Bristol… we are coming to meet you! Help us shape the future media creatives for our region. We are looking to engage with TV, film, content media, games, animation and the photography industry on 26th November at the gorgeous St George’s Hall
✅ Discuss key challenges and opportunities in the creative sector
✅ Shape future talent pipelines and influence taught curriculum
✅ Strengthen collaboration between education and industry to drive
Enjoy breakfast and open discussion with representatives from Weston College, University Centre Weston and Business West LSIP team
If you’re an employer in the creative industries and would like to join us, sign up through here
https://www.weston.ac.uk/event/media-production-photography-games-and-animation-employer-advisory-board
In short:
We find ourselves talking about Earned Visibility a lot at the moment, and for good reason. The new world of AI search is as seismic a shift for marketing, brands, and consumer discoverability as moving into the age of the internet was. For those who haven’t been keeping up, Earned Visibility is our approach to discoverability in the new world of AI.
But what is the difference between Earned Visibility and earned media?
The world has changed. At the time of writing, 62% of Brits are now using AI-enhanced search to find information over traditional search engines, and this trend is not slowing down.
Gone are the days of customers looking for a brand via traditional search and being presented with ten blue links. Gone are the days of customers reading multiple sources to get an answer.
Now, whether someone is looking for a complex understanding of a personal health issue or where to find the best holiday deals, instead of scouring multiple sites and running multiple searches, people are increasingly turning to AI-powered search.
The result? If your brand is not included in the answers that AI tools are showing users, then your brand is basically invisible.
In response to this tectonic shift, we have been spending a lot of time and effort working with data scientists, experts, and a variety of platforms to get ahead of things and understand exactly what brands need to do today and tomorrow to be discovered by consumers. We call this Earned Visibility.
Basically, it’s a new way of approaching the world of marketing.
The bad news? If you’re not embracing Earned Visibility and you’re not being recommended in AI answers, then your consumers won’t be finding you.
The good news? One of the upshots of this fundamental shift is that doing the right things to be included in the AI answer closely aligns with brand and marketing best practices in general. Marketing is no longer about tactical silos – it’s coalescing around the future of discoverability. This is Earned Visibility.
If you’re interested, you can find out more about this as well as discover your exact EV score here.
Whilst it may sound fairly similar, there is a huge difference between the meaning of earned media and Earned Visibility. Earned media is a term that refers to brand mentions, social media mentions, customer reviews or media coverage in channels that a brand does not own. Not to be confused with paid media or owned media!
For example, if your brand has carried out a proactive press engagement campaign that has resulted in your brand being included in The Times, The Guardian, or others, this is earned media.
Earned media has, and continues to have, inherent value. Customers are more likely to trust content that is presented to them by a known news or media title than content presented directly by a brand.
Think about it: is your opinion more likely to be swayed by an article presented by British Airways saying “we’re the best airline in the world,” or by an article on the BBC website saying BA has just been voted the best airline in the world?
Whilst earned media has a crucial role to play in the new world of AI discoverability, it is fundamentally different to Earned Visibility itself.
In short, yes! The framework of Earned Visibility includes a range of factors that any forward-thinking brand should be embracing when it comes to getting in front of customers and influencing consumer behaviour.
AI tools absolutely use media coverage as an indicator for brand quality and trust. What’s more, media coverage continues to be incredibly important in terms of influence and consumer behaviour.
In essence, earned media should be a key part of an Earned Visibility strategy.
Both are important, but you should start with Earned Visibility.
Earned visibility is an entirely new way of approaching the world of marketing. A considered Earned Visibility strategy, when implemented properly, will mean that you are doing everything you should be to get your brand included in AI answers – but also everything you should be doing more broadly in terms of reaching and engaging with your customers across the wider marketing mix.
The key here is that activity should no longer be approached in tactical silos, but seen as part of a wider whole.
A great first step is to understand how you are currently performing in terms of your brand’s Earned Visibility score. You can find your own Earned Visibility score here.
Contact the Yours Sincerely team to begin building your Earned Visibility strategy.
Bristol-based period care brand Grace & Green has launched a new TV campaign highlighting the lack of workplace period products in their spot, ‘Caught Short’.
