Visual Design Group in Keiraville, New South Wales, Australia | Advertising/marketing

Visual Design Group

Locality: Keiraville, New South Wales, Australia

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24.01.2022 HUMOUR IN ADVERTISING - POST 3 NOT FOR ASTRONAUTS HAYNES Baked Beans... My favourite.

23.01.2022 The Unashamed Self Promotion The Visual Design Group (VDG) has been operating for 28 years working in Innovation, Strategy, Marketing, Advertising, Communications, Public Relations, Branding, Graphic Design, Social Media and Change Management. Across Government, Business, Academia and Not-for-Profit with small, medium and large organisations. Working across most sectors from Australias largest companies to small businesses. I have worked for Federal, State and Local Gov...ernment, Defence, Universities, TAFE, Schools, Heavy and Light Industry, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, Finance, Banking, Wholesale, Retail, Information Technology, Real Estate, Service Industries, Tourism and Media: TV, Radio and Press sectors. Working across all media: TV, Radio, Print, Outdoor and Social Media (specialist in Facebook). Along the way, I have achieved many National and State sales records including 28 International and National Awards many based on performance outcomes. VDG does a lot of charity work giving back to the community. In future posts, I will share some lessons I have learned along the way and other points of interest that can be of benefit to people in their various endeavours. And many fun posts as well. Here to help. Wayne Larkin Visual Design Group A Better Future by Design Contact me for 1 hour FREE consultation. www.visualdesigngroup.com

21.01.2022 HUMOUR IN ADVERTISING - POST 5 Here is what I think is the ultimate Cola War TV ad between Pepsi and Coke. Understand this TV ad got banned. It is a very clever classic. The rivalry between Coca-Cola and Pepsi is legendary. Although the feud really heated up with the Pepsi Challenge in 1975 which prompted Coca-Colas horrific New Coke debacle the brands have been fighting each other for more than a century.... Cola Wars is a term which emerged in the US in the early 1980s. It was coined to describe the advertising and marketing tactics of The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo against each other. Carbonated soft drinks still accounted for $81 billion in sales in North America in 2016, according to Beverage Digest way more than growing categories like water ($23 billion) and sports drinks ($9.4 billion). And soda is cheaper to make than other beverages.

20.01.2022 IT IS WORTH SPENDING THE TIME AND MONEY TO GET THE SLOGAN RIGHT The following are a few examples of the benefits of getting it right. Nikes Marketing Slogan: Just Do It ...Continue reading

18.01.2022 Nikes Just Do It sinister Murder Story Behind the Slogan The sinister story of Nikes Just Do It slogan was inspired by the last words of a notorious Utah murderer before he was executed in 1970. Facing down a firing squad in his last moments, double-murderer Gary Gilmore said: Lets do it.... Dan Wieden, the founder of ad agency Wieden and Kennedy, was inspired to adapt the phrase to Just Do It for a 1988 TV ad that introduced the slogan to the world. Looking back in 2009 he said: None of us really paid that much attention. We thought Yeah. That would work. Wieden said: I was trying to write something that would tie it up, so it could speak to women who had just started walking to get in shape, to people who were world-class athletes and it had the same kind of connection with them. Nike debuted the slogan in a 1988 commercial about an 80-year-old runner named Walt Stack. The brands sales subsequently exploded. Nikes former marketing chief Liz Dolan said that Nike tries not to share the origins of the phrase widely. Just Do It challenges athletes to rise to the occasion in the face of overwhelming adversity. The slogan has been used for over 30 years and is attributed to helping Nike triumph over Reebok in the Sneaker War of the 80s. These days, it still goes strong, paired with Nikes identity of the brave and the rebellious like Colin Kaepernick. Iconic slogans stand the test of time and can be used outside of the brand. For example, Nikes Just Do It can be said by anyone whether its a coach encouraging their athlete to do another rep at the gym or the head honcho of a company asking their accounting team to calculate a new sales tax law.

