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Wondering what QR?
August 9th, 2011
QR Codes have been around for ages now, but with the rapid increase in smart phones, they are fast becoming a great way to direct your audience online from offline material.
What are QR Codes?
A QR Code is a data matrix barcode which can be easily scanned by smart phones and direct the user to digital marketing materials for brands and businesses.
QR Codes can be placed on physical items, such as adverts, packaging. QR Code use is growing, 30-40% of all smart phone users have downloaded some form of code reader. On average they scan up to 5 codes a month. 52% of people have heard of QR codes and 28% of people have now scanned a code on their device (SOURCE: http://www.socialqrcode.com/)
Finally there are starting to be some creative uses of these now;
This is a good example:
QR CODE – Content-rich Resume from Victor petit on Vimeo.
Cafecreate also thought it was a good way to update the oh so outdated business card…. Brilliant 
Do I need a business card?
June 1st, 2011
Really?
Why do I feel the compulsion to carry around a small, increasingly tatty, amount of business cards wherever I go? I hate them. I hate the way they make your wallet bulge, I hate the fact they never quite fit and I hate that when the opportunity to bestow one arises that you inevitably spend the moment following picking up those that chanced an escape.
Worse still, not content with carrying my own cards, I am also obliged to accept those of others. Yes some are attractive, some are even inspiring but in the most part they, like my own, fill my wallet, then my desk draw and some time later my bin – hopefully after I have spent numerous hours that I don’t have, entering in details I pray will be worth noting.
Is it just me, or does it all seem a little neolithic in today’s interconnected ‘smart’ world? Yes, I admit, from a design perspective, business cards can of course can be a great way to convey a product, service or personality: http://cot.ag/nqO2qG
Usually however, you are more likely to be presented with a mass produced, low grade, basic white card featuring a logo (mistakenly referred to as a brand, see previous post). The irony being that, whilst these are gifted to aid ones brand awareness and self-promotion the impact of three differing cards (from the same company) with various marks has quite the reverse effect.
I do appreciate that like the humble debit card, business cards will be around for sometime, but one day they will exist no more and we will have found a new way, a smarter, phone based way – maybe the App; Bump is just that – it allows you to enter all your vital information into your phone and then bump with other iphone users to share.
Surely there must be a more creative way of using a QR code too…
Why you no longer need a creative agency (Part 1)
May 3rd, 2011
There we’ve finally said it. It’s what everyone in the creative industry feared and what every marketing department is already thinking.
Yes, the wonder of the superinterweb has changed the agency world as we know it. No longer is there space for the experts, the humble creatives, with their ‘integrated’, ‘strategic approach’ and their ‘intelligent’, ‘innovative’ designs – why oh why would a business engage (and pay) a credible agency when it’s oh so easy to get exactly what you want online… Seriously it’s quicker, cheaper and so good it must be true. As a service focused business, obsessed on maximising our clients budgets we thought it only right to give you some time saving tips; that’s another hour of ‘account direction’ you don’t have to pay for…
Huh, just think, no more agencies banging on about consistency, tone, brand hierarchy, measurability… (yawn). No more waiting for days for them to “think about it” before you tell them to change the colour to blue (seriously, how many times have we got to tell them the MD likes blue?!).
So first things first, if you don’t have one already, you will need a ‘brand’ (well it will only be a logo, but you will call it a brand). Fortunately there are now several zillion creatives who, having not had the desire or skill to work within a reputable agency, will charge you a competitive rate of $15 an hour – nothing like a low cost ‘company’ with a staff count of one.
Alternatively, rather than parting with what could amount to almost $100, you can just opt for an off the shelf option and go all in for $25 – hey you’ve got a great company name and with six ideas to choose from what could possibly go wrong?
Although it’s your job or your business, it’s always best to have a degree of diminished responsibility – you may at some stage in the future wish to use the phrase ‘I don’t understand why it didn’t work’. With this in mind it is wise to conduct some sort of target audience testing. Obviously you are on a budget and you don’t really want to hear anything else other than ‘I like it’, so if you really do like the ‘pink one’ we would recommend asking your mum and her friends – nice to increase your probability of a positive response wherever possible.
So that’s the ‘brand strategy’ sorted. Now you’ll need a website….
A new kid on the blog…
December 12th, 2010
So as the new member of team I thought I’d share my thoughts with you on what is essentially-just another good design agency.
Let’s first focus on the positive; working with Cafecreate is, well, quite refreshing. Yes, I can testify to that. Makes a difference- working with a team who actually enjoy what they do- these are people who design to the benefit their clients, not their egos, these are creatives who actively look to produce work which translates across all types of media; an integrated approach (as a non-creative, ‘what’s the point girl’, I appreciate that).
Cafecreate is also officially arrogant. Well, arrogant enough not to use gimmicks. They’re happy to be judged on their skills, their approach and their campaigns; still, I will miss their signature duck bobbing in a coffee cup.
So onto the inevitable downside- I have a Blackberry (not an iphone), I love my PC (don’t need a Mac) and I believe (quite firmly) that sometimes words are better than pictures- result being, I have the single desk, in the corner- a dark corner.
^Web- he’s all about leggings
November 18th, 2010
Jason came into the office the other day and announced that he had spent a ridiculous amount on leggings, shoes and a dodgy hat- after we picked ourselves off the floor, dried our eyes and stopped singing ‘man I feel like a women’, we had to eat humble pie…
I need the right stuff, he said. I’m running the London Marathon, for charity, for Get Kids Going! (FYI- they’re a national charity that give disabled children and young people the opportunity to participate in sport).
Well, that made us feel a little guilty…
Jason is now seriously dedicated, he’s running many a mile in the dark, eating healthily and turning into the dedicated resource for fitness knowledge in the office.
Needless to say, we’re encouraging him and supporting him every step of the way (not literally of course- it’s cold outside). We also figure that as his muscles are going to be sore through training that he’ll be sat at his desk for even more hours than usual… in the interest of helping out, we’ll find him something to do!
If you fancy getting behind Jason and his great efforts visit his fund raising page at:
http://www.justgiving.com/Jasoncoe
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