Collaborating with JonesMillbank, Bristol-based B-Corp video production company, the ad was created after Grace & Green was named as Sky’s Local Heroes winner for the South West, securing funded media support through the Sky Zero Footprint Fund.
“This campaign is about making sure every employee can manage their periods at work without stress or stigma, and placing Grace & Green as the go-to period brand for businesses that care about their employees,” said Fran Lucraft, Founder and CEO of Grace & Green.
“Access to period products should be a right, not a privilege. We are so excited to see our brand on the small screen! Being a Bristol-based business, it’s incredible to see our work recognised locally and shared nationally.”
Abbie Howes, rostered director at JonesMillbank, added: “Getting caught short at work is a stress far too many women have endured, so it was really important to get that relatability across – whilst using light humour to highlight how ridiculous it is that it’s still not the norm for workplaces to supply period products.”
“Understandably if you’ve never been in the situation yourself it may never have crossed your mind, so we didn’t want this to feel judgmental or lecturing, but rather an issue that’s very easy to fix.”
The campaign is running across the Sky network throughout September alongside digital. For more information visit www.graceandgreen.co and www.jonesmillbank.com.
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JonesMillbank are a full-service production company based at Nine Tree Studios, their 10,000sq ft film studio.
Producing branded content, TV ads and social content their clients include local, global and household brands such as Dyson, University of Bristol, DHL, Oxfam, Pukka and the NHS.
jonesmillbank.com
01173706372
[email protected]
Ready to unleash your creative talents but don’t know where to begin?
Gritty Talent is partnering with leading Bristol based Post Production houses to run a part-time 8 week FREE Post Production Skills Bootcamp. The course is aimed at residents of the Bristol, Bath & NE Somerset and South Gloucs areas, who are aged 19+ and wanting to break into Post Production.
You will be introduced to the fascinating world of Post Production through masterclasses in sound, vision and wrangling footage. Alongside formal shadowing opportunities in Post Production Facilities, you will also receive career development workshops and mentoring from the team at Gritty Talent. This bootcamp will fully prepare you to confidently apply for entry level Post Production roles within the TV/Creative Industries.
For full course details including eligibility and how to apply follow this link: https://www.grittytalent.tv/runners-skills-bootcamps
Funded by West of England Mayoral Combined Authority
Delivery partners: Gorilla, Gorilla Academy, Films@59, PictureShop, Doghouse Post Production, One Tribe TV
#skillsbootcamps #skillsforlife #Postproduction #TVRunners #creativeindustries
Earlier this year, Bristol Surf Cinema launched its very first event – a night dedicated to celebrating surf storytelling on the big screen. What started as a small, DIY project to bring people together around meaningful surf films quickly grew into something bigger, with almost 250 people buying for the inaugural screening in April.
The idea was simple: create a space to showcase surf films that go beyond the highlight reels, beyond the big brand edits – stories that dig into the social, political, and environmental threads woven through surf culture.
As a camera assistant working in film and TV and a lifelong surfer, I (Theo) set out to build something that connected those two worlds. In a time when the industry was unusually quiet, Bristol Surf Cinema gave me a creative project to get stuck into and a chance to pour energy into something that mattered. It was also a way to genuinely support filmmakers, every film we screen is fully licensed and paid for, and £1 from every ticket is donated to The Wave Project to help fund surf therapy for young people in the UK.
But perhaps what stood out most from the first event was how the Bristol surf community (and the wider ocean-loving crowd) showed up. Feedback from the night wasn’t just about the films, it was about the feeling in the room. People supported the event and made it clear they would like to see more. They wanted a space where all surf stories could be told, with better representation, better balance, and an even stronger connection to the community.
That’s where our second event comes in. On Saturday 12th July at Watershed Bristol, Bristol Surf Cinema returns with a matinee screening of Point of Change, a powerful documentary by acclaimed director Rebecca Coley. The film tells the story of Nias, Indonesia – a surf paradise that was ‘discovered’ in the 1970s and the environmental and cultural impact that unfolded for the local community as surf tourism in that area grew.
