Category Archives: Creative News

Firm celebrates 20th anniversary – with nearly a 50 per cent increase in turnover

AN online web design and marketing company in Bristol is celebrating its 20th anniversary – with nearly a 50 per cent increase of turnover in the last quarter.

GWS Media, in Lilymead Avenue, has credited the upturn to a greater desire for a strong online presence since the coronavirus outbreak.

But founder David Graves said they have experienced challenges and setbacks along the way.

The former Cambridge University graduate said: “We had been expecting business to grind to a halt.

“But there’s been a strong uptake of people looking to have a wider reach and stay in touch with existing customers more effectively.

“With people now spending more time online – be it work, social activities or shopping – it’s important to provide an effective online business model.”

Multilingual sites

He said firms were increasingly keen to have a global reach and multilingual sites, as location becomes less relevant.

David, who began work as a programmer over 20 years ago, said: “People are now looking further afield for customers, but are also aware of potential issues with a global supply chain.

“Work can often be carried out remotely, which allows greater flexibility in terms of where you source your workforce and where your customers are based.”

GWS Media was set up in 2000 by David and he was joined by his father, Richard, who now works as the financial director.

David’s brother, Philip, joined the team four years ago, as a copywriter and marketer. Philip, who is himself multilingual, had previously run his own e-commerce business and a community website.

The trio worked on computer programming and compiled a series of users’ guides for early home computers over 30 years ago.

Today the firm specialise in multilingual sites and also heads GWS Robotics, which customises humanoid robots to be part of a company’s marketing and customer service.

They are supported by a skilled team, with expertise in areas such as design, coding and marketing.

Philip, a published author who studied mathematics and economics in Sweden, said: “Multilingual sites help you reach overseas markets and allow you to connect more readily with native speakers of other languages.”

Home improvement and memberships

GWS Media has also seen a strong increase in demand from the home improvement sector as people look to improve their homes after lockdown.

David, the creative director at the firm, said: “Since COVID-19, people want to make their homes more compatible with homeworking as well as nicer places to live.

“They may also have to adapt their home space to accommodate the different needs of working and family life.”

Organisations that rely on membership have also been keen to promote value online to customers.

David, who once worked as a journalist for Extel Financial in London, said: “Membership businesses want to make sure there is an obvious value to being a member so people continue to renew their subscription even in these challenging times.

“This involves a website with exciting and interactive features, such as the ability to connect and communicate with other members and advertise their services to fellow professionals.”

Challenges

GWS Media has grown despite the Dotcom bubble bursting in 2000, the credit crunch of 2009, and now the coronavirus crisis.

David said they had learned lessons, such as keeping costs down and managing cashflow.

He said: “We probably tried to run before we could walk when we first started out. We moved into office premises, took on staff and borrowed from our personal savings as many people do when they set up a new business.

“We now take a more cautious approach. It pays to be optimistic but you also have to prepare for hard times, and diversify so you don’t end up being too dependent on one client or on one sector.

“It’s crucial to keep costs down during a recession and see where cuts can be made without harming the business.”

He said one cut which could be damaging, but was often the first to be made, was in marketing. He said: “This can have a major negative impact on a company’s prospects when it emerges from a recession.”

Lessons

David said adapting, seeking opportunities and looking after existing clients are key to surviving during difficult times.

He said: “It helps to look at where there is demand for your products and services, and see how existing offers can be adapted to make it easier to buy from you.”

“For example, if you run a restaurant or hairdresser salon, can you make the booking and payment more straight-forward with a simple online system, and take deposits to help to avoid cancellations?

“Most people are uncomfortable with change. But it’s important to recognise opportunities and threats, and to be ready to change tack quickly.”

While the lack of face-to-face contact is a challenge, David believes it is important to embrace technology and maintain contact with staff, clients and a business network.

He said: “While it’s nice to take on new clients and make new contacts, it’s vital to maintain your current network and retain your client base.

“Regular communication and high standards of service help you to avoid a revolving door, where you lose as many existing customers as you gain new ones. We have found that our network and loyal customers have brought in business during trying times.

“It’s also important to keep in touch with your team and to help them adapt to the new ways of working forced on us by COVID-19, and make sure they are not cut off from the expertise and knowledge of others in the company.”

