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DT Corp. Brochure A5 (Colour Corred*) (LOF).indd 1 12/05/2009 10:56:40

Creativity with purpose

At DesignTactics, we create tools that our clients use to engage more effectively with their audience – and ultimately, to grow their business.

For clients who target consumers, we help them compete: We develop brand strategy and creative communications to forge stronger customer relationships, and to retain and win sales.

For our government and corporate clients, we help them to compete for attention: We create messaging strategy and design solutions for clear, focussed and effective communication.

We deliver these results with a service that is complete, efficient and clean. Our clients trust us to solve their problems: we have the skills and the expertise to identify a solution, resolve all the details, then execute it in every aspect.

This combination of superb project management and highly effective creativity is our brand promise. It powered the clients you see here to achieve greater results, and it can do the same for you: Read on, and start to think how creativity with purpose could help your business.


Bank of Ireland Brand Environment

The Cards & Loans division of Bank of Ireland commissioned us to create a system of

visual branding for their office environment. The aim was to communicate their goals

to staff and create stronger engagement - to bring their service values to life for

the team.

The key to the success of this project was the work we did with the Bank of Ireland

to distill the department values into a statement of purpose. This gave us a strategic

foundation for the subsequent creative work, which was based on a portfolio of

candid staff portraits. Finally, we managed the entire printing, production and

installation process.


Bank of Ireland Brand Environment


Tourism Ireland Annual Report

In 2005 to 2007 DesignTactics worked with Tourism Ireland to create a truly striking

series of Annual Reports. Such Reports are not often renowned for their graphic

fl air, but these were different. Because Tourism Ireland operates exclusively abroad

– marketing the island of Ireland overseas - they wanted these Annual Reports to

showcase their new global advertising campaign. The aim was to allow stakeholders in

this country get a more tangible sense of their work worldwide.

Margaret O’Reilly, Head of Corporate & Industry Communications of Tourism Ireland, explains: “Tourism Ireland is responsible for marketing the island of Ireland overseas.We don’t actually operate within Ireland, and as a result, not much of what we do is actually seen here. One of our challenges is to keep stakeholders here updated on our activity in key markets, and the

2005 Annual Report gave us the opportunity to profi le the new global advertising campaign.”

DesignTactics responded to Tourism Ireland’s dual objectives with a creative, high-end and ambitious approach to the report’s layout:“They devised a design which incorporated gatefold – a double A4 page – it meant that our photos were used to really striking advantage.”

Creating a design that gave photography such a central placewas really important: “We had awhole new suite of images and advertisements that were being shown in leading markets across the world, and we wanted to showcase them to stakeholders.”

Ania from DesignTactics worked closely with Tourism Ireland on the


Tourism Ireland Annual Report

project. “Because the brief was really quite open, we had room to be creative, to elevate this from previous reports and make it quite special.” This allowed for an innovative multi-textured approach to the design: “We created it in US letter size, which is fatter and smaller than A4. It’s full colour throughout, with eight pull-out sections, that are, in effect, triple pages. These pages gave us the chance to include some fantastic photography that linked in with Tourism Ireland’s existing campaign, so the annual report was actually used as an element of marketing communications.”

But it wasn’t just about photography. DesignTactics wanted to create a document that felt luxurious and stand-out: “It’s also very tactile,” explains Ania, “the back accounts section is printed on different stock, a range of intricate print fi nishes were used throughout, and the cover featured an engaging UV varnish.” On this project, the ambitions of Tourism Ireland enhanced whatwas possible, and the fi nished product was a real testamentto those standards.

Annual Report 2005


DesignTactics also worked hard with Tourism Ireland to enhance the accessibility and style of the document. All agreed that the copy content of the Report required a greater injection of emotion and marketing-led messages than a traditional report. The aim was to creatively manage and structure the textual information and the new campaign visuals in an engagingand integrated solution.

Throughout the project, DesignTactics encouraged a less-reverential and rigid treatment of the content, which allowed them to break up the statutory communications with emotive messages and visuals.

Tourism Ireland’s Annual Report is supplied to stake-holders throughout the tourism industry, as well as government departments, libraries, third level colleges and the like. It is also available on request to the general public. For Tourism Ireland,

“With DesignTactics, there is a really excellent level of support.

Their attention to detail on client service is very strong, and that’s

defi nitely one of the pleasures of dealing with them,”

Tourism IrelandMarketing Plan 2005


the 2005 Report was very well received, with superb feedbackfrom stakeholders.

As for the process of working with DesignTactics - what was Tourism Ireland’s experience? Margaret explains the context in which the

Report came to fruition: “When we’re working with outside contractors such as DesignTactics, we’re relying on them to be really committed to our projects, because our internal resources are so tight. On this project, we found great commitment, close involvement and reliable support:

With DesignTactics, there is a really excellent level of support. Their attention to detail on client service is very strong, and that’s defi nitely one of the pleasures of dealing with them,” says Margaret, “but ultimately, it’s about the fi nal product – and that certainly came through.”


