When the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) spoke to CUBED about doing a brand audit we were all ears.

No one more so than our designer, Ellie. She quickly recognised the need to retain the current logo and brand equity while standardising the appearance of the name and refreshing the colour palette. Easier said than done of course, as the trick here was to retain the integrity of the brand while simply refreshing the look and feel.

In other words, don’t go overboard.

So we carefully toed the line between ‘refresh’ and ‘retain’, ultimately developing a consistent logo lock-up, a refined two-colour palette, and an ownable, flexible blend of images and graphic elements.

The retro cool of the logo has been brought to life with the use of ‘UN blue’ while the deep navy is retained to add a certain weight and trustworthiness.

We were happy with the results. As was ACCI.

In fact, Ben Carter, ACCI’s Marketing Manager, (snapped below with our Chantelle) was so proud of the work he devoted a page of the Winter 2010 edition of “Commerce & Industry” magazine to the project.

Thanks Ben!

To quote Mary Poppins, a spoonful of sugar makes the the medicine go down.

In this case, the spoonful of sugar was a tank-full of petrol. And the medicine was a meeting with a financial planner.

We were working with AMP’s Financial Planners last year on the launch of their new superannuation product and they decided an incentive was needed to encourage clients to visit them – a $50 fuel voucher.

We just had to come up with a cost effective and engaging way of delivering the message.

We created an oversized postcard with a lift-up ‘fuel cap’. By die-cutting and hinging the ‘cap’ we created something that was tactile and playful whilst also adding some drama to the offer and giving the piece impact.

A big impact helps to generate big results.

And big results mean happy clients, happy customers and a very happy agency.

On the official scale of exciting things, paying bills is usually a notch above watching paint dry.

Thankfully, TRUenergy bill payments just became far more interesting. Because paying your bill on time now comes with a chance to win a Samsung 3D (yes, 3D) TV.

To let customers know about this great deal, we developed a piece to be sent out with their bill that literally puts the offer right in the customers hands.

A life-size Samsung TV remote control with the competition details inside.

It’s simple, tangible, straight-to-the-point and it quickly dramatises the idea of winning a shiny new 3D TV.

So if you’re a TRU customer, look out for your next bill, pay it before the due date, cross your fingers and leave your fake remote on the coffee table to impress your friends.

And if you’re not a TRUenergy customer, click here and join in the fun.

Hard work pays off in the end. Everyone knows that.

But guess what?

Easy pays off too.

As part of our work for AMP last year launching their simple superannuation offering, we had to get two rather cynical audiences onside – which wasn’t so easy.

One audience was financial planners. The other was the general public, whose interest in superannuation is even lower than Stef’s interest in Justin Beiber.

So what’s the best way to talk to these audiences?

Straight up.

Instead of beating around the bush, we asked the financial planners if they wanted new clients and demonstrated how easy it is to get them:

And Joe Public?

A different sort of demonstration. One that shows what the product means to you.

Easy.

Like the man says, it’s not rocket surgery – sometimes the most obvious answer is the right answer.

Pfffftt. Mortgages. Seriously who’s got the time to figure out if it’s worth swapping banks? Not gonna happen. We all have better things to do with our lunch breaks than hang about in a queue. You know, things like eating our lunch.

That said, ANZ have a solution for those of us who are time-poor. Or just plain lazy.

Mobile lenders.

A hardy bunch of mortgage experts willing to go anywhere, any time. And to illustrate the point we recently created a full page ad for ANZ Mobile Lenders to appear in the Qantas in-flight magazine.

What an ace medium to use! Not only did we have a buckled-in, captive audience, we were also able to make the creative message perfectly relevant. It’s not often you know what your readers are doing, but if they’re strapped into a 747 you know exactly where they’re going next.

So it seemed apt to point out that if ANZ mobile lenders can meet you wherever, whenever, then they could even greet you at the airport gates as you step off the plane.

