design thoughts

BANG! creative Designs Shop Local Milton Logo

Athena O'Connell design thoughts, thought you should know

BANG! creative is proud to assist the Milton Chamber of Commerce with the Shop Local Milton campaign in the design of the Shop Local Milton logo.

Shop Local Milton is a government funded program run through the Milton Chamber to support local businesses and to encourage everyone to shop local.

“Supporting Milton businesses is always a necessity, but especially throughout the pandemic,” said Scott McCammon, President & CEO of the Milton Chamber of Commerce. “The #ShopLocalMilton initiative, a partnership with the federal government and Ontario Chamber of Commerce, is a great way for us to showcase all Milton has to offer.”

The Shop Local Milton logo has appeared in local newspapers, publications, online and at events throughout the town to help boost the economic recovery for Milton businesses.

When you shop locally it helps to boost the economy, creates more jobs and is an opportunity for personal investment in the Milton community. Let’s all support local and #shoplocalmilton!

-BANG! creative Team

About BANG! creative – Strategy by Design

BANG! creative®, a multi-disciplined, award winning brand marketing and corporate communications design studio. BANG! creative specializes in the development and complete execution of brand strategies for local, national and international clients. Since 2005, the team at BANG! creative have successfully developed thoughtful, well-designed solutions from healthcare to manufacturing to consumer goods, within the public and private sector. BANG! creative has successfully established brand awareness, driving customer engagement and sales through a full range of creative & strategic services on-line, in-hand and in-mind utilizing traditional and new media. Our goal? Make it meaningful. Make it memorable. Make it simple. It’s what we do.

For more information contact:

BANG! creative
224 Main Street E., 2nd Flr
Milton, ON L9T 1N8
Canada
+1.905.636.9393
learnmore@creativitygoesbang.com
www.creativitygoesbang.com

Connect with us on:

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

RGD Designation Recognition

Athena O'Connell design thoughts, marketing thoughts, thought you should know, web thoughts

November 21st, 2020 – BANG! creative congratulates David O’Connell on receiving his RGD (Registered Graphic Designer) designation.

The Association of Registered Graphic Designers is Canada’s largest professional Association for graphic design professionals, with 4,000 Members, including firm owners, freelancers, managers, in-house designers, educators and students.

The RGD and Registered Graphic Designer designations are signals of quality and competence to the profession, public and government. Successful candidates have met a rigorous set of standards that includes documented levels of relevant, professional education and experience as well as competence in the areas of business, design principals, research and ethics demonstrated through the successful completion of RGD’s certification process.

About BANG! creative – Strategy by Design

For more information contact:

BANG! creative
224 Main Street E., 2nd Flr
Milton, ON L9T 1N8
Canada
+1.905.636.9393
learnmore@creativitygoesbang.com
www.creativitygoesbang.com

Connect with us on:

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

BANG! creative Wins Two Summit International Creative Awards!

Athena O'Connell design thoughts, marketing thoughts, thought you should know, web thoughts

September 12th, 2020 – BANG! creative is humbled, honoured and excited to announce we have been awarded two Summit Creative Awards this year, a Gold and a Silver for our work with Crozier Consulting Engineers and Priya & Associates.

Crozier Consulting Engineers – BANG! creative developed biodegradable seed paper coasters to promote research Crozier Consulting Engineers was conducting to improve the future of stormwater management at the TRIECA conference in 2019.

The coasters got the Crozier name out there and was in-line with the messaging at the event – vegetation being a key, but often over- looked component of stormwater management ponds.

Seed paper is a biodegradable eco-paper made with post-consumer materials and embedded with wildflower seeds.

Priya & Associates – BANG! creative developed a complete rebrand package, from a new look and style, website and printed material, we developed a strategy and story for Priya & Associates.

Focusing on the wordmark PRIYA, a unique and contemporary design was developed; the addition of a friendly colour palette created a professional and approachable sense to this accounting firm. The natural triangle shape between ‘I’ and ‘Y’ in the wordmark anchors elements throughout the brand design.

Summit International Creative Awards

SCA Gold Winner – BANG! creative: Crozier Consulting Engineers
SCA Silver Winner – BANG! creative: Priya & Associates
Summit Creative Awards

The 2020 Summit International Awards had over 4100 entries from 27 countries. Celebrating big work from boutique creative agencies and studios. The international panel of judges range from agencies such as Saatchi & Saatchi, Shigeo Fukuda Design Museum, Barrett and Welsh, WhatsApp-CreativeX, and McCann Worldgroup. Entries are judged “blindly”- without the name of the design firm indicated – based on originality, creativity, craftsmanship, effectiveness, and overall experience.

