Business Identity

Do you think your brand is just a logo? Or perhaps it includes your corporate colour? Maybe it’s that clever little strapline you put on all your communications?

Wrong.

Your brand is one of your most valuable assets; for 13 years’ Coca-Cola held the top spot in Interbrand's influential listing of the leading 100 global brands. According to a report published by the Design Council, its brand equity is valued at $65.3bn, just under half the company’s true market value.

Did you hear about the recent KFC chicken crisis?

Due to logistical issues with delivery firm DHL; nearly all of the chain’s 870 outlets in the UK were forced to temporarily cease trading.

Obviously this provoked somewhat of an uproar as fried chicken fanatics up and down the country expressed their dismay over being temporarily deprived of their favourite fast food snack.

At the end of last year, I was at a networking event and the discussion around our table was around increasing productivity. We spent a fair bit of time talking about the importance of keeping our employees motivated and engaged.

I recently had the opportunity to speak at an event hosted by Oracle in Reading. It was organised by the Institute of Directors and BCS Elite. The event was an “Unconference” – a first for me!

Does it matter to people where their chosen agency is located? Due to the accessible nature of technology in the world today, it is now possible for us to easily communicate with people practically anywhere across the globe – so do you need your agency to be on your doorstep?

Whereas there are some real benefits from being able to pop in to see your designer or chat with your developer at the drop of a hat, there is no denying that in the past, there was a perception that the best way for an agency to experience success was to be based slap bang in the middle of London.

With winds of just over 90mph, Storm Doris hit the UK hard on 23^rd February and whilst Newbury and parts of the South of England didn’t get hit as hard as the rest of the UK, the winds were strong enough to tear down our sign!

It may surprise you to hear that selecting a colour palette should be right at the top of your list when it comes to creating the design for your new website.

If you’re feeling like you’re neglecting something from your list of marketing activities, it’s highly likely that video marketing is the missing link! Online videos are swiftly becoming one of the most popular ways for people to search for information on services and products. With 52% of marketers worldwide naming video as the type of content with the highest ROI (Business to Community), businesses and brands across the globe are rapidly discovering that video enables them to communicate more efficiently and effectively than most other forms of content (regardless of the industry!).

What is a brand? This question seems to come up again and again whether you have or haven’t studied marketing and design. Fashion designer Alice Temperley stated:

The marketing author and consultant Professor Phillip Kotler offers a more complex definition of the subject:“You have to stay true to your heritage; that’s what your brand is about.”

PPC – or you may know it as ‘Pay Per Click marketing’, has been around for many years, but many businesses are still yet to use it. At MAXX we frequently find that clients are keen to know more about PPC: what it is and how it works. So, should you be using it & will it benefit your business? Hopefully this will help you decide if you are missing a trick regarding PPC.