Neil Lancaster - Mccann Manchester

Through family I was given the opportunity to get in contact with the Creative Director of Mccann Manchester. 

Hello Neil,

I am a Graphic Design student at Stockport College and currently in my final year. I was given your email by my mum, who is currently attending sign language classes where I believe she met your wife and then my degree came up in conversation. I haven't been told alot about the studio you work at but I have been told that you are Creative Director, so I feel very privileged to be kindly given the opportunity to get in contact.

I have just been browsing through the 'Mccan Manchester' website and came across the Social Marketing section, and I am very interested in the part where you say how you 'influence behaviour for good'. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to become a student in Graphic Design in the first place, I wanted to change peoples opinions for the better through good ideas and design work.

For these last few months of my degree, me and my fellow students have been asked to create our own briefs, and then see them through with posters, editorials, or however we wish to execute the idea. We were advised to base our brief on what we are passionate about and what we would like to be part of when entering the industry ourselves.

Therefore, I wanted to base my brief on something that I think is an issue, and would like to change peoples attitudes towards it. This is to create an advertising poster and editorial campaign to encourage everyone to register as an organ donor. I picked this topic as, when researching into it, the facts were quite surprising, and because I am an organ donor myself I became very motivated by it.

When I showed this brief to my tutors, they were impressed, however thought it was a hard brief. I am very determined to see it through and come up with something that will change peoples attitudes for the better. I have attached the brief to this email for you to take a look at if you have time.

I guess this email was just to introduce myself, and to tell you a bit about what I am doing at the moment. I am also currently putting together my portfolio, that eventually, if you had the time I could possibly show you in the near future for some feedback?


Regards

Katherine Speak

BA Hons Graphic Design Level 3
Stockport College


Hi Katherine,

Thank you for our email. Organ donation is a great thing to work on. It’s a pity we don’t do as some other countries do, where everyone is automatically put onto the national donor list, then, if you don’t want to be on the list, you just express your wish to be removed and that’s that. No waiting lists! As it is, you’re working on a very worthwhile thing, of course. I’m on it – I don’t know anyone would want my liver though. Anyway, come and visit us here when you get some free time. I can introduce you to some of the more graphic design people. You might want to come in for a few days at some stage.Now is not a great time as we are having redecoration at the moment on top of everything else. Keep in touch and we’ll work out a time for you to come in. Hope all goes well. Best wishes, Neil.




Neil Lancaster
Creative Director



Thank you Neil, I am currently updating my portfolio so when that is finished I will get in contact again to see if I can visit and see if you might be able to have a look at it for some feedback? And also to see the studio that you work at, I will be very excited to visit and see designers putting their ideas into production. I am also currently researching and coming up with my initial ideas for the organ donation campaign so would I be able to email with my progress on that? I have been told by my tutors that I have created a very hard brief to tackle as the idea will have to be spot on for it to work, but I have been researching especially into Saatchi and Saatchi and I think with hard work this brief can be solved.

Katherine

David Lovelock - Studio Special Design. Contact Report

Hello everyone at Studio Special Design

I'm currently attending Stockport College in Cheshire, and at the moment I am in my final year studying Graphic Design.

As part of our degree, we are asked to get as much feedback and experience as we can with other graphic designers in the industry. As I have been doing this since level 2 I am keen on visiting designers from all over the country to get as much feedback as I can, and I have found it all very enlightening.

From Monday March 1st until Wednesday March 3rd me and a few fellow students will be visiting London to see if we can learn from designers in the industry.

I came across your website when browsing through sites about Farringdon, as this is an area we will be visiting. When looking at your website I enjoyed reading about the companies interests and what you are looking forward to. I especially liked the 'Vivid' work that caught my attention, I think the colour works really well with the typography.

When we visit the area we will have our portfolios with us, and so I was just wondering if you had the time , if you could spare 10 minutes or so, to look at our portfolios and perhaps give us a bit of feedback?

I understand you must be very busy so would be very grateful for your time. I will be travelling with 2 other students, and we'd all be delighted to have our work seen by proffessionals.

