Heidi and Louisa wanted to know how to be on ‘the tip of the tongues’ of Mums and be firmly in their Internet ‘favourites’ lists. This is where Voice came in.

With a strong focus on making the everyday purchasing experience easier for mothers and mothers-to-be Voice and Belly Beyond collaborated to create a new brand and proposition to reflect the vision of its passionate leaders and engaged consumers.

The Belly Beyond brand is straight up, in touch with what mothers want, vivacious and always looking for new products and new ways to provide more for their customers. They are a perfect example of the success a small business can have when they have a powerful brand – and probably the world’s coolest online baby store.

“This new work celebrates the lives and the memories of those who enriched the spirit of our most infamous road. We are developing our designs so that they capture this thought and really support the overall message and aesthetic of this fabulous show” Rachael Penman, Okareka.

Okareka’s K’Rd Strip premieres in New Zealand as part of the 2013 Matariki Season and continues on to a tour across the country from 12 June – 13 July.

In the past our process was often too large to effectively work for them. These businesses are passionate and nimble enough to move direction and implement new ideas and we wanted to work with them.

The Solution: We changed how we worked. We developed a new partnering solution that allows us to offer our thinking and strategic advice in an easy accessible package; perfect for catering to the specific needs of a small business.

“It’s wonderful knowing that whatever direction the business takes we have an agency that knows us and will work with us to give us sound direction and knowledge, that we would normally not have access to. Which is great because before we had Voice everything was f#$%!-ing all over the place!” – Louisa, Belly Beyond.

Brand is a business tool, it must build business and bottom-lines – and it does, if it’s done well. Working alongside companies such as The Fairy Light Shop, East West Yoga and Belly Beyond, has been refreshing, inspiring and fun. And, though these companies are small, their brands are beginning to pack a punch and build.

Jonathan Sagar

Faced with revising such a classic logo, New Zealand Couriers and Voice  needed to reconcile three different imperatives; strengthen and modernise the visual expression and corporate identity of the brand mark, encapsulate their unique heritage and capability and be relevant to customers

The Voice team developed options for the evolution of the brand across core factors; heritage, values, brand distinction and modernisation.”The result is a corporate identity that is, appropriate, relevant, proud and distinctive. Visually it can bee seen as a small shift for the New Zealand Couriers brand positioning, but one that is carefully calculated, allowing the brand to carry continued relevance to the market and consumers.”

Jonathan Sagar

Voice approached the design of this project with exactly the energy and flair that will be present on the day, with the use of vibrant colours and textures, and a strong, simple tagline to convey Ponsonby’s sentiment of support. We think the finished product does the job pretty well!

So reserve Febraury 16th in your social calendar for a great day of shopping, eating, drinking and entertainment, and of course the parade! For more information, head to the ‘I Love Ponsonby’ Facebook page or website www.iloveponsonby.co.nz.

See you there.

“The buoyant China and Asia markets pose great opportunities, in particular for Western brands,” Eileen Wong, managing director of Creative Underground (CU), told Campaign Asia-Pacific. “Our comprehensive services and experiences will help brands to enter these complex and dynamic regions with smart strategies.”

Voice sees its move as having two-fold benefits for New Zealand companies, explained Jonathan Sagar, principal. “Firstly it enables us to offer a unique perspective and on-the-ground expert advice to New Zealand businesses looking to enter Hong Kong as a ‘jump off’ point of entry to China,” Sagar said. “Secondly, having a strong alliance in Hong Kong that understands the nuances of Asia means our work is that much more robust, thought-through and targeted.”

CU has also set up a New York office in the Flatiron district of Manhattan and hired two senior ex-4As executives—Stephen Berner (formerly at Carat North America) who will lead strategy and new business, and Evelyn Watters (formerly at The Darling Group) as the head of production and content.

In Hong Kong, CU added Art Lee (former Silicon Valley entrepreneur and IBM marketer) as vice-president of client services and social media”.

http://en.campaignchina.com/Article/317256,digital-shops-pursue-cross-border-alliances-with-eyes-on-china.aspx

Okareka Dance Company will also be performing at the following festivals this year:

Otago Festival of the Arts:  9th – 10th October

Christchurch Body Festival:  12th – 13th October

Auckland Southside Festival: 24th – 26th October

To celebrate, we’re giving away two double passes for the Southside Arts Festival performance on the 24th Oct, for the first readers to email us, email Katie@voicebrandagency.com.

Hence, a modern, sparkling new brand that allows the Fairy Light Shop to reflect their growing range of cool and funky products, such as lanterns and outdoor lights. Our initial positioning work placed the brand as a celebratory part of every day life, inspiring people to reward themselves and celebrate any occasion, with a designer, chic, cool edge. A great new logo followed, as did stationery, product packaging and advertising concepts. A new website and a social media refresh and campaign will also be completed shortly.

www.thefairylightshop.com

Together with our Beijing studio, this move further consolidates our presence in the region. “ We are extremely excited to be collaborating with VOICE!  Indeed, the buoyant China and Asia markets pose great opportunities in particular for “Western” brands. Being able to leverage our newly comprehensive services and experiences will help brands to enter this complex and dynamic region with smart strategies, planning and activation”.  Eileen and Sherri  - CU Hong Kong

“We see our move as having a two-fold benefit to New Zealand companies,” explains Jonathan. “Firstly it enables us to offer a unique perspective and on-the-ground expert advice to New Zealand businesses looking to enter the dynamic Hong Kong market as a ‘jump off’ point of entry to China.  Secondly it allows us to maintain our speciality – brand, but extend our relevance and offer a more complete solution to clients. Having strong alliances and a team in Hong Kong that understands the nuances of Asia, means our work is that much more robust, thought-through and targeted. It’s a great step for Voice, and for so many of our clients.”

Overnight, China has become one of the most competitive playing fields on the planet, and Chinese business owners are scrambling to catch up. It is here that Voice saw the opportunity to create a resource that would help educate Chinese business owners about the power of brand. Not just as an intangible marketing concept, but as a hard-nosed business practise that would help them build strong, robust businesses for the future.

We decided to create the resource ourselves, a book, simply called “8 Reasons Why Brand Can Help Businesses Succeed” – an up-front guide to the common types of situations faced by Chinese businessmen, and how the power of brand can help them navigate the highs and lows of the blistering Chinese business scene. ” 8 Great Reasons ..” will be self-published and available, for free download in the next few months. We’ll make sure we keep you in touch with progress.