The Pub Cup is a 5-a-side football competition held throughout England at Goals and Powerleague centres. Teams can easily register to represent their chosen pub online at http://pubcup.carlsberg.co.uk/using their pub’s pin code. As a result of the campaign figures have come in that just short of 4000 pubs and 2000 consumer teams have registered, which is an excellent result.

The prizes on offer are a huge draw card, with the winning team representing pub and country in the ultimate 5-a-side tournament.  The Carlsberg Pub Cup Champions are to play a team of European Legends including: Patrik Berger, Nuno Valente, Michel Salgado, Bolo Zenden and Vitor Baia and will also win an all-expenses paid VIP trip to watch England vs Sweden at UEFA EURO 2012™ in Kiev.

Zone has produced a huge mix of work for the campaign, starting with the key player visual and lock-up. This was then used in trade print advertising in the Publican’s Morning Advertiser, Pub & Bar and In A Pub. Consumer print advertising was featured in the Arsenal Matchday Programme and Sky’s Sportszine.

For the on-trade environments we produced a comprehensive brochure, drink coasters, posters, 6ft high standee, wobblers and table-top tent cards – all featuring a QR code for instant access to registration on the website.

Online, we produced a range of animated and static banner ads for TalkSPORT, The Mirror and the Powerleague website. We developed specific messaging for Arsenal supporters and produced a splash page, animated ads and a Solus e-newsletter promoting the chance to play at Emirates Stadium. A more generic e-newsletter was built for distribution through the various partners across the board.

Both Powerleague and Goals centres are running internal promotions encouraging team entry, for which Zone produced a short movie to show the breadth of the tournament and prizes, to be played on internal screens in reception spaces.

The Pub Cup also gained exposure at Premiership games. Arsenal, Tottenham, West Bromwich Albion and Stoke all played perimeter boards at their home games – all developed by Zone Design. And we must mention the England friendly game against Holland, which exhibited the perimeter board at Wembley – great exposure!

The CarlsbergforEngland Facebook page was used as final leverage to call for registration and Zone delivered a host of Facebook advertising to be shared across the social media network.

Scouring industry publications including The Drum and Marketing Week we’ve picked up on the key themes of the forecast for 2012.

Digital strategy

It is almost impossible to pinpoint our expectations for the mobile industry as it continues to expand at lightning speed. Following two years of innovation and the subsequent commission of ad-hoc apps and mobile sites, 2012 will be the year of mobile campaign strategy. Mobile commerce is well within reach and by the end of the year contactless payment through our smart phones is sure to become the star of the show.

Web design will take a fresh approach with mobile friendly web design taking the lead, and desktop-first designs taking a back seat. Mobile internet is set to become our initial calling point and principal web presence as the largest and most efficient sharing platform. There’s some impressive figures to back it up: analytics firm Flurry found that app downloads hit a record high of more than a billion per week in December and increasing numbers are browsing the web on mobile and tablet devices.

Social Media Optimisation looks to become increasingly fundamental as part of the overall SEO, with a focus on brand advocates, engagement, recommendation and online conversations.

Online video is also on the rise with 785 million visits to online video websites every month. With increasing consumption of online video content, brands will need to implement this diverse media as a central element of their digital strategy. Whether this be a “how to” product demonstration, as a customer service network or a viral video, to build brand awareness, online video is here for the year!

Creative solutions

Mark Choueke’s words in Marketing Week struck a particularly profound chord, “more than data or insight, creativity will be your most powerful weapon of choice this year, if you’re brave enough to exploit it”.

In a year plagued by austere constraint and tight budgets, creative solutions that fail to conform to a brand’s data fuelled insight are likely to be thrown out of the boardroom. “In bleak economic times, data equals proof, proof provides return on investment and ROI means accountability.” But insight cannot only be based on proof, but also instinct and intuition. Whilst data proves an invaluable resource, it leads to indistinguishable brands among the competition as everyone uses the same data and creates the same solutions.