About Crozier Consulting Engineers

Founded in 2004, Crozier is an engineering consulting firm focused on the private sector. Crozier provides engineering services include land development, water resources, site servicing, structural, transportation and mechanical/electrical. Working collaboratively with planners, developers, private landowners, municipalities and regulatory agencies, engineers at Crozier play an early and key role in residential, recreational, commercial/industrial, condominium and First Nation projects.

About Priya & Associates

Priya & Associates provides accounting, tax, payroll and bookkeeping services for personal and small business. Owned by dedicated and detail oriented professionals with over 15 years of experience, Priya & Associates can accommodate your personal and small business accounting needs and and provide complete resources for your financial success.

About BANG! creative – Strategy by Design

For more information contact:

BANG! creative
224 Main Street E., 2nd Flr
Milton, ON L9T 1N8
Canada
+1.905.636.9393
learnmore@creativitygoesbang.com
www.creativitygoesbang.com

Connect with us on:

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Laptop by BANG! creative strategy by design

Review Your Listing and Stay Up-to-Date with Google My Business

Athena O'Connell design thoughts, marketing thoughts

Review Your Listing and Stay Up-to-Date with Google My Business

Google My Business is always aiming to improve the user experience and has made the following updates:

More branding tools added
Claim an unverified listing through Maps
Introduces searchable @shortnames

Having a Google My Business listing is not the same as claiming it. Anyone can add your business to Google Maps, but not anyone can edit the information in the listing and respond to the reviews it collects.

Do you need help setting up and verifying your Google Business Profile?

BANG! creative can assist you with ensuring that your listing is up-to-date and that you are getting noticed on Google.

Not sure if you have a Google My Business Listing?

BANG! creative can create, claim and optimize your Google My Business profile.

Your business isn’t going to list itself. Contact our team at BANG! creative today to ensure your business is set-up to be found, stand-out and get chosen on Google.

#Marketing #Advertising #Branding #Creative #Agency #ThinkFirstDesignSecond #BANGcreative

Wisdom Drop - Without Advertising Something Terrible Happens

Without Advertising, Something Terrible Happens…Nothing

Athena O'Connell design thoughts, marketing thoughts

Without Advertising, Something Terrible Happens…Nothing

Ain’t that the truth! ‘If you build it they will come’ does not apply when you’re competing in a marketplace with dozens (or maybe even hundreds, or thousands!) of businesses similar to yours.

It’s critical that your voice rise above the crowd if you want a profitable and growing business ?

This is where advertising comes in to play. This communication with your audience first of all let’s them know you exist, and second, attempts to influence their behaviour with a message developed to persuade them to take a specific action.

This could be a call to action button on a website, some cleverly written copy in a print ad, a targeted social media post with a clear objective. Really, the options are endless here – just make sure you are getting your name out there!

Remember that it’s best to have several ‘touch points’ in your advertising so that your audience is reminded of you over and over again – this helps when the average attention span is only a few seconds and people are faced with endless distractions. Build up that advertising presence over time, and watch them flock.

#Marketing #Advertising #Branding #Creative #Agency #ThinkFirstDesignSecond #BANGcreative

Branding Process by BANG! creative strategy by design

Branding Is The Process Of Connecting Great Strategy With Memorable Design

Athena O'Connell design thoughts, marketing thoughts

Branding Is The Process Of Connecting Great Strategy With Memorable Design

It requires a delicate balance of strategy and graphic design to uncover what’s truly unique about a brand, and effectively tell that story to the marketplace.

A good branding agency will dig deep with business owners to determine “Why should customers come to you rather than anybody else? What makes you unique?”

This builds the basis of a communications strategy that will drive the direction of the creative design brief. The next step is getting the wording absolutely right – crafting the copy that summarizes the brand and its proposition.

The client then has their first tangible piece of collateral – something that, if they had just asked for a logo design, they would never have had!

In the words of author and educator Jef I. Richards, “Creative without strategy is called ‘art’. Creative WITH strategy is called ‘advertising’.”

