Tusk

19 KAREN

 
 
From Top: (1) Exterior view of 19 Karen, (2) Inside the art space, (3) Abigail Whittaker, 'Loneliness is my sign and my star'. 
 
It can be seen that the Gold Coast lacks a certain art and culture scene compared to that of other Australian metropolitan hubs but the establishment of the 19 Karen art gallery (by Terri Lew & associates) has been a welcome contributor of change for the GC since 2008. 19 Karen has grown quickly in popularity after hosting many events, classes, exhibitions and the venue can also be hired privately. The level of artists has also increased considerably, with established Australian and international artists consistently on display. This weekend sees Abigail Whittaker, a Brisbane-based artist displaying her work with a solo show titled “The Vision Splendid”. It will be a great way to spend a saturday night seems that I can’t be at splendour. 

The Ants Don't Stand a Chance

A very well executed outdoor campaign for an American pest control brand named Black Flag. The ad features 3D giant ants which are projected onto the side of a building following a full house Houston Astros night game, running before, during stadium fireworks and after the game while the spectators were exiting the stadium.

Keep That Dream in your Mind

You could be mistaken for thinking that this ad for Coke Burn, is just a beautifully shot short film portraying the feelings that skaters live for on a daily basis. I’ve never seen Mexico City from this perspective before, the lighting is great, very eery and the soundtrack by Lost Acapulco adds to the overall vibe. The film is supposed to be a metaphor for what the burn ‘energy’ drink will do for people who consume the product, which I think they have definitely achieved. 

AW for Dom Perignon

A special series of Dom Perignon bottles/packaging have been designed to pay tribute to the late Andy Warhol. The artwork was designed by the Design Laboratory at Central Saint Martin’s School of Art & Design, who were commissioned by Dom Perignon to reinterpret the iconic artists timeless ideals. These bottles will definitely be highly sought after and highly identifiable, as the company has never before tampered with their label. The special series will feature blue, red, yellow, lilac, yellow and emerald green labels. You can also watch the making of the designs here. 

A Slogan That Never Gets Old

22 Years On and Still Going Strong!

The 18th July 2010, marked the 22nd anniversary of Nike slogan "Just Do It." The tag line was penned by Portland man Dan Wieden of successful advertising agency; Wieden+Kennedy. The Tag line was pitched to Nike execs in an attempt to gain back some much needed market share, from other sporting goods giant, Reebok.

Understandably, Wieden and the Nike execs have never looked back. An idea was born and the notion has been fostered over the last 22 years, as Nike and Wieden+Kennedy continue their relationship.

The slogan encapsulates the brand and works as an emotional driver for consumers. Ie. 'Just Do' exercise. And 'Do It' in Nike apparel. Furthermore, designer of the Air Jordon logo for Nike has said of the tag;

"It was quick, easy, cocky, to the point, and a bit irreverent, all of which Nike is."

Set to go down in advertising history, the slogan has staying power and some might argue that the tag in itself is the largest contributor to Nike's position, as the world's largest sporting goods maker.   

Gold Coast Suns

Ending the months of speculation, the Gold Coast Football Club launched their new nickname (Gold Coast Suns), guernseys and club song tonight. The event was streamed live across the net for those that couldn't attend the function.
Congrats to all the club - we know the amount of hard work that you guys put in - exciting times ahead.

Checkout the website for a better look at the playing strip and you give the new clucb song a play - Gold Coast Suns

MP Group Australia website

We've recently had the pleasure of working with MP Contructions on a new wesbite for the Q400 company. A look through the Projects section of the site and the creativeness and exceptional quailty of their work is undeniable.

As a branding company we appreciate the role MP Constructions play in assisting their clients with providing great brand experiences. A shopfront, office or restaurant/bar is often the first (and sometimes the only) point of content customers may have with a brand - first impressions count and great ones last. So it's vital that it's done well.

So take a look through site here
On a side note - they also did the amazing fitout of East Restaurant and Bar - you can checkout the site we did for these guys here

Words of Wisdom

  • Wednesday, 21 July 2010
  • By Catheryn York
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 I came across a blog post that I felt would be great to share. Unfortunately there was no tweet this or share button so I couldnt just forward it on so I hope he doesnt mind me quoting him here.

