“It feels really good to be aligning with these four enlightened companies that see the world like we do—dedicating their energy to improving people’s health and happiness,” said Common Good CEO Kelly Reedy. “That shared perspective creates a unique bond between us and our clients. It’s part of our secret sauce.” 

Poppi is a healthy, category-disrupting soda that combines fresh fruit juice with the prebiotic powerhouse apple cider vinegar. Common Good was hired on a project basis to create the brand’s summer and holiday creative campaigns. Poppi is sold online and in stores.  

Common Good will handle brand identity and collateral design for BeMe, an app that combines technology and human connection to support the emotional well-being of teens. BeMe provides a safe space for teens to explore who they are and be their genuine selves by engaging with positive content, learning new skills, connecting with live coaches and having crisis support at their fingertips for the tougher moments. The first work will break in May.

Common Good’s Media team is handling media strategy, planning and buying for GOOD PLANeT Foods, a line of plant-based cheeses that are dairy-, preservative-, gluten- and GMO-free. Options include shreds, slices, snacks packs, wheels and wedges in flavors such as gouda, mozzarella, cheddar, parmesan and provolone. The company’s U.S.-made products are sold in recycled and recyclable packaging. 

Acme Smoked Fish, the largest producer of smoked salmon in North America, also chose Common Good to lead media. This is Acme’s first time working with a full-service media agency. The campaign begins airing on Memorial Day. 

“The media landscape is evolving, and we’re proud to be partnering with two dynamic brands—GOOD PLANeT Foods and Acme Smoked Fish—to help them punch through the clutter and expectation of the CPG category and show up where the market is headed,” said Common Good chief data strategist John Gilbert. “Both companies have already made a name for themselves and will continue to be brands to watch over the next five years.” 

Source: Common Good 

That is why Nurishh, the first alternative dairy brand from Bel Brands USA, and their creative AOR Havas Chicago are issuing the first “Cream Cheese Credit” for the launch of Nurishh Incredible Dairy Animal Free Cream Cheese Spread made in partnership with Perfect Day. Nurishh Incredible Dairydelivers the same great taste, texture, and richness as traditional dairy cream cheese spreads but is better because it’s animal free and lactose-free.  

“Cream Cheese Credit”, a creative spot from Havas Chicago that launches the product and campaign, breaks down the logistics of the cream cheese credit in aplay on finance broadcast shows. Consumers can visit CreamCheeseCredit.com to enter for a chance to receive a $200 credit and a year’s supply of Nurishh Incredible Dairy animal free cream cheese spread by scanning a receipt for choosing Nurishh. 

“There are financial credits for making green choices such as using solar panels and electric vehicles, but there aren’t any when it comes to greener eating habits,” said Myra Nussbaum, Havas Chicago President & CCO. “We wanted to use that to ignite a conversation around the launch of Nurishh’s Incredible Dairy Animal Free Cream Cheese Spread. Thus, the birth of the “Cream Cheese Credit!’”   

To continue building upon the launch momentum, Havas Chicago has created another campaign featuring two additional spots coming this March. 

Campaign Credits  
Client: Bel Brands 

Brand: Nurishh  

Agency: Havas Chicago  

“Cream Cheese Credit”  

Production + Post-Production Company: Method & Madness 

Directors: Ross Zuchowski & Casey Lock  

Producer: Alex Leach 

Product Photography  

Production Company: Fox Den  
Director: Rich Downie  

Executive Producer: James Toth 

Producer: Roberto Rodriguez 

Photographer: Justin Walker 

Post-Production: Whitehouse Post 

Editor: Carlos Lowenstein 

Source: Havas Chicago

“Although we liked our old logo, we felt that after 21 years, we needed a new one that reflects our special place in the creative industry. Our delicious new identity also means we bestow you with an entirely redesigned award’s trophy” – N. Nayar, Chairman at The FAB Awards

“We collaborated with experts who manufacture exquisite hand-crafted material from recycled packaging. By using waste to create our prestigious awards, we hope we can change people’s perceptions around recycled materials and unlock their hidden potential – turning rubbish into beauty.”

“We really wanted our Award to be made out of recycled material. Garrick Hamm, Creative Director at Williams Murray Hamm loved the idea and the team at WMH have turned this into a reality.”

Garrick Hamm, creative director at WMH, said: “The old logo served FAB well, but it was definitely time for a new look. Working with FAB we quickly saw that they needed an identity with a bold personality that was, well, just as fab as they are.”