Want to read more? Check out the 9 Best Cleaning Visuals with Pristine and Flawless Designs

#Marketing #Design #Branding #Creative #Agency #ThinkFirstDesignSecond #BANGcreative

Own Your Audience

David O'Connell design thoughts, marketing thoughts, thought you should know Agency, BANGcreative, Branding, Creative, Email, Marketing, OrganicReach, SocialMedia, StrategyByDesign, ThinkFirstDesignSecond

Own Your Audience

Many people would argue that social media is the best, hottest, most relevant place to promote your brand. And while platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn are fantastic touch-points to grab new customers and to grow your fan base online – always remember that they are all rented property.

What do we mean? Think of it like renting an apartment. It’s owned by your landlord (let’s say in this case, Facebook) who collects your rent, handles all maintenance, and has final word over what goes on within that apartment. You have some say about how to decorate and live, but the landlord ultimately has control. Any small change by the almighty Facebook, and all of your audience engagement could go down the drain overnight. Or rent (ie. ad spend) could go up dramatically. There are no rules these social platform giants are obligated to play by!

When Facebook changed its algorithm to limit organic reach last year, many businesses felt the burn of having their audience reach cut, some by over 50%. What does that mean in practical terms? It means to stop putting all your eggs in one basket and diversify. You need to own your audience.

Your email list is the only audience that you truly own, and it’s the only place you can truly control what your audience sees. It\’s generally more stable and full of customers who are far more likely to convert than your online audiences because it’s a warm list of people who have already expressed interest in your brand. So when someone tells you email marketing is dead – don\’t listen to them! Just smile and nod, then continue to to grow your email list with lots of value and engaging content and watch the customers roll in.

PS – Your social content may not be getting the same kind of organic mileage as it once did, and reach could continue to decline or change. But simply cutting the budget and leaving your page to gather dust is unlikely to do you any favours either. Have a strategy in place that integrates social with your other marketing channels for a strong brand presence.

#StrategyByDesign #ThinkFirstDesignSecond #Branding #Marketing #SocialMedia #OrganicReach #Email #Creative #Agency #BANGcreative

Build A Strategic Foundation

Athena O'Connell design thoughts, marketing thoughts, tips-n-tricks

Build A Strategic Foundation

Building a solid strategic foundation for any brand is of utmost importance! Like laying the foundation for a house, the strategy designed at the beginning of launching or re-branding a business venture will determine how stable the brand’s market presence will be as it grows and evolves, and how successful it will be in forming impactful and memorable impressions over the long-term.

You could have a personal brand, or a business brand – either way, marketing it to the world in an effective and engaging way starts with creating a thorough understanding of just who and what your brand is, and how it fits into the existing marketplace. This analysis uncovers what makes you truly shine as a unique product of service.

That means first things first, market research is needed! Create an analysis of what makes you or your business unique, what competitors in the same space are doing, and how to highlight your unique competitive advantage. Use it to assess your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and develop a strategy to integrate this data into an action plan.

Having a marketing department on your side can really help to set your brand off on the right foot. Whether we’re talking about a new business venture or a complete re-brand of an existing company, hiring professionals to uncover what makes your brand truly shine and set those first foundational blueprints into motion can have a huge impact on your marketing efforts over time. The strategy is where the magic happens – once the groundwork is set, we can continue to build out from there indefinitely.

Take your business from run-of-the-mill to one-of-a-kind by building a strategic foundation!

BANG! creative wins Applied Arts Community Award

David O'Connell design thoughts, marketing thoughts, thought you should know

BANG! creative wins National Award for work in our community

March 6th, 2017 – BANG! creative is humbled, honoured and excited to announce we have won a 2017 Applied Arts Magazine Community Awards for our work with Norris Electrical, a Milton-based company. BANG! creative developed a new brand package, from a new look and style, website and printed material, we developed a strategy and story for Norris Electrical.

The Norris Electrical logo was developed to subtly create a positive / negative while the design uniquely incorporates a lightning bolt within the design as the E and the bolt are integrated to become one, it also creates the impression of a two-pronged plug. Capturing common elements used by almost every electric company out there, we were still able to create something completely unique and memorable in its simplicity and overall balance.

You can see our work and all the other winners in the March Issue of Applied Arts Magazine and online.

BANG! creative wins Applied Arts Community Award

Applied Arts Magazine

Applied Arts Magazine Winners Community
Applied Arts Magazine Winners BANG! creative – Norris Electrical
Applied Arts Magazine Community Awards

About Norris Electrical

Locally owned & operated, Norris Electrical has been serving Southern Ontario, as a full service commercial and residential electrical contractor for over nineteen years. Offering services in ASL for the deaf community, and is a proud supporter of Women in the Trades, Norris Electrical is committed to raising the quality of customer service provided in construction projects. Every step of every project Norris Electrical works on is analyzed, documented, and executed in a timely fashion.

