The tech industry is booming and we couldn’t be happier!
This has been a challenging year, with people forced into their homes and businesses forced to digitalise at a rapid rate. Just remember: whilst you work at home, hackers are as well.
It’s been tough to keep up, and there’s been a huge rise in malware and ransomware attacks as a result. One in five people feel more at risk of cyber attacks during the lockdown.
The UK industry is rising up to meet this, with cyber tech booming over the last couple of years to be worth more than £8 billion a year.
Now is the time for cyber tech companies to step up and be seen — companies from enterprise to start-ups are looking to improve their security and this is where we can help you. Check out some of our recent articles on how to get started in cyber tech marketing and how to scale up your business.
Softech firm Amdaris have won the Great British Entrepreneur Award just 6-months after securing a £6m investment from BGF.
The Bristol company has offices in the UK, Dubai, Moldova and Romania, providing software development teams in high profile industries from Oil and Gas to finance and logistics.
In 2017 the board appointed AgencyUK to help develop a brand and marketing strategy fit for global expansion. Scale has been rapid, with new offices in Dubai and Romania in 2019.
AgencyUK have continued to support Amdaris with their external advertising, internal communications and PR strategy. This award win follows a string of new customer appointments.
In August, we officially hit over 100 days of working from home. Here’s an update on what it has been like and how have we adapted to this new way of working.
Working from home is great! No more commute, more time with the kids, and a comfier existence. For most of the team at OggaDoon, the first few weeks of working from home felt like a welcome break from the drudgery of quotidien life. There were unexpected benefits both personally and collectively, such as more time to spend doing the things we enjoy, and a sudden reduction in air pollution.
After the initial enjoyment that came with working from home, we soon realised there were a number of challenges. Each team member had a different home set up and this presented individual challenges for each person. Whether it was disciplining children to follow a structured day of learning, stepping over housemates and dogs, bad wifi, or no privacy – we each were dealing with a lot.
It’s not a surprise, therefore, that we also struggled to feel like a team. Caroline established daily Zoom calls and we tried out a few different forms of virtual bonding to try to feel like a team again. It didn’t always work.
In a time when we’re being told by the Prime Minister to disconnect from our families and friends physically, it was a struggle to replicate this virtually.
The challenges we faced working from home were not exclusive to OggaDoon. People all over the world felt the same way and were encountering mutual feelings of isolation; for many, it was a lot worse. But as a business, we’re proud of our resilience.
We eventually established a routine that worked. Each member of the team adjusted their home settings too – Bobby moved house, Caroline signed a contract with her children, and we hired two new staff, Simon and Elena.
We repositioned our business to fit the new world and we made it work.
So, what next? Right now, we’re blending working from home whilst settling into our new home in Engine Shed. We work with many businesses who are doing amazing things and we’re excited to be working alongside them, supporting the vision.
Bristol’s hospitals charity Above & Beyond has appointed AgencyUK for its latest campaign.
Following a competitive pitch process, the Bath-based agency will be delivering a creative, integrated campaign for the charity, focussing on cancer services in Bristol’s hospitals.
Julie Worrall, director of fundraising and development for Above & Beyond, said: “This is a really exciting time for Above & Beyond as we look to increase our support of Bristol’s hospitals and health services in Bristol.
“We believe that every patient receiving cancer treatment in Bristol deserves the best possible care and through this campaign we’ll be investing in services that ensure they receive it.
“AgencyUK has been crucial in the design concept of the campaign and we look forward to rolling this out across Bristol.”
Amy Stobie, director of AgencyUK, said: “It became clear early on that Above & Beyond is a vital enabler for furthering cancer care and treatment for patients in Bristol.
“As its work is so focused in the region, it means a lot of our AgencyUK people have had first-hand experience dealing with friends and family who are treated in these hospitals.
You can find out more here: https://tinyurl.com/BristolAgainstCancer
Above & Beyond, the official charity for Bristol city centre hospitals, has launched its Bristol Against Cancer campaign to “talk about the other ‘C’ word.”
JonesMillbank, a Bristol-based video production company, have been working with the charity to create a series of films highlighting the personal stories of those affected by cancer and working in cancer care.
“We met such inspiring individuals and had the privilege of hearing honestly and openly about their journeys and the amazing people who helped them along the way” said Emma Baker, Producer at JonesMillbank.
“From Simon, who was alerted by his vet and went on to beat the disease, to Jonathan, a radiologist at Bristol Royal Infirmary who was asked by a 7-year-old if he would remember him before sadly passing away, we hope the films highlight the strength, struggles and dedication of their stories.”
One in two of us will be affected by cancer in our lifetime, and today, like every day, 2,500 new patients will take their first steps through the doors of one of Bristol city centre hospitals.