It’s a film that makes you think about the consequences of surf tourism — and we’re lucky to have Rebecca joining us on the day for a Q&A to explore those themes in more depth. Rebecca will be answering questions on her filmmaking process, handling delicate themes within documentary and the impact of tourism on the earth and native communities.
Alongside the feature, we’ll also be screening two UK-made short films:
Surfaced by Paul Stevenson, telling the story of Nick Corkill’s journey through addiction and mental health, and the grounding role that surfing and photography play in that journey.
Seb: A Surf Therapy Journey by Matilda Thompson, a beautifully observed short following a young surfer with ADHD and autism as he experiences surf therapy with The Wave Project Bristol.
For those who can’t make the main event, we’ll also be running a catch-up screening on Wednesday 16th July — same films, just without the Q&A.
Both events will offer the opportunity for networking and drinks at the Watershed bar after the event so you can minglew with like-minded film or ocean enthusiasts.
Bristol Surf Cinema was never meant to be a one-off. The ambition is to keep this platform going – to continue curating thoughtful, story-first surf films and to keep building a space where filmmakers feel supported and audiences feel connected.
Looking ahead, there are exciting plans for a national tour to bring these kinds of surf screenings to other UK cities and coastal towns. The vision is to grow Bristol Surf Cinema into a national platform, while always staying true to the ethos: supporting independent surf filmmaking, elevating underrepresented voices, and creating community-led spaces where ocean & surf centred stories, of all kinds, can be seen, heard, and shared.
Want to come along?
Tickets for the July screenings are available now via the Watershed website: https://www.watershed.co.uk/whatson/13320/bristol-surf-cinema-point-of-change
To stay up to date with future screenings or to get involved, follow @bristolsurfcinema on Instagram.
Walking through the halls of SXSW London this year, I couldn’t help but reflect on how dramatically the conversation has shifted since my last visit to the festival’s original Austin home in 2019. Back then, I was there with Funnel Music, the company I co-founded, and the industry was consumed with one word: copyright. Panel after panel dissected rights management, streaming royalties, and the complex web of music ownership in the digital age.
But here’s what struck me most about 2019 – while the conference rooms buzzed with legal debates, the real magic was happening in the venues. Acts like Fontaines D.C., Black Midi, and Squid were tearing up stages, creating sounds that felt genuinely revolutionary. These artists weren’t just following algorithms or trends; they were forging entirely new paths through raw creativity and human intuition.
Fast forward to SXSW London 2024, and the pendulum has swung dramatically. The dominant theme wasn’t copyright – it was AI. Every other session seemed to explore how artificial intelligence would reshape content creation, marketing strategies, and audience engagement. The enthusiasm was palpable, and admittedly, some of the possibilities are genuinely exciting.
Yet something felt missing. Where 2019 had those breakthrough musical moments that made you stop in your tracks, this year’s festival felt notably light on those serendipitous discoveries. Perhaps it’s coincidence, or perhaps there’s something deeper at play about how we’re approaching creativity in the age of AI.
The Homogenisation Risk
This shift from copyright concerns to AI fascination has me thinking deeply about our industry. As Director of Growth at Mostly Media – a top 50 independent media planning and buying company – I spend my days hearing our team’s strategies that cut through the noise to reach the right audiences with the right message at the right moment.
The promise of AI in media planning is undeniable. It can process vast datasets, identify patterns human analysts might miss, and optimise campaigns with impressive precision. But here’s the critical question we need to ask: if everyone has access to the same AI tools, analysing the same data pools, and following the same algorithmic recommendations, where does differentiation come from?
We’re at risk of creating an echo chamber of strategy. When every media planner is using similar AI models trained on similar datasets, we inevitably converge toward similar solutions. The nuanced understanding of brand voice, the intuitive grasp of cultural moments, the ability to spot emerging trends before they’re reflected in the data – these uniquely human capabilities become our competitive advantage.
The Human Edge in Media Planning
The best media planning has always been part science, part art. Yes, we need the data, the analytics, the performance metrics. But we also need the human insight that recognises when a TikTok trend is about to break mainstream or understands that a particular audience segment responds to authenticity over polish – or spots the cultural moment that makes a brand message resonate.
