Pernod Ricard teams up with WMH for new Midleton Craft Collection

Midleton Distillery is home to Jameson – the number 1 selling Irish whiskey across the world – as well as a further six premium, global whiskey brands, each with their own story to tell. Williams Murray Hamm was asked to create an identity that brings these brands together in one collection that resonates with consumers across the globe.

Irish Distillers, a Pernod Ricard-owned company, has been leading the renaissance of Irish whiskey, with Jameson claiming its spot in the top 10 global spirits brands in 2019. Irish whiskey is projected to grow ahead of the total whisk(e)y category, and Irish Distillers wants to continue to lead this next phase in the Irish whiskey journey: premiumisation. Their portfolio of brands produced at Midleton Distillery provides an array of premium, super premium and ultra-luxury whiskey offerings, each targeting different consumers, price points and taste profiles.

Our key challenge was to define the bond that holds these seven brands together in one craft collection, whilst letting each individual brand sing in its own right. The team unearthed a unique truth about Midleton and why it exists, before expressing it through a compelling visual idea.

The source of water is always hugely important when deciding where to locate a distillery and this was the case with Midleton Distillery, where the Dungourney River passes through the distillery’s grounds. Yet this does not fully explain why these seven amazing brands all originate from this single source.

After centuries of worldwide success, by the early 1960s political and economic challenges left just three distilleries in Ireland, clamouring for prominence in an ever-decreasing domestic market. Thankfully, John Jameson & Son, John Power & Son and Cork Distilleries Company came together, to form what we all know now as Irish Distillers, relocating all of its production to the renowned Midleton Distillery in Count Cork. This historic merger safeguarded the source of amazing Irish whiskeys for generations to come.

The design of the Midleton Craft Collection brand world is inspired by water. The Dungourney River became the symbol of this source. From the flowing lines of one letter to the next in the logo, to how the water of the Dungourney has become the collection’s key colour – the river can be found in every aspect the brand world. The monogram is a double-arched bridge crossing the river, incorporating the letter “M, and for the beautifully fluid illustration WMH worked with renowned illustrator Si Scott.

WMH produced a comprehensive kit of parts that provides Irish Distillers’ local markets with full flexibility to select the brands from the portfolio that are appropriate for each market. The brand world assets include key visuals, merchandising, web banners and items for the on trade.

Laura Hanratty, Head of Prestige & Specialty at Irish Distillers says about the new Midleton Craft Collection: “We are delighted to honour the bond between our families of Irish whiskeys by showcasing where they come from. Midleton Distillery is steeped in craft, tradition and innovation and it’s a joy to see this celebrated through The Midleton Craft Collection”.

Wybe Magermans, director at WMH, mentioned: “It’s been a great challenge to work with these seven amazing brands, and find the overarching story that is relevant to both people who already drink Irish whiskies and those who are novices to the category.”

The collection will see its launch later this spring across the Irish, UK and US markets.

Click here for full case study.

D&AD New Blood Judge

The D&AD New Blood Awards is open to advertising, design, digital and marketing students, recent graduates and emerging creatives worldwide. It’s the opportunity to land a job in the creative industry by getting a head start while you’re still at university or gaining the exposure you need to kick start your creative career.

Real briefs, set by real clients, judged by the industry’s top creatives, and one of this year’s judges is Holly Mattacott-Darrah, Senior Designer at WMH. Holly has received recognition and awards from D&AD, Design Week and The Drum. She works with a broad spectrum of clients, inventing and reinventing brands.

In addition to her practice, Holly is the founder of Create Space UK, a platform set up to change how the creative industry deals with mental health and also guests tutors at universities in the UK.

Click here to visit the D&AD website and find all the information to enter.

Entry deadline: 23 March 2021, 5pm GMT.

Handlettering maestro

Launching a new service for Network Rail

Although train travel is less busy during the Covid crisis, our client Network Rail does not stop to make further improvements at Britain’s biggest railway stations. Passengers can now benefit from free and unlimited WiFi.

 

To launch this service we created a campaign that simply wraps the message in the WiFi symbol. The impactful headline was created in close collaboration with hand lettering maestro Rachel Joy Price. Rachel, who started her design career at WMH many moons ago, currently works on a range of projects; from crafting lettering for brands to book and magazine covers. She also works on personal commissions in the form of traditional sign painting.

 

The new WiFi service has already gone live at Victoria, Euston and London Bridge stations. It is due to be rolled out in Waterloo and Paddington by January and available in all Network Rail major stations by the end of 2021.

Open up the conversation around mental health

Today marks the end to Mental Health Awareness Week, but the conversation shouldn’t stop here.

1 in 4 people in the UK suffer from mental ill-health, and within the creative industry this figure is three times higher.

Create Space UK is a new mental wellbeing platform for the creative industry. Combining professional mental health advice, creative industry insight and management training guidance.

To prevent mental health issues from occurring it is important to understand how the creative mind works, and explore the ways we can alleviate stress and anxiety. Prevention is also key in avoiding the occurrence of mental health issues within the workplace, this can be done by management training and providing insight on how best to act in a situation.

Set up by WMH creative, Holly Mattacott-Darrah, Create Space UK aims to remove the stigma around mental health and open up the conversation. WMH will be looking to support Create Space UK in the near future. More to follow soon, so keep your eyes out for this amazing initiative.

 

A rug tells the story from hardship to harmony

We are thrilled to announce that Williams Murray Hamm received the Grand Prix at The Drum Design Awards 2020.

The recognition was for our collaboration with the Orchestra St John (OSJ) in Oxford. The orchestra is a charity who passionately believes that music has the power to transform lives. They raised funds to bring Afghanistan’s First All-Female Orchestra to Oxford to support their music education.

To thank all their supporters, the OSJ asked WMH to create a commemorative poster. We designed a traditional handwoven rug incorporating the apparatus of war depicting the Orchestra’s incredible journey. We commissioned its production with a women’s charity from Kabul and photographed it to create a poster. The posters were sent in a rubble sack which traditionally Afghan rugs get dispatched in.

Together with the Grand Prix this poster received another four Golds in the following categories; Physical Product Design, Poster Design, Illustration and Design for Good.

The Drum Awards Jury’s thoughts:

“The judges felt it impossible to ignore this entry and during the judging sessions found that it covered many categories. We found ourselves on occasion split, then almost-simultaneously unanimously in favour of it. Any Grand Prix award needs to inspire conversation, debate and passion and considering the isolated conditions enforced on us all we found no shortage of exchange. In many ways this piece of work brought us closer together.

“The entry represents many things – a struggle, a journey, resilience, liberation, a story that needed to be told. This story perhaps was the thing that engaged us the most. It inspired rage, disgust and sadness but also a wonderful feeling of optimism and possibility brought through imagination and honest craft. If ever there was a symbol of overcoming adversity and delivering a message of hope, then this is it.“

 

 

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com  or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000. Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2020 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

WMH launches Andy Murray sportswear partnership

Since its launch in 2016 Castore, the premium high-performance sportswear brand, has gone from strength to strength but is still relatively unknown. Their premium, high-performance sportswear is for people who take sports and training seriously. This year, already a fan of the brand, Andy Murray agreed a partnership deal to help achieve wider exposure for Castore globally. Together, they launch his AMC kit range this November.

WMH was asked to create a campaign, including a film, to raise the profile of Castore whilst announcing the AMC launch.

The fly-on-the-wall, documentary style film captures Andy Murray’s gritty, gutsy training routine to get himself back to peak condition after his hip operation. Revealing the core essence of this world class athlete, the film is shot ‘raw’ using a hand-held, fluid style to put the viewer right next to Andy Murray in this extremely challenging time. High contrast, black & white footage gives the film stature and an epic sporting photography feel to convey Castore’s high-performance product and premium aesthetic.

The campaign will be released on 18th November 2019, when the new AMC kit range will be launched to coincide with the start of the Davis Cup in Madrid.

