What We Do
Even though it might not look like it, here’s a brief list of the services we can offer you and your business and the projects we undertake spanning marketing consultancy; graphic design and branding (including print, logos and websites); film and video production; and advertising (hover over icons for details or click a case study to read more):
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Marketing and research consultancy
- Marketing strategy
- Communications planning
- Marketing support and implementation
- Marketing secondments
- Research and focus groups
- Initial set-up or restructure of marketing team
- Key message development
Case Studies
Bringing everything into focus for a new IT strategy... read more
Our client is a global blue chip professional services company who approached us to carry out an internal research project which would be used to inform a major IT roll-out within the organisation. Before committing to a new IT hardware strategy they were keen to understand more about users’ working patterns, their perceptions of the current IT offering and how they felt that IT could help them do their jobs better. We carried out a series of focus groups across the UK to investigate these areas and assess whether the new hardware strategy would be appropriate. We also interviewed a number of the company’s senior executives to ensure they were involved in the process and given an opportunity to provide feedback.
Having completed the qualitative part of the project we were also asked to design a questionnaire which was used to assess whether the findings in the focus groups matched the company as a whole. Having analysed the findings we were able to confirm that this was the case as well as identifying a number of other business issues around IT that were hitherto unknown.
Ensuring consistent communication within the public sector... read more
Our client is a large public sector organisation based in Scotland. We were approached to help them to develop a marketing strategy for the organisation. With funding cuts within the public sector a constant and on-going threat, it was important that the organisation had a marketing strategy that would enable consistent communication with all audiences as well as providing a full understanding of levels of awareness, perception and attitudes to allow an on-going evaluation of marketing and communications activity.
Previous marketing activity had been largely tactical and didn’t underpin the organisation’s corporate strategy but our strategy identified the internal and external audiences, provided a key message platform and an outline for all marketing activity for the next 3-5 years. This was all aligned to the organisation’s corporate objectives and development areas.
Having done extensive internal stakeholder research to inform the strategy we also identified a number of organisational issues that would prevent the successful implementation of a new cross-organisation marketing strategy. As a result we were also asked to work with the existing marketing team to improve the systems, processes and skill levels which eventually culminated in a marketing function restructure; for which we prepared new governance, scope, processes, roles and responsibilities.
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Image and brand enhancement
- Naming
- Brand identity
- Brand guidelines
- Image strategy
- Design collateral
- Motion graphics
- Employer branding and recruitment advertising
Case Studies
Maximizing sales through brand coherency... read more
Our client is a global technology solutions provider across multiple commercial sectors. The main challenge is to ensure that it successfully engages customers across multiple cultures and languages. The firm produces a wealth of corporate and sales material every year as it develops and launches new technology. Every aspect of this material must be considered from the perspective of the global customer base; from product names, to images, tone of voice and key messages.
We have worked closely with the firm in developing their marketing communication materials to maximise consistency and engagement.
We have developed many names for new products which involved undertaking extensive research with existing customers so that proposals were not only inspiring but communicated a sense of the key product benefits in spite of cultural and language differences.
In conjunction, we have also developed extensive sales propositions to engage and motivate sales teams. High level messaging and image strategies, which sometimes meant working with photographers in numerous locations around the world, have helped ensure that sales teams are consistent in their approach to prospective customers. In each case, our creation of a unified suite of sales tools and product literature in multiple languages has led to increased interest from customers thanks to the most relevant and effective benefits being promoted.
We have also produced high quality motion graphic animated videos to highlight developments and individual components within our client’s technology when real-time demonstrations aren’t possible. High quality and visually arresting, our animations have brought these details to life. They are also easily adaptable to work in multiple global markets.
