Patelco, one of the country’s largest credit unions and a long time client of ours, celebrated their SF branch grand re-opening last Wednesday and an early morning line of 100+ people eagerly waited to get a look at the brand new interior. Or maybe they were there to collect the $75 being awarded to the first 75 people through the doors. This was just one of the offers we cooked up this summer to promote the branch and its move.

At the end of July, Patelco closed their current SF main branch doors and moved on up the street to 124 Second. With this new branch location opening just 75 yards away from the old, the goal was to make existing members aware of the move, so daily banking routines weren’t disrupted, as well as bring in potential members.

In July, we targeted existing members with a direct mail flyer notifying them of the branch move and promoting the “First 75 in, take $75 out” offer with a QR code. Upon scanning the code, members were taken to the sitelet we developed earlier in the year for the Patelco Pays Your Way campaign. And a pop up prompted visitors to enter their information to receive a voucher and chance to win the $75. Additionally, visitors had the opportunity to take a look around and learn how Patelco celebrated their anniversary by giving back to the community.

We also created a series of bold, eye-catching posters for the new branch windows directing anyone passing by to visit the site. All patelcopays.org visitors during the promotional period, not just current members, were eligible to redeem the voucher.

For international brands it can be a challenge to introduce themselves to new and unfamiliar markets. A new market often demands a new perspective on the brand – a new take on what is being offered or how it is being presented, based on what people respond to in that particular region.

Take Bticino – an extremely large Italian manufacturer of high-end light switches, wall plates and other electrical device peripherals – as an example. They contacted Iron in 2009, as they began the process of introducing their products to the US market. Given the brand’s prominence in Europe, the company had plenty of experience framing its message of sophistication in different languages – but where the company was struggling was translating their VISUAL language. While European countries can often share an aesthetic sensibility, the US is isolated from that cultural network. In short, to customers in the US, Bticino’s marketing materials seemed strange rather than sophisticated.

Over the course of a year, we set about translating Bticino’s message of sophistication both literally and visually, redesigning the company’s website, brochure, catalog, print ads and every other consumer touch point (see a small sample of our work below). With a cohesive marketing arsenal, the company has been able to expand target market saturation from San Francisco to Los Angeles and is in the planning stages of opening an office in New York. We’re excited about how the work turned out and are looking forward to our next international challenge!

Still, we’re occasionally asked to do pro bono work. While the prospect of helping a good cause is often compelling, experience has taught us that doing free work can often end up costing the client in ways they might not have imagined. In fact we just started working with a new organization who were so frustrated with the lack of attention and shifting timelines they were getting from their pro bono resource, they were happy to find funding to get the job done right and on time. Without a little “skin in the game” clients can also become complacent about the true value of the services they are receiving and ultimately the true value of their brand.

If you are considering trying to get some design work for free, simply ask yourself if you can afford to have your work bumped when a paying client comes along. Long lead times can mitigate the risk, but investing in your brand might be a better long term bet.