Owen's View: 'Branding' yourself- tattoos

Examples of sugar skulls

Since my college days I have been thinking about getting a tattoo, but haven't yet made the commitment to a design that I am prepared to wear on my body for the rest of my life. Our recent work with Treboom Brewery, and our research into sugar skulls got me once again thinking about tattoos, but also branding, and how the two are alike in so many ways. 

Tattoos symbolise being part of tradition, part of a group or clan, or to stand out and even shock. In the same vein, the reason businesses and individuals 'brand' is to differentiate themselves from the next person or business.

Recently the worlds of branding and tattoos have mixed quite dramatically, with huge brands including Reebok, Red Bull, HBO, ASOS and Sailor Jerrys offering free tattoos at various film and music events. The number of willing participants just proves how dedicated some brand fans can be, and that tattoos are no longer a symbol of rebellion.

And what about being dedicated to your company? I have thought about having the United by Design logo tattooed on my body, but this is my business, it's a part of me and something I feel strongly about. But I am not so sure about what's going on over in New York at Rapid Realty, the company is offering a 15% rise in commission to every member of staff who has the company's logo tattooed on them. Over 40 staff have been inked so far!

Tattooing is highly profiled in the media. The rise in popularity of shows such as Miami Ink is inspiring more people than ever to go out and get inked. The amount of celebrities now sporting tattoos makes the once frowned upon art-form even more part of the norm. After the 2012 Olympics, several of the GB athletes, including the majority of the women's basketball team, went and had tattoos incorporating the 5 Olympic rings, highlighting their dedication and pride to sport, Great Britain and the Olympic games.

Azania Stewart- Member of GB Women's Basketball team with her tattoo.

On the other hand, there is still a certain amount of prejudice when it comes to those with tattoos. Air New Zealand have been forced to rethink their policies after being slated for turning away a prospective employee due to her moko, (Maori), tattoo on her forearm. It is reasonable to say that some tattoos are offensive or inappropriate, but taking in pride in your heritage is no bad thing!

In Japan, tattoos still shock and unnerve people, as the showing of body art by Yakuza gang members is considered a sign of aggression. Attitudes are warming slightly to the tradition, as more and more people have started experimenting with irezumi (japanese style of tattooing).

As for my tattoo, I am inspired by japanese, polynesian and moko styles, in fact I have a Pinterest board dedicated to the tattoos that inspire me, check it out here. While I continue to make my mind up I may experiment with some temporary tattoos, such as these by Lydia Leith.

And just like tattoos, branding is something that has to be thought about and considered carefully. There should be a meaning behind your choice and why you are going ahead with such an investment. With regards to both tattoos and branding, seeking advice from an expert, and doing your research, are paramount. It may cost you, but you want the job to be done properly- money definitely well spent if you're going to have the branding, or the tattoo, for a VERY long time!

Are you inked? Tweet us some inspiration @ubd_studio



Sources of information: 
http://www.today.com/money/company-ink-agents-get-15-raise-corporate-tattoos-6C9714898 
http://www.details.com/blogs/daily-details/2013/05/the-tattoo-as-corporate-branding-tool.html 
http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/opinion/8739378/Editorial-Air-NZ-makes-a-moko-mistake
http://www.dontpaniconline.com/magazine/radar/horiyoshi-iii-inks-japan

30 years of 'Now that's what I call music!'

"Now that's what I call music!" has been part of our vinyl / cassette / CD / mini disc / download collections for 30 years, and is a name that is recognised by tweens and 40-somethings alike (maybe older if you have a cool grandma!). At some point, you probably owned a 'Now', whether it be 1 or, the most current, 84 or any in between.

Now! took over from the cheap and nasty compilation albums of the 70's and gave the public what they had been waiting for, all the biggest hits on the same album. They also gave lesser known bands and singers a chance to be heard, as producers often cut deals to push new artists; e.g. "you can have Phil Colins if you feature these two tracks (from lesser known bands) on the album too". This has resulted in the Now! albums providing an eclectic mix of music three times a year since 1983. Despite rival record companies offering similar compilation albums from time to time, none have managed to knock Now! off the top spot.

NTWICM 3 featuring the pig as
part of the branding.

The first Now! album.

The back of the first Now! featuring
the poster from which the series got its name.

We were surprised to discover that the Now! series was created by Virgin, for some reason we just assumed it was its own brand, it has been such a huge success without having to broadcast who created it!

After watching ITV's documentary, and doing a bit of research, we found out some more facts about Now! some of which are quite surprising:

- The first ever song to appear on Now! was Phil Colins - You can't hurry love.

- Girls Aloud are the longest running consecutive artists having appeared on 13 Now! albums (54 to 66).

- Songs are edited to remove swearwords, this happened to ruin the concept of Mark Owen's song Four Minute Warning, which, you guessed it, was supposed to be exactly four minutes long.

After Now! 5 the pig was dropped.

At this point Now! had found their
signature look. This grouping of text
has not changed much since.

By Now! 18 the 'snooker' ball logo
was dropped for a bolder look.

- Now 4 was the first album to be released on CD.

- Madonna has never appeared on a Now! album, and was once knocked off the number one chart spot by Now! 10. She campaigned for compilation albums to have a separate chart.

- The series has had over 100 million sales globally.

- Many countries have their own versions of Now! including Korea, Turkey, Israel and Norway.

- The total number of tracks on the UK Now! albums is 2693.

The lastest numbered Now! album.

The pigs have made a come-back on
the commemorative album.

All of this got us discussing the first Now! albums that we bought. Owen has the first 'Now that's what I call music!' on tape! (Thinking about this caused a couple of laughs reminiscing about the issues we faced with tapes, such as winding the ribbon back in with a Biro). The first album Lucy remembers listening to is Now! 42, which included the likes of Steps, Billie and the Spice Girls. Annabel remembers Now! 43 as her first album, and Ross has Now! 44 somewhere at home, and he distinctly remembers that CD featuring Eiffel 65's 'Blue'.  

Which was the first Now! Album you bought?

Sources of Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Now_That%27s_What_I_Call_Music!
http://fatherandy2.proboards.com/thread/46675#
http://www.nowmusic.com/

UbD must see: Fast & Furious 6

Friday saw the release of Fast and Furious 6, the latest offering from the Fast and the Furious series, and it's got most of us here in the studio pretty excited, especially since we found out Vin Diesel does a lot of the stunts himself!

Most of us were still in school when the first film, 'The Fast and The Furious', was released in 2001. Since then the series has provided us with over a decade of action, consisting of 6 full length movies, a couple of spin off short films, AND the promise of Fast & Furious 7 to be released next year! We're already looking forward to it, and we haven't even seen number 6 yet! 

One of the customised cars featured in the Fast and the Furious series.

Just as we have grown up, the Fast and the Furious films have somewhat switched their focus to move with the times. The earlier films touched on the culture of street racing which, although illegal, was a way of life that racers could not live without. Car customisation also played a large part, and was portrayed as an art-form, highlighting that to earn credibility in this culture, it is important to produce something beautiful, as well as engineer something high performance. This is something that applies in our industry as well! Now, from the later films, we expect fast-paced crime-packed action thrillers, and by the looks of the trailer, Fast & Furious 6 is not going to disappoint. We're organising a cinema trip ASAP!

Have you managed to see Fast & Furious 6 yet? Or are you heading out to see it soon? Let us know what you think.