Vodafone Corporate Communications

Like all public companies, Vodafone manages its ethical obligations through a Corporate

and Social Responsibility unit. We worked closely with this team for a number of years,

partnering their PR company Financial Dynamics.

Apart from a number of statutory reports, we also worked on innovative communications

projects such as “The Little Red Book of Mobile.” Supplied to all new customers, this

publication encouraged responsible use of mobile phones through accessible and

engaging messages.


Vodafone Corporate Communications


Cloonacool Product Branding

Bill Carty was directed toward DesignTactics on the advice of Bord Iascaigh Mhara –

the Irish Sea Fisheries Board. Bill and his wife Mari breed Arctic Charr on their innovative

family fi sh farm in Cloonacool, Co Sligo. While their local reputation and sales were

excellent, they needed to reach a wider audience with their fi sh, particularly among chefs.

They wanted their Arctic Charr to take its rightful place on the menus of Ireland’s

leading restaurants.

“We knew we had a good product, and a good story,” explains Bill, “and we were looking for some way of portraying that. Myself and Mari were doing well when we met customers face to face, but we needed something that could tell our story when we weren’t there. I went to BIM fi rst, and they recommended DesignTactics. We had our own ideas on it – but what DesignTactics came up with was in a different league. Myself and

Mari came to the whole marketing side of this quite raw. We didn’t have much experience. What impressed me most about DesignTactics was their professional approach: they saw the potential in our product and they wouldn’t settle for second best.’

The team at DesignTactics convinced Bill to put time and energy into creating a brand for the product, rather than a corporate identity for his business. This approach was

really crucial, as it allowed them to highlight the uniqueness, purity and authenticity of the product - creating a wholly-owned brand asset that still had the immediate resonance of a place of origin name like Dublin Bay prawns.

Having created the product brand identity, DesignTactics then focused on supporting and enhancing its image: creating a stylish, striking brochure, with high-end visuals


and copy that refl ected the high standards of Cloonacool Arctic Charr.

Alena from DesignTactics explains: “If you’re in a room with Bill, you feel something. You can understand where he’s coming from – you sense his passion and integrity. That’s inspiring, it makes you want to do your best to capture those values. It was our challenge to convey his personality and his approach with this brand. We identifi ed the market he wanted to talk to, and then created something that would appeal to sophisticated chefs of high-end restaurants. The aim was two fold: to introduce Cloonacool Arctic Char as an authentic and credible product - and then make them want to try it. We knew the brochure had to be really mouth-watering so that head-chefs who deal with food everyday would still fi nd this product appealing.”

“With this kind of business-to-business communication, we knew we only had one chance to capture their attention – and that was the brochure. So it had to make an impact. We needed the copy to be top-notch, and we


needed slick imagery. Yet we were working to a small budget. This is a project that shows you can still achieve great results if you invest in one core piece of marketing and do it really well.” says Bill.

Alena: “Overall, our approach is to understand the story of a product, learn about the audience and the competition, and then identify what values have to be captured to make that product successful. Then we distill this into a brand

that conveys these messages for every communication. Bill had already identifi ed the market he needed to talk to, and that gave us the focus to create a piece that appealed to sophisticated chefs in high-end restaurants”

“We’ve really had a massive response from the brochures. It’s growing all the time, but within six to eight weeks we had doubled our sales.” says Bill.

By any standards, the brand has been a huge success. Bill explains why this happened: “People knew by the quality of the brochure and the recipe cards that this was a quality product. The production was beautiful, and chefs try the product purely on the basis of the brochure. They are also putting our brand name on their menus – we’re seeing ‘Cloonacool Arctic Charr’, just as DesignTactics had planned.”

As Bill says, initially his vision of the brand was a modest one. “It would

have been easy for DesignTactics to put out something more basic.” He explains, “but they didn’t. They used really beautiful images, there was a good feel throughout the brochure, and the layout and overall look was designed to be striking and sophisticated.” Alena also feels thatthe copywriting was central in conveying a sense of Bill and what he stood for: “we put energy into research and a lot of care into

the copy to ensure that it spoke Bill’s words and conveyed his message.” Despite his initially modest expectations, Bill is now convinced of the value of pushing the envelope when it comes to investing in branding: “DesignTactics fi rst created a brand for our product, then created a visual style and language for our brochure. It was ‘a whole package’ in terms of marketing. When we got their quotes at the beginning, we were initially nervous

- but it’s been more than worth it to us already. We’re really proud of the brochure, we’re happy with how it represents our product, and we feel we could go anywhere with it.“

“We’re really proud of the brochure, we’re happy with how it represents

our product, and we feel we could go anywhere with it.”


