Award-Winning Design Series: Pulverize®

Award-Winning Design Series: Pulverize®


About MESSINAS:

Family-owned and operated locally-made in New Jersey, Messinas carries a variety of lawn and garden products that are safe, all-natural and environmentally friendly. Messinas products include Animal Stoppers® Repellents, Plot Saver® AG Tools, and Pulverize® Weed Killers with fertilizers on the way. The lawn and garden industry recently made headlines with one of the top leading brands taking a major hit pertaining to the health effects of its products, Messinas has solidified itself as a consistently safe and reliable alternative for consumer lawn care products.

The Insights:

Pulverize includes a full line of weed killer products that are fast-acting and glyphosate-free. Our challenge was to better position Pulverize in the lawn and garden space as the choice for weed killers among its competitors with a package redesign. The new label had to clearly communicate Pulverize products’ effectiveness while drawing attention to and creating awareness of safer ingredients for weed prevention.

The Strategy:

Our team literally hit the ground running heading to local nurseries, retailers and home improvement big box stores to research how Pulverize was being perceived by consumers and store personnel on the shelf among its competitors. What we found was that consumers were looking for a safer, effective option but were struggling to navigate the shelf space to find Pulverize. The existing packaging did not stand out resulting in reduced shelf impact, poor placement and lack of visibility.

Armed with our intel and client insights, we started with a rework of the Pulverize logo to create a stronger brand identity.  Next we tackled differentiating the 3 product variations through the use of color and strong visual cues while highlighting the fast acting benefit.

To then truly test our designs, we reviewed each design option in a competitive shelf set to ensure not only that they stood out on shelf but clearly communicated the product benefits. A product line that once got lost now popped with a reimagined impactful and strategic design.

The Results:

A fresh, contemporary design that stands out among the competition, and communicates the products’ benefits in a clear, readable and consumer-friendly manner.

View Our GD USA Award Feature

See Our Other Award-Winning Work:

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Award-Winning Design Series: Bada Bean Cawfee™

Award-Winning Design Series: Bada Bean Cawfee™

About Bada Bean Cawfee™:

Bada Bean Cawfee offers “Jersey-Style” coffee (or should we say “cawfee”) in an unconventional Jersey Shore pop-up coffee shop that pays homage to the Jersey mafia theme that both locals and tourists love. “The bosses” have encapsulated every mob-themed phrase, famous movie line, and delightfully entertaining puns, in naming their menu items with a vision of taking the business across the country.

The Insights:

“The bosses” wanted a brand identity that clearly communicated their company values as well as the quality of their products. They also needed help developing marketing and sales materials and branding their first location on the Seaside Heights boardwalk to stop tourists and locals alike in their tracks.

The Strategy:

The creation of the branding for Bada Bean was greatly inspired by the T.V. show, The Sopranos, and the “tough guy” Jersey mobster persona. Our team played up this theme by incorporating key elements into the logo design, building wrap and signage. The branding we developed includes mobster guy silhouettes, a caution tape themed stanchion, an interrogation chair and spotlight, and a mugshot background as well as bullet holes in the menu and many more mobster details. The goal for the customized building wrap design was to encourage customers to take photos and post to social media for brand awareness which was met with great success.

The Results:

Bada Bean’s unique branding was essential to the immediate success of their boardwalk location and active social media engagement, leading to plans to expand the brand to new locations.

View Our GD USA Award Feature

See Our Other Award-Winning Work:

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Digital Trends to Embrace in 2019

Digital Trends to Embrace in 2019

Digital Trends to Embrace in 2019

The constantly changing landscape of the digital world demands an ever-changing ability to adapt and grow with what digital users are consuming and how. Several trends that have grown exponentially in the last five years are still in the running but have changed in favor of what consumers demand. With 2018 coming to an end rather quickly, we took a dive into some of the most popular digital trends for 2019 and what they mean for marketers.

Influencer Marketing

This effective marketing tool has exploded due to the growing saturation of social media in consumers’ lives. Popular people on Instagram and YouTube became celebrities and both the content they posted and the volume of followers they had determined if they would be an influencer worth the budget spend.

