Back in the day (and by the day, I only mean a few years ago), your email address used to be the passport to the internet; now it’s your mobile number, your mobile and apps that unlock everything. The average global Android user spent 27% of waking hours on mobile in April 2020, up from 20% in 2019 (App Annie).
A mobile is in peoples’ hands every day – in lockdown we’re carrying it into every room! It’s actually harder to keep people off mobile than driving them to it. Therefore, we need to ensure we’re making the most of the various ecosystems that brings with it. Brands need to start thinking of mobile as a way of life, not just a device or a screen size.
CRM is at the core of apps
Customer relationship management (CRM) is at the core of apps – a good app becomes a customer’s focal point for interaction with a brand. For example, apps like Amazon and Sainsbury’s Nectar etc used to be an evolution of a website. Now they are the default destination for looking up anything to do with your history with the brands, as well as the easiest way to use their services.
In today’s day and age, it’s the easiest way to start and build personalised conversations, so brands can use it for rewards; changing behaviour; keeping users sticky; building trust; and getting a good understanding of the user’s needs and order history. I say easiest. You can’t just bosh out an app and assume some Field of Dreams magic will happen. You still have to prove the value to your audience; you have to put their needs ahead of your own gains.
And those gains are plentiful! As well as making your customers more sticky, more likely to keep using your service over others, you will start unlocking insight into their spending patterns, their hard transactional data and their behaviour and preferences.
Prove your app deserves space on their phone
Customers are so much more likely to use an app if it’s good. If it’s seen as a bit rubbish, they won’t want to interact with it or share it. Same with a mobile website – don’t immediately force people to get your app or ram it down their throats. Deliver them a great experience on the site first, prove your app deserves the space on their phone and that it will be useable. The worst thing you can do is put more barriers between your users and the content they want.
The key is to make sure you’re understanding the user’s ecosystem. Align your needs with customers and don’t put any barriers in the way. People want a frictionless experience – sending you from an email to an app where passwords are already stored and customers can use single sign on, etc. Customers expect the mobile experience to be seamless and relevant. It’s your job to facilitate that. Helping them is ultimately going to help you. A good customer experience means your customers will spend more. According to a research from PWC, 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience.
Don’t do it just because you can
We do a lot of cool stuff with mobile, in email particularly. People on their mobiles are more likely to be able to see all the interactive innovative coding. That being said, we make sure to never do it just because we can. Time and again I see people using ‘in-email’ technology because it’s available, not because it improves the user journey. It’s about the fundamentals of the next course of action for a user, and if that’s using mobile then great. Every interaction a customer has with your brand will inform their experience, regardless of which channel this interaction occurs on.
It’s also easy when thinking about mobile experiences to ignore or forget about the journey for desktop users. People want to be able to have the experienced tailored to them wherever they are. In email that means not scrimping on designing a less interactive experience; play to the strengths that a bigger screen has. For web-based journey’s, make sure the right tools are in place for people to effectively complete that journey outside of the app you’ve spent so much time developing. Whether that’s making sure the login process is as smooth and frictionless as possible or that the service you are offering is just as easy and exciting, don’t keep forcing people down the channel you’ve chosen.
Mobile devices and apps have quickly become a huge part of our everyday lives. It’s a wonderful opportunity for businesses to strengthen brand loyalty, recognition and streamline the customer experience. Just remember, while mobile is an exciting and worthwhile avenue, as with everything, you need to do it well.
Put the customer experience first, prove that you have something to offer and remember to prioritise those personalised conversations.
As joint leader of an independent agency, 2020 has meant sleepless nights. But it has also provided opportunities to inspire others and galvanise our team.
There never has been and there still won’t be perfect leaders in 2021. Throughout 2020, leaders have been pushed and tested in completely new ways. Moving forward it’s important to focus on our strengths as leaders, rather than our weaknesses. Reach out and work alongside other leaders to delegate some of your leadership tasks and remember that in areas you struggle, someone else will excel. It is a positive thing to learn from this. We as leaders are always learning. In an effort to continue our development and competence in this area, with my fellow Director, Chris Thurling, we recently took part in a two-day course run by the Institute of Directors entitled Leadership for Directors. Be open to new information and to adapting your preferred methods and means as necessary.
