Make ‘em laugh!

Humour is one of the most powerful marketing tools at your disposal, especially in this era of great interconnection. It helps your brand stand out from the crowd and, via social networking, quickly and effectively extends your brand’s reach. Get one person laughing, and they’ll want to share their experience with their friends and family. Just think of the last time you forwarded a link to your networks because you wanted to brighten their day.

Used sensitively, humour can even be used to counter that unwanted byproduct of social networking: the viral complaint. According to the Harvard Business Review the Net Promoter Score (NPS), a measure of customer satisfaction, is “the one number you need to grow”. So if there are a few detractors out there, humour them, literally, with a smart and sassy bit of fun. You can’t grumble and laugh at the same time!

At Taylor and Grace we’re fascinated by the physiology behind branding and consumerism. Brands need to connect on both an emotional and a rational level and humour is a great way to facilitate this. Think about using humour instead of regular incentives like giveaways to create a seamless experience for the customer as they interact with your brand. They won’t even know they’re being coaxed to particular areas of your site!

To get your funny bone jiggling, check out these gorgeous print ads from Turkish hosiery company VOG. They’re clever, to the point … and fun.

Follow the yellow trace blog!

As you would expect from such a class act, the Graceful Taylor is discerning about her friendships, so when she introduces you to someone you know that it’ll be worth it.

Meet yellowtrace, fabuloso Australian design blog, friend of the Graceful Taylor and brainchild of Dana Hughes, a Sydney-based interior designer.

Blogging is all about sharing, and Dana updates yellowtrace daily with inspirational design-focused content drawn from around the world: spreading the word about established and emerging creatives in interiors, architecture, fashion, design, photography and more. Well connected too, yellowtrace is featured on the design files and design sponge amongst a host of other great design sites.

And we’re delighted to let you know that yellowtrace has recently featured the Graceful Taylor and Potier – check out the post and follow the yellowtrace blog!

9 Ways Australian Brands Are Leveraging Twitter In Different Ways - Written by our online guru Teresa Sperti

Twitter, within a few short years, has grown to be one of the leading social sites in Australia and the world. In Australia alone, Twitter receives more than 1.2 million unique visitors a month, providing a solid avenue for organisations to connect, engage and build relationships with new and existing consumers. However having a presence on Twitter is harder than just creating a profile and tweeting about how great your product is. Inspired by Brian Solis, 21 Twitter Tips , this article reviews how Australian organisations are adopting some of the different strategies he covers in his article.
If your brand is yet to have a Twitter profile hopefully this article provides you with some useful food for thought. Or if you have a profile but need to refine the strategy this article may provide clarity on the techniques that you could adopt to create a very useful and engaging Twitter experience in 140 characters. To read the full article click here

Tweet themed image by talented illustrator Laura Mckellar

Poster Advertising 50s Style

These fab vintage advertising from the London Tube have just been uncovered during renovations. Dating from the late 50s, they’re cute, colourful, and an unexpected insight into the world of poster advertising at the time of Mad Men. Check out the whole collection here

You can leave a comment, like the person who’s noticed they got the apostrophes wrong even in those days!

Discovered via the fabulous Grainedit, a blog dedicated to vintage and vintage inspired graphic design. (photos curtsy of the London Underground)

Online addiction #5 – absolutely fabulous affordable art

Ah winter! The perfect excuse to snuggle indoors in the warmth and indulge in one of our favourite pastimes – trawling leisurely through the internet searching for hidden treasure!

And look what we found: two completely different but equally fabulous sites for affordable art that we just had to share.

Illustrator Peggy Wolf creates gorgeous mixed media pieces that reference her beginnings in fashion design as well as her passion for colour and shape. We love her compositions – quirky takes on fashion portraits that are now available as prints and cards. View her online store here

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And you thought handlebar moustaches were a bit out there? Check out these portraits by artist Dave Mead of contestants from the 2009 World Beard and Mustache Championship. Seriously, who knew that men with this much hair could be this interesting?