This month we have been working on our usual mix of branding and digital creative production and working hard on our retail clients’ Christmas marketing campaigns, which certainly kept us busy at the end of last year!
We worked alongside the creative young minds of Bristol City College, where students created a range of unique and innovative products from a brief we provided. We were so impressed with the quality of work produced and the creative ideas that came from the students this year; you can read more about the project below!
The Fanatic Digital Marketing team was nominated and had the honour of attending the UK Search Awards 2022! More about the event can be found under the Digital heading below.
We also had the pleasure of welcoming Sean to the Fanatic family this month. See how he’s settling in, in his Q&A further down!
BRISTOL CITY COLLEGE
This is the second year we have been working with the City of Bristol College Graphic Design department to help their students gain the experience of being briefed and then presenting their work within a commercial environment. This year we set a brief to create the branding and packaging for a line of English Alcoholic drinks, specifically Wine, Mead, Cider to a spirit, influenced by our work with Lyme Bay Winery. We also spent some time with the students, who are studying for an HND, in a workshop talking about their ideas halfway through the 2-month project process.
We were presented with a great variety of ideas, including the brand Humble, presented by Sabrina, with a clear concept dating back to the idea of Mead being sent from the heavens for the humble worker. Tying in the fact that the drink is a honey base, and illustrations of worker bees, completed a great brand story.
Gia presented a Cider concept based on the English skyline, using heritage fighter planes hand-painted illustrations and bold, clean colour schemes to execute three strikings can designs.
In recent times, many of our Umbraco projects have included the creation or updating of websites to .NET Core. As the latest releases of Umbraco require .NET Core, this implementation of .NET brings about significant changes to the code’s syntax and structure. Our development team is constantly learning, using new techniques and researching the latest ways of coding to keep our technologies at the forefront of the industry. During Umbraco migrations, especially with our bespoke coded apps that run alongside our Umbraco websites, there has been a lot of R&D going into this area recently.
One instance had our developer, Phil, struggling to find a solution. After trying Google, stack overflow and our usual resources, he was unsuccessful in finding the answers he needed. Instead of continuing to search, Phil turned to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, an unlikely but helpful ally. This AI tool has learned from an impressive amount of data online and can provide answers and clarity on even the most specific requests. After posing his question to the AI, Phil received two different solutions to the problem, each accompanied by an explanation of how the function would work. It was truly impressive.
We find the ChatGPT raises the bar of what we can expect from a search when AI is used; most impressively, the ChatGPT can actually give opinions as it has included a forum and social chat within its learning source materials. Cool, but scary stuff!
UK SEARCH AWARDS 2022!
The UK Search Awards celebrates the expertise, talent and achievements of the search industry and has been running for over a decade. It is regarded as the premiere celebration of SEO, PPC and content marketing in the UK, and this year Fanatic had the honour of being nominated in 4 categories!
Being nominated for the Best low budget campaign, Best local campaign, Best use of search – Health and Best use of search – Travel / Leisure was a huge honour. Despite not winning any awards this time around, it was great to see the work we are doing getting the recognition it deserves. Our teams have worked hard to create some amazing campaigns, websites, designs and much more over the years and to see Fanatic nominated in so many categories was a lovely way to finish 2022.
It’s been great so far, I’ve been made to feel very welcome. After working in a remote rural location for a couple of years, it’s nice to be back in the hustle and bustle of the city!
I have spent the last ten years doing digital marketing in-house for e-commerce websites selling all kinds of products, ranging from swimwear to organic foods!
During my interviews, it was clear that Fanatic have a culture of going the extra mile (and a bit further) for their clients, which really appealed to me. I’m glad to have joined such a passionate, creative and driven team.
I’m enjoying being in the studio in Bristol, there’s a great atmosphere about the place and the team are all so friendly!
I’m looking forward to working closely with everyone across all of the teams. It’s already clear that there is a huge wealth of knowledge in the company. I’d like to pick up some new tips on design and development while continuing to increase my digital marketing knowledge.
In my free time, I love to be creative! Design and illustration are two hobbies I enjoy; I also print some of my designs onto merchandise which I sell on Etsy.
A question we often get asked as a web design agency is how much does a website cost? The answer unfortunately isn’t as simple as giving a price straight off the bat, well at least that’s not how we as a web design agency provide quotes or work costings.
We always encourage potential clients to complete our “Get a Free Quote” form on our website to capture some basic but very important information about the potential project, the current website, the clients location, contact details and requirements for the project so we can learn some basic information about the business and competitors through our own research.
