Fanatic.
Strategic Brand Communications
We've now finished the brand new eCommerce component to our already popular CMS.
Its fully bespokable and can take feeds from any back office system if needed, and can obviously handle absolutely any design dreamt up by our designers.
But the joy is in its built in digital marketing capability: sends email campaigns, tracks organic search, paid search, banners or any linking campaign. It has analytics showing exact user journeys, analytics that include conversion ratios from visitor to sale showing average basket margins, so all together you know your exact return on any digital campaign.
At Fanatic we have been using a new site: Zoom Office Chairs as a test... a bit of an R&D project with the new software. It powering 4 site so far with 3 more in build, but with Zoom its a standing start, and its interesting trying different things and watching the traffic and stats.
So adding user stats of conversion ratios, journeys and bounce rates in addition to the normal focus on aesthetics and key messaging, we're enjoying finding out more about finding 'the best design' for any specific job.
Question that needs answering is, 'what does an eCommerce site look like (and feel like to use) in 5 years?'
Zoom Office Chairs have a wide range of chairs all at lower prices than anywhere on the internet, so it ranks highly in google merchant, which gives it a head start. but after only a few weeks the site is receiving steady and consistently increasing organic search traffic, mainly just through our back linking campaign.
I will look forward to sharing the results of our SEO work, including tests with social media, PPC, merchants and organic search... there's nothing like a blank canvas to test things out with!
Clever Old Advertising
Posted by Jake on 01 Feb 2012
I love this old advert from Jeremy Sinclair who has worked at Saatchi & Saatchi for over 40 years. It was used for inside doctors waiting rooms, but soon picked up a lot of press coverage and is now an iconic ad associated with Saatchi.
At school in the forth year I chose to do my work experience at a Sign writers shop. I imagined being on a tall ladder, against the side of a magnificent truck, painting deep red and gold elaborate lettering, using one of those funny stickes with a ball on the end to steady the hand. The lettering would have shape and would appear to stand proud of the huge truck side with non realistic yet aesthetically pleasing shadowshadows.
But someone else got that week, and I went to an 'advertising' agency who basically amended lists of cars for sale in the paper. They got me (physically) cutting letters out of photocopied Letraset books, and pasting them to make an advert for some rubbish product. As by the time I studied graphic design we uses the early(ish) macs, I have no idea if they were taking the p**s or if that's what design was then!
But even though I might have ended up as a large format printer (zzZZ - no offence to all the good LF printers we work with!), I still wonder how a week at a signwriter would have influenced me.
I was reminded of this by seeing this van in traffic this morning. It is not hand painted but hints at the traditional look of a commercial vehicle lettering. If I was a large format printer, I think I'd want to hand paint it still!
In the obligatory secret santa this year Paul definately topped out with the best gift received.
Our rules state a max £5 spend, but gifts can only bought during the day of the Christmas party and only from a shop on North Street. At first glange this seems tricky, but as the years go by we have a tesco, aldi and a co-op to add the the vintage choices of the hardware shop, charity shops and best of all what has to be described as a junk shop.
This year the junk shop proved the best hunting ground, and Paul received this lovely foot stool. Other gifts included a wooden duck, magic set and also a tastful yet discussting vase to name a few.
N.B Paul is not a dwarf (although not quite a full size man either), its just the angle of the picture and our tall studio desks that make him look perfect for a part in Snow White ;-)
We have recently been working on a jointly branded campaign between our regular client, Lime Venue Portfolio, and innocent Drinks. The 5-a-day DDR promotes healthy food and drink at Lime Venue hosted meetings and events throughout Jan, Feb and March.
We were tasked to create a campaign theme that brough Lime Venue Portfolio and the innocent brands together. To find out how much creative space we were to be given for this we visited Fruit Towers (innocent head office) to discuss.
Movember
Posted by Sam Crutchley on 01 Nov 2011
A number of the male Fanatics have signed up to this year's Movember challenge. For those unaware, Movember spans the month previously known as November, and encourages men to grow a moustache to raise awareness of mens health issues.
It's a little early in the month to post any images of significant facial hair growth, but we'll be back later in the month with some (hopefully) magnificent examples of movember style.
Here's hoping!
We're taking pictures of each chair made by Ergochair today, a lovely studio made of a sheet and a ton of tape!!
I love this new poster campaign by the McCann Worldgroup for the London 2012 Paralympic Games!
The full range can be found here:
http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2011/september/london-2012-paralympic-games-posters
Really looking forward to this film based on the book by Simon Garfield. Released on September 1. The trailer was created by Naresh Ramchandani of Pentagram London.