It from Simon Reynolds and his fantastic SIICOACH blog which I would highly recommend.

The Power Of Slow
By Siimon - 26. May 2010 11:20

Every day we are hit with articles about people who have built huge businesses almost instantly.
Facebook. Red Bull. Amazon. Google. The entrepreneur is the new rock star.
The examples seem so plentiful they give the impression that these rags to riches scenarios are the norm.
The stats, however, show they are anything but.
Almost every great business started slowly.
Walmart had only 2 stores for its first 7 years. Now it's the third biggest company in the world.
Marriott has thousands of hotels worldwide. But it started with just one root beer stand.
Merck is valued at over $50 billion. But it struggled initially with just a single small pharmacy.
Starbucks has over 16,000 stores, but for the first 13 years it only had 5.
Nike took years before it exceeded $1m in revenue.
So please remember this as you try to build something great.
If you're doing it slow and tough, you just may be doing it right.
Keep persisting. Keep refining. Keep visioning. But most of all keep moving forward.
For almost everyone, the road to greatness is long.
Despite what the media may say.  

GCFC - Footy's better with your mates

We all know Footy's better with your mates - you may have your GCFC membership sorted but if your friends and family haven't then who will you be going with?
This is a direct mail piece we did with GCFC - quick shoot with the Karmichael and the guys to get the shots needed for the to get the message across and accompany the sign up form.

All you need to know about GCFC memberships here

Mr. T for Mastercard

  • Wednesday, 21 July 2010
  • By Sam Martin
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Mr T is having a great run lately off the back of a successful series of Snickers commercials, He is now featuring in a Mastercard commercial. The ad plays on the toughness of Mr T which he is famous for, he plays the character of a personal bodyguard. Once again Mastercard have utlised their long standing “priceless” slogan, in this case, “Knowing someone’s got your back: priceless”. This ad is proof, that a company can use the same format over and over again, with only little changes to certain elements being needed to maintain audience interest. 

White People Will Laugh at This.

  • Wednesday, 21 July 2010
  • By Sam Martin
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Stuff White People Like is a satiric and hilarious blog describing what left wing, middle class Caucasians enjoy. Christian Lander’s concept was bound to be a success from the beginning with it’s simple but catchy title, matched with stories that are so well thought out and socially accurate. Random House caught on quickly to how successful this brand could become, by publishing a book, stuff white people like: the definitive guide to the unique taste of millions, which has had much success. Christian Lander now offers bespoke, Stuff White People Like t-shirts for all the articles he’s ever written. Stuff White People Like is laugh out loud writing and is a great example of how a concept which established itself on a social platform can turn into a internationally popular multi-dimensional brand. 

...and so I curled up next to her

SHOWCASING : JESSICA TREMP

'When I was little I used to dream about being a dancer or that I could fly and that I would learn to speak the language of the animals in the forest or that of the most dramatic actor. With the click of a finger I’ve found a way to make these things come true.' (Jessica Tremp).

Although quite young, Jessica Tremp sure has made a name for herself. Born in 1981, she grew up in Switzerland before moving to Melbourne, Australia at the age of 18. Having attended very few photography classes, Jessica is primarily a self-taught photographer. Her talent and recognition stem from a string of awards and well received exhibitions and publications. 

Her style of photography is one that embraces natural light, which 'she feels gives her the freedom to shoot more spontaneously and organically... She focuses on relationships between self and space or humans and animals. She tries to blur the boundaries not only between species, but also between the beautiful and the eerie, comfort and fear, submission and dominance, finding moments of hope, connection and trust in a nature that seems to slip through your fingers.'  

To view more of her work or find out more about this young lass, head to her website and prepare to be captivated.... (I've already set one of her images to display on my desktop)!

A statement about her work:

'These series of portraits are ones of comfort and fear, loneliness and connection, submission and dominance in a world of ambiguous narratives, leaving behind a kind of emotional authenticity rather than a literal accuracy and finding moments of hope and trust in the unusual.'  

