VW Billboard Style

There are two aspects of this VW billboard campaign that I have picked up on in relevance to our brief.

Firstly the clean and pure background is an effective way to un-clutter a billboard, making it clear and understandable.

It has also addressed the issue of conceptions of the the old and the new. This is one of the issues P&O face.

The audience they need are the people who have past misconceptions about the rusty ferries of the 1980s.

They potentially need informing of a change in standard and reliability.

These two billboard posters again have the clean and approachable aesthetic. Also the idea is fantastic, it cleverly suggests that the GTI will offer you a pant-wettingly good experience as well as having the initial impact of looking like a fashion billboard aimed at the same target market.

A set of continuity based designs

Banks often use a set of designs to apply to a range of customer needs.

This is possibly then an effective way to promoting a service to a range of specific target audiences.

In relation to our brief this could take the form of a set of designs aimed specifically at.

• Snowboarders
• Skiers
• Climbers
• Cyclists
• Campers
• Travelers

Norfolk Line Resources

I've ordered a selection of different ferry brochures online, which should hopefully be coming this week so I'll get those scanned in asap. But until then, I've come across this ferry guide for Norfolklin



Immediately the focus is on European attractions, which is a road that I don't think it's worth our while going down as that is old hat, people already know what's available to see in Europe. Having said that, much as I vehemently dislike the cheesy 3D character and his ship of fools, it's the kind of imagery I imagine would appeal to children when the average nuclear family is perusing brochures, therefore forcing the hand of the parents paying for said trip. Looks less formal and OAP than some of the other stuff I've seen.

Up next I found the Brittany Ferries media pack. They've gone with an cleaner overall identity here, lots of white space and use of vector based imagery with overlaid gradients.

Brittany Ferries Reference Guide 2009

Earlier today Craig and I ventured into Leeds in search of some print-based research on P&O and it's competitors, which was largely unsuccessful as it turns out the majority of travel agents only stock their own literature - and, it was also obvious that ferry travel isn't a highly visible travel option.

So, we managed to get hold of one P&O brochure, but it was for P&O Cruises, not P&O Ferries. Still, we thought it might prove useful as a source of visual research, but it was largely just stock images of various European cities. It also came with a DVD which showed off it's fleet of seven cruise liners, narrated by someone repeating the word 'passionate' about anything on-screen.

We've ordered some brochures online, but we've no idea how long it might take for those to arrive in the post. I came across this online, the Brittany Ferries Operators' Reference Guide. I've skimmed through it thus far, and found that Brittany Ferries seem to be continuing the tradition of bolstering publications with images of shiny new ferries, families smiling, sunsets, etc. All pulled together in a calming blue and white scheme.

If anything this can serve as a direction to steer clear of for Craig and I.

P&O Website.

The ycn brief includes information that P&O is in need of branching out to the two specific markets of skiers/snowboarders and families for cheap ferry crossings to Europe.

The benefits for these particular audiences is that they can take their car with them, and therefore all their equipment and baggage. P&O have addressed this on their website, however their image is outdated and does not fully consider the way their website is viewed. It does not sell the idea of convenience and affordability with specific reference to baggage. This is what audiences will be looking for. It is the one element that makes ferry travel more suitable tan cheap flights.

This has clarified what Craig and I had thought about the brief. P&O know exactly what they want to achieve, but they have no idea how to do it effectively. Together we need to take on board their aspirations and consider the best possible way to target these two specific markets.