Garrick Hamm, WMH’s Creative Director, who wrote and directed the film, says; “WMH’s ideas are always about building on a brand’s truth. So how do you find that with one the most successful British athletes ever? I sat down and had a cup of tea with the double Wimbledon Champion to find what makes him tick. I was instantly surprised to find out that failing still motivates him, proving people wrong drives him. Andy’s focus isn’t about the outcome, or the opponent, it’s about the process. This fitted perfectly with Castore’s ethos Better Never Stops. So, the campaign became ‘It’s about you, not your opponent. And ‘Andy Vs Andy’ was born”.

WMH collaborated with documentary cinematography Tom Hayward to get close up and personal with Andy on the court, and the film is brutally edited by Sam Billinge to reflect Andy’s determined, tough approach to tennis.

Thomas Beahon, co-founder of Castore, says; “Andy’s approach to training concentrates on improving himself and the marginal gains. This fits perfectly with our ethos. WMH was there from the start of this partnership, and therefore perfectly placed to amplify our brand and Andy’s philosophy so well”.

See the full campaign case study here.

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000. Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2019 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

A gem of a brand reinvention

WMH creates new brand identity and campaign for Hirsh London

Hirsh London, the Mayfair luxury jewellery house, has launched a new brand identity ahead of its 40th anniversary in 2020, created by Williams Murray Hamm.

Founded in 1980 by Anthony and Diane Hirsh, today the business is run by their son Jason Hirsh and his wife Sophia, who have grown the brand into a thriving company that is anchored in the heritage of London jewellery houses, combined with wit, technical innovation and contemporary appeal.

WMH was appointed to create a strong, bold and clearly defined brand identity and campaign to capture the attitude and quintessential Britishness of the business through completely new creative work across print, environment, and digital platforms

Hirsh London is one of the capital’s most respected jewellery boutiques. Its speciality lies in its large variety of rare, unusual, natural coloured gemstones which Jason and Sophia Hirsh go to extraordinary lengths to source. Each of their one-of-a-kind pieces are designed around a central gem and entirely handmade in the brand’s London atelier.

Hirsh London has been championing natural coloured gemstones for forty years and is now at the forefront of a movement towards bolder, more colourful designs, particularly in the engagement ring market. This, alongside their personalised service and exquisitely handcrafted bespoke designs, has established them as the leading authority on rare and unusual jewellery.

WMH was introduced to Hirsh by a former client and won the project through a chemistry meeting and subsequent competitive proposal. Its creative input stretches across advertising in European and Chinese markets, and a new brand identity across packaging, website and collateral.

Garrick Hamm, WMH’s Creative Director, says “Hirsh London designs and produces the most exquisite and joyous jewellery using natural coloured stones. They are immensely creative and have a wonderful Britishness to them. Our new brand campaign captures their spirit at the same time as giving them visibility and cut-through in a sea of mainstream, luxury jewellery sameness.”

“We were impressed with the creative direction that WMH took. They understood the very personal nature of our business, the care we put into selecting each of our gemstones, and our commitment to excellence in craftsmanship. We also liked their ethos of working with one company in each industry, rather than specialising in one sector. This has enabled them to come up with a fresh approach in fine jewellery marketing, which we are confident will carry our business forward as it continues to grow into one of London’s most respected jewellery houses,” said Sophia Hirsh, Managing Director, Hirsh London.

For more detailed case study, please see here.

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com  or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.
Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2019 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

 

 

Blood, Sweat & Ideas: 20 Years of Williams Murray Hamm

Design lovers and students studying the discipline have the chance to check out a free exhibition to celebrate more than two decades of work by world-famous brand and design agency Williams Murray Hamm (WMH) until Wednesday 19th June at the Fedrigoni Studio on Clerkenwell Road in London.

The four-day exhibition coincides with the launch of WMH’s new book: Blood, Sweat & Ideas, and will showcase some of WMH’s best work in physical form, including some award-winning designs since WMH turned 20, as well as the book itself and current projects.

There will also be an opportunity to purchase the book for £80 in cash, which includes a £10 donation to Macmillan Cancer Support in respect of WMH’s co-founder Richard Murray, who died from skin cancer in 2010 aged 44.

Over the years, WMH has produced globally acclaimed work for international brands including Waitrose, Fortnum and Mason, Pernod Ricard, Castrol, LG, Absolut, Sainsbury’s, Tuborg, Syngenta, Barclays, John Lewis, Tesco, Superdrug, Morrisons, Jamie Oliver and many, many more.

To celebrate its 20th year in business, WMH decided to self-publish Blood, Sweat & Ideas to create a time piece for people who have worked with, or will work with WMH in future and to inspire budding designers. The exhibition marks its official launch.

WMH will also be widely distributing the book to higher education institutes for students to peruse, with WMH staff offering lectures to discuss the publication with students and further illuminate the possibilities of a design career – and how it takes blood, sweat and ideas to get to the top.

Beautifully designed as you would expect, the book illustrates a 20-year timeline of creative thinking that puts WMH’s work and that of other people and businesses it admires into a wider context to form something of an encyclopedia of design excellence, as well as being an educational guide for the next generation of designers.

The book features leading figures from the design industry working in areas such as film, advertising, typography and, of course, branding, with contributors including Sir John Hegarty, Jim Sutherland, Greg Quinton, Malcolm Venville and many more, with insights into how they got into the industry and what still makes them tick creatively.

The Blood, Sweat & Ideas exhibition takes place at the Fedrigoni Imaginative Papers Studio at Clerkenwell House, 67 Clerkenwell Road, London, EC1R 5BL on Friday 14th then Monday 17th, Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 19th June. Opening times 9:30am – 5:00pm. Further information can be found here https://www.fedrigoni.co.uk/news/blood-sweat-ideas

 

Author: Wybe Magermans – Managing Director.

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com  or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.
Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2019 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

Hirsh London hires Williams Murray Hamm for rebrand

Hirsh London, Mayfair’s luxury jewellery house, has appointed Williams Murray Hamm to handle its rebrand ahead of its 40th birthday celebrations in 2020.

Founded in 1980 by Anthony and Diane Hirsh, today the business is run by their son Jason Hirsh and his wife Sophia. Whilst the company is thriving, it was felt that their existing identity and communications failed to capture the attitude and essential Britishness of the business. Consequently, WMH was appointed to create a sharper, better defined brand essence and to reflect it in completely new creative work.

Hirsh is one of the London’s most respected jewellery boutiques.

Its speciality is in its large variety of unusual, natural coloured gemstones which it goes to extraordinary lengths to source. All its one-of-a-kind pieces are designed around an individual gem and handmade in its London atelier.

Hirsh’s devotion to coloured gems chimes with the current trend towards coloured engagement rings and the very personalised nature of its service means that customers find exactly the right piece of jewellery and gem to suit them perfectly.

WMH was introduced to Hirsh through a former client and won the project through a chemistry meeting and subsequent competitive proposal. Its creative input will stretch across advertising, packaging, website and a new logo. First fruits of the relationship will be seen in January 2019.

Garrick Hamm, WMH’s creative director, says “Hirsh imagines and produces the most exquisite and joyous colour driven jewellery in town. They have a wonderful British quirk to them, and our new brand identity and campaign captures this spirit at the same time as giving them visibility and cut through in a sea of mainstream, luxury jewellery sameness.”

By 

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com  or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.
Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2019 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

Italian Hand Gestures and Traditional Etchings Inspire Design for 21 Sid

Brand strategy and design agency Williams Murray Hamm (WMH) has designed a visual identity for London-based coffee shop and bakery 21 Sid, which builds on the importance of hand gestures in Italian communication.

21 Sid, near London Fields in East London, is run by self-taught baker Laura Giovanna Lo Faro, who supplies baked goods to numerous cafes around London and bakes goods for her café on site.

