The Charm Offensive Facebook Group was started by Jon Buchan a little over a year ago with the aim of educating its members on the art of developing creative and entertaining lead generation and marketing campaigns. Since then its membership has grown to almost ten thousand members. The subscription only zine accompanies the group giving subscribers access to exclusive content.
Jon already had a logotype in place so a strong yet sympathetic typographic palette was developed for the zine. His knowledge of both the creative and commercial sides of the industry and its history inspired the designer to source illustrative imagery from CSA Images.
Each issue features an in depth breakdown. Due to the length of these pieces great care was given to the typography and copy fitting so that it was both highly legible and airy. We wanted readers to be able to refer to this section time and again without feeling like it was hard work to do so.
Due to it being a short run, the zine was beautifully digitally printed and perfect bound. Print buying was undertaken by the designer.
An on-brand yet individual style was created for each Guest Article.
A large part of what makes Jon’s techniques stand out is the way he injects humanity into his campaigns and his writing through the use of a number devices like humour. The designer wanted to pick up on this visually so relevant but very much tongue in cheek photography was used throughout.
As the zine has progressed the use of photography has evolved to maintain a sense of interest and keep the design fresh, yet still on-brand. Shown is Issue 4 - The Guest Issue.