Sway is a journal dedicated to helping you make your brand the best it can be. We create it to showcase and share our agency knowledge, expertise and insights in branding, graphic design, marketing, advertising and communications. Get the latest insights and updates here!
Latest articles
18/04/2024
The art & science of typeface selection
BY Taylor Toth
The right typeface is an integral part of your brand’s visual language. It influences how your brand is perceived and remembered. Selecting a typeface is an important decision—and, in addition to your choice of style, you must also account for technical requirements, function and cost.
29/01/2024
TS&SS: 02
BY Neeti Vijaykumar & Sam Croll
A semi-annual survey of salient sundries and statistics supporting scalable, saleable strategies for small- to super-sized shops, syndicates and service-providers
10/08/2023
Unlock the power of your key messages
BY Mike Barber
When you’re building a brand, your visual identity can only communicate so much. You’ll also need to put pen to paper and tell your customers what makes you worth their time and money. You'll need key messages.
11/07/2023
Beware the vampire effect in advertising
BY Mike Barber
When everybody else relies on celebrity endorsements, you’ll need to choose a different tactic to stand out.
07/07/2023
TS&SS: 01
BY Neeti Vijaykumar & Sam Croll
A semi-annual survey of salient sundries and statistics supporting scalable, saleable strategies for small- to super-sized shops, syndicates and service-providers
02/05/2023
Thinking of rebranding?
BY Carey George
Knowing what to do to prepare for a rebrand will make the initiative go a LOT more smoothly. From timings to budget to preparing the creative brief, here are 4 tips that will save you hassles and headaches.
20/04/2023
B2B communications don’t have to all sound the same
BY Mike Barber
There’s no shame in having a B2B brand voice that’s similar to that of your competitors. But that’s no excuse for boring writing.
04/04/2023
9 ways to leverage the power of GA4
BY Neeti Vijaykumar
As of July 2023, Google Analytics 4 replaces Universal Analytics. Even after you’ve migrated your website analytics, there’s a lot to know about this powerful upgrade, which now includes AI, machine learning and improved data protection.
24/01/2023
The case against capitalizing
BY Mike Barber
Bigger isn't always better when making your writing stand out.
25/11/2022
The new perspective
BY Sue McCluskey
How vertical video went from an embarrassment to the norm
25/05/2022
5 (free) ways to tighten up your brand communication
BY Sam Croll
Sales tactics are fine, but wouldn’t it be great to have your customers seek you out for a change?
20/04/2022
What a (not-so) long, strange trip it’s been
BY Mike Barber
Since Canada legalized cannabis in 2018, the ups and downs of marijuana marketing is starting to settle down into a clearer path forward for brands.
19/01/2022
To build or to code? That's the website question.
BY Carey George and Kristin Maling
Squarespace, Wix and Shopify have all grown up—and they’re taking over. That’s a good thing.
17/11/2021
What’s the secret behind a good logo?
BY Carey George
Logos are everywhere, but how well do we really understand them?
15/06/2021
Bring your brand online (without breaking the bank)
BY Mike Barber
Start thinking beyond just making your goods or services available online.
01/05/2021
Measure smarter, not harder
BY Neeti Vijaykumar
Part two of a two-part series on that most elusive of questions: “I know my company needs to be on social media, but is it worth it?”
23/11/2020
Seven rules of influencer marketing
BY Mike Kanert
Step aside, celebrity endorsement, and make way for influencer marketing.
30/10/2020
So, you’ve decided to join #Twitter
BY Mike Barber
It’s 2020, and everyone is on Twitter.
22/10/2020
If you build it, will they still come?
BY Mike Barber
Street construction can hamper pedestrian traffic to small businesses. Here are a few tips to survive the downturn.
10/08/2020
Woke? Or joke?
BY Mike Barber
Customers increasingly expect brands to stand up for causes—just make sure you don’t overstate your case.
19/05/2020
Spend smarter, not harder
BY Neeti Vijaykumar
Measuring return on investment for your social media spend
19/04/2018
Light up your cannabis brand
BY Mike Kanert
As legal green settles over Canada, how will pot producers blow through the branding haze?
28/03/2018
Meme marketing
BY Dylan Schoenmakers
When brands adopt the internet’s native tongue
27/02/2018
Sequels, spinoffs and slip-ups
BY Carsten Knox
Brand extensions—a help or a hindrance?
02/02/2018
4 lessons marketers can learn from the best (and worst) Super Bowl ads
BY Erinn Steringa
Even if you’re not shelling out for a spot in the big game, there’s still plenty to learn from the brands who do
25/01/2018
From Acapulco to Zurich
BY Mike Barber
For cities of all sizes, branding offers all kinds of opportunities—and plenty of challenges
11/01/2018
Stand down, grammar police
BY Lisa Svadjian
Some of the rules that govern your writing are just plain fake
11/01/2018
Should long URLs ever have capital letters?
