SIM7, Author at Bristol Creative Industries

Following a competitive pitch, SIM7 has been selected by the British Council as a key agency on its framework to supply services over the coming years.

SIM7 will work in partnership with the British Council’s international marketing teams, creating strategic messaging, copywriting and content to drive the organisation’s global initiatives.

This work will involve developing digital and OOH campaigns, creating assets across all channels, and supporting the British Council’s extensive international outreach.

SIM7 will join a handful of leading UK agencies selected to support the British Council’s strategic goals.

The British Council is the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. Operating in over 100 countries worldwide, the British Council builds connections, understanding, and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education, and the English language, reaching millions of people annually.

Says SIM7’s Simeon de la Torre, “As an agency with extensive international experience, this is a perfect partnership for us. We’re excited about working on some of the most significant cultural and educational initiatives globally, and empowering the British Council by delivering the effective messaging that we’re known for.

“Our capabilities closely align with the British Council’s mission to promote and uphold the English language worldwide. Our expertise will enhance the British Council’s efforts to make English accessible to learners across diverse cultures and backgrounds. Through innovative campaign strategies and engaging content, we’ll support the British Council’s role as a global leader in English language teaching and assessment.

“We’re looking forward to connecting with the international communities that the British Council fosters and supports.”

“The British Council is one of the best names in the industry for cultural exchange and educational opportunity, and the SIM7 team are all keen to help them deliver their mission of building connections between the UK and the rest of the world.”

SIM7 is an award-winning creative agency that uses language to empower design. We drive growth by creating brands, campaigns and strategy – for marketing teams around the world. Our experience in international education extends to universities, leadership organisations, business schools and more. For more information, contact Simeon de la Torre sim@sim7creative.co.uk

Following a competitive pitch, SIM7 has been selected by SNG (Sovereign Network Homes) as a key agency on its framework to supply property branding services over the next four years.SIM7 will work in partnership with SNG’s marketing teams, providing creative, branding and design services to drive the off-plan sales of Shared Ownership and private sale homes. This work will involve branding SNG’s schemes, developing high-profile digital and OOH campaigns, and creating assets across all channels.

SIM7 will join a handful of leading UK agencies, selected to support SNG’s ambitious growth plans.

One of the UK’s largest Housing Associations, SNG will invest £9.2bn in the next decade, building 25,000 new homes – as well as regenerating estates and improving the sustainability and quality of existing homes.

Says SIM7’s Simeon de la Torre, “As an agency with extensive property sector experience, not to mention specific knowledge of the Shared Ownership market, this is a perfect partnership for us. We’re excited about working on some of the biggest schemes in the UK, and empowering property branding by delivering the effective, messaging-driven creative that we’re known for. From property CGIs and video to scheme-specific branding, we’re looking forward to capturing and conveying the essence of the new communities that SNG is building.

“SNG is one of the best names in the industry for sustainability and social value, and the SIM7 team are all keen to help SNG deliver good, affordable homes for all.”

SIM7 is an award-winning creative agency that uses language to empower design. We drive growth by creating brands, campaigns and strategy – for marketing teams around the world. Our experience in the property sector extends to estate agents, national associations, Registered Providers, mortgage brokers and more.

For more information, contact Simeon de la Torre sim@sim7creative.co.uk

Bristol creative agency SIM7 has swept the board this awards season, scooping three prestigious international prizes for a brand campaign which ‘redefines executive education marketing’.

The trio of awards, all won for the IESE Business School’s Real Leadership brand campaign, include first place in the Brand Campaign category at the Digital Communication Awards, Best Integration of Purposeful Marketing at the CMI Content Marketing Awards, and a ‘Búho’ award for Brand Strategy at Educafestival.

Each welcomed entries from around the world. Fierce competition for the top spots came from Ketchum, MSLGROUP, Weber Shandwick and a rollcall of other major global agencies.