As Apple CEO Steve Jobs so famously put it, 2012 is certainly the year to “think different”.

Source: http://thedrum.co.uk/ , http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/

Robin may have attended this event solo, but in the weeks leading up to his departure the Zone studio was a hive of activity. Everyone had great fun pulling together to put pay to the adage, “the cobblers children go shoeless” as we updated our portfolio and showreel, and created our very own Zone iPad presentation.   It’s now been over a month since Aurora’s passengers returned to shore, but the studio is still buzzing with activity following the event, and that doesn’t look set to end anytime soon.   Speaking to Robin on his return, he described his experience as “the ideal networking opportunity, it was about meeting and getting to know people on both a personal and professional level.”   “It was the ideal occasion to find out more about what our prospective clients really want and talk through ideas and solutions together. It was time well spent and I have already booked on to next year’s event.”

There’s still time to help ‘change the face of men’s health’ by donating to the Zone team effort through our Movember team page. Every penny counts so dig deep and have a giggle at our rather macho looking colleagues while you’re at it.   With the end now firmly in sight, Robin is upping the stakes to encourage a final flurry of donations! Never one to snub a challenge, he has agreed to dye his rather spectacular trucker number ginger, a dare set by our resident red head, Sue. But he’s not making it that easy, we need to pull in some all important last minute donations before he’ll be revealing his orange tinged tash. We can’t wait to get our hands on the pictorial evidence, so we need YOUR help to raise the extra dosh.   It’s the final countdown… let’s make it happen!

In the last three months the team have completed four state-of-the-art tablet presentations for our clients. There are a further three in the studio as we speak and we’re all very keen to develop even more.

All this has come at a pertinent time as the sale of laptops has gone into decline, with tablets now gaining the market share (over 63 million tablets have been sold to date).

Business-to-business customers are coming to expect more from presentations and publications. We believe tablet content delivers the ideal solution: increased mobility, clearer and more memorable content and an interactive icebreaker between representative and client.

Mobile browsing is also on the up and has almost doubled in the past year: it now accounts for 6% of all online activity. We know mobile optimisation of websites is ever more crucial and we’ve set to work developing smartphone friendly websites – including our very own.

CVOC provide material & therapeutic support for children up to the age of 16 years who have been a victim of, or traumatised by any criminal offence committed within the UK; nominated by serving police officers. The charity carry out this work in a variety of means including promoting children’s health and welfare, encouraging their social inclusion, community involvement and seeking to develop their personal safety.

To get us started, can you give us an overview of your understanding of shopper marketing and its application?

“The best consumer marketing in the world fails to deliver if products are not purchased, and the gatekeeper to purchase is the shopper. This simple truth has led to the realisation that Shopper Marketing is critical to successful brand building. This runs far deeper than in-store promotions. It is a philosophy that generates real long-term brand development and health and an element of the marketing mix, which no brand should be without. It allows us as an agency to further develop our relationships with our clients. We can use our understanding to propose highly effective promotional mechanics and become even more valuable contributors to our client’s business.”

What were some of the key ideas you came away with?

“What I learnt was enlightening, yet obvious… I had the opportunity to learn the theory and application of Shopper Marketing directly from the experts in the field. Their invaluable insight was supported by real examples that demonstrated the use of Shopper Marketing in the ‘real world’. The most revealing elements included that, with the use of the eye-tracking software, even the most miniscule design flaw on packaging or advertising can be negatively viewed by the shopper’s subconscious, therefore every aspect is important. I also became aware of the importance of targeting the shopper, as opposed to the consumer – even though in some circumstances they are the same person.”

You mention the differentiation between shoppers and consumers – can you tell us more about this?