Leading Brand Design Consultancy, Williams Murray Hamm have been behind the complete FAB Awards rebrand and the new awards trophies and was showcased at The 22nd FAB Awards “online” presentation on Thursday, 18th June.

Creative & Design Credits for The Fab Awards Rebrand

Williams Murray Hamm

Jane Catchpole – Designer, Director; Jason Budgen – CGI animation, editor; Photography – Oliver Beamish @ Studio 4; Account Handlers – Wybe Magermans, Emmanuelle Hilson & Simi  Sehra. 
Garrick Hamm – Creative Director – Director. 

Winning projects of The FAB Awards were showcased during an “Online” Awards Show on Thursday, 18th June on YouTube who sponsored The Brand/Marketer of The Year Award won by Burger King and The Agency of The Year Award won by INGO Stockholm. Pearlfisher was named Design Agency of The Year.

A Full List of Winner and Finalists of The 22nd FAB Awards can be seen HERE

Source: The FAB Awards

‘MarComm Celebrates…’ is a feature series highlighting the leaders from the Marketing, Advertising, Media and Design Industries.

Today we feature a design studio that has been excelling in their field for 11-years now — Buddy Creative, which was established by David Jones and Mark Girvan.

Can you take us on Buddy’s 11-year journey so far?

Setting up our own studio was often a pub conversation that never really amounted to anything, but as time went by our collective desire to return to the southwest increased and after 10 years of working with some of London’s leading design companies it was time to ‘walk the walk’.

The name Buddy reflects not only our existing friendship, but also our ambition to be accessible, straightforward and sincere and to build two-way relationships with clients and suppliers in a way we can be proud of.

Initially working in the evenings and at weekends, we were fortunate enough scoop a Design Week Benchmark award with an identity and packaging project for one of our first clients: The Cornish Mill & Bakehouse. This success really pushed us to quit the day jobs and continue with Buddy full-time.

Phil Carter and Phil Wong (Carter Wong) very kindly let us rent a couple of desks in their studio in Lancaster Gate allowing us full access to their facilities with Phil Carter occasionally on hand to make coffee for the odd client meeting! To this day we feel very fortunate to have been afforded that opportunity.

After the first year the time was right to move west, setting up in an old, dusty, studio space in Exeter that we rented from a highly renowned stucco sculptor called Geoffrey Preston. We fell in love with Exeter immediately, a historic cathedral city with a good cultural scene and great eating and drinking establishments, only a few miles from the coast and the countryside and with great links back up to London it was perfect. We slowly built up a small client base and were fortunate in our first couple of years to include Tate, Cornish Orchards, Kimberly Clark and Tesco amongst them.

Though the studio was cheap, cheerful and “charming” (one of our clients words) we needed somewhere smarter and more client-friendly to work from. In 2015 we moved to Hems Studio (former home to the famous cathedral stone mason Harry Hems), before moving in we took the opportunity to design the space to our own specification and worked with a local architect and construction company to create a warm, inviting space for both our designers and clients.

Buddy is now a team of 5 + 1 dog: 4 designers — Mark, David, Will and Eleanor, a client services manager, Cathy — and David’s rescue dog Ruby.

We also have a strong network of freelancers, developers, photographers, copywriters etc to draw upon when required and are always on the look-out for new talent to join the team.

Was there ever a moment on that journey, when you took a step back and realised that things are going well here?

Not yet. As we’re sure all design companies find, we’re always working on the next project or looking to win the next pitch so rarely come up for air! Moving into Hems Studio felt like quite a defining moment for us, and the occasional PR piece or award win is a good moment to take stock, but — as the saying goes — you’re only as good as your last project!

What were the major challenges along the way on that journey? How did you overcome them?

The major challenge has always been and no doubt will always be ‘new business’. A dark art that we still have never mastered. Our work has always come from repeat business, referrals and PR despite our best efforts to win business in other ways.

Given that you are not based in London, has that ever caused you any problems with regards to getting new business, etc.?

When we left London 10 years ago it felt like the ‘being a London Agency’ perception was changing but looking back it is surprising to see that this shift has not been as fast as we envisaged. Our client base has changed over the years and our location has certainly shaped this. Regardless of our location our ambition has always been to produce a high standard of creative work and to help brands and businesses achieve their ambitions through better design.