At Mostly Media, we’re embracing AI as a powerful tool, not a replacement for strategic thinking. We use it to surface insights, automate routine tasks, and optimise performance. But our value lies in the interpretation, the creative application, and the strategic direction that only comes from human experience and intuition.
Learning from the Music Industry
The contrast between those 2019 SXSW breakthrough acts and this year’s more muted musical landscape offers a valuable lesson. Fontaines D.C., Black Midi, and Squid didn’t emerge from algorithmic recommendations – they came from scenes, from human connections, from the kind of organic cultural movements that happen when creative people push boundaries without knowing exactly where they’re going.
Similarly, the most effective media strategies often come from understanding the human stories behind the data. It’s about recognising that behind every click, view, and engagement is a person with complex motivations, cultural context, and emotional needs that can’t be fully captured in a dataset.
Moving Forward
As we navigate this AI-powered future, the key is balance. We should absolutely leverage these powerful tools to enhance our capabilities and deliver better results for our clients – and in truth, we’re on an AI train which is not for turning. But we must resist the temptation to let AI think for us entirely.
The future belongs to those who can combine AI’s analytical power with human creativity, cultural insight, and strategic intuition. Those who can use technology to amplify their uniquely human abilities rather than replace them.
Just as those breakthrough artists at SXSW 2019 didn’t follow formulas but created something genuinely new, the most successful media strategies will come from planners who use AI as a springboard for innovation, not a crutch for conformity.
The question isn’t whether AI will transform our industry – it already is. The question is whether we’ll use it to become more human in our approach, or less.
Imagine this. Instead of writing a traditional article like this one, we shorten our article to a series of headlines and project them onto a famous skyscraper. Outside an advertising awards show. We tease the event. And we invite you and influencers along to it. You take pictures and film parts of the show. You then post it on social media. We film the entire stunt. Afterwards, we edit the vid into different cut-downs for different channels. That my friends is a brand activation in practice.
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So what actually is the definition of a brand activation? ChatGPT defines it as a ‘marketing strategy designed to actively engage consumers with a brand, creating a memorable experience that drives awareness, interaction, and emotional connection’. It’s a decent definition for this recent advertising phenomenon. But for us, it’s an idea worth advertising. Something for your brand to shout about. And right now, activations are becoming more common. They’re taking full advantage of digital capabilities to propagate ideas online which in turn, amplifies brands organically for free. 30 years ago, a Tango ad on a Saturday night was talked about on a Monday morning in the school playground, or at the water-cooler. Today, it’s instant on Whatsapp, TikTok, Twitter and so on. And great activation ideas that live online, always have the possibility of getting shared time and time again.
Here are some of my favourite brand activations from recent times including an app concept for Toyota that was the no.1 downloaded app in the country it was made for.
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You read right. Sounds bonkers. But it was genius. True to their values, REI closed their doors on Black Friday. Instead of getting caught up in the chaos of the shopping day, they wanted their staff to #OptOutside, have a stress-free day off and enjoy the great outdoors. The feel-good news story was picked up by all the mainstream media outlets in the states, and the brand saw sales, brand warmth and employee retention increase off the back of this one activation.
Xbox wanted the world to know how tough their new Tomb Raider game was so they created an interactive billboard that played out like a live game show. Then they subjected the six people on the London billboard to the extreme weather conditions from the actual game. Fans streamed the show via Twitch, where they could even control the weather via their smartphone. Until only the grittiest contestant was left. The results were off the charts, from 450k+ views on Twitch, 2 million views on Facebook and 18 Cannes Lions.
How? By flipping disability around and creating ThisAbles. Ikea found 1 in 10 people in the world live with a disability. So they hacked their most iconic IKEA products by developing 13 open-source 3D printed add-ons, each solving a different accessibility issue. Besides the 5M$ worth of earned media from PR, 4,625 people downloaded the 3D models. One of the great brand activations, that intrinsically links to their vision and genuinely make people’s everyday, wonderful.
Education groups came together to launch Denmark’s Mental Health Day and create awareness about the increase of youth burnout. How? They crafted human sized candles and erected them all over the country to start a nationwide conversation. Each of the statues were made from wax that symbolised inaction leading to an entire generation burning out. They also targeted policy makers with small versions of the burnt-out youth, and produced a series of solutions to help address the growing issue.
