Why we love fortyfivedownstairs

Cutting edge, award-winning theatre, music, dance and visual arts. Almost solely responsible for resurrecting burlesque as an artform we have to have. Occupying one of the most beautiful 19^th century buildings in Flinders Lane, with deep roots in the rag trade and an impressive history as one of the first commercial art galleries in what is now a cultural hub. Described by The Age as a 'cultural powerhouse' and run by a team of passionate, talented people who know excellence when they see it.

What's not to like?

We've been friends and supporters of fortyfivedownstairs for a while now. Darren runs the marketing committee and Grace is a member of the friends program. We do it because we support the fortyfivedownstairs team's vision of a low-cost and independent venue for artists in the inner city focused on innovation and excellence.

Every time we go to fortyfivedownstairs, it's like opening a birthday present. One week it'll be a fresh take on a play from the classic repertoire, the next a new play by an Australian writer, and the week after that a hybrid dance-theatre piece showing at a developmental stage and giving the audience the chance to influence the growth of the work. In the gallery there'll be works by artists not represented in the commercial galleries around town. And on another day we'll come to a forum to hear and participate in a debate about contemporary culture.

The space, with it's pressed metal ceiling and stunning arched windows which filter a soft, southern light, is also fabulous for functions and events. We've enjoyed many a glass of bubbly under that great ceiling. (There are perks to being a friend!)

Fortyfivedownstairs is quintessentially Melbourne, where the best cultural experiences are to be found in the laneways and tucked into corners that reward the curious.

Check them out – at the top end of Flinders Lane (no. 45 of course) and at www.fortyfivedownstairs.com

Hope to see you there!

http://www.fortyfivedownstairs.com/

Melbourne Museum of Printing (MMOP)

Oh, where do I begin? I'm in heaven. I've just discovered the Melbourne Museum of Printing – MMOP. Full of all things to do with typography and printing, MMOP lets me indulge about five of my passions (or should that be obsessions) at once!

First, there's the collection of all kinds of printing machines for printing, typecasting, typesetting...everything you need to put a printed word on a surface. They're visceral and industrial, a fascinating insight into the development of the printing industry.

Then there's the fonts, which I can pore over for hours. From the most ornate, flowery font to the one with the sharpest and simplest lines, these fonts inspire me, not just with their beauty, but because they demonstrate the power of the written letter to convey meaning.

Through workshops for artists and students, MMOP aims to preserve the ancient crafts of bookbinding, typesetting and printing. I am so inspired when I see the work that's produced, and because I've found lots of other people like me – call me a printing and typography geek, I'm proud of it!

MMOP is at 36 Moreland St Footscray. www.mmop.org.au

Enjoy! Grace X

http://www.mmop.org.au/

Grace on branding

Ok, so there's no silver bullet for creating a brand that will stand out from all the rest. But there are a few things you can do to help the process along and to create a brand that will achieve cut-through with your target market.

Whether it's the customers you've already captured, or the ones you want to capture tomorrow, knowing what drives them and what buttons to push is the critical foundation to a successful brand communication strategy.

Do you know how they perceive your brand currently? Remember, in the words of the wise Marty Neumier: “a brand is not what you say it is – it's what they say it is.”

So if you're not sure how your brand is perceived, find out now. It's not enough these days to rest on the laurels of a brand that was successful when you launched it.

You need to stay on top of the trends affecting your industry, know who's new in the space (competitors and customers). The most successful brands are nimble, and remember that the element of surprise is not to be underestimated.

Armed with the above, you'll make smart choices about appropriate marketing channels and cut-through creative. Get it right, and the outstanding design will grab the market you want, while clever copywriting will deepen their understanding of your brand.

Learn from others; here's some standout branding to get you inspired.

The 56th annual Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival - http://www.canneslions.com/ - has just announced the winners in the Design Category - Jamie Oliver range by Pearlfisher, Gold - :http://www.pearlfisher.com - New York

Revealed: Fashion Exposed 09

It's no secret that we at Taylor & Grace love our fashion so we were pretty excited to be asked to refresh the brand of Fashion Exposed for 2009. Held in Sydney each March and Melbourne each September, Fashion Exposed is Australia's premier fashion fair, covering all fashion categories.

We're mightily chuffed with the result, and thought we'd share with you how we approached the development of the new design.

One of the challenges in this space, especially in Melbourne, is the number of other fashion events competing for attention. We wanted to differentiate Fashion Exposed 09, but at the same time link it to the world it comes from – a continuum of fashion design and retail that covers household names and edgy young designers, as well as major department stores and funky little boutiques. No easy ask!

