“CLIENTS switch off if you are showing them five or six projects that you’ve done in the past. They think ‘So what?’ What we’ve found is if you can create a presentation around the needs of a particular business then that’s a lot better. But you should have some idea of their problems. You have to sell them the benefits of your service and show the strategic advantage to their business.”

Martin Roach, founder of multi-discipline information design consultancy Epitype

“IT GOES without saying that if you're serious about working in the digital realm it's very important that you have a good looking and interesting web site. It doesn't necessarily need to be huge, and less is more in many cases, but it should definitely give visitors a flavour of the kind of work you do, and to some extent, the kind of people you are.

“Your web site should generate enough interest for potential clients and employers to pick up the phone and speak to you, or at least send you an email and invite you in for a coffee.”

Nick Welsh. Mono Industries

“WE TYPICALLY leave a bottle of our branded chili sauce behind with the client when we do a pitch or presentation. It's called a ‘lasting brand contact’. We hope that it sticks around, even if we lose out on the day. We know of quite a few people that still have one knocking around on their desks. 

“There’s a second element, a toilet roll with a graphic wrap, that we tend to dispatch a couple of days later. This relates to our account management, and carries the message ‘If you think our creativity is hot, try our service for comfort and support.’ This is very typical of the Firedog language of not taking oneself too seriously, and communicates our values quite well. We find it gives the potential client an insight to how we think.

“Then there’s our fake poo mailer. This one’s a bit more risky, and we created it primarily for local business and PR. The overall message is ‘We are on your doorstep.’

‘We believe we can afford to take the piss in this regard, as the mailer is a brand touch-point and is memorable. Besides, every businesses expects design agencies to be full of shit, so I guess this just works on that principle.”

Clifford Boobyer, creative director of branding agency,

Firedog

“EMAIL broadcasts are a great way to keep clients up to date with news and new services that you are offering. It’s important not to bombard clients, so we tend to broadcast them every quarter, creating a seasonal flavour that fits our visual identity, plus we look to add a fun element.

“We run competitions that also entice the audience to browse our website.

For instance, in our last email broadcast we ran a 'Going Bonkers over

Conkers' competition, in which we hid a conker somewhere on the site. Clients had to search our website to find it and discover the secret code written on it.

“Three winners received an iPod. It was great fun, and our clients loved the idea of it, but best of fall or us, it drove a lot of traffic to the website.”

Martin Hadfield, creative director, Carbon Creative

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