The Art of Promotion

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the
sequel
Several years ago, Modern Dog Communications embarked on their first deck-of-cards promotion. It featured fifty-two of the firm’s best poster designs and was a huge success, as it brought
in long-term business and sold in several museums. “With our first deck, my business partner
was lecturing in Salt Lake City and people came up and bought the cards. One guy, who was a
student at the time, still had our cards and e-mailed us,” shares creative director and designer
Robynne Raye. “He is now working in Japan for one of the largest retail clothing companies.
For the past two and a half years, he has been our biggest client.” When a promotion is a
functional object that a prospective client wants to retain and utilize, the chance for work down
the road increases greatly. “I always try to design things that will not get thrown away. I hate
promotions that are unusable and forgettable,” remarks Raye. “Promotions should outlive their
intended use or else they become landfill. Because our cards are usable, we get repeated
exposure from them.”
Once the first set of cards depleted, the firm thought it was time
for a sequel. Again they looked to their vast collection of poster work for visual support. The second deck features a new series of projects in the highly graphic look for which Modern Dog is
known. The cards sit nicely in a custom-designed box. The hand-painted look of the cover illustration and the graphic use of type play off the signature-style posters that are uniformly displayed inside. Because the promotion was expensive to produce, the design firm chose to cut
costs by collating the deck in-house. “All of the cards were printed on one sheet, but when they
were delivered, they came in different boxes,” comments Raye. “We had to set up a space just
for putting the decks together.” To keep the task organized and to save as much time as possible,
a jig was built as a convenient way to sort each deck, alleviating the cumbersome process of
going from box to box.
Entitled Peep, this lively and entertaining deck of oversized
playing cards packs both a promotional and a merchandising punch. “The series acts like a miniportfolio. It’s a great leave-behind when we meet someone for the first time,” says Raye. “We
also sell them through our Web site.” Only 3,500 were produced. “For us, it has opened a lot of
doors and gotten us into places to which, normally, graphic designers would not even go, like
museums. This type of promotion has come back years later and has definitely paid for itself.”
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Job no:58636 Title : Rockport-Art of Promotion Client : Pro-Vision
Scn : #175CB Size : 216(w)279(h)mm Co : M8 C6Q5 O/P: V2
Dept : DTP D/O : 21.6.03 (Job no:000000 D/O : 00.00.03 Co: CM0)
1
2
The set of commercial art playing cards is the
second in a series for the Seattle-based firm.
The oversized deck, with its bright palette,
is meant to be fun and engaging. The cards
fit nicely inside a custom-designed box that
is coated with varnish.
The deck of cards features the poster work of
Modern Dog Communications. Each featured
project is supplemented by a brief description,
revealing the client, title, completion date,
print size, and method of reproduction. The
cards are printed in four colors on Utopia
Premium 150-lb. cover stock; an overall aqueous
varnish provides protection and durability.
F I R M : MODERN
DOG COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
C R E A T I V E D I R E C T O R S : MICHAEL
technical tips
11
STRASSBURGER
2
AND ROBYNNE RAYE
If you decide to collate a deck of cards
in-house, you should set up a system to
keep the job organized. Try to find outlets in which to sell the playing cards
to help cover the heavy production
expenses.
D E S I G N E R : ROBYNNE
RAYE
I L L U S T R A T I O N : ROBYNNE
1
RAYE
P R I N T I N G : COLORGRAPHICS
do it for less
Producing an oversize custom deck of
cards is expensive. To cut costs significantly, stick to a standard-size deck
and locate a vendor who has a die
already made. Hand-collating the deck
in-house is time-consuming but a definite must if you are budget conscious.