Advanced Viral + Inception

In the months leading up to the Inception release, the film’s marketing and PR team have put into place an ongoing viral campaign to captivate audiences, create buzz, promote new trailers, win over important industry people and to introduce multiple touch points for the movie. The latest part of the campaign involves posters being placed all over major cities with pasted Quick Response (QR) codes, after being decoded the information leads users to a selection of websites, including ‘what is dream share?’, ‘Mind Crime’, and ‘pasivdevice’. Each website reveals brief information of the inner workings of Inception. Also, a tin with a USB containing the movies third official trailer and a model spinning top from the movie have been sent to various journalists and industry insiders. I think this campaign will have definitely added to the movies hype. It’s looking like this movie will be one of the biggest of the year. In similar news, Tusk have also recently been busy developing a viral campaign for one of our clients which is going to be a big success. If you have any questions regarding viral campaign’s for your business, contact us today. 

Unit Riders

Unit Riders sales have boomed over the past few years as the popularity of the brand continues to gain momentum in the two wheel sports community. To compliment the companies physical sales platforms, Unit came to us to design for them a fresh new website and e-commerce solution to add to their sales network. If you're in a similar situation and have a large range of products to sell, going digital is a great solution. There are many advantages of having an e-commerce solution for your business, which we would love to discuss with you. So contact Tusk today to see your product sales soar! 

UNICEF Does Dirty for a Cause

Growing up in a developed Nation from the get go often doesn’t bring most of us into direct contact with the hardships, which nearly all people go through on a daily basis living in third world countries. That’s why UNICEF have set up “Dirty Water” vending machines in New York, to inform people of how lucky we are to have choice in the matter of something as simple as clean water. The vending machines offer products which focus on 8 diseases which plague third world countries, and all proceeds from a purchase go towards UNICEF’s campaign for a better world. This campaign is very effective, the idea is clever and the packaging/branding is also perfectly executed, you could easily be fooled into thinking it’s a new product from Coca Cola Amatil or some other giant corporation. 

Brand Club presented by TUSK Agency & Hynes Lawyers

Tusk Agency would like to thank everybody who attended the two Brand Club events which were hosted in July. The events were an overwhelming success with people from over 30 successful brands contributing. We had a great time presenting our ideas and forming new relationships. We are already discussing ideas for future brand club events. for more information contact us to register your interest.

Surfrider Foundation

The Surfrider Foundation is a non for profit organization whose solely focused on protecting, conserving and enhancing the coastal environment. The organization continues to tackle problems like plastics, marine debris, coastal destruction, oil spills and any other coast related issues. The global organisation is a vital part of ensuring that us Australians and the rest of the world will be able to enjoy the coast for many years to come. The Surfrider Foundation is also famous for their collaborations with creative talents, which result in some very effective and captivating campaigns, We’ve posted a an ad from the foundation in the past, but I wanted to put up some more of their work to reiterate to you the importance of acting responsibly. You can follow the foundation on their plastics blog and website for more information. If you like these ads, contact us at Tusk to discuss designing an ad campaign with impact for your brand or organization. 

GCFC "Rise Up" Mag

Here's another look at Issue 1 of the "Rise Up" magazine we designed for the Gold Coast Football Club. Don't miss out again, issue 2 has just gone to print and will be available for all Gold Coast FC members very soon. So become a member today and get behind the team! 

+ Tusk, Host Plus, Southport Sharks

Brazilian Beauty

I came across this amazing house which is posted on wallpaper magazine online. House B, Sao Paolo was designed by architect Andrade Morettin. The house is perfectly designed to let in the surrounding habitat, by utilising a multitude of glass and sliding doors to bring the outside in, and the inside out. Brazil really are at the forefront of design presently. 

World Travel Professionals Win Big

The Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) Awards were held over the weekend at the exclusive Sydney Westin Hotel, to recognize the best of the best in the competitive travel industry, and what better news then to hear that our long standing client, the World Travel Professionals received two of the most sought after of titles. The Agency won both the:

  • Best Travel Agency Corporate - Multi Location - World Travel Professionals
  • Best Travel Consultant - Corporate - Carol Chapman, World Travel Professionals

These two awards take the company to an unprecedented 7 National Travel Industry Awards in the last five years.