“It is the shopper who has to battle the elements, the many promotional messages directed at them urging them to buy this product over that one. Team this with the many potential distractions they will encounter during their shopping trip, such as bored and restless children or other shoppers – all of which can make their experience a trying one. So in order to sell something to our shopper we need to identify who they are, find a reason for them to buy the product, give them an incentive, direct them to where they can get it from and then make sure it is there when they are.”

How does this theory relate back to the ‘real world’ examples you mentioned previously?

“One of the simplest yet effective examples was a campaign for Castello cheese – ‘Change your view with Castello Blue’. The aim of the campaign was to raise awareness of the blue-veined gourmet cheese and convert ‘trialists’ into purchasers by demonstrating that Castello Blue is mild and creamy – not strong and overpowering like many blue cheeses.

Castello Blue set up sampling stations in major supermarkets for shoppers. Shoppers were then asked their opinion on the cheese and voted by placing their empty plate into the corresponding plastic tub. They could vote in one of three ways:

• I didn’t like blue but Castello changed my view

• I already like blue and I love Castello too

• I didn’t change my view; I still don’t like blue

The shopper was further incentivised to re-purchase Castello Blue with an on-pack promotion offering consumers 30p off their next purchase and recipe booklets handed out at the sampling stations. This example demonstrated: sensory engagement, utilising shopper endorsement, incentivising the shopper and making it easy to purchase the product. This resulted in an average sales increase of 1643% on sampling days and 11% of ‘trialists’ being ‘converted’ and going onto buy Castello Blue.”

How will this insight impact on an agency’s relationship with their client?

“It enables us to look at the shopper in a different light, to look for a need in the market and to provide the solution to that need – this insight puts us in a great position to help our clients with their marketing collateral requirements.”

Case study information provided at the IPM introduction to shopper marketing one-day course. Supporting information from ‘Dialogue141 rolls out new taste challenge for Arla’s Castello Blue cheese’: Velvet PR (25/10/2010)

We’re a growing agency having created three new positions over the summer, following acquisition and senior level changes. The new scheme forms a key element of the our growth strategy – cultivating fresh talent while continuing to nurture existing staff. On creating the new position; our managing director – Sue Armstrong said: “This programme will allow Katy to become involved in different aspects of the business and build up a sound knowledge of all aspects of our industry – with a view to a junior management role on completion of the programme.” “We hope this new position will prove successful and anticipate that next year we will be able to offer a similar opportunity to another graduate hoping to get into agency life.” The year long scheme aims to combine the development of both the individual and the agency. Based on this Katy’s scheme will be tailored, with a strong focus on internal PR and marketing, copywriting and account handling. Our new graduate trainee Katy Baker said:  “There is no better way to gain experience than in the studio, and I am thrilled to have been accepted as the first graduate trainee at Zone. I’m joining the team at a really exciting time, with Zone Motion launching imminently.” “Zone have offered me the ultimate opportunity to develop my skills across the board, encompassing both creative and administrative disciplines, and I’m looking forward to growing along with the agency.”

As part of the new partnership Carlsberg have been granted exclusive pouring rights within Emirates Stadium, as well as exclusive marketing rights on a global basis. Carlsberg approached Zone to create a series of signage for the Emirates stadium, which made its debut at the Arsenal v Liverpool game on 20th August. Whether you were lucky enough to be at Emirates, or watched the game on television, you will have been sure to catch our animated perimeter advertising or our signage panels around the refreshment areas. Robin and Andy were also lucky enough to be invited to the game by Carlsberg senior brand manager, Dharmesh Rana, and whilst the game may not have played out in Arsenal’s favour, it was certainly a great day out and a fantastic result for Carlsberg. The game was attended by over 60,000 fans and aired on Sky Sports. That Calls for a Carlsberg!

The Drum approached us having spotted the campaign imagery on The Drum Directory. We had a tough time choosing our favourite image but eventually settled upon a very handsome Great Dane named Travis.

