We were given a task to research two random marketing and advertising industry agencies, chosen by the tutors. My table’s team were tasked to research Pearlfisher and Springett, both happened to be digital branding agencies.
Pearlfisher is an internationally leading independent design partnership that started in London in 1992 and has now branched out to major cities around the world such as New York, San Francisco and Copenhagen. They have worked with huge brands such as Cadbury’s, Jim Bean and Viagra, consistently showing off their expressive design work throughout a range of product categories that include food and drink, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics as well as audio technology for brands like Bang & Olufsen (popularly abbreviated ‘B&O’). They have constructed their message about who they are, their overall manifesto and what they are worth, essentially, in a semi-casual, nonchalant, almost direct way, whilst showing off their team and the talents they possess, both professionally alongside personal attributes and qualities, making them stand out compared to other advertising agencies. Confidence is key, as they say. One thing they have made abruptly clear is that they will not do three things:
“Unethical work. Free pitches. Free exclusivity.”
For an agency to have the confidence to be able to put that out there in such a bold way not only solidifies their position in the creative industry as having a set working frame and a certain integrity that they will stand by but it also filters through their client base at the same time. Companies, brand identities and other corporations that are interested in partnering with Pearlfisher will know that they stand for certain things and having a common ground on similar beliefs between client and contractor can help build a healthy rapport with each other, building a good foundation on a lasting partnership, or at the least, respect for the quality of work they produce and knowing the value of their time and efforts.
Springetts, founded in 1976, make it clear that “Brands that are liked but not loved are not brands at all.”, giving the clear message to future clients that they not only create brand identities but help nurture the brand’s image, taking the product or product line and making a journey out of it in terms of really connecting with what the brand is trying to promote. They want people to know they are a company who cares, as cliche as it may sound, working with the client and not for the client. Previous work includes award winning case studies such as Weetabix, The Happy Egg Company and brand inventions such as Petits Filous’ Frubes and Rascally Liquor. It has even been reported that after the brand identity was created for The Happy Egg Company, their sales sky rocketed up with a 75% growth in the free range eggs market at the time of identity launch. Packaging design did that.
