Kicking off the New Year with a new website

We’ve just completed an exciting web project with our client League Football Education.

A complete redesign was on the list, for both the LFE and its career and recruitment area Progression.

The new design incorporates video, blog and twitter feeds as well as league tables, news and live polls.

The result is a site that offers a more interactive experience than ever before; enabling apprentices to find out exactly what LFE can offer them and gain a greater understanding of the journey that could lie ahead.

Click on the link to visit the site…..and you can let us know what you think by leaving your comments below.

www.lfe.org.uk

ICG Brandbuilders Highlights of 2009

It has been a fantastic year here at ICG and we have welcomed new clients and staff alike.

But that’s not all; we also worked with some of our long term customers to produce some stunning design and column generating PR pieces.

From developing branding and marketing material for Central Training’s new commercial division, Central Fitness, to a full PR campaign to celebrate Gladstone’s bicentenary at St Deiniol’s Library, we really have been busy.

And the whole team got involved to help Blackpool International celebrate ‘100 Years of Flying’.

Have a browse through our highlights book below to see what else we have been up to.

If you would like to be one of our 2010 highlights then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

And the answer is.....

We are sure that the answer to our ‘can you guess what it is yet’ conundrum has been playing on your mind all weekend, so we are going to put you out of your misery.

The answer is, of course, a lovely pair of socks in our striking corporate colours.

And, according to the Creative Review blog, no one ever asks for socks for Christmas, but actually, you can never have too many!

So enjoy Christmas (and your socks) everyone….and, don’t forget, you can send us your pics of you wearing them and we will feature them on our blog! Fame at last…..

ICG lands prestigious airport lounge account

The whole team have been celebrating after being appointed by Servisair Lounges to provide the company with strategic design and marketing services as well as PR & copywriting support.

We will be focusing on developing diverse marketing and promotional campaigns as well as raising the profile of Servisair’s facilities through the media.

Servisair operates executive lounges for business and leisure travellers at airports across the UK, Europe and North America.

The whole team’s involved and we’ve already got cracking on some great projects.

Appointment sealed with a kiss

The latest addition to the ICG PR and marketing team is Paula Holden, who got more than she bargained for when she went along to meet her new client Blackpool Zoo.

We thought it quite nice idea that she spent the day shadowing the keepers so she could get more of an insight into the workings of the zoo, which would help get the creative ideas flowing.

After being introduced to favourites like O’Grady the baby giraffe, the adorable lion cubs and the cheeky meerkats she was off to feed the sealions….perfect photo opportunity….or so she thought.

Paula was happily snapping away when sealion expert Khaled suggested she stand next to Lotte for a picture to remind her of the day.

Ever the professional she stepped forward, only to be surprised by a big, sloppy and very fishy kiss…..from Lotte.

Still, a good day was had by all and Paula arrived back at the office brimming with ideas for the 2010 publicity drive.

Can you tell what it is yet?

We’ve just dropped all our pressies off with Santa so they will be winging their way to desks across the UK soon.

Can’t stand the excitement of what idea team ICG has come up with this year? Have a look a the pictures to see if ‘you can tell what it is yet’

Put it this way, if Rolf Harris is in his native country right now he certainly won’t be needing any.

Rubbing shoulders with Big Ron

Our Creative Director Simon was busy rubbing shoulders with one of Britain’s best known football pundits, Ron Atkinson, on a recent jolly to Turf Moor. Sam and Mick from our web partner company invited Commercial Director Pete along with Simon to watch his favourite team Villa take on the newly promoted premiership side.

It didn’t look like it was going to be one of Simon’s best days as Burnley’s Caldwell scored in the 9th minute. Whilst Villa played a slow game of catch up Simon had time to have a look around…..and was very pleased when he bumped into the legendary commentator, who he accosted for a picture.

And, if that wasn’t enough, Villa’s substitute Heskey came out of nowhere to score a header in the 85th minute. “What looked like a complete washout after just nine minutes turned out to be a great day,” said Simon. “Villa haven’t won against Burnley in the league since 1966 so it was great to be part of the atmosphere when history was made….although I was careful not to shout too loud as I was surrounded by claret and blue of the wrong badge!”

Simon was also lucky enough to win a Burnley shirt in the raffle, which he promptly re-raffled for Children In Need.

2010 Calendars - Have you got yours sorted?

ICG are busy doing a lot of calendars and xmas cards at the moment. It's still not too late to get yours ordered but hurry. You only have days left!

