Case Study: Merrie Design
July 2008 (University of Liverpool)
Nature of Business: Graphic Design. Case Study Theme: Creativity and Innovation.
Overview
Established in 2007 Merrie Design is an innovative business that offers small businesses professionally designed marketing packages. Using an existing or newly created identity, Merrie Design can help these businesses build a distinctive identity and personality. Merrie Design can help businesses achieve that special difference by providing customised creative designs. While there is no doubt that the Web has quickly become one of the most important communications media, Merrie Design believes that it does not (and probably won't ever) remove the need for printed marketing material. The business has capitalized on the fact that stationery design is one of the least expensive and yet seems to have the highest impact as a marketing tool: business cards, letterheads, compliment slips, invoices etc. Furthermore, the firm diversified and designed a game that teaches children, with dyslexia, mathematical time tables. The product is truly innovative and has been patented. This significantly indicates that Merrie Design is devoted to creating new radical products in this field of work rather than improving existing games.
The Company
Merrie design is a technically proficient company that has achieved significant tangible benefits through innovative logo and stationery designs. The company has a track record of creating high-quality and creative printed marketing literature. With the help of Merrie Design, organizations rightly see their investment in their brand and corporate identity as an essential foundation for their activities.
The company helps these businesses - by designing:
As a creative graphic designer, the managing director, Caroline Merrie, employs state of art computers with all the latest software and equipment. The proprietor works with all types of small firms to plan, design and implement effective marketing packages. She has experience of both sides of the fence in her business - as a professional designer and innovator. This experience gives her a practical and commercial perspective while supporting the organization’s marketing goals. Caroline works as a competent designer helping these organizations to understand and define their unique identities and then designing marketing literature to support those goals.
For instance, logo design is an illustration of any business and a graphical representation of the organisation. Merrie Design specializes in architecting and using custom functionality to create a tool that gives the first impression of the entity. The company gives careful consideration to logo design according to the name of the company and the business product.
Merrie Design works with clients to agree on and affirm their culture, beliefs and standards etc, before weaving these values into marketing collateral that creates a robust brand that connects with client expectations. In fact, for Merrie Design, the logo is at the centre of marketing activities supported by a balanced mix of business cards, complimentary slip and letter heads. In addition to providing a comprehensive range of new marketing materials, Merrie Design is equally adept at designing traditional print media, such as leaflets, brochures and direct mail.
As well as success related recognition such as the ‘Celebration of Success’ awarded by Merseyside Business Link, the company created new value and different customer satisfaction by introducing an innovative educational game. For Merrie Design, innovation began with the concept of a new product, where the process was more than just a good idea. The origin of this innovative idea was important so was the role of creative thinking in developing the product. The proprietor suffers from dyslexia and had problems with reading and writing at school. Caroline often got increasingly frustrated and found it hard to do schoolwork. This condition affects many school children causing them to lack interest in letters and words, have problems with reading and spelling, put letters and figures the wrong way round, be slow at written work and have poor concentration. These problems persist as the child grows up and can erode their self-esteem.
Hence, with Caroline’s background the logical place to have started searching for a new product idea was through exploring the needs of school kids who suffer from dyslexia. More detailed analysis revealed that by targeting school children, Caroline was able to define the market. For instance, the UK market size of children between 5-9 years is estimated at 3.7 million. In Merseyside there are an estimated 500 primary schools, 62,500 pupils aged 5-9 years. Merrie Design plans to capture 3% of the age group 5- 7 and 2% of the 5-9 market range. The objective for Merrie Design is to dominant the market with a product that had never been explored before. Having identified a need, the company devoted sustained effort to developing this breakthrough product in relation to that need. An example of the success of this product was demonstrated by school children who arrived at the launch event with maths ability that was below their peers but after a short time of playing the game on trial, their maths ability rose to the same level as their peers.
Merrie Design’s faith in the new product is correlated with the strength and confidence that the game can help alleviate the problems caused by a condition where cure cannot be found.
The company has increased customer loyalty in schools to levels which it had not thought possible. Developing a website as a marketing tool is hoped to achieve significant increases in sales revenue as well as realising considerable cost savings. For example, utilising the internet can enable customers to place orders on line and follow the status of the order on the company’s Web site. The company is looking forward to making even greater use of ICT in tandem with its suppliers in China.
The managing director, Caroline Merrie, has a strong faith in her innovative abilities. She confirmed that the company has taken the ethic of doing everything to heart; creating a ‘can-do’ culture of confidence.
