TIMES ARE TOUGH

Follow up article for Design Week about the downturn

June 9th, 2009

Not a great shock to the system. Not much of a 'hold the front page' scoop.

But it succinctly sums up the sentiment of the market and it is beginning to define how we promote ourselves; in fact it's beginning to define how we operate as a business moving forward.

Let me explain.

There has to be appropriateness to communication. When someone whispers we whisper back. When we are shouted at - so we shout back. The same applies to marketing. Our customers, retailers, are being told by their customers, consumers, that times are tough. They are being told directly through research and indirectly through spending preferences changing. Much has been written already about some of the more interesting changes to consumer spending - the queues outside the cobblers; the increase in demand for pastry and lasagne; as consumers look to make the items they already own and the cuts of meat from a Sunday lunch last longer and go further.

As a result and to ensure that they are promoting themselves appropriately the consumer brands are changing their messaging. This can be seen by a number of the more responsive consumer brands - the banks, the leading retailers - M&S reverting to their heritage and the 'penny store'; Honda pulling the life car from Formula One.

And so contextually it comes as no surprise that our customers are passing onto us that times are tough. We are hearing this directly in terms of the effort we make to sit down and listen to our retailers and also indirectly through anecdote and the decline in demand in the market for taking new space.

So how do we respond? What is appropriate? When your customer is telling you they want you to reduce your costs and pass the savings onto them by reducing service charges how do you promote yourself to the same customers without the activity coming across as indulgent and unnecessary.

Well firstly our competitors are broadly in the same boat and rather than looking for a solution many have simply pulled themselves out of the market and stopped promoting themselves altogether. So the first step towards an appropriate response is to do less. After all in a room where no-one is speaking at all you only need to whisper to be heard. So we are whispering.

The next is to get the messaging right.

The market has lost confidence so in a similar move to M&S we're changing the messages from the esoteric to the fundamental. On the much fabled hierarchy of needs we've moved towards the bottom of the pyramid. After all if your customer wants to buy reassurance sell them expertise and experience. Similar to M&S we're not in a world where we can sell our product from the point of view of the 'feeling inside' any more, now it's all about the bottom line. Research that proves the business case for taking a new store and underpins every opportunity. We then reinforce this objective evaluation with confirmation of our operational excellence - that we will attract more people to your shop (industry leading consumer marketing); keep them their for longer (excellent customer service provision); save you money (service charge savings and environmental initiatives that make business more efficient) and be more flexible to your business' changing needs (lease reform and monthly rents).

So we know what we are going to say and how loudly we are going to say it but where is design left. What role has design got to play?

We've got a fantastic track record for commissioning great design.

Beautiful, engaging, effective design work that has helped position us as the pre-eminent property company in Europe.

But when times are tough and your customers are telling you so, is it still appropriate to invest in design as we did when times were more buoyant?

I would argue more than ever. After all our messaging has become more complicated rather than less complicated and it is going to take some brilliant design to get the balance right - to satisfy our audience as well as our commercial needs. To ensure that our marketing materials continue to be effective within the context of an audience that might resent being 'marketed' to.

Our design roster is looking for the balance, finding the appropriate way to communicate, striving for the creative solution that will turn a tough market into an opportunity to position us not only as the company that was there when times were good - but there when times got tough.

We believe that design can do this; uniquely design over everything else can ensure that we are left in the best possible position to reap the rewards from a recovery in the market. After all whilst times are tough at the moment they won't be forever and I believe that the companies that have got the messaging right and continued to promote themselves appropriately (many aren't and are still using last years creative and looking a little crass) these companies will be in the best place to capitalise when the market comes back.

The do's and don'ts of commissioning design for (retail) property marketing

DO:

• Challenge conventional wisdom, there are many established 'norms' in property marketing - challenge them. In almost all cases the established ways of doing things have come about through habit rather than by design. A downturn is the time to challenge conventional wisdom - to propose a better way of doing things
• Remember that property is a people business. To increase effectiveness weave quality consumer research into your messaging. After all is said and done, a retailer simply wants to know who and how many people are likely to visit his shop and what they have to spend
• Research your effect. In the past property marketing has not always had the rigour it maybe should have had. This has meant that within some portions of the UK property marketplace marketing has a low perceived value, some of us are trying to change this....please do the same

DON'T:

• Use the hackneyed, obvious solutions. Monopoly boards are most definitely last decade (or possibly the decade before last)
• Chop and change design suppliers. Property is a long term business so should your relationships be with your design agency partners. A thorough understanding of your business and a campaign approach will make your design more effective
• not listen to your customers (!? A double negative I know but I needed three of each!). Your customers know what they want to buy, even if they don't know it yet. Find out the problems, challenges and opportunities they are faced with and think about how your building will address some or all of these dynamics. Finesse your marketing message and design solution to fit.