Blackpool Zoo on Paul O’Grady show thanks to ICG PR

ICG PR’s client Blackpool Zoo named the latest addition to its herd of giraffes O’Grady after TV chat show favourite Paul O’Grady.

So we dropped him a line to let him know…..with a picture of the adorable giraffe.

The result was Paul announcing the arrival of his namesake to the nation on prime time television.

To say thanks, the zoo gave Paul O’Grady a gold adoption certificate and sent him a cuddly replica of his new best friend.

In case you missed the programme we have included a picture below.

Always thinking...

Interesting link to some Coca-Cola Posters, past and present. Great to see how the graphic style has changed so much over the years but the brand values of the company stay the same.

view posters here

ICG Creative Director runs Amsterdam Marathon in record time

Our creative director, Simon Couchman, has recently run the amsterdam marathon in a personal best time of 3hrs, 12mins and 48secs. Who knows, with only 2 years to go till 2012, if he can shave another 1hr off, Seb Coe may be on the phone....

ICG featured in Brand Identity Now! book

The designers here at ICG were delighted to discover not one, but three indepth case studies featured in the new Taschen publication, Brand Identity Now!. Closely following Logo Design 2 (which also featured our logo work!), this new book features in-depth case studies of leading projects from around the world including ICG's work for Blackpool International, League Football Education and WT Sea Air.
Available from www.taschen.com

GIANT SUITCASE OPENS UP AT BLACKPOOL AIRPORT

A GIGANTIC over-sized suitcase packed full of history is causing a stir at Blackpool International’s check-in desk!

The amazing 10-foot high suitcase has gone on display in the airport terminal as part of an interactive exhibition to commemorate 100 years of flying in Blackpool.

The suitcase is, in fact, an extraordinary piece of artwork by Lancaster based artist Paul Kondras and is now being used to host an eye-popping exhibition about the resort’s unique links with the aviation pioneers of the early 20th century.

Officially recognised by the Royal Aero Club, Blackpool hosted the country’s first air show in October 1909 when 200,000 spectators gathered for Blackpool Aviation Week.

Now, exactly a century later the airport is planning its own week of celebrations to honour this special event which laid down the foundations for Blackpool’s unique association with individuals such as AV Roe and Amy Johnson.

ICG conquer Snowdon

ICG's senior designer, Dave Mallalieu, recently conquered Snowdon in a charity walk.

The walk was to raise money for St David's Foundation Hospice Care. The foundation provides Hospice care to over 2500 people with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

Dave raised close to £300 for the hospice which needs to raise £4.5 million per year to provide care for families. Thank you to all that helped out by giving so generously.

GLADSTONE 200 FESTIVAL

HISTORIANS, students, artists, patrons and youngsters gathered to celebrate the Gladstone 200 Festival at St Deiniol’s Library.

The library, which uses ICG for PR, marked the bicentenary of its founder, William Ewart Gladstone, with a series of special events which included the unveiling of two new art works - a chapel altar piece and four stone carved outdoor benches.

Other events over the four days included a prize-giving ceremony for local children and students, a concert with world renowned harpist Catrin Finch, and an evensong service with the Archbishop of Wales, The Most Reverend Dr Barry Morgan.

The library was also open for guided tours as part of the Civic Trust for Wales Open Doors initiative.

The festival was featured on BBC Radio Wales' drive time programme, ITV Wales, Radio Cymru and local newspapers.

Job Vacancy

ICG are looking to recruit a PR Executive/Account Manager. Send your CV to Denise Dawson: Denise@icgonline.co.uk

IT’S ‘SIMPLES’ - EVERYONE LOVES MEERKATS

This week, ICG PR sent out a press release about Blackpool Zoo’s meerkats.

It seems that meerkats have become one of the zoo’s star attractions, with visitors wanting to adopt the furry little creatures for the first time in the zoo’s history.

Their popularity has to be down to the TV programme ‘Meerkat Manor’ and, of course, ‘Aleksandr the Meerkat’!

The story really has hit the headlines with coverage in The Sun, The Telegraph, Yahoo News, Teletext, Channel Four News, regional titles across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, plus interviews on Blackpool’s Radio Wave and Radio Humberside. ‘Simples!’

A SLICE OF CHEWY

Yes, the cakes at ICG are getting even more weird and wonderful.

Creative Director Simon Couchman’s repeated requests for a Star Wars birthday cake at the age of 34 could not be denied!

Fellow designer, Ian Jones brought Hans Solo’s faithful friend Chewbacca, to gastronomic life with the hairiest cake ever, thanks to lashings of chocolate butter cream.