With a myriad of independent coffee shops in London, creating a personal and unique brand for Laura’s business that went beyond a simple typeface or set of colours and was capable of not just standing out but engaging customers emotionally was key.

WMH’s solution is a visual identity based on the theme ‘Dolce Handmade’ – to reflect Laura’s handy skills both as a cook and also a passionate communicator – and ‘Liquid Perfection’.

The agency commissioned Italian illustrator Gabriele Grassi to capture, in a series of unique illustrations, a wide range of Laura’s hand gestures which are typical of the exuberance of Italian communications.

The hand-drawn, monochrome, illustrative style is inspired by traditional etchings and encyclopaedias.

The branding comprises dozens of illustrated hand signals, such as a raised hand with a raised forefinger (denoting ‘Just a second I need a coffee’); a closed hand with a raised pinkie (‘A latte skinnier than this’); and two hands rubbing together (‘Get excited, cake inside’).

The designs – which were done pro bono by the WMH team, who are regulars at 21 Sid – is being used across a wide array of items including badges; bills; staff aprons; cups and wrapping as well as in-store.

Garrick Hamm from WMH commented: “Hand signals can communicate as much as words, especially in Italian culture. Having bought our morning coffees from Laura for many months, we immediately knew that the branding for her coffee shop would need to reflect her personality, her Italian heritage, her passion and her charisma.”

Laura added: “Williams Murray Hamm has created a beautiful visual identity for the business, with the iconic hang gestures helping to convey the trust and the affection that we hope our customers feel when they walk into 21 Sid.”

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For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com  or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.
Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2019 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

Waitrose & Partners unveils new “Free From” food range

Waitrose free from

Free From. Full Of.

WMH has set out a new creative direction with the launch of Waitrose & Partners’ new Free From range, on sale in stores from 22nd October.

Free From is a completely new sub-brand concept within the Waitrose & Partners portfolio, and the first range to launch under the new “& Partners” banner, unveiled last month.

The new design represents a shift in mindset for “free from” food, emphasising that the products are full of flavour instead of focusing solely on the removal of potential allergens such as gluten or lactose. Presented as a positive, progressive eating choice, regardless of whether you have allergies or not, the new Waitrose & Partners Free From range is designed to make shopping for “free from” foods easy and provide a wide range of delicious products.

The Waitrose & Partners team came to WMH with a range of meticulously developed products, with extra care having been taken to ensure that products are free from allergens, but uncompromising on both the great taste and quality expected from Waitrose & Partners. This pride in the food formed the starting point for WMH when creating the brand idea; “Free From… Full of Taste”.

Waitrose free from

Elen Ormson, Health Brand Manager at Waitrose & Partners, commented: “WMH fully understood our desire to make the new Free From range an exciting, enticing choice for discerning shoppers. The design successfully emphasises the fact that the range is free from gluten or lactose whilst embodying quality, taste and deliciousness.”

The key visual mark is a pair of bespoke ‘f’s’ that double as typographic braces, framing the food. Sophisticated and simple typography communicates what makes these products so special.

To hero the product, WMH also wanted an editorial-style approach to the photography. As such, it collaborated with award-winning photographer Jonathan Gregson, who brought the vision of “Full Of Taste” to life with an artistic flair.

The stunning food photography – with its use of marble, zinc and ceramics – is combined with a refined colour palette of taupe grey and ivory. On packs where products are made visible with windows, the typography is used without photography. Being unified in tone, yet not always the same, gives the design a pace throughout the range.

“We set out to create a visual identity that looked and behaved differently to the category more broadly, with a more positive, editorial approach. Reinforcing Waitrose & Partners’ position as a trusted expert in this growing category,” said Chris Ribet, lead creative at Williams Murray Hamm.

This new brand will target two distinct audiences. The first is allergy sufferers, who make up 71 per cent of customers. The second is health seekers, expected to be a major source of future growth, as the new Free From branding and products broaden the appeal of the sector.

Free From products are one of the fastest growing food categories, outperforming retail experts’ expectations to date. Its substantial growth is predicted to be £673 million in 2020, according to Mintel.

Williams Murray Hamm’s branding ensures that all 40+ products in the range  – which includes gluten-free lasagne, spaghetti, flapjacks and granola, and lactose-free halloumi, mozzarella and feta – are clearly labelled to show which allergens a product is free from.

 

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com  or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.
Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2018 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

 

The haute-couture of fitness

How yoga evolved to fit our modern-day needs

Yoga might have started out as a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, but over the centuries it’s grown beyond those roots to become a popular answer to the challenges of our time-poor, always-on lives.

The health and relaxation aspects of yoga offer an antidote to permanent busyness. There is, however, one fly in the ointment. Yoga takes years to learn and is steeped in deep meditative and spiritual meaning. As you’d expect, this can be off-putting, so we in the West have taken it and morphed it to fit our modern-day needs.

Whilst working on the launch of a new Iyengar Yoga Center in Idaho, USA (see more of the WMH work here), we learned that modern-day yoga has developed a dual purpose, both to relax and to act as a serious workout. It’s a great way of avoiding the extreme boredom of pounding of the treadmill and the horror of the kettlebell.

The speed at which yoga is changing and developing, with new fads popping up all the time, might give Hindus cause to complain about cultural appropriation, but they’d better move fast before it’s changed beyond all recognition.

“Think Vogue, think yoga. This is Voga”.Voga

Just as Madonna reaches 60, along comes ‘Voga’, describing itself as “a fusion of yoga and ‘Voguing’, fitness and fashion. The activity is set to an 80s House beat and is designed to empower. ‘Think Vogue, think yoga – This is Voga. The haute couture of fitness’. It’s enough to make a yogi throw in the towel.

Two American yoga teachers have introduced their Dharma Yoga Wheel, which, as you might expect, is a wheel to include in your yoga and exercise programme. Designed to ‘help stretch and release tension and muscular tightness in the back, chest, shoulders, abdomen and hip flexors’, it’s another example of the changing, irreverent approach to yoga.

Feel the Rock & Roll in yoga

Some pioneers combine modern lifestyles with traditions of yoga more naturally. Sadie Nardini, the popular mohawked yoga expert, puts a bit of rock & roll energy in yoga. She is the host of Rock Your Yoga, a daily yoga and lifestyle national television show in the US.

WMH talked to her when researching for our work on the Boise yoga studio, and she dismisses the idea that, just because yoga is popular, it’s had the spirituality squeezed out of it. “Yoga has always been about strength and flexibility as well as the subtler benefits of mind-centering, stress-reducing and all-around life enhancement”.

Some of the modern developments around yoga might appear a bit gimmicky, but they still have their roots in the ancient art. After centuries of quiet and gentle contemplation in an uncomfortable loincloth, we’ve taken yoga and given it a new purpose. Voga is definitely different, as was Bikram Yoga before the arrest warrants and sexual harassment charges started to fly.

Nardini recommends that newbies try a variety of classes and teachers; “one instructor or style can be completely different from another, until you find one you love – one with whom you can have fun connecting with your best self on all your levels; mind, spirit and body.”

If not every vogue in yoga will be a stunning success, we can be sure that someone else will appear with yet another, highly differentiated iteration. Things don’t stand still, even when you’re doing the downward dog.

 

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com  or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.
Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2018 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

Iyengar Yoga

Willams Murray Hamm creates a visual identity to match the precision and elegance of Iyengar Yoga

IYENGAR

Williams Murray Hamm, has created a new visual identity for the Iyengar Yoga Center of Boise, in Idaho, USA, which reflects the emphasis on detail, precision and alignment in this popular form of yoga.

Iyengar is a form of Hatha Yoga which requires close attention to anatomical details and the alignment of each posture or ‘asana’.

The design echoes the required movement and flow of the body during the discipline in practice, via a colour palette comprising black for tradition, white for modernity and green from the Chakra colour wheel for balance and focus of the mind.