17.01.2022 The Power of Words to Change the World Words have a Strong Impact in our Daily Lives. Choose your Words carefully to empower others and they also Impact on us. "Words have power. They Work. Thats why poetry can effect people. Thats why music and lyrics and songs affect people..." - Sammy Hagar... A Great Self Promotion for Sergej Pibuldin

17.01.2022 First SUCCESS Factor is the BRIEF Some things never change. The critical importance of a good brief is one of them. A well written brief:... 1. Leads to better, more effective and measurable work 2. Saves time and money Research and experience show: THE BETTER THE BRIEF, THE BETTER THE RESULTS. When you write a brief, think Where am I now? (the situational overview for strategic and creative thinking) and Where do I need to get to? (the destination & objectives). Make it clear and realistic with customer insights. Focus on making sure the business problem is well defined. We can then do a good job to get you there. Benefits of a written brief: 1. Leads to better, more effective and measurable work 2. It saves time and money 7 KEY TOPICS FOR BRIEFING: 1. Situational Overview (Where are we now) 2. Objectives (Where do we want to be) 3. Client (What is being done to get there) 4. Audience (Who do we need to talk to) 5. Message (What we need to say) 6. Success (How will we know we have achieved the desired outcomes) 7. Parameters (Budgets, Timings, Mandatories and Desirables) Remember a good brief also: Avoids misunderstandings Defines roles and expectations Summarises your position and thinking Stimulates creativity Wayne Larkin Visual Design Group A Better Future by Design www.visualdesigngroup.com

16.01.2022 HUMOUR IN ADVERTISING - POST 4 "The Force" - Volkswagen Commercial A classic masterpiece in the excellent use of humour.

15.01.2022 The Answer is Hidden in Plain Sight Many solutions to problems are hidden in plain sight. Out of the complexity of options before us, a well defined problem definition of the past and the current situation can make finding the solution a lot easier. And a fresh set of eyes from the outside can help you see the obvious. As illustrated in this joke:... Sherlock Holmes Tests Dr Watson deduction capabilities Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson go on a camping trip. After a good dinner and a bottle of wine, they retire for the night and go to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes wakes up and nudges his faithful friend. Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see. I see millions and millions of stars, Holmes replies Watson. And what do you deduce from that? Watson ponders for a minute. Well, Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful and that we are a small and insignificant part of the universe. But what does it tell you, Holmes? Holmes is silent for a moment. Watson, you idiot! he says. Someone has stolen our tent!

14.01.2022 HUMOUR IN ADVERTISING - POST 3B The Making of NOT FOR ASTRONAUTS HAYNES Baked Beans

12.01.2022 BRANDING Farmers Were the Original Brand Experts. The term derives from the Old Norse word brandr or to burn, and refers to the practice of branding livestock, which dates back more than 4,000 years to the Indus Valley. The Indus Valley was located in what is Pakistan and northwest India today, on the fertile flood plain of the Indus River and its vicinity.... Brand is what your prospect thinks of when they hear or see your brand name. Brand Positioning as an act of designing the companys offering and image to occupy a distinct place in the mind of the target market. - Kotler and Keller Products are made in a factory but brands are created in the mind - Walter Landor Brand Purpose The company should start by setting the brands purpose. Brand purpose answers the question of what job is the brand promising to accomplish for the buyer - Philip Kotler Define its functional purpose and express the brands higher purpose. The higher purpose suggests emotional and social benefits coming from choosing that brand. Coca Colas functional purpose is to relieve thirst with a good taste. Its higher purpose is to deliver happiness. A brand needs trust so that customers believe that the brand will deliver what it claims. McKinsey & Company wrote in Forbes magazine that some of the most successful B2B companies have as much or more of their company assets tied up in goodwill and other intangible assets - better known as their brand - as B2C branding giants. Strong brands are usually the results of a long-term strategy that guides how a company does business and is tightly bound to its understanding of the customer. A brand does not exist within a company or organisation. A brand exists in the minds of your customers. A brand is the sum total of impressions a customer has, based on every interaction they have had with you, your company, and your product. Lucidpress Your Brand is the Single Most Important Investment You Can Make in Your Business - Steve Forbes, Editor in Chief of Forbes Magazine Build brand loyalty on shared values with your consumers. It is not the number of interactions a buyer has with your brand, but the quality and relatability of the interaction. - Harvard Business Review ROI for Branding The United Kingdom Design Council published findings from its Designing Demand program and the evaluation of the program showed strong returns to business: for every 1 ($1.80) businesses invest in design, they can expect over 20 ($36) in increased revenues, over 4 ($7) increase in net operating profit and over 5 ($9) in increased exports. Wayne Larkin Visual Design Group A Better Future by Design www.visualdesigngroup.com