Nobody wanted to eat the Liquorice Allsorts eyes, but the cake was delicious and Simon needed a light sabre to cut it!

May the fork be with you…

'TOME OUT' WITH THE GUARDIAN

The Guardian celebrated 'tome out' for ICG's client, St Deiniol's Library.

A full-page feature about the UK's only Prime Ministerial library was featured in The Guardian's Saturday Travel supplement.

Since January, ICG PR has been working with St Deiniol's Library in North Wales to promote the bicentenary year of its founder, William Ewart Gladstone.

Thanks to ICG's hard working PR team, the library has enjoyed a number of excellent PR results with features on Radio 4's Today programme, BBC Wales and the magazine for the House of Commons, The House.

More TV fame for zoo

ICG PR’s favourite zoo will be on our screens once again next week.

Blackpool Zoo will be featured on Channel Five’s ‘Michaela’s Animal Road Trip’ on Wednesday 12th August, at 6.00pm.

The programme shows presenter Michaela Strachan helping zoo keepers prepare a new outdoor enclosure for the attraction’s two aardvarks, Laurel and Arnie. She also assists the keepers as they treat Lottie the sealion who was suffering from an eye problem and meets the zoo’s new lion cubs.

If you miss the programme on Wednesday, it will be repeated on Thursday 13th August, at 9.45am.

Little Rossy

ICG PR has been sending out cuddly penguin toys to members of the press and media to promote the arrival of Blackpool Zoo’s penguins. We also named one of the zoo’s penguins ‘Little Rossy’ and sent Jonathan Ross a full adoption package.

We were delighted to hear Jonathan chatting about his new little adopted penguin on his popular BBC Radio Two show on Saturday 18th July.

Here is a picture of Jonathan with Little Rossy – it looks like he’ll be well looked after! Ah!

Penguins do like to be beside the seaside!

ICG’s PR team organised a photo-shoot with giant penguins on Blackpool seafront to celebrate the arrival of 16 penguins and the launch of their brand new enclosure at the town’s award-winning zoo.

The photo-shoot captured the three giant penguins enjoying the seaside views, sitting on deckchairs, eating candy floss and playing in the sand.

Holidaymakers looked on in amazement – not a sight you see everyday on Blackpool beach!

The Blackpool Zoo penguin launch campaign resulted in coverage on Rock FM, BBC Online, BBC North West Tonight and a host of regional newspapers.

BLOSSOMING PR STUDENT AT ICG

For my work placement I chose ICG, and it was a great decision!

Being at ICG has been a fantastic experience and lots of fun. It has given me a thorough understanding of PR and business, from writing press releases to coming up with creative ideas and graphic design. The staff have been very welcoming and I will certainly miss them all! ICG has been a brilliant adventure and I hope to see them all again.

Big thanks to ICG Brandbuilders for making my time very enjoyable!

Adeana Currie, Year 10 Student, Lytham St Annes Technology and Performing Arts College.

p-p-p penguin pool!

The penguins at Blackpool Zoo have moved into their fantastic new home – and they’re having a splashing time!

The £400,000 enclosure includes an elevated viewing platform and underwater windows so visitors can see at close quarters how these intriguing animals swim, play, feed and interact with one another.

The official opening of the penguin pool takes place on Tuesday 21st July; ICG PR has been spreading the word to the press and media by sending out small, cuddly penguin soft toys!

The penguins are back at Blackpool Zoo after a break of more than 12 years - and now is your chance to see them!

Lion cub names rock!

ICG PR’s favourite little female lion cubs have now been named thanks to Rock FM listeners and zoo visitors.

Blackpool Zoo's big cat keepers sifted through the abundance of names and finally chose - Luna, Kimya and Nikita.

The lovely names were chosen because each one sounds quite different and the lion cubs will learn the sounds, not the name. If the names were too similar the cubs would just get confused.

The little cubs and mother, Gillian, have now been allowed out into the full enclosure and are enjoying exploring their home. And in August, the cubs will be introduced to the rest of the pride including their father Wallace and two lionesses Jasmine and Rachel!

I’m sure Wallace will be brimming with pride!

ICG logos published in LOGO DESIGN 2

This week saw the new logo design book by Taschen hitting the shelves; LOGO DESIGN volume 2.

ICG was pleased to see that 6 of our logos were featured alongside logos created by top design and branding teams such as MetaDesign, Saffron Brand Consultants, Research Studios, Stefan Sagmeister, and Studio Dumbar.