Which sounds great to us. Because it would be a nice change to be greeted by someone who’s not expecting a present.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that different mail packs appeal to different audiences. Some folks like a letter, some prefer an eDM, some want a brochure. And some respond to a DeWalt triple-stitched heavy-duty safety glove.

In this case our target market was a bunch of tradies from Perth.

Late last year, when AMP asked for our help to encourage tradespeople to discuss superannuation with their financial planners, we didn’t mess around with anything as conventional (or delicate) as a letter in an envelope. Instead, to communicate the importance of financial advice we sent out the left hand of a pair of made-tough work gloves.

Our insight was that tradies and financial advisers have something in common: they both offer professional advice.

Our copy went on to suggest that tradespeople see enough dodgy DIY jobs to truly understand the value of professional advice.

And the offer? By just popping in to see their financial planner our targeted tradies not only got a good bit of advice on their super but also the matching right hand glove.

As they say, if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.

Mums, they’re ace aren’t they?

The things they do for their kids – kiss your bumped knee better, make your lunch, wash your dirty laundry, give your brother bail money.

And then there’s all the ferrying they do. Driving you to school, to soccer, to your friend’s for that sleepover, to swimming, to ballet…

This was the insight that led to the creative work we produced for V/Line’s Mother’s Day campaign. Encouraging Victorians to book their mum a trip to the country where she can put up her feet and relax for a change.

Of course, we also had an insight into the minds of uni-aged kids which led us to develop the poster below – now proudly displayed at the regional universities around Victoria.

PS. Mother’s Day is this Sunday (yep, THIS Sunday). So buy her something nice and maybe she’ll help you out with that laundry.

Some jobs call for all the bells and whistles – an all-singing, all-dancing pack that demands attention like a two-year old having a rolling-on-the-floor, ear-piercing hissy-fit at Safeway.

Others require a more subtle touch.

Like the simple, well-crafted letter above.

It was written when TRUenergy asked us to create a piece to let their customers know how much they’re valued. We had no offer and no real call to action. But with so much door-to-door activity among energy companies these days, we needed to convince customers to stay with TRUenergy.

So we crafted a letter and gave it a twist.

Instead of the traditional format – a long letter with a single signature – we wrote a short letter with nine signatures. One for each of the business heads who are committed to looking after TRUenergy customers.

And the response?

The mailer only went out a couple of weeks ago, but within a day, TRUenergy’s switchboard was already receiving calls from customers who’d been approached by other energy companies, giving TRUenergy the opportunity to retain these people.

Exactly the response we were hoping for.

And not a bell or whistle in sight.

Hands up if you missed the 2009 ADMA Awards in Sydney.

For all those who weren’t able to get out of the office, onto a plane, over the bridge and into the city, here’s your chance to see who won, and – more importantly – why they won.

At the ADMA Awards 2009 Showcase, Dylan Taylor, the 2009 Chair of Creative Judges, will present last year’s winning entries and give us a behind the scenes glimpse into what the judges were looking for. So while Shane ‘Kenny‘ Jacobson won’t be presenting in Melbourne, the laughs will be replaced with insights into how to win next year.

Take that, Sydneysiders!

Our eDM for the event went out a little while ago, but there’s still time to reserve your seat.

So if you’d like to see what made the grade in 2009 and network over drinks and canapes, book your tickets here and we’ll see you there.

Each year, National Pharmacies runs a promotion that’s hard to resist – an extra 5% off for members.

They already get 20% off all their purchases, so this bumps it up to a whopping 25% off pretty much everything in store.

To promote this offer to members this year, we created a self-mailer, die-cut to resemble a National Pharmacies’ bag full of goodies. After all, what could be more motivating than seeing a bag full of the items you can get a juicy discount on?

Truth be told, several of us are already champing at the bit to get our hands on that Chanel perfume….OK, that’s enough drooling, back to work.

(But if all this is tempting you to sign up as a National Pharmacies member, just click here.)