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February 8, 2014
TIPS TO GET THE MOST OUT

TIPS TO GET THE MOST OUT OF PINTEREST

Pinterest has quickly become a powerful referral tool for online traffic, which is particularly important for eCommerce businesses. With an average of 1.36 million users daily users, Pinterest has surpassed Twitter; and Google+, YouTube, and LinkedIn combined in referral traffic. Currently responsible for about 40% of e-commerce traffic, one reason for this is the simple fact that high-quality, visual content sells and it’s highly engaging.

Although the premise of Pinterest’s success underscores the importance of visual content, the platform still offers relevancy for non-visual businesses to promote their company cultures or perhaps recruit new hires by pinning photos of the office, behind-the-scenes events at headquarters, speakers that come to visit, off sites. All in all, photos should be colorful, bright and interesting i.e. things that people would want to share. Always keep in mind that attractive, compelling images are more likely to get repinned over those that obviously look like ads.

Below is a guide we recently came across on how to get the most out of Pinterest for your business.

January 18, 2014
CREATE THE PERFECT SOCIAL MEDIA

CREATE THE PERFECT SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT

As any online brand managers should know, when it comes to leveraging popular social media networks, posting content that fits the audience type & function of an specific social network will naturally lead to an increase in reach and engagement.  When it comes to managing a successful social media brand presence that will contribute to the set business goals, it’s important to tailor each communication piece to a specific audience then drill down to a specific social network.

There are numerous resources freely available online to help brand managers understand and make better use of the functionality and content marketing opportunities offered by the current popular sites: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest & Google+ . Below is one such resource; an infograph we came across created by ‘My Clever Agency’, which gives some indication on how to achieve better fit between your brand content & these four channels. Do you agree? Have you noticed an increase/decrease in engagement when including pictures?

May 5, 2012
Notes from Stockholm

Notes from Stockholm: Using Apple’s iPad as a presentation tool

Apple iPad fans out there will appreciate what can only be described as a “sheer genius” way to use the tablet as a presentation tool that’s sure to keep audiences from end to finish. Step2 Communication put this performance together to educate audiences on the incentives of relocating to the capital of Scandinavia, Stockholm, both for business & as a lifestyle choice.

While the content on what’s great about Sweden is quite informative its the message delivery, by way of this presentation delivered as a performance at MIPIM in Cannes that’s rather impressive. It’s magic-meets-technology all played out on no less than seven different iPads to pull it off. The result is just over three minutes of Apple-powered magic.

We’re pretty sure though that if Dubai put its mind to it, a similar presentation-performance would most certainly be worthy of a bookmark!

February 27, 2012
‘Try something new’ 30days challenge

‘Try something new’ 30days challenge inspired by TEDtalks

With the TED2012 Full Spectrum conference well under way, we’re falling in love again with old TED talks. Today’s one by Google Engineer Matt Cutts on trying something new for the next 30days is particularly inspiring & a must watch for creative folk.

When was the last time you tried something new? Learn’t something new?

Many professionals in the creative industry will agree that one of the most critical things to enable you to deliver to the best to your clients is to be continuously inspired.

Taking oneself out of a comfort zone by trying new things is a very good way of opening one’s mind to possibilities & fresh perspectives, which is why we really like this short, lighthearted TED talk on changing one’s mindset in terms of setting & achieving goals.

With March just around the corner we can’t think of any better time to start your 30-day challenge!

October 16, 2011
What are the habits

What are the habits of creative people?

The ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ book is probably one of the most widely known self-help books out there. Published in 1989, it was written by author Stephen R. Covey who outlined seven core principles to being effective in the attainment of one’s goals.

In today’s post we’re interested in exploring this subject but more in the context of the communications design industry. We work in a field that requires constant pursuit of creativity of ‘out of the box’ thinking all in the name of coming up with that BIG idea that will knock our clients’ socks off! So how does one do it? How does one stay plugged into the well of creativity?

