Frawley

16/03/2021

05/03/2021

Let’s talk about Brand Guidelines (and why you need them)

Brand Guidelines are a set of recommendations that ensure the accurate and consistent communication of your brand.

Include enough detail to aid the reader without stifling creativity.
Provide essential information to enable designers and other users to create exciting and on brand creative outputs.
We’ve prepared a 7 point checklist of items that should always be included.

1. Logo: Include examples of your logo so users can clearly see the correct file to use on all communications.
2. Colour: Include your Pantone reference numbers, CMYK, RGB & HEX colour values.
3. Typography: Include examples of the fonts you’ve selected to compliment your logo.
This will ensure a consistent design theme is implemented across all marketing materials.
Include selections for print and online touchpoints.
4. Clear Space: Provide guidance on the area around your logo that must remain free of other copy or graphic elements.
5. Minimum Size: Set a minimum size for your logo to retain its clarity and legibility.
6. Improper Usage: Provide some examples of what not to do to your logo. Request that users only use your official logo files.
7. Formats: Include examples of your logo on its preferred colour background options.

To recap, always include:
Logo - Colour - Typography - Clear Space - Minimum Size - Improper Usage - Formats

frawley.ie

18/02/2021

CAPITAL Offence

Above all others, scripts and ornately designed typefaces are least suited to
ALL CAPS*.
*Typeset in all capital letters

Script fonts are harder to read when capitalised due to the elaborate design of their capital letters.

But the problem is not confined to scripts - it happens with ornate fonts too, for example this one, named ‘Featherly’.

So, when you want to capitalise text, be kind to your reader and remember the Four ‘Cs’: Capitals Crave Careful Consideration

frawley.ie

16/02/2021

You are not the hero in the story you wish to tell!
The customer is and always will be.
You are there to guide and assist them on their journey using your skills to solve their pains to deliver gains.

Frawley.ie

11/02/2021

What do a bowl...a counter and a crossbar
have in common?

Typography!
They’re some of the terms used to describe the different component parts of letters.

Bowl: the right curve the 'D'
Counter: the centre of the 'O'
Crossbar: the line that crosses the 't'

08/02/2021

Tony Frawley and Kieran O'​Callaghan deconstruct the marketing practice of ‘brand strategy’, explaining what it is, what it’s not and the process behind formulating an effective one for your business, product or service. The strategists recount key learnings from previous projects and discuss iconic case study examples.

LISTEN TO THE 'MARKETING STRATEGIST' PODCAST ON:

Spotify - https://spoti.fi/36VxPLQ

Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/3aJ2q0f

04/02/2021

Well read?

Understanding the difference between Legibility & Readability will instantly improve your typography skills.

Legibility [ lej-uh-bil-i-tee ] noun
the state or quality of being legible, capable of being read or deciphered, especially with ease.

Choose your fonts carefully.
The design of the fonts you select will affect the perceptibility of your typeset content.

When typesetting a paragraph, it’s important to select a clear font. This will allow the reader to better comprehend the content.

For instance, a paragraph set in Brush Script is difficult to read. Its cursive design is not as easily discerned and the reader will spend some time trying to decipher what’s being discussed.

Readability [ ree-duh-bil-i-tee ] noun
The state or quality of being readable, easy or interesting to read.

Use fonts to add interest to specific content.
Choose a contrasting font to draw attention to particular areas of interest in your layout.

Have fun with headlines!
Headlines offer an opportunity to use fonts to categorise content, adding depth to your designs.

Some fonts are most effective in short bursts.
The key thing to remember is to select the appropriate style of font for the topic in question.

02/02/2021

Improve your Customer Targeting with the CLV:CAC Ratio

Why is it important to understand the ratio of CLV to CAC?
The Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) to Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) ratio is a useful value for marketers to use when targeting customers as it guides marketing and sales spend allocation. It gives the marketer an understanding of how much customers are worth compared to how much the business is spending to acquire them.

