Stiff Rowlands

Schluter have been lovingly exporting African coffee since 1858. Wanting to increase awareness in their B2B market, they asked us (along with copywriter guru Jez Clark) to help them create a visual identity and brand messaging to be applied to their communications. We hit upon the idea of using the distinctive, hessian bean sacks which are renowned for their brightly coloured, stencilled typography. We’re not ones to shy away from picking up a spraycan so it was an ideal opportunity.

Schluter Managing Director, Philip Schluter said:

“We were looking for something that would state clearly and effectively who we are and what makes us stand out. We were looking for a medium which would project the company image and be coherent with the message. We have enjoyed being led through the process of focusing on who our target audience is, and filtering out what the main message they need to hear is. We are very happy with the clarity, simplicity and visual impact of the final result.”

As huge coffee lovers there were big smiles when Tank Coffee asked us for some pointers on their branding. Inspired by the movie Black Gold, the collective “who care as much about the farmers, as they do about the flavour” jumped on a plane to Ethiopia and Kenya to meet the coffee bean farmers:

“We wanted to know where our coffee was coming from, who was growing it, how much they were getting, and who else was in the supply chain before it got to us.”

“We wanted to see with our own eyes what each farmer was really getting for their hard work and harvest. To make sure our coffee was as fresh as can be, we also wanted to roast the coffee ourselves.”

Our good friend Jez Clark is part of the collective and has created some wonderful copy and a great tone of voice. Reading about the farmer who grows the bean, its journey and the name of the roaster (Garth), makes buying coffee interesting and rewarding. The website is still in its infancy but don’t let that stop you ordering. We’re currently buzzing on the Ethiopian Sidamo Grade 2. Mmmmmm.

Today it’s cold and raining which reminded us that our little Smoking Outdoors book got a big double page spread in The Drum the other week.

We’ve just launched our first book. Smoking Outdoors is a collaboration with photographer Chris Leah and writer Jez Clark, created in reaction to the UK smoking ban. You can find out more and grab a very limited edition copy of the book here.

We’ve recently been involved in a exciting project at McCann Erickson working alongside one of our favourite copywriters Jez Clark. Due to Confidentiality Agreement 8.1 to 8.6 we can’t talk about the great work we did or who we did it for. So, here’s a picture of the office we were working in. One of many reasons why everyone at McCann’s is so happy.

Readers of The Drum magazine (Friday, 11 January) might have noticed our cross stitched, half page ad for Planning Express. Thanks to Jez Clark for the copy and Mum for her handiwork.