The influential teacher of this form of yoga, B.K.S. Iyengar, died in summer 2014. Next year would have marked his 100th birthday and he is often credited with bringing yoga to the Western world.

Garrick Hamm, creative director at Williams Murray Hamm, explains: “The identity was built around the body from and alignment of Iyengar in practice, with the visual language used on the website, in the app, on posters, flyers, loyalty cards, business cards, signage as well as merchandise such as bags and yoga mats. Beautiful in its simplicity, it reflects the yoga ‘poses’ themselves.”

The work set out to target anyone in the city of Boise, regardless of their age or gender, who may be seeking to improve their general physical and mental health through the practice of yoga.

The Iyengar Yoga Center of Boise’s owner, Lisa Bescherer, commented: “With more yoga styles sprouting, some people are questioning the integrity of yoga and seeking authenticity. We needed to create a place that would be the anchor of the Iyengar community here in Boise.

“The design successfully captures the essence of Iyengar in its purest form,” she added.

See more of the design here

 

Author: Wybe Magermans – Managing Director

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com  or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.
Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2019 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

The Ghost

A new film by WMH creative director, Garrick Hamm, “The Ghost” starring Emilia Fox and new comer, 9-year old, Felix Jamieson.

The Ghost

Garrick has been making short films for the past ten years, but he fell in love with visual storytelling while studying to become a graphic designer at Somerset College of Arts. His film school training was watching films with his father and reading every screenplay book he could lay his hands on.

Garrick’s first film was silent movie, shot on 35mm, over 14 weekends as they waited for the best weather. His latest “The Ghost”, is based on the tragic true story of John White, a Spurs footballer who was killed after being hit by lightning in 1964. He was just 27 years old. His son, Rob, was only six months old. The story is told from his perspective, who never had a chance to know his father – examining themes of loss.

The film has already racked up many awards including Best British Short and Best Director at the London Independent Film Awards last July. Whilst it will also feature at LA Shorts Fest, one of the most prestigious and largest international short film festivals in the world.

WMH will be screening the film to a select audience in Central London this evening, 20th September.

A royal plaque

Williams Murray Hamm has designed the plaque to commemorate the re-opening of London Bridge station, after a £1bn revamp.

Commemorating the re-opening of London Bridge station

London Bridge Station – London’s oldest train terminal – brings around 56 million passengers into the city each year. Over the centuries, the station has been renovated, reimagined and rebuilt. And now, a new concourse bigger than the pitch at Wembley Stadium together with over 70 new retail and restaurants have opened. This is a huge milestone for the Thameslink Train Programme and signals the end of this 8 year station upgrade.

The plaque is part of a wider Thameslink campaign that WMH is working on with our sister agency; Magnet Harlequin. To celebrate the reopening of the station we wanted to have a plaque that fits the modern look & feel of the new station, yet with a nod to its more-than-a-century long past. The ‘cutting of the ribbon’ and celebration of the commemorative plaque was done by Prince William earlier this week.

The eye-catching design is in the shape of an iconic railway sleeper. The text is cut out of a red cedar wood, with polished aluminium rails holding the original opening, and new re-opening date. The plaque was realised by the South London based craftsmen Jailmake. This is not your normal commemorative plaque, but a rather different and meaningful way to pay tribute to the re-opening of one of London’s busiest transport hubs.

 

 

Leading the world

Williams Murray Hamm is honoured to be selected for the 2018’s edition of World’s Leading Agencies.

We join a great collection of outstanding agencies from UK, Germany, USA, China, India, Korea, South Africa amongst others.

Since 2007 this publication is issued annually on a non-profit basis by “thenetworkone”, the world’s leading independent agencies organisation, in association with Campaign magazine, London.

The publication is not a ranking by size, or success in awards festivals; but rather, a series of inspirational articles written by fourteen agencies, from around the world. Inclusion is by invitation only, and decided by a joint editorial board of thenetworkone and Campaign.

Wybe Magermans, WMH client services director, wrote about the agency’s view that “Fake News Isn’t New”. You can read this article in the printed publication of Campaign. To see the full list of agencies and their work you can visit the dedicated website.  https://leadingindependents.com/

 

 

WMH Creative Origins: Richard Williams at Sainsbury’s

WMH-THROWBACK-THURSDAY-RW-SAINSBURYS-PET-FOOD-FIRST-JOB-WEBSITE-130717

This week’s #ThrowbackThursday is a nod to the creative foundations of WMH – quite literally. It comes courtesy of our esteemed co-founder, Richard Williams, who created these pet food packaging labels when he began his design career working for Peter Dixon’s famous in-house design team at Sainsbury’s.

“The cats were portraits of the first cats my wife and I had. A nod to dear friend, the late Nick Wurr (co-founder of The Partners) who inspired the silhouettes and yellow eyes and to the great Peter Dixon. A fine man.”

WMH-THROWBACK-THURSDAY-RW-SAINSBURYS-combined-FIRST-JOB-WEBSITE-130717WEBImages: ‘Own Label: Sainsbury’s Design Studio 1962-1977’ © Fuel Publishing, all rights reserved.

It’s not lost on anyone how WMH once again worked with Sainsbury’s (some years later) designing their Basics and SO Organics ranges – the latter is still in store today.

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You can find further examples of Richard’s early work in ‘Own Label: Sainsbury’s Design Studio 1962-1977 (ISBN: 0956356281, Fuel Publishing).

 

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.
Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2017 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

 

New Blood Judging 2017

This May, WMH’s Design Director Mark Nichols visited D&AD’s new swanky offices as part of the D&AD New Blood jury. He was a judge on the Arjowiggins Creative Papers brief which set out to unite print and pixels, asking how print and digital platforms might form a new, symbiotic, relationship.

The task was to create a campaign, product or service for Sony Music, Facebook or Instagram that reminds digital customers of the power of paper.

Mark was joined on the multidisciplinary jury by Jack Renwick, acting D&AD President, Rob Newlan, Facebook Creative Shop’s EMEA Director and Sean Perkins, Director at North Design, along with a wide range of other creatives from advertising, design and paper artistry.

The work well received, but did it break the mould?
The provisional online round of judging saw 265 entries from across the globe, some underwhelming and well wide of the mark, some entertaining, but off brief, some ‘good’ and a handful that stood out as being truly great.

On the day, the Arjowiggins jury awarded two wood pencils, three graphite pencils and one yellow pencil.

WINNER of the Yellow Pencil: Colorgram is a concept for Arjowiggins Creative Papers that engages Instagram users in real life. It identifies shapes and colours in Instagram posts and transforms them into minimalistic die cut art. Congratulations to Jack Welles and Danae Gosset, from the School of Visual Arts, NYC.

Click here to see all of the 2017 D&AD New Blood Winners.

So what tips does Mark have for creating a winner?

“To start with, it’s imperative to interrogate the brief fully. Not only must your work answer the brief but it must stand out, stretch the brief and turn it upside down and look at it from a new, and relevant, perspective.

It’s unlikely your first answer will be the winning answer (no matter how good you think it is). Chances are, if it comes easily, many other people will have thought of the same solution. Trust me, we saw a lot of the same ideas regurgitated and skinned slightly differently. You have to persist until you’ve created something you’ve never seen before.

Having a proper grasp of the latest technologies, creative platforms, relevant social issues and a thorough and un-biased understanding of the target audience, will also help elevate your entry.

Once all of the above is in place you’re in with a chance. Now, to test if your idea will translate, can you easily and confidently describe it in no more than two short sentences? If it takes an essay and tons of boards to explain your ground breaking creation, the chances are you’ve overcomplicated it and got lost in your own genius.

Of course the one thing all the winners had in common was a great and original idea at the heart of the work.

To get to the higher pencil levels the work had to be well executed and commercially achievable – it’s a lot easier to have a great idea without thinking of its practicalities.

