Back in the Nineties one of the big issues debated in
marketing circles in Ireland was the number of design projects which
were being lost by local agencies to the branding shops in the UK. A
new breed of better qualified and fastidious marketing manager in
Ireland knew what was available near and far to help give their brand
more visual appeal.

Brickbats were fired at C&C for going to London to have a new
Ballygowan bottle design. Mark Mortell, the brand's marketing director
at the time, defended the decision by saying that the specialist skills
needed were not available in Ireland. Bank of Ireland and Aer Lingus
were also slammed for awarding major branding projects to UK shops.

The Vard Partnership (TVP), run by Stephen Vard, prides itself on
its pack designs. To show things have moved on from the bad old
Nineties, among the plethora of branded packs in the agency's meeting
room are the Club Energise bottles for C&C. Vard says the design
“captures the essence of the brand”, proof the skill set is now in
Ireland.

Vard went to New York in 1987 to work in packaging design with
Deskey Associates and his clients included Procter & Gamble. One of
the reasons he returned to Dublin in 1991 was to try and repatriate
some projects being lost to the UK. Within a few weeks of setting up
TVP, Vard had signed up P&G rival, Unilever.

The relationship with Unilever obviously worked out well because
eight years later Vard was invited to pitch with agencies from the UK,
France, Italy and Germany for the Solero ice cream brand. Solero
originated with Wall's in the UK and was operating in a small number of
markets. The new design was rolled out in 48 markets across four
continents.

“Conflicts may prompt some companies to go to the UK. Clients like
Baileys compete in many international markets and so they may turn to
design agencies elsewhere,” Vard said. “But there's a real value in
using local talent. As well as knowing the market, logistics is a
factor too. Pretty images is not the issue, it's about creative
intelligence.

“Irish companies need good advice from local designers. We're
catching up on overseas and there's been a lot of change for the
better. We were involved in developing the Energise bottle from
scratch, building a brand property for C&C and getting the right
fit. We came up with concepts which C&C robustly tested.”

Vard points to the work they have done for Jacob's Club Milk. As one
of the many Irish brands snapped up by Michael Carey's Jacob
Fruitfield, TVP was asked to create a new look and help to revive the
snack's fortunes. While some Irish brands may be seen as “small fish”
by UK agencies, they provide valued fees for Irish designers.

Food in Ireland is worth over €16 billion a year and Vard believes
that innovation is crucial for brands. New product development (NPD) is
the lifeblood for the future. After signing a deal with the Big Idea
Group in the UK, WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell said innovation and
branding remains the prime source of client growth.

For NPD to really take off in Ireland, more must be done to promote
its value in improving a brand's performance and earning stronger sales
results. With lead times shrinking, both FMCG marketers and their
agencies are coming under more pressure. With Energise, TVP had 18
weeks from early talks to getting the product on shelves.

Within the first eight weeks of Energise being on the market,
C&C reported one million unit sales. Glanbia projects an eight per
cent growth rate which can be directly attributable to NPD. Other
packaging work noticeable in the TVP meeting room is for clients like
Adare Group, Batchelors, Cadbury's, Dairygold and Irish Distillers.

To boost new business, Vard hired Mark O'Doherty as the agency's
client services director last year. O'Doherty has both client and
agency experience having worked with Baileys and Ogilvy. At O&M,
his clients included Kerry Foods, Ford, GlaxoSmithKline, Axa Insurance,
the Health Promotion Unit and Kraft.

O'Doherty is keen to sit in on the focus groups which clients
orchestrate. By listening closely he gets to hear what consumers have
to say and crucially what they fail to say. The intelligence gathered
goes some way to helping with the next stage of design. He is under no
illusions that packaging research can be a tricky exercise.

TVP is neither a member of ICAD nor the Graphic Design Business
Association (GDBA) and when asked the reason why, Vard simply replies
“no comment”. Ditto agency turnover. But Vard is adamant that NPD needs
a stronger voice in Ireland, so people in marketing might expect to
hear more from him on that front in the future.