The book contains over 2000 logos and has an introduction by branding guru Wally Olins, this collection brings an insider’s prospective to the art of designing successful logos in any field of commerce.

Create your own Album Cover

Are you struggling to come up with a band name and album title for your upcoming tour? Well here is a little help:

1 - Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random”

or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random

The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to Quotations Page and select "random quotations"

or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3

The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”

or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days

Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.

Below are a few designs that we came up with in the studio

Anyone for lemur cake?

The lemurs at Blackpool Zoo are inviting children to design a special cake to help them celebrate the 10th anniversary of their home, Lemur Wood.

Children are invited to research what lemurs eat, and design a special anniversary cake for them to enjoy during the anniversary celebrations on Saturday 20th June.

The lucky winner will get the chance to make up their special cake and personally feed it to the lemurs.

Andy's Birthday Blog

It’s my birthday today, and I came into the office to find at my desk a stack load of cakes kindly made by Nicola. They were gorgeous!!! I also got a hilarious card signed by the team and a box set of Frank Sinatra CD’s. Thank you for all the CD’s, cakes, cards. It really has made it a brilliant 15th birthday!!!

Thanks again ICG

From Andy Hall

Lion cubs!

ICG’s client, Blackpool Zoo, is celebrating the arrival of three beautiful female lion cubs born on 9th April 2009. It is the first time the award-winning attraction has had lion cubs in 25 years.

Mother Gillian, one of the zoo’s three lionesses, and the cubs are all doing really well and are now on view to the public.

Gillian is a brilliant mother and is looking after her cubs and keeping them out of mischief! The cubs are very cute and really fun loving and playful! Aaahh!

Andy's Work Placement

Being at ICG for my work experience has been an amazing adventure. It really has helped me to understand how a business works and how all the cogs come together to work as one. Everyone has been so kind and not hesitated to give up their time to help and explain things to me. There have been many laughs, mainly involving football (what do you expect where there is a Man Utd fan, Man City fan and a Liverpool fan in one office?) and I have really enjoyed my time here!

Thanks once again to everyone at ICG Brandbuilders

Andy Hall

Creating winning bids with ICG

First impressions count. In an increasingly competitive market, the presentation and quality of your tender should be a key consideration.

ICG's graphic designers have recently been helping a number of our clients with their bids and tender presentations, producing bespoke binders, slipcases and dividers, typesetting text documents, creating diagrams through to electronic submissions such as CD-Rom, PDF and powerpoint versions.

We devise a visual look for the whole bid package, and advise you throughout the bid to ensure that we meet the exact requirements every stage of the tender process. Our designers can become a valuable extension of your bid team, and the results have been extremely positive. To find out more, give us a call on 01772 679 383.

Central Fitness get in shape with ICG

Building on ICG's successful relationship with Central Training, we were tasked with developing all branding and marketing collateral for the new commercial division, Central Fitness. 

This included design of all signage and interior / exterior graphics for their first national training centre, 'St Helens Central Fitness'.

From the website and flyers to press adverts and 40ft posters, the ICG design team created a consistent sporting image which reflected the Central Fitness core brand values.  

The b, b, b, boys are back in town!

The ICG P, P, P, PR team are gearing themselves up ready for the arrival of 18 South American p, p, p, penguins at Blackpool Zoo.

Work is well underway at the award-winning attraction as it prepares itself for the penguins’ arrival in June 2009.

Penguins have been one of the most requested animals by visitors and friends of the attraction so it is great to see them return after such popular demand.

BIFA Annual Report

It's that time of year again, and we're busy designing and producing a number of financial documents.

First off the blocks is the Annual Report we recently published for the British International Freight Association.

ICG designed logos featured in design publications

From Preston to the USA.

We are delighted to discover that six logos which ICG have designed, have been featured in two leading international design books. 

Logolounge 5 is the latest in the best-selling LogoLounge series, providing 2,000 totally new logos from designers worldwide.

www.logolounge.com

Logo Design Vol 2 brings together diverse logos from over 30 countries, organized into chapters by theme, such as socio-political, food and beverage, technology, and consumer products. A full index provided at the end of the book lists each logo’s company, designer, and designer’s website. www.tashen.com

Both books are due to be published Spring 2009. We look forward to seeing our creative in future design publications....

ICG goes Superlambananas at client's office opening

ICG’s MD Denise Dawson recently attended the opening of Yorkshire Copper Tube’s new offices in Kirkby, Liverpool.

