What does your typography say about your brand? Your typeface is a key element in all kinds of marketing – your brand identity, design & print, digital marketing and web & app development. It subtly conveys all kinds of things about your brand personality. But why is that, and what do you need to consider?

People often talk about “font” and “typeface” as if they’re the same thing. They’re certainly related, but there are technical differences between the two. 

Typeface

A typeface is the design of letters and numbers, looking at the weight and shape of letters and numbers. Typeface is sometimes described as a ‘font family’, giving an overall style to lettering. There can be many different fonts within a typeface.

Serif or Sans Serif is a key typeface choice and should be one of the first considerations for your design. Choosing between the two will narrow down the style you want.

Sans-Serif

Serif

A serif typeface is more decorative and has tips at the end of each letter.

There is big debate around which style is the best to use for print or online. Generally, though,  serif typefaces are easier to read in lengthy copy.  Sans serif typefaces feel more modern and casual, and are popular blogs and other web content.

Font

A font on the other hand, is a set of letters in a specific style and size that they are designed in. For example, “Arial” is a typeface, but Arial, size 10, italics, is a font. Basically, this tells a computer and printer how to display the typeface.

It’s easy to see how the two can be confused – but it helps to understand the difference. So how does this fit with branding?

Branding and Typography

Typography forms part of your branding and plays an important role in your brand identity. Getting your font right could mean the difference between having an audience engage with your message, or miss what’s being communicated. So does a bad font change perception?

As an example, let’s look at Gap. The brand underwent a major rebrand in 2010. The original logo showed the word “GAP” in capital letters inside a dark blue square. The new logo resized the blue square and the typeface changed from Serif to Sans, as below.

Before

After

The redesign attracted all sorts of comments, mostly negative. The main criticism was the choice of typeface used – Helvetica was perceived as an old typeface, popular back in the 1960s and 70s, and too big a shift from the previous design. To manage so much complaint, Gap reverted to their original logo.

The new look wasn’t perceived to represent GAP as a fashion brand – many people said it looked like the logo for an IT company or management consultancy.

Ask the experts

When designing your brand, we always give typography major consideration. There’s no doubt that typeface plays a massive role in establishing your brand, creating personality and highlighting your central message. We’ll always test a few options with you to find the typeface that resonates the best.

Launched in 2003, WordPress is one of the world’s most used content management systems (CMS) powering 32.5% of ALL websites. It’s a firm favourite with Speed for website development and design. Find out why WordPress is our go-to choice for website design, user experience (UX), SEO and bespoke development.

Although WordPress is not suited to every single web design project, this Content Management System (CMS) is great for professional web designers and users alike. Here’s why…

Custom pages

WordPress is an open-source CMS, which means it’s frequently updated by developers. WordPress receives thousands of updates and plugins through customisable coding – so the possibilities are endless. That saves our developers time, as we don’t need to deliver bespoke coding from scratch. It also means we can meet the needs of many different clients and their customers.

Most clients want a website that’s unique and different from their competitors. Here at Speed we’re brilliant at both bespoke coding and customising off-the-shelf solutions. Our knowledge of WordPress together with skills in HTML, CSS, Javascript and PHP allows us to tweak and extend pages to really push the boundaries.

That way, we can vary web structure layout and personalisation to meet and exceed every client’s expectations.

Fast Timeframes

Many clients want their websites up and running super quick. Building a website from scratch requires heavy planning from website design, deciding on content, navigation, menu layout, images, and much more. That’s time-consuming, so costs can quickly stack up.

WordPress resolves those challenges and allows us to create a great-looking site quickly and cost-effectively.

Control

WordPress allows fantastic reliability and management from an easy-to-use back-end.  It gives clients amazing control so they can make changes in-house.

WordPress has a simple layout, and once your site it built it’s very easy to add or edit content. You can add pages that look great without needing to get your agency to help.

SEO

WordPress is search engine friendly. It offers built in optimisation tools and third-party plugins like Yoast to help you optimise your content, including page titles, descriptions and keywords.

When developing a client’s website, we make it as SEO friendly as possible to make it easy for your target audience to find you.

Our WordPress successes

• Vivacity – The Great War Peterborough

We used WordPress to create a website for Vivacity, the cultural service in Peterborough, bringing to life the city’s role in World War I. Thousands of soldiers, signed a guestbook as they passed through Peterborough en-route to the front line. Our role was to create digital version of the guestbook showcasing the servicemen’s entries page by page.

The content of the book was digitised by a group of volunteers. We used JavaScript to create a page-turning function. HTML and technical bespoke coding created a virtual book with clickable areas on each page.

Our client loved the site and it attracted national attention as part of World War I centenary celebrations.

• Teach Peterborough

Our client needed a website that promoted Peterborough to teachers as a great place to live and develop their careers. Using WordPress, Speed created a digitally designed website that centred on recruitment.

