Working with SMEs of all shapes and sizes, one of the things that continues to amaze me is how smaller businesses often consider branding as the sole reserve of large companies. Why is this? Further investigation leads me to conclude it is because they misunderstand what branding actually is, that is they consider branding as simply a form of marketing, a visual way of helping a company stand out.

By discovering what their brand is about and in doing so, understanding the importance of branding to their company’s success, they are often left amazed they managed without a clearly defined brand.

What is branding?

At Clock we refer to brand as the DNA of a company. It is the essential component that enables everyone within a company to work together to form a cohesive strategy. Without a clearly defined and understood branding strategy, a company struggles to deliver a cohesive customer experience.

So if branding is so critical why are so many companies being run without a brand strategy?

Often it is simply because they have never had it, therefore they don’t know they need it. The point they discover their brand lacks focus is when they find themselves competing on price and are struggling to stand apart.

We work with many companies who are seeking to define their brand positioning.

They are looking to uncover what differentiates them. What makes them distinctive and what makes them compelling to customers.

Business consultants would consider this their territory. The point is brand strategy and business strategy share the same territory. Done properly, they go hand in hand – by understanding the business vision, the strategic plan and the competitor landscape, the brand strategy is there to clearly and distinctively communicate a company’s relevance.  In other words if a company has a strong, clear, competitive brand positioning it gives customers a ‘shop window.’

SMEs not only need this as much as multi-nationals – they need it more.

They are often operating as ‘bottom-feeders’ – picking up business where the multi-nationals are not interested in going, often because the margins are too small.

By defining their area of specialism or unique operating style or personality, a smaller company can often create a space to sit free of many competitors. And in doing so, command a higher premium for their goods or services.

Now surely every company wants that?

On February 15^th we hosted a brand workshop for SMEs who have recently been through a high growth programme at MMU Business School. The workshop aimed to help the attendees consider how a strong brand delivers tangible business benefits, what their brand is about and how to uncover and then exploit their uniqueness. After a brief introduction and some case studies explaining what makes a brand a Superbrand, the ambitious entrepreneurs were put to work considering why their brand should be considered a business Superbrand.

It was quite a revelation to discover that people assume branding is for larger companies and therefore they, as SMEs don’t need to focus on it – it was Clock’s job to change this perception and encourage them to think of their brand as the DNA of their business.

We focused on three areas; Quality, Distinction and Reliability. Using some creative tools (no powerpoint or laptop in sight) we asked them to start answering some fundamental questions about their business to unravel what they sell. Those selling product initially thought they were selling products, when they thought about why their customers buy from them, they soon realized their USP was to be found in the ‘softer’ side of the business, such as their level of knowledge, their bespoke solutions etc. One company provides construction services that save lives, they are an essential part of road transport safety yet they market themselves as engineers. For them, thinking about the emotional elements of their brand rather than only the rational was a real eye-opener. There was an air of concentration in the room and everyone took on the difficult task with great enthusiasm.

There were some fantastic insights revealed, areas for development noted, and one company decided to use the exercise for a training session so their staff “lived and breathed the brand as well”.

As a conclusion to the event each person was invited to talk through their board and their findings. Judging followed with prizes for the top three brands – first prize was a copy of the Superbrands Annual, which we hope will prove inspirational for the winner.

The event was run in conjunction with NW Insider Magazine and the MMU Business School. A full write up of the event will be featured in NW Insider in their March issue.

An interesting question was posed to us in the office this morning: what has been the best brand repositioning from the last 10 years? Immediate thoughts were around the obvious; Apple, Skoda, mobile phone technology. But when Paul suggested the Royal Family that got us all thinking.

Although we can’t walk into a shop and buy some ‘Monarchy’, They are quite clearly a brand that has managed to reposition themselves within the public’s hearts.

Most of this is down to William and Kate, the hype around the Royal Wedding and the ‘what will she wear’ conversations that dominated a lot of last April (not to mention the bonus bank holiday we all got!).