What are your three favourite projects that Buddy has done so far and why?

Our favourite projects tend to be the ones we’re working on right now, but we can’t talk about those. We love the diversity of the projects that we work on so it is difficult to narrow it down but top of mind are…

Sharp’s Brewery brand identity and packaging – We won this piece of business after a referral from Cornish Orchards in 2011 and are still working with the Sharp’s team today having seen the Sharp’s business and brands go from strength to strength. It was great to work on an iconic west-country brand and create a truly unique identity for them that was representative of their provenance and relative youth within the classic ale market yet pioneering leadership within the craft beer world. The team at Sharp’s are great fun, awesome to work with, they work hard and play hard and are continually driven. 

Butter Bike Co – Brand identity and packaging for a small Exeter based start-up. A true ‘Smile in the mind’ idea here that was fully embraced by our client from the word go… in true Paul Rand style we only presented a single concept!

The Dock Bar & Kitchen – for SA Brains – Inspired by John Masefield’s Poem “Cargoes” ‘a poetic homage to Cardiff Docks’ we created a selection of Victorian style illustrations of dock folk combined with disproportionate images of their freight quirkily suggestive of the richness and diversity of the bay’s history. The strength of this idea grew in its application.

Is there any one project you wish Buddy had done?

Turner Duckworth’s Coca-Cola re-brand. The epitome of ‘less is more’; simple and brave, a job we wished we had done.

If you could work for any brand out there, who would it be and why?

As Buddy we love the diversity of new challenges and working in different sectors, the answer is less about a specific brand and more about people we like to work with. We love clients who have the ambition and desire to shake things up in their category, to challenge their market place with design that makes them not only stand out but genuinely resonate with their audience.

What is the one message you try instil at Buddy?

All that matters is ideas. ideas, ideas…… executed beautifully. We strive for those ideas that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand-up and when working on the concept stage keep pushing ourselves and each other to create “the one”.

What is the one thing you’d like to change about the industry, if you could?

Stop free-creative pitching. Nobody wins.

What can we expect from Buddy in the next 11-years?

More of the same but always something different. We want to continue to create strong, memorable and effective ideas for our clients that ultimately makes the difference to their business.

‘MarComm Celebrates…’ is a feature series highlighting the leaders from the Marketing, Advertising, Media and Design Industries.

We kick things off with a man who has a wealth of experience and a history of excellence in the Brand Design sector — B&B studio’s Creative Partner, Shaun Bowen.

Give us a brief insight into your professional journey so far?

I left college in 1992 and, like many graduates today, had a series of design placements. I went to Design Bridge, The Partners and then Lewis Moberly where I landed my first job. I moved to Pearlfisher in 1997 and then went on to co-found B&B studio in 2009. This year is our 10^th anniversary, which is an exciting milestone!

Tell us about B&B studio?

Founded in 2009, B&B studio is an independent London-based agency with clients all around the world. As designers we look to the future not the present. We get motivated by the possibilities ahead, and we seek out clients with the vision and ambition to see beyond today’s marketplace. We want to work with brave brands that strive for a brighter and fairer future. From those with a wider social purpose or that challenge conventions for the better. We believe that these are the brands that matter today.

What is your favourite project that you created?

BEAR was a very special project for me. It was B&B’s very first client. The result really challenged the conventions of healthy snacking, making it accessible and desirable rather than complex and worthy. BEAR’s success has helped change kids’ snacking behaviours, giving people the option of a healthier, better treat. As the brand grew and I started to see my kids’ friends swapping BEAR cards in the playground, it felt pretty amazing.

What is a project you wish you had done?

Milton Glaser’s ‘I Heart NY’ design. Branding is so much more than the logo itself, especially today. And yet, this logo encompasses so much. New York was having a hard time in the 1970s when this work was commissioned to try and promote it, but the designer’s authentic love for his home city and state really emanates through. As a piece of design, it comes from an honesty that makes it timeless.

What is your greatest inspiration?

I love the ideas, wit and simplicity of Bob Gill. His no-nonsense approach to problem solving is an inspiration. He talks of design as being a process to make a statement. If you don’t have a specific point of view on the statement you want to make, you can’t even begin. This is something we stand by at B&B. He was a real design pioneer.

I would also say Mary Lewis. She gave me a chance in the industry at the beginning of my career. Her love for ideas and executing them beautifully really inspired me and she’s an amazing art director – I learnt a lot from working with her.