About the Applied Arts Awards

Launched in 1992, the Applied Arts Awards are the only competition in Canada that recognizes the creative work of professionals across the visual communications sector, from image makers to advertising executives to designers. These awards are your best opportunity to promote your work to an audience of the best and brightest of the industry as well as to potential clients. Over the past 25 years, the Applied Arts Awards have become an international recognition of creative excellence.

About BANG! creative – Strategy by design

Executive Creative Director: David O\’Connell
Creative Director: Greg Sanford
Project Coordinator: Kyle Percy
VP: Athena O\’Connell

For more information contact:

BANG! creative
16 Hugh Street
Milton, ON L9T 2C6
Canada
+1.905.636.9393
learnmore@creativitygoesbang.com
www.creativitygoesbang.com

Connect with us on:

Facebook: facebook.com/BangCreativeCommunications
Twitter: @BangCreativeCom
Instagram: @bangcreative

Marketing Booklet Town of Milton Economic Development Campaign by BANG! creative strategy by design

BANG! creative® creates awareness campaign for Canada’s fastest growing community.

David O'Connell design thoughts, marketing thoughts

BANG! creative creates awareness campaign in support of one of Canada\’s fastest growing urban communities

This project was selected as winner in EDAC\’s Marketing Canada Awards, (2) EDCO Marketing Awards and (2) Summit International Creative Awards.
The Town of Milton had already been in the midst of considerable population growth and economic activity when the need to better promote the unique aspects of the community became the focus of their Economic Development Office. There was a story to be told and it had to position the town as an obvious choice of companies looking for regional, provincial or national expansion of manufacturing and logistics facilities, as well as corporate offices. At the same time, there was a request from the Economic Development team to dovetail the initiative into a feel good public awareness campaign to enlighten residents about the activities and programs being undertaken to maintain the strength of the community well into the foreseeable future.

Marketing Materials Town of Milton Economic Development Campaign by BANG! creative strategy by designa

Challenges

The messaging had to be clear, factual and simple. The strategy had to be broad and flexible enough to resonate with external and internal stakeholders. In addition to building awareness through various advertising channels, collateral pieces would be developed as marketing tools and used to support a strategic alliance program and as a statistical, financial and demographic investment profile.

While the new program would be developed with its own design footprint, the Economic Development Office had already established a basic brand identity in \’Milton This Way Up\’. Upon review of past initiatives tied to \’Milton This Way Up\’, we found the brand equity served primarily to extend general information and as a point of contact with Economic Development staff. The use of the office\’s brand identity would be limited to a \’signature\’, rather than making \’Milton This Way Up\’ the core message behind the campaign itself.

Process

In response to a tender tabled by the Town of Milton, BANG! creative submitted an extensive written proposal introducing the service, team members and professional expertise, along with a breakout of the process we would undertake and an overview of suggested deliverables. We were then short-listed to present our proposal in person to a review panel.

As the winning proponent, and armed with a better understanding of the scope of the challenge, we knew we could put aside a substantial block of time for research, development and exploration, which became our primary focus. As a group, we delved into every aspect of the competitive landscape; reviewing trends and demographics sourced through municipal, regional, provincial and national statistics, which were further substantiated through economic development white papers researched online and sourced through recognized universities and government agencies. This process allowed us to consider the challenge from different perspectives and refine options to arrive at the best solution. In short, this stage of the process allowed us to develop a much deeper understanding of our client\’s marketplace.

As we do for all of our clients, we continued to ask questions and listen intently, in the interest of honing our strategy. In this case, the sheer scale of the project dictated a much more in-depth application of our methodology. Our first task was to organize focus groups consisting of developers, site selection consultants, local business / financial leaders, municipal staff and executive members of Chamber of Commerce, through both an online survey and in-person sessions. This helped us capture a broader sense of the town\’s value proposition(s) and competitive advantage(s), along with varied views on where the growth of the community should be directed. The focus then shifted to an equally involved process of distilling and refining our market research.

As the program evolved through every stage of creative development and execution, a close working relationship between BANG! Creative Communications and the team from the Economic Development Office allowed us to continually discuss ideas amongst the group, while sharing insights and competitive analysis.