Each of the websites we build are bespoke to that client, there isn’t a one size fits all solution and so costs for any website will always differ between website, that’s the main reason why we cannot provide prices straight away without knowing more details. Some agencies will use pre-made templates from sources on the internet, they are often bloated code, insecure and will make your website slow and heavyweight – we don’t work like this.
Read more on our website at:
https://www.eckhomedia.com/how-much-does-a-website-cost/
An outstanding achievement and something we are very proud of.
Back in 2019, ADLIB Recruitment was one of the first recruitment businesses to certify as a B Corp with a score of 82.8. Our belief is that B Corp provides a structure and measurement to improve, certification is the start of the journey. We set out our intentions publicly through annual impact reports and set the bar high. This approach ensured we maintained the focus and accountability needed to make change happen.
Since our initial certification, we’ve held ourselves accountable to improve year on year. We’ve become a 100% employee-owned business, created a Trust Board, Employee Council and gifted each of our existing employees share options with a clear route to realisation.
We’ve donated many thousands of £ to charities and NFPs, including Feeding Bristol, Grassroots Activation Project, St Mungo’s, Julian Trust and Forest of Avon Trust to name a few brilliant organisations.
Internally, we have created MotherBoard, a business charter, community and event series that drives tangible change for mums working in the tech industry. We’ve also vastly improved our maternity leave policy and delivered D,E&I training, lived out through a healthily balanced team. The team have played lead roles in advancing GreenTech South West and Tech Ethics meet up groups. And that’s just for starters.
Today we celebrate the hard work that has gone into achieving our recertification. Focus will soon turn to our next recertification and setting the standards to a whole new level.
There are lots of brilliant events and other opportunities for creative businesses this February and March. See the full list below.
Events are either free or discounted for Bristol Creative Industries members. Some other opportunities are exclusive to members. Not a member? Join today.
However big or small your business, nothing has more commercial impact than fame. Join us in Bristol to hear Pete Bracegirdle share the incredible story of ‘Fearless Girl’ and what she can teach us about how to make your brand more famous. Book your ticket here.
Join Inkwell founder Chris Goodfellow for advice on how to create your own high-quality videos.
Wake Up Call is an online event exclusive to BCI members. Book your ticket here.
Join Rebecca Steer, Steer & Co’s award-winning lawyer, for this talk at Watershed in Bristol on data privacy laws in the UK and Europe and how they affect creative, digital and tech businesses. Book your ticket here.
Join Mette Davis for top tips on how to deliver a great workshop experience for your team and clients.
Wake Up Call is an online event exclusive to BCI members. Book your ticket here.
BCI members can book a free 30 minute call with Rebecca Steer, an award winning business lawyer. Book your call here.
The free BCI members’ lunch at The Square Club in Bristol is an opportunity for members to build connections while enjoy a delicious buffet lunch. Book your ticket here.
A networking event with a difference! A great opportunity for BCI members to make some new creative industry connections whilst exploring the countryside. Book your ticket here.
Come along to our freelancer networking drinks at The Square Club in Bristol to widen your networks, make new connections, discuss common problems, and discover potential opportunities for collaboration. Free for BCI members. Book your ticket here.
Ruth Clarke discusses six new big trends and ideas for how we look after our people.
Wake Up Call is an online event exclusive to BCI members. Book your ticket here.
The free BCI members’ lunch at The Square Club in Bristol is an opportunity for members to build connections while enjoy a delicious buffet lunch. Book your ticket here.
BCI members can book a free 30 minute call with Rebecca Steer, an award winning business lawyer. Book your call here.
Forward Space is offering BCI members with turnover below £150,000 the chance to win a free office for three months in Bristol’s Boxworks. Find out more.
A new partnership between BCI and LawBite gives members access to free and affordable legal expertise. Find out more.
Our friends at The Wow Company have launched BenchPress 2023, the largest survey of independent agency owners in the UK.
It’s the perfect opportunity for Bristol Creative Industries members to benchmark themselves against their peers and build a picture of the latest trends impacting agencies across the country. Find out more.
Event: The CMO’s Guide to Customer Acquisition
Microsoft will join a select panel of senior marketing professionals in Bristol this March to discuss how businesses can best drive more online customers through digital marketing.
Hosted by South West performance agency Launch, the breakfast event will be held on March 22nd at the Showcase Cinema de Lux in Bristol from 8:30 – 11am.
The CMO’s Guide to Customer Acquisition will provide a vital opportunity for like-minded marketers and brands to listen and debate with other CMOs about their successes, challenges and their strategies around data, conversion optimisation and paid media.
