A brand (or a new product offering) is initially nothing more than an idea and the ideas that spread are more likely to succeed than those that don’t. Seth Godin refers to them as ideavirus and believes that Ideas that spread, Win! which is true isn’t it?

These are the experts who tell all their colleagues or friends or admirers about a new product or service on which they are a perceived authority. Sneezers are the ones who launch and maintain the ideaviruses. Every market has a few sneezers. They are often the early adopters, but not always. Finding and seducing these sneezers is the essential step in creating an ideavirus.The agents that spread ideavirus are none other than sneezers! How true! I love the way Seth has compared ideavirus agent to that of a cold which is spread by inhaling the airborne virus after individuals sneeze or cough.

So how do you create an idea that spreads? Simple – come to us! (Just kidding, although we’d love to hear from you). Don’t try to make a product for everybody, because that is a product for nobody. The sneezers in the ‘everybody market’ have too many choices and are too satisfied, which will make it difficult for you to grab their attention. Target a niche instead of a huge market. With a niche, you can segment a chunk of the mainstream, and create an ideavirus so focused that it overwhelms that small slice of the market that really and truly will respond to what you sell. The early adopters in this market niche are more eager to hear what you have to say and are more likely to talk about your product.

As Daniel Priestley says: Pick a battle you can win! Micro-niche and dominate.

We will discuss different types of sneezers in our next post. Stay tuned!

Clear & Creative - Marketing Communications That Increase Your Income

Clear & Creative - Marketing Communications That Increase Your Income

Enfield is the most northern London Borough, with a population in excess of 300,000. NHS Enfield asked us to redesign and revise the structure of their website to make it more accessible to Service Users.

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Clear & Creative - Marketing Communications That Increase Your Income

Have you got a nephew who makes websites? So have I, but I wouldn’t dream of putting him in charge of our most important marketing tool! There are programmers who have remarkable design and communication skills, but (as far as I know) they both work here.

Your website is usually your client or service user’s first point of contact, and needs an interface which is clear and easy to navigate, while maintaining the integrity of your organisation’s corporate image and brand values. There’s a lot that can be done online, but that doesn’t mean squeezing every flashy feature into your site, just because it’s possible.

Home-made sites usually end up looking home-made, and can damage your brand badly. Even if your friend/uncle/sister-in-law does a reasonable job of making it look OK, it’s highly unlikely that they’ll have helped you to identify your brand values, key messages and target market. Or employed cutting-edge SEO techniques. Or applied their marketing skills to make sure visitors convert into customers.

I know it looks attractive to get a site ‘knocked up by a mate’ when you’ve had quotes of thousands of pounds from professional companies, but trust me – it’s a false economy. I’ve seen too many companies try to get by with a cheap amateur site, then still have to pay again to get it done properly.

A good professional agency will make sure that your site does exactly what it should – communicate your brand effectively to your target audience, using great design and appropriate technology. We can design, manage and host your entire online presence, or work with your IT department to ensure brand integrity and sound design while you retain full control of content. Can your nephew do that?

Clear & Creative - Marketing Communications That Increase Your Income

John Gibbons contacted us last year saying he was an osteopath who felt he needed a website.

After taking him through our Clear & Creative Brand Clarity Process™, it was obvious John was more than just an osteopath. He had huge areas of specialist expertise that he was neither articulating nor delivering. John had a book in publication, as well as articles and training courses that could be sold and promoted.

John said he couldn’t afford the branding and website package we proposed, but loved the marketing advice and wanted to use it to build the website himself. We wished him well.

Some months later, just as we were wondering how he was getting on, he got back in touch and asked for help. Happily, we rolled up our sleeves.

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Clear & Creative - Marketing Communications That Increase Your Income

Hedges Law have branches in Wallingford and Didcot, and are soon to open a new office in central Oxford. Their core brand values are ‘approachable and professional’, and they certainly live up to them.

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Clear & Creative - Marketing Communications That Increase Your Income

How can you be sure your website isn’t rubbish?

Your website might be beautifully designed, use cutting edge technology and come up on the first page of Google - and still be rubbish!

But surely great design + great functionality + great SEO = great website? Not necessarily. Here’s why…

Most websites are built by graphic designers, web developers or SEO experts, and whilst all of those skills are needed to make a great website (well, the first two anyway – the third just makes sure people see it), it’s simply not enough.

Clear & Creative - Marketing Communications That Increase Your Income

We love design, technology and gadgets, but our real passion is to communicate. We get our kicks talking to you, listening to your ideas and aspirations, then helping you turn them into reality. We make sure that every project we take on is focused entirely on the results you want to achieve. Then we deliver. On time. Within budget. Guaranteed. We know we’re not the only agency out there, and that keeps us on our creative toes.

Back in the 14th century, William of Occam reckoned that the simplest answer is usually right*, and we agree with him. That’s why we strive for clarity in everything we produce. So we constantly ask ourselves: “Does this poster get the message across instantly?” “Can you find everything you want easily on this website?” “Would I use this service?” “Does my bum look big in this?” (OK, maybe not).

That’s why, even after umpteen years designing and producing branding, web, print, and exhibition stuff we regularly ask ourselves, “What is it that we really do?” The answer is, of course, Clear & Creative Communications.

*OK, we know that is a pretty liberal interepretation of Occam’s Razor.

Clear & Creative - Marketing Communications That Increase Your Income

Paul Fowler at Enstone Flying Club had a dream: to build and operate a squadron of affordable replica Spitfires from his airfield in Oxfordshire. To build interest and raise support for the project, we designed a series of ads to run in Pilot Magazine. The ads were so successful that we repurposed them as posters and publicity material, and now Spitfire Club, a crucial part of Enstone Flying Club, has been featured on National TV in the press.

Clear & Creative - Marketing Communications That Increase Your Income

Dominic Sandbrook is a historian, author and columnist. His series of books on modern Britain, Never Had It So Good, White Heat, State of Emergency and Seasons in The Sun have enjoyed critical acclaim, he is a regular contributor to TV documentaries and writes columns for several national newspapers.

Clear & Creative - Marketing Communications That Increase Your Income