Though influencer marketing started with using Instagram or YouTube celebrities to promote businesses and/or products, it has since started to take a turn. People tend to trust consumer opinions rather than a corporate spokesperson or celebrity, so influencer marketing is shifting its focus to a new community: micro-influencers. Micro-influencers have a moderate following on social media and niche audiences with whom they have established trust. Because they can be found in almost any sector, micro-influencers are proving to be a dedicated community worth looking at when researching your next influencer marketing campaign.

Personalization

More and more, consumers are bombarded with content. Cutting through the white noise of generalized content is an important (and necessary) step towards connecting with your target audience. Businesses that are built on subscription-based models are already capitalizing on personalization. And thriving. Netflix, for example, shows a banner, carousels and search related content that is all personalized once you’ve logged into your account. Adopting this approach to marketing in content, products and emails can markedly affect the advancement of customer relationships. A study conducted by Marketo shows that personalized emails that are triggered based on behavior perform three times better than (generic) batch emails. Making your target audience members feel special could be the deciding factor for them to choose your brand over another.

 

“Personalization and authenticity will separate successful marketers from those who just contribute to noise.” 

Forbes 

 

Micro-Moments

Google has termed a new “consumer behavior” and it is changing the way brands have to work in order to capture consumers’ attention. According to Google, micro-moments deliver your marketing message clearly and concisely in a way that is of interest to the consumer within a span of seconds. These moments occur when people need to learn something, do something, discover something, watch something or buy something.

 

(Source: Think with Google)

 

People spend an average of 3-1/2 hours on their smartphones every day and with mobile devices becoming the medium that gets the most minutes in 2019, these micro-moments are occurring when people turn to a device.

The ability to find whatever someone is looking for on their smartphone has consumers expecting that brands will deliver exactly what they want when they want it. This short span of attention coupled with consumers’ desire for immediate satisfaction demands that brands understand consumers’ needs in micro-moments and meet those needs. In order to capitalize on micro-moments, being where people search for information at a moment’s notice (Google, Amazon, YouTube, etc.) is imperative.

Video Marketing

While video has been around for years and integrating it into a digital marketing strategy isn’t a new idea, the statistics showing the importance of utilizing video are staggering. For example, 70% of consumers say they have shared a brand’s video. Not only is that garnering a stronger connection with the consumer who shared the video, but the video’s reach is now being increased as well as brand awareness. Despite YouTube still being the top-of-mind platform for video, other social platforms are gaining traction with businesses via live video. In an effort to showcase “behind the scenes” footage, product demos and company culture, businesses are turning to live video and limited-availability sharing (via 24-hour Stories) in order to capitalize on FOMO and create a sense of urgency.

Visual Search

This is a game-changer that is still flying under the radar. Google allows users to upload an image to conduct a search to garner more specific results, but they’re not the only platform. Pinterest, which had 250 million active monthly users in 2018, came out with a new visual search tool that will likely change online shopping in the coming year. Users can take a photo of an item and search for where to buy it online, search for similar products or view pinboards of related items. This visual search capability could expedite a shopper’s journey and enhance the shopper experience.

Google Lens is currently available on Pixel phones and certain Android devices, but its visual search engine capabilities warrant a mention. It recognizes objects, landmarks and other things through a camera app. For example, if you take a photo of a landmark or a painting in a museum, you could get details about it. Its integration capability with the rest of your smartphone is also very user-centric. If you take a photo of a business card, you can save the phone number or address to a contact.

(Source: Android Authority)

The growing number of visual search platforms means that there will likely be a shift in focus for users who may have been previously searching keywords. Brands will need to focus on the visual content they have available that could help them appear in visual searches while also looking at the additional opportunities for social media and ad placement.

Sources: SingleGrain, Forbes, NY Times, Think with Google

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Creative Director Spotlight Series: Kelly DiGiesi

Creative Director Spotlight Series: Kelly DiGiesi

Creative Director Spotlight Series: Kelly Digiesi

The next installment of our Creative Director Spotlight series goes to Kelly. As one of our Creative Directors, Kelly is a talented artist with over 20 years experience designing complex projects from concept to completion. When not working magic for our clients’ brands, she enjoys running, working out and doing pretty much anything to stay fit except eating her veggies! Get to know Kelly and what inspires her:

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN AT VISION?

19 1/2 years

WHAT IS YOUR ROLE/WHAT ARE YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR?