Choose your clients

David believes selecting clients and team members who fit your values helps business to run more smoothly.

He said: “You create the environment you want to work in. In my experience, people tend to start as they mean to go on, and it helps to be on the same page from the start.

“Younger or struggling businesses may not think they have the luxury to choose, but too much time spent with clients whose values are incompatible with yours, or with individuals who don’t fit into your team, can sap your energy, erode your enthusiasm for the business and lead to missed opportunities elsewhere.

“Relationships where there is mutual trust and respect are better for everyone. So, if you feel you are not being treated well, it’s better to do something about it than simply hope things will change.”

Creative Director awarded ‘Oxfordshire Individual Hero’ at Thames Valley Hero Awards for moving NHS Tribute Video

The team at RAW Pictures, leading video production agency in Oxford, is delighted to announce that its creative director Will Dawson has been awarded the ‘Oxfordshire Individual Hero’ award. This recognition comes from The Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Hero Awards for his powerful and emotive short film which captured the behind-the-scenes events of workers on the frontline.

The Thames Valley business community came together to help support and celebrate the individuals from across the region who had worked, helped and supported their own communities during the coronavirus pandemic in its first Hero Awards virtual ceremony.

The ceremony was hosted by the first UK voice of Siri, Jon Briggs, who was joined by parody singer Blobbie Williams as he entertained nominees and entrants with hits such as ‘Let me Entertain you’ and ‘Angels’.

The short film, which was described as an ‘amazing and selfless project that caused a great impact’ captured the nation’s attention earlier on this year and raised £1,020 for Winston’s Wish; a charity that supports the families of emergency service workers who have lost loved ones on the frontline.

Will Dawson, creative director at RAW Pictures said: “I was really keen to raise awareness of what our NHS and service workers were doing to keep our lives safe during lockdown at the very start in March. I wanted to create a very real and deep response through the video to help make people stop and think more about their actions”.
He added that: “I want to congratulate all of the winners who took part in the first Thames Valley Hero Awards and for their incredible contribution and hard work in helping create a better place for their community in times of need. These awards champion the unsung heroes and amplify the amazing work that is helping bring our communities closer together. I’m proud and moved to receive this recognition, which is testament to the hard work our video production agency put in to making shorts that have a human element and really tell a story.”

Winners from the Thames Valley Hero Awards will automatically be entered into the UK Business Heroes – Celebrating Businesses One Story at a Time; an initiative being run by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) throughout October, for further recognition on a national scale.

Will Dawson’s tribute video to the NHS can be found here: https://www.rawpictures.co.uk/portfolio

 

Splendid UNLIMITED sees raft of new client wins

Agency goes from strength-to-strength with two new business wins, hiring immersive technology industry heavyweight Dave Black to Business Development Director, and three new strategic partnerships.

Award-winning design & development agency Splendid UNLIMITED, has been appointed as the digital transformation partner for Gamesys and digital product strategy & innovation partner for Latimer Homes.

With a Human Understanding approach, Splendid UNLIMITED has been tasked with identifying new ways in which Gamesys can maximise business efficiency in their product design & development process – finding new innovative ways to deliver high-quality digital products at pace, across their brand portfolios.

For Latimer Homes, Splendid UNLIMITED will develop a new digital experience strategy that will inform the direction of their new website and future digital innovations within the housing market.

Dave Black joins as Business Development Director to drive new client acquisitions and awareness of pioneering work across a range of sectors. Dave has a strong heritage in Emerging and Immersive Technologies having worked for three of the most widely recognised leaders in AR (blippar), VR (Rewind) and Spatial Audio (Mixed Immersion). It is his methodology, application and passion for new business development, that has seen him work with many global brands such as Adidas, Tesco, Procter & Gamble, Wrigleys, Dominos, Warner Bros, Nissan and Renault, across multiple products and solution sets.

Splendid UNLIMITED has partnered with three new leading technology platforms BigCommerce, Acquia and Contentful give access to cutting-edge capabilities in eCommerce, and headless content management (CMS) delivery.

Paul Bishop, Digital Division at UNLIMITED said: “Firstly, we are delighted to be working with Gamesys and Latimer Homes – two extremely dynamic brands with enormous opportunities in their markets. Secondly, I’m thrilled Dave is joining us – with his wealth of experience we will ensure we continue to unlock new ways to grow for our clients. Thirdly, working with BigCommerce, Acquia and Contentful as partners, will further strengthen our offering and deepen our delivery capabilities – I’m looking forward to seeing the impactful work we will deliver for clients.”