Marion Gould, Client Partner Lead at Microsoft, will be speaking on ‘Marketing with purpose: how to create a strong brand in digital marketing.’ Also on the schedule is the managing director of Launch, Jaye Cowle, who will chair a panel debate with senior marketing leaders to open the event, discussing the evolution of performance marketing.
Jaye Cowle says: “This is set to be a really insightful event for marketers, brands, and business owners. Together with our brilliant guests, and media partner Microsoft, you can learn how brands like yours are getting the most from their performance marketing activity.”
In addition to Microsoft, there will be panel discussion with Barney Bell, Head of Marketing for David Salisbury; Piers Tincknell from Atomic Smash and Harriet Barter, Account Director at Launch, on ‘Why channel diversification is key to converting and finding new audiences.’
Data Strategist, Michael Patten, will discuss the countdown to GA4 in ‘Leverage your data to target new customers.’ In addition, Launch’s Conversion Director Joe Johnston will be joined by Account Manager Josh Marinaro to discuss the customer experience: ‘How incremental website changes can bring big results.’
Find out more about the schedule and book a place at this event
Picture: Marion Gould, Client Partner Lead at Microsoft, will be speaking on Marketing with Purpose.
Fiona Craig joins Form as Partner.
Fiona has 20+ years of lived experience at the coalface of creative agency life: managing clients, leading teams, shaping businesses. As an agency strategist, Fi led brand, data and loyalty initiatives for British Airways, Sainsburys, Pets at Home, GWR, McDonalds and Virgin Money.
Now as a Growth Consultant & Coach, she now works with agency founders, directors and leadership teams, cutting through the noise of agency life to provide the time and space for top quality thinking, leading to purposeful action.
In her new role, Fiona will partner with clients to support them with both coaching and consultancy, making practical recommendations or facilitating the internal insight of the teams. Talking about her appointment, managing director Matt Johnson said: “For us Fi is crucial in not only bringing the presence of Form to the South West but she brings to the team an impressive track record and wealth of experience that will help our clients imagine and build a better future.”
Fiona added: “I’m really excited to join the Form team. I’m really keen to bring the sheer quality and impact of Form’s work down to the South West, because we have some remarkable businesses down here who are doing amazing things, and I’d love to support them.”
There are plenty of exciting elements to running your own business – or any business! Many enjoy the freedom of being their own boss and delegating their own tasks (and where they work from). The thought of being paid to do what you love is an exciting and encouraging commodity.
Knowing what numbers are important when it comes to managing the finances of your business can be daunting, to say the least! We’re here to help with this handy video, to give you a quick rundown of what you should be tracking – dependant on your business goals.
Before we begin, it’s important to understand what your business goals are. The information you will need will change depending on these goals. For example, if you are in a growth stage, you’re going to be tracking different numbers to if you are simply in ‘survival mode’. This video will cover the ‘must have’ numbers to start with.
Arguably this is the number that most businesses will focus on, yet many will only look at how they did the month previously. It’s super important to have an overview of your turnover as a whole. Keeping an eye on the trends can show you quickly whether your numbers are up or down. If you can determine why your sales are fluctuating, you can implement strategies to ensure those numbers stay on an upwards incline. Without this, you may not even realise your revenue travelling on a downward slope.
These are the costs that directly relate to being able to provide your business’s goods and/or services. Having an account of these costs helps you also understand your gross profit. Make sure you routinely assess this number as it is one you have a lot of control over! How can you add value to your business? And how can you ensure that you get the most value out of these costs?
These are the expenses that are for running the business. You need to spend money to earn money, so it makes sense to ensure that you are keeping an accurate record of these expenses. Operating expenses include things such as wages and administration costs. When costs need to be reduced, this is the first place you should look. If you have an accurate record of what you’re spending to operate your business, you can evaluate whether you really need that subscription service anymore, or even if there are licenses you can afford to boot if you no longer need them.
This is a sneaky one! Corporation Tax is the tax you pay on any profits you make from successfully doing business, selling assets or investments. You won’t get a bill for corp tax but you will be expected to pay by your deadline (which is usually 9 months after your year-end/accounting period). There are certain things you must do to work out how much corporation tax you owe and must pay to HMRC. Corp tax is currently 19% of profits within a financial year…however, this goes up on 1st April 2023 to 25% for companies that make over £250,000. Posting a provision based on monthly profit will help take away that end-of-year scare. Top Tip: This is something that we do monthly for our clients here at FD Works, helping to reduce any big shocks at the end of the year!