The global sports brand discovered that 32% of women around the world feel uncomfortable swimming in public. In the Middle East, it jumps to a staggering 88%. So adidas created the world’s first swimmable billboard in Dubai, encouraging every woman in the city to dive in and become ambassadors for its new inclusive swimwear collection, regardless of their shape, ethnicity or ability. It sparked a global conversation across 60 countries about making swimming more inclusive as a sport for women.
Put your phone down while you drive and pick up rewards. That was the simple award-winning idea for Toyota in Ireland.
The app topped the Irish app charts, received national TV, radio and press coverage worth nearly £350k. But above all Irish people drove over 13 million miles with their phones faced down. And Toyota showed how “built for a better world” made a real tangible difference in people’s lives.
People think they know what ‘suicidal’ looks like: crying, anger, despair. In the absence of these signs, nobody intervenes. With 125 people taking their own lives each week, long-term partners Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) and ITV, the UK’s largest commercial TV station, urgently needed to highlight the fact that ‘suicidal’ doesn’t always manifest the way people expect. So on the happiest day of the year, they created The Last Photo, a hard-hitting campaign that started a vital national conversation and empowered the UK to help prevent suicide.
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The next time you brief your creative agency, think about what it is you’re really looking for. If it’s brand awareness, perception, resonance and share of voice, give your agency the license to think bigger. Creativity shouldn’t be squeezed into conventional media formats – let your brand break free and break the mould. That’s what garners coverage, reach and long-term legacy.
It’s where experiential meets content meets stunts meets brand amplification. And in today’s world, that means more bang for your budget. Just remember, the best activation ideas can be summed up in an attention-grabbing headline. If you nail that and get excited about making it happen, who knows? Your brand activation could be talked about for years to come. Building long-term brand awareness and advocacy, that’s some return on investment.
Drop us a line at https://saintnicks.uk.com/contact-us/ and let’s chat about how we can use brand activations to take your brand further.
For a PR campaign to be successful, it requires several things, but above all, it needs to be strategic, creative and data-driven.
Great campaigns come down to understanding your objectives, your audience and your ability to tell a great story, among a few other things!
When building a winning PR strategy, here are eleven things that will take your PR from ordinary to extraordinary.
Before you start executing, you need to set clear objectives for your campaign. Develop a detailed PR plan that uses the SMART criteria (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) to define goals that are big and realistic.
For example, instead of setting a vague goal like “increase brand awareness”, set something more specific like “increase social media mentions by 30% within three months of the campaign launch”. This way, you can track progress and show value to stakeholders.
Understanding your target audience is the foundation of any PR campaign. Use tools like surveys, social media analytics and customer data to create detailed personas and better understand your target audience.
For example, if you’re promoting a new fitness app, you might find that your main audience is health-conscious millennials who use Instagram and TikTok for fitness inspiration. This information would then inform your content and channel strategy. Make sure that your key messages are tailored to the right audience and are going into the right places.
A good story is the backbone of any campaign.
It should align with your brand values, resonate with your audience, and be effectively communicated through media relations. Think about the story you want to tell and how it ties in with current trends or societal issues.
For example, you may want to focus on your environmental credentials, leveraging your governance or sustainability efforts. This way, you promote your product and position your brand as one that aligns with your audience’s core beliefs and ethos.
Not all media channels are equal, and what works for one campaign may not work for another. Choose the platforms and social media channels that your audience uses and loves.
LinkedIn might be a more effective platform than Instagram if your audience consists of business professionals. If you’re targeting a local audience, partnering with local news outlets and community organisations might be more effective than using national media.
Once you’ve chosen your channels, focus on creating content that’s tailored to each platform and audience segment. High-quality, engaging content, including social media posts, is more likely to be shared and picked up by media.
Creating compelling content can position a company as an industry authority.
For a B2B tech company, this might mean creating in-depth white papers for industry publications and snackable infographics for social media. The key is to adapt your message to fit the format and expectations of each channel while keeping consistency in your overall narrative.
Timing can make or break a campaign.
Consider industry events, product launches, press releases, and media lead times when planning your campaign timeline. When plotting out your timelines, look for opportune moments in the calendar and be hyper-aware of any periods which may detract from what you’re trying to do.