The event began with Councillor Ron Round, Leader of Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council, officially opening the new building with Domenico Cova, Chief Operating Officer of the KME Group.

The Lord Mayor of Liverpool Councillor Steve Rotheram also attended the event to unveil the ‘Monument to the Superlambanana’ which is situated by the entrance of the new building.

The building will accommodate the Yorkshire team and includes office space, meeting rooms, IT training rooms and a state-of-the-art boardroom.
ICG's Denise meets Yorkshire's new member of the team.

Stripes for success!

Preston based intergrated agency, ICG offers clients four distinctive services including graphic design, public relations, new media and advertising.
 
To promote these separate disciplines, we devised a set of four brightly coloured stripes and assigned each service its own colour, for example; orange for graphic design.
 
The branding is simple yet effective and has been rolled out across all elements of ICG’s promotional material, from stationery, business cards and website to corporate brochures and our annual ‘highlights’ books.
 
It is also included on a number of promotional items, including mugs, scarves, candy lollies, and even our interior office décor.
 
The simplicity of the vibrant stripes ensures consistency and creates a core brand for the agency without having to ‘over design’ our own material. We are clearly recognisable to our existing clients and boldly on view to potential new ones.

Welcome little Austin Windle

Our designer Emily has had a baby Boy, Austin Windle - seen here following the family tradition and jumping straight onto a Mac. All of us at ICG wish Emily, Austin and family all our best. Congratulations!

WRAP UP WARM WITH ICG

Preston based integrated design agency, ICG's promotional hat and scarf collection is going down a treat during this Arctic spell.

In dazzling orange, yellow, green and turquoise stripes, these wonderful winter accessories radiate warmth as the temperatures plummet.

Clients, friends and family are all enjoying an ICG fashion moment - we've got the pictures to prove it!

To get hold of your very own ICG knitwear, contact our Business Development Director, Peter Cobley. Hurry, while stocks last...

ICG designs new identity for International Airport

Preston based integrated design agency, ICG are pleased to continue our strong relationship with Blackpool International with the latest rebranding programme.

Using icons to reflect the focus on being "the airport for Lancashire and the Lake District", we have now rolled the brand across the airport including signage, tickets, literature and the new website www.blackpoolairport.com  

Meet Sarah, our latest recruit!

Following a number of successful account wins, Preston based integrated design agency, ICG has appointed graphic designer Sarah Huddy to boost its design team, bringing ICG’s headcount to ten.

Sarah joined the team in January and is already getting involved in a number of prestigious projects including the latest issue of our award winning Touchline magazine for League Football Education!

Since leaving university, Sarah has worked for number of design agencies in the North West.

Commenting on her appointment, Sarah said: “I am really excited about working for ICG. The agency has a really strong design team and a fantastic portfolio of clients. I can’t wait to get started!”

Denise Dawson, ICG’s Managing Director, said: “I am pleased that we have been able to add to our numbers to meet the demand for our creative ideas. Sarah is passionate about great design so I am sure that she will fit in really well at ICG.”

Gladstone Bicentenary PR

ICG has been appointed to handle the PR for the 2009 bicentenary of William Gladstone.

The anniverary celebrations are being led by the national memorial to the Liberal statesman and four times Prime Minister, St Deiniol's Library in North Wales.

Guest speakers, Lord Hattersley and historian Richard Aldous from University College Dublin (pictured) were invited to officially launch the bicentenary at the Foreign Press Association in London.

St Deiniol's Library is the only Prime Ministerial library in the UK. It holds a collection of more 250,000 works and attracts writers, academics and clergy including Lord Hurd, Rowan Williams, Terry Waite, Sarah Waters and Tony Benn.

Hob-knobbing with footballing legends

ICG's PR team has recently been hob-knobbing with football legends Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Tom Finney and Jimmy Armfield. The team were recently invited to the Lancashire Partnership Against Crime annual dinner at Barton Grange Hotel by clients, Scott Rees and Co Solicitors.

At the event, guests were entertained by comedian John Martin and opera singer Sean Ruane – who wowed the audience with his breathtaking performance of Nessun Dorma. A good time was had by all.

ICG PR's Samantha Butcher meets Sit Bobby Charlton.

ICG highlight of the year 2008

New account wins - several awards - record breaking campaigns and websites - welcoming new staff members - it was hard to choose our highlights of 2008. You can see what we selected by downloading our highlights of the year 2008 brochure from our website www.icgonline.co.uk and going to the downloads page. We would love you to be a highlight of 2009!