As a leader you are also a follower, likely following other leadership team members within the business. Demonstrate what it means to be a good follower through asking the right questions and having the right attitude towards a mutual goal. Praise and reward good following within the business and cultivate an atmosphere of support and trust. This will be crucial in tackling the upcoming year.
Staff will need to know what level of risk is acceptable within the business, especially coming out of the complex year that was 2020. It’s important that as a leader you communicate if risk and innovations are rewarded or if in the current period the aim is to avoid risk within the business.
We’re all motivated by different means: money, autonomy, flexibility etc. These motivations also change throughout a person’s life. Many of our motivations have changed in 2020 in particular as our lives have shifted emphasis. It’s vital that moving forward you have empathy with your team and ask individuals what it is that motivates them. Don’t waste your time offering flexibility to an individual who is focused on financial gain for example.
Sir Alex Ferguson got it spot on when he said this. Good leaders can inspire people simply by being around them, and often have an energy that people want to follow. This has increased in difficulty this year as a leader’s presence is significantly diluted on screen. The minute I as a leader press that ‘leave meeting’ button online, my presence has gone. This is an obstacle that needs to be overcome and one of the reasons I believe that, to misquote Mark Twain, the death of the office has been greatly exaggerated.
Understand, share and coach people through the change management process, and Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ change curve, so they appreciate the emotional journey they are likely to go through when faced with change, especially big or unexpected sudden change. We might go through stages of shock, denial, then anger and frustration, through to uncertainty or depression, before starting to feel more positive with acceptance, problem solving and finally commitment. Following the difficult year that has been 2020 it is vital that as we move forward, we are able to do so together.
It’s important to see connections and relationships develop across different levels and skill sets within the business. This is why, in normal times, colleagues enjoyed lunches and trips to the pub together. These obviously haven’t happened in 2020 and businesses will need to figure out how to maintain social connections whilst the virus still rages and how to rebuild them post lockdown.
With communication, people want to understand WHY something has been decided – as much as possible, if you can share the raw or primary data that has influenced decisions, people will find it easier to contextualise and understand the reasons for decision-making. We’ve learned this year, when we haven’t felt the support of our team in a direction we propose, it might have been because we haven’t been transparent enough with what we were seeing, and why we thought the proposal was the best solution. Clear language is vital moving forward as the conversations that usually happen between staff in the office to provide clarity aren’t always happening remotely. Leadership styles are also contextual so bear in mind that what worked in the office may not work online. Perhaps a more direct approach will be needed. A greater emphasis on clarity will be necessary no matter what your chosen leadership style.
In 2020, we have seen more than ever before the truth in the saying “Repeat yourself so often, you get sick of hearing yourself. Only then will people begin to internalise what you’re saying”. With so many changes, and also real or perceived threats, people want to know what that means for them. Even if there is no-change, communicating that gives reassurance. This remains crucial as we move into the uncharted territory that is 2021.
Leadership principles go back centuries in history and remain relevant today. Moving forward, leaders will continue to build on these principles alongside an ever-evolving culture.
A lot has changed in 2020 but good leadership principles have not. Leaders have simply had to adapt.
This article was written by Andy Brown, Chief Financial Officer at Armadillo, and first appeared on Business Chief.
At this time of year, our marketing team asks people around the business for their predictions for the following 12 months. Whilst we can usually have a good stab at what the next year will hold, 2020 has thrown everything up in the air.
This time last year, very few people would have predicted a global pandemic, or the impact it might have.
So, who knows what next year will bring. But as I look ahead to 2021, I hope we will value bravery, of ourselves and those around us, and appreciate those who encourage us to be brave. A character trait that doesn’t always get the limelight, I think there are at least three specific areas where it will be valued even more than it has been in years gone by.
Marketeers across the board, from senior decision makers at brands to the agencies they employ, need confidence to follow the courage of their convictions. To be brave embracing new technology and risky creative ideas for their message to resonate in a crowded landscape.