To win you need to have the jury arguing over who’s going to employ you first and be nervous that they’re going to be left behind by the next generation of creative mega minds! Easy right? No. Design is and will remain a challenging discipline, but with the right amount of blood, sweat and ideas your work just may get rewarded with the coveted D&AD pencil”.

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com  or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.
Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2017 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

In Praise of Forgotten Brands

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Come on, you know you love them…

In late April, Selfridges will be hosting a Heinz Beans pop-up bar to celebrate 50 years of the ‘Beanz Meanz Heinz’ ad campaign. Dishes will include beans with crispy bacon, beans with smoked ham hock and beans with scrambled egg, all at £3 each.

Is this the ultimate irony? A humble ad campaign for an everyday staple turned into a celebrity? Or, like the Cereal Killer Café, is this another illustration of just how out of touch London is with the rest of the country?

Baked beans are one of those dirty secrets amongst the chattering classes. Nobody really admits to eating them, but Waitrose does a roaring trade in them. What other grubby brands should we be celebrating?

Birds Eye Iglo missed a trick last year in reintroducing Findus Crispy Pancakes. How could they be so sotto voce about this tea time masterpiece? Admittedly, the product is now slightly less Chernobyl, but it’s an absolute shoo-in for bogus posh nosh. Who’s for a smoked chorizo variant for serving on a bed of quinoa salad? Lamentably, they didn’t even do in-store tastings as part of their relaunch strategy.

Spam is 80 years old this year. Armies marched on Spam in WW2 and there’s even a Spam Museum, but now, thanks to Monty Python, we just take the mickey out of it. Maybe, Hawaiians have the right idea. According to Wikipedia (so it must be true) they are prone to eat it as sushi. This may well be the next hipster trend.

Walkers need to get their skates on, it’s 40 years since Monster Munch launched and there’s much to celebrate. They’ve restored them to their original, inconvenient size and three of the four original monsters have been retained. There’s no need for a pop-up bar, they just need to do ads that have our favourite dishes where spuds are replaced by Monster Munch. Chicken Kiev, baked beans and pickled onion Monster Munch – could anything be better?

Not only did Alfred Bird created ‘instant custard’ 180 years ago this year, but 50 years ago his eponymous company completely disrupted the dessert shelves with ‘Angel Delight’. This simple kid’s dessert has been in decline for some time, but owners Premier Foods announced this month that they are relaunching it in a pot for ‘on the go snacking’. Sadly, they’ve failed to tell anyone. Surely it’s not beyond the wit of their marketing and PR teams to get a celebrity chef to do something elaborate to get it into the newspapers. Where is Heston’s snail topped Butterscotch Angel Delight when you need it?

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WMH has a track record of getting loved and forgotten brands back into consumers’ heads. Our work on Hovis (those beans again) turned the brand around, as did our self centred Jaffa Cakes cartons. There are tons of these hidden gems just ripe for relaunch. Anyone for Homepride sauce poured over a Fray Bentos pie and Bovril gravy, or should that read ‘jus’?

Author: Richard Williams

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com  or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.
Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2017 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

Chasing Quick Money is Bad for Us All

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Why shareholders should protect businesses like Unilever from accountants.

Unilever and P&G’s operating margins are seen, by some, as not being world leading. In Unilever’s case, Kraft Heinz thinks it’s time to apply some of Mr Buffett’s patent remedy – taking out jobs, slashing salaries, closing factories, cutting R&D and, of course, taking a knife to marketing spend.

There’s nothing wrong with seeking efficiencies – every company does that, indeed most are permanently engaged in a maelstrom of restructuring and McKinsey executive invasions, but, who will be interested in the consumers of brands that are being Buffetted as the knives are wielded?

Who will be doing the research into making their products better? How will those food and product developers care about the brand they’re working on when the accountants, who run the business, have just made them reapply for their job with the added ingredient of a sizeable pay cut?

Manufacturers have a responsibility to the general public, beyond lowering prices. It’s about what we consume actually being good for us and being made in a sustainable way and it’s about innovation – creating products that we will need in the future, as our lives change.

Does anyone seriously think that will happen under accountants masquerading as food companies?

There are reasons why Unilever is a great company, just as there are with Nestle and P&G (all of whom WMH has worked with in the distant past). They hire the best, most intelligent people and treat them with respect – the sort of behaviour that gets the best out of them.

Above all, these companies pour billions into research to make their products better for their customers. Nestle, in particular, is a world leader in health, wellness and, of course, nutrition, but that costs money. Money that accountants, like Warren Buffett’s partners 3G, would prefer to slash.

In this world of Trumptastic Fake News, the real news is that Kraft Heinz and their ilk should be sent packing by shareholders of businesses that set out to care for the well-being of their customers and who actually improve peoples’ lives.

Sadly Kraft Heinz’s foray into Unilever’s territory has forced Paul Polman to seek further efficiencies if he is to fend off further unwanted attacks. Wouldn’t it be great if Unilever’s shareholders decided, en masse, to allow the company to continue to invest in the things that matter, rather than chase a quick return?

Author: Richard Williams

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com  or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.
Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2017 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

The March of the Robots

Just how far will they move into marketing?

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Amazon Go’s ‘Just Walk Out’ technology spells the end of supermarket checkout staff.[1] We’ve seen this coming for some time. Now, middle and higher income jobs are endangered, according to this weekend’s Sunday Times (still delivered in paper form by a human delivery person).[2]

At high risk from ‘robots’, amongst others, are insurance underwriters, accountants and auditors and at medium risk are judges and economists. Even dental hygienists are under threat.

When chess computers have to play each other because mere humans can no longer beat them, then, perhaps, there is some truth in robots replacing many jobs. Happily, for occupational therapists, surgeons and psychologists the report suggests they will see out their days unchallenged.

Marketing people do not appear to be threatened, because they have to make decisions that can’t be automated, but they are reliant on some services that could change dramatically over the next few years.

There’s little to suggest that procurement cannot be handled completely by robotics. Many RFIs are already handled online, what’s to stop all legal aspects of appointment being handled in the same way? Indeed, what’s to stop the auctioning of projects to a wide range of businesses that have already passed through online assessment? It will be just another step in the direction of dehumanising client/consultant relationships that were once based around trust and the simple shake of a hand.

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Consumer research could spread its wings into far greater automation. Imagine a research programme that learns, just as chess computers do, more about consumers every time they interact. Being online, it has the ability to speak to a vast number of people, to understand the particular nuances of how they see things courtesy of their social status and where they live. Automation will be able to tell us far more about people than we could ever glean. Computers don’t get tired and they keep on learning.

For designers who ‘maintain’ brands, as many of the bigger agencies do, automation could be a massive threat.  If you seamlessly join research and design robotics, automating ‘brand tweaking,’ you’ve suddenly wiped half the agencies in the world. Refining logos, ‘premiumising’ and adding ‘wine values’ are grunt work for which many businesses charge a fortune.

One of the benefits of this roboticised future will be that we get to see the real value of ideas. They are the bedrock of great advertising and design and have been undervalued for far too long, sacrificed on the altar of pragmatics and brand conservatism.

 

Author: Richard Williams

Reference sources:
[1] Amazon Go
[2] Sunday Times: Robots march on ‘safe’ jobs of middle class

Image sources:
– Brain image via simplified-analytics.blogspot.com
– Robotic image via reso-nance.org

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com  or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.
Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2017 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

D&AD New Blood

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This January, WMH senior designer Mark Nichols returned to Norwich University of the Arts as a visiting lecturer. He was teaching on the 2017 D&AD New Blood briefs, one of which he will be judging at this year’s New Blood Awards in April. Mark advised on work across seven different briefs over the two days, as well as finding time to give portfolio reviews on other work created by Norwich’s top students.