We took our inspiration from the activities of the fair – the anticipation of the crowd, cameras flashing, discovering the new, dressing up and, of course, being a voyeur. We took the name of the fair and extended the idea of 'exposure' into a graphic concept. After all, everyone loves to watch!

Here's the result.

If you're into fashion, and good design, don't miss this year's Melbourne Fashion Exposed at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, Southbank. Dates are August 30 - September 1

For more information visit: http://www.fashionexposed.com/

We'll see you there!

Cheers! Grace X

Digital – a must-have in the marketer’s toolkit

Digital tools offer exciting opportunities for marketers, but trying to keep up with this fast moving medium leaves you forever catching your breath! T&G has recently established a team of digital specialists - strategists and tech-heads – who are devoted to our online marketing implementation.

One of our digital strategists. Teresa Sperti, in her blog, Digital Marketing Lab ©, reports on the latest trends in digital marketing. Here’s some of Teresa's latest finds. If you like what you read, visit Teresa's blog for more. (http://digitalmarketinglab.com.au/index.php/category/digital-trends)

Online Behaviour (General & Industry Specific)

A recent study by Monash’s Australian Centre for Retail Studies revealed 50% of Australian shoppers investigate their purchases online before going in store to make their purchase. - Dynamic Business

According to the ABS, Australian household internet consumption has increased 37 fold in 8 years

Australians aged 16 – 17 are spending 3.5 hours online per day - The Age

A new survey has revealed that 56% of Australian teenagers lie about themselves when they are online, with most teens faking their age - Full Story

According to Nielsen statistics, 87 per cent of Australians looking for real estate are using the web to find properties - News

Australians are among the biggest users of online banking in the world with more than 50 per cent of customers using internet banking at least once a week.

Social Media
In the year to April, visits to social networking and forum sites increased by 16% in Australia, whilst visits to blogs dropped by 27.5% - Stuff

In Australia, there are 850,000 to 900,000 people on LinkedIn, and about 15 per cent of those are HR people or recruiters - News

Facebooks user base has hit over 6 million Australians - The Age

In June the MySpace subscriber base using their mobile to access the platform was revealed to be 340,000 strong in Australia - bandt

Australians are believed to be viewing 85 million MySpace pages per month via mobile phones, with each visit lasting between 11 and 15 minutes -bandt

Search
Since the launch of Bing, Microsoft’s search share in Australia has increased. Stats for the week finishing 4th July show Bing.com has 5.02% share, compared with 3.91% in late April - Hitwise

Head of Online at Google revealed in June some of the growth areas in search queries were - Accounting and tax-related search queries are 63 percent higher this year than last. Mobile queries are 82 percent higher this year than last. Office supplies searches are 36 percent higher in 2009. - Dynamic Business

Online Radio & TV
A report released in Apr 09, showed digital radio consumption had grown from 4.2 hours in 2007 to 4.9 hours in 2008 - Nielsen Online

According to Nielsen, 47% of metropolitan internet users have viewed TV content online or downloaded it, whilst 12% had done so frequently -Nielsen Online

Source: http://digitalmarketinglab.com.au/index.php/category/digital-trends/© Digital Marketing Lab Blog

P.S. logo above - designed by yours truly!

Documentary to raise millions for the environment

We've just finished a short documentary project (clip above) with our film production partner, Burning House Productions.

The documentary is part of a fundraising campaign to raise $20 million for a very important environmental project, the largest landscape restoration project in Australia’s history to date – Habitat 141. The documentary helps people to better understand how our farming and forestry practices over the last 150 years have led to a massive decline of our native bush.

Our client Greening Australia’s bold vision of restoring 18 million hectares of land along the VIC-SA border from the outback to ocean is one big step toward returning Victorian bush to a sustainable condition. This is a project that is important to all of us.

To check out more about the great work that Greening Australia does, go to www.greeningaustralia.org.au

Things that floated our boat last month

July 2 12ish - scrumptious long lunch at Middle Park tram stop cafe - mart 130. July 5 5:05pm - stuck in Punt Road traffic - hooray for new CD, "Fever Italia". July 9-12 - wintry getaway at rustic Daylesford cottage - 'Campari' - www.stayz.com.au. July 16 3:43 pm - impulse shopping frenzy at www.Alpha60.com.au. July 25 7:30 pm - serenaded in private home by piano trio www.seraphimtrio.com. July 30 11:09 pm - still at work, i quote Oscar Wilde, "work is the curse of drinking classes."

Mart 130 (Mart is tram spelled backwards) Middle Park Station 107A Canterbury Road MIDDLE PARK

Campari Daylesford - www.stayz.com.au

201 Flinders Lane Melbourne www.alpha60.com.au