Thursday 27 September 2012

Location, location, location?

These days, we're all aware how important it is that our customers know how to find us. And now, more than ever, it's increasingly critical to ensure that no matter how they choose to search for our business or service, they can find it quickly and easily.

The old fashioned way of looking us up in the Yellow Pages (or perhaps phoning directory enquiries) has been usurped by simply typing a search, location or company name into your phone or browser. Therefore, it's of utmost importance that at the very least, when someone types your company name into Google that your website appears in the first page. Go on, do it now, do you appear on the first page?

There's a host of ways to make sure that search engines know you exist: SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), social media, paid listings, link building etc. all do their part, but often the simplest and easiest way is to make sure you've got plenty of relevant (text-based) content on your site and your website is built to be, if not fully 'Search optimised', at least 'search engine friendly'. I won't go into too much detail on SEO  here, as that's a whole different story, but do drop us a line if you'd like to find out more.

So, the other big thing you need to make sure of is that people (and search engines / mapping systems) not only know who you are and what you do, but where you are.


There’s no ‘I’ in ‘Maps’

This is particularly relevant right now, as Apple recently rolled out their new iOS update – introducing their brand spanking new 'Apple Maps' – thus replacing the ubiquitous 'Google Maps' on iPhones and iPads.

Depending on who you speak to, this was either a complete disaster due to Apple wanting to distance themselves from their biggest competitor, or a great success bringing amazing new 3D maps and a cleaner, better designed experience. Even if you love the new system, it has to be said, it's not quite perfect yet (The Guardian, 20/9/12).

Adding yourself to Apple Maps 

The immediate problem this has caused is that all the hard work you've done to make sure you appear on Google Maps for both web and mobile searches (you ARE on Google Maps right? if not, see below) has now been undone - there's no guarantee that your location(s) now appear correctly (or at all) in Apple Maps. Go check your updated iPhone or iPad (or borrow someone elses) and check.

Just go into the new maps, find your approximate location and type your company name into the search. If nothing comes up, or if it's in the wrong place, here's what you can do to try to update it:
  • Open the 'page fold' at the bottom right of the screen
  • Select 'Report a Problem'
  • Now select 'Location is missing', then touch the 'Next' button
  • Now you can move the pin to the correct location for your business, once you're happy with it, choose 'Next'
  • Enter your business name, address and website, ensure you choose a relevant business category from the list too.
  • Once you're happy with all of this, select 'Send'. The rest is up to Apple.

If you want to make doubly sure, you can go straight to the source. Apple get their location information from a number of places, so it's a good idea to look into getting yourself on those too.

Firstly, Apple use Yelp for user reviews, although unfortunately not used for business locations, but it's still a good idea to set up a free business account on there at: biz.yelp.co.uk

In addition, they use data from Acxiom, Localeze, Tom Tom and OpenStreetMap. Most of these are more concerned with geospatial data, so probably the only one really worth investigating is Localeze, however their service isn't free (a single business listing costs around $300).

Adding yourself to Google Maps

Of course this is important for people searching using the 300 million iOS devices out there, but there are still a lot more people using Google Maps (either via the main Google Maps site, on Android Phones, or embedded Google Maps like this one). And don't forget that getting on Google Maps means that your Google search listings are automatically enhanced (for example, typing 'to the point London' into Google).


This is free, really worth doing and will only take a few minutes, so if you're not on there already, or your listing needs a bit of attention, here's how to add yourself to the world.
  • Click the link 'Put your business on Google Maps'. You'll now need to sign in using a Google account. (If you don't already have one, you can create on for free by clicking 'Create an account now' you can link your normal email address to it so you don't have to use Gmail to have a Google account. Once setup, return back to the above page to continue).
  • Once signed in, Select 'Add New Business'
  • Fill in as much information as you can about your business, eg. country, name, address, phone number, email & website, description and category. Once ready, click 'Next'.
  • Click on 'Add Listing'. Note: If your business is already on Google Places, you can claim it by selecting 'Claim Listing' in order to change and update it.
  • The next page is optional but provides additional information about your business eg. hours of operation, payment options etc. It's also a good idea to upload an image or two as this really livens up your maps listing when viewed on the web or mobile. You can even add a video from YouTube if that's relevant to you (eg. a company animation or showreel – that's also something we can help with if you need one).
  • Once ready, click 'Submit'
  • You will need to verify your listing (so Google can ensure that it's really you!). You can do this either by phone or by postcard. If you choose by phone, you will receive an automated call (to the number you provided) with a code number. Enter this code into the verification box. By postcard does the same thing but will take a day or two to reach you for obvious reasons.
  • It can take a few days (allow up to a week or so) for your listing to be updated. You can change/update your listing later if you need to and you won't be asked to verify again.

Finally, if you really want to delve into the world of online location services, you should also look at adding/updating your listing on Bing maps (the 'other' search/mapping engine). Unfortunately it appears that they're currently still very US-centric and use a third party to manage UK listings. However, you can easily update your information here, which should eventually make it's way onto Bing (and a few other location/directory listings to boot).

Beyond that, you can also look into adding yourself to Foursquare, the leading location based social media site and ensuring that you have a Facebook page linked to your location - although these are only really worth investigating if you're considering promoting yourself on there and/or engaging directly with people using these social media sites.

