Last month we weren’t in a 🔒 lockdown 🔒 here in Bowral. Without any cases in our LGA, I’m confused why we’ve now joined everyone. But here we are, sharing the pain. We aren’t immune to the impacts of these circumstances on our team, our clients, on Banter’s business.
I recently revisited our brand values, how we’re working and how we’re feeling. Our values are for us, internally, as well as client-facing. The first value I’m sharing with you seems ever so appropriate right now, WE FEEL YOU. 🤗
Treat others the way you want to be treated. We act with regard for the feelings, wishes, and rights of others. Clients are respectful of our experience and value our contribution. Use as much of us as you need, when you need us. Our world changes constantly and we roll with the punches. The computer doesn’t say no. Family comes first.
When our restaurant clients went into lockdown, we paused/reduced social activity as necessary to save their budget, without any penalties, no contractual crap. Our mental health is impacted by attempting to be as productive ‘as usual’ when our day is anything but usual. Our team have children to teach, effectively picking up a 2nd full-time job.
I can’t see my team in person 😭
I can’t help them with homeschooling 😔
I can’t send a cleaner to tidy up 😩
But I can send them a meal so they don’t have to cook 🥰
So we supported one of those restaurant clients with a meal delivery to the 13 families of Banter. 🍽️🍽️(thank you Bistro Sociale)
WE FEEL YOU.
Valentina xxx
Insta dumps Swipe Up. Finally. 👏👏.
Rolling out as of 30th August, this is a welcomed move for Insta users – the removal of the dreaded Swipe Up functionality. Originally only reserved for accounts with 10,000+ followers, the change now sees all users able to create the same experience without the fan-base.
Instead of the swipe-up ⏫ link, you’ll be able to use link stickers, which are exactly as they sound: tappable stickers in stories that take people to external websites. Swipe Up meant you couldn’t format or design the look of the button at all, but with Stickers, users now have creative control in their hands.
User insight: start taking more notice of stickers. Insta doesn’t roll out a functionality change like this unless stickers a) are meeting the behaviours of users; and b) are tracking more and more behaviours that build out more functionality.
Facebook News launches A$15m news fund locally
In an expansion of Facey’s News product in 🦘 Australia, The Facebook Australian News Fund will invest in public-interest journalism, and support regional and digital newsroom innovation and economic sustainability.
The Newsroom Sustainability Fund will allocate A$2.5 million per year over three years, in grants of up to A$250,000 to fund regional newsrooms and digital-first publications. Funding will go towards revenue-generating projects, such as subscription paywalls and membership program development.
The Public Interest Journalism Fund will also allocate A$2.5 million per year over three years, providing grants of up to A$120,000, to small, regional publishers and independent journalists to fund news projects of public interest value and to encourage media diversity.
These investments are designed to assist publishers and independent journalists producing news of public interest value across Australia. It will also support smaller, regional, rural, and digital newsrooms develop new products and strategies to expand reach and revenue.
☮️ Peace offering to their media bargaining laws earlier this year? Or full-frontal war? Expressions of Interest are now open, and the service will be rolled out to Aussies in a staged approach.
Watch this space. 👀
Doggo Walks, Grooms & Treats: She Walks
I met Nicola of She Walks two years ago conducting some 1:1 social coaching for her 🐕🦮🐕🦺🐩 walking business based in Melbourne. I’m a dog person, it was a joy. Nicola’s care and consideration for her pairing of pets, the protective van she transported her clients in, her vision for what she offered busy families and pets who need companionship and friendship in other animals – Nicola was different.
Throughout more than 200 days of lockdown in Melbourne, Nicola pivoted her businesses and launched nutritious and healthy doggo treats, creating She Eats as a sub-brand. Whilst Nicola had a fun brand, complete with illustrations, her website didn’t quite share that same goodness and that’s where we stepped in redesigning and rebuilding the She Walks website to show off walking, grooming, touring, and a full eCommerce site selling Eats. We even designed the packaging stickers, created an email signature, and designed the newsletter for the biz. Got a dog? Gotta get these treats. Our Banter doggos have devoured these Australian-made, natural snacks.
🙏 Please support Nicola’s small business if you can. Your dogs will thank you for it.
Leila’s at The Grand: Website Reveale
Following our brand reveal last month for Leila’s at The Grand Lebanese restaurant, we’re thrilled to now release the brand new website to match!
The hero of Leila’s is the gloriously authentic food on offer. To support our client and local business, Banter had a well-deserved team lunch (because you know, the best way to immerse yourself in a brand is to experience it), and to make the whole experience as efficient as possible, we turned it into a photo shoot 📷 for both the website and social media. Every 🍸 cocktail 🍸 was put to good use! You might know I’m half 🇬🇷 Greek, half 🇱🇧 Lebanese. I was brought up with kibbee nayeh (raw lamb mince) and with my father now residing in Melbourne, it’s not something I get to eat very often. When Michael and Raye served me a delicious plate of kibbee nayeh, I cried. The emotion of food, the memories of being 10 years old flooded me. It was like eating a meal with my dad.
Creating a website and branding for Leila’s is more than just a client project. We feel it. We relish it. We appreciate it. We live it. Guiding the way for this new business and watching their success comes from one key ingredient: the product is as good as it says on the box. Get booking, you won’t regret it. 😋😋😋
The best 5 min reads for you
This section: Short reads, not just about marketing.
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Cadbury UK is taking user-generated funding to a new level. With the launch of a limited-edition Wispa Gold Hazelnut bar (the first in nearly 20 years), it’s calling on fans to put their money where their 🍫chocoholic-ism is by being invited to buy shares in Wispa Gold to secure their gold bars. The FOMO is real, with Twitter updates dishing out the share value. What’s it worth? The final ‘share’ value will determine how many bars investors will get their hands on, with each 69p Wispa Gold share equivalent to one Wispa Gold bar. Brilliant.
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How much money does YouTube make? YouTube has given upwards of $30 billion to creators during the last three years, with the number of participants in its revenue-sharing Partner Program now exceeding 2 million. “In Q2 2021, revenue from YouTube ads crossed $7 billion, and we paid more to YouTube creators and partners than in any quarter in our history,” noted Chief Product Officer. Um… wow! 😲
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Social collaborations continue with Tiktok and Shopify announcing TikTok Shopping, making Shopify the first commerce platform to link with the rapidly growing social video network. This partnership boosts the social commerce landscape (valued at $36b in the US this year).
The new in-app shopping experience will let Shopify merchants connect with their TikTok profiles to create a mini-storefront 🛍️ for consumers.
Meet Banter’s Brand Sound & Animation
I’ve often thought of my life as one big advertisement. My mind thinks in advertising taglines and jingles, so I applied to this Banter.
🔈🔉A Brand Sound, Audio Branding, Sonic Branding or Acoustic Branding means translating your brand attributes and message into distinctive audible elements that not only define your brand identity, but also connects these elements with your audiences. Humanising your brand. Creating an emotive connection.
It’s time to introduce you to our latest project: Banter’s Brand Sound and Animation.
There’s a whole blog about it, of course. I’m talking why we’d do it, what process we took and where we’re going to use it.
My most favourite example of a brand sound comes from technology, the Intel Inside 4-second grab. And whilst not a brand, how can you ignore the emotion of the sound of a modem dialling up. ICQ anyone, or am I alone in this chat room? 💬
I really hope you like the track as much as I do. 🤔 Tell me what you think!
If you’re ready to take your brand to the next level with a complete brand overhaul with elements, logo animation, or brand sound, we’d love to help you uncover your audience insights and the core of who you are to make you stand out from the crowd.
Catch you next time 😃