Many of us have heard the adage “we’re in the same storm, but not in the same boat” this year. With friends and colleagues working from home, and at times physically isolated or in quarantine, we need to be brave for our friends’ sake. Brave by dialling down our own fear of rejection or being excluded and reach out to them. Demonstrating compassion for others, and making an effort to listen with empathy may for some be like rays of sunshine in their day.
And we need to be brave in believing in ourselves. To have increased confidence that we can do something which may feel challenging. Bravery in the hope and faith that tomorrow will be brighter, and we’ll get through this if we look out for each other and stick together.
If this thought resonates with you, and you want to wear your heart on your sleeve more than just figuratively, Relabelled Clothing is a local independent ethical business with some apt ‘Brave’ apparel for adults and kids.
This article was written by Andy Brown, Chief Financial Officer at Armadillo.
AMBITIOUS has recently delivered a national campaign for PillTime, working with Dr Hilary – securing 11 TV and radio interviews, with the total reach of the campaign over five million.
About the campaign
PillTime is an NHS certified online pharmacy and their mission is to make life more manageable for people who take multiple prescriptions every day.
They do this by providing pills in a pouch with the time of day stamped on the packet. This prevents people from taking the wrong medication and most importantly not taking too much.
The aims of the campaign were to raise awareness of the added pressures on non-professional carers as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and inform the public about the tools offered by PillTime to make caring for loved ones easier.
Our activity started by commissioning a piece of research amongst unpaid or non-professional carers to see how they were feeling – and if they felt they were getting enough support. We set about creating a news story to primarily secure broadcast coverage because we wanted to get people talking about unpaid carers on International Carers Rights Day – a key awareness day we had identified as an platform to secure media coverage, an opportunity for newsjacking and a PR platform to use these findings to create newsworthy earned media content.
PillTime already had a working relationship with the nation’s favourite GP – ITV’s Dr Hilary Jones – and AMBITIOUS were able to offer interview time with him to radio and TV stations. With his medical background, Dr Hilary was able to articulate the stressors on unpaid carers and highlight how people who are worried about a loved one taking the right medication might be able to get some peace of mind.
AMBITIOUS launched the campaign on International Carers Rights Day to further highlight the worry, stress and anxiety carers in the UK are facing. PillTime also wanted to show support of the awareness day in a meaningful and genuine way and offer people who are worried about taking the right prescriptions a solution.
Campaign results with national reach
AMBITIOUS introduced PillTime to a range of regional and national media platforms and were able to secure some fantastic interviews with Dr Hilary talking about the research on a day of significance for the brand.
Quality earned media coverage was achieved across 11 TV and radio interviews, with the total reach of the campaign over 5 million. The flagship coverage on International Carers Rights Day was ITV Borders who used the interview in their early evening bulletin which reaches close to 100,000 viewers per week.
Paul Stonuary, Head of Marketing, PillTime, added: “AMBITIOUS are not only a team of great minds and fantastically creative thinkers, they are also an endearing group of people to work with. They took the time to really understand my business and what I hoped to achieve. The results were far beyond what I might have expected.”
For more information about this campaign or our PR, content, social media or digital marketing services, please contact AMBITIOUS via our website or at [email protected].
It’s time to break the holding pattern
You’ve worked hard to build a great culture and support your people during the most challenging time. Your team has shown the same commitment and done their best to rapidly adapt. Your leaders, many new, have stepped up, shone through and realised what they are capable of.
If you can relate to any or all of the above, then you’re in a good place. But like many agencies you may also be stuck in a holding pattern when it comes to how day to day working and culture will function in the future – particularly if you’re used to a more traditional set-up.
So how do you maintain momentum and not get held back by what you can’t control? How do you motivate and manage people across teams and locations? And how do you start to be more intentional about designing a working experience and culture that supports your future goals?
Answering these questions starts with recognising that there’s no looking back and no point in transferring old ways to new realities. The future of work isn’t about being remote from one another, quite the opposite, it’s an opportunity to be more meaningfully connected than you were before – in every respect.
You’ll now need to think differently about how you transition from one working era to the next, so here are some initial prompts to help focus your approach:
Uncertainty remains but a new year deserves a new outlook. Start as you mean to go on with a clear plan for how your agency and your teams will work together. Be deliberate about it and create the conditions for your business and your talent to do their best work.