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Product launch and demand creation
- Product literature design
- Language versions of artworks for global markets
- Direct marketing
- Advertising (on and off-line)
- Copywriting
- Film and animations
Case Studies
Driving sales globally through film, DM and product literature... read more
For many companies operating at a global level it can be a huge challenge to maintain a consistent and exciting marketing presence while keeping the sales teams motivated and invigorated. Our client provides technology solutions and services to the financial services sector on a global scale. This sector has traditionally been characterised by marketing that focuses on product features rather than value and benefit which often leads to bland marketing solutions that struggle to differentiate and get the attention of busy C level executives.
We have worked with the firm since 2006, developing creative solutions that focus on the benefits to the firm’s customers; financial institutions and their customers. This has involved developing a range of high impact launch films and bespoke direct marketing solutions.
Direct marketing solutions have been personalised, relevant and designed to get past the “gatekeeper”, the PA to the CEO or CTO, which is an on-going challenge to our client. They have also focused on the business and consumer benefits of the solution. The firm has had great success in establishing new connections using this method and on one particular project secured a number of sales leads which eventually led to three new contracts.
The launch films we have developed for the firm have been high impact with broadcast quality production values. Most companies in this sector produce fairly poor quality sales support films which are essentially product specification brought to life on film. On the other hand we have applied the approach we would use in creating TV advertising; creating emotion, focusing on the benefits rather than features and ultimately producing a more memorable and higher impact film. Our films have received great feedback from our client and its customers with one film receiving a standing ovation when it was launched at a conference.
We have also developed extensive product literature suites in multiple languages to support the sales process globally. This includes developing case studies following in-depth interviews with the firm’s clients; and provision of technical copywriting services.
Targeting messaging to secure action from IFAs... read more
Our client is one of the UK’s leading providers of life, critical illness, income protection and unemployment cover. They approached us to develop a campaign to promote their wealth preservation planning products.
The campaign required a combination of direct marketing and press/online advertising to engage wealth managers/IFAs, a target group often inundated with product literature. So stand out and impact were essential. To maximize effectiveness, we devised a contact strategy, enabling the firm to segment its database of intermediaries based on previous levels of engagement with the company as well as by client profile (based on those intermediaries with a greater likelihood of working with high net worth individuals). This resulted in the use of a combination of email, traditional direct marketing and higher value, more bespoke direct marketing to communicate to individual intermediaries.
Channels, and level of investment, were selected based on the wealth manager’s likelihood to sell the products. Contacts who had previously sold the products and who deal with high net worth clients were sent the more bespoke, personalised DM pieces. While other contacts were sent email and traditional, printed DM packs.
As well as creating demand for the products through direct communication, it was also vital for our client to reach out to a new audience of intermediaries by raising awareness of the wealth preservation products. To achieve this, press and online advertising was used more broadly in the market, increasing presence as well as serving to reinforce the messages and prompt action from those receiving the direct communications.
The media schedule consisted of a range of financial titles and web portals aimed at IFAs generally as well as more specialist titles/sites which targeted intermediaries with high net worth clients.
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Digital communications
- Strategy
- Design, usability and accessibility
- Web development and build
- Content Management Systems
- Search engine optimisation
- Digital and viral marketing
- Social media
Case Studies
Delivering the ultimate platform for real-time feedback... read more
Our client, a technology hardware manufacturer, approached us for help in engaging their most important customers who collectively form an advisory board for the company. The firm was running an event where a number of new products would be showcased and wished to create an innovative platform with which to gather feedback from the advisory board. This was done through the creation of iPad applications which were downloaded to an iPad for each member of the advisory board. They could then submit their feedback directly in real time and this was then presented back to the advisory board at the culmination of the event.
To support this we also created a micro site as a forum to help engage with the members of the advisory board on an on-going basis. This password protected micro site provides updates on new product developments, news and access to resources as well as a confidential forum for discussion and debate between our client and the members of the board. It has proved to be an excellent platform for engaging and building relationships with these very senior individuals. The creation of an on-line community for discussion, debate and information sharing enables them to interact with their peers without feeling that they are in a sales situation.
Looking for something that’s not on the list? (Which would be quite a feat.) Then please get in touch. And we’ll see how we can help you.
