We are a group of friendly Digital and Tech runners who go for a social jog around Bristol’s wonderful harbour each Wednesday lunchtime at 12.30 from the Lloyd’s amphitheatre. It’s an opportunity to get away from our desks, get some air, and get to know some other people in the tech industry in Bristol.
We’re a super friendly bunch and everyone is welcome, whatever aspect of digital and tech you work in and wherever you work.
Our pace is gentle, it normally takes around 30 minutes to do the 5km loop around the harbour. Nobody gets left behind – ever! It’s totally free and we go for a coffee afterwards at the Society café.
Sarson’s has been hard at work creating a fresh brand identity that launched in the spring of 2023, and with this, they’ve enlisted our help yet again for a fresh new website.
The new website design reflects the new style for Sarson with a bold, contemporary, and sleek designs. We’ve also taken a reductive approach to content and wording, which simplifies the overall experience, whilst also bringing freshness and clarity to the design. We’ve used interactive animation, interesting build loads, and a new colour-blocking design scheme To increase engagement levels across the site.
We’ve enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Sarson’s, so it’s been a joy to watch the brand develop and once again collaborate closely with the Sarson’s team on the project.
Even if we do say so ourselves, the result is fantastic! However, don’t just take our word for it; visit the new site and see for yourself.
Originally posted to: www.carnsight.com
Carnsight’s business owner and PR expert Jess Morgan recently had the exciting opportunity to speak at a student networking event for those studying sport business at Ashton Gate (thanks to Sophy Wells for the introduction). Jess seamlessly translated the team’s skills for promoting a business through PR to help those who want to promote themselves as individuals. If that sounds like you, then here’s a summary of the 7 steps to PR yourself that she covered on the day.
As we all hopefully know by now, PR is not all champagne and schmoozing.
Dictionaries like Merriam-Webster will say that PR is “the business of inducing the public to have understanding for and goodwill toward a person, firm, or institution”. However, at Carnsight, we say that PR is about creating strategies and campaigns to showcase great work and achievements. It’s about getting noticed by the right people, at the right time. So, let’s get you noticed.
Questions of value and motivation are valid – what’s the point in PRing yourself, what benefit does it actually bring? To start, investing in getting your personal brand out there allows you to max out your advantages in a way that you can control and gives you an undeniable competitive advantage. At the end of the day, PRing yourself is not about pretending to be something you’re not. Instead, it’s all about putting your best foot forward, and that’s something we can all do.
Look to the horizon with a future thinking, bigger-picture mindset; set yourself up for the end game and then think about the steps to get there. As with PR, it’s often best to start at the end. Think about what you want to get out of your PR, and create a tangible image of the late-stage achievements you’ll aim for.
Do you want to be considered for a particular position, role, or placement? Get your foot in the door at your dream company? Or achieve something else entirely? Start with that and then you can plot your path to get there.
Leave no stone unturned. We explore more on PR touchpoints in this earlier blog post, but as a quick overview, it’s important to at least consider the followingtouchpoints:
Remember that your communication, presentation, and interactions reflect on you, from the texts you write to the emails you send to every meeting and greeting. From the security guard in the office to the receptionist, to the person getting you a glass of water. In an interview – and every interaction – it’s important to give a good impression.
Our advice: build every bridge you can and remember never to burn them. Even if the connection doesn’t seem as though it will immediately serve you or your current path, it is still valuable to maintain it. Above all else, strive to be consistent and helpful always.
Presentation and first impressions can count for a lot when PRing yourself. Showing yourself on a good day (even if you have to fake it until you make it), and ensuring you have enough substance can be key to acing these factors. Be the best version of yourself and don’t shy away from showcasing what’s unique about you. Lean into your interests and experiences, use images or even videos that you love. Authenticity goes a long way, and it’s usually something people pick up on for the better when its genuine.
Just like PR, it’s about telling a story here as well. Except this one should centre around you. It should put your full self on show – not just the professional bits. Showcase the person behind the achievements, the CV, the experience. Remember the elevator pitch? Nurture the spark and pin down the details of your own until you can pitch yourself in your sleep. It should become an effortless, natural, and genuine skill to do so in a way that is upfront but not boastful or arrogant. Sometimes you have to be your biggest cheerleader, so it’s important to be able to summarise your achievements and proven value in a work environment.
Step outside of your echo chamber and get some inspiration. Consider what others are sharing, gauge what works and what doesn’t. Borrowed interest, for example, can do a large part of the work for you. As defined by The Next Wave, “borrowed interest is the intentional association of an unrelated theme, event or image with a product, service or subject being presented, to attract attention otherwise not anticipated”. Consult a diverse range of sources to give you inspiration, from professional arenas like LinkedIn to trending content on TikTok.