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“It’s always a pleasure to return to such a great creative institution and not just for the student nostalgia…this year’s New Blood briefs are as exciting and challenging as ever. The brief I will be judging brings into question how print and paper can be used effectively to promote digital platforms. Such involved, topical, subject matter should be the catalyst for some truly pioneering work. It will highlight how design can help the analogue and digital worlds coexist or, better still, form a new symbiotic relationship”

You can view this year’s D&AD New Blood briefs here https://www.dandad.org/en/d-ad-new-blood-awards/

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Mark turned student once again, when he was lucky enough to catch David Pearson’s lunchtime lecture highlighting the joys of book jacket design. It further evidenced the recurring theme that print is not dead and, used innovatively, won’t die anytime soon.

 

Author: Mark Nichols – Designer at Williams Murray Hamm

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com  or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.
Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2017 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

Baked Beans = Trump

WMH foresaw the “Trump Factor” in 2002, but we didn’t recognise it for what it was.

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Our radical, baked bean smothered, Hovis rebrand, failed dismally in research. No consumers polled would admit to feeding their family baked beans, in spite of it being one of the country’s favourite grocery products.

The research firm suggested that the design be dropped for something with more wheat on it, or perhaps a picture of a loaf. Brave management ignored this wisdom and ‘Big Food Hovis’ went on to become the fastest growing grocery brand in the country. Saving the brand and saving scores of jobs.

Unwittingly we had encountered an early case of ‘Shy respondents’.

When the Conservatives won the last election, against all odds, pollsters put it down to ‘Shy Tories’, people who wouldn’t admit to voting for Mr Cameron. The Donald’s extraordinary win is put down to the same phenomenon – a fear of admitting who you’re voting for because you’re rather, or very, ashamed.

We are in the ‘post truth’ era, where nobody trusts experts and everyone follows their emotions – think Brexit.

So what’s new? Advertising and branding has always done this. When two products are similar, we in marketing use emotion to carve out our space. Facts, in the world of pasta sauce, luxury perfumes, tinned custard and frozen ready meals don’t count for much, but the emotional pull of a great brand can be irresistible.

The conundrum lies in that no manufacturer worth their salt would ever go to market without asking consumers what they think.

‘Consumers lie’ the late Richard Murray used to cry ‘If research is infallible, why do so many products fail?”

Of the experts we no longer trust, pollsters have tumbled to the same depth as politicians, financial forecasters, priests and latterly, football coaches. For years, research has kicked the hell out of great ideas in advertising and design. We all know it, as do our clients.

Dan Izbicki, Unilever’s creative excellence director recently said that the company’s products are not high interest categories for consumers.

We need great creativity and great work to cut through that. Far too often we get scared and go back to the easier thing to do because it’s not going to be terribly damaging – but we can do something bigger and better and braver.

He is absolutely right. The problem is that research will most likely kill the brave ideas that he wants. ‘Shy’ consumers and conservative marketers looking for the next career move, will conspire to normalise everything.

It’s time for those who seek the public’s opinion to get better at what they do. They need to create measures that really work, that allow us a true picture of what’s going on. Hopefully, it’ll also allow companies the ability to break through into better, braver, more effective marketing too. It’s long overdue.

 

Author: Richard Williams

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com  or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.
Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2016 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

Castrol Bio-Synthetic

WMH has launched a new ‘bio’ variant of the Castrol EDGE and Castrol MAGNATEC brands that includes 25% of oil derived from plant sources.


Whilst this is not the first launch of a bio-derived oil, it is the first by a global major company. Castrol’s clever engineering and cutting edge technology have made it possible to take plant oil (and its natural lubricating qualities) in combination with traditional fossil-based oils to create a bio-lubricant that protects as well as standard Castrol EDGE or MAGNATEC.

“Pioneering with plants” – we brought together this natural tension creating a world and visual language unique to Castrol Bio-Synthetic oils. The new design stretches across film, packaging and web banners.

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For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.
Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2016 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

In Fondest Memory of Geoff Appleton: 1950 – 2016

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A celebration of an infectious spirit and an incredible talent.

Today, it is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we bid a final farewell to our beloved friend and illustrator extraordinaire, Geoff Appleton, following a battle with pancreatic cancer. During a year that has seen the loss of many great talents, we will remember and celebrate Geoff’s memory as one of the greatest.

Williams Murray Hamm co-founder, Richard Williams, remembers Geoff’s infectious spirit:

“I’ve been at Williams Murray Hamm for 20 years and I can honestly say that I’ve not seen a freelancer more loved by our people and our clients than Geoff.

 They broke the mould when they made him. He was the last of a breed of artists who could earn a good living by drawing on paper and never doing stuff he didn’t want to do.

 We’ll miss his jolly banter and his great work and, in particular, I’ll miss talking to him about the finer points of Bob Dylan…” 

Our thoughts are with Geoff’s family and to commemorate his legacy WMH has made a donation to his nominated charity, Children and the Arts.

Children & the Arts is an independent educational charity that engages with disadvantaged children nationwide who do not have access to high-quality arts activity because of either social or economic barriers… [read more]

If you wish to make a donation in memory of Geoff, please visit www.childrenandarts.org.uk.

 

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com  or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.
Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2016 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

Lamb Weston Innovation Centre

WILLIAMS MURRAY HAMM DESIGNS STATE OF THE ART INNOVATION CENTRE FOR LAMB WESTON.

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Following the creation of a new brand purpose and visual identity for Lamb Weston’s global business, WMH was asked to design the interior of an innovation centre where possibilities become reality. 

Lamb Weston, a ConAgra Foods brand, has more than 60 years’ experience as one of the world’s leading suppliers of frozen potato products to restaurants and consumers. An industry pioneer, the company planned a new, state of the art, innovation centre with co-creation spaces, fully functioning kitchens, pilot line, interactive areas and a resource for employees; in short a place where possibilities could become reality.

Having already started the building phase for the project, Lamb Weston approached long time collaborating agency WMH in March 2016 to create the overall theme and interiors. The Centre opened to employees on 24 June and to Lamb Weston customers soon after.

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WMH had previously helped Lamb Weston relaunch its new global positioning and identity: to be the most inventive potato company in the world. The Innovation Centre would express this purpose and help find new, more inventive ways of collaboration between customers and Lamb Weston staff.

Intended as a flagship Lamb Weston US building, the Innovation Centre needed to be a place that captured the imagination and be worthy of the claim ‘if you dream it, you can make it here’.

Deborah L. Dihel, Ph.D. Senior Director Research and Innovation at Lamb Weston said:

“Our new Innovation Centre is absolutely incredible. WMH was the perfect partner to help us communicate Lamb Weston’s brand promise throughout the building in a distinctive and memorable way. The design elements set the stage as soon as our visitors see us from the street, and their experiences are enhanced further as they enter and work in the space. WMH’s design communicates our history of successful innovation, yet at the same time, inspires all who enter to be futuristic, be inventive and make their potato dreams a reality.”

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Using the playful design it had created for the brand identity, WMH produced a fully sensory experience for the many spaces in the Centre.  Bright and light, visitors encounter witty and striking wall graphics at every turn. Interactive areas have been created to bring to life the history of the business, its vision and values and to relate employee stories.  Breakout rooms inspire new and innovative ways of working together.

On the experience, Garrick Hamm, Creative Director of Williams Murray Hamm said:

“We love working with Lamb Weston.  Once again, WMH has been there to help them bring their Innovation Centre to life.  Their strength of purpose, reflected in the Innovation Centre design, really encourages their employees and customers to be as inventive and imaginative as they like – the possibilities are endless”.

The Innovation Centre launched on 24 June.

 

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com  or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.
Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2016 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

LOVE / HATE: Backing Britain?

A guest blog by innovation and marketing expert, Giles Atwell

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Brexit means Brexit, but what does it mean for British food?

Buy British! 

