The power of real....

Royal Mail's launch of their new initiative, Market Reach, which will help provide companies and agencies with a full suite of mail campaign solutions to grow their business whilst also boosting dwindling sales, definitely provided some inspirational thoughts. In this era of the digital age, DM has seen a downturn, however the power of DM 'can' still have a very large impact on the recipient. If done right.

Take for example the traditional annual report. Many companies do not print and mail these any more they simply host them on their website or email pdfs, so why not try something a little different. That is what Austria Solar decided to do. They went back to a traditional printed document mailed to their shareholders, however on receiving the annual report they received a blank document. Take it outside and the special printing technique keeps the content invisible until sunlight hits the paper. Not only does this turn reading the annual report into an experience it brings to life the mission of the company, that of innovation. Social media then helped spread the word as people tweeted and blogged about this product - clever marketing or clever DM? Perhaps a bit of both?

3D sketches and fingerprinting inspire

Today’s blog comes from Laurie Dolding, currently studying for a degree in advertising, who’s been spending some time at Woodreed to gain work experience.  Thanks Laurie.


Recent research has revealed that 77% of adults in Britain have engaged with some form of the arts in the last year. It’s also been discovered that the desire for culture is found across a range of consumer segments, no longer just the ABC1 groups as thought previously.  This new ‘mass intelligence’ has encouraged a trend among brands to tap into art and culture with the modern consumer. With knowledge and cultural experiences becoming important status symbols it seemed fitting to use this blog to share some of my favourite, newly discovered artists.


I recently stumbled upon Japanese artist Nagai Hideyuki’s 3D sketchbook drawings and had to share his gift. This young artist creates inspiring optical illusions using just a pencil and a sketchpad and clever shading. Once propped up against a wall and viewed from the right angle his drawings leap out of the page and create the effect of a 3D object. Nagai Hideyuki is still an obscure artist but he has an incredible talent that I’m sure will get him noticed in the future. Check out his website for more brilliant 3D illustrations. 

Chuck Close is an established artist and his work has been exhibited in various national galleries. The one piece of art that captured my attention is a giant portrait of his wife’s late grandmother painted using only his fingertips. The attention to detail is almost unbelievable as Chuck Close managed to capture every detail of the subject’s face. The amount of time and dedication that this piece must have taken is truly inspirational. For more art by Chuck Close look at his website. 

Step away from the keypad

Harvard Business Review carried a piece this week by Daniel Gelati about multi-tasking which certainly chimed.  Of course multi-tasking is now 'de rigueur' for almost everyone these days as smartphones, tablets, laptops, even now TVs, give us the option to do more things simultaneously in one minute than our forebears did in a week.

As with all modern advances this is a mixed blessing.  Woodreed, like many other businesses I'm sure, has unleashed enormous value, tangible and intangible, for ourselves and for our clients, from enabling remote working, especially for parents juggling childcare with work commitments.  The mere introduction of two PC monitors means I can now keep even more balls in the air than I ever could before - and believe me that's a lot.

But at what price - to ourselves and those we live and work with?

Unlike our capacity for love which is not reduced in any way the more it is spread amongst those closest to us, our capacity for multi-tasking means that we are giving less and less attention, consideration and care to each task we add to the mix.  A lot of the time this doesn't matter, we can do things on the hoof and with an eye on something else, but much of the time something, or someone, has to give.

Gelati describes the '"provisional conversation": a face-to-face discussion that falls apart as one or more participants default to checking their phones, only to restart as the handsets are put away.'

How many of us have been in meetings, either with clients, prospective clients, our boss or colleagues, where one, or shockingly many more, of the participants have one eye on their iPhones or Blackberries?  Where those who are supposed to be listening to you, engaging with you, simply giving you the courtesy of the time of day, are suddenly distracted by composing a quick response to some inbound email or text which cannot be ignored?  Or worse posting on Facebook? Not only is it just damn rude to those present but tell me the quality of the response isn't undermined too and wouldn't have been better for some calm reflection at a later time?  Are we really all so, so important and so pivotal that the world will stop turning if we don't respond in a nano-second?

So isn't it time we all stood up and were counted and showed each other a little more respect?  Why is it a sign of corporate status to come to a meeting with your phone/tablet and then give it a place at the table? Is mine bigger than yours, really? Come on let's make it unacceptable to turn up at a meeting and place your smartphone on the table - turn it off and put it away. When you are in a meeting - formal or informal turn the phone off, ignore the monitor screen, step away from the keyboard.

Tell your boss if they're disrespecting you by allowing themselves to be distracted. Or suggest an alternative time/place to meet if you can't quite bring yourself to be too direct. Gelati cites the junior consultant who suggested that "moving to an empty chair on the opposite side of the room gave the senior partner space to wrap up her email and slide over to me when she was ready to talk."