12.01.2022 Apples Famous 1984 Super Bowl Ad - The Real Story Behind the TV Commercial. The Advertising TV Olympics USA - The Super Bowl How Apples "1984" Commerical Changed the Super Bowl forever. The Real Story Behind Apples Famous 1984 Super Bowl Ad Super Bowl 50 was held in the heart of the Silicon Valley. Learn how 36 years ago Apple made a name for itself and in the process changed the future of technology, the world of advertising and the Super Bowl forever.... Apple almost didnt air its iconic, dystopian-themed 1984 Super Bowl commercial. The commercial successfully made it to broadcast, and it became one of the most celebrated ads in history. In 1984, Apple was developing the Macintosh personal computer, one of the first of its kind. The team at Apple working on the project was forced to move to a new building at the companys headquarters. The team christened the building by hanging a pirate flag from the roof in honour of one of Steve Jobs sayings: Its better to be a pirate than join the navy. Apple decided to produce a commercial for the Macintosh personal computer ahead of its launch, and turned to its go-to ad agency, Chiat/Day. Before creating Apples 1984 ad, Chiat/Day had produced earlier low-budget commercials for the company. The director of the 1984 commercial was Ridley Scott, who has a history of directing dystopian-like movies, such as Blade Runner, Gladiator, and Alien. The woman they ultimately cast was Anya Major, a British discus thrower. Most of the estimated 150 bald men in the ad, used to represent conformist society, were actual skinheads. Up until this commercial, Apple ads had cost around $US50,000 to produce. The 1984 ad cost $US500,000 to create. When Steve Jobs first saw the ad, his reaction was, Oh s**t. This is amazing, When Apples board of directors saw the ad, they hated it. The Super Bowl was actually not the first time the 1984 Apple commercial ran on TV. It ran a few times on local television stations before the big game, but those spots didnt garner much attention. The ad almost never ran after the ad agency showed it to focus groups before airing it. People hated the ad, and some said it reminded them of concentration camps. The ad agency decided to hide the results of the focus group instead of showing them to Apple. The ad was seen as a highlight of the 1984 Super Bowl, and got plenty of media attention. Chiat/Day estimates that Apple made about $US45 million of free advertising from TV stations coverage and playing of the ad. - Business Insider IT TAKES GUTS TO RUN REVOLUTIONARY ADS.

10.01.2022 HUMOUR IN ADVERTISING - POST 1 Many of the most memorable ad campaigns around tend to be funny. It can make an ad more enjoyable; engaging and help people remember it better. In North America, where humour is used more than in any other region, 69% of ads in the top impact (Awareness Index) quintile are humourous.... Around 50% of all ads globally make use of humour in some way and also found that ads with humour tend to be more impactful overall. Most people like to be happy and laugh when they can. This can make a much stronger lasting bond with the brand and audience. People like to be entertained rather than being pitched to. People will pay more attention to a humorous commercial than a factual or serious one, opening themselves up to be influenced. The key to funny advertising is assuring the humor is appropriate to both product and customer. And relevance to the product being advertised. The balance between funny and obnoxious can often be delicate. Humour that misses the mark can do more damage than good. A Journal of Marketing study that examined multinational effects of humour on advertising, the major conclusion was that humour is more likely to enhance recall, evaluation, and purchase intention when the humorous message coincides with ad objectives, is well-integrated with those objectives, and is viewed as appropriate for the product category. Under such circumstances, humorous advertising is more likely to secure audience attention, increase memorability, overcome sales resistance, and enhance message persuasiveness. Humorous campaigns are often expensive because they have to be constantly changed. Advertisers must remember that while making the customer laugh, they have to keep things interesting, because old jokes die along with their products. In this post BIGPONDS Father & Son Campaign - The Great Wall of China. Following are in 3 POSTS with great examples of TV Commercials with humour. Laughter is the Best Medicine