Last but certainly not least, let’s run over the things you need to get right to form a good foundation. Like we said, first impressions can make all the difference, so it’s important to get your basics right from the ground up.
This means no typos, and no mistakes. Proof it, print it, and proof it again. Ask for that second opinion, re-read your email, scan over that document before you share it. Small mistakes may seem small and inconsequential but that can be costly, so always try to minimise the risk.
It’s also worth investing the time and resources you have on hand into creating a professional looking photo. Jump over to our article here to cover off all of the do’s and don’ts of good headshots.
Elsewhere, strong opinions are fine, but avoid anything too controversial. Remember you’re representing your professional self here too. Check over your old social media presence, because employers will too, and these days they know what to look for.
You can’t step through a door you haven’t first opened. PRing yourself is about being proactive, considered and genuine. Remember these 7 steps to PR yourself, like how starting at your end point often makes for a clearer way forward. Think ahead, keep the above in mind, and be confident in your ability to PR yourself
Istoria Group, the Bristol-based collective of creative agencies, has announced two new Group-level appointments. Silka Mitchell is the new Group Creative Director, whilst Bryn Isaac has been named Group Financial Director.
Istoria Group, which became a B Corp last autumn, is comprised of exhibition and events specialists Ignition, known for being sustainable pioneers and as recipients of The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development 2020-25; hospitality and retail designers Phoenix Wharf, known for their work for regional operators such as Yeo Valley, The Bristol Loaf, Better Food and Spicer + Cole, as well as for national retailer SpaceNK and Apprentice winner Harpreet Kaur – and purposeful digital transformation experts Tiny Spark, whose virtual exhibit expertise during the pandemic helped Istoria Group survive the period’s challenging business conditions.
Silka Mitchell
‘Creative Director at Group level was an important role to fill and it was proving difficult to find the right candidate’, Sam Rowe, Istoria Group’s CEO commented. ‘We were delighted therefore to be introduced to Silka Mitchell, who brings not only top London agency experience as a former Director of both Brinkworth and Neu Architects, but also broad international experience, delivering projects in the commercial and public realms across Europe, Western Asia and China. Silka is German-born and has lived and worked in both Germany and in the UK. Her languages and multi-disciplinary, cross-sector experience will bring fresh energy and a new level of design sophistication to our studio.’
‘My ambition is to help Istoria Group grow and develop an even stronger 3D identity’ Silka Mitchell commented, ‘becoming known for creative originality and excellence. I look forward to unlocking further potential from the talented studio and to bringing in the next generation of talent to complement my vision. I further hope to instil creative leadership, inspiration and motivation and improve processes and the working environment through creative intervention and dialogue. I’m really excited to be working with a business with such a wealth of knowledge, strong ethics and a truly sustainable ethos.’
Bryn Isaac
New Group Financial Director Bryn Isaac is Bristol-born and bred and brings great expertise in and knowledge of regional markets and business to his role. Bryn joins Istoria Group after 8 years as Financial Director of We Are Fearless, an integrated marketing agency specialising in sports, culture and music sponsorship and partnerships. He has also worked with both start-up and group-owned agencies previously, including TBWA/Worldhealth, Momentum Worldwide and Given London. For Istoria Group, Bryn will provide the financial lead within the business across all the agencies in the Group and will manage financial planning covering both opportunity and risk.
‘I aim to use my experience of young and dynamic businesses to update processes and modernise systems at Istoria Group to help all parts of the business become more efficient and productive’ Bryn Isaac commented. ‘I’m looking forward to working alongside the leadership team to plan future strategic business growth, both operationally within the internal team and externally as the business grows in size.’
‘I am delighted that Bryn has joined us as Finance Director’ Sam Rowe added. ‘Bryn’s relevant knowledge and experience are vital as we continue our ambitious plans to grow and develop sustainable creative solutions for clients. As a B Corp, our ambition is to grow in the right way – with the right clients and the right team in place. These two new senior appointments are a huge leap in the right direction.’
When setting out to understand a little more about a brand, a visit to the company website is nearly always the first port-of-call for stakeholders. Often dubbed as the ‘shop window’ to an organisation, a website should clearly communicate your brand’s raison d’être, offer a clear user path, and most importantly, outline your company offerings in the best possible light. And while the process of delivering a gleaming new website is often an exciting one, the launch is only the beginning.