Says Professor Dr. Ana Adi, Chair of the Jury for the Digital Communication Awards 2024, “IESE Business School’s Real Leadership campaign redefines executive education marketing. Through digital platforms, it boosts global visibility and underscores the school’s core human values, cleverly critiquing the past decade’s ‘hustle’ mindset. This campaign establishes a new benchmark for the future of leadership training”.

Campaign rationale
The brand campaign takes an honest, authentic and human approach which was conceived as an antidote to the clichéd ‘business speak’ creative that has dominated the sector in recent years. Assets include OOH adverts deployed across the world in Europe and Latin America, a major podcast, landing pages, brochures, Google Max ads, campaign videos and more.

Oriol Gil, IESE’s Brand & Content Senior Manager says, “The world of MBA and executive education is changing fast, with a more nuanced audience profile and expectations. SIM7 created a major campaign for us that pushed the boundaries of our brand guidelines and created a completely new strategy”.

Results
By using an authentic narrative and tapping into the genuine concerns and
motivations of business leaders, it resonated with IESE’s core audiences and has delivered substantial results in the form of awareness, enquiries and admissions. Its main campaign video has attracted 3+ million views, and season one of its podcast consistently ranks in the top 30 of the Spotify/Apple leadership and management charts.

SIM7’s Simeon de la Torre is proud of the campaign and the recognition it has earnt, “ As an agency that works with higher and business education clients around the world, winning these three awards is a huge honour for us. We knew from the start that this had to be a campaign with cut-through, and that pure creativity wasn’t enough.

“It was a huge strategic branding exercise that brought together all our skills in messaging, design and positioning, which ultimately spawned something really different with a big dollop of humour and heart”.

SIM7 is a Bristol-based creative agency that works with clients around the world in sectors including education, property, technology and more: sim7creative.co.uk

Founded in 2017, the agency uses language to empower design and drives growth by creating brands, campaigns and strategy. SIM7 currently employs six people, has increased its turnover significantly in the past 12 months and is set to build its international client base even further
in 2024/25.

Bristol creative agency SIM7 has taken home a prestigious ‘Búho’ award for Brand Strategy at Spain’s Educafestival. The agency was recognised for its work creating the Real Leadership brand campaign for IESE Business School.

The Búhos (Owls) are awarded to the best global creative campaigns in the education sector, welcoming entries from Europe, Latin America and the USA. They are part of Spain’s Educafestival, an annual event (20 June 2024) held in the Centro CaixaForum de Madrid.

Simeon de la Torre, owner and creative director of SIM7 says, “As an agency that works with higher and business education clients around the world, winning a Búho is a huge honour for us. And we did it by creating something really different with a big dollop of humour and heart.

“The Real Leadership campaign for IESE has been a huge strategic branding exercise that brought together all our skills in messaging, design and positioning. It spawned a slightly insane video featuring unicorns and gorillas that has been watched over two million times, a hit podcast, billboard ads in Germany and Spain, and more.”

The Real Leadership brand campaign was conceived as an antidote to the clichéd ‘business speak’ creative that has dominated the sector in recent years. By using an authentic narrative and tapping into the genuine concerns and motivations of business leaders, it resonated with IESE’s
core audiences and has delivered substantial results in the form of awareness, enquiries and admissions.

Oriol Gil, IESE’s Brand & Content – Senior Manager (pictured, above) says: “The world of MBA and executive education is changing fast, with a more nuanced audience profile and expectations. SIM7 created a major campaign for us that pushed the boundaries of our brand guidelines and created a completely new strategy. The Real Leadership campaign features an honest, authentic and human approach that playfully mocks the outdated ‘hustle’ culture.”

SIM7’s Búho award was judged by a panel that included celebrated Spanish film director Daniel Sánchez Arevalo, as well as creative leaders from Google, Coca-Cola and Clear Channel. The Real Leadership campaign was scored for:

• Educational value and content
• Developed strategy
• Idea and execution
• Obtained results

Says SIM7’s Simeon de la Torre, “We knew from the start that this had to be a campaign with cut-through, and that pure creativity wasn’t enough. It had to be built on the foundations of solid strategy and an understanding of the sector. This is what our team does best and it’s superb to see all our hard work recognised. On a personal level, it’s been great working on something that my Spanish father can be proud of and talk to his family in Spain about – he’s always been a bit clueless about what I do for a living!”