07.01.2022 20 Leading Slogans of All Time Modern: a short and striking or memorable phrase used in advertising. Historical: a Scottish Highland War Cry.... "It is well known that the text a human hears or reads constitutes merely 7% of the received information. As a result, any slogan merely possesses a supportive task." (Rumien & Rumas, 2014). Looking at a slogan as a supportive role to a brands image and portrayal is helpful to understand why advertisers need to be careful in how they construct their slogan, as it needs to mold with the other components of the brand image, being logo and name. A slogan can also be thought of as a promise a company stands behind like youll open happiness every time you drink a Coca-Cola or Fed-Ex will absolutely, positively have your items overnight if needed. The idea is to make the public think about what your brand offers and not just about the brand itself. 20 Leading Slogans (not in order of preference): 1. American Express Dont leave home without it 2. There are some things money cant buy. For everything else theres Mastercard. 3. Apple Think Different 4. Avis We Try Harder 1. BMW The Ultimate Driving Machine 2. Coca-Cola Open happiness 3. De Beers A diamond is forever 4. Disneyland The Happiest Place on Earth 5. Energizer It keeps going and going and going 6. Fed-Ex - When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight 7. General Electric We bring good things to life 8. Google Dont be evil (Something went wrong with this one) 9. Kentucky Fried Chicken Finger Lickin Good 10. McDonalds Im Lovin It 11. Nike Just Do It 12. Pepsi The Choice of a New Generation 13. Volkswagen Think small 14. Wheaties The Breakfast of Champions 15. M&Ms Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hands 16. General Electric Imagination at Work 17. The U.S. Marine Corps The Few. The Proud. The Marines 18. Kit Kats Have a Break 19. Las Vegas What Happens Here, Stays Here 20. Gillette The Best a Man Can Get

07.01.2022 How to Escape Educations Death Valley - Sir Ken Robinson Ken outlines 3 principles crucial for the human mind to flourish -- and how current education culture works against them. In a funny, stirring talk he tells us how to get out of the educational "death valley" we now face, and how to nurture our youngest generations with a climate of possibility.

06.01.2022 20 Epic Failures in Global Branding These classic brand marketing blunders show that globalisation isnt always as easy it seems. By Geoffrey James Contributing editor, Inc.com When you make a brand Global, its always a good idea to check whether your NAME, LOGO, or SLOGAN/TAG LINE means something different in the countries you are going to introduce your product or service to. Here are the 20 worst examples that neglected this crucial marketing step, who lacked the common s...Continue reading

06.01.2022 Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy "It deosnt mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe." This text circulated on the Internet in September 2003.... Cambridge University research, were able to read that passage because our brains process all of the letters in a word at once. However, according to Matt Davis, a senior research at Cambridges Cognition and Brain Science Unit, thats not entirely true. "There are elements of truth in this, but also some things which scientists studying the psychology of language (psycholinguists) know to be incorrect," he writes. Also, transpositions of adjacent letters such as "porbelm for problem" are easier to read than more distant transpositions. Seeing "pelrbom" isnt quite as easily recognisable for your brain. "Clearly, the first and last letter is not the only thing that you use when reading text," he writes. "If this really was the case, how would you tell the difference between pairs of words like "salt" and "slat"?" Finally, the transpositions in the meme tend to preserve the sound of the word (such as using "toatl" instead of "ttaol" for "total"), and none of the jumbled letters in the memes words can spell another word like in the example of "salt" and "slat." Like in Advertising you can break the rules. But you need to know how and when to do it. Wayne Larkin Visual Design Group A Better Future by Design www.visualdesigngroup.com

05.01.2022 VB Stubby Symphony Very clever TV Ad by VB. Using their famous VB musical jingle and VB stubby bottles to build on their famous musical jingle in a memorable way. The advertising campaign was called the Stubby Symphony featured 100 members of the Melbourne and Victorian orchestras playing the theme only using VB beer bottles. The campaign was created by George Patterson Y&R in Melbourne.