BY Sue McCluskey
shouldlongurlseverhavecapitalletters.com
22/12/2017
The catastrophe that wasn’t
BY Carsten Knox
Too big to fail? When massive PR failures extend to an entire industry, nobody loses for long.
21/12/2017
Whatever you call it, it’s home
BY Mike Barber
Why we’re not celebrating Tuponia’s 150th
20/12/2017
Editorial: The truth, the post-truth and nothing but the truth
BY Sue McCluskey
It's no surprise that “fake news” was Collins Dictionary's 2017 Word of the Year. Less expected? The role marketing technologies have played in its rise.
15/11/2017
Fear and branding on the campaign trail
BY Carey George
8 marketing rules shared between the Obama and Trump presidential campaigns
15/11/2017
Upping the game
BY Mike Barber
The NBA’s branding efforts are in a league of their own
20/09/2016
Book review: Visual Hammer
BY Dylan Schoenmakers
Laura Ries explains why great taglines need great visuals, too.
20/09/2016
Branding brew-ha-ha
BY Mike Barber
With craft beer, authenticity is everything. So why does Big Beer keep buying up smaller brands?
06/09/2016
Book review: Battlecry
BY Mike Barber
Thoughts on what makes an effective slogan from author Laura Ries.
23/08/2016
#effortless or #elaborate?
BY Carey George
The Instagram look is the style du jour, but this interview with photographer Sandy Nicholson reminds us it's not as easy as it looks.
23/08/2016
In case you missed it
BY Goods & Services
Uber fails, The Met flails, the World’s Most Interesting Man takes sail, Fashion Santa derails and more from the branding world.
09/08/2016
The name is the game
BY Sue McCluskey
Naming a brand can be as emotional as naming a child—so here are some tips to help you stay objective through the process.
09/08/2016
Branding chops
BY Megan Power
A case study of how a bold concept and provocative branding have made a splash in a saturated category.
26/07/2016
Staying “flawsome”
BY Megan Power
An apology campaign can enhance your brand’s image—but like a personal apology, it only works if you don’t mess it up.
16/07/2016
Stranger danger
BY Jeff Denham
As trolls become an actual liability for online publishers, we say goodbye (and good riddance!) to anonymous comments.
12/07/2016
Flying colours
BY Carey George
Advice on how to make colour choices less subjective—and more visually powerful—in your brand arsenal.
07/07/2016
Message from the editor
BY Sue McCluskey
A reminder that history repeats itself as technologies change, from Luddites to Uber.
26/11/2015
Print pointers: Digital vs. offset?
BY Derek Moxon
Advancements in printing technology mean more and more options are becoming available to your business.
10/11/2015
Protect your site, analytics from spam bots
BY Jeff Denham
Notice a spike in your website traffic lately? Watch out! It could be the latest spam tactic.
10/06/2015
Time’s up, USP
BY Carey George
The “unique selling proposition” has outlived its usefulness. Give it a gold watch and show it the door.
10/06/2015
Hey, meatball
BY Carey George
What a small, super-specialized restaurant can teach us about positioning.
10/06/2015
Digital roundup
BY Goods & Services
A few digital odds and ends, from iPhone versus Android to mobile versus desktop. Plus, Yahoo moves in on Mozilla’s breakup with Google.
01/06/2015
Clickbait
BY Lisa Svadjian
Attention-seeking headlines: effective marketing tool, or annoying copywriting gimmick?
01/06/2015
The rules of engagement
BY Sue McCluskey & Carey George
Are your employees owners, renters or squatters? Internal branding can help you get them to take more ownership.
18/05/2015
Binge-worthy
BY Sue McCluskey
Streaming services are changing the way we relate to television. Will the 22- or 47-minute episode survive?
18/05/2015
Playing the stock market
BY Conan Tobias & Carey George
Think you can’t afford to use custom photography? The truth is, in some industries, you can’t afford not to.
04/05/2015
Is anyone listening?
BY Sue McCluskey
Stop telling consumers everything about your story, and start telling them how you fit into their story.
04/05/2015
Super content
BY Rachel Kenworthy
Now that we’re living in the golden age of branded content, it’s time to rethink the role of the copy writer.
04/05/2015
Book review: Brand New
BY Lisa Svadjian
Brand master Wally Olins offers his final advice, in a book that should see us well into the future.
20/04/2015
Messages from the editor & publisher
BY Sue McCluskey & Carey George
An introduction to Sway, a preview of this issue, and the reasons why we launched this journal.
20/04/2015
Book review: Think Like a Freak
BY Rachel Kenworthy
Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner tell you how to think better by letting go of your fear of being wrong.
20/04/2015
Branding with vulgarity
BY Lisa Svadjian
If you’re looking to introduce vulgarity to your branding—whether for humour or shock value, or both—handle it with care.