For our inaugural issue, we begin with the coveted end-game: the audience’s attention. In particular, getting it and keeping it. As we’ll do each quarter, we present our topic from several angles, including the role design can play in breaking through the clutter, guidelines for creating ideas that stick, and the merits of making the medium the message.

BY SHAWN HAZEN
DESIGN DIRECTOR

How often have you chosen a deodorant or cold medicine based on which package looked best? What you’re doing is judging quality based on the design of the package.

There are numerous examples of this throughout the supermarket. Another good one is wine. Once you’ve decided you’ll spend $15 and want red, it’s up to the design to sell you. You’re not consciously scrutinizing the type style or examining the production techniques, you’re just looking for something that has, to put it un-academically, the right vibe.

Design is the most visible, and therefore the most accessible, manifestation of a brand. Design affects us on both emotional and rational levels, whether we're aware of it or not. Bad design makes a company feel cheap or not credible. It may create a feeling of vague distrust or actually cause the consumer to consciously stay away. In the best examples of good design, the design itself is not conspicuous. It supports the message, strengthens positive associations, connotes strength and reliability, and makes information clear.

BY KAREN RAFEEDIE
ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR

So what’s a marketer to do? Change. We have. Rather than relying solely on traditional tactics, we now make a habit of tapping into unexpected ways to reach our clients' audiences. For starters, we're now counseling clients to shift roughly half of their print media dollars into new channels, including heavier online advertising and community-based tactics.

But like anything else, the channels you choose must be strategic. They have to make sense for your brand, your marketing objective, and most importantly, your consumer. Example: you don’t want to use branded coffee cups to target pregnant moms. 

The art of being ‘sticky’

Classic client-agency battle: client wants to say three things, agency wants to focus on just one. Rather than battle it out, next time we’ll simply refer our clients to “Made to Stick,” the selection for Remedy’s company-wide book club this summer.

THE GIST
“Made to Stick” sheds light on what makes certain ideas sticky and memorable (i.e., most urban legends) and others forgettable (i.e., most political campaign ads). Brothers and authors, Chip and Dan Heath, bring serious credentials to the table with previous gigs as professors and researchers at Duke, Stanford, and Harvard. Throughout the book they draw upon dozens of social science and cognitive studies to illustrate the principles behind what makes ideas stick. A few of our favorites:

ACHIEVING STICKINESS
• Craft a rock-solid “commander’s intent.” Usually identified by asking: If the audience takes away only one thing, what should that be?

• Beware the “curse of knowledge.” Your audience does not know what you know. Create your message with that in mind.

• Look out for “semantic stretch.” Words that are so overused, they don’t mean anything anymore, i.e., ‘unique,’ ‘quality.’

• And always, keep it simple. Sounds obvious. But complexity is typically the root of forgettable ideas.

WE'RE STUCK
We give “Made to Stick” a big thumbs up. We're referencing it endlessly with our clients, some of whom have even purchased it. (Have they read it yet? Not sure.) Every marketer should read it. It's your turn. Buy it now.

Print likes us, too

Remedy’s branding work for Edward Hospital has been selected to appear in Print magazine’s 2007 Regional Design Annual.

For those of you unfamiliar with the mag, Print is one of the design industry’s most respected publications. We share this distinction with Brian, Jill, and all of our great clients at Edward, who understand the important role design plays in building a brand. Amen.

"5,4,3,2,1" blasts off

Kids in six inner-city Chicago communities are finding themselves inexplicably choosing apples over chips and hopscotch instead of video games ever since the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children’s
“5,4,3,2,1” program started working its magic this summer. Remedy developed the branding for the program.

While a campaign to convince kids to embrace healthier habits is nothing new, CLOCC’s program is different thanks to its brilliantly novel approach: use kids to convince other kids to eat better and exercise. Members of CLOCC’s “Go Team”—12 teens from the same six African American and Hispanic neighborhoods —show up at local spots like schools and YMCAs to tout their message to kids ages 5 to 11. The Go Team’s healthy pitch comes in the form of group activities and games, and a cadre of giveaways that Remedy designed, including branded t-shirts, basketballs, and stickers.

We want to keep Topic out of your Trash folder. So tell us how we did with our first outing—what you liked and didn’t, and any topics you’d think we should dissect in upcoming issues.