05.01.2022 The 11 "Rules of the Garage" 1. Believe you can change the world. 2. Work quickly, keep the tools unlocked, work whenever. 3. Know when to work alone and when to work together.... 4. Share tools, ideas. Trust your colleagues. 5. No Politics. No bureaucracy. (These are ridiculous in a garage.) 6. The customer defines a job well done. 7. Radical ideas are not bad ideas. 8. Invent different ways of working. 9. Make a contribution every day. If it doesnt contribute, it doesnt leave the garage. 10. Believe that together we can do anything. 11. Invent. The rules of the garage are a set of 11 rules that attempt to encapsulate the work ethos that Bill Hewlett and David Packard when they founded Hewlett-Packard. Since Hewlett-Packard was one of the earliest success stories of the information technology sector, it also used to more broadly describe the work ethos of Silicon Valley. The Rules were first articulated in 1999 by then HP CEO Carly Fiorina - during her tenure as then HP CEO - and they were later used in a Hewlett-Packard ad campaign. The name was a reference to David Packards garage in Palo Alto, in which Packard and Bill Hewlett first founded the company in 1939 after graduating from nearby Stanford University California in 1935. Staff and culture The founders developed a management style that came to be known as "The HP Way." In Hewletts words, the HP Way is "a core ideology... which includes a deep respect for the individual, a dedication to affordable quality and reliability, a commitment to community responsibility, and a view that the company exists to make technical contributions for the advancement and welfare of humanity." The following are the tenets of The HP Way: We have trust and respect for individuals. We focus on a high level of achievement and contribution. We conduct our business with uncompromising integrity. We achieve our common objectives through teamwork. We encourage flexibility and innovation. Worth repeating and sharing Wayne Larkin Visual Design Group A Better Future by Design www.visualdesigngroup.com

05.01.2022 Get a Mac - Viruses - Best Apple TV Campaign While there have been many great Apple campaigns, this one is most likely is their best. The video commercial is just one of a series of this campaign, and the Mac vs. PC debate ended up being one of the most successful campaigns ever for Apple. The company experienced 42% market share growth in its first year. These commercials tell Macs audience everything they need to know about the product without being boringly obvious and it is done in a very clever way. Experiencing the personalities of the Mac and PC computers and audiences. Just because your product does some pretty amazing things doesnt mean you need to hit your audience over the head with it. Instead, explain your products benefits in a relatable and memorable way so consumers are able to see themselves using it.

02.01.2022 80% of Readers Never Make It Past the Headline. 500% Increase in Digital Traffic Based on the Headline. Boring someone into using your product or service for some reason doesnt seem to work well. ... Marketing informs and attracts prospects to your company for products or services. Sales work directly with prospects to reinforce the value of the companys solution to convert prospects into customers. A study found an agreement between marketing and sales are 3 times as likely to be more effective. In my experience, it is much higher based on the industry. The more explicit a headline is the more the headline resonates. 3 Primary Goals of Advertising: 1. Inform: Create Awareness 2. Persuade: Emphasise the Reason(s) 3. Remind: Keep the Company Product/Service Front-of-Mind and retain existing customers reminding them why they purchase your product or service. Remember it costs 5 times as much to attract new customers than to keep existing ones. Headlines and Photos need to Resonate, Be Emotive, Creative, Memorable and fill a need and/or desire for your audience. You need to be a creative storyteller. The headline needs to work with the photo or video to tell the story quickly and well. So your prospective customer is clear on WHY and remembers the takeaway messages easily. Original Ad Created by CRISPIN & PORTER Advertising

02.01.2022 HUMOUR IN ADVERTISING - POST 2 Cowboys Herding Cats - EDS Digital Economy