We are always so busy helping everyone else with their marketing activities that the words ‘cobblers’ and ‘children’ spring to mind when it comes to promoting ourselves!

It’s now been just over a year since our change of name to Greenfisher and we felt it was high time we shared some of our more recent work with everyone.

‘In brief’ says what it is on the tin. We’ve been tackling some really diverse and interesting projects and we hope you’ll be interested to see what we have been up to.

If you would like to receive a copy simply email Stephen@greenfisher.co.uk

Recently there has been much talk in certain circles about whether the logo is dead. Naomi Klein, an award-winning journalist, even wrote an international bestseller entitled ‘No Logo’. This book was aimed firmly at corporate brands and their perceived bully-boy tactics.

‘Was the logo ever alive?’ is the real question. So many businesses think of branding in terms of their logo. What do they really expect from an inanimate object? Yes it can look great but do they really think that this represents their brand? True brands elicit an emotional response. Think Apple or Nike. How many truly achieve that? For the majority of businesses, their brands will never be household names, but that doesn’t mean that branding can’t play an important part. The important thing is recognising the role it can play. Branding is about the experience. It embraces every aspect of interfacing with an organisation – its people, business premises, the services provided or products offered. Prior to experiencing the brand it’s all about the promise – what will it be like to work with this company? This is when communications, language and image play an important part alongside the people delivering the message. And the logo? Well it’s a signature that reminds people of these things. But please don’t expect it to do too much on its own.

At last we have taken delivery of our new stationery! Beautifully printed by Ospec (letterheads & compslips) and istprintingservices (business cards).

The letterheads & compslips were printed onto a nice white paper stock, with one Pantone colour and the logotype foiled in metallic silver.

The cards were more complex…. we sandwiched two paper stocks together, a white and a chocolate brown to give us a lovely thick finish, the type was rendered in a combination of litho and foil block printing.

Lovely!

The Not Forgotten Association is a charity that provides holidays, leisure and fun activities for ex-service people who have been disabled. We have worked with them over the past couple of years to improve their visual image and the quality of their communications. A new website has been part of that. All built in WordPress for easy updating and management and seamless integration with their Flickr photo albums.

http://www.nfassociation.org

Branding is a much misunderstood and misused term.
Brands are built. They are not designed.
A logo is not a brand. Nor is a visual identity.
Brands are emotional. They are experienced and owned by the participants – children, parents, staff, leadership, governors, the local community.

In the context of an educational establishment, what is a brand?

We talk about two aspects.

Brand promise and brand experience.

People who know the school will value the brand through the educational experience, the staff, the buildings, the facilities. This is brand experience. The logo or visual identity have very little influence. Instead they serve as a reminder for what the person feels about the brand.

Those who have no first-hand knowledge of the school build their perceptions upon intangibles. They talk to people who know the school or, more dangerously, think they do. They will make judgements based on what the school has to say about itself and how it presents itself. Pupils or parents they may know. The look and feel of the place. What the local press say about it. League tables. This is brand promise. Here the visual identity can play a more important role in shaping the perception of the brand. But not on its own.

When brands are evolving, the visual identity is very important in signalling change to those who already know the brand. It won’t change brand perceptions on its own but it can play an important role in making people take stock and reconsider their views.