The way we consume and demand information has undergone a profound change. With the desire to be more eco-friendly and digital media being the main source for fast information gathering, it feels like printed communications have passed their prime. It’s no surprise that our professional mantra with clients has become “digital first”.

Distributing information digitally is the fastest and most accessible way to reach your target audience. An e-mail arrives in our inbox at exactly the moment the sender intends it to. The content can be scaled up, down, read back to us or adjusted however we need it to be. However, digital isn’t always enough when it comes to benefit communications.

This is because not all target audiences are as digitally empowered as the average office employee. We have also been working with more clients that have not yet discovered the joy of Darwin. So how do you engage with your tricky-to-reach audiences?

Printed communications is the answer but more recently, with an eco-friendly twist. We’ve used fully recycled materials to create giveaway items and jazzed up postcards with seeded paper that grows into fresh herbs or beautiful wildflowers.

Where ‘digital first’ isn’t the right solution, we encourage our clients to capitalise on the power of home mailers. After all, benefit decisions are often considered in the comfort of the home, discussed with partners.

Let’s have a quick look at what makes print materials so effective.

People like engaging with print materials

Tactile print media is ingrained our collective memory. People continue to be attracted to and willing to read print media, whether it be newspapers, magazines, leaflets or novels. Printed materials remain a very persuasive medium, which have taken a considerable time to produce, making it a stronger source of messaging.

Print stimulates more senses

One exclusive quality that print has is its tangibility. Readers are able to browse through a printed brochure, feel the paper and even distinguish between certain paper densities and compositions.

Tangible materials make readers pay more attention because they have to actively engage with printed content to read it – they have to pick up the material and hold it. With digital content, they can passively scroll through it, without having to focus too hard.

Clients often shy away from illustration, worried that their brand will be considered childish, or not capture real life. But this isn’t all that illustration has to offer. Illustration is an infinitely variable, emotive, inclusive and adaptive tool for branding. When our clients choose to use this often-overlooked tool they are never less than amazed by the results.

Variable

There is more than one style of illustration. In some instances, you see illustration employed to give a brand heart and make it seem friendlier. But an illustrated brand can also be modern, with clean lines and lots of negative space. There are many more styles than you might think.

Emotive

Through visual metaphor the figures in an illustration can express more than is possible in real life. Is a character in a bad place? Try surrounding their head with dark clouds. Are your characters falling in love? Give them hearts for eyes. There are visual shortcuts we can take to communicate complex concepts quickly and efficiently. And there is always the option of using colour to give the impression of a certain mood or feeling.

That’s right, Creative Engagement and Health & Wellbeing have been up to something special. Earlier this year, Laura (CE) spoke with Ben (H&WB) about the work Creative Engagement do in encouraging employees to become more emotionally attached to their benefits. It became apparent that The Health Hub, a key part of the Health & Wellbeing consulting proposition, needed a revamp to make it more emotive and less clinical. We decided to collaborate on this refresh, to ensure not only that employees feel supported in all aspects of their health but also to give them a resource for more information on whatever it is that is affecting them.

Why did the Health Hub need a new look and feel?

Ben – The old health hub meant different things to different clients. It had a lot of great information on it but was inconsistent from site to site. We wanted to ensure we had a structure in place that could help us show clients how to use the tool effectively. Working with Creative Engagement meant we could deliver a fresh and engaging brand that would drive better health engagement and deliver the right outcomes.

How does the new platform differ from the old?

Laura – I think the biggest difference is the branding. We have created a look and feel that is vibrant, engaging and visually consistent. The branding will sit on Darwin as well as transferring over to any other collateral the Health Hub provides.

Ben – The new platform looks to provide a focal point for a client’s Health & Wellbeing strategy. The aim is to provide all the information, resources and support a client offers their employees, covering all areas across cancer, mental health, heart health and muscle & joint. This is a big improvement from the old site, which hosted a variety of health information in a non-structured way.

Eek, it’s peak – again! “Where has this year gone?” is the main topic of conversation over coffee-breaks in the Sky Garden at the moment. It’s been a busy time for Creative Engagement since our last Buzz. We’ve lost a member of the gang and gained a new face. While we were all sad to see Jae Kerridge go, we wish her the best in her new venture! We’d also like to invite everyone to wish Costanza De Luca, our new Associate Designer, a warm welcome to Thomsons and MMB.

Now we are creeping into our business-wide famously busy period (stay strong everyone!), it can be hard to fit in some quality team time. Luckily, we had the chance to visit the Beefeater Distillery and try our hand at being professional gin tasters. It is a job that most of us didn’t realise we had already been doing for quite a few years!

We learnt some interesting facts on the tour. Did you know that gin isn’t actually made from juniper berries? It is one of the 3 main ingredients though – the liquor cannot be considered gin if the clear spirit isn’t distilled with juniper. Beefeater uses 9 botanicals in its classic London Gin, but there are a few variations on this using different botanicals or distilling times.

In true Buzz Banter interview style, here’s a sneak peek into how our night went:

What was your favourite gin out of the gins we tried at Team Time and why?

Kirstie – I liked Monday’s gin – it’s distilled for longer so the flavour was really lovely.

Tetley – I liked the blood orange gin – tasted like one of my five a day!

Costanza – My favourite gin was Beefeater London Garden, it has a strong flavour and yet, I had the feeling the botanicals were blooming delicately in the mouth.

Laura – Definitely the Beefeater Monday Gin, it was so smooth and you could really taste the botanicals in it.