Ironbridge teddy bear maker Merrythought has launched its official London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Commemorative Teddy Bear – exactly a year before the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games on July 27th 2012.

The cuddly bear is based on a design from 1948 – the year London last hosted the Olympic Games – and is made from from the finest gold mohair.

London 2012 Olympic Games Commemorative Teddy Bear

The teddy comes with a choice of three different coloured ribbons – blue, green or pink, rather than bronze, silver and gold – and only 2012 bears sporting each colour have been made. So a limited edition of 6036 bears are available to buy.

That’ll make them almost as rare and sought after as an Olympic ticket.

“The figures speak for themselves. But, even without seeing them, this SEO campaign has clearly made an impact, with more customer leads generated. It’s definitely good for our business.” matm client.

It’s good to have a website – it’s absolutely brilliant to have a website that your customers and potential customers actually visit. Most people now always use search engines to go to information they need on the web – even if they know the precise web address they want to visit.

What that tells us is that, if you are in business, it’s vital your website is search engine optimised so when your customers use specific phrases to search for something they want – one of your web pages, promoting your service or product, pops up on the first page of search results.

Here at matm, we can help you optimise your website using carefully written web content and, if you choose, a web news service to ensure your services remain attractive to search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo.

Click here or on the image above to see the results from a very recent example of our work. You can also view our Web Copywriting and Web News brochure.

Coffeemail today released 74 free email marketing templates to make the best email marketing system even better value.

View all 74 free eshot templates here >>  Free email templates

Free Eshot Template 34

Coffeemail offers a great way to send eshots with no monthly charges and powerful tracking and reporting software. We’ll update you with lots more Coffeemail news over the next few weeks but thought you might like to know about the new free templates

For more information about coffeemail and how to make email marketing simple, contact the Web team at matm

At matm we believe attention to detail is everything in a new identity.

RedHector, a building, renovation and handyman company in London, approached marketing, design, web and PR company matm, at Jackfield near Telford, Shropshire, to create a logo for the start-up business.

Designer Tom Blockley created a bespoke logo, drawing inspiration from the owner’s red setter dog – yes, you’ve guessed it – called Hector.

A side on profile of the dog provided a sketch visual and then developed into a classic shape that would be memorable and instantly recognisable to new and existing clients.  The bespoke elements were created to give the typeface its unique identity.

So, the attention really is in the detail on this logo: bespoke typeface, handcrafted graphic & perfectly proportioned exclusion zones to give the maximum impact in any design.

matm is currently developing RedHector’s new website. In the meantime, why not visit (and like) RedHector on Facebook?

Here at matm, we found this BBC News report on the explosion of mobile phone ads an interesting video

With social media behomoth Facebook and search engine colossus Google just two players working hard to dominate the advertising dollars of the future, it’s going to be an interesting time.

However, of all the talk of a new era in marketing and advertising the main message is not a great surprise to Stuart Bickerton – MAKE IT RELEVANT

In between numerous episodes of CSI (my guilty pleasure of the moment), I’ve been watching Delia Smith talking about posh pastry on behalf of Waitrose.

Given their strong corporate ID I had a bit of a moment when I saw a large jagged box on the TV, writes Lindsay Crayton, Senior Creative at matm, the marketing, graphic and web design, web development, PR agency at Jackfield, near Telford in Shropshire.

It took me back to a conversation I had with a colleague sometime ago about these ‘boxes’, it went something along the lines of:

Me: Stuart take a look at this!

Stuart: What is it?

Me: A bar code that you can scan in using your mobile phone, it can hold information like a web address or text.

Stuart: Eyes have glazed over…

Moving swiftly on, a bit of research found these boxes to be called QR codes, QR being Quick Response.

They were originally developed, as long ago as 1994, by Denso-Wave in Japan for tracking car parts for Toyota. The main objective was that they could be read at high speed from any angle.

The QR-Code carries information horizontally and vertically whereas a standard barcode contains data only in one direction.

Also, a standard bar code can only hold 20 digits but a QR code can hold more than 7,000 and can be made to be a fraction of the size (approximately one-tenth) so less room taken up on packaging.

Companies are now increasingly using the technology to market products and services via mobile phones.

