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The Woodies have a blog. It’s a kind of collective. Not sure we’re about to start a revolution baby, but we might kindle a small debate or two and perhaps raise a smile. Anyway, rather than just blogging corporate Woodreed by fielding our top Woodie (as so many other companies seem to do in a thinly veiled attempt at impressing with their profundity), we wanted all our individual voices to be heard. An agency’s most valuable assets are its people after all. Everyone’s got something to say here and with us everyone’s ideas and opinions matter.

Each week someone different will be blogging. It's mostly about stuff that rocks our world as well as the flipside – the things that just don't cut it with us. We'll blog about inside and outside – inside this glorious industry where we work and outside in the real world.
It's a bit of an experiment, so go with us on this one.

Hope you enjoy.

Thursday 16 August 2012

The power of real....

Royal Mail's launch of their new initiative, Market Reach, which will help provide companies and agencies with a full suite of mail campaign solutions to grow their business whilst also boosting dwindling sales, definitely provided some inspirational thoughts. In this era of the digital age, DM has seen a downturn, however the power of DM 'can' still have a very large impact on the recipient. If done right.

Take for example the traditional annual report. Many companies do not print and mail these any more they simply host them on their website or email pdfs, so why not try something a little different. That is what Austria Solar decided to do. They went back to a traditional printed document mailed to their shareholders, however on receiving the annual report they received a blank document. Take it outside and the special printing technique keeps the content invisible until sunlight hits the paper. Not only does this turn reading the annual report into an experience it brings to life the mission of the company, that of innovation. Social media then helped spread the word as people tweeted and blogged about this product - clever marketing or clever DM? Perhaps a bit of both?

Thursday 2 August 2012

3D sketches and fingerprinting inspire


Today’s blog comes from Laurie Dolding, currently studying for a degree in advertising, who’s been spending some time at Woodreed to gain work experience.  Thanks Laurie.


Recent research has revealed that 77% of adults in Britain have engaged with some form of the arts in the last year. It’s also been discovered that the desire for culture is found across a range of consumer segments, no longer just the ABC1 groups as thought previously.  This new ‘mass intelligence’ has encouraged a trend among brands to tap into art and culture with the modern consumer. With knowledge and cultural experiences becoming important status symbols it seemed fitting to use this blog to share some of my favourite, newly discovered artists.


I recently stumbled upon Japanese artist Nagai Hideyuki’s 3D sketchbook drawings and had to share his gift. This young artist creates inspiring optical illusions using just a pencil and a sketchpad and clever shading. Once propped up against a wall and viewed from the right angle his drawings leap out of the page and create the effect of a 3D object. Nagai Hideyuki is still an obscure artist but he has an incredible talent that I’m sure will get him noticed in the future. Check out his website for more brilliant 3D illustrations



















Chuck Close is an established artist and his work has been exhibited in various national galleries. The one piece of art that captured my attention is a giant portrait of his wife’s late grandmother painted using only his fingertips. The attention to detail is almost unbelievable as Chuck Close managed to capture every detail of the subject’s face. The amount of time and dedication that this piece must have taken is truly inspirational. For more art by Chuck Close look at his website.