To guarantee that your website performs to its best ability, and to stay relevant among your site visitors, it’s crucial to view your website as an ongoing project. It’s not simply a question of UX/CX updates; reviewing CRO, your goal completion, tackling outdated content, dead backlinks, and poor SEO are all contributing factors to a poor online experience for customers, which can be detrimental to your sales drive and to your brand. The good news is that these are all easily avoidable consequences, assuming you tend to your site with care. To keep your website ticking over nicely, we’ve compiled our top 6 areas of focus for web optimisation…
You should always maintain clear strategic direction with your interface, mapping out the best possible user journeys. Without directing visitors to the right areas on your website, you’ll encourage high exit rates, U-turns, or rage clicks (Hotjar, 2022). Not only does this risk conversions or other goal completions, but it can devalue the brand that you’ve worked so hard to build. Put yourself in your users’ shoes and try to experience your website with a fresh pair of eyes. Is it hard to find key information about your brand? Does the site make checkouts, downloads and forms as easy as possible? Could you improve legibility?
Websites don’t just end at launch; they need to be maintained, optimised and tested. Having the correct analytics tools to visualise quantitative and qualitative data is important, but only when you are tracking the metrics relevant to your business. There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to quantitative analytics platforms, but the key metrics that marketers should be tracking are:
While quantitative research is useful in identifying data patterns and numerical trends, it’s important for marketers to understand users’ attitudes, beliefs, and motivations. This is where qualitative data can help fill in the gaps to make more informed decisions with your quantitative data. Popular qualitative research methods include:
By combining quantitative and qualitative methods, it becomes much easier to understand your customer experience. Ultimately, this helps to highlight pain points and identify the content that resonates most with your brand’s audience.
A great way to ensure you’re optimising your website is by running A/B testing (sometimes called split testing) across variants. Before implementing significant updates, you might want to consider running an A/B test to justify your decision making. Netflix leads by example in this area. Unique to every user, they pool together data to produce a final homepage outcome based on behaviour and preferences. Todd Yellin, Vice President of Product at Netflix, confirms that the brand runs 250 A/B tests each year to test the different versions of the design. These tests also consider the ways in which users search for films and programs on the app (Wired, 2018). With a highly detailed level of tracking and various testing in place, Netflix’s success is entirely reliant upon data. Regularly implementing the variations from the results optimises the user experience.
It’s not uncommon for users to arrive at a website only to be deterred by complex language, over-stimulating features, or a lack of useful information. These websites tend to garner large drop off rates, with marketers left trying to figure out where they slipped up. This nearly always occurs when a website is built without a defined content strategy in place. Markets are ever-changing, and branded websites should reflect this. To stay top of mind, content needs to be relevant, useful, and findable. Marketers need to audit and refresh existing content on an ongoing basis, factoring in current trends and wider business objectives.
SEO is often an afterthought when it comes to website builds. This is usually down to the fact that organic search rankings can take time to bear fruit in contrast to paid activity. But with 53.3% of all website traffic acquired through organic search, SEO should be a core consideration during, and after, a website build.Regular SEO activity can elevate your brand and take you to the top of search engines, surpassing your competition. The key to successful performance and conversion of your website is a content strategy that considers a user-friendly experience, with digestible information for both the user as well as search engines. (Search Engine Journal, 2022).
Whilst they are undoubtedly two separate entities, marketers should make sure their SEO and PPC strategies are aligned, and both have high prominence on their marketing agenda and budgets. On average, 5-10% of your revenue should be spent on SEO activity. (Search Engine Land, 2022).
Read more about our top tips to optimise your organic search in our blog here.
Top performing websites don’t just need to look good, they need to be functional too. Ongoing website maintenance is required to keep your website running. This can be achieved by making sure your website is safe and secure, and that links and tools aren’t broken. It may seem simple but often brands focus on the launch of a new website and forget to check in on performance once it’s live. Some CMS updates can be relatively straight forward, but you’ll benefit from an experienced digital team to manage, monitor and prevent or react to any technical issues your website may encounter.
As a fully integrated agency, we build sites that talk the talk and walk the walk – from design to optimisation. If you’re looking to take your website to the next level, drop us a line today – we’d love to have a chat.
Discover more industry insights and opinions at saintnicks.uk.com/insights
What qualities should an app design company have? For every client, the response is different. It takes dedication, time, and talent to turn your concept into reality. Take into account the following advice to locate the ideal match for your objectives:
A reputable mobile app development company should have an extensive and detailed portfolio that showcases their expertise. You can evaluate a company’s design objectives and execution by looking at its previous projects. You can tell if they are compatible with the goals of your project by carefully analysing their portfolio.
