bigidea?What’s

the

bigElusive things, big ideas.They’re very hard to find.Particularly big ideas that work. And carry on working.So what is a big idea?

A big idea makes your brand stand tall.

It resonates with your customers.

It makes people fall in love with your products.

A big idea also has legs. It can run and run and run.

A big idea makes sound business sense.

It’s intuitively right for your brand.

And strategically right for your business.

Something we know a lot about at Clear.

Because while our heads may not be as big as some, our ideas quite patently are.

But don’t just take our word for it.

Take a look at our recent output.

Then spend a little time talking to us.

big

Big London agencies will tell you that they have a monopoly on big ideas.And that big ideas should always be accompanied by a big invoice.The reason they say this is because invariably, they have big London offices.And of course, somebody has to pay for them.But there is an alternative to paying for someone else’s postcode. You could work with Clear instead. We take a rather more pragmatic and (dare we say it) cost effective view.

Namely, that advertising should

pay its way. Or at the very least,

deliver clear results, in the form

of a significant uplift in sales, or

awareness, or preferably both.

We start by developing an

intuitive strategy attuned to

the unique business requirements

of the brand. Then we focus

on developing intelligent, well

thought out creative solutions

which actually work. Because

at Clear, we’re not just in the

business of building brands.

We also build business.

And because all our big ideas

are created in leafy Didsbury,

the only thing about us which

is slightly on the smaller side,

is the most important part.

The invoice.

diffe

renc

e.big

bigstyle.The mark of any big idea is whether or not it has legs;

whether it is versatile enough to carry any message

or meet any brief. For McArthurGlen, Europe’s largest

network of designer outlets, we came up with an

approach the client was 100% happy with. With the

credit crunch fast approaching, they wanted to fire the

first salvo on the designer retail battlefield by announcing

a 60% discount across all outlets. We recommended

that to maintain the brand’s core values, we needed to

underpin this strong sales message with style-focused

lines which would convey the enjoyable nature of the

designer outlet shopping experience. With propositions

such as ‘Up to 60% off every day. 100% desirable’, the

campaign is that rarest of marketing beasts; one that

works on both a tactical and aspirational level.

To date, the press and TV campaigns have worked their

designer socks off, bucking the trend in a depressed

clothing sector with a significant uplift in sales.

bigbrother.

Our task from Brother was quite simple. They wanted to be an even bigger Brother. To achieve this, they launched a new generation of

Brother printers and in the process, sought to reinforce Brother’s position as a leading supplier of small business printers, in the face of

increasing competitive activity from other global brands. Without wishing to big ourselves up, the idea we came up with was perfect.

You see, many small business owners are either blissfully unaware or completely disinterested in their printing costs, wrongly assuming

that they are a necessary evil and delegating the purchasing decision accordingly. Our strategy therefore, was to create a high impact

campaign to offset this widespread inertia, adopting a distinctive and highly assertive tone of voice to alert small businesses to the losses

they were incurring. The resulting ‘He’s a loser’ campaign achieved an immediate uplift in sales during the launch period, elevating their

brand position and also winning a leading business to business advertising award in the process.

The film industry has a

saying. Never work with

children and animals. Not a

problem for us. We always

seem to get on famously.

Take our latest campaign for

Real Radio. When we were

looking for a new positioning

to take their brand forward,

the reason for tuning in

stood out a mile. Real Radio

releases your sense of fun.

It’s a station you can be

yourself with. Let yourself go

with. It brings out the

fun side of you because it

delivers the music you enjoy,

and presenters you like. This

manifested itself in our line

‘Discover the Real you.’

To achieve maximum cut

through, we wanted to show

the effect the station can

have, through the eyes of a

very different kind of listener.

A basset hound. The pop-

loving pooch waits for his

owner to leave the room,

then turns the radio up and

starts to sing and dance

along. Since the campaign

launched, he’s turned into

something of a celeb,

appearing on TV, posters,

bus backs, in fact almost

every kind of media you

can think of. Hey, he’s even

on Twitter and Facebook.

Within a few days of the

campaign launch, he’d

already accumulated almost

a thousand Facebook friends.

If this carries on, he’ll be

challenging Digby for the title

of ‘biggest dog in the world.’

bigbark.

bigexcite ment.

excite ment.In our opinion, Camelot theme park had a big story to tell. And we

were the agency to do it. This is a theme park with a unique selling

point. Besides a nerve-shredding array of awesome twisting, turning

rollercoasters and more magical family attractions than even Merlin could

conjure up, it also features thrilling mediaeval jousting tournaments twice

daily. In this respect, Camelot is totally unique amongst UK theme parks,

so we decided to make this the centrepiece of our TV and above the line

advertising campaign. The result was a commercial with extremely high

production values produced on a deceptively low production budget.

Our cinema trailer type approach elevated the park to a new level and

attracted a whole host of new Camelot converts.

big mou

th.When Brother launched a big printer,

they needed a big advertising proposition.