Travis was photographed along with three other dogs – Cassie, Dave and Rebus as one of four images created for the Advantix ‘Specialist in the field’ campaign. Art directed by Zone’s founding director Robin, the concept was to create a set of visuals that were reminiscent of an ‘old master’ painting.

The choice of location and lighting were key, combined with the minimum of re-touching to achieve very natural, painting styled images. We worked with award winning photographer Chris Frazer-Smith whose images from the campaign went on to win two awards at the Applied Arts Awards in Canada 2011 and the Campaign Photography Awards in August 2010.

Marco has a great talent for photography and enjoyed various projects honing his skills, whilst learning how to use programmes such as InDesign and Photoshop. We also plunged him into the wonderful world of Twitter and taught him all about social media strategy. As a final treat he was lucky enough to bump into none other than superstar Johnny Depp at Pinewood Studios, where he was visiting our motion division – Zone Motion. We loved having him with us and wish him the best of luck – check out one of our favourite shots from his portfolio above.

David is Dying follows the story of a young successful man as he discovers he is HIV positive, along with the possibility that his unborn child could also be infected and so too the child’s mother, his long-term fiancée, Carla. The film centers on an intense psychiatric therapy session and journeys through flashbacks into David’s childhood and the past 12 months. David is aware he will die as the film explores the ugly side of love and tragic passion as he faces the ghosts of his past. As well as producing the opening and closing credits for the movie, Zone’s creative team set out to develop a brand surrounding the film. Zone also created the distinct type style used across all media communications for the movie, in order to portray a succinct and recognisable brand image. The typography takes visual cues from grave stone typography, linked with the swirling scripts associated with messages of condolence and sympathy in an attempt to communicate the unavoidable outcome of the main character’s hopeless situation. The film, which has not yet been released, has already won two awards at the American Black Film Festival 2011, taking home the Grand Jury Prize for Best Director and Best Actor for Lonyo Engele in the title role as David. View the David is Dying website here.

The demands of design in the business-to-business landscape are evolving. Clients are increasingly looking for ways to engage with their business customers in a slicker and more detailed way, in an ever-decreasing time frame.

Over the past 12 months our motion graphics division has been pioneering the use of computer based 3D modelling and animation as an innovative solution for our clients. Zone has been developing virtual retail and hotel environments for example, to enable state of the art B2B channel marketing, pitch presentations and training programmes.

In an information age where there is an abundance of products, insights and business drivers, there is a real need to channel and filter information for the specific needs of a particular client. We have identified that a well-designed digital medium is the best way to organise the delivery of this information. The key to usability is to avoid a struggle against a complex interface and this is where good, simple and effective design plays an important role.

Today’s business clients need to achieve ultimate standout over their competitors; a generic brochure as a leave-behind no longer suffices. Photo realistic visualisation, as a sales and marketing tool, has the ability to completely immerse the recipients in their own space to show how your proposals will look in their world. It can help demonstrate a total understanding of a company’s products, services and customers, while establishing the benefits of choosing you as a business partner.

In the retail sector, our designers have created realistic environments, enabling our clients to showcase products, point of sale, merchandising guidelines and promotional touch points for B2B conversations and pitches. These inspirational presentations can feature multiple languages, soundtracks and animation, which bundled together, will have your clients totally engaged. This is a giant leap away from ‘death-by-PowerPoint’.

Carlsberg approached Zone with a brief to create a standout presentation to sell-in their proposals for the 2010 World Cup. We created perfect replicas of specific retail environments providing high-impact representations of the product on shelf. This transported the category buyers into the future by placing the promotional activity into their own retail environment, demonstrating precise product planograms (including a competitive mix), cross category selling opportunities and secondary sightings. We were also able to accurately place the proposed POS graphics and demonstrate sponsorship property standout.

Having received high acclaim for our pitch visualisation, the Carlsberg Group commissioned us to develop this technology and create a Channel Sales Toolbox that Carlsberg CEO Jesper B Jørgensen, described as a ‘best in class sales tool’.