Announced earlier this month was John Cunningham, UNLIMITED’s newly appointed Chief Technology Officer. Cunningham will work closely with UNLIMITED’s digital division led by Paul Bishop and represented by Splendid UNLIMITED.

Bristol-based healthcare agency, Create Health, celebrates new strategy director and finance lead

Strategic and creative healthcare agency, Create Health, whose creative work includes global and national campaigns for big healthcare brands such as Thermo Fisher Scientific, ConvaTec, BD and HOYA, has added two new staff members to its growing team. Polly Buckland joins as Strategy Director and Ollie Davies joins as Finance Manager.

Polly Buckland brings a wealth of experience to the role, having worked across a wide range of sectors and clients. Previous roles include strategic partner at LIDA/M&C Saatchi.

Buckland comments, “I joined Create because I think the world of Healthcare is fascinating and at a real turning point right now. The way we think about and manage our health is radically changing, and along with that comes changes in the ways we interact with and connect with healthcare professionals. So the need for more creative and innovative solutions to support and engage healthcare professionals and support and guide patients and consumers has never been greater.”

Ollie Davies joins the Create Health team after contracting for various creative companies over the past couple of years throughout Bristol, including the recently acquired McCann Synergy (formerly Synergy Creative). Prior to this he spent a year living in NZ, spending time working as a management accountant for Special Group (Campaign Creative Agency of the year, 2020). In the years leading up to his travels, he worked as assistant FC for a music management and events company, alongside co-running 2 successful club nights over a 7 year period.

Davies added, “I am excited to be part of the Create family; to be involved in a creative healthcare agency producing projects and campaigns that I can be passionate about, knowing that they’re making a difference to people’s lives.”

Ed Hudson, managing director, commented: “We are very pleased to be in a position to grow the team at Create Health. Ollie and Polly both demonstrate a true passion for healthcare communication as well as a solid understanding of this pivotal time within our industry.”

These appointments represent success for Create Health as its expansion plan continues following the management buy-out in March.

To learn more visit: https://createhealth.com/

LAB Group’s VERJ appoints Sabrina Duda as Head of User Experience as it builds team of best-in-class experts

VERJ, LAB Group’s behavioural science specialist agency, has appointed Sabrina Duda to the newly created role of Head of User Experience following its launch last month.

Duda joins from global digital agency Valtech, where she was Senior User Experience Consultant working on client’s projects including the NHS.

In her new role at VERJ, Duda will lead the agency’s user experience offering, overseeing design, delivery and innovation and creating a bridge between research and creative implementation of insights. She will also facilitate knowledge sharing throughout LAB Group, delivering behavioural research findings to its creatives and content creators.

Duda has more than 20 years’ experience in UX roles, with particular expertise in user-centred product development and user research. She has previously held positions at the Very Group, the UK Ministry of Justice and Experian. She is also a qualified psychologist, specialising in engineering psychology and cognitive ergonomics, and a regular speaker at industry events including the World Usability Congress, HCI International and UX Crunch.

In her new position, Duda will report to Jonny Tooze, CEO, LAB Group.

LAB Group announced the launch of two specialist agency brands, Riverr and VERJ, in September of this year. The move saw it elevate its existing LAB agency brand to group-level in order to offer a single point of entry for clients.

Jonny Tooze, CEO, LAB Group, said: “LAB Group walked a narrow path six years ago by focusing our agency on joining the dots between the world of behavioural sciences and digital. We did this to unlock bigger opportunities for our clients and answer the tough questions that traditional approaches struggled with. It was a decision that paid off, and now many agencies and organisations are following this path.

“Sabrina’s hire signals the next stage of evolution for LAB Group, and we’re very excited about her joining the team at VERJ. Sabrina has incredible credentials and expertise, which will lead the next generation of digital experiences, underpinned by her brilliant background in psychology, digital, and user experience.”

Sabrina Duda, Head of User Experience, LAB Group, added: “I am very excited to be joining VERJ and LAB Group. The group’s unique human approach and its combination of creativity, behavioural science and technology make this role the perfect match for me and my background.

