KanTeq: An example of why a brand is more than just a logo.

I'm constantly banging on about the difference between having a logo and having a brand. It's a common misconception and it amazes me how many people think they have a brand where in fact they have an identity, and sometimes not even that!

A great brand creates an experience and a journey. It sets up an expectation of what it will be like to deal with that company through its image, its voice and its marketing and then it delivers on that promise. And as a result of delivering on it, it gets people raving about it. A great brand is not just tangible, it should connect with it's audience emotionally.

I recently came across a great example of what a brand is all about which I wanted to share with you partly because it is a great example and partly because I think this particular company deserves some recognition. This company is KanTeq.

For those of you who don't know, I own a horse called Alfie. He's still a youngster but my aspiration is to compete with him. There's tons of kit to buy when you get your first horse and one of the most important choices you'll make is which body protector to invest in. There are lots on the market but one that particularly caught my eye was the Kan Body Protector. 

There is much talk on various horsey forums about this body protector (BP) with it being new to the market. Plus those who have one are raving about it. BP's are not a rider's favourite piece of gear but Kan wearers actually love wearing it!

I also liked the fact that it is geared towards women, being shaped in all the right places. So, I visited the website and this is where my customer journey began.

The Kan is not the cheapest BP on the market. It sits somewhere in the middle, being £235, but to my mind, you can't really put a price on a piece of safety kit. Afterall, this piece of kit might be responsible for saving my life one day! And besides, KanTeq do a good job of justifying their cost.

The website is very easy to get around and there is a lot of emphasis on the key differences of this product, including the fact that it is incredibly safe and incredibly comfortable. The company makes excellent use of third party testimonials, with many very genuine reports of how the Kan has worked, especially in the case of bad falls.

There is also great use of video both for customer testimonials and from Wendy McCaughan, the company's founder. Also, even though this is a safety item, you still want to look good wearing it. The fashion-style imagery helped create the right impression of how wearable this product is.

Every company needs a story and KanTeq has one. Wendy is extremely passionate about what she does and this comes across on the website, in the videos and on the phone when I called to discuss my order. Wendy spent time with me going through the best fit for me and went to great pains to convey how important it was that I was 100% happy with my purchase. This promise was then borne out when I found that I needed to have the fit altered having changed shape over the course of a few months. Wendy readily accepted the BP back, made the necessary changes and got the BP back to me quickly in time for an event. 

I know that it cost her to sort this out for me but she stated that it was more important that she had happy customers out there wearing her product as she saw this as the way forward to growing her customer base.

So, what makes KanTeq a great brand? Here's my checklist... how does your business compare?

• The positioning is clear - designed by a woman for women
• The proposition is unique - there is no other BP like it on the market
• It is innovative - it uses technology not currently used in the equestrian industry
• It has a clear visual identity - the logo is easily identifiable and the image is one of efficiency, reliability and technology (in colour psychology terms, the Winter colour palette is used which is entirely appropriate)
• It instills confidence - through the image, the language used and testimonials
• It has a story - we know how this company and product has come about, making us care
• It creates a buzz - Kan wearers like to 'share the word' and tell others, creating loyalty
• It delivers on it's promise - my experience has been everything I expected it to be

I had the opportunity to try out my Kan yesterday. I can confirm that it really is extremely comfortable and stylish. Fortunately, I didn't need to experience its safety credentials!

A win in the Annual Design Awards for third year running

Every year printing.com runs their Annual Design Awards. Open to over 200 creative agencies across the UK, the competition provides an opportunity for the 'best of the best' to be recognised for their creative services.

We always enter and we always come up tops and this year was no exception.

I am very pleased and proud to announce that Oliver came 2nd in the 'Prestige' category with his booklet design for Amy Karim of Crystal Bridal Accessories and 1st place in the 'Seasonal' category for his voucher card design for Rachel Hague of The Schoolrooms.