There is no doubt that there is a plethora of self-help books for the creative profession; we’ll review some of our favourite ones in a future post. In the online space there are numerous blogs and podcasts by industry veterans on how they’ve managed to sustain that energy and fresh perspective after working with many clients.

Below is a selection of 10 habits recommended for creative professions, each supplemented with links to blogs that have more useful tips on things one can do to keep a fresh perspective and steer well clear of the boring box.

1. Solitude

Creativity flourishes in solitude. With quietness, you can hear your thoughts, you can reach deep within yourself, and you can focus. Of course, there are lots of ways to find this solitude. Via ZenHabits

2. Embrace your individuality

Individuality is something that we were all born with whether we like it or not. You have unique experiences and unique perspectives. If you can acknowledge this – that you have singular traits and singular ideas, your creative output will explode in both volume and distinction as you embrace who you are. Via ChangingMinds

3. Expect the unexpected

Take anomalies seriously. Recover from familiars and learn from them. Avoid excessive attachment to your own ideas and always be willing to recognize and admit mistakes. Via PT.com

4. Ask questions

Identify the problem and writing nothing but questions about it for 10 minutes a day for 30 days. This helps you fully explore issues around the challenge and gives you time to shift your perspective. Via FastCompany

5. Have fun

Creativity needs two ingredients, in comedy especially. It needs the sort of relaxing bull shitting, left-brain throwing ideas around where 99 percent of it is a waste of time. But then someone throws out a weird nugget or they’re just riffing on something completely inconsequential and they come up with something great. And then the next day is about we’re assembling them, we’re putting it together. Via Conan Obrien interview

6. Read, read, read

If you’re stuck for an idea, open a dictionary, randomly select a word and then try to formulate ideas incorporating this word. You’d be surprised how well this works. The concept is based on a simple but little known truth: freedom inhibits creativity. There are nothing like restrictions to get you thinking. Via Alex Shalman

7. Reject fear, embrace imagination

Fear is an emotion and it’s impossible to counter an emotion with logic. So you need to mount emotional arguments for why your fear of the new is the thing you truly need to fear. [For imagination] just knowing it exists ought to be enough. Once you realize you’re settling, it may just be enough to get you wondering… wondering whether maybe, just maybe, something better is behind curtain number 2. Via Seth Godin

8.Don’t emulate your heroes & competition

There is a form of oppression that emerges when we allow the work of our influences or competitors to drive our creating in an unhealthy way. The creative process is a personal assault on the beachhead of apathy and a push to explore and break new ground, even when we are uncertain of a successful result. The more we try to force a successful (and derivative) result, the less likely we are to see true breakthrough. It’s only when we are free to abandon our need to measure up and instead simply trust our abilities that we will begin to see real creative brilliance emerge. Via FastCompany

9.Play games

Always carry a small notebook and a pen or pencil around with you. That way, if you are struck by an idea, you can quickly note it down. Upon rereading your notes, you may discover about 90% of your ideas are daft. Don’t worry, that’s normal. What’s important are the 10% that are brilliant. Via Jpb

10.Be flexible in thought, opinion & decisions

A creative genius is flexible in thought, opinion and decision because creativity requires an open mind that takes many perspectives and opinions into consideration at one time. It is from this information that the creative mind is then able to piece together all of the essential ingredients that are required to bring their unique ideas into the physical world. Via IQ Matrix Blog

What habits or routines have helped you nurture your creativity?

July 31, 2011
Getting employee buy-in

Getting employee buy-in on your organisation’s brand guidelines

Brand guidelines in essence are go-to or reference manuals detailing an organisation’s brand identity and the necessary tools to consistently project this identity to its environment. The overall purpose of brand guidelines, as part of a holistic branding program is to ensure that the brand values, culture, structure and operations of an organisation are all aligned.