This is the main figure that it all comes down to…how much money did your business make or lose? Obviously, a big one to keep track of! In other words, operating profit is the total income a company generates after paying off all operating expenses. The operating profit figure excludes gains or losses from interest, taxes and investments. This number is a highly effective way to distinguish the health of your business.
An extra number to keep an eye on is cash flow. Cashflow is the amount of money being transferred in and out of the business. Generally, if your outgoings are consistently greater than your ingoings then your business isn’t sustainable and you need to look at what can be done to solve this. However, it’s not quite that simple! You may spend £10k on sales in order to make £100k. Yet, if that money isn’t paid on time to you, you can’t reinvest another £10k into your next batch of sales. If you’ve been keeping track of the other metrics mentioned previously, you have the tools in place to troubleshoot your issue and react accordingly:
…And there you have it! In this article, we have broken down the metrics that we think are important to keep track of and understand. Now, this isn’t a comprehensive list, so make sure you get in touch with us or check out our website if you are ready to take control of your finances and work with our incredible team. We really believe that numbers reveal the opportunities for shaping any business.
We are absolutely delighted to announce that Wilkinson Sword has chosen Activation to create their in-store activation campaign for 2023.
Wilkinson Sword is an iconic British brand with a heritage spanning over 250 years, and we were thrilled when they decided to move forward with our striking campaign idea, “No More Hairy Moments”. The campaign launches in stores in January 2023, after extensive development through 2022, and will run throughout the year.
The “No More Hairy Moments” creative platform is purposefully bold, brave, and disruptive to seek attention when it matters. Its goal is to make Wilkinson Sword relevant in situations/events where they would not generally be linked and stand out in these moments in stores.
The creative is unlike anything the brand has done before. The goal is to draw customers’ attention both in-store and online, encouraging them to purchase Wilkinson Sword products and enter the promotion.
This year-long campaign will come to life across many key seasonal events, including Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween and more, across multiple retailers. Each activation highlights a ‘hairy moment’ that the customer might want to escape from and we have partnered with travel brand Secret Escapes to provide the perfect prize. Each activation offers up to 5 entrants the chance to win £1,000 worth of Secret Escapes credits to plan their ideal escape.
The campaign kicked off in ASDA stores where customers have the opportunity to escape the New Year’s resolutions. ASDA shoppers can see the campaign both in store and online and enter the competition via www.asda.com/win. Future activations will be available across the major grocery and high street retailers so keep an eye out!
McCann ploughs ahead with next phase of campaign for Britain’s largest organic dairy brand
Yeo Valley Organic, Britain’s largest organic dairy brand, is set to launch a new above-the-line campaign as part of its carefully crafted masterbrand advertising activity, created by McCann Bristol. Leveraging the creative line “Yeo Got This!”, the multichannel campaign aims to give people the confidence to make good choices for themselves and the planet, every day.
The creative will be appearing in out-of-home channels, supported by a radio sponsorship with Magic Radio and social content. Further bursts are planned throughout 2023 along with exciting partnerships, experiential and in store activities.
Yeo Valley Organic Brand Director, Niall McKee said: “We’re delighted to see our masterbrand campaign starting to gain in momentum as we head into the autumn. We want this campaign to give everyone the confidence to make good choices for themselves and the planet every day. Our campaign is a little fist bump of encouragement.
“The latest activity is certainly timely for us as a brand. According to latest data from Deloitte, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people who have adopted a more sustainable lifestyle in the past 12 months. It’s therefore important that we actively demonstrate how we’ve been pioneering this movement for over 25 years, and it’s central to everything that we do.”
Talking about the brand platform, McCann Bristol’s Executive Creative Director Zane Radcliffe explains: “We landed on a truth that most of us have good intentions when it comes to making choices that are good for both us and the planet. But we’re not all Greta Thunberg, and it can be difficult to know how to make a positive impact. Yeo Got This! reassures us that we can all do our bit, even if it’s just popping an organic yogurt in our shopping baskets.”
The campaign builds on the insight that Yeo Valley Organic has been making good choices for over 25 years as an organic and sustainable business: prioritising nature friendly farming, animal welfare, and not using artificial fertilisers or chemical pesticides.
Radcliffe adds: “We’re helping people make positive choices in an effortless, fun and informative way.”
McCann Bristol won the work through a competitive pitch process last year, and it marks an exciting new era of growth for the organic dairy brand as it raises awareness of its regenerative organic farming credentials.
Would like to join a shared work space? Had enough of working from home?
Our one-room office space is in central Bristol. We have 3 desk spaces to rent out to established freelancers / individuals in the creative industries.
Fixed monthly rent includes broadband, a desk and a cupboard space.
Interested?
Please get in touch – [email protected]