But on the whole the perception of the Royal Family has changed, given the advances in media recently we are given more access to their lives and therefore see them as people. Buckingham Palace and individual members of the family have Twitter accounts (as well as many spoof accounts) and 51,386 like The Queen on Facebook. TV cameras are following the Queens activities and interviews with her Grandchildren recently shown in a BBC documentary help us see the day to day lives and the hard work they do.

In the run up to the Diamond Jubilee the team around the Royal family have opportunity to cash in on the hype even and help secure their position as a the British Brand.

The balcony kiss (image via Associated Press).

Yesterday I spent all morning trying to upload a CSV (Comma Separated Value) file into a table in one of our client’s databases. Yes I know some of you hardcore techies are now sniggering away behind your Skylander collections, and I guess you are right it should have taken me the time to write this sentence to complete, but it wasn’t happening fast and everything I tried threw an error.

Needless to say, this frustrated behaviour continued for a good 2 hours-until a moment of magic happened.

Ray a designer who sits alongside me and was probably fed up with me swearing at my desktop, quietly suggested that I talk him through what I was doing, as a way of working out where the problem was.

Ray said nothing as I calmly talked through the problem stage by stage. By stage 2 in the process it quickly dawned on me exactly why the file had not uploaded correctly and within 30 seconds the data from the CSV file was loaded in to the database.

By simply calming me down and focusing my attention into describing the process in layman’s terms, the problem was quickly solved. Genius!

So why did I not spot this simple error earlier on in the day? Quite simply it was arrogance, driven by the belief that I and only I could solve the problem.

By bottling stuff up and believing you are the only one who can solve the problem can have you stuck fast in a frustration loop.

Frustration loops exist in various guises in many of our clients businesses and we find they are solved much quicker and with less effort when the challenges are shared amongst us.

Being able to share a clients challenges with them, however trivial can lead to new business opportunities and faster more effective results.

The key as Ray demonstrated to me is to say nothing and listen to everything even if you are no expert.

Over the last few years I have become – along with the misses – quite a fan of gardening. This will probably shock a few people who knew me before I left my previous job as many will remember me as a big petrol head.

One of the reasons for changing my hobby was that the financial need to support a family far outweighs the need to drive a ridiculously fast car. But the biggest reason, which I later discovered whilst pottering about in the garden, is that I found I could truly switch off from the many digital distractions that switch me on during the week.

Emerging yourself in the digital world is truly tiring. The constant need to understand new technology, new standards, write 1000′s of lines of PHP code whilst tweeting and blogging can be at best, draining. So, to offset this constant binary attack, especially when the weather gives me the opportunity, you will find me at the bottom of my garden, pottering.

During a recent garden escape from things like PHP, jQuery and Linux, Nicola arrived home with some new plants, and to my dismay, I discovered that each plant pot had a QR Code printed in the side. Normally, I would have been leaping for joy at this obviously clever positioning of the medium, but I couldn’t, as the realisation hit me hard that the digital world is now invading my purposely un-digital hobby. And I maybe biased but this for me is all a bit to much. Or am i just getting old?

I’ve just got back fro the US and every time I visit, I’m reminded what great customer service looks like.

I can never work out if it’s just the way the Americans are or if they are very well trained and incentivised. To the reserved English, the glowing friendly and outward American can however seem OTT.

I’m sure the tipping culture provides some focus but it’s much more than that.  I had plenty of occasions to think that they are altogether more positive, friendly and polite than we are, it’s not every country where two young snowboarders would ask if I minded if they drank a beer on the chairlift (although it didn’t run to offering me one) however, there are plenty of folks in the UK who have good manners too – I suspect that there are just a lot less of them.

There are so many instances where I am underwhelmed by the service I receive in the UK that my default expectation is to be disappointed. How fantastic it is therefore on the rare occasions that I am overwhelmed, and how many people do I then tell about it – I can’t stop!

If this is the case then why don’t more companies on this side of the Atlantic give stand out service – it attracts a growing legion of brand advocates,  is the best form of brand development and is just good practice. Standout customer service has to be a major focus for every business that wants to succeed.

