Newsletter May 2021

So many changes coming through thick and fast in the coming weeks with Banter that I almost don’t know where to start… except let’s start with our fabulous new team addition, Graphic Animator, Brent Woll. 🎉

Brent came to us from NOVA Employment, and what’s special about that, is NOVA found Banter to put Brent in front of us. They knew our business well enough to know that we’d be a perfect match, and well, we totally are. Brent isn’t your regular graphic designer, 👨🏻‍🎨 he’s a graphic animator What does that even mean? Well, it means he has a hand-drawn skill, and a digital craft of making it move; you know, have you heard of Disney and Pixar? Yeah, that! It didn’t hurt that he also 🎨 paints miniature models and loves 🧝‍♂️ Lord of the Rings either, you know, kindred spirit. We’ll be sharing more of Brent’s work in coming weeks across our socials, so be sure to follow – links in the footer.

With Brent bolstering our creative capabilities, we welcome you to hit us up for ideas on how we can put his ✨ magic ✨ to work for your brand. The concepts are endless.

Looking forward to sharing more announcements with you next month – and there are plenty!

Valentina xxx

Facebook Shuts Down Analytics on 30 June

Facebook has informed users of Facebook Analytics that the free tool will no longer 🙅‍♀️ be available as of June 30, 2021. Until then, you will still be able to access reports, export charts 📊📉📈 and tables and explore insights in your account. To export data into a CSV file from Facebook Analytics on your desktop, click in the top-right corner of each chart or table.

Don’t panic, there are still alternative tools you can use to track growth, engagement and monetisation activities on Facebook and Instagram, including Facebook Business Suite, Ads Manager and Events Manager.

Why would they do this? Well, not many people are using Facebook Analytics, so they’re dumping it 🚮. Another theory is that it’s related to the change of 3rd party data tracking and also combat of data being compromised by the Apple iOS 14 update. Whatever the rationale, you need to be prepared to find another way to get your valuable insights from your socials. Simples.

LinkedIn Lead Generation Arrives

The best production innovation comes when businesses answer problems! LinkedIn Lead Generation Forms are now built into LinkedIn, for 🆓. Yes, the newest feature to Product Pages gives you an easy way to start generating leads.

If you haven’t published your first Product Page yet, here are two new features that are coming that you’ll automatically get access to once you publish your first page:

1. LinkedIn Search: Soon, Products will be listed when a member searches for companies and Products in the LinkedIn search bar
2. SEO: The majority of buyer research happens off of LinkedIn, and by providing on-site SEO to put products in front of even more customers, it also means that your Product Pages will soon be listed by your favorite search engines.

In my opinion, no-brainer 🧠. You want your products in front of people where they are 🔍 searching, and this is another way of doing just that, free of charge. Not sure how to create a Product Page? Follow the bouncing ball with LinkedIn, or drop us a line 📞 to give you a hand.

HomeLoop and AJK Outfitters

One of my greatest loves of agency life is the variety of clients we have the pleasure of working with. This month’s focus is on two clients in the property space, but not quite your ‘regular’ real estate 🏡.

The digital revolution has evolved the traditional open-home property market, with the use of data, customer engagement and digital delivery more powerful than ever in our post-pandemic 🦠 era. HomeLoop is real estate in real time; the world’s first white-labelled interactive listing platform, allowing agencies to receive instant feedback on properties through a closed-loop communication cycle. It wasn’t a small engagement, and so far we’ve delivered:

• a white-labelled, fictitious in-situ brand, Sasha & Ryan
• a rebranding for HomeLoop
• storyboard, production and animation of instructional videos and promotional videos
• management of celebrity actor, auctioneer, educator and voice-over talent, Peter Mochrie
• design and build of the website
• ongoing video production with branded onboarding videos 📹
• ongoing website development, including workflow graphics and content updates

Having the property is one thing, but then it needs to look 🤩 amazing. AJK Outfitters is a turnkey outfitting businesses, delivering tailored fitout solutions across a vast range of sectors, including student accommodation, build-to-rent properties, hotel interiors, residential apartments and educational facilities to name a few. What makes AJK different is that they built and control their end-to-end supply chain.

To be approached by AJK Outfitters for their evolution in brand and marketing was a true milestone for us. Our work includes:

• A brand evolution of the 🐉 dragon logo, utilising the circle of the dragon. The circle embodies perfection, unity and family reunion, which are key values of AJK.
• Development of the Company Statement and Capability Statement to showcase AJK’s skillsets and projects. This involved all copywriting, interviewing of staff, and design and delivery of the printed documents.
• Establishment of the social media strategy for the business
• Day to day management of LinkedIn
• Media planning and buying including design of print and digital assets
• Article development for print publications and industry news sites

These are very proud 😊 client moments for us and it feels good to share some of our work and our clients’ progress.

The best 5 min reads for you

I’ve come across so much amazing information for business owners that I created this section to help businesses with short reads, not just about marketing. If you only click on one section of this newsletter, this should be it. ✅

Brent and I were delighted to be interviewed by the ever-so-clever Brooke Corte from the 2GB Money News program about the benefits of working with NOVA Employment. So many people think Nova has entry-level roles for people with disabilities, but they are sadly mistaken. Hear us talk openly about what a terrific partnership we have and how Brent lifts Banter’s creative game, every day. Those animations above are his digitally hand-drawn illustrations 😍.

On the blog: Part 2 of the Email Marketing Series, this time I’m focused on Designing Emails That Convert. There’s a video or a transcript, whichever takes your fancy and lots of examples to bring the theory to life. I’m covering off mobile-first design, pre-header text, algorithmic and purchase-behaviour personalisation, headlines & value propositions, creating curiosity, design layouts, segmentation and directional design, incentives and best practice tips! There, get your 🦷 into that monster 👹!

Are you part of the latest 🚲 ‘bike boom’? As a nod to our designer Sasha, check out some interesting bike-friendly-dining solutions popping up in Manila. Aptly named Bike & Bite (don’t you love it!), Lucky Chinatown Mall is serving up delish meals for you and your two-wheeler. If you want to pop a mono, pick up your wheels at The Fixed Wheel.

Looking for brand inspo or simply love your fonts? Take a peek at this online library of fonts in use – a little brain candy 🍬 to finish off your brand thinking for the month.

Biomaterial packaging for beauty brands

Did you know the 💄 cosmetics industry creates 120 billion units of packaging a year and predicts that by 2050, the beauty industry will have contributed up to 12 billion tonnes of plastic to landfill 😱? Astonishing numbers, but at least there’s a focus on creative solutions to break that cycle.

Sustainable beauty packaging, as it relates to refillable products, vegan formulations, and subscription services are innovating with biomaterials. Check out what some beauty brands are doing with seeds, fungi 🍄 and seaweed.
Catch you next time 😃