To find out more, or to donate to and support the amazing work carried out by Above & Beyond, visit www.aboveandbeyond.org.uk/appeal/bristol-against-cancer.
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JonesMillbank are a passionate full-service video production company
They work exclusively in-house with a talented team of multi-disciplined creatives, all the while telling authentic stories long before it was cool for a range of clients such as University of Bristol, Battersea, The Royal Mint and IDLES.
jonesmillbank.com
01173706372
[email protected]
Business as Unusual – the webinar dedicated to inspiring marketers and business owners – returns!
Join Azeem Ahmad, Sunjay Singh and Joyann Boyce for a conversation about cultural diversity in the marketing sector on Thursday 17th September from 3pm – 4pm.
This webinar is perfect for marketers and business owners who want to make a start at being more inclusive at work.
We’ll cover:
– Practical ways to champion diversity in the workplace and get around the biases of your boss
– First hand experiences of cultural bias as told by our panellists
– The steps we can take as an industry and as individuals to make inclusive marketing the standard
– How we can encourage more young people of colour into the sector
There’ll also be a 15 minute Q&A where you can submit anonymous questions on the topic; so if there’s a question you have which you felt uncomfortable or a bit silly asking, this is your chance to ask it.
Register for the webinar and get the joining info here: mnky.bz/bau
Pre-submit your anonymous question using this form here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/GKCM3BG
In the first whirlwind days of the UK lockdown, many businesses paused all discretionary spending and battened down the hatches to ride out the uncertainty. But Stratton Craig, a specialist written communications agency based in the heart of Bristol, chose to take a different tack. In its own version of a lockdown DIY project, the agency completed a full refresh of its website and launched a slick new site for itself. And now, the decision to proactively invest in the business is already paying off, with web traffic and new leads up within the first months of launch.
According to Stratton Craig CEO, Darren Clare, “The decision to reinvest in our business during this time was absolutely the right one for us. We knew that a new website would put us in a much better situation for the economic recovery when it kicks off, and it was a proactive step we could take to prepare our business for whatever is around the corner.”
Working in partnership with a specialist web agency allowed the Stratton Craig team to focus on what it does best, exceptional writing and flawless project management. Rebel & Slaughter were engaged to design and build the new website and the two agencies worked in seamless partnership to deliver the new website. By applying a boots and braces approach to the project management, the Stratton Craig team were able to keep the project on time, on budget and on brand, all while never letting a client deadline slip.
Mr Clare said, “The success of the website project is a testament to the resilience and hard work of the Stratton Craig team. We’ve already seen a 31% increase in traffic and a 133% increase in leads, month-on-month. With lockdown restrictions now easing, we know the new website will give our business the best chance of success as the economy bounces back. And we’re encouraging our clients to view this time as an opportunity to invest in their future success as well.”
About Stratton Craig
Stratton Craig is a written communications agency with over 30 years’ experience and a reputation for sharp thinking and brilliant writing. Since 1987, they’ve helped clients of all shapes and sizes to harness the power of words.
McCann and Another Films put family at the heart of new campaign
McCann Bristol has created a new brand TV advert for Thatchers, to showcase the cider makers’ four generations of family cider making.
The ad is a light-hearted exploration of the contemporary meaning of family, featuring amusing and touching scenes of both blood-related families and modern takes on ‘family’ like close friends and colleagues. It’s packed with stories that will resonate with people across the UK.
Featuring a voice-over from comedian Bill Bailey, the ad has a distinctive look and feel. It highlights the range of ciders during drinking occasions and family life, while still featuring the Thatcher family and their stunning Somerset orchards, to make the point that, no matter what, no-one cares more than family.
The ad was created by Zane Radcliffe and Ken Sara from McCann Bristol, and shot by Steve Reeves from Another Film Company.
McCann Group Executive Creative Director, Jon Elsom, says, “The Thatcher family is deeply involved with life at Myrtle Farm. Their passion for quality and innovation is at the very soul of the business. They are the family cider makers, producing iconic brands including Gold, Haze, Rosé and the newly launched Cloudy Lemon. Our new approach illustrates the importance of that family commitment. When you come right down to it, whatever family means to you, both good and bad, no-one cares more than family.”
Martin Thatcher, fourth generation cider maker says, “This is an ad that’s warm with a smile in its heart. We hope everyone will be able to relate to it. The sense of family runs very strongly throughout all we do at Thatchers, from our heritage and traditions, through to our quality and expertise in cider making. It’s something we’re all very proud of, and we know it’s something that will always stay true. There’s never been a better time to reinforce the message of family and caring for each other.”
