Creating a unique brand name in today’s world can be one of the single most challenging tasks a business will face. With an estimated 300 million+ companies in the world today, the chances of coming up with a name that has already been taken are high. A name needs to represent the overall mission of the company and encompass the brand positioning, values and tone of voice whilst at the same time ensure that it is ownable, pronounceable, spellable and has no negative connotations. …
A question to get started…
Think about a brand you love. Got it?
Great. Now think about why you love it?
Next, think about a brand you’re not so keen on. And again, ask yourself why? What is it about the brand that you dislike?
In most cases, your first thought probably wasn’t that your dislike derived from the brand’s logo or strapline but that might have had a role to play and it probably wasn’t down to their choice of colours. …
We hear the phrase ‘design process’ mentioned a lot in the industry, but what does it actually mean? And how can it help a project run smoothly regardless of whether you have completed countless branding projects or if this is your first opportunity?
In brief, you start a project with a blank piece of paper but need to get to a comprehensive brand strategy with a suite of brand assets to support it, all within a defined timeframe. So how do you do it? …
We recently caught up with our friend and client Emma Watson, founder of Little Hotdog Watson who we first met back in 2016 when we created the brand identity. We asked her some questions around her learnings from starting the brand and the importance of accepting change in a constantly shifting digital landscape.
The top-secret project we’ve been working on for the BBC has finally been released! Nightfall is a new interactive multiplayer game for eight to 11-year olds. It’s been a hugely exciting piece of work, that’s taken us to the darkest realms, exploring our worst nightmares, all in the name of brand development.
A thrilling social gaming experience for pre-teens, Nightfall has initially been released on Beta at www.nightfallthegame.co.uk.
It’s the first game from the BBC that’s not based on an existing BBC brand, programme or character. …
New official guidance for influencers regarding paid, gifted and affiliate social content means that now is the time for brands to truly step up their influencer marketing game.
But with influencers having created such a powerful and established online presence in their own right, can stepping into longer term collaborations and deeper influencer relationships put a brand identity at risk? How can you deliver a truly authentic brand experience with influencer collaborations?
Together with brand strategist Claire Rigby, we explored the steps brands must take to keep control of their identity when collaborating with influencers.
The issue of transparency in influencer marketing has always been bubbling away under the surface, but recently the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) took a step forward in clarifying its position on paid, sponsored and gifted content with the release of a new guide for social media influencers, marketers, agents and brands. …
Most brands and businesses are trying to cope with the challenges caused by a digital world that never stands still, none more so than the fashion and beauty industries.
A packed calendar of events across the globe sees brands constantly unveiling new looks for style-conscious consumers to apply to their clothing, hair and make-up. Add to this the rise of the ‘influencer’, be it a celebrity, vlogger or Instagrammer, inspiring trends and colours of the season and the instant demands of today’s digitalised consumer — being reactive as a brand or retailer has never been so important.
And that means having an adaptable brand as well as responsive marketing campaign. …
Our team here at MERó has created bespoke branding and new packaging designs for a series of collaborations between Beauty Bay and popular lifestyle, fashion and beauty vloggers.
The online beauty destination has teamed up with YouTube and Instagram personalities to produce unique eyeshadow and highlighter palettes, tailored to each influencer’s personal style. It’s the first time the brand has collaborated with social influencers in this way, working hand in hand with vloggers to design all aspects of the merchandise — from the product itself through to the creative packaging elements.
With over 1.6 million followers, Saffron Barker is the latest highly influential YouTuber to unveil her Beauty Bay product range (available to buy from 6th December), following on from an extremely successful launch with vlogger Jordan Lipscombe. …
Digital stress is now ‘a thing’ according to health specialists; and technology’s relationship with stress is this year’s key theme for National Stress Awareness Day (7th November) — highlighting how consumer’s digital experiences could actually be stressing them out.
And we’ve all been there — trying to get on with our daily lives with the constant ‘ping’ of notifications because we’re always connected. Or given up in a huff saying ‘oh forget it’ as a website fails to give us the information or products we want in our busy time-stretched lives.
But what about brands and businesses where customers are already at a heightened level of stress — because they’re unwell and need to get help or want to log a complaint. …
They’re being dubbed as more influential than Millennials and have an estimated spending power of £109 billion — so how are digital designers upping their game to grab the attention of the all-powerful Gen Z?
It’s all change again for the digital design industry working with brands that need to appeal to the two billion ‘Gen Z-ers’ worldwide — a generation of digital natives who could pinch and swipe before they learned to talk and who are now entering the workforce. For some brands, digital design that worked, even for Millenials, is now obsolete. …