“[Eating is not just an agricultural act] It is also an ecological act, and a political act, too… To eat with a fuller consciousness of all that is at stake might sound like a burden, but in practice few things in life can afford quite as much satisfaction.”
Michael PollanThe Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

Since the Brexit vote of 23 June, the press has served us a diet of cascading bond yields, frozen property funds and sliding sterling: a daunting menu, beyond the comprehension of most consumers. But in these times of change, I wanted to reflect on a more palatable subject. One that is a little closer to home for us all – food.

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Opportunities in adversity!

Seventy-five years ago Britain faced another crisis, finding itself isolated as an island nation while battle raged across Europe. Prior to the Second World War, the country imported two thirds of its food by sea, approximately 55 million tons a year. But by 1940 the threat posed by German U-Boats, which succeeded in sinking 728,000 tons of produce that year, had reduced imports of food to just 12 million tons. Britain was forced to retool its whole food supply and re-educate its population.

Though Brexit doesn’t pose such a dire and direct threat, Britain still imports over half its food and so remains vulnerable to the vagaries of international trade. Given the Brexit news, this situation is unlikely to improve. A recent study by the National Farmers Union predicted that by the mid-2040s, the country would only be able to produce enough food to feed 53% of its population.[1]

 

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© copyright Crown, all rights reserved.

The famous patriotic posters of WW2 told Britain to ‘Dig for Victory!’, ‘Don’t Waste Food’ and ‘Doctor Carrot’ will guard your health.[2] As we consider our next steps in the Brexit flux, maybe there are lessons for action here on how we source and consume our food. Lessons that could help not only improve our own health but also that of the British food industry as a whole.

I’m not advocating the kind of control Lord Woolton, Minister of Food during WW2, had. He had free reign to create and issue ration books whilst managing the UK’s food supply; “making him the envy of nutritionists, dieticians, and indeed anyone interested in the health of the nation, before or since.”[3]  But, we could use these economically challenged times of change to improve in three areas:

1) Reducing food waste

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© copyright The Grocer, all rights reserved

The economy is already softening and there is a very real chance we will go into recession. There is a horrible disconnect between the estimated 3 million people in the UK thought to be living with malnutrition or at risk because they do not eat enough, and the 1.9 million tons of food waste the UK is estimated to have created in 2014-15 alone.[4]

In this respect, the Grocer’s “Waste not want not” campaign to reduce food waste is laudable, as are Asda’s £3.50 wonky veg boxes, Waitrose’s policy to ensure none of its food goes to landfill, and the cooperation of many supermarkets with food banks.[5] 

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© copyright Asda, all rights reserved

Manufacturers too have a responsibility to sensibly apply ‘best before’ dates and consumers need to make better judgements on both the quantity purchased vs eaten, as well as when a food in the fridge is genuinely ‘past it’.

A concerted effort by all parties could drastically reduce the nation’s food and financial waste, but it will take both coordination and education.

2) Buying British

The weakened pound and a general desire for all of us to support the country in our new ‘solo’ quest represents a golden opportunity to celebrate British-grown food and boost our nation’s self-sufficiency whilst reducing our food-miles.

This need not be akin to the somewhat masochistic support my father gave in the 1970s to our failing motor industry by buying a succession of Triumphs & Rovers that simply fell-apart. We have our own delicious cheeses, seasonal fruit, meat, and vegetables together with an explosion of alternative British food & drink brands (think Dorset Cereals, Charlie Bigham’s pies and Fever Tree drinks) that deserve to be more locally and widely consumed as well as exported to our neighbours, near and far.

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© Photograph copyright Kippa Matthews / York Maze, all rights reserved

Food that is produced in Britain should shout it loud(er) and producers should strive to collaborate to create more of the ‘Protected Designation of Origin’ – PDO or ‘Protected Geographical Indication’ – PGI that the EU had previously helped us to sustain. 

Clearly buying British will not only keep the money in Britain but may even help insulate British consumers from potential future trade tariffs and a continued weak pound.

3) Improving Food Education

A 2015 study by the ONS (Office for National Statistics), showed that of the £530 the average UK household spends each week, 20% goes on food & drink (including eating out, alcohol and tobacco). While much of the other 80% of the spend (from gas bills to holidays) has a physical impact on us (breathed in as fumes from transport or felt as fibres on the skin), the food budget physically enters our bodies.

In the age of convenience and fast-food, I think we have a lot to learn from our continental neighbours. The perennially slender French take meals very seriously, spending more time eating than their fellow Europeans; two hours, 22 minutes per day in 2010, 13 minutes longer than in 1986. French meals are also treated as a shared experience, with 80% eaten with others.[6]

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© copyright Jamie Oliver Enterprise Ltd, all rights reserved.

In contrast, the NHS spends £6 billion a year on diet-related diseases. Britain is “…sleepwalking into a major health crisis because of poor diets among young children” according to a coalition of restaurateurs, food manufacturers and medical experts.[7] The change needs to start with children, as food habits are formed in childhood and a child’s weight and diet has a big impact on their adult health outcomes. This is a cause already gaining momentum thanks to celebrities like Jamie Oliver and his ‘Food Revolution’, but it needs concerted backing and funding to roll it out across the country and to save future generations from a lifetime of poor eating habits and diet-related disease.

Conclusion

Times are very different to the crisis felt during WW2 when only about 2% of households owned a fridge and the country was under a real siege. However, the next few weeks, months and years could see us under a ‘virtual’ siege of pressure to sign the infamous Article 50 and formally sever links with the EU. I personally struggle to see a lot of positive from these turbulent and uncertain times ahead, but if we become prouder to buy and responsibly consume quality British food, well, maybe there’s a little silver lining after all.

Editors Notes

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Guest Blogger: Giles Atwell

Giles Atwell started his career as a graduate trainee with Unilever in 1996 and moved to Cadbury in 2002. He has led commercial, innovation and marketing teams in Australia, Brazil, Singapore and the UK.  His most recent successes include Cadbury/Milka Bitesize rollout, two years of double-digit growth in Brazil and Halls Candy global turnaround.

Having lived on 4 continents over the past decade, Giles’ children were becoming a little too well travelled. And so at the end of 2015, he and his family decided to return to the UK and their home in Oxford. He left Mondelez in June and is looking forward to the next UK-based challenge.

When not working, Giles is a keen tennis player, amateur photographer, whisky and wine enthusiast.

WMH-RICHARD-WILLIAMS-PROFILE-WEBEditor: Richard Williams

With today’s business pressures, we’re so busy dealing with what’s in front of us, that we rarely get a chance to talk about wider matters. This is particularly true of our clients and friends of WMH. They’re a fascinating lot, but we only dig deeper with them when we are socialising or having one of our sporadic events. A lunch with Giles Atwell, during which he spoke about food with such conviction, led to a request for him to write our first guest blog. We’re hoping it will become a regular event on our site. Giles was the kind of client we warm to. During his time on Cadbury’s at Mondelez, he was brave to appoint us to a significant innovation project and we loved working with him and have always stayed in touch. He knows the food industry inside out and we’re flattered he’s written for us.

 

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com  or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.
Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2016 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

References

1. “UK will need to import over half of its food within a generation, farmers warn” – the Guardian (24th Feb 2015)
2. “Dig! Dig! Dig! for Victory” – http://www.homesweethomefront.co.uk (23rd July 2011)
3. Source: “Eggs or Anarchy: The remarkable story of the man tasked with the impossible: to feed a nation at war” by William Sitwell – http://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/
4. “Malnutrition: it’s time the UK public recognised it as a problem we face” – the Guardian (17th March 2014)
5. “Waste Not Want Not: major new Grocer campaign to fight food waste” –  The Grocer (20th May 2016)
6. “France remains faithful to food as meals continue to be a collective affair” – the Guardian (4th April 2014)
7. “Failure to teach children about food ‘threatens major health crisis'” – The Telegraph (6th February 2013)

Graduate opportunity within client services and strategy…

Are you a curious, resourceful and ingenious graduate with plenty of common sense and initiative?