To see why the Company has grown to 4 establishments and employs over 60 staff, visit their website, blog and other social pages to gain an understanding of what the talented and experienced WTP agents can offer you.

I Like Mine Smooth

Gillette have come out with a new commercial which plays on two topics at once. It’s not the first time that a company have used a play on sexual metaphor's to promote their products. Yet I think this is a refreshing take on promoting male shaving utensils. Usually shaving ads are very straight forward and focus only on out takes of a male model in the bathroom giving us a shaving tutorial, this ad doesn’t have either but it still portrays the advantages of being cleanly shaven. It’s a shame I saw this ad because I was planning on growing a beard but I think this campaign has persuaded me to do otherwise. The ad compliments the rest of the "Gillette Survey" ad campaign which can be viewed on youtube. 

Random Round Up

A random bunch of captivating signage ads from around the world compiled by Dave who is one of our talented programmers. Some are old and some are recent. The ads featured are for Wella hair products, Something Special Whisky, The Biggest Loser and The Peter Macallum Cancer Centre. 

Perrier X Dita Von Teese

 

To compliment the new range of “Paparazzi” Perrier products, Dita Von Teese has graced the entire packaging product line in order to effectively portray the companies creative direction for the glamourous vintage pin-up girl look of days old. The company have also launched a 100% interactive website also starring Dita Von Teese. This media rich website invites the user to enter the Perrier Mansion where Dita conducts a private tour of the establishment, with various actions to be taken along the way to move forward. This campaign is very consistent, the seductive and sensual feel Perrier are going for in my mind is perfectly executed through the details, the copyright, the text, branding, the muse, locations, packaging and design elements all breath sophistication. Ogilvy Paris worked with Perrier on this campaign. 

"Smell Like a Man, Man"

This ad has created such a buzz around the world. It’s a very quirky but definitive interpretation of the Old Spice product. Do women really want the attributes described, in a man? I’m not sure, but I’ll ask the ladies around the office and get back to you. One thing is for certain, this fresh ad campaign perfectly matches the feeling which using deodorant should conjure........Fresh! “Smell Like a Man, Man”.

For the Avid Apple Fan Club

This blog post is dedicated to all of the Mac fans out there who just can't seem to get enough. Mashable has provided ten fun facts about the mega company that is Apple. To read the article and brush up on the facts, head to the website, or you can continue reading on below... I have posted my favourite fact!

Fascinating Fact, Number 8

8. The First iPod Had A Secret Easter Egg

"Apple’s first iPod came with a little secret — an Easter egg — in the form of a game that could be accessed if you knew the right combination of buttons to press.

How to find the game is described in Nick Triano’s early 2002 Geek.com review of the iPod (memorable quote: “I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that it will change the way you listen to music”). “Go to the ‘About’ menu, hold down the center button for about three seconds, and you’ll get a Breakout (Pong) game to play while you listen.”

Breakout, the hidden game itself, is notable in Apple’s history as it was a product that both Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak worked on together at Atari, where legend has it Jobs cheated Wozniak out of thousands of dollars of bonus money."   

UNIQLO Win's Big With Online Strategy

UNIQLO LUCKY SWITCH from HN on Vimeo.

At the end of last year leading into January 2010, UNIQLO Japan implemented an innovative "Lucky Switch" online campaign to boost sales of their sales stock. The Company launched an initial small blog and bookmarklet which resulted in a gigantic snow ball effect. The campaign worked by turning all pictures on any website into flip-able tickets, once turned over some were prizes and some were simply banner ads for their sale products. Either way the exciting concept created a large amount of hype as people wanted to win the prizes on offer. Yet that wasn’t the only outcome of the campaign, as it also served as an advertising platform to motivate shoppers to visit UNIQLO online and in store retailers. The campaign only went for 30 days and it received 2,809,462 clicks, 120% increase on sales in store and 150% increase of sales online. At Tusk we are currently working closely with the Gold Coast Football Club and Unit Riders to increase their social marketing presence. Contact us today for more information on what campaign ideas we can offer your business.
 