Designed to innovate


After winning a competitive pitch, we have been appointed to help the BBSRC create a new look and feel for their upcoming Fostering Innovation 2013 awards. This year's event will focus on the competitions that have been set up to support the bioeconomy innovation network. The event will recognise and reward the work of BBSRC supported scientists, who are delivering economic and/or social impact.

As well as the branding and venue dressing, we have been tasked with creating a range of promotional materials, a slideshow, invitations for the event and booklet to be handed out at the event for all attendees. We will also be looking at trophies for each of the winners.

The event will be held in late March 2013 at Altitude 360ยบ in Westminster, London. It will be attended by around 200 invited guests, from BBSRC’s end‐user community, policy‐makers, industry representatives, academia and the finalists.

BBSRC will continue its successful Innovator of the Year competition (now in its fifth year) and complement it with three other awards:
  • Lifetime Achievement
  • Activation Impact
  • Excellence with Impact
An effective brand needed to be created, that demonstrates to stakeholders BBSRC’s joined up and strategic approach to fostering innovation from its investments, create a visual hook to help potential applicants find and apply for the awards and create a narrative hook for PR work around the awards.

It needed to present the multiple competitions as a coherent whole, providing a visual identity that works in printed and digital media, as well as effectively branding the awards’ event. So we evolved the logo from Innovator of the Year 2012, keeping the starburst, but moving it on, giving it a fresh, colourful and contemporary look. The colours from the main logo are then used to identify the 4 different awards, as well as the zones that will be used throughout the venue. These zones will also be dressed and branded, making it obvious that each area is different.

Rebecca Farncombe, Engagement Officer for the BBSRC said:
We are delighted to be working with To the Point. Their design and creativity has really helped us create the best brand for our competitions. Based on the work of the team so far, we are very much looking forward to working with them over the next 6 months and have every confidence that they will help us deliver a successful event in 2013.


Ahead of the curve


view the site at: www.hqsalon.com

Having originally created the logo for boutique hair salon HeadQuarters, we were the natural choice to modernise their existing website to showcase the salon’s range of services and expertise to existing and potential new customers.

The website’s previous incarnation featured an online brochure with clickable pages and limited photography – out dated and just didn’t do the salon’s stylish offering any creative justice. Our brief was to design and build a modern, improved site with simple functionality and compatibility with tablets and smart phones. Where possible, we were asked to retain the existing colour palette of cream, taupe and pale grey.

Using Wordpress, we’ve created a clean and sophisticated site, with minimal text and added a luxurious grey baroque wallpaper pattern that provides the perfect backdrop to showcase the stunning hair designs created by the HeadQuarters team. The homepage features a slideshow of these images whilst background static imagery behind the text on the other pages subtlety reinforces the message of quality and style.

Sandra Pajak, HeadQuarters’ Marketing Director, is thrilled with the results and said:
Our new website had to meet several objectives – it had to look beautiful and stylish and convey our philosophy and ethos, while also being functional and informative, providing a lot of practical information on prices  and products but in a way that was simple, uncluttered and easy to navigate.

A tall order, I thought - but TTP rose to the challenge, and we are absolutely delighted with the result.  They really listened to our needs at every stage, and clearly understood and captured the essence of our brand. As a result, they’ve given us a website that truly reflects our personality, but also delivers to clients on every front, presenting a highly professional impression of our salon.

Most importantly for me, the team at TTP  were extremely easy to work with - friendly, communicative, super-efficient - and turned what had been a headache into an enjoyable pain-free process.


Forging the Foundry


We’re in the middle of our fifth branding project for the Carillion Richardson Partnership, this time creating a logo, strapline and marketing collateral for a retail development in Scotland. With several completed projects for the Carillion Richardson Partnership already under our belts, this is becoming a great partnership account, underpinned by trust, teamwork… and a sense of humour.

The Foundry is a new 28,000sq ft retail park in Bathgate, between Edinburgh and Glasgow, which sits on the old Balbardie steel foundry. We used the area’s history to create an engaging personality for the park to attract potential retail tenants as well as highlight the retail and residential offer to the local community. The park is already home to a Morrisons store and the third busiest McDonalds in the UK.

The new logo, based on the concept of a hot metal cast, pays homage to the site’s previous history, whilst the contemporary sans serif font gives the design a modern, friendly feel and reflects the optimism and opportunity of the redeveloped site.


We came up with the strapline ‘Find it at The Foundry’, as a play on the name and to emphasise the park’s accessibility and value proposition to the local community. This accessibility and messaging is reflected in the hoardings and digital sales brochures that we’re also producing to help promote the development. Both play on the ‘casting’ theme and use the positive and negative spaces created by the logo to hold imagery and text.

Wednesday 26 September 2012

Desk space available


Central London, flexible desk space


Flexible desk space in friendly and spacious design studio in a fabulous quiet, gated and secure mews, off Borough High Street and close to London Bridge SE1.

3 - 4 individual, large desk spaces at one hub. Would ideally suit digital / print design people but other businesses welcome.
  • Access to fast broadband, wi-fi, availability of a meeting area, break out area and kitchen. Current phone line and broadband used by outgoing tenant is available.
  • Location - 2 mins to Borough Market, 2 mins to London Bridge Station (Northern, Jubilee lines and Mainline Rail).
  • £80 per week per desk. Flexible terms - one month minimum stay.
  • 24/7 Access after first month.

For more information and to arrange a viewing please call 0207 378 6999 and ask for Joanna/Gail.