Williams Murray Hamm are offering a six month graduate opportunity within our client services and strategy department.

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Join the Rebel Alliance

We are looking for a graduate to help us in our client services and strategy team for a 6 month contract with the possibility to extend. The right candidate will share our passion for creativity, our wish to give clients a view they can’t get from anywhere else and a solution that does extraordinary things for their brand.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking more for a mindset, for someone who is curious, resourceful and ingenious with plenty of common sense and wants to get on with it.

How do you apply?

If you are interested in applying for this opportunity, send us your CV and tell us in a picture (email friendly) and/or in less than 150 words, why we should consider you for the position to email address recruitment@wmhagency.com.

Deadline for submissions: 31st August 2016

LOVE / HATE: Karaoke’s Not Serious Marketing

How it’s put a spanner in the works for Chris Evans.

Top Gear has been “Bjorn Again” but it’s just not Buddy Holly.  Richard Williams explores relaunched brands who have attempted to rediscover their illustrious past.

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Call me an old fashioned blokey chap. I loved Top Gear with Clarkson, Hammond and May. I hated a lot of the actual driving stuff, but I really loved the banter. Here were three top motoring journalists who felt entirely comfortable with each other. Anyone can do stupid things like catapult cars or set fire to caravans, but it’s the way they played it. It was the in-jokes they let us in on that were so funny. They were our chums and we sat on the edge of our seats waiting for what we knew would be the next excruciating utterance.

There’s a parallel to life in our studio. We all know each other so well. A raised eyebrow, an admonishing cough, a riff about Reggie Perrin and we’re off. Irreplaceable. It’s hard to join WMH simply because it takes years to learn the stories.

Watching the new Top Gear is like watching Bjorn Again, the US version of ‘The Office’ or seeing ‘Buddy’. There’s something seriously wrong. It’s not Abba or Ricky Gervais and it’s certainly not Buddy Holly (he’s been dead for 57 years) it’s Karaoke.

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© copyright 2016 Bjorn Again (cited via http://www.littlestepsasia.com)

The same is often true of businesses and brands when they try and relaunch to rediscover their illustrious past.

Phileas Fogg was a clever, entrepreneur-led snack brand that introduced the UK to posh crisps. So successful was it that United Biscuits bought it and wrecked it in very short order.

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© copyright 2016 Phileas Fogg / KP Snacks

As Kettle, Tyrrell’s and a plethora of smaller brands surrounded it, it tried again and again to relaunch (we even had a go at it) but it had lost its sparkle, its point of difference, its raison d’etre. Now, it’s been relaunched yet again. The products are actually very good, but it’s a pale imitation of its former self with unfunny TV ads and dreadful packaging. It’s a poor pastiche of the past.

For many years, Trustees Saving Bank, latterly the TSB, was a common sight on our high street. It was the bank that “Likes To Say Yes”. It disappeared, having become part of Lloyd’s Banking Group, went into oblivion and was resuscitated in 2013 and subsequently sold to a Spanish business.

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© copyright 2016 TSB / Banco Sabadell

What’s it there for? We’d all survived quite happily without it. Apparently the Spanish think the name has ‘traction’. I think it looks like ‘The Bank Nobody Goes Into’.

Returning to the car theme, I’ll finish with an example of a car that should have been dead and buried years ago. As a kid, I loved the Chevrolet Impala. How could you not be drawn to its spaceship styling? Its rear wings reached into the middle of its vast boot and radiated out in a whoosh of glory. This was not a normal car – it moved when it was standing still. I wore the wheels out of my Dinky version.

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Image source citation pending

Have you seen 2016’s Impala? Don’t bother. It looks like the illegitimate spawn of a Vauxhall and a Mazda – only worse.

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© copyright 2016 Chevrolet

Don’t misunderstand me, there are huge numbers of brands that relaunch very successfully because they understand what makes them different and get how we can continue to be in love with them, but New Top Gear isn’t anywhere near.

Top Gear, at its best, was about unlikely friendships born through a common love of cars. As a car nut or football fan, you can understand that uniting bond, despite the obvious differences between the people. Chris Evans and TFI Friday, at its best, was like that too – Chris and his workmates, feeding off the energy of a Friday night; beer, banter, music, idiotic drunken tomfoolery…. Perhaps he needs to get some of his real mates back and forget the international starring line-up.

 

Author: Richard Williams.

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com  or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.

Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2016 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.

LOVE / HATE: Amazon Fresh and the ‘First Moment of Truth’

‘Is it curtains for design agency claptrap?’ 

Following the recent UK launch of Amazon Fresh, Richard Williams and Garrick Hamm explore the Love and Hate of the brand packaging ‘First Moment of Truth’ in the digital age on online grocery shopping.

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Hate: Packaging

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Many years ago, Procter and Gamble came up with the idea of ‘The First Moment of Truth’.

This was all about how packaging works in the supermarket and how first impressions really count. I can’t remember what the second and third moments of truth were, something about bar codes probably.

I wonder what P&G thinks about the FMOT of their brands as they appear in online shopping. Does it bring on an FMOH (First Moment of Horror)? Here’s the truth. Brands look dreadful on Ocado and as we’re about to be invaded by Amazon Fresh they need to do something now.

Since it’s only partially available in the UK, I had to pretend to live in the Empire State Building (ZIP code 10118) to be able to access it. What is glaringly obvious is that, if Amazon Fresh really takes off, (the British Retail Consortium predicts that 900,000 jobs will be lost by 2025 as the industry moves online) the claptrap and mumbo jumbo that packaging design agencies have peddled for years, in an effort to cover up their lack of creativity, will have no further use.

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There is no ‘shelf blocking’ since there aren’t any shelves to block and you can’t see any ‘category cues’ or ‘appetite appeal’ because the pack shots are so tiny, the copy is illegible and everything is low res. The game’s up. Brands have to find a new way to work for online shopping and it’s a wonderful, thrilling opportunity.

 

Love: Smiles 

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Hopefully Amazon Fresh really will lead to a completely different way of presenting brands on screen.  They’re going to have to look at simple visual mnemonics. It could even lead to a new golden era where intelligent, meaningful logos represent a brand instead of dull old packaging.

Actually, this is really just a gratuitous excuse to talk about the recently updated ‘A Smile in the Mind’. Along with Alan Fletcher’s ‘The Art of Looking Sideways’ it is one of the must-have books on engaging, intelligent design. I’ve always loved those clever little logos that give a business personality.

The original Spratt’s pet food logo is clunky and artless, but incredibly endearing. Dog happiness is built right into it. I also came across this little beauty for Knapp Shoes (obviously) by Chermayeff & Geismar Inc. in New York. It’s a lovely witty mark. Simple and clever. How could you resist? Similarly, Norbert Dutton’s 1959 logo for electronics business, Plessey, is something we’d be proud to have done today.

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(left) Spratts – Logo designed by Max Field-Bush (UK). Copyright (second extension) 2016, Julien Clairet of DATA ACCESS Paris. / (middle) Knapp Shoes – Logo designed by Charmayeff & Geismar Inc. / (right) The Plessey Company Ltd – Logo designed by Norbert Dutton’s 1959

 

With wit like this, think what you could do for a brand like Bird’s Eye or Flash. We won’t see the end of supermarket packaging by any means and I fear that we won’t lose steamy shots of soup and stringy cheese slices on pizza packs, but perhaps Amazon Fresh, unwittingly, will lead to a design revolution where we go back to intelligent, beautifully thought through brand identities.

I can’t wait.

 

Authors: Richard Williams & Garrick Hamm. 

For any press enquiries email press@wmhagency.com or call +44 (0) 20 3217 0000.

Unless otherwise cited, © copyright 2016 Williams Murray Hamm, all rights reserved.