For any reputable app design company, effective communication techniques are crucial. They should be able to offer insightful commentary and feedback while you should be able to communicate your needs and expectations effectively. A successful partnership requires a relaxed atmosphere and frank communication. Without good communication, the enterprise can face serious difficulties.
In addition to a portfolio, references from clients can shed light on an agency’s work ethics and prior experiences. Examine their former clientele and gauge how satisfied they were with them. This study will help us comprehend the agency’s dependability and expertise.
Identify the goals that you want your app to achieve. While some companies offer a more thorough strategy that encompasses the full development process, others offer aesthetics and visual design as their primary areas of expertise. Select a company that shares your requirements and vision.
Define your expectations and the needs of the project in a clear brief. Even if a firm has experience working with difficult design briefs, your project may have special requirements. Make sure the organisation has the resources, expertise, and knowledge to meet your unique requirements.
Think about the agency’s project management methodology. While some companies may use freelance designers or divide up jobs among their team, others may offer a more personalised service with a single point of contact. Select a company whose procedures fit your criteria.
While selecting the ideal app design company may seem difficult, it is essential for the success of your project. To find the perfect fit, do extensive study and thoroughly consider your options.
It is impossible to exaggerate the value of expert site design. Visitors to websites today make an impression about them in under a second, and 38% of them will quit if they don’t find the page visually appealing. If you try to build your website on your own, it can turn up poorly and fail to hold your audience’s transitory attention. For this reason, hiring a web design expert has become crucial for business owners. Let’s look at the benefits of employing a web design company as a top priority.
A professional web design firm can construct a website that is especially suited to your company and its particular needs because they have years of experience in the field. While there’s a chance that your marketing staff has some web development experience, it’s doubtful that they have the same level of experience and industry knowledge as a dedicated web design specialist. A well-designed website is an essential marketing tool that supports your sales and marketing objectives throughout time.
A web design company is knowledgeable about how to build a website that not only complies with design standards but also performs exceptionally well in SEO. Your website can gain more customers and outperform rivals on different search engines, including Google, by improving search engine rankings. A web design agency can help you achieve your goals if you want to create leads from several nations or target various languages. For foreign companies looking to compete on a global basis, this is especially important.
According to research, 47% of visitors will abandon a page that takes longer than two seconds to load. Customers increasingly expect rapid results in the fast-paced digital environment. A skilled site designer is essential in this situation. Even if your website has many features and high-resolution photos, they can make sure it stays lightweight and quick. Amateur or inexperienced developers lack the knowledge necessary to successfully optimise loading speed.
Numerous web design firms offer continuous monthly maintenance and assistance, sparing you the trouble of managing website downtime and the potential loss of clients or sales. These services also maintain your website current with the newest design fads and SEO guidelines that search engines like Google are always implementing.
In conclusion, consulting a web design expert is essential to the achievement of your website. They are equipped with the knowledge and expertise required to develop a highly functional and aesthetically pleasing website that supports your company’s goals. Contact us right away if you’re looking for a web design company in the UK. We are excited to make your ideas a reality and support the growth of your company in the digital sphere.
As we announced earlier this year, Bristol Creative Industries has teamed up with Bristol-based social enterprise Babbasa and 14 creative businesses to launch a city-wide internship programme.
The programme is aimed at Bristol-based young people aged 18-24 from an ethnic minority and/or from a low-income background who want to gain insight and experience in the creative industry.
The scheme sees many of the city’s most well-known creative companies offering six-month full time paid placements to applicants in roles covering advertising, marketing, design, animation and digital.
We held interviews last month (see image above) and we were so impressed by the talent and skills on display from the young people who applied. It was a very hard decision but we are delighted to announced the successful interns.
Watch the videos below for some insights from three of the agencies about why they are involved in the programme and the need to improve diversity in the creative industries.
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See Aardman Animations’ Bristol Creative Industries profile here.
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See Halo’s Bristol Creative Industries profile here.
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See Newicon’s Bristol Creative Industries profile here.
Bristol-based digital marketing agency Noble Performs, has announced the return of its ‘Noble Deeds’ programme for South West charities and not-for-profits.
Launched in the city last year to mark the 10-year anniversary of its US predecessor run out of the company’s HQ in Nevada, once again the Noble Deeds initiative will provide one local charity with a package of digital performance marketing support.
With the prize fund increasing each year in line with Noble Performs’ own growth, this year the package of support will stand at £18,000, an increase of over 30% on last year’s inaugural programme.
