Bite Into An Epic SAMY

Written by

Utah Business magazine’s annual SAMY (Sales & Marketer of the Year) awards celebrate the state’s top marketing talent. Highlighting individuals and teams in Utah that go above and beyond in their efforts to deliver great marketing to companies, the SAMYs showcase some of the best thinking in the state when it comes to messaging that truly impacts a business’s bottom line.

Utah Business has been using their SAMY Awards to highlight marketing professionals in the state for over a decade. Categories like,” Best Social Media Campaign”, and “Marketing Professionals of the Year” highlight great work that has come from Utah-based talent, as well as individual players in Utah’s marketing world that have had massive national (or worldwide) success at creatively solving marketing problems. The awards spotlight how this top marketing talent is making a difference for brands that expand well beyond our state’s humble borders.

Epic’s win for “Best Use of Video” was for a spot created to launch “VASA Studio” for big-box gym VASA Fitness. Expanding their personal training offering, VASA Studio competes with the training style and experience smaller, boutique gyms offer. Our VASA Studio work showcases the one-of-a-kind experience VASA members get when they step into a Studio class. To set it apart from the other group fitness classes VASA offers, we amped up the music and drama—focusing on the intensity, excitement, and love of a great workout only the VASA Studio experience can deliver.

When VASA first approached us with their new premium gym experience, we knew it needed a name that showcased the concept as unique to their other class offerings and helped to highlight the smaller, more intimate—and more intense—nature of the workouts. Landing on the term “Studio” as a moniker we focused on capturing the boutique, elite-level feeling of the classes.

For messaging, we knew VASA Studio would be competing with more boutique gyms where members were used to getting quite a bit of individual attention. Studio would be no different; so we focused our message on highlighting the small class size, the state-of-the-art equipment (Woodway treadmills, Myzone heart rate monitors), and the intensity you could expect when you walked into a Studio workout.

With the cornerstones of naming and messaging laid, we moved on to Handling identity design, marketing materials, environmental graphics, as well as the video production work. Our task with video became how to show the Studio experience. How do you recreate the visceral feeling of sweat, energy, and excitement that Studio would represent? In shooting the video spots, we choose dramatic red lighting to match VASA’s brand colors. We stylized the Studio experience to spotlight our models and their silhouettes; not only showing the intensity of their workouts, but bringing attention to the individual’s experience and giving Studio the premium feel it had within the VASA brand.

Our work was a massive success. Not only did the rollout generate big buzz for VASA and increase memberships, but it was so well received that VASA decided they would incorporate the Studio model—and Epic’s campaign—into all their fitness centers nationally. Our efforts helped launch VASA Studio as the premium Studio experience it is, allowing the new offering to stand out with sleek, innovative creative that also helped to elevate the entire VASA brand. Our work highlights Studio as an exclusive experience that makes VASA gyms a destination not just for causal gym-goers, but for people who take their fitness a little more seriously and want classes that cater to their level and the individual instruction they’re used to.

As a full service agency just south of Salt Lake City, we’ve delivered advertising solutions for local and national businesses and brands for over fifteen years. Our diverse group of clients spans multiple industries, and we’ve built the capabilities to service our client’s needs across multiple channels and platforms; including broadcast, digital, print, and other media. Our group is focused on delivering the creative and strategy businesses need to grow, and we cater our services to the unique and individual needs of each client. Our philosophy is centered around delivering messages that create strong customer relationships, with an emphasis on consistency and a focus on brand planning, messaging, and deployment.

The Importance of Aesthetics and Usability in Web Design

Written by

Web aesthetics and usability play important roles in determining the success of the website. Finding the correct balance between the two subjects isn’t always an easy task due to their contrasting nature. Although websites might be delivered by machines, they are meant to be used by people. Therefore, people should be your priority at every phase of design and development.

Defining Aesthetics

Aesthetics is known as the set of principles guiding the work of an artist, including color, contrast, graphics, and layout. A website’s aesthetics can influence a brands credibility and perception. In fact, studies have shown a clear link between solid design and site credibility.  Furthermore, the implementation of design principles affects the overall experience of a website and defines the quality of the web designer.  A pleasant and smart design allows the user to have a positive experience.

Why Usability is Important in Web Design

A majority of people today value usability more than good looks. There’s no doubt usability is necessary for a website to be successful. A website should allow your visitors to understand your services or product as quickly and easily as possible.  Users no longer accept websites that are slow to load or difficult to navigate. In fact, the usability of a website can either make or break your online success.

Let Us Help Your Business Reach its Full Potential

Creating great experiences on the web typically comes down to engagement and attention. At Epic Marketing, our team of expert marketing professionals can provide your business with an aesthetically pleasing and usable website. Contact us today at 801.657.4383 for a free consultation. Our marketing experts will help your business reach its full potential.

 

The Right Font Can Make All the Difference: Lessons from John Hancock

Written by

On this day in 1737, John Hancock, a patriot of the American Revolution, was born in a province of Massachusetts Bay (now Quincy). Though he was the first Massachusetts Governor and President of the Second Continental Congress, he is best known for his large and prominent signature on the Declaration of Independence—so much so that “John Hancock” is now commonly referred to when speaking of a person’s signature.

Though I would venture to say that Hancock would be a formal calligraphy type of man (“declaration” is actually a font made from the handwriting of the Declaration of Independence and is the professional penmanship of Timothy Matlack, who engrossed the final copy of the document), nowadays one’s penmanship would be equated with his digital font of choice (seeing as how there is very little handwriting that now takes place).

So when it comes to designing your clients’ websites, collateral pieces, or even your own, you might be at a loss in terms of which font to use. With an endless quantity of typefaces that range from bold ornamentation to even the most mundane of styles, how does anyone know which to choose? Suddenly, an infinite amount of questions plague your thoughts: What message does this font size convey? How will this font look across all of my platforms? Am I making any serious typeface blunders? What type of voice and emotions does this font suggest?

Don’t freak! Read on to learn more about some major font faux pas, how to avoid them, and which fonts you should best utilize to maximize your responsive web design and other campaign elements.

Consider the Circumstances:are you preparing a legal document or a birthday invitation? Is this a piece of collateral designed for a hospital or for a restaurant? Just like you would always do an in-depth analysis of your audience, so too would you take the time to consider the context in which your piece is situated. Chances are, you’ll easily recognize which fonts are (and are not) appropriate given the conditions.

Get Familiar with the Basics:You should always have a repertoire of fonts in your back pocket that are safe and your “go-to” ones. These ought to include fonts that are clear and universal, such as types of geometric sans (think Helvetica or Gotham) or that are modern but still retain a humanistic element, such as types of humanist sans (think Myriad or Verdana). You can also always fall back on the old style types, such as Jenson or Garamond, that are classic and traditional.

Focus on Decisive Contrast:Be careful when mix and matching fonts. Typefaces on a design need to coexist comfortably without making the viewer hesitate and wonder in confusion—rather than simply viewing. Though there is no hard-set rule here, one important thing to remember is that it’s best to combine fonts that are very different with the exception of one shared trait (such as the same stroke weight).

Take Some Risks: Don’t be afraid to add a little flare to your design piece by playing around with fonts that may seem a bit more “out there.” Just be sure to use those in moderation and to always examine your piece from all aspects and across all platforms before sending to print.

The most important thing to remember is that there really are no iron-clad rules when it comes to fonts; rather practice and meticulous selection are the elements that go a long way. Though handwriting may be becoming less of an everyday occurrence in this digital age, now swapped for a keyboard and a Word document, the practice of utilizing fonts to convey a message is certainly not.