such is the power of the strapline. Get it right and it can be a powerful ally in your marketing armoury. If you are really lucky it could cross over into popular culture, if not that at the very least recognised by your peers.

And on to my least liked - and this is such an over used strapline it almost looses its credibility the second I read it. Ironically it can be applied to how most organisations believe their product or service is. It the inimitable and ubiquitous "Simply the best"......Arghhhh! All I can think of is Tina Turner dressed as an 80's style Amazonian warrior in Mad Max - Return to Thunderdome.

I am hoping 'my students' will come back in a couple of weeks with some brand new inspiring straplines (hopefully not 'simply the best') If they do I will let you know...but no matter,  I am excited to be back helping them and am looking forward to the results. 

Why not let us know what your favourite strapline is and if you don't have one, why not get us to help you develop one?

Call us now on 01332 291141 and we can discuss the possibilities...