The director also realises how vital it is to invest time and effort into the finer detail of commercial and legal agreements associated with the new product. Without patenting the game and laying down the precise terms, the managing director is convinced that bigger companies would have been able to exploit her innovation with very little return for the effort invested. However, with the aid of a law firm that specialises in Intellectual Property Rights, agreements were carefully drafted, limited by geographical area and product category. Merrie Design was aware and cautious that small innovative companies can give away too much to large companies by not defining product categories tightly enough when patenting. Thus, the company didn’t take patenting as an after-thought – but considered it as a priority.
Merrie Design realises that developing a marketing strategy is vital and without one, the efforts to attract customers are likely to be haphazard and inefficient. However, the company has been concentrating more on the development of the new product at the expense of consistently marketing the graphic side of the business. This has resulted in lower sales and consequently stead but minimum cash flow. Yet cash is often the make-or-break factor for any business.
Central to any successful marketing strategy is an understanding of customers and their needs hence, Merrie Design is now making an effort to be consistent in their marketing approach and to constantly satisfy its customers’ needs better. Furthermore, the company is currently working on developing long-term and profitable relationships with its existing customers. In order to achieve this, Merrie Design is planning to develop and monitor a flexible marketing strategy that can respond to changes in customer perceptions and demand. A business plan is important especially at the start of a new venture or at the stage of growing the business. However, unless this is supported with a marketing strategy, this can impact on day to day trading even when the business is more established.
The demand for the educational game is very high, yet the money to enable the new innovation to be fully exploited is still limited. The manufacturers in China can produce the number of games necessary to meet the escalating demand in schools but payment has to be upfront.
Caroline considers that all the hard work has been done. For instance, the design is novel, the product has been marketed successfully and a positive working relationship developed with the manufacturer. Therefore, her understanding is that giving away such a high percentage of share to an investor will not do justice to the business.
Caroline has approached a number of investors and negotiations are in progress for raising more money. She has also raised awareness of this innovative product with different business support agencies including a university in Liverpool which is keen to put her in the right direction. Approaching the bank for a loan will be the last resort for Caroline.
New invention and winner of the ‘Celebration of Success’ award by Merseyside Business Link awards.
“Stick with one good business adviser. Referrals from one agency to another can create confusion as one is bombarded with a lot of information”.
Website:www.merrie.co.uk.
This content comes from The University of Liverpool
Overview
Established in 2007 Merrie Design is an innovative business that offers small businesses professionally designed marketing packages. Using an existing or newly created identity, Merrie Design can help these businesses build a distinctive identity and personality. Merrie Design can help businesses achieve that special difference by providing customised creative designs. While there is no doubt that the Web has quickly become one of the most important communications media, Merrie Design believes that it does not (and probably won't ever) remove the need for printed marketing material. The business has capitalized on the fact that stationery design is one of the least expensive and yet seems to have the highest impact as a marketing tool: business cards, letterheads, compliment slips, invoices etc. Furthermore, the firm diversified and designed a game that teaches children, with dyslexia, mathematical time tables. The product is truly innovative and has been patented. This significantly indicates that Merrie Design is devoted to creating new radical products in this field of work rather than improving existing games.
The Company
Merrie design is a technically proficient company that has achieved significant tangible benefits through innovative logo and stationery designs. The company has a track record of creating high-quality and creative printed marketing literature. With the help of Merrie Design, organizations rightly see their investment in their brand and corporate identity as an essential foundation for their activities.The company helps these businesses - by designing:
- distinctive logotypes
- unique identities
- strong brand personalities.
As a creative graphic designer, the managing director, Caroline Merrie, employs state of art computers with all the latest software and equipment. The proprietor works with all types of small firms to plan, design and implement effective marketing packages. She has experience of both sides of the fence in her business - as a professional designer and innovator. This experience gives her a practical and commercial perspective while supporting the organization’s marketing goals. Caroline works as a competent designer helping these organizations to understand and define their unique identities and then designing marketing literature to support those goals.
For instance, logo design is an illustration of any business and a graphical representation of the organisation. Merrie Design specializes in architecting and using custom functionality to create a tool that gives the first impression of the entity. The company gives careful consideration to logo design according to the name of the company and the business product.
Merrie Design works with clients to agree on and affirm their culture, beliefs and standards etc, before weaving these values into marketing collateral that creates a robust brand that connects with client expectations. In fact, for Merrie Design, the logo is at the centre of marketing activities supported by a balanced mix of business cards, complimentary slip and letter heads. In addition to providing a comprehensive range of new marketing materials, Merrie Design is equally adept at designing traditional print media, such as leaflets, brochures and direct mail.