Notes
SIM7 is a Bristol-based creative agency that works with clients around the world in sectors including education, property, technology and more: sim7creative.co.uk

For interviews, quotes and further images contact: Simeon de la Torre, sim@sim7creative.co.uk

How to use language to foster stronger, happier, more productive relationships.

The language that an organisation uses in its content, copywriting and comms influences not just how it is perceived, but how it makes audiences feel. It’s a complex, nuanced arena, but there are a handful of golden rules to remember around using brand language that’s appropriate and inclusive.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) aims to make everyone within an environment, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, ability, gender or sexual orientation, feel supported and welcome.

According to Deloitte, companies that embrace inclusivity and inclusive language have 22% lower turnover rates, 22% greater productivity and 27% higher profitability. Externally, those companies have 39% higher customer satisfaction.

Only use race, gender, gender identity, ability, age, sexual orientation, etc. to identify people when strictly necessary, otherwise doing so can draw attention to something about someone’s characteristics that might make them feel different or excluded.

People-first language prioritises the individual. This is an especially useful point to remember when talking about people who have disabilities.

For example, it’s better to say ‘a person with a disability’ than ‘a disabled person’. The former implies that the disability is a secondary characteristic rather than a defining one. But as mentioned in #1, it’s best to simply avoid mentioning disability unless relevant or strictly necessary.

There are a few exceptions to this point. The deaf community, for instance, generally prefers the term ‘deaf person’ to ‘person with deafness’. If in doubt, it’s best to ask.

Terms such as ‘sexual preference’ or ‘preferred pronouns’ can be problematic. ‘Preference’ implies choice, and that can create a false impression. It’s best to err on the side of caution and use the terms ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘pronouns’ instead.

Try to avoid using terms such as ‘bipolar,’ ‘OCD,’ ‘ADHD’ or ‘ASD’ as metaphors, especially in a jokey context. These are real disabilities and disorders. Using their names to refer to things they aren’t can offend people who have them.

Yes, you may often use language with a specific audience in mind, but pronouns are generally best avoided.

When making a hypothetical point – ‘if he or she went for a walk’, for example – the ‘he or she’ clause is unnecessary, and including it can make non-binary, gender non-conforming or genderqueer folks feel excluded.

When in doubt or when using a pronoun is necessary, ‘they’ is a good choice. It’s gender-neutral and can be used to refer to an individual or a group, so has all bases covered.

Jargon is often best avoided and it’s a good idea to think before using idioms – not all translate well across cultures.

Using your group as the reference group can imply it’s the norm and that other groups fall outside that norm. Terms like ‘non-white’, for example, imply that white people are the norm and everyone else, a deviation.

This term is best avoided when speaking to or referencing a group that contains non-male members.

If she’s over 18, she’s an adult. And take care when saying ‘ladies’ and ‘gals’, these terms can be patronizing. Good alternatives: ‘Women’, ‘people’.

Similarly, when talking about people with disabilities, avoid using terms like ‘afflicted by,’ ‘victim of’, ‘suffers from’, and ‘confined to a wheelchair’. ‘Challenged’, ‘differently abled’, and ‘specially abled’ are best avoided too.

Including pronouns – he/him, she/her, they/them – in email signatures can help non-binary, transgender and other folk feel more included.

If you’re going to publish content that has the potential to trigger people, it’s a good idea to add a trigger warning to that content. Forewarning people about potentially offensive content can help prevent causing offence.

People with certain disabilities can have difficulty navigating online content. We can all help ensure the content we create is accessible. See our designing for accessibility cheat sheet for useful tips.

Inclusive language best practice is constantly evolving. Periodic refreshers are a great way to stay up to date. Taking a moment to think about how the language you’re going to use is inclusive often goes a long way, too.

To learn more about creating an inclusive brand, visit https://sim7creative.co.uk/ or get in touch with Sim (he/him): sim@sim7creative.co.uk