The ideal ratio is 3:1, meaning the value of your customers is 3x the cost of acquiring them.
If it’s lower than this, it indicates you’re not targeting profitable customers.
If it’s higher, you’re not spending enough on sales and marketing and are missing opportunities.

What is Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)?
CAC is an important marketing metric that represents the sales and marketing cost required to gain a new customer over a specific period of time.
The marketer’s aim is always to reduce this value which will result in increased spend efficiency and better return on investment.

How is CAC calculated?
CAC = 'Sales & Marketing Spend' divided by 'Number of new customers gained in that period'
e.g. if a company spent €10,000 on sales & marketing in Q1 and acquired 10 new customers within that period, the CAC is €1000.

What is Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)?
The CLV metric represents the predicted revenue one customer will contribute to your business over the course of your relationship.

How is CLV Calculated?
Start here...
(a)
Average Purchase Value = 'Total Revenue' divided by 'Total Orders'
(b)
Average Purchase Frequency Rate = 'Number of Purchases' divided by 'Number of Customers'
Then do this...

(1)
Customer Value = '(a) Average Purchase Value' divided by '(b) Average Purchase Frequency Rate'
(2)
Average Customer Lifespan = 'Sum of Customer Lifespans' divided by 'Number of Customers'
Put it all together to calculate the CLV
CLV = ‘(1) Customer Value’ multiplied by the ‘(2) Average Customer Lifespan’

How do you calculate the ratio of CLV to CAC?
Now that you’ve calculated the CLV and CAC separately, compute the ratio CLV:CAC
So, if it costs you €1000 to acquire a customer and their lifetime value is €3000, your CLV:CAC is 3:1 which is the ideal ratio!

28/01/2021

Typesetting
Tips for creating engaging typographic layouts

Design = Communication
Never underestimate the importance of proficient typesetting skills.
Typography ≠ Typesetting

Typography = Art
→ font choice
→ designing the page layout
Typesetting = Function
→ the process of implementing the design

Design layouts usually consist of images and text content.
Consider viewing your text as shapes that must work in unison to create aesthetically pleasing layouts.
Some paragraphs may require a little adjusting!

Let’s get to know the top four text alignment options
Left Aligned - The most common layout, suited to most applications.
Right Aligned - Best suited to specific instances for example to highlight certain text. Punctuation can be problematic!
Centred - Used sparingly it can add emphasis to specific areas of content. Take care not to leave a straggler behind!
Justified - Can add a uniform look to vast quantities of text, just watch out for gaps created by the forced spacing between the words. You may need to adjust the width of the text box to compensate.

26/01/2021

Marketing Acronyms
The SOSTAC® Planning Model

What is it?
SOSTAC® is a marketing model developed by business consultant Paul Smith in the 1990s in order to simplify the marketing planning process.

What does it mean?
Situation
Objectives
Strategy
Tactics
Actions
Control

S - Situation
Where are we now?
- Customer Research
- Competitor Research
- SWOT Analysis

O - Objectives
Where do we want to be?
- Business Goals & Vision
- SMART Marketing Objectives
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

S - Strategy
How will we get there?
- Segmentation
- Targeting
- Positioning

T - Tactics
The details of the strategy?
- Marketing Mix
- 90 Day Plan
- Content Calendar

A - Actions
How will we execute the plan?
- Implementation timeline
- Roles & Responsibilities
- Resource Allocation

C - Control
What will we measure, monitor, review and modify to keep us on track?
- KPI Tracking Tools
- Monitor Analytics & Customer Feedback
- Weekly Reviews & Refinements

21/01/2021

State Your Case - A guide to Letter Case

Letter Case enables us to identify uppercase and lowercase letters in various permutations.

UPPERCASE: every letter is capitalised.
lowercase...no capitals!
Title Case: the first letter of each word is capitalised.
Sentence case: only the first letter in the first word is capitalised.

CamelCase: Phrases are written without spaces or punctuation, capitalising the first letter of each word e.g. MacBook, PlayStation, PowerPoint.