Pepsi using a QR code on a promotional billboard. It helps that the code looks arty and intriguing

A smart phone with a camera and decoding software can be used to capture and read the information on a QR code – whether it appears on the TV, billboard, in a magazine advert or on a t-shirt. The process of is called mobile tagging, while the the specific act of linking from a physical object is called physical world hyperlinking.

You can also create your own QR codes using free software. The social media site Mashable recently explained how to do it.

Facebook has a dedicated QR-Code page with lots of creative and business uses. It’s also finding its way into the art world.

An edible and scannable waffle created at NYC Resistor in 2010

I wasn’t able to scan the QR-code on the TV, I have an older phone, but if anyone else has I’d love to know…

matm has helped devise a major New Year marketing campaign to encourage thousands of smokers in Shropshire to ‘Pledge to Quit’ in 2011.

We’ve been working working with Help2Quit, an NHS stop smoking service.

Help2Quit runs drop-in clinics across Shropshire offering one-to-one support for smokers. It also provides a free workplace service where smoking rates are high. Results show smokers are four times more likely to stop with Help2Quit support.

Key elements of the New Year campaign include bus shelter advertising, a leaflet drop to 40,000 homes, video clips of people explaining why and how they quit and a social media campaign.

Pledge To Quit leaflet designed by matm as part of Help2Quit's 2011 campaign

Stuart Bickerton, Director of the matm marketing, graphic and web design, web development and PR agency at Jackfield near Telford in Shropshire, says: “It’s vital that you use the right methods to reach target groups to generate the best value for money and the greatest impact.

“That’s one reason why social media, such as Facebook, will play a part in the campaign. Video provides excellent social media content and can be packaged differently for a range of purposes. Because we have the expertise to shoot and edit the video ourselves, it’s very cost effective.”

The bus shelter advertising campaign will be focused in the Telford and Wrekin area on busy main roads close to supermarkets. The leaflet mailing will be targeted in other areas of the county where there are high levels of smoking.

The Pledge to Quit message challenges smokers to think about the personal benefits of giving up – and explains the range of help at hand if they want to quit.

Find out more about Help2Quit: 01743 366940, www.Help2QuitShropshire.co.uk, facebook.com/Help2Quit

Making a marketing impact in a cluttered and fast-moving world can be a bit of a challenge.

Which got us here at matm thinking, how many adverts are we exposed to every day?

It appears from a huge amount of in-depth research – well okay, about 10 minutes on Google – that the answer is not clear.

In 2007, the New York Times quotes 5,000 (up from 2,000 in 1977). Then again, that is for the USA where they would tattoo an advertisement on the inside of your eyelids if you let them.

Another textbook figure that pops up a lot is 3,000. A blog has even been created solely to explore the phenomenon.

In Australia, one intrepid blogger, Matt Granfield, set out to actually count how many adverts he saw in 24 hours – that IS dedication for you. He got to 91 in the first hour and concluded it wasn’t looking good for the 3,000 figure.

Some experts break the figures down a little. A recent study, again in the USA, found that 34% of all ads targeting children or teens were for sweets and snacks – and that tweens were the most heavily targeted, seeing more than 20 food ads a day.

And at the conservative end of the scale, some put the total number of ads viewed at 300.

Okay. Whatever the case, we get to see a lot of adverts – and more now than we used to.

That’s why it is so important to make your message stand out from the crowd.

We recently helped Douglas Macmillan Hospice in Stoke on Trent do this by designing a promotional money collecting box for them. When every penny generously donated really counts, it’s important to get things right.

So here’s our top tips for designing promotional material:

• Know what your key message is. It might not be profound – but it always has to get right to the nub of the matter, and fast.
• Be clear about what and who you are promoting. You have a blink of an eye to achieve a connection and trigger a reaction.
• Use bold, contrasting colours – which always reflect your brand. Contrasting colours help the whole design stand out.
• And in that cluttered world mentioned earlier, less is always more. Keep it simple!

We hope that when you see a Douglas Macmillan Hospice collecting box, you’ll put a few coins in. It’s one of the hundreds – or is it thousands? – of ‘adverts’ you will see in a day that is really worth succumbing to.

Here at matm we were proud to sponsor the recent Ironbridge Christmas Market in Ironbridge, Shropshire. We supported the event by designing the Gorge Year information sheet detailing events across this UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.

As keen supporters of the Ironbridge Gorge community, we take great interest in the work of Ironbridge Regeneration Partnership. It has been great to see real events taking place in the gorge, so it was not a hard decision to make when asked if we can support the event.