A good PR strategy also factors in an element of reactiveness when it comes to timing. Recognise that real-world events can have an impact on your efforts. Don’t be afraid to hit pause on your plans should something like this happen. Just because you’ve planned some public relations activity around a certain time doesn’t always set it in stone.
As PR experts, when creating PR strategies, we would always counsel to be reactive to issues at hand. If that means holding fire on a launch moment, so be it.
And finally, set your key performance indicators (KPIs) at the start of your campaign to measure PR success and track consistently. This might be media mentions, social media engagement, website traffic, or lead generation, depending on your campaign goals.
Use tools like GA4, Semrush or Ahref, social media insights, and media monitoring platforms to gather data. Regularly analyse this to see what’s working and what’s not, and be prepared to make real-time changes to your strategy.
Analytics tools are essential for tracking various performance metrics in PR campaigns.
So, those were seven strategic tips for building a winning PR strategy. But here are four more pro tips from PR professionals that can take your strategies to the next level.
If you want effective media outreach, building relationships with media outlets is crucial.
Research media journalists who cover topics related to your industry and familiarise yourself with their work and preferences to tailor your pitches effectively. Nothing puts a journalist off more than an ill-considered pitch.
Develop a list of key media contacts and build relationships with them through regular communication and engagement.
Going beyond this, you can even reach out to key journalists before you’ve even drafted any press releases. Including them from the outset with themes and ideas brings them on the journey; you can tap their industry knowledge and create mutually beneficial relationships this way.
By developing relationships with media outlets, you can increase your chances of securing media coverage and achieving your PR goals.
Collaborating with influencers can significantly extend your business reach.
Identify influential social media personalities in your industry who align with your company values. Partner with them for endorsements, reviews, or joint content creation.
An influencer doesn’t just live on Instagram and TikTok, though there are a lot of them there. The term influencer has become something of an ugly word in recent years as people associate the term with pushy people who get free things. But all an influencer is, is someone with a platform and presence whom an audience trusts.
That could just as easily be an individual on Linkedin as it could be on TikTok or Instagram
Influencers can help amplify your message, increase brand awareness, and drive website traffic. They promote content and build a community. When selecting influencers, consider their relevance, reach, and engagement rates. By leveraging influencers, you can tap into their established audiences and enhance your PR efforts.
Issues management and crisis management are essential for preparing for and responding to unexpected events that can impact your brand’s reputation.
Issues management involves the prediction of potential issues and crises. Crisis management is the steps you put in place to react to said issues. A crisis response should be quick and transparent to effectively manage the situation.
Ensure that you are prepared for any eventuality, so regular training for spokespersons is important for consistent messaging during crises and preparedness with issues management.
Combined, these plans should include protocols, communication strategies, pre-approved messaging, key contacts and such.
Staying up-to-date with industry trends and best practices is crucial for creating an effective PR strategy.
Continuously monitor industry news, research, and developments to stay ahead of the curve.
Attend conferences, workshops, and webinars to learn from industry experts and network with peers. Stay informed about the latest PR tools, technologies, and platforms to optimize your PR efforts.
By staying up-to-date, you can refine your PR strategy, improve your skills, and achieve better results. Keeping abreast of industry trends ensures that your PR plans remain relevant and effective in a constantly evolving landscape.
A successful PR campaign is a combination of strategy, creativity and data-driven decision-making. By setting clear objectives, understanding your audience, telling a compelling story, choosing the right channels, creating content that’s tailored, timing your campaign well and measuring consistently, you can amplify your PR.
Remember, the best PR campaigns are ones that are agile and adaptable. Listen to your audience, be prepared to pivot and always keep the end goal in mind.
I read something today about retail media and how people were using it poorly. It mentioned Attention and Influence and that really grabbed me.
The marketing world is on a slippery slope.
The slope towards hyper short term ROAS figures & daily sales targets against daily media spent. Adjustments made in real time always following data, blindly.
A slope driven by those who stand to profit from it, those whose employment depends on it and those that clearly don’t truly understand the relationship between the advertising £ and ROAS.
