I hope you've experienced the same collective relief 😌 of a new year as I have. It's the unofficial restart button to life. The hardest part of this newsletter is always the headline word/s. It feels like it should be profound and insightful. 2023 for Banter is all about empowerment, in whichever way you choose to see it. Our people, our projects, our decision-making, our development; all of it.
I feel like we've shaken off three rubbish years of fires 🔥, floods 💧, and pandemics 😷, and now is the chance to embrace our futures, with a sense of empowerment.
A new year also brings a few new faces that you're going to meet. Welcome to the team, our newest team member, Melanie. Mel joined us late last year as an Account Co-ordinator, tackling web development, web production and SEO with bucket loads of youthful enthusiasm. Mel is supporting the account service team with day-to-day projects and we're sure you're going to meet her very soon if you haven't already.
A new year also brings a few new faces that you're going to meet. Welcome to the team, our newest team member, Melanie. Mel joined us late last year as an Account Co-ordinator, tackling web development, web production and SEO with bucket loads of youthful enthusiasm. Mel is supporting the account service team with day-to-day projects and we're sure you're going to meet her very soon if you haven't already. 
Valentina xxx
AI-Generated content and how you might use it
There's a lot of chat 💬 about ChatGPT and rightfully so. If you still aren't sure what ChatGPT is, this is your guide to the viral chatbot that everyone is talking about - and what you can do with it.
As with any great tech, there are pros and cons. We humans love an opportunity to find a shortcut and exploit the true value of a tech solution, so whilst I'm in love with the capabilities and the opportunities it presents, it can't replace being human.
Nick Cave sums it up perfectly: "algorithms don’t feel. Data doesn’t suffer. ChatGPT has no inner being, it has been nowhere, it has endured nothing, it has not had the audacity to reach beyond its limitations, and hence it doesn’t have the capacity for a shared transcendent experience, as it has no limitations from which to transcend. ChatGPT’s melancholy role is that it is destined to imitate and can never have an authentic human experience."
Half of Meta users' time is spent on video
We can all make assumptions about the data 📊, demographics and behaviours of social users, and until we really digest the analysis of the stats, it's mostly guesswork; and positive spin is positive spin, right? Meta is at the forefront of the constant battle of the misconception that young people are abandoning the platform for rivals like TikTok, and that Snapchat is still in the game.
Last week at London's Hello Conference, Meta's group director, Sophie Neary stated that 140bn Reels are shared every day and that the largest cohort among the site’s reach of 72% of the UK population are in the 18-34-year-old demographic. They're some pretty compelling stats that we can't ignore - and using the UK population as a guide, I'm happy to be sticking with Meta.
Hear2Talk: NSW Free Mental Health Service
Have you heard of Hear2Talk? If you haven't, listen up! Hear2Talk is a FREE mental health service for workers in NSW. It's an over-the-phone ☎️ service where you can get confidential support to manage feelings of stress, anxiety, and burnout that are impacting your work and everyday life 🙌.
We think this is an amazing service, and more people should know about it. The start of a new year can be a time of reflection and change - with lots of people experiencing new challenges. If your life is impacting your work, there's help available.
We feel fortunate to have been engaged by Neami National and SIRA, the State Insurance Regulatory Authority by the NSW Government to assist with an end of year social campaign to raise awareness of this incredibly valuable service.
Bella Valentina: a personal stylist brand
It's not often you hear your own name, Valentina, let alone as a client name!
Personal stylist 👗 and fashion extraordinaire Elissa Bortignon came to Banter for our brand development services to complement her expertise and fashion-forward approach.
From creating a custom logo, typeface, and foiled business cards, to translating this new brand suite across social media (including Instagram set-up and asset template design) this brand is born, and we are grateful to be part of the journey. This brand incorporates a custom-created crown 👑 brandmark based on the strong geometric shapes of the letter “V” and “A” from the business name.
Translating from “Beautiful, Strong”, the Bella Valentina brand incorporates strong, purposeful type and imagery that closely reflects the significance of its name.
If you're looking for a personal stylist to elevate your style whilst giving you the confidence to #rockthestreets, @bella_valentina_design is the brand for you!
Less than 5 min reads for you
This section: Short reads, 👀 not just about marketing.
On the blog: A logo is not a brand
Our wonderful art director, Sasha, has crafted his explanation of why a logo is not a brand. It's a common misconception that crosses our path, and the challenge we're faced with is explaining why we can't make a design 'pop' when all we have is a logo.
"A well-constructed brand guideline can be seen as the Designers Toolkit 🧰, containing all the individual elements of the brand, in a handy carry case. Much like a chef 🧑🍳 has a set of ingredients to create a balanced and memorable dish, a brand should have a set of quality ingredients that come together to form the brand."
Find out what elements work and what you need in that brand carry case to create a memorable brand.
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2022 Australian Graphic Design Association Award Winners
Spend a little time exploring the 2022 award winners from the Australian Graphic Design Association. This prestigious recognition is sought after by all designers, across multiple categories from small business to emerging designer of the year. Definitely worth a look and great inspiration. 👏
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Loyalty programs are levelling the playing field for smaller restaurants
Loyalty programs have become more affordable and efficient, and now 60% of all restaurants offer such a program in the fight over consumers' dollars and attention. Consumers who are used to more personalisation from the likes of Amazon and Netflix are very much driving this trend and in fact, 86% of consumers say they are interested in joining a restaurant 🍽 loyalty program.
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How good is your marketing targeting data? Not as good as you might think.
Programmatic media buying relies on 3rd party data to create targeting 🎯 models - and it's a good thing that 3rd party data is out the door. Big data and good data are dramatically different and this insightful look into the quality and accuracy of programmatic media highlights the significant shortfalls of the data marketers are using to find their niche audiences. Worth the read.
Virtual windows help improve well-being
It's genius, and why on earth didn't we all think of this sooner?
Contact with nature is an important aspect of general well-being, yet can be difficult to fit into everyday life. And for people who work and study in windowless rooms, vision breaks that include views of nature are even more important. Using long-form photography, digital image experts Sky Factory have created a line of virtual windows, skylights, and aquariums.
The images are available in a range of sizes and shapes, including square, rectangular, circular, and elliptical. The virtual windows provide a sense of the scale of nature that opens up an interior space, providing feelings of calm and connection. Cannot love this enough. Healthcare, hospitals, education, office, and retail - what a world we could be opening up to drab places with something so simple.❤️
Catch you next time 😃