the art of promotion
chap t er 2
Unique Constructions, Folds, and Die-Cuts
p73
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C O L L A B O R AT I V E E N D E AVO R S
F I R M : RED
CANOE
C R E A T I V E D I R E C T O R : DEB
D E S I G N E R : CAROLINE
KOCH
KAVANAGH
I L L U S T R A T I O N : KATHERINE
P R I N T I N G : STUDIO
INK
DUNN
creative collaboration
(SILK-SCREEN ON WOOD)
AND EPSON INKJET PRINTER
M A N U F A C T U R E R S : PAPER
AND RED CANOE SITE
(BOOKLET, BUSINESS CARD, AND WRAPPING PAPER)
MART
(NATURAL WOOD EXCELSIOR ASPEN WOOD SHAVINGS)
(ACORNS, WOOD SLICES, AND STICKS)
Creatives are beginning to realize the promotional potential that results when
they join forces on a collaborative endeavor. Such was the case when Deb Koch
and Caroline Kavanagh, cofounders of Red Canoe, teamed up with illustrator
Katherine Dunn. After creating a Web site design for Dunn, the team of creatives realized they had a lot in common. With shared interests and an overlapping client base, they embarked on a dual-functioning promotion that not
only enticed prospects to visit and bookmark Dunn’s new site but also drew
attention to the interactive design and development capabilities of Red Canoe.
To capture the attention of their mostly creative audience, the promotion
had to be interesting enough to stand out from the flood of incoming mailers.
To develop something that successfully promoted both companies, the design
team went back to their shared inspirational source—nature. Dunn’s illustrative Web site, which draws a lot of its key components from natural elements,
was in perfect tune with the philosophy and mission statement of Red Canoe.
To make a familiar connection, the design team went out into their 350 acres of
natural woodland and collected many of the elements that appear on the Web
site: wood, sticks, and acorns. This made for a very tactile introduction to the
Web site’s electronic experience. “The concept was to bring dimension and
reality to some of the site’s elements, enhancing one’s sense of the site as a
place that one would immediately feel familiar with,” offers Koch.
Acorn tops and bottoms were cleaned and glued back together with
biodegradable material. The wood and twigs were gathered from fallen tree
branches, cut, and sanded to smooth and brighten their surface. To remove
moisture, the slices of wood were baked in a conventional oven until perfectly
dry. They were later silk-screen-printed with the Web site’s URL. The mini-
When embarking on a group endeavor, it is important
to be organized from the start. It is essential to set ground
slices of wood served a secondary function as
coasters, increasing the longevity of the piece.
A little, illustrated storybook with rhythmic
sayings and French-folded pages enticed the
recipient to visit the newly developed site. To
add character and distinction, the minibook
was wrapped with a cover stock and uniquely
bound with a rubber band and stick. Wood
shavings, shaped into a nest, housed the
piece. The package was sent in a white box
wrapped by a custom-designed sheet accented with the artist’s gestural work. The narrative approach, natural materials, and keen
attention to detail helped make the piece
memorable and the URL (leaves-no-morethan-i-do.com) something worth exploring
further.
For the design firm, collaboration is a
way to enrich their portfolio and diversify
their capabilities. “Besides the new-blood
aspect of creative input, each collaborative
endeavor reveals new processes that contribute to the flow of the next project, whatever
it may be,” says Koch. “It allows clients to see
skills and talent that go beyond the generally
perceived scope of design, creating unique
projects and work opportunities.” Although
you give up a certain amount of personal
ownership when collaborating, a project
somehow always goes beyond what it otherwise would have because of the contribution
of others.
rules and to produce a detailed creative brief, outlining the
project’s intent, overall theme, and working specifications.
A solid timeline, detailing individual responsibilities
and due dates, will also prove helpful in keeping each
participant on track.
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Job no:58636 Title : Rockport-Art of Promotion Client : Pro-Vision
Scn : #175CB Size : 216(w)279(h)mm Co : M8 C6Q5 O/P: V2
Dept : DTP D/O : 21.6.03 (Job no:58636C1 D/O : 18.07.03 Co: CM8)
the art of promotion
chap t er 3
Interesting Bindings, Fasteners, and Wraps
p109