A New Sprout

How do you increase the size of your land? well....... you double it! The Sprout House was designed by Japanese firm Archi Farm. Click here for more pictures. 

What Is Your Brand Famous For?

Once again Gatorade have made an ad that perfectly targets their core consumers. Through consistently strong communications strategies, Gatorade have made their mark as a drink for sportspeople wanting to replace nutrients and electrolytes during/after strenuous exercise. This new ad campaign features British Olympic (Beijing) cycling gold medalist Victoria Pendleton getting her Gatorade stolen from her by a street/trick rider (Ali C). The ad incorporates many elements including product placement, humour, anger, sport, and footage of two sportspeople at the top of their game. After looking around, the ad has had mixed reviews on the web so far, but I think the ad is entertaining, it has a good message and it also serves as an initial basis of hype leading up to the 2012 London Olympic Games.

It'll Be Better

Another day brings another great idea to the technology arena. The band Francis and the Lights’ It’ll Be Better website is the world’s first HTML5 embeddable album, which primarily simplifies the process of listening to music for millions of Apple users. The idea was developed by Muxtape founder Justine Ouellette, who wanted to change the difficulty of streaming music on the ipad and the new iphone4 because of the operating systems poor flash support. The new It’ll Be Better site also allows for people to listen to the album while using multiple other applications. This concept is another milestone for band’s wanting to promote their music online and YES it will help boost sales for iTunes.

Todd Selby + Converse

 Behind the scenes video 

Todd Selby of The Selby interiors website and book recently photographed the spring/summer Jack Purcell ad campaign for Converse. After seeing these ads firsthand flicking through some magazines, they are clearly striking and funny. The campaign features charlie casley-hayford, clark james gable, harry mcnally, mirabelle marden, and skye forsyth-peters in their daily habitat. This mix of people, locations, the tip of a shoe representing a smile and classic branding results in a very memorable print campaign. Todd Selby has also worked with companies such as Nike 6.0, The New York Times, Architectural Digest and Vogue Paris. Contact us at Tusk today for more information on the design of print campaigns. 

Your're No Good Without It

If you put into place proper research, planning and strategy, a marketing plan can be quite easy to achieve. Yet a marketing plan will not be effective unless (1) the entire company front and back of house, understands and is passionately implementing the strategy and (2) there is a person/team monitoring and constantly improving the plan.

Imagine if you were the Marketing Manager for a large hotel and you have designed and implemented a marketing plan which will if followed, bring much success for the establishment. However, if the porters act rudely to guests as they arrive, if the barman don’t properly market alliance products, or if restaurant staff don’t up sell products for example, the marketing strategy will not bring successful results.

Marketing does not consist of one or two topics, moreover it is a multi-faceted area of business consisting of product, price, place and promotional decisions, along with branding, market research, Corporate Social Responsibility, social marketing strategy and much more.

Thats where Tusk Agency come in. We offer complete marketing consultancy packages for any business large or small who are in need of marketing assistance for their business. We are currently contracting a marketing consultant to the World Travel Professionals (WTP), to assist in increasing the brands corporate and social identity. For more information on what we can do for you, contact us today.  

Focus on One, and Portray it Well.

When it comes to selling cars, a large portion of companies consistently use the same communications method by overloading consumers with vehicle features and price offers in their commercials. Land Rover’s most recent campaign has taken a different tact by focusing on one product attribute (safety) and has designed a portrayal of this feature using humour. The TV commercial shows an employee who has an obsession with samurai swords being asked by his boss to follow him. The boss proceeds to the car park, gets into his new Land Rover Discovery 4 and tells the employee that he is going to have to get rid of all the swords from his office. Land Rover’s “You’ll Feel Safe Inside” campaign obviously depicts that safety is the most important issue for soccer mums to weekend adventurers when choosing a vehicle, and they have succeeded in portraying this using simple humour, and uncluttered dialogue. At Tusk we specialize in brand identity, so contact us if your wanting to change the image of your company.

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