Bulldog - Strategic business creativity that defines, inspires and transforms brands.

I jest, of course. I have some thoughts about all the hype surrounding social media as a marketing tool. Before you join the rush to shift all your marketing focus to emerging media, consider that discussions on sites like Twitter are rarely about brands and are more focused on social issues and emotional states. Also, the format prevents brands from relaying what they are about in any great detail, why consumers should care and provide little stimuli to build an on going relationship.

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Unfortunately, Malta has developed a shameful reputation around Europe for the illegal hunting of birds and each year thousands of migrating birds are systematically slaughtered. The island is a vital stepping-stone for birds on their exhausting journey northwards, hence this is not just an issue for Malta – effectively, the conservation efforts of many European countries are being hampered.

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Just as we had jettisoned all hope of ever finding the time to launch our own blog, we finally have – thanks in no small part to Vinh Le’s wisdom, blog building expertise and endless patience. Vinh has all the shots and he makes them with grace, speed, finesse and humility. This blog wouldn’t have been launched without his immeasurable contribution.

As the blog is brand-spanking-new, we have uploaded some past work but this space will eventually serve as a shopwindow for the latest Bulldog projects and probably, depending on your point of view, will elicit one of the following reactions from you:

Cautious Questions - you are acutely aware that the pile of pixels in front of you could be 24 carat gold or grade A poo – you’re just not sure which.

Unbridled Kudos - you identify with the core truth in our idea so much, that you comment on it with ferver and turn up on our doorstep dangling a large bag of money.

Damning Criticisms - with medical precision, you will wield our comments form to expose flaws in our work, so sentencing our egos to an unceremonious funeral.

Questions, kudos or criticisms, we’d love to hear from you.

After 20 years in Malta, Cheri – an Irish hair stylist, retains strong feelings for her homeland. She asked Bulldog to create an identity that would suggest her place of birth as well as her trade. From a purely practical point of view, the identity needed to work across a whole host of ancillary applications such as towels, signage, salon interiors and stationery.

Our solution was to create an image immediately associated with hairdressing; that is also visual shorthand for Cheri’s nationality.

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Founded over 75 years ago, E. Calleja and Sons is one of Malta’s oldest electrical supplies firms. Over the years, they have defined and evolved the benchmark for newer competitors in what is now, a very crowded marketplace. For all Calleja’s accomplishments, the sector has many drawbacks. Consumers have low attitudinal loyalty and low emotional connections to electrical supplies firms. Price and rates are used as the most important point of difference – suggesting commodification.

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Foxglo (pronounced Fox-glow) was launched to address European consumer adoption of basic green ideas and a shift from use of incandescent light bulbs to energy efficient, compact florescent lighting.

Bulldog’s remit was to help the brand provide assurance of energy saving benefits, empower consumers to make technical comparisons with traditional incandescent bulbs and to promote correct waste handling for all Foxglo products.

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Europlay wished to build on the experience and technological foundation of their unique lottery concept – “SMS Jackpot”. This lottery and its inherent architecture were licensed by the Lottery Authority in Norway to operate as a test project for a limited period of 3 years, from June 1st 2002 until June 31st 2005.

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When Australian art director – Yvette Mahon, asked Bulldog to develop a small Flash portfolio site that would help her solicit the attention of design organisations, we were only too happy to rise to the challenge. The next few days were spent with Yvette, doodling ideas on scraps of paper that would identify what makes her work different from many other art directors pitching their skills to potential employers.

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All retail shops are familiar with the problem of leftover stock – especially after big holidays like Xmas. The usual approach would be to sell the merchandise at drastically reduced rates in seasonal sales.

When giftware chain – Eyespy asked Bulldog to help with this problem, we suggested using an alternative approach. By combining different items into loosely related groups, housing them in this custom made package and selling them as stand alone sets, our client not only drastically reduced his excess stock but also turned a healthy profit.

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We’ve always been fascinated by logo design. When reviewing the portfolios of creative applicants hopeful of working with our company, we tend to drift towards the logos section first. I think this is because in this discipline, it’s difficult for creatives to mask a lack of ideas with slick printing processes and expensive paper stocks. Designing good logos is pretty difficult and in a world suffering from information overload, arresting viewers’ attention momentarily and leaving them with a lasting impression requires designers to be: daring, distinctive and to master the enviable ability to make less say more.

If you’ve spent the day reviewing portfolios, it’s not impossible that you could be seduced by miracles of presentation and glossy style. Not so with logos – these only really work when execution and content are inseparably fused – making the execution part of the content. Take it from us, it’s rare but you’ll know when you see it.

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