“As a psychologist with over 20 years of experience in UX, I bring the user perspective to everything I do. Uncovering users’ hidden psychological motives, and observing and analysing their behaviour and pain points, creates successful products that fulfil users’ needs. When user needs drive product development, you can achieve the best possible outcome for customers and businesses alike.”

Weatherbys Private Bank appoints AML Group

Weatherbys Private Bank has appointed London-based creative agency AML Group to redesign and rebuild its customer-facing website.

Appointed following a competitive pitch, the agency will start the process by conducting research amongst stakeholders and an in-depth audit of the current site performance followed by phase two activity that will include UX, design concepts, content and SEO. The new site is to be launched in Spring 2021.

Mark Slaviero, Head of Marketing at Weatherbys Private Bank comments:

“AML bring a wealth of financial services experience to the table and they demonstrated an in-depth knowledge of us as a business and our desire to create a best-in-class website that completely reflects our brand. We wanted to partner with an agency that is both strategically and creatively strong – and AML Group was the right choice”.

Weatherbys Private Bank was launched in 1994 and is part of Weatherbys Banking Group – a UK family-owned business with origins dating back to 1770. A name synonymous with horse racing, Weatherbys initially launched a racing bank to serve the equestrian community that, due to its success and reputation for great customer care, laid the foundation for Weatherbys Private Bank.

“Weatherbys Private Bank is a forward-thinking bank with traditional values and a peerless reputation for exceptional client service, support and advice” Says Duncan Walters, Experience Partner, AML Group “and we are thrilled to be working together to produce a website that will capture and communicate the essence of a truly unique British brand.”

LAB Group appoints Valtech’s Matt Webb as Group Head of Digital

LAB Group has appointed Matt Webb to the newly created role of Group Head of Digital, following its recent launch of two specialist agency brands, Riverr and VERJ.

Webb joins from global digital agency Valtech, where he was Chief Technology Officer – Europe, overseeing major client initiatives and building its connected experience offering.

In his new role at LAB Group, Webb will be responsible for innovation and digital services across all of four of its agencies, with a particular focus on digital agency Riverr. As the technical leader for LAB Group, Webb will oversee the development of high-quality enterprise digital services, while also facilitating and inspiring innovative thinking.

Webb has more than 20 years’ experience in C-level technology roles at large digital agencies, with particular expertise in delivering global enterprise content management and ecommerce projects, as well as in data, microservices architecture, the Internet of Things, augmented and virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. He has previously held positions at agencies including JWT, HeathWallace and Mirum.

He is also the founder of innovation consultancy Maker Unleashed, which focusses on the charity and healthcare sectors, and he acts as an advisor to a number of start-ups.

Webb will report to Jonny Tooze, CEO, LAB Group and work closely with Andy Mason, who was recently promoted to the dual role of Chief Operating Officer, LAB Group and Managing Director, Riverr; and Harpreet Bushell, Chief Growth Officer, LAB Group.

Jonny Tooze, CEO, LAB Group, said: “We’re all hugely excited to have Matt on board as Group Head of Digital. It’s rare to find someone that has such a creative mind as well as being a proven technical leader. I’ve been in the digital arena for 20 years now and I’ve not met anyone with the experience and abilities that he has. Matt is joining an exceptional team of digital experts and behavioural scientists at LAB Group and will help work with brands who want to develop new and exciting ways to interact and engage with customers.”

Matt Webb, Group Head of Digital, LAB Group, added: “I’m super excited to be joining LAB Group at such an important stage in its evolution. I’ve been really impressed by the group’s depth of expertise in behavioural science and the fascinating projects they’re involved in. I’m very much looking forward to getting stuck in to what I love doing – leading, thinking, making and innovating.”

LAB Group promotes Gemma Kane to Group Marketing Manager role as it seeks to push strengthened offering

LAB Group has promoted Gemma Kane to the newly-created role of Group Marketing Manager following a period of significant growth within the business.

Kane previously spent nearly two-and-a-half years in the client services and marketing teams at digital agency Reflect Digital, which was acquired by LAB Group in September 2019.

Following the recent acquisition of Studio BLUP, the elevation of the LAB brand to group-level and the launch of two specialist agency brands, VERJ and Riverr, LAB Group has promoted Kane to the new role in order to present LAB Group’s strengthened offering to the world while simultaneously promoting its individual agency brands.