Two huge print jobs are flowing through the agency at the moment and yet again it highlights the need to have knowledge and experience on hand when it comes to printing – especially in large volumes.

Many businesses out there are looking at buying in their own print and management as a cost-saving exercise without understanding the amount of risk they are exposing themselves to.

Without the old-school knowledge and experience that many agencies have developed through years of practice, this gung-ho attitude to printing can quickly turn into a false economy. Just handing over a disc containing artwork is risky business at the best of times, but imagine doing this when you have the quality of £80,000 worth of brand collateral riding on it.

When an agency takes on the responsibility for buying and managing the print, there are many things specifically born out of experience that happen to ensure the finished article looks every bit as good in the final form as it did on the screen.

At the beginning of each job, time is invested into:

• Selecting the right stocks and inks
• Meetings with printers to make sure they are briefed to the best possible standard
• Getting the best price (this is not the same as the cheapest)

At proofing stage:

• Are all pages included in the proof, are the pages in the right order and are page numbers correct?
• Are all images/photos included and in correct placement?
• Do photos and graphics have good contrast?
• Are all fonts correct and is the text crisp and spaced properly?
• Are the margins and page alignment(s) correct?
• Double-check all names, addresses, email/web addresses and telephone numbers
• Double-check spelling and punctuation

When at print:

• Are there dust spots, printing marks, or dirt marks on the sheets?
• Check colour placement and colour consistency throughout the pages
• If you have received a colour accurate proof, are the colours correct?

When printed:

• Measure the final trim size and check folds for accuracy
• Verify any finishing elements such as die-cuts, embossing, foils, varnishes, etc
• Confirm the weight and colour of the final paper stock
• Finally – ask yourself, would you be happy for your name to appear on the piece?

The bottom line is, when you pay an agency to manage your print, you are contracting them to fundamentally manage risk on your behalf – saving you from potentially expensive errors – and, if anything does go wrong they are taking on the responsibility to put it right.

This month sees Clock’s B2B Marketing supplement published in the January edition of the North West Business Insider Magazine.

We take a look at how B2B marketing is changing its tactics in 2012 and provide some insights for success.

“The team are extremely proud of the piece and have worked tirelessley toward its production – It’s a reflection of Clock’s growing stature and clearly demonstrates our passion in helping our clients to drive their businesses forward”. Mark Taylor – Managing Director.

Download B2B//2012

Three weeks have now passed since a few brave men (and sometimes women!!??) from Clock Creative decided to take part in Movember, the moustache growing charity event held each year during November. Movember raises funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.

From a clean-shaven start, we’re now past the halfway mark now and the progress is beginning to affect our personalities – as you can see from our latest update photo.

But we’re not deterred. We still have the remainder of the month to grow and groom our Mos, and it’s time to really kick things into gear to raise some money.

So on that note, please lend your support to the Clock Creative team by visiting http://mobro.co/clockcreative and donating whatever you can spare.

The funds raised in the UK support the number one and two male specific cancers – prostate and testicular cancer.

Sponsors of this year’s annual Rake Cycle Challenge, Clock Creative, were out in full force last Sunday (16th October) presenting commemorative ‘I rode the Rake 2011’ T-shirts that they had designed to mark the high profile event in the cyclists’ calendar. The team designed a logo for the event organiser, the Lancashire Road Cycle Club, incorporating the distinctive Clock logo and a cyclist in action.

The event attracted 100’s of spectators who lined the route from Ramsbottom library to the top of the Rake near the Shoulder of Mutton pub. Ann Rimmer of Clock Creative said: “We’re proud to be part of such a thriving village and we wanted to show our support for the event by getting involved and sponsoring it. Next year the time trail becomes a National Championship so the branding we’ve now set in place for the Lancashire Road Cycle Club can be developed further at a later date.”

Peter Graham, organiser of the event from the Lancashire Road Club said: “The race is a fantastic spectacle and hugely popular in both racing circles and with the numerous supporters who come along. We’d struggle to hold the event without sponsors though and once again this year we’ve been well supported which is great.”