Open to all Bristol and Bath based registered charities and not-for-profits who wish to enter themselves as potential recipients, the support package up for grabs includes upskilling of the existing marketing team ensuring a long-lasting impact for the winning organisation.
The first charity helped by Noble Deeds in 2022 was Heart of BS13, a south Bristol social enterprise which supports and promotes a healthy, thriving community for Hartcliffe and its surrounds.
Working in partnership with the Noble team, Georgina Perry, chief executive of Heart of BS13, speaks about the impact the Deeds programme has had on helping the social enterprise and its initiatives thrive.
“We have so many great streams to our work which generate valuable revenue, from event space to bouquets and wedding packages from our sustainable flower farm, to frozen ready meals to support our community freezer. It was just hard to know where to start when it came to getting the word out and invariably these days that means doing it online and via social media. There is always so much to do and time is limited across a small team, so having the Noble guys come in and work with us to focus in on where our efforts could be best spent has made a real step change.
“We’re reaching people we never would have before through our website and understand how our social media and online presence can be optimised to achieve this. Our comms manager and I have both massively benefitted from this newfound knowledge and learning these skills. It’s given us a real confidence boost and is already helping us in other areas of the business. The Noble team were great fun to work with too!”
Helping clients such as Adobe, Rolls Royce, Yosemite and Kerv with their international digital presence, Noble’s Nevada Deeds programme now donates over $200,000 to charitable causes each year. The Noble Bristol team hopes to replicate this as its UK footprint grows, helping more charities and not for profits in the local community each year.
Noble’s UK managing director, Kate Sikora, explains; “Bristol has welcomed us with open arms since we opened our first UK office here in 2018, it’s such a vibrant, collaborative environment to live and work in. We’ve always felt a real sense of community here which really gelled with the ‘Be Better Every day’ mantra Noble Nevada was built on. Another thing we wanted to bring across the pond was of course the Noble Deeds programme, after launching last year it’s really exciting to be bringing it back for 2023. Not to mention being able to increase the amount of support on offer.
“So many charities and not for profits are struggling with the rising cost of living so sadly still need help to keep going and doing the vital work they do. Working with Heart of BS13 our Deeds winners last year was a stark reminder of this, but with such a driven, hard-working group of people at the core we’re confident they’ll continue to do amazing things. We’ve loved working with them, being able to get out and about and work with grassroots local community organisations is enriching in so many ways for our team, while making a difference at the same time.”
To enter, registered charities or not-for-profits must be Bristol or Bath based and complete a simple application form, which will be live on the Noble Performs website from May 18th to May 31st. The entries will be judged by a panel made up of an internal committee of the UK Noble team, with the winner selected by mid-July.
The Bristol-based charity that wins a place on the programme will secure a package of digital marketing support and skills training tailored to suit its specific needs, however this could include; SEO, PPC, Analytics and Paid Social. The package of support is anticipated to run from September 2023 to February 2024.
To enter please visit https://nobleperforms.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2023-_-Noble-Digital-Deeds-Grant-Application-1.pdf
To find out more about Noble Deeds please visit https://nobleperforms.co.uk/deeds/
Widely considered the most effective marketing medium, videos bring life to the brands that were once dependent on static and print. And whilst it has been hugely popular for the best part of a century, it has only grown more prevalent in recent years with the widespread uptake in smartphone and social media usage. For marketers, educators, and storytellers alike, video helps to engage with audiences in a far more immersive and memorable way. It can be formatted and stylised to specific guidelines, and most importantly, can simplify complicated messages comprehensively.
Cut forward to 2023, and we simply can’t get enough of it. We’re averaging a lengthy 95 minutes a day on TikTok, using YouTube to answer 1 in every 4 search queries, and collectively uploading 82 years of video content to YouTube daily. So, if you’re not doing everything in your power to make video work for your brand, you’re missing out on a sizeable opportunity.
Video can be used to suit a wide range of different formats and styles, from short-form social media content to long-form documentaries, making it a highly versatile medium that can be tailored to specific brand objectives. But with video being so widely consumed, we’ve grown to become connoisseurs of the moving image. Consumers have no time for slow starts, are becoming easily distracted, and can sniff out branded content a mile off. This shift in behaviour directly factors into the way that leading brands now develop their video content and should also factor into how you develop your own.
We’ve delivered short and long form video for high calibre clients across a variety of global markets. If you’re looking to leverage great video content for your brand, drop us a line today and let’s talk. No strings.
Discover more industry insights and opinions at saintnicks.uk.com/insights
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