Creativity and Innovation
As well as success related recognition such as the ‘Celebration of Success’ awarded by Merseyside Business Link, the company created new value and different customer satisfaction by introducing an innovative educational game. For Merrie Design, innovation began with the concept of a new product, where the process was more than just a good idea. The origin of this innovative idea was important so was the role of creative thinking in developing the product. The proprietor suffers from dyslexia and had problems with reading and writing at school. Caroline often got increasingly frustrated and found it hard to do schoolwork. This condition affects many school children causing them to lack interest in letters and words, have problems with reading and spelling, put letters and figures the wrong way round, be slow at written work and have poor concentration. These problems persist as the child grows up and can erode their self-esteem.
Hence, with Caroline’s background the logical place to have started searching for a new product idea was through exploring the needs of school kids who suffer from dyslexia. More detailed analysis revealed that by targeting school children, Caroline was able to define the market. For instance, the UK market size of children between 5-9 years is estimated at 3.7 million. In Merseyside there are an estimated 500 primary schools, 62,500 pupils aged 5-9 years. Merrie Design plans to capture 3% of the age group 5- 7 and 2% of the 5-9 market range. The objective for Merrie Design is to dominant the market with a product that had never been explored before. Having identified a need, the company devoted sustained effort to developing this breakthrough product in relation to that need. An example of the success of this product was demonstrated by school children who arrived at the launch event with maths ability that was below their peers but after a short time of playing the game on trial, their maths ability rose to the same level as their peers.
Merrie Design’s faith in the new product is correlated with the strength and confidence that the game can help alleviate the problems caused by a condition where cure cannot be found.
The company has increased customer loyalty in schools to levels which it had not thought possible. Developing a website as a marketing tool is hoped to achieve significant increases in sales revenue as well as realising considerable cost savings. For example, utilising the internet can enable customers to place orders on line and follow the status of the order on the company’s Web site. The company is looking forward to making even greater use of ICT in tandem with its suppliers in China.
The managing director, Caroline Merrie, has a strong faith in her innovative abilities. She confirmed that the company has taken the ethic of doing everything to heart; creating a ‘can-do’ culture of confidence.
The director also realises how vital it is to invest time and effort into the finer detail of commercial and legal agreements associated with the new product. Without patenting the game and laying down the precise terms, the managing director is convinced that bigger companies would have been able to exploit her innovation with very little return for the effort invested. However, with the aid of a law firm that specialises in Intellectual Property Rights, agreements were carefully drafted, limited by geographical area and product category. Merrie Design was aware and cautious that small innovative companies can give away too much to large companies by not defining product categories tightly enough when patenting. Thus, the company didn’t take patenting as an after-thought – but considered it as a priority.
The Challenges
Graphic Design - Marketing
Merrie Design realises that developing a marketing strategy is vital and without one, the efforts to attract customers are likely to be haphazard and inefficient. However, the company has been concentrating more on the development of the new product at the expense of consistently marketing the graphic side of the business. This has resulted in lower sales and consequently stead but minimum cash flow. Yet cash is often the make-or-break factor for any business.
Solution
Central to any successful marketing strategy is an understanding of customers and their needs hence, Merrie Design is now making an effort to be consistent in their marketing approach and to constantly satisfy its customers’ needs better. Furthermore, the company is currently working on developing long-term and profitable relationships with its existing customers. In order to achieve this, Merrie Design is planning to develop and monitor a flexible marketing strategy that can respond to changes in customer perceptions and demand. A business plan is important especially at the start of a new venture or at the stage of growing the business. However, unless this is supported with a marketing strategy, this can impact on day to day trading even when the business is more established.
Educational Game - Limited Cash
The demand for the educational game is very high, yet the money to enable the new innovation to be fully exploited is still limited. The manufacturers in China can produce the number of games necessary to meet the escalating demand in schools but payment has to be upfront.
“I am now looking for a committed investor to work with me in order to fully exploit this new product. However, I find that some investors are demanding almost 50% share of my business, a request which I cannot meet” said Caroline.
Caroline considers that all the hard work has been done. For instance, the design is novel, the product has been marketed successfully and a positive working relationship developed with the manufacturer. Therefore, her understanding is that giving away such a high percentage of share to an investor will not do justice to the business.
Solution
Caroline has approached a number of investors and negotiations are in progress for raising more money. She has also raised awareness of this innovative product with different business support agencies including a university in Liverpool which is keen to put her in the right direction. Approaching the bank for a loan will be the last resort for Caroline.
Success Story
New invention and winner of the ‘Celebration of Success’ award by Merseyside Business Link awards.
Advice to anyone thinking of starting a business:
“Stick with one good business adviser. Referrals from one agency to another can create confusion as one is bombarded with a lot of information”.
Business Information:
Website:www.merrie.co.uk.
This content comes from The University of Liverpool
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