For the hotel sector, in response to a brief from Diversey, we created a sales tool for its ‘Softcare Sensations’ range to sell-in to a major hotel group. The 3D visualisation journeys around the hotel room picking out key decorative cues and then moves into the bathroom, where the viewer can focus on the innovative Diversey product in situ. The animation shows the guest amenities system from all angles, demonstrating the product benefits, plus the detachable covers that can be branded or feature personalised messages – a unique selling point of the product.

The use of 3D animation has also been employed in the training of field sales teams. Not only is it cost-effective in the long term, it is a consistent, measurable and engaging platform, which overcomes the issue of having large numbers of personnel in multiple locations. Bacardi Brown-Forman Brands employed Zone to create material to help train their on-trade sales team to make off-trade sales visits to multiple major retailers. The training package walked the individual sales representatives through a typical store visit, detailing how to capture stock information and achieve best practice displays. It was used during their busiest time of year in the run up to Christmas and resulted in increased sales uplift.

Zone has its own production house and moving image specialists for the development of 3D animations. The creative process begins with the design team photographing and filming the locations and products to be recreated in 3D. Then follows wireframe model creation, texture application, lighting and setup of camera paths through the store. Finally the whole project is rendered out, taken into post where it’s colour graded and finessed. In many cases the examples of stores are perfect, down to every item of produce on the shelves.

We now plan to extend the use of this medium through a variety of new business functions, promoting the use for B2B channel marketing but adding new disciplines, which can benefit from a 3D approach. The introduction of 3D to the creative toolbox comes as an innovative solution to meet the demands of design for the B2B market, which continue to evolve with the ever-expanding importance of reducing travel and streamlining business functions.

For further information contact Robin Horrex, Founding Director, Zone Design (robin@zonedesign.co.uk)

… a self-confessed foodie and outdoor pursuits lover who joined the team as our resident “Wordsmith” and PR/Marketing Executive. At the ripe old age of 23 she has already lived in seven English counties and enjoyed a six-month stint travelling around the world. We’re hoping she’s ready to settle down here at Zone.

We’ve been growing at a rate of knots these past months as we’ve welcomed a total of five new additions into the agency and we’re only half way through the year, we’ll soon be outgrowing our offices.

Darren our non-tea drinking (yes we think that’s madness too) senior account manager, from the depths of North Wales joined the team and is keeping himself busy, expertly juggling the accounts of our FMCG clients.

The second new addition to our team may have a passion for all things techy but he’s certainly not a bore, Peter, account executive for Diversey, has already made his mark on the agency with his off-the-wall personality and near-constant stream of madcap trivia.

Firstly we welcomed two new faces into the agency: Andy – our music loving Kiwi creative director, who has stepped into our founding director Robin’s shoes as he moves his focus to setting up our brand spanking new 3D/Motion arm of the agency. As well as Layla – our super talented guitar playing production assistant, who has somehow managed to find time to launch a jewellery collection on the side, phew she’s a busy bunny. But that’s not all; we told you it was momentous. Our former director of operations Sue received a well-deserved promotion to managing director – no surprises here; though it was a long time coming! And as if that wasn’t enough, we all took a deep breath and blew out five candles on Zone’s birthday cake. We’d say that calls for a celebration, any excuse for a party.

As she was whisked away for some mischievous pictures with Slough’s most famous residents: David Brent and Gareth Keenan who provided the entertainment for the evening.

As we sat down to the serious business of celebrating the very best of Slough’s most successful businesses, we were given a great excuse (as if we needed one) to pop the cork on several bottles of bubbly, as Robin was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year 2011.

We made our debut on the RAR for recommended agencies outside London in December 2010, charting at number 25 in the top 100. It has been an incredibly exciting six months for Zone with expansion, acquisition and a re-brand to boot and to receive such high recognition for our design is the icing on the cake. Talking of cake, it’s time to start celebrating!

Visit our profile on RAR here