The phrase ‘pushing the boat out’ was coined originally because boats were often built too large for one person to move, so helping a seaman to push the boat out was seen an act of generosity. Later, this came to mean monetary generosity or extravagance, like getting the posh champagne for your wedding.

In the Impact team, we push the boat out creatively. This means being generous with creative instincts to help a client go beyond the realms of what they thought possible when it comes to branding and communications.

Working with a client, we typically pull on three levers to help give benefits a presence in the business and engage employees – visual, method and content.

When focusing on the visual, we like to follow five simple rules for pushing creative boundaries. The finished result: a bespoke benefits identity you can be proud of.

1. Know where the line is

Some of our biggest success stories come from working with key stakeholders, such as internal communications and branding teams. Working closely with internal teams helps us understand how flexible we can be with internal brand guidelines to protect your company’s identity while creating something fresh and new.

If we’re not creating a bespoke identity for your internal communications, we stick closely to the company brand guidelines when producing print and digital deliverables. It can be easy for employees to get confused about where communications are coming from if everything coming out of the business looks completely different.

2. Feed your brain

Like athletes, who cross-train with different sports to target different muscles, we creatives can do the same thing. Neuroplasticity says that our brains are constantly capable of change as long as we use them. So we take inspiration from everywhere and get involved in lots of different projects. Falling into a Pinterest hole for three hours can be just as creatively rewarding as reading an article on the latest motion design trends.

3. Colour schemes

We pull together reels of colour palettes when creating brand concepts for our clients, hoping to find the perfect combination of warmth, excitement and visual intrigue. Researching the associations between colours and feelings helps to find a good match. For example, light red makes us think of affection, while dark red indicates rage.

4. Engage feelings

Engaging our audience is easy if we keep them and their needs in mind. Especially when we’re talking about things that matter to them, like employee benefits! There are real people at the other end of our campaigns, potentially making important decisions that will have a very real impact on their lives. Getting people’s engagement means connecting with them on an emotional level. We do that through establishing strong visuals and a relatable tone of voice.

5. Great artists steal

If we really want to grab the attention of an audience with one of our more extravagant brand concepts, it’s a good idea to start with something that comes from you, the client. That way, you have a part to play in the conception of the idea but we can put our own twist on it and start to push that boat out. There’s no shame in taking someone’s idea for yourself, after all it was Picasso who said “Great artists steal”.

Big brands create a lasting impact

Our most successful campaigns have pushed brand guidelines to their absolute limit. Our trick is to deviate enough to create fresh elements that are interesting, while also keeping it familiar so that employees know these communications are coming from leadership teams.

Fresh and exciting branding doesn’t have to start at top end of the creative spectrum. We often go on a journey with branding, playing it safe in a brand’s first year and pushing that boat out little by little over time.

A good designer will create a benefit brand with development in mind to ensure the brand can adapt to business change, new objectives and the interests of different stakeholders. Luckily our designers aren’t just good, they are great.

We love an exciting opportunity for bespoke branding and creative campaigns. If this interests you, then get in touch.

Getting people’s engagement means connecting with them on an emotional level. We do that through establishing strong visuals and a relatable tone of voice.