Aporia

Article written for Design Week on what agency's might do to prepare for more difficult times

16th October, 2008

Speaking to a very well read friend of mine at the beginning of the week I learnt of a lovely little word.

Aporia.

Meaning to be in two minds about where to start or what to say. Timely I should hear of this word in a week I have this column to write. And also timely in a week where the world is dealing with the current economic crisis.

I think it would be fair to say that it still isn’t particularly clear how painful the current market conditions are going to be or how long they might be around for. And it doesn’t seem to matter who you ask be it one of the many financial experts driving black cabs around the West End or one of the many market analysts interviewed on Breakfast TV each morning, every opinion is different.

One thing that does seem consistent is the gloomy outlook. I haven’t heard anyone yet say it might be over by Christmas or that it’s not as bad as it looks.

I was asked recently by one of the team at Design Week how agencies might be able to beat the Credit Crunch. My answer which might not sit very comfortably is that you can’t. Trying to beat it will be futile. Unless you have a government’s wealth (and even then Mr Brown’s looking scarily exposed) all you can do is prepare for it. But the question remains what are we preparing for?…and that leaves you back in the black cab with the opinionated Eastender opining his views on the pro’s and con’s of the Scandinavian bailout of the nineties and what we can learn from the great depression of 1929.

So a difficult one, an Aporia – where do I start and what do I say? Having now been kept awake by this for the last week I have come to the conclusion that all we can rely on is good business.

So I would suggest you focus on 3 main things.

Firstly, communication. Most things in life can be improved through better and more effective communication – indeed the design industry is built on that premise.

So is it a case of ‘the Cobblers children go the worst shod’ that the relationship between client and agency often suffers from such poor communication? Whatever the reason for it, your client is a real human being so treat them as such. Explain to them that you are looking for ways to prepare for more difficult times. Now is the time to speak to your clients and emphasise the importance of them to your business, always a nice sentiment for your client to hear. But this time its not the normal warm and fuzzy, sycophantic approach you are taking. No this time you need to emphasise how your business operates and the responsibility your client has. Explain the place your business is in financially, if good explain that you want to keep it that way and see if there are ways to streamline current processes for your clients (an your) benefit – in doing so emphasise your payment terms, etc. If not so good, explain this to your client, it won’t be easy but a lot easier than your client having to negotiate with the liquidators. Clearly illustrate you have it under control and a plan is in place, show your client where they fit in this plan. Good or bad, organise regular meetings  - I would suggest monthly meetings and a review of the WIP. Use these meetings to build a stronger relationship with your client.

Secondly, admin. I know it’s the unglamorous bit, but focus on it. Ensure that the whole expense/purchase order/invoice dynamic is in order. Keep an eye on your payment terms and make sure the balance between your debtors and creditors doesn’t put your company in jeopardy. Once this is done, take it all down to your bank and do a show and tell. Banks are probably going to be the institutions whose outlooks change the most – they will be more risk averse and much more aggressive in how they protect their interests. A bank manager who understands and has confidence in your business will be an absolutely priceless asset in the coming months or maybe years. Agree how often they would like to see you and if they seem ambivalent insist on quarterly catch-ups.

And thirdly, the work. Now is the time more than any ever to invest all of your and your teams efforts in creating the best work you ever have. Brilliant, effective design that fulfils and even excels the clients brief and expectations will ensure that your value to you clients organisation will increase. In turn this might lead to new briefs and certainly a more secure income stream. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve spoken to many friends and colleagues of mine at client organisations all over the UK, the story is consistent, marketing budgets are being scrutinised – not necessarily reduced but scrutinised. So do all you can to convince your client and your clients board that what you do should be seen as an investment in, not an expense to, the business.

The good news is that having had the honour and privilege of being asked to judge this years Design Week Awards and the recent DBA Effectiveness Awards collectively the industry is raising the bar ever higher. From what I have seen I am confident the industry will demonstrate that when times are tough continued investment in design is crucial.