The advert will air from 17th – 23rd August in a 40-second format, followed by a 30-second format between 24th and 30th August. It will appear on ITV, ITV Digital, Sky, Channel 4 and Channel4 Digital (E4, Film4, More4, Box music channels and UKTV). It will also feature on social media and through a YouTube campaign.
Pre-Covid, creative teams benefitted from being in close proximity. This is mainly because one of the driving forces of creativity is (ironically) its infectiousness.
Being part of a creative idea gaining traction – being able to see, hear, and feel its potential – is why most of us do this.
Now, with the panic of lockdown beginning to fade, and the possibility of remote working remaining part of daily life for a while yet, we’ve been evaluating the ways we’ve adapted over the last few months.
While our technology enabled us to switch locations immediately, our creative habits needed a little aligning to ensure a smooth transition.
Seeing people’s expressions and body language is vital when briefing, sharing, reviewing and presenting ideas.
Being able to notice the difference between silence when they are excited and scribbling ideas, and silence from them drawing a blank, ensures you can keep things moving.
Creativity needs energy and nurturing, and audio alone is not enough.
Creating a way to bounce ideas around as a team when our four walls became two-dimensional was an initial challenge, whether they were conceptual ideas, executional solutions or UX planning.
We found using collaborative programmes, especially Google Chat, Google Meet and Google Docs, meant we could share work straight away.
Sharing screens and documents in small groups for live ideation, or sharing screen grabs or photos of sketches in larger project chat groups, ensured the momentum was never lost.
None of these programmes recreate the beauty of walls covered in layout sheets bursting with ideas; but programmes such as Miro allow us to get nearer to the satisfaction of problem solving with Post-it Notes.
It’s easy to become task-orientated when you can’t physically see your team and without strong intentions individuals can become siloed.
But it’s vital that ideas are seen and challenged by others. A fresh perspective will ensure ideas are robust and refined.
We have staggered project team video ‘scrums’ each morning which serve to not only align us to our goals, but also alert us to opportunities to collaborate outside our initial tasks.
When you’re physically surrounded by creatives the unplanned check-ins that occur when you catch a glimpse of a colleague’s screen, or overhear an exciting idea, are often the times when projects gain momentum.
To attempt to create these naturally and informally without the pressure of a booked ‘meeting’, the team is encouraged to frequently share roughs, and experiments either one-to-one, or in small groups, via screen shares in video chats or screen grabs or sketches in chat groups.
When things get exciting and we want to share wider, the seconds it takes to drop a Google Meet link into individual chats is far quicker than running around a studio looking for other team-mates.
All this constant sharing means that the team has also had to allow for calm times in order to focus and produce the work.
We’ve had to become better at prioritising our time; knowing when to ask for time to focus and how ensure others are getting it.
We’ve found that early afternoon is when we can carve out concentration time; and for this isolated working can be a blessing.
The last few months have affected our work lives more than any impactful event I have experienced during my career; whether worldwide, like the 2008 recession, or the more localised and terrible 2005 London bombings.
Everyone is navigating their ‘new normal’ in different ways, at home and at work. This makes finding the right time to check-in and support each other a bit of a challenge.
But I think our communication and transparency has been forced to improve; bringing us closer, and making us far more efficient as a team.
This article was written by Art Director, Hannah Waters, and first appeared on Mediashotz on 15 July 2020.
Hello from Sons of Graham, a creative studio now based in three separate flats across Bristol!
Since lockdown, our newly implemented morning Zooms have been the virtual team group huddle we’ve all needed. It keeps us focussed and directional. Who knew Zoom would be such an integral part of lives and our business? We certainly didn’t.. I’m not even sure I knew what Zoom was before all this..
Also, we now think the social chat at work is as important (if not more..) than the business chat. It’s what’s been keeping us sane. Right now hearing who’s managed to master home baked sourdough and why Disney’s The Mandalorian is a groundbreaking gem, is what literally gets me out of bed in the morning. Not to mention discussing the state the world, some much needed processing in these weird and interesting times.
Like many, it was never our goal to set up shop in our own homes but here we all are! And you know what, yes ..we’ve had a few technical problems, but on the whole it’s not been bad, the wheels haven’t fallen off and our little world keeps turning.
In fact, we’re very proud of what we’ve managed to achieve together in these separated, walled boxes we call homes across Bristol. We recently worked with McCann Bristol to produce the first ever TV commercial for Pink Lady® Apples and an online social campaign — a match made in juicy heaven. The team have worked hard to pull this technical and bizarre piece of animation off. With much motion tracking, tongue wagging tests and eye bulging debates we have finished! We can stand back proud.. whilst munching on our pink lady apples.
As a creative team we look forward to a day where we can see one another again, breathe terrible coffee breath on each other and dare to share a packet of crisps.. as long as they’re not cheese and onion please.
Check out our site to see the whole project.
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