I’m the lead creative director for the agency, which means I supervise our team of designers. I work closely with clients, account executives, designers, and writers. I oversee all new agency clients as well my current list of clients. I am still a hands-on designer. I not only manage my designers working on a project, but I too am working on a layout or two of my own.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU CREATIVELY?

I look at each new job as a challenge. Conquering that challenge the best I can is what inspires me. Working at Vision is great because of the range of industries we serve. One day I am working on a cheese client and then a healthcare company. So I never feel complacent. 

WHAT MADE YOU GET INTO DESIGN?

I’ve always known I wanted to do something in the art field. I’ve always been artistically inclined and would spend hours sketching. Art supplies were always at the top of my Christmas list as a child.

DO YOU HAVE ANY CREATIVE INTERESTS OR SKILLS OUTSIDE OF WORK?

I’m always donating my free time to help with my sons’ schools and sports teams, whether it’s designing the school yearbooks the last few years or designing team logos, invitations etc. Just recently I worked on an invitation to a fundraiser for Loggerhead ROV, which is a marine technology program. The students are trying to raise money to visit the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences. I love getting involved where I can.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT BEING A LEADER TO YOUR TEAM?

The Vision team of designers is fantastic; it is inspiring to see the range of talent we have to work with. I love teaching and also at times learning from them. We all work collaboratively to make sure that we’re providing the best design that we can.  

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Happy Birthday Kathy!

Happy Birthday Kathy!

Happy Birthday Kathy!

It’s Kathy’s birthday today! As a Senior Account Executive at Vision, Kathy loves the challenge of juggling multiple projects in a fast-paced environment. A little bit country and a little bit rock ‘n roll, she has led a double life as a professional singer throughout her 20 year plus marketing career. Get to know Kathy and what inspires her:

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WITH VISION?

I’ve been with Vision for just about 6 years!

WHAT DO YOU LOVE TO DO OUTSIDE OF WORK?

I’ve always had a love for music– writing, singing, and performing.  I have released 3 recordings of original songs and have been performing with a Fleetwood Mac Tribute show for over 10 years.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SONG TO PERFORM?

That’s a hard one – I love so many! One of my faves would be Landslide by Fleetwood Mac.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT FOR THE YEAR TO COME, BOTH WORK AND PERSONALLY?

I’m excited to see the growth of the agency. We have a group of such talented, diverse and smart people that really do “make penguins fly” and I consider myself lucky to work with them every day!  For our clients, I’m always excited to be working with them on new projects and providing them with our creative ideas & strategies!  Personally, I’m excited about traveling to new places and the possibility of adding a little pup to the family!

 

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Creative Director Spotlight Series: Larry Price

Creative Director Spotlight Series: Larry Price

Creative Director Spotlight Series: Larry Price

The second installment of our Creative Director Spotlight series goes to Larry. As one of our Creative Directors, Larry brings his multiple talents and over 20 years of experience to a variety of projects. He is a strong conceptual thinker who has served as a mentor to all of our designers. Get to know Larry and what inspires him:

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN AT VISION?

I’ve been at Vision now for 18+ years.

WHAT IS YOUR ROLE/WHAT ARE YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR?

I’m one of three Creative Directors. My responsibilities are to the accounts that are under me and art directing the designers on my team.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU CREATIVELY?

What keeps me focused on what we’re doing is paying attention (at all levels of detail) to what’s happening in the world — artistically, technically, socially, politically — and trying to find ways that those things are applicable to client needs.

WHAT MADE YOU GET INTO DESIGN?

Books brought me to design. I was, first of all, a writer and a publisher. (I ran my own small press for years.) Learning computers came next, and I quickly realized that they were going to be invaluable in helping me save money in laying out books for print. Hilarity aside, the first book I typeset on the computer was done in Microsoft Word. (How things have changed.)

DO YOU HAVE ANY CREATIVE INTERESTS OR SKILLS OUTSIDE OF WORK?

I am a poet. I’ve been publishing work (11 books to date) since 1981.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT BEING A LEADER TO YOUR TEAM?

The people with whom I work. Although I’m the leader in title, I really am a collaborator. The people on our team make me look good every single day.

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Why Video is the Most Effective Marketing Tool Right Now

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