“We’ve really had a massive

response from this work -

within six to eight weeks we

had doubled our sales.”


Top:Corporate identity for event management company

Bottom:Event branding for GlaxoSmithKline

Brands

Top:Retail brand identity for Athlone furniture store

Bottom:Brand identity for Irish taxadvice service


Brands

Top:Identity for the International Council for Offshore Aquaculture Development

Bottom:Corporate identity and naming for management consultancy firm

Top:Corporate identity for eastern European property development company

Bottom:Celebration device for TidyTowns 50th Anniversary year


Self HelpMarketing Communications

The aim of this project was to create a Christmas Catalogue which would more tangibly

inform the public about the variety of initiatives run in Africa by Self Help, a development

agency. The important message to communicate was that Self Help focusses on

sustainable development rather than aid.

It was therefore essential that readers understood what these gifts achieved; unlike the

one-off items that other charity catalogues sell, these gifts trained the beneficiaries

to help themselves out of poverty. This catalogue yielded the largest ever return of

Christmas donations for Self Help.


Self HelpMarketing Communications

Above:Detail from Self HelpChristmas Catalogue

Facing page:Badges offered for sale

through the catalogue


TidyTownsMarketing Communications

DesignTactics began working on the Tidy Towns competition after winning a very

competitive tendering process. David McLoughlin of the Department of the

Environment spoke about why they chose DesignTactics:

‘‘The tendering process often shows who really wants the contract - who brings

a genuine passion to the project. What particularly impressed us was the amount

of work DesignTactics had put into the tender. Other companies listed prices for

what they could do, but DesignTactics put in actual concepts to show what they

were capable of. And some of that work was so good we used them in the

actual campaign.”


TidyTownsMarketing Communications

There was another, more practical consideration says David: “they gave us a pretty competitive price!”So how has the relationship workedout? “Really, we’ve been able to use DesignTactics as another arm of the Tidy Towns unit. Whenever we asked, they took on extra tasks – liasing with other agencies, arranging for Irish translation, sourcing various

things. Their role went way beyond design, and we felt really supported by them.”

In terms of the campaign itself,promoting the Tidy Towns had its challenges: the competition has always had very strong roots inrural Ireland. The challenge hasbeen to make it as appealing to theincreasingly urbanized style of our towns. Ania was the key liaison for DesignTactics: “When it came to Tidy Towns, the reality was that the

“There is a sense that DesignTactics are with

us on the journey and that it’s a real partnership.

We’re constantly working with DesignTactics to

help interpret what we are looking for.”


challenges of urban life meant that we needed to appeal to a new Ireland, and to communities that had not yet been captured by the competition.In response, building up the recruitment drive was a key element of our strategy.”

“What we did was to create a three-phase approach: Our fi rst piece was a small recruitment fl yer, which proved really effective. Huge numbers of people then asked for the ‘pack’, and the Department of the Environment was delighted with the response.”

The main piece of material was the pack itself – which outlined how to enter the competition, and then detailed their approach to judging and the various specialist prizes that were on offer. The overall message had to be kept simple in order to outline what was involved. Each page was designed to keep the individual person interested.

“Last year’s pack was a totally new departure for us” says David. “Really, we were trying to get an urban feel to it. One of our key images was of a girl washing graffi ti off a wall – peoplereally picked up on that, and it

created a lot of interest - The Irish Times even ran a supplement on the competition, which was a fi rst.

David himself was a late convert tothe value of the Tidy Townscompetition. “I discovered Tidy Towns when I moved down to Rathvilly inCarlow – they were former winners, and I could really see what it wasdoing in the community. Tidy Towns gets people working together in away that is just fantastic.”

But David is now keen to developparticipation much more fully inurban communities: encouraging urban renewal agencies to getinvolved as well as getting new areas to enter the competition. “Thereisn’t an urban area that wouldn’tbenefi t from entering the Tidy Towns”, says David, “Because of

“Really, we’ve been able to use DesignTactics as

another arm of the Tidy Towns unit. When needed,

they took on extra tasks.”


the increasing urbanization of Irish society, that’s where the future of the competition lies.”

The Department of Environmenthas a real vision for the TidyTowns. “There is a sense thatDesignTactics are with us onthe journey and that it’s a realpartnership. We’re constantlyworking with DesignTactics to help interpret what we are looking for.”

DesignTactics also worked closely with the Department to create a new set of Tidy Towns trophies that better refl ected the modern face of thecompetition. The creative process involved identifying the themesthe award had to represent.Sculptor Shane Holland was then commissioned to create a sculptural piece that refl ected four areas ofTidy Towns that were considered central: heritage, architecture,water and plant-life.

These elements were selectedbecause they tied into the ethos of Tidy Towns. DesignTactics chose

to work with Shane Holland Design Work-shops because of thecompany’s excellent reputation for producing sculptural and decorative products at their studio in Duleek, County Meath.