Regards

Katherine Speak

BA Hons Graphic Design Level 3
Stockport College


Hello Katherine

We are such a small studio - but happy to look through your work... either yourself and at a squeeze, one other.
The only time suitable would be at 5pm on Monday the 1st or Wednesday the 3rd of March.

Let me know if this works for you.

Best Regards

David


That's great! We will be arriving in London at around 12pm on Monday so 5pm in the evening on that day will be perfect. Thank you.

I'm travelling with two fellow design students Michele and Grace, I'm not sure which one would like feedback but they can sort that out between them, but I think it would be valuable for them to hear what your comments will be on my work, so would it be okay for us all to visit?

Regards

Katherine


Hi Katherine

Ok for Monday... it will be a squeeze if all of you turned up - but I'm sure it will be fine.
There is only 3 of us in a tiny studio - but I guess it will give you a good idea of a small creative studio.

Regards

David


Thank you, we are all really looking forward to visiting the studio. I am very grateful for the time as I understand you must be busy. Shall see you at the studio on the 1st March at 5pm.

Best Regards

Katherine

What does everyone else like? Ad campaign research

Recently researching ad campaigns and coming to my own opinions on which caught my attention and why, I suddenly was curious to what ads were noticed by other people, whether it was print, TV, guerrilla, anything. I asked around to find out.

Dane - “Quite an iconic English image and works well with an iconic English brand, looks really thought out. And I like meat.”

Colmans ‘Proper Mustard’ by Karmarama
“Colman's uses a meat-based mock-up of the famous First World War army recruitment poster featuring Lord Kitchener in its new ad campaign.
Colman’s is targeting males to persuade them that its mustard brand is the best accompaniment to meat.” (www.campaignlive.co.uk)

Jenny - "I just basically imagined what everyone went through behind the scenes of making it - plus its different and makes you ask the question is that real? have they done that digitally? ... when i found out it was for real, it gave it that extra charm!"

TV Ad - The Fallon London

Matt - "Even if you don't want to admit it, you do end up like that at the end of the night sometimes, so it makes you want not to be like that."


Mike - "because they were different, and surreal"

VW Jetta "Big Day" wedding commercial

Grace - "thought they were quite funny. its unusual to see eggs committing suicide... and the strapline works well with the ads, think its ul miss them when there gone or something."

Andy - "the idea was not to forget your butter when u make jacket potatoes and things like that, and they all had yellow post-it notes on the food instead of butter, but they looked like butter at first glance"

Lurpak Brand. From D&AD Annual 2003 pg 58. BMP DDB

Mccan Erickson - “Coffee isn’t my Cup of Tea” – www.mccan.co.uk

Mccan Erickson are “commited to creating the perfect blend of creativity, effectiveness and innovation that will help grow the brands in our care.” They pride themselves to get the right advertising solution for all their Clients’ brands. (And along the way we quite like to have some fun doing it.)

Cultural Connections

This is a philosophy that Mccan Erickson use. It is an idea that plugs a brand into culture. They are ideas that cause a reaction and make a brand relevant in peoples’ lives.

PRINT

MSF (Medecins Sans Frontieres)

MSF are an independent humanitarian medical aid organisation. They are committed to providing medical aid where is most needed, regardless of race, religion, politics or gender.  “Our new campaign shows fading photo imagery of MSF medics to demonstrate how thinly the staff are stretched and breadth of work undertaken.” (www.mccan.co.uk)

Heinz Salad Cream

This advertising campaign won awards including a Gold and Silver Epica, and ran this campaign over the summer of 2007. They say on their website (www.mccan.co.uk) “The iconic Salad Cream bottle takes the role of the sun, graphically illustrating how the sauce brightens the food below.”

Heinz Tomato Ketchup

“‘Sliced bottle’ and Bottle Botttom’ ran as a poster and press ads from May 2007. ‘Sliced Bottle’ was a multi- award winning, scooping an Epica, a Gramia, a FAB, and Campaigns Best Poster of 2007.”
(www.mccan.co.uk)

TV

Shreddies Charles – “Knitting Nanas”

I didn’t know Erikkson Mccan made this advert so I was pleased to find it on the website as I think this advert was unique and a great idea when I saw it.