She is tasked with coordinating group-level and agency marketing, helping to promote LAB Group and its agency brands via partnerships, PR, awards, events and outbound marketing activity.

Kane has 14 years of experience in marketing, specialising in client services and digital user experience. She has worked with a number of global brands including Sony Mobile, Yamaha Motor Europe and PayPal.

In her new role, Kane will report to Harpreet Bushell, Group Chief Growth Officer, LAB Group.

Harpreet Bushell, Group Chief Growth Officer, LAB Group, said: “As we enter the next phase of LAB Group, with four best-in-class agencies, we need someone who understands the overall LAB offering as well as each agency’s specialism, feeding everything we offer clients from human insights and experiences through to SEO into LAB Group’s own marketing. With her background in client services, UX and marketing, Gemma is the perfect fit. We know she will do a great job applying the same attention to detail and unique blend of behavioural sciences and creativity to LAB Group as we do for our clients.”

Gemma Kane, Group Marketing Manager, LAB Group, added: “It’s a privilege to be part of the core team that is shaping the future of the group, and I’m very excited about this next chapter. This is a challenging and important role at a pivotal moment for us.

“LAB Group’s vision of reshaping the digital world is very much aligned with my own ambition. I’m proud to be the person responsible for amplifying our story.”

Report: The Dangers of AI-Powered Advertising (And How to Address Them)

Fresh research from Mozilla Fellow Harriet Kingaby examines how the digital advertising ecosystem can surveil, misinform, and endanger consumers around the globe. Kingaby also offers insight on potential reform

Twenty years ago, digital ads were little more than online billboards — pesky pop-ups that didn’t know who was seeing the ad, or why.

Today’s AI-powered digital advertisements are exponentially more sophisticated. These ads can profile consumers and segment them into astonishingly precise audiences. And these ads are highly personalized, from the language and images used to the price of the item being sold.

This AI-powered advertising provides consumers around the world with “free” access to products and services. It’s highly effective for advertisers, and highly lucrative for platforms. But there are grave harms, and consumers bear the brunt of them.

Today, fresh research by Mozilla Fellow Harriet Kingaby examines these harms on a global scale. In the report titled “AI & Advertising: A Consumer Perspective,” Kingaby identifies seven major threats that AI-powered ads present to consumers, from discrimination to misinformation. Kingaby details the consequences of those threats, and how they will likely grow worse as AI technology advances.

The report also identifies five major reforms that could mitigate these harms, and the steps that civil society, regulators, and industry must take to realize them.

Says Kingaby: “Digital advertising is a booming industry: over $300 billion in 2019 alone. It’s also the primary business model sustaining the internet, humanity’s most important communications tool. But as AI-powered advertising grows more pervasive and sophisticated, it is doing so without guardrails. There are few rules to ensure it doesn’t surveil, misinform, or exclude consumers. If the industry doesn’t undergo major reform, these problems will only grow more pronounced.”

Kingaby is a UK-based Mozilla Fellow embedded at Consumers International, where she researches the consequences of AI-enhanced advertising. Kingaby is also co-chair of the Conscious Advertising Network, a coalition of organizations supporting ethics in advertising.

The seven key harms identified in the report are:

● Excessive data collection. In order to tailor individual ads, multiple companies must collect and store huge amounts of data on consumers. Meanwhile, consumers are totally passive actors in adtech systems. They are something to be profiled and targeted, and are not given meaningful choices about how much data they would like to hand over, to whom, and for what.

● Discrimination. The personalisation of ads inherently restricts the products, services, and content consumers see. This can potentially lower consumers’ aspirations, restrict lifestyle choices, and hide products, services, or events from groups of consumers.

● Harm to the vulnerable. Digital advertising may encourage compulsive and harmful behaviour, mental health issues, or unsustainable consumption. Data that predicts when consumers are in particular emotional states is already in use, and targeting can also be used to single out consumers or groups who are particularly vulnerable or otherwise receptive.

● Online scams and misinformation. Fake news and misinformation have a lucrative business model via advertising, which favours content which garners a reaction. Social media sites, where disinformation can spread, have ad-based business models, and “addictive” interventions are designed to keep consumers on the sites for longer, enabling platforms to serve more ads.