Cast in silver plated bronze and acrylic, Shane’ssculpture was so striking that a 3m high replica of the trophy has since been erected in Westport to recognise that town’s repeated success in Tidy Towns.

The overall message had to be kept simple in order to outline what was involved.

Each page was designed to keep the individual person interested.


International Fund for IrelandAnnual Report

After an extremely competitive tendering process, DesignTactics was selected to design

and produce the International Fund for Ireland’s annual report. This document plays

both a regulatory and a marketing role, so the design needed to clearly communicate

functional information while conveying the variety of work undertaken by the fund.

The document had to fulfill the legal requirements of an annual report, while showing

benefactors how and where their money had been spent. It also needed to act as an

influencing and engaging document for stakeholders.

The success of this project was achieved through DesignTactic’s ability to distill the

required information into a user-friendly and attractive Annual Report which served

all of its varied functions to each of its disparate audiences.


International Fund for IrelandAnnual Report


Brands

Top:Brand identity and naming for entrepreneur-oriented life-coaching service

Bottom:Campaign identity for schools programme run by Self Help

Top:Retail brand for licensed premises and restaurant, Portlaoise

Bottom:Retail brand for estate agency in Clane, Co. Kildare


Top:Corporate identity for interior design firm

Bottom:Umbrella identity created for Sr. Stanislaus Kennedy to brand a network of non-profit lobby and support groups

Top:Naming and identity for Property Management company

Bottom:Brand identity for Quality Standard


Fáilte IrelandCorporate Communications

DesignTactics first won a place on the panel of design and communications suppliers to

Fáilte Ireland in 2002, and we have since successfully tendered for two successive terms.

Our work for Fáilte Ireland fulfills two functions: Firstly, we create clear and engaging

publications that convey the strategic, statistical and research data vital to the sector

and to government. Secondly, we partner Fáilte Ireland to help tourism businesses

improve their own marketing communications.


Fáilte IrelandCorporate Communications

Fáilte IrelandStrategy Document

2007


Above:Irish Farmhouse Holidays

Marketing Brochure, produced and printed in six separate language editions

Right:Part of a suite of material produced for

Performance Plus, a skills and productivity programme for tourism small businesses


BIMCorporate Communications

DesignTactics has a multi-faceted relationship with Bord Iascaigh Mhara. At a functional

level, we were retained to consolidate their corporate communications, and have

showcased our recommended approach in key publications and events.

At a more strategic level, we work with the marketing side of the organisation on

initiatives that promote seafood to Irish consumers, and on building brands for individual

seafood businesses in Ireland.


BIMCorporate Communications

Facing Page:Identity and communications

material for ICOAD

This Page:Corporate identity guidelines and

sample industry document produced for Bord Iascaigh Mhara


Scottish ProvidentCorporate Communications

We worked with Scottish Provident from the time of their takeover by Abbey National in

2000 - providing consultancy on branding, design and communications.

These projects included revitalizing

their product brand identities, improving

communications methods with the brokers

who sell these products, and re-branding

their savings and pension products to make

them clearer and more appealing.


Scottish ProvidentCorporate Communications


ElementsixCorporate Branding

As part of their evolution from DeBeers Industrial Diamonds to Elementsix, we created

a family of directional and brand-communication signage. The primary aim was to

introduce a sense of consistency and to clarify to the communications on their large site

in Shannon.

We worked closely with the client to create and implement a wayfinding system, and

also developed a number of large-scale brand communication installations for key areas

in the site. Our work in Shannon became the benchmark for the environment branding of

Elementsix worldwide. We subsequently created a signage manual that was rolled-out

across their offices on four continents.


Wayfinding and brand signage for Elementsix. Commissioned by

Bradley McGurk Partnership and produced by Artisan


What can we do for you?

Are you equipped to compete for business? To capture and hold the attention

of your audience? Now that you’ve seen what we’ve done for our clients,

consider what we can do for you.


Brand IdentityConsumer Brands

Retail Brands

Corporate Brands

Brand CommunicationPackaging

Point of Sale

Sales Aids

Print Advertising

Signage (Branding / Wayfinding)

Environment Graphics

Retail collatoral

Stationery

Brochures

Annual Reports

Newsletters

Presentations

Communication AuditsCompetitor positioning analysis

Product/service positioning analysis

Visual AuditsOn-shelf performance analysis

Competitor visual audit

Brand PositioningPositioning modelling documents

Brandstorming workshops

Written CommunicationsName & strapline creation

Copywriting & Editing

Client ServicesProject Management

Print Management

Supplier Management


DesignTactics

Unit E7,

Nutgrove Office Park,

Nutgrove Avenue,

Rathfarnham,

Dublin 14.

Tel: +353 1 207 9107

Fax: +353 1 207 9100

www.designtactics.net


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