Stuart Bickerton, Director of matm, the marketing, design, web and PR agency based at Jackfield near Telford, Shropshire, said: “The Ironbridge Gorge clearly has a proud history and the work of the Ironbridge Regeneration Partnership captures the mix of heritage and modern business thinking perfectly – it has a ‘Can Do’ spirit that supports enterprise across the area.

“I enjoyed the inaugural Victorian Christmas Market this year – I’m already looking forward to next year’s event. There was a great turn out from local businesses, traders, shoppers and local families.”

With plenty of events planned – it looks like being an industrious year in the Gorge – but given it’s history, what else would you expect!

Here’s a list of just a few of the events coming up during 2011:

Farmers Market – Held every third Saturday of each month,
beginning in March (except November)

Daffodil Ride – Bike ride for all ages and abilities, The Bicycle Hub

Queens Victoria’s Birthday Weekend – 28th to 30th May
Blists Hill Victorian Town

Brass Band Festival – The Museum of Iron 16th and 17th of July

Coracle Regatta – Dale End Park

PS…Here’s just some of the traders who supported this year’s event.

Bertelin Farmhouse Cheese: www.bertelinfarmhousecheese.co.uk
Little Round Cake Company: www.thelittleroundcakecompany.co.uk
Shropshire Spice Co: www.shropshirespice.co.uk
Sweetooth Liquorice: john@pinches14.wanadoo.co.uk
Absolute Heart: www.absoluteheart.co.uk
Fairlady Fabrics: irmina.krzak@btinternet.com
Derek Houghton Images: www.shropshire-images.com
Jane Murphy Glass: www.jane-murphy.blogspot.com
Kim Rodgers: www.kimrodgers.co.uk

Creative logo design is often one of the key starting points of establishing a brand and corporate identity. But even with something as simple as a splash of colour and a few lines that are seen billions of times a day, things are sometimes not what they first appear.

The logos below prove that point. They arrived in the matm office, along with the commentary, in an email which has clearly been virally circling the globe in recent months. We thought these examples of excellent graphic design were intriguing enough to share.

It only goes to prove that brand design is an art as much as a science and good brands work on a number of conscious and subconscious levels, says Tom Blockley, a designer at Shropshire marketing, design, PR and web design agency matm, based at Jackfield, near Telford.

See what you think. And if you have any fresh examples, we’d love to hear about them!

If you look at the center of this logo, you can see two people enjoying a Tostito chip with a bowl of salsa. This logo conveys an idea of people connecting with each other.

Formula 1

At first, this logo might not make much sense. But if you look closely, you’ll see the number 1 in the negative space between the F and the red stripes. I also love how this logo communicates a feeling of speed.

Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers is a professional baseball team from Milwaukee ,Wisconsin (well, duh…). Their logo is actually made up of the letters M (on top) and B (below the m). These two letters also form a baseball glove.

Northwest Airlines

This simple looking logo actually carries a lot of information. First of all you can see the letters N and W, the first two letters of the brand name. But what most people don’t see is the compass that points to the Northwest, another reference to the brand name.

Amazon

This logo doesn’t seem to hide much at first sight, but it gives you a little insight in the philosophy behind the brand. First of all, the yellow swoosh looks like a smile: Amazon wants to have the best customer satisfaction. The swoosh also connects the letters a and z, meaning that this store has everything from a to z.

Toblerone

Toblerone is a chocolate-company from Bern , Switzerland .   Bern is sometimes called ‘The City Of Bears’.  They have incorporated this idea in the Toblerone logo, because if you look closely, you’ll see the silhouette of a bear.

Baskin Robins

The old logo of Baskin Robbins had the number 31 with an arc above it.  The new logo took this idea to the next level.  The pink parts of the BR still form the number 31, a reference to the 31 flavors.

Sony Vaio

Sony Vaio is a well known brand of laptops.  But did you know that the name Vaio logo also had a hidden meaning?  Well, the first two letters represent the basic analogue signal.  The last two letters look like a 1 and 0, representing the digital signal.

Fed Ex

Do you see any arrows on FedEx’s logo? I saw it a few times at other site saying that there’s an arrow hidden in the FedEx arrow, but I couldn’t find it at first, can you see it?. The clue is that the arrow is located in between the alphabet E and X, and the arrow is white, acting as a background.