● Limited agency. Consent mechanisms for advertising under GDPR and CCPA are poorly designed, and often nudge consumers into making choices which favor advertisers. Privacy policies and other terms and conditions are overly long, sometimes non-compliant, and frequently fall short of educating consumers. It is demonstrably not clear how the system works to the average consumer, making it hard, if not impossible, to make informed choices or obtain redress in the case of harm.

● Environmental harm. The number of data centres worldwide has grown from 500,000 in 2012 to more than 8 million today. The amount of energy used by them continues to double every four years, meaning they have the fastest-growing carbon footprint of any area within the IT sector. Researchers estimate that the tech sector will contribute 3.0–3.6% of global greenhouse emissions by 2020, more than double what the sector produced in 2007 and the estimated 2020 global footprint is comparable to that of the aviation industry. Online advertising consumed between 20.38 to 282.75 TWh of energy in 2019, and 11.53 – 159.93 million tons of CO2e was emitted to produce the electricity consumed.

● Hate speech. Global hate crimes are on the rise, and have been linked to social media, polarisation caused by personalisation, and “filter bubbles.” Platforms have struggled to keep up with policing hateful content, and AI is not yet sophisticated enough to be efficient. Far-right commentators and other hate preachers are continuing to make money through digital advertising on the open web or through platforms such as YouTube — which in turn radicalizes young people.

The report also identifies a lack of cross-sector collaboration as a critical issue holding back progress. It calls for cross-disciplinary, mediated forums to be created, comprising digital rights groups, consumer protection experts, funders, publishers and advertisers.

Forums should ensure ethics by design in AI-powered advertising, identifying harms and creating new initiatives to solve them as they evolve; as well as monitoring ‘unknown unknowns’ which arise as a result of new technologies.

Forum priorities to include:

● Maintaining consumer protection and human rights, using these as core design principles for new AI technologies.
● Proactive AI stewardship, using AI sparingly, tracking and acting on the emergence of harms in real time.
● Supply chain accountability, ensuring advertisers are able to take responsibility for their digital supply chains in the same way as their physical ones.
● Funding a healthy internet, directing ad budgets to support diverse voices, quality content, and accountable platforms.

Huel Partner with Welsh Agency to Help Create Their Social Media Ads

Cardiff-based video marketing agency, Aura Ads, has recently won global brand Huel as their newest client, after impressing the company leaders with impressive results while on a one month trial.

The brand came to the Welsh agency in July with KPIs to increase paid social performance through the use of conversion focused video ads.

Aura Ads’ trial video accounted for a large portion of Huel’s overall Facebook purchases whilst also generating a 34% higher clickthrough rate, all while maintaining the same cost per acquisition.

Ryan Walton, Founder of Aura Ads, says: 

“Huel were after a fresh pipeline of high quality creative in order to maintain paid social performance. We exist to fix this problem, by providing the ideation, production and editing capabilities to turn around awesome video ads within 25 days every month.

Given we launched Aura Ads in March this year, Huel really is the icing on the cake for us and is a huge confidence leap moving forward!”

Huel is a world-renowned brand providing nutritionally complete food with essential minerals, vitamins, proteins and fats, hitting their revenue high earlier this year.

Ben Bokaie, Senior Performance Marketing Manager at Huel, says:

“It’s important that we serve really high-quality video creative to our target audiences. This is where Aura Ads have come in. They’ve smashed performance for us across all our markets on Facebook and Instagram, especially in the US where it’s single handedly turned around performance in a tough time.”

“We’d not hesitate to recommend Aura Ads to all other B2C consumers, especially if they’re trying to scale paid social with some really high quality video ads at a super, super good value. I look forward to working with Aura Ads for the foreseeable!”

Huel’s main goals while working with the agency is to increase both purchases and click through rate, while keeping the cost as low as possible.

The client sends Aura Ads the product while they plan, shoot and edit the video, before sending the video ads back to them within the promised 25 days.

Earlier this month, Huel released their video ads for their new Hot & Savoury product that were created by Aura Ads. These have performed superbly well, driving a 15% higher clickthrough rate than average to date.

Aura Ads launched in March 2020, as a more e-commerce focussed brand than their sister company, Visaura, focussing on corporate videos. Both of which create ads designed to convert on social media.