Advertising That Pays For Itself

Melbourne designer uses his ad budget to publish a design guidebook.

This creative approach to promotion might work for regular collaborative community-small business events too…what do you think?

Instead of buying expensive magazine advertising, leading Melbourne industrial designer, Paul Charlwood – designer of the Commonwealth Games baton – wanted to put something back into his local design industry.

So for an outlay eqivalent to a few big magazine ads (plus sponsorship from the Victorian Government and a couple of bigger companies) he and a couple other designers created and published the Melbourne Design Guide, a quality paperback that you about:

• cutting edge architecture
• the latest design talent
• where to buy their designer ‘stuff’
• where they drink and dine.

Supporting companies
Hafele Pty Ltd
Lab 3000
Finsbury Green Printing
Spicers Paper.

Rules of inclusion to the guidebook were easy. If you’re good at what you do, you’re in. Unlike most local guides, none of the businesses featured paid for inclusion, neither did they know they were to be included.

We recently spoke to a bar owner who was equally mystified and thrilled to be featured in the guide.

The guidebook’s design, layout, production and writing was taken care of Paul’s friends, Viviane Stappmanns and Ewan McEoin who had just started their own publishing studio, and done without much sweat in only a couple of months, leaving Paul to run his industrial design company without interruption.

The $30 guide has become very popular. Booksellers can’t get enough of it and it’s about to go into another printing.

They may even profit!

And of course, Paul and his friends, who helped make the guide ‘happen’ – feature prominently with full-page features in the guide.