It's fantastic to be recognised for our design offering but even better is to hear the feedback our clients give us. Interestingly, a recurring theme in the work that gets the most accolades is that the client invests realistically in the design time and allows us creative freedom to produce what we believe will work best. 

1st place - 'Seasonal' for The Schoolrooms Butchery~Deli~Cafe

"I'm really pleased to hear that my voucher card has won this award. I enjoy working with the Sheffield printing.com team because they make things easy for us. I am very busy and often will provide a loose brief of what I'm looking for but then leave it to the team to come up with the solution. They understand our brand ethos and what we are trying to achieve and their designs interpret this perfectly. Importantly, what they do actually helps us to win business. The voucher card was a success, it brought in people and this meant more sales. We will definitely be running this campaign again next year!" Rachel Hague, The Schoolrooms

2nd place - 'Prestige' for Crystal Bridal Accessories

"I am ecstatic with the results of the style guide brochure – it is professional, high quality and very well-designed. The design process itself was stress-free and I was impressed with the way all our ideas, thoughts, likes, dislikes were discussed so that the end product reflected our image perfectly! We were given detailed information about paper types, styles and finishes which helped us to make the right decision about the look of our final brochure. Thanks for an excellent service and a beautiful brochure. We will definitely be recommending you to all our colleagues in the industry." Amy Karim, Crystal Bridal Accessories

 What a fantastic start to 2012, don't you think?!

We love to design... An e-booklet for a Sheffield events company

There's no denying that online approaches to marketing are evermore popular and so often I hear that offices are going 'paperless' and sending out less printed materials. Whilst I'd argue that printed materials should have their place in the overall marketing strategy, that debate is for another article entirely.

Whether you're printing or online, one things for sure - you should still invest in great design. If you're trying to win work, the impression you make counts and certainly, poor design will only create a hurdle that none of us need in current times.

One company that understands this is Speakers from the Edge. This seriously driven company organises inspirational speakers for events, with those speakers consisting of explorers, mountaineers, adventurers... people who are amongst the most inspirational you are ever likely to listen to!

Directors Rebecca Varley and Kerry Galvin approached us to discuss how best to develop the corporate side of their business. More often than not, when approaching businesses, they were being asked to email information but were coming up against large file sizes and attachments. People are never keen to receive large PDF's and often firewalls will stop the email coming through, remove the attachment or put the email into junk... all bad.

So, our solution was to design and publish an e-booklet which would provide a link that could be pasted into an email or added to the website to download.

Oliver worked through three different creative approaches for Rebecca and Kerry to choose from:

 

 

And then once they'd chosen, the style was applied to the whole booklet. The e-booklet is completely interactive, easy-to-use and allows click-throughs to the website, emails, links and so on. Importantly, it can also support the printed article as the same files are used. This means that you're covering all bases. Not everyone wants something in the post and not everyone is happy with just an email. Personally, I find doing both makes the biggest impact.

My photography doesn't do this project justice so to view the live e-booklet, take a look at the following link: Speakers From The Edge e-booklet

I think the crucial thing with this project is that Rebecca and Kerry gave Oliver his head with the design. Whilst he still worked within the brand constraints, having understood the brief Oliver had free rein over the approach and as a result, Speaker's had three highly creative, unique and eye-catching approaches to choose from and a final result that will, we have no doubt, help Speakers from the Edge to win the clients that they want.

"We came to talk to printing.com Sheffield about a new innovative way to market our motivational speakers to potential clients. We wanted a fresh, eye-catching and interactive way to engage our clients that would complement our existing website and drive traffic to it. Given their marketing know-how, we asked the team for their advice, and they suggested designing an e-booklet.

The team were extremely enthusiastic and totally understood our brief. The entire process, from concept to design through to the final product was expertly driven by the team. We now have a stylish, fully interactive and user-friendly e-booklet which is central to our marketing strategy. As always, printing.com Sheffield were a pleasure to work with and we would highly recommend this particular service to any company looking to grow their business."