If you’d like to know more about any of the points we’ve raised here, or just chat about any of the issues you’re facing in your business, we’re here and ready to talk.
Bath-based digital media buying agency, SearchStar, and London-based multilingual digital marketing agency, Adapt Worldwide, have announced that they will now operate as one company, retaining the Adapt name while launching a new-look brand and proposition for 2021.
Both agencies had previously been acquired by international localisation company, Welocalize, with SearchStar the most recent acquisition in 2018.
Together, SearchStar and Adapt become a global Digital Performance Marketing Agency, with an expanded list of services focusing on delivering growth for ambitious clients domestically and internationally. Adapt’s service offering now includes: Paid Search, SEO, Programmatic, Paid Social, Content Marketing, Conversion Optimisation and Web Analytics.
Importantly for Bath and the wider area, the new launch of one of the South West’s largest agencies brings with it new and exciting employment opportunities in the digital sector. With growth ambitions of its own, Adapt will continue to hire aggressively at all levels a it seeks to expand its teams across its entire service offering.
Speaking of the merging of both agencies Managing Director, Jon Greenhalgh, said:
“The integration of SearchStar under the Adapt Worldwide name, and launch of a new agency brand is a huge milestone in an incredibly positive period of alignment within the wider digital marketing operation of our parent company, Welocalize.
“It’s the culmination of two years of progress – the coming together of two highly talented teams of digital marketers into an agency capable of delivering ‘growth without boundaries’, domestically and internationally.
“And it’s not only the growth this move will be able to deliver for our clients that excites me – it also creates fantastic opportunities for the team. An opportunity to truly broaden their horizons and take further steps in their careers.
“Importantly, retaining our identity as a distinct digital brand means we have been able to preserve the agility of operating as an independent. And one able to take full advantage of the truly multi-market nature of Welocalize to assemble teams specifically aligned with each client’s needs globally.
“It is with that support that we find ourselves in a unique position to meet the expectations of today’s most ambitious brands, whatever they want to achieve – be it to launch internationally, bolster growth in existing markets, or identify opportunities for global expansion.”
The launch of the new Adapt brand and integration of SearchStar is effective from 13th January 2021.
JonesMillbank, Bristol-based video production company, conceptualised, produced and directed a music video for Bristol-based Keir’s latest release, Say Love, dropping yesterday.
Managed by Bristol-based Crosstown Concerts and signed to Vertigo Berlin, a division of Universal Music, Keir’s latest single features on the EP A Thorn With A Face.
Rob French, Senior Creative at JonesMillbank and Director of the music video, worked with the team and Keir on the concept and messaging of the video.
“There is a consistent awareness of others around us but it’s never something we dwell on. Walking through streets, everyone has stories. Stories of love, loss, compassion, remorse, lust, an endless list.”
“Say Love leans into this observation and positions our lead storyteller (Keir) on his own journey, balancing on his own path while others are woven around him. This ensemble collectively represent connections we all have with people through our lives, know matter how brief or long, but ultimately fade away as we continue to move forward on our own journey for love, whatever that may mean to that individual.”
One of JonesMillbank’s largest productions to date, the video was shot on-location at Ashton Avenue Bridge, spanning Bristol’s New Cut, with 30 extras, 15 crew, 5 security, and, last but absolutely not least, 1 coffee van.
“Utilising Ashton Avenue Bridge in Bristol was entirely intentional for Say Love.
“The symmetrical, brutal structure enveloping all the action was the perfect pairing to offset the tenderness and vulnerability in the song.
“A hopeful symphony between the architecture and the natural light danced with those emotions as we travel through the uniformed light and shade that floods the bridge in the mornings.”
Full road closure was granted by Bristol City Council with permits from Bristol Film Office, with the concept adapted and the production managed safely and appropriately during national lockdown.
The commission follows the release of two music videos and album content for Bristol-based and Mercury-nominated IDLES.
Visit jonesmillbank.com/work/keir/say-love for the official video, additional write-up and BTS videos and stills.
***
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 Above & Beyond.
jonesmillbank.com
01173706372
[email protected]
Welcome to the third and final blog in our series on Augmented Reality (AR).