This was the world’s first multifunction

colour A3 printer for under £250.

In our opinion, this was a truly jaw-dropping

offer. Which in turn, manifested itself in our

bold, impactful creative idea.

The client was equally open-mouthed after

the campaign broke in the press and online,

when sales rapidly began to outstrip supply.

Within a matter of weeks, the warehouses

were empty of stock. It was one of those

classic cases where they literally couldn’t

produce the printers fast enough.

A level of demand which, understandably,

brought a big smile to the client’s face.

mou

th.

For CALA Homes, we were asked to look

at a landmark event. The marketing of

Donaldson’s, an iconic building which

has defined the approach to Edinburgh

since 1842. There are two sides to the

Donaldson’s story; it represents a fusion

of the historic and the iconic.

The signature Playfair building, designed

by the architectural visionary William

Henry Playfair, is complemented by the

superb contemporary architecture of the

Crescent, with its stunning glass fronted

façade echoing the historic crescents of

Edinburgh’s West End. The campaign we

created, based around the line ‘Decisions,

decisions, Donaldson’s’, captured this

unique conundrum that is presented by

the choice at Donaldson’s. It also captured

the client’s imagination and articulated

the proposition perfectly. The teaser

campaign has already featured on both a

microsite and 48 sheet poster sites and

has created a huge level of awareness

amongst prospective buyers.

bigicon.

icon.

bigsale.Turn on your TV or turn the pages of your

newspaper and you’ll find yet another

Sale advertisement for something or other.

Some retailers seem to have Sales every

single trading day. You can just imagine

the trading meetings. “Hey, things are

looking a bit quiet. Let’s have a Sale.”

Or “Hey, it’s cloudy outside. Let’s hold a

Sale.” The trick in such a crowded retail

marketplace therefore, is to achieve cut

through using the ‘O’ word. Originality. In

this campaign for McArthurGlen Designer

Outlets, we decided to focus on the

excitement of shopping in a real Sale

offering up to 70% off. And in particular,

the sheer exhilaration of finding all your

favourite designer labels at prices that

make you want to load up your car with

garments galore. It’s modern, vibrant,

involving, relevant and above all, stylishly

different. Needless to say, this particular

Sale campaign worked. Big style.

bigsale.

Airtours bikini

bigwaves.

In 2007, Airtours were Number 4

in the holiday market. Naturally,

they wanted to be Number 3. To

do this, they recognised that they

needed to conduct a fundamental

root and branch re-appraisal

of their brand. We worked with

them to produce a whole series

of service initiatives to sit side by

side with an exciting new portfolio

of global destinations. With these

in place, we were then able to take

them in a whole new direction.

With a dramatic new advertising

approach which would capture

this spirit of change and catapult

the brand back into the consumer’s

consideration set. In the event,

our ‘You’ll like where we’re going’

campaign was used synergistically

through the line to stunning

effect. Post campaign research

showed that the campaign

shifted perceptions dramatically,

elevating the brand to its coveted

Number 3 slot and also shifting a

significantly higher number

of holidays.

Airtours bikini

waves.

bigplans.

What differentiates one new home

from another? The answer became

patently obvious from the moment we

started working with CALA Homes, one

of the UK’s leading housebuilders.

From the offset, it was obvious that

there is a fundamental difference in the

level of consideration they give to every

aspect of design and construction.

Some new housing developments, for

instance, don’t look as if an architect

has ever set foot on them.

But with CALA Homes, quality of design is

the cornerstone of everything they do.

From spacious detached homes to

stylish apartments, their total focus lies in

creating unique design flourishes which

can really add to the living experience.

We believe that this level of care is truly

exceptional and significantly enhances

the customer buying experience.

In our launch campaign therefore, we

decided to make the architect the focus of

each communication, along with the positioning

line ‘We care about the things you care about’.

Just as each CALA property carries the

architect’s unique signature, so too did

every aspect of our communications, from

point of sale to press to radio to online,

with the architect himself highlighting key

design features and areas of architectural

interest within each property.

And our big plans for CALA have

undoubtedly paid off. In focusing on the

unique design strengths of the brand, the

campaign was truly distinctive and

elevated CALA’s awareness to a new level.

In a highly challenging and competitive

landscape, CALA continues to

outperform other housebuilders

in many areas across the UK.

big

bigAn essential prerequisite for any

charity advertising is the need to

create significant awareness, with a

comparatively insignificant budget.

Over the years, we’ve championed

numerous worthy causes with advertising

we like to think, is worthy of the cause.

Ash being a case in point.

The key dangers of smoking have been well

documented. But the hidden effects, such

as its impact on male impotence and other

antisocial aspects are largely undersold

and undertold. So our first campaign

focused on the fact that smoking has

been associated with increased sperm

abnormalities and is a cause of impotence.