In terms of best practice, brand guidelines shouldn’t be modelled as strict dos & don’ts that stifle creativity and the implementation of the brand. Instead, best-practice brand guidelines encourage an organisation’s employees to embrace a shared understanding of the brand story and brand vision, instilling belief in the brand’s authenticity and offering relevant instructions on the application of the brand messages across various platforms even providing some opportunity for creative freedom.

At Zaman, in our work with clients requiring a brand strategy overhaul, when it comes to the brand guidelines preparation stage, as a rule of thumb, we have three identified elements that play a critical role in the build of the final guidelines. These are:

  1. Primary user – effective brand guidelines must offer relevancy for each potential user profile in the organisation (HR, accounts, marketing…)
  2. Primary use – in terms of content it must offer value by anticipating the possible needs and queries of its intended users.
  3. Accessibility for use – brand guidelines must be easily available to all and in the appropriate formats.

Companies that have undertaken a successful brand revamp can appreciate that perhaps the most effective way to implement new brand guidelines is to get a buy-in from employees across ranks.

Why?

Employees are the first line of communication between an organisation and its external stakeholders which mind you are not limited to customers but include industry partners, media, suppliers, investors as well as future employees. To this effect, brand guidelines must cater to any situation in which individuals associated with your organisation interact with others as representatives of your brand. Without internal buy-in or understanding of the revised brand even the best thought-out brand strategy is likely to fizzle into non-existence.

So how can you achieve this?

First: Instead of issuing a decree by way of an internal email memo (typical of companies with multiple geographic locations) adopt an engagement-driven approach. Consider scheduling  in a series of “soak & scope” workshops for all employees and use these platforms to clearly outline the objectives of the brand guidelines and create relevancy by demonstrating how each user profile in the organisation is to use them. Bearing in mind:

Primary user + Primary use + Accessibility for use

This type of approach not only creates a spirit of brand ownership throughout the organisation but it also ensures that your organisation is projecting a streamlined message within its environment.

Second: Consider setting up external & internal indicators or cues that can be monitored to gauge the overall adoption of the new brand strategy and the effectiveness of your new brand guidelines.  Typical external cues could be a marked positive change in customer perception resulting in a “higher ranking” versus previous position and that of your immediate competitors.  For internal cues below are a few suggestions that you might consider monitoring:

  1. Everyone in our organisation knows our brand values and can articulate them simply and clearly. (Yes/No)
  2. Everyone in our organisation understands their respective role in the delivery of our brand promise. (Yes/No)
  3. Across all ranks there is a clear understanding of what differentiates our brand from our competitors. (Yes/No)
  4. All departments from finance to frontline service delivery are aligned with our brand objectives. (Yes/No)
  5. Included in our performance management systems is an assessment of the contribution each individual makes to growing and enhancing the brand. (Yes/No)
  6. Our induction programme includes education on our brand and the role it plays in enhancing our organisation and market competitiveness. (Yes/No)
  7. Strengthening and protecting the organisation’s brand is a fundamental driver behind our organisation’s long-term goals. (Yes/No)

Does your organisation have set brand guidelines? What lessons can you share on how your organisation has or hasn’t been able to effect adoption of brand guidelines?

March 2, 2011
Authencity in Business is it relevant?

Authencity in Business is it relevant?

The inauguration of the Kei Café in Kuwait sheds light on the importance of Authenticity for the promotion of a culture. The weight that the Japanese government put behind the launch campaign demonstrates how they counted on Authenticity to create a differentiated position for the country. Thereby reinforcing their messages about improving their cultivation techniques and quality of their produce.

 

For the food industry, Authenticity is equivalent with natural and quality. In branding, we associate it with realistic promises, genuine delivery, and relevance to the culture.  In the Arab world, there are many authentic concepts that could inspire businesses. Yet, we tend to brush them on the surface or neglect them for the sake of modernity. And there are many brands that never thought that Authenticity counts.

 

Perhaps we should learn from the Japanese and think of the best quality ingredients in our businesses so that we inspire the world.

 

Tags: Café Kuwait design interiors campaign authenticity branding

By Grace Yacoub

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