Recently, the three of us (Rob, Inge and I) got together and decided to pool our strengths. We know many businesses want to spend less time briefing and managing suppliers. They want good advice, not just good design. And want access to specialists who can bring it all together. So here we are, three marketing and comms specialists; ready, willing and able to work on your behalf – 2gether.

In short: 2gether is a collaboration of skills and expertise, making life easier for businesses in search of fresh ideas, writing, digital and design, for marketing and communications.

Together we deliver:

* brand strategy
* brand identity design, logos
* brand guidelines & implementation
* advertising campaigns
* brochures
* direct marketing
* annual reports
* newsletters
* case studies
* posters
* exhibition design & event themes
* vehicle liveries, signage,
* clothing and uniforms
* website and ecommerce site building and customisation

Why not take advantage of our extensive background in corporate marketing and agency work…

We can work within your teams, complement their skills and, in the process, transfer useful knowledge. We can work inhouse on strategy, planning and development of ideas – as well as all kinds of marcoms initiatives.

Give us a call. You’ll find us very easy to work with.

There are lots of absolutes in life and talking to the hand is one of them. When a communication isn’t relevant or interesting, up goes the hand, off goes the comms-switch and flick — your important message heads to the rubbish-bin.

Too technical, too convoluted, too unbelievable, too much self interest about you and your products or services — these are all absolutes for the hand treatment.

Fortunately, business to business communication rarely gets that bad — but it often gets flicked.

No matter what business you’re in, there’s no stronger recommendation for your offering than word of mouth. We’re all like that – we prefer getting a recommendation from someone when it comes to making a purchase decision. When you think about it, this is equally true whether you’re choosing a car, movie, superannuation fund or computer system. Advertising can point us in a direction, but in the end most of us would like a personal recommendation.

Have a look at the Internet – most sites carry customer reviews or testimonials. They are powerful sales tools.

Are you using word of mouth tactics for your company? We have lots of experience in interviewing business clients about their experience with products and services and then writing it up – either as short and strong statements for website use or as full length case studies. We can help you extract the right information and turn it into compelling testimonials.

Have a look at our website for information on how to make the most of case studies. We’ve also provided a briefing document for copywriting should you need one.

To say Apple Computer’s iconic Chiat/Day Superbowl commercial ‘1984’ created attention is an understatement. To this day it remains a watershed event, one of the all-time greats and a masterpiece in advertising. Since then Apple has shown at least two other Superbowl ads that I’m aware of. One in 1985 ‘Lemmings’ and the most recent in 1999 ‘Hal 2000’, at least I think that’s what it was called.

So what, you ask?

For me, the interesting thing about these three commercials is how only one of them is widely remembered. ‘1984’ was the only one with a positive message. It focused on possibility, sold hope and a break from traditional thought and conditioned responses. It sold the opposite to the all pervasive FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) synonymous with the year 2000 bug and beyond.

We write FUD sometimes, but recently I have been wondering about this form of communication. Many of the messages that are winning through today, eg from the likes of Barack Obama and to a similar extent Kevin Rudd, are also a break from tradition. They are ostensibly positive, suggestive of hope and a renewed world view, as opposed to the same-old fear and uncertainty stuff.

There may be a place for FUD, but what seems to be cutting through right now is a more optimistic and upbeat vision of the world. Maybe we’ve all had enough of pessimism and cynicism for a while.

Apple Computer’s iconic Chiat/Day Superbowl commercial ‘1984’

…and who is John Holman? A freelance writer, frustrated wannabe author and resident at the beach geek. He is currently reading ‘Out Stealing Horses’ by Per Petterson and his techo toy of the month is an Asus Eee-PC Netbook running Linux Ubuntu.

This is a bit of a warning. We recently saw the movie What Just Happened and I was inspired to comment on it. I found it a pretty self-indulgent film, full of inside jokes and self-importance — just like a poorly communicating organisation that loves talking in ‘execubabble’.

In fact, I looked up ‘execubabble’ and this is one definition:

Execubabble – Verbal executive communication in broad, vague terms that rise above normal speak. Characterised by an excessive use of executive words such as robust, paradigm, and drill down. Those on the receiving end of execubabble are no better informed after the speech than when it began.

Question: “How is the company doing?
Answer: “We are entering a quarter in which we expect robust growth. Paradigms are shifting, but the team has drilled down to the heart of the challenge.”

This is a pretty mild example, but you get my drift. It’s silly. It makes you hard to understand. And your customers don’t like it, so my advice is: don’t use this kind of language in your ads or on your website unless you want people to turn off.

And if you have a copywriter writing that sort of tripe then give us a call.