Speed’s in-depth knowledge of WordPress meant that we were able to make Teach Peterborough a very user friendly website, that enables potential applicants to find the placement they wanted, quickly and easily. Applying for a jobs is generally a long and complicated process, but we made it easier. With Teach Peterborough candidates fill in a form once then submit their details to multiple vacancies.

The website acts as a portal which brings everything teachers need together in one place. It successfully drew more teachers into the area. Teach Peterborough also won regional campaign of the year at the CIPR awards. 

Fintech is big business around the world. Financial technology is a growing area of expertise for Speed too, particularly in financial services website development and the marketing of financial services. The main priority for most Fintech initiatives is to improve customer experience.

The UK has become a global hub for this activity, and London is home to more than 2,000 fintech companies. Jobs in fintech have grown by 61%.

The speed of change is lightning fast. The first consumer banking app was only launched in 2011, yet today every bank has an app and ‘digital-only’ banks with no branches have hit the mainstream. More than a quarter of the UK population now have an account with a digital bank and 54% of UK adults use mobile banking apps.

Online innovations to boost customer experience

Starling, Monzo and Atom Bank are well established digital-only brands that frequently win customer experience awards. These banks use clever techniques to engage with their audience – for example by allowing consumers to personalise the entire experience. ANNA bank even decided to produce a debit card that miaows.

However, traditional financial providers are fighting back and investing heavily in their technology to make sure they can keep up with the challenger brands. Money Saving Expert compares different apps from digital and traditional players, and has found that apps from Barclays and Lloyds are rated well by customers for useability and features.

Top priorities for Fintech

Making payment easy

Fintech delivers faster, easier payments for people and businesses. Debit cards make it easy to buy online, and 64% of people have used online payments such as PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay in the past 12 months.

Online Security

With high-profile banking security breaches in recent years, keeping customers’ digital identity secure is one of the main challenges. However, Fintech are pioneering new approaches to verify and manage identity. Facial and biometric authentication are already becoming the norm in consumer banking apps.

Reducing costs

Many Fintech innovations focus on making services more accessible. Not only can customers manage their money and access special tools from the tap of their mobile or tablet, Fintech makes services more affordable by lowering costs. Removing the need for high street branches is a major saving that can be passed on to the consumer.

The marketing efforts of any financial organisations have always focused on two goals: to raise brand awareness and engage customers in their financial services. We have many financial services marketing clients that seek our support in achieving these goals.   

The finance sector is one of the most fast-moving industries we specialise in. Here are some of the key trends of the moment…

Consistent customer experience

Financial services marketing is more complex than ever. Customers can interact with your brand via many channels – your website, in person, via an app, with your email communications, printed collateral and advertising.

Keeping your brand messages, tone and visual identity the same across all channels is challenging, but it’s crucial in reassuring your customer of your reliability and trustworthiness.

Acting responsibly

The tide is turning on sustainability and companies big and small need to demonstrate that they have an ethical approach to business. 77% of consumers are now more motivated to buy from a company that has a clear Corporate Social Responsibility pledge.

In addition, new sustainable finance rules are coming in from regulators. All financial organisations need to make sure that they have clear policies around investments, carbon reduction, environmental impact and community involvement.

Security and fraud support

Security breaches, hacking and ransomware are very real threats to financial services brands. Not only must you invest in defences against these risks, but you must also reassure customers that their data is safe.

Similarly, customers need constant education and reminders of the risk of fraud, as scammers develop ever-more convincing ways to target people.  The way you handle customers who have been exposed to fraud is also challenging. A perceived lack of support could have serious impact on your reputation.

The financial sector is ever changing – which is one of the reasons that the marketing of financial services is such a fascinating part of the work we do.

Everyone has some awareness that branding is helpful to an organisation and, as a branding agency, of course we want clients to understand its purpose. But brand development is not an exact science. So how are you supposed to know where to focus your efforts and investments?

The main purpose of branding is to create a competitive edge for your business. Your brand identity is what makes you stand out from the crowd and communicate the value of your company.

What’s involved in creating a brand?

Branding is much more than creating a great logo and displaying it across your marketing collateral. It is the process of defining who you are, what you stand for and what you offer your audience. Most importantly it’s about how customers view you as a business. People don’t have relationships with products, they are loyal to brands.

Whether you want to create a new brand from scratch or develop an existing one, brand development covers a wide area including:

• Logo design
• Brand image
• Brand guidelines
• Brand story

At Speed Agency our job is to create an identity that resonates with you and your customers. We have a tried and tested brand process to create a unique brand model for any business. We develop new brands for new products and services every day – from corporates to start-ups, in all kinds of business sectors.

As part of the brand development process, we review the following:

Personality and leadership: We start by asking questions about your motivations and experiences. We consult with stakeholders, existing customers, potential clients and any other influential players. We will often carry out brand workshops with a cross section of audiences to gain key insights to what everyone is actually looking for.

Vision and strategy: Vision is one of the first things you need to articulate for your brand. What do you want to stand for in the eyes of internal and external stakeholders? A visual brand is only half the story – we need to work out your positioning, values, messaging and culture. Agreeing a shared vision is a crucial step in mapping out brand strategy.