In case you missed it, our first segment introduced AR technology and its impact on markets across the globe, while our second blog explored AR’s potential when it comes to marketing, today. Today’s final instalment delves deeper into the practical use-cases for AR today, along with some of the loftier examples of where its tech could take us.
If you had one, you were of course, lucky enough to be able to afford an extortionately expensive high-end smartphone. You were also probably unlucky enough to be pestered by people who wanted to ‘have a go’ for themselves.
Arthur C. Clarke said, ‘Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.’ And touchscreens certainly had enough magic to magnetise the masses. Now, AR is taking a similar step from the realm of the mystic, into reality. And the timing couldn’t be better.
From the everyday, to the extraordinary: there are opportunities for the world’s biggest brands, most digital-savvy marketers and forward-thinking businesses.
In the age of the smartphone, you could be forgiven for thinking business cards have largely become redundant. But if the line ‘Are you on LinkedIn?’ doesn’t set you on fire, an AR business card could be a stronger opener when encountering potential business contacts in the wild.
Upon scanning your business card, the recipient could be greeted by a showreel video of your products, a short introduction to your business, a tour of your office locations or even live and up-to-date special offers – in fact, there’s limitless potential.
And best of all, creating an AR business card could be a lot simpler than you think. Prototypes already exist which simply work by the recipient scanning a QR code on the card with the camera on their smartphone – no special apps or software necessary!
It goes without saying: this tech doesn’t need to be contained to your business card. Product catalogues, service leaflets and even your quarterly reports can all be brought to life with some clever AR, making your brand not only more appealing – but more engaging, too.
For those of us who treat clothes shopping like a competitive sport, aiming for a new P.B. each time we hit the rails, life could become simpler with the introduction of augmented reality.
One option, which many of us will already be aware of, is ‘virtual try on’ – both online, with the assistance of your laptop or smartphone camera, and in-store through specially-AR-activated mirrors.
L’Oreal was one of the first businesses to introduce AR ‘smart’ mirrors at beauty counters, offering consumers the option to try on cosmetics with ease – and my guess is this will only become more prevalent after the hands-OFF-your-face impact of the pandemic.
Virtual try-ons aren’t just for people, either.
If you’ve visited the Ikea website recently (who hasn’t during lockdown?) you can now ‘try on’ furniture, wallpaper, tiles and more to visualise products in your home. And the same principles can be applied to commercial premises, too.
So if you’re selling high-end office furnishings, commercial signage, or even an air conditioning unit, you can easily make your products more impactful by introducing them directly into your customers’ lives – even if it’s virtually.
This doesn’t need to be just about chasing Pokemon. You can create a treasure hunt for adults which introduces a new level of interactivity between your brand and your customers anywhere you have a physical presence.
For example, if you’re attending an expo, you can place AR locators around your exhibition stand to deliver information about your individual products and services. You’ll stand out from the other exhibitors at the event, and be able to engage your visitors more effectively, keeping them attentive for longer so your employees can follow up the conversation too. And, again, it’s a great conversation starter.
If your business has a retail presence, you can replicate this experience in your showrooms – or even choose to implement an AR window display which could be used to great effect on social media, too.
So imagine this. You hear the clunk of your letterbox and head to collect the post. There’s a small, shallow cardboard box with a bold message printed on top.
GRAB YOUR PHONE AND GET READY.
You open the box, and a leaflet drops out: SCAN ME. Opening your phone’s camera app, and capturing the QR code, you’re taken straight to a video, introducing a teaser on an Amazing New Productᵗᵐ.
Upon further inspection, the leaflet introduces you to the brand behind the ANPᵗᵐ – you even watch a video about the team and see they’re local. In fact, their interactive office location map shows they’re just a mile away, where you can pop into their showroom for even more information.
It might sound otherworldly. But at Proctors, we’re making virtual, reality today. We can help you to create an irresistible campaign, whether it’s wowing shareholders with your next quarterly report or enticing new customers with clever interactive artwork in a viral social campaign.
Talk to us, and let’s discuss your possibilities at [email protected].
Here at Armadillo we’re excited to announce that we will now be offering all staff external coaching with renowned confidence coach, Jo Emerson.