Concept

At the core of the concept was a simple positioning statement: Milton Delivers. The campaign would emphasize how the municipal office and its departments would work alongside external interests to provide incentives for businesses to develop in or relocate to Milton, and find solutions to make that decision much easier. Five central themes were added to the core message:

Knowledge Lives Here – reflecting the strength of a highly educated demographic of young professionals.
Milton Makes It Happen – reinforcing the efforts of municipal staff to provide direction and service.

Central to Your Success – positioning Milton in the heart of North America\’s most active transportation corridor and central to major Canadian / US markets.

The Art of Better Living – a nod to the initiatives undertaken by the Town of Milton to grow Milton\’s cultural, as well as multicultural community and amenities.

Live. Learn. Work. Grow. – a testament to the quality of family, as well as professional life industrial / commercial real estate professionals and site selection consultants could expect (on behalf of their clients) in moving their business to Milton.

Campaign strategy and scheduling

Tagged as a three year program, year one was actually quite condensed, (mid-July to year end), focusing on research and the development of a marketing strategy which would guide the creative. Year two focused on communicating through key print components and trade publications, while year three addressed the development of a strategic (business) alliance and execution of new media elements including a micro-site and online video testimonials. Throughout the entire program new material and \’tools\’ were continually introduced, which were developed for specific use by the Economic Development team.

As a broad sweeping program, we knew there would be adequate funds and plenty of opportunity to develop the message through various communication channels, thus BANG! creative along with team members from the Economic Development Office conducted an immediate needs assessment, identifying tools for specific use. Beyond this, it became our role to develop vehicles which would extend the campaign\’s reach. The introduction of the micro-site and testimonial videos reinforced the core message by presenting case studies and endorsements from businesses who had already chosen to relocate to Milton. Print components continually positioned and reinforced the message while providing contact information and directives leading to the micro-site and online videos.

Campaign deliverables:

a campaign / series of five ads
freestanding banners used in community and economic development presentations
transit advertising to increase public awareness
Strategic Alliance Program, funded and supported through key business stakeholders and corporate leaders
presentation folder with marketing collateral and leave-behinds
48-page Investment Profile (including local, provincial and national statistics and demographics)
12-page overview booklet, tying the brand messaging to infographics and lifestyle images
one overview video telling the story of how Milton delivers on key economic strategies
five videos, each dedicated to one of the key marketing messages
seven Strategic Alliance videos showcasing testimonials of key stakeholder partners
\’Milton Delivers\’ microsite integrating all aspects of the campaign online
PowerPoint presentation in support of the Economic Development Office

Website Design Town of Milton Economic Development Campaign by BANG! creative strategy by designa

Video Town of Milton Economic Development Campaign by BANG! creative strategy by designa

Results

Interestingly, the strength of the overall messaging permeated the community mindset and became a rallying cry for local politicians, town officials and community leaders. The campaign\’s reach has now extended into other municipal initiatives, including Milton\’s Education Village Innovation Centre (MEVic).

BANG! creative communications was commissioned to develop an identity program for MEVic. (The identity was successfully introduced as the cornerstone of MEVic\’s brand footprint and was awarded category winner in Designedge Canada\’s 2015 Redgee Awards.)

Designer Takeaways

Do your homework. Research is critical to finding the most appropriate solution. Do your best to unearth the smallest of details; often that is where answers reveal themselves.
Keep the process open and truly collaborative between studio and client. Carefully weigh the diversity of opinions and perspectives while asserting the professional expertise and vision for which you have been hired.
Focus on the clarity and simplicity of strategy, creative direction and execution. Never limit the breadth of the campaign, but ensure the brand footprint and messaging remain consistent.

Client Takeaways

Successfully meeting objectives depends on communication. The best results are achieved when clients provide clear insight and are willing to collaborate in an open and supportive manner.
Trust your design team. You know the subtleties of your marketplace and can provide informed direction, while the design team offers strategic and creative expertise to strengthen your brand / marketing communications.
Limit involvement to key decision makers within your organization. If consensus is to be reached through a multi-tiered approval process, decisions must be timely to ensure the process doesn\’t falter. This way, the full potential of the program can be realized.

(originally published in rgd.ca you can read the original post here)

RGD the Association of Registered Graphic Designers. Through RGD, Canadian designers exchange ideas, educate and inspire, set professional standards and build a strong, supportive community dedicated to advocating for the value of design.