Appraisal and creativity: Creativity in developing brands is what makes us tick. We explore what’s shaped the brand so far, what has worked in the past and what hasn’t. That process allows us to create original ideas, backed up with sound creative rationale. Creativity is at the core of everything we do and we brainstorm ideas to create effective and unique brand images for products, services and organisations.

At Speed Agency we have created brands for the financial, medical and educational sectors. Examples of brands we have developed include:

Why branding is important

Having a brand that resonates with you and your customers gives everyone clarity. Once we have developed the right brand identity, it is rolled out across everything you do.

Your brand acts as the face and personality of what your organisation does. So you need to represent the same consistent, reliable characteristics at all times. We’re here to make sure that your customer has the same experience with you whether they visit your premises, use your website, buy your product or read your communications.

Building your brand builds long-term customer trust.

Most brands now know that social media is a great way to bring their personality to life and build relationships with customers.

Financial brands are no different – but there are some interesting nuances in this sector. Here’s why social media is so important for financial organisations today…

Finding new customers

Now that Millennials are reaching the age where they need financial products, brands are redefining their strategies to reach them. This audience is massive on social media and use these for information-gathering before they buy, as shown below.

Talking to your customers

Facebook and Twitter have become hugely important channels for customer service. By quickly responding to issues, apologising for errors and publicly making it up to unhappy customers, you’re showcasing your service and reassuring both current and potential clients.

Source: Blue Fountain Media

Understanding new trends

By running surveys and data analytics you can uncover changes in attitudes, interest and needs. That will help you design new products, acquire customers and nurture existing relationships. You might even get to the point of following customers’ life events – buying a home, getting married – so as to offer helpful products at the perfect time.

Driving awareness

Investment company Charles Schwab is very active on social networks in promoting its brand– it’s achieved more than 160,000 likes on Facebook by providing helpful advice around investment, planning and retirement.

JP Morgan on the other hand, chooses to separate its Facebook profiles into different services, while on Twitter, with 340k followers, it provides news and changes to its offerings.

Be more human

Although finance has a reputation for being ‘dry’, social media is helping to fix that. With interesting content and a friendly tone of voice, brands can seem more human.

Financial organisations that are successful on social media understand their audience and what interests them, and shows their expertise through useful content, not sales messages.

If you would like any help with your digital offering, then contact Speed Agency today or call 01832 280032.  

When it comes to marketing, people often confuse Above The Line (ATL), Below The Line (BTL) and Through The Line marketing (TTL). These terms are often bandied together, which is why they are frequently mistaken for one another. Here we go through the definitions and when’s best to use them.

What are the differences?

Above the line (ATL)

ATL uses mass media to appeal to a large number of audiences, these include media channels such as TV, magazines, newspaper and radio advertising. This kind of marketing is untargeted towards the individual and is good for creating brand awareness and goodwill. Due to a large network being covered, companies would generally use ATL for new product launches, or to create impact surrounding a brand.

For certain markets, such as household products where almost all houses will have at least a few cleaning items. Companies such as Ariel frequently uses ATL marketing because this has mass appeal. Their communication is targeted to a wider spread of audience to achieve top of the mind awareness amongst consumers, additionally to creating brand recall.

Below the line (BTL)

BTL on the other hand is on the micro level, this marketing or promotion method is much more targeted towards specific groups of people. These include communications such as direct mail, sponsorship, brochures, PR, and email marketing etc. Due to being much more focused, these channels are great for driving conversions, getting a direct response and building customer loyalty.

It is easier to track effectiveness and conversions with below the line methods allowing better insight into return on investment. For example, with email campaigns, you can track the open rate, click through rate, as well as how users interact with the email.

Through the line (TTL)

This is another term that is increasingly being used by businesses and takes advantage of both BTL and ATL promotion strategies. TTL takes on an integrated approach to reach their customer base and generate conversions. One form of medium leads to another thereby crossing the ‘line’ and allow brands to engage with customers at multiple points. For example, a customer can see a TV advert and then receive a leaflet from the same brand while they are out, therefore crossing over ATL and BTL strategies, this ensures consistent messaging across multiple media.

At Speed Agency, we take an integrated approach to marketing and use a TTL approach to establish brand awareness and to build brand loyalty. This was used for ABAX, one of our campaigns ‘Know ABAX, Know The Rules’, to highlight the importance of keeping on side of the HMRC. The campaign aimed to drive awareness and decrease knowledge gaps. To achieve this, the campaign was presented through multiple channels including print, digital advertising, and radio advertising. Customers also had the chance to win of pair of tickets to a Premier League game of their choice.

Accordingly, the success of each strategy depends on communication effectiveness, your objectives and allocated budget.  No matter how good a business’s product or service is, the brand’s messaging needs to be communicated to the consumer effectively. Each strategy has its own strengths and weaknesses, and whichever strategy you choose to utilise lies at the very centre of any marketing plan.

If you would like help with creating an integrated campaign, then please go to our contact us page, or call us on 01832 280032.