The introduction of external coaching follows our decision to move away from a traditional line managed structure. We have chosen to replace line managers with networked support; task-based support to bring clarity to deliverables, skills-based support to build expertise in key specialisms, and growth-based support. This is where the coaching will come in. We hope that this move will give people the headspace to work through their challenges, ambitions, frustrations and ideas, as well as empower staff to seek their own solutions and decide their own actions.
Fiona Craig, our Strategy and Planning Director, explains why external coaching was a must-have for us: “Internal support is very much focused on the work we do for our clients – you could say the client is the key stakeholder here, and all efforts are focused on doing a good job for them.
Fiona continues: “The support offered by external coaching is centred exclusively around the individual – often there can be a tension between the two areas of focus, and in a traditional structure, line managers can struggle to do a really good job of supporting on all fronts. So, this allows those who are exceptionally skilled in one area to excel, while the individual still gets supported on all sides.”
Jo Emerson is a confidence and human behaviour expert, author, and the winner of International Executive Coach of the Year (2019-2020).
Fiona goes on to say “Jo is highly experienced in dealing with change and confidence, and has a wonderful energy that felt right for us here at Armadillo. She will spark some great conversations and even greater ideas, we feel sure.”
Jo adds, “It’s a real privilege to be working with Armadillo at such a critical time and to support team members as they grow and develop within an incredibly fast-paced industry. Armadillo’s new networked-support structure coupled with external and objective coaching shows what an innovative and agile company they are!”
We hope you will join us in offering Jo a very warm welcome. We thoroughly look forward to working with her and cannot wait to see members of the Armadillo team succeeding in their career and self-development goals.
The talented creatives at Bristol designers Phoenix Wharf have once again taken GOLD for Best Hospitality Project at the London Design Awards, taking the top spot for the second year in a row. On both occasions, the winning project has been for a South-West client, shining a welcome light on the region’s buzzing hospitality industry at both a national and international level, with the London Design Awards representing the UK arm of the world’s largest network of design award programmes, which has recognised outstanding projects from over 7,500 brands and 2,500 studios since its 2010 inception by organisers DrivenXDesign. The awards run annually in New York, Shanghai, Sydney and Hong Kong, as well as London.
Phoenix’s Wharf’s 2020 winning project was its design for an ethical, accessible, community-oriented supermarket – The Bristol Loaf – in the city’s Bedminster area, celebrating the best local produce and ingredients by bringing together a café with retail offers including its own bakery, cheeses from Two Belly, new wine offer The Bristol Vine and fruit and veg from Hugo’s Greengrocer.
In 2019, the designers took GOLD for The Yeo Valley Café, taking the Somerset-based business – also the UK’s leading organic dairy brand – to London for the first time in the form of a two-storey café, shop and workspace on Queensway in the west of the city.
‘What these awards highlight is the great entrepreneurialism of the South-West in the hospitality field’, Chris Gwyther, Founder of Phoenix Wharf, commented. ‘We love working with operators who have both fresh ideas and a real vision. Neither project had the highest budget in the world, so it just goes to show that you don’t have to be in the luxury market to make an impact and a difference. You just have to know your target audience.’
‘When it comes to design’, commented Phoenix Wharf Associate Creative Director Emma Carter, who led both projects to fruition, ‘Bristol can now compete with any city in the country. What’s also notable about these projects is what a great advocate the South-West is for boundary-pushing sustainable design, with both projects featuring re-purposed materials wherever possible, and offering healthy, organic and sustainable food and drink with true community appeal.’
About Phoenix Wharf:
Phoenix Wharf is an interior design and branding agency specialising in hospitality and retail. Founded in Bristol in 2015 and independently owned, the consultancy brings ‘substance with soul’ to its clients, from start-ups to established heritage brands, local, national or international, including Space NK, The National Trust, Yeo Valley, Ensemble, Craghoppers, The Gro Company, Gill Marine, Private Room and Gymshark. Along with sister creative companies Ignition (exhibitions, events and experiences) and Caroline (strategic communications), Phoenix Wharf forms part of Istoria Group.
Visit:
www.phoenix-wharf.com
www.istoriagroup.com
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