The annual time trial event attracts keen cyclists from across the UK, hoping for the fastest climb, which this year was just under 3 minutes. Relatively short at 875 metres, the Ramsbottom Rake has a punishing gradient – reaching 25% towards the end – making it a challenge for the 75 solo and tandem cyclists who took part. The youngest cyclist was aged 9 on a tandem with her father and the eldest was in his seventies.

We are delighted to be shortlisted in a number of marketing awards this year, namely the 2011 Marketing Industry Network (MIN) Awards and Some Comms Social media awards.

In the MIN awards we are shortlisted in Design Consultancy of the year which we won in 2010 and in the Best B2C Marketing Strategy category for our work with client Fostering Solutions. The Design Consultancy award is given to the agency that demonstrates a consistent track record of chievment for themselves and their clients.

In the Some Comms awards we are shortlisted in the Best Use of Facebook category for our work with PetSafe, who we created 2 lovable characters ‘Archie the Puppy’ & ‘Annabel the cat’ who are proving to be quite a hit with dog and cat lovers.

Entering industry awards helps us measure ourselves against the industry and our peers whilst allowing us to profile the work we do and the results it delivers for our clients. It is quite an achievement getting shortlisted for us and our clients.

The moustache has a long and proud history. From Charlie Chaplin, Albert Einstein and Keith Lemon to Hulk Hogan, and Magnum PI, it is only marred by one German who we won’t mention here.

In November, the moustache once again comes to the fore as men across the globe unite in a very special and dare we say, potentially awkward event, Movember.

Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches in November on thousands of mens’ faces around the world. The aim of which is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.

This Movember, Clock will be raising funds by seeking sponsorship for our Mo-growing efforts. On Movember 1st, the men of Clock will sign in with photos of our clean-shaven faces and then for the rest of the month, us Mo Bros (as we’re called) will groom, trim and wax our way towards excellent moustachery. And we will be supported by the women at Clock, who we shall call the Mo Sistas.

Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November and through their actions and words raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around this often ignored issue of men’s health.

So, if you can spare some loose change, please visit our donation page to help fund an extremely worthy cause. And don’t forget to check our blog throughout Movember for updates on our ‘tache’s with pictures!

You can find out more about Movember by visiting http://uk.movember.com/

Rain. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch. Flirting. Rain. Christmas Games. Champagne. Caravans. Graffiti. Dog Rain Coat. Email Server? Email Server? Banana Cake. SME Club. Porsche 911. Polar Bear. Gimp Mask. Graduates. Another Pitch! Holding Page. Blind-fold. Sunshine!

It’s 12 years today since Ann opened the doors on Clock and since then we’ve continued to grow and become more and more successful.

After receiving two nominations for Best Press Campaign and Best Recruitment Advertisement for their powerful work on Fostering Solutions, Clock Creative went on to pick up a Bronze at the prestigious 2010 Roses Awards.

David Bailey, Clock’s Creative Director, said: “Naturally we’re delighted to receive recognition for the work we have produced for Fostering Solutions. With thousands of children out there needing care, it’s a worthy cause to be involved with and the positive results of our campaign are bringing us emotional rewards as well as creative ones”.

We’re very excited to announce that Clock has been awarded the title of Design Consultancy of the Year at last nights MI Awards (Marketing Industry Network). Well done to the team and a big thank you to all our fantastic clients for helping make this happen!

http://www.thedrum.co.uk/news/2010/11/18/16651-marketing-industry-network-2010-award-winners-announced/

It must be ‘Award Friday’! Whilst celebrating today’s nomination in the Dadi awards, we had to find our voices again on discovery of yet another nomination! This time for the RBAs (Recruitment Business Awards). We’re now finalists in the Craft category for Copywriting for our Fostering Solutions campaign! www.recruitmentbusinessawards.com/categories

Clock continues its award winning year with a nomination in the Dadi awards (celebrating and rewarding the digital industry). Our new website www.fosteringsolutions.com has had some fantastic results recently as part of our integrated campaign to increase the recruitment drive for foster carers. This is the icing on the cake for a site we’re really proud of! www.dadiawards.com/categories