Let's work out ways to put a stop to the worse aspects of this, and let's challenge our own behaviour too - because of course we are all guilty of it.

To read David's piece in full click here Harvard Business Review

Film can inspire and film can be dire

Woodreed has produced more films over the years than the proverbial heated comestibles and we've seen the media environment change out of all recognition. With the explosion in media channels the opportunities for audiences to view film have grown enormously.  Combine this with advances in technology which have significantly reduced the 'sit-down' cost of production and it's not surprising that film is enjoying something of a renaissance.


The new communications paradigm is to be discoverable everywhere your audience is, inside your business and out and film, done well, certainly helps achieve this. But the experience is not always painless, and the end result can fall short - in terms of creativity, quality, value, timings and, let's face it, just the overall experience. So we've taken a completely new approach to film making which thinks beyond and overcomes some of the frustrations we know clients can suffer.

It’s called WE.  It's very different and we think clients are going to like it.


Clients tell us they really enjoy getting involved with us when we're making films for them so the first thing we made sure is that WE is collaborative - the team at WE are upfront, available and transparent and client input is welcomed throughout.  


We've speeded up the process too.


WE combines the best strategic and creative minds with the best in technology and production to ensure great results - quickly and cost-effectively.
From experience we know the killer questions to ask to gain fast insight into the brief - insight we use to make sure our big ideas are solidly grounded in strategy and not delayed by deliberation.Technology that allows clients to view and comment on their film from any platform, any time, wherever they are. Technology that means initial ideas are presented at no extra cost as animatics to bring them to life right from the start.


WE sets out to be faster, more creative, more efficient - ahead of the rest.  


To be inspired visit WE think about film

Whose responsibility is it anyway?

A particular topic which has really galvanised readers of our Brand Inside Report was the question of who has responsibility for employee engagement inside an organisation.  One reader observed that the answer lies with the CMO in that if we can "unleash the power of the brand inside then mountains can be moved."


Another agreed that best practice must be led by the Board with "HR and Marketing working much more collegiately, dispensing with the conflicting agendas and silo approach to ensure employee engagement is a shared responsibility."



So a challenge to all brand marketers out there - are you prepared to make the necessary changes in skills, priorities and budgets to unlock the immense power your brand has to engage not only with your external audience but your internal one too?


If you're not - why not? The topic is increasingly coming to the top of the CEO/boardroom agenda and they will be looking to you as the guardian of their brand to answer for your stewardship.  With rising demands for better value returns all the time, diverting just a small part of your brand investment this way makes good, good sense. 


Let us know what you think and if you're an HRD or marketeer tell us what help you need to drive this change in your business and really create a brand-hearted culture inside. 


Of course if what's holding you back is knowing how to go about it, then the team at Woodreed would be delighted to lend you a helping hand.

Employee engagement existed even in the Napoleonic Wars or "I love my general"

I'm reading this fascinating book called "Young Bloods" by Simon Scarrow, which simultaneously traces the lives of Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington from their births in their native countries to where they meet in battle. There are some great anecdotal differences in their career paths, with Napoleon having been born into a poor Corsican family, and Wellington being born into a privileged family in Dublin.

However, it is Wellington's man management style which is really impressive. Although his military actions are praised for their tactical brilliance, he would always make the point of being visible on the front line to his men, to encourage and support them, to set an example and to show he was in as much danger as them. No shirking of responsibilities, no hiding in a well-guarded tent miles away from the action.

Although a strict disciplinarian, he "cared" for his men, and was known to be tough but fair. Put this against those awful WW1 military generals, who literally pumped "canon fodder" onto the battlegrounds, and you can see why the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, became one of our most prominent and well respected generals in our history. Not only respected by the army and Britain's population, but significantly by the men that fought under him.

Let this be a lesson to our modern day managers, who often shirk their responsibilities, don't lead by example and really don't know or care for their employees.

No wonder Wellington got the best out of his men.

Is he Quackers?

Happy Friday Everyone - Just in case you're dreading the commute home tonight.......

When you next travel on our roads, get held up on our busy motorways or maybe whilst you're travelling along a country lane and the farmer is moving his herds of sheep or cows, please spare a thought for farmers who herd ducks. Yes, you've read correctly ducks.

Although this farmer was thoughtful and avoided the rush hour, as he needed to make his journey from his farm to a nearby pond in search of food for his ducks, a few commuters were held up. The farmer was armed only with a very long stick and only had a few helpers. I'm pleased to say that the ducks made it safely to the pond and apparently he didn't have any casualties.

Saying you were "caught in duck traffic" would make a change from "sorry I'm late, the traffic is horrendous".

Picture courtesy of Metro