Unfortunately, 88% of smokers are

unaware of the dangers and a staggering

120,000 UK men are impotent as a

direct consequence of smoking.

To raise awareness of the problem,

we created a graphic visual metaphor

coupled with the arresting headline

‘smokers make poor swimmers’.

The client was so pleased with the

response to this execution, it became

the first in a series of communications

created by Clear. An interesting side

effect has been the fact that this

campaign has also garnered numerous

advertising awards, dramatically raising

the profile of Ash in the process.

bigask.

bigfeet.

Launching Regatta footwear in

the UK required a great deal of

legwork from Clear to determine

the appropriate strategy.

Traditionally, most footwear and

clothing brands had been aimed

at the more serious, heavy duty

end of the market. We recognized

that there was huge growth

potential for Regatta in the

casual, every day walker who may

simply enjoy a stroll along a canal

towpath or in a country park at

the weekend. First, we developed

the positioning line ‘fresh air

clothing’ to establish Regatta

footwear and clothing as the

ideal choice for the great

outdoors. Then we followed a

series of clothing ads with a

footwear branding campaign.

The footwear range included a

number of high performance

features which made it suitable

for both casual rambling and more

heavy duty wear. We identified

two key target areas – the serious

walker or hiker category and

the weekend leisure market,

adopting a technical approach

to convey the key performance

characteristics.

The result? Sales greatly

exceeded the client’s

expectations throughout

the launch period and placed

the brand on a firm footing

for the future.

Cala Fusion

Cala Fusion

laun

ch.

big

The recent decline in the UK housing

market has been well documented.

But at Clear, we’re big believers

in being proactive, rather than

reactive. You can either sit on

the sidelines watching a situation

unfold, or take control of events

and start bucking the trend. Which

is precisely what happened at the

CALA Homes Hexagon development

in Huddersfield. The first phase

of detached homes at Hexagon

proved a huge success, but then

the recession started to bite and

UK housing sales hit something

of a brick wall. Leaving CALA, like

other house builders, with lots of

apartments to sell. Unlike other

house builders however, we took a

lateral view of things, formulating an

innovative strategy to capture

a bigger share of the market.

Directly targeting first time

buyers, we introduced a new

sub-brand ‘Fusion at Hexagon’,

incentivising buyers with a helpful

First Start package, reducing prices

and selecting a whole range of

new first time buyer-friendly

media channels.

The resulting ‘Launch Pad’

campaign sparked massive

renewed interest. Sales really took

off, leaping more than 50% in the

launch period, and a few weeks

later only six apartments remained.

Which proves the point that to

stand out in a crowded housing

market, you have to produce work

that’s truly outstanding.

Our client, The Casey Group had a

big story to tell. A very big story.

So big in fact, that we decided to turn it

into a substantial, coffee table-creaking

300-page volume. The book showcases

40 years in the life of The Casey Group,

covering its uniquely pro-environment

stance in the construction industry. The

book covered thirteen different aspects

of Chairman and Founder Peter Casey’s

substantial achievements and the

day-to-day successes of the company,

including showpiece projects such as

The RHS Flower Show, Heaton Park and

Pike Fold Golf Course. Painstakingly

researched, art directed and written over

an eight month period, the book has

achieved industrywide recognition as a

superbly constructed piece of design.

The moral of the story is, if it’s a big

job and somebody has to do it, there’s

nobody better to do it than Clear.

bigbook.

At Clear, we’ve never shied away from the big challenges.

And challenges don’t come any bigger than creating

massive awareness for a charity on a limited budget.

Today, the market for charitable institutions is more

competitive than ever, with literally thousands of organisations

vying for the general public’s generosity and goodwill.

Against such a backdrop, any advertising therefore

needs to be truly outstanding if it is to stand out.

Which is where we come in.

Besides our ongoing success story with Ash, in recent years,

we’ve created major high-impact campaigns for charities

such as Beat Bullying, Spinal Research and FSA Aware.

A testament to our success in this area has not just been

the significant level of response, but also the numerous

creative awards we’ve garnered in the process.

After all, when creating a marketing strategy for a worthy

cause, the advertising solution should always be worthy.

But never dull.

impact.big

Designer OutletsTM

MCArthur

Glen

bignames.

Opposite, you’ll find just some of the companies we’ve

had the pleasure of working with on a day to day basis.

We like to think that whether the budget is large or

small, we’ve created a big impact which invariably

went way beyond the client’s expectations.

But that’s quite enough about us. Now we’d like to talk

about you. And exactly what we could do for your brand.

For further clarification, call Jim Smith on 0161 448 8008.

Clear Marketing Communications

Head office 121 Palatine Road, Didsbury, Manchester M20 3YA T. 0161 448 8008

Glasgow office Woodside House 20-23 Woodside Place Glasgow G3 7QF T. 0141 582 1480

www.clearmarketing.co.uk