If there is spreadsheet or dashboard with figures that seem to correlate, well that is the box ticked for those that read the reports. Job done.
Much has been written about ‘Short and Long’ and its incredibly compelling, yet still it’s a daily battle for those of us advising on the best use of a client’s advertising budget.
There are undoubtedly low consideration products with massive latent demand that can build healthy businesses in a short term ROAS world, but in my experience of 30 years in the game and seeing the results of all sorts of campaigns, these are the exceptions not the rule.
There are so many categories that are hugely competitive or have longer consideration windows. This is where relying on solely short term ROAS is frankly a nonsense. There may be data, but the data is most definitely being interpreted wrongly to the detriment of the brand spending the money.
If we want someone to buy a product, one that’s been around a long time and has multiple competitors, or a new product that no one has heard of, we must influence the purchaser in our brands’ favour and we do this by grabbing their attention.
This is what the Mad Men did it in the 60’s. Grabbing the attention of the consumer and influencing them, turning them on to products they never even knew existed and didn’t know they needed. They told compelling stories that drew the audience in. This process didn’t happen in one day, it was a process that occurred over time, and it most definitely wasn’t linear, but you can be sure that healthy sales built over time. In modern talk, they were building the top of the funnel with thousands if not millions of potential customers. In those days the demand was harvested in bricks and mortar retail but let’s not be mistaken the bricks and mortar were the last step on the journey not the first.
There is so much talk about Offline and Online when it comes to ROAS. Offline is largely unattributable, it doesn’t fit the short term ROAS model, so is inefficient. I’ve been in meetings and heard countless stories of marketing departments discounting media choices based purely on the fact it was unaccountable in a short term ROAS model, it clearly had little if any worth to the bottom line. Online is clickable & measurable and that dashboard looks amazing. There are short term ROAS figures aplenty. We can see the sales right here and now.
My head hurts when I think about this.
In my world there is a shift towards understanding that the likes of YouTube don’t really sell product today. Thank goodness, it’s a drum I have been banging for years. But, but, but it’s a digital medium so it must work on a short term ROAS basis, it’s digital, that’s what digital does right? We have a dashboard. Sadly, the danger is as soon as YouTube figures don’t look great in the dashboard it gets culled. Little thought of what YouTube may be contributing to the bottom line that we can’t attribute is taken into consideration. We can’t put it in a chart, so it doesn’t make the cut.
Please, let us stop talking about Online and Offline. It’s misleading. The burgeoning TV streaming market is the perfect example. It is TV but its digital (the targeting capabilities are simply awesome), so is it ‘Online’ or ‘Offline’? It’s piped into your lounge and broadcast on that 55-inch TV, which also offers the viewer an option to watch YouTube, the legacy ‘online’ medium, alongside good old Linear TV, the bastion of ‘offline’ mediums. All three end up being viewed on the same TV in the same lounge – the difference is purely the type of content the viewer chooses to access. ‘Online’ or ‘Offline’ is irrelevant, each medium has incredible ability to grab attention and influence the viewer, but they all will look weak on a short-term ROAS Model.
Yes, we need to harvest demand that we are generating, 100%, that’s your short term ROAS right there. However, we must remember there will be far more demand to harvest and it will be far easier to convert at the bottom of the funnel if we grabbed their attention and influenced them further up the funnel.
Right, I’m off to brush up on classic Don Draper lines for my next pitch.
Nine Tree Studios, Bristol’s biggest independent studio, has launched a WhatsApp Community to give back to local filmmakers, photographers, creatives, and production companies.
Primarily it’s a free loyalty programme offering studio discounts and freebies, including:
There’s also groups for advice and jobs, and private channels for production companies and studios to collaborate and share advice.
“We’ve always wanted our space to be able to support Bristol’s creative community” said Russell Jones, Co-Founder of Nine Tree Studios.
“Nowadays email newsletters feel old and clunky and aren’t really suited to what we wanted, like offering free studio hire to those who need it, and promoting and discussing events.”
“By virtue of having members we also hope it’ll be a space for freelancers, screen professionals, studios and production companies to share advice, post jobs, collaborate, and generally chit-chat.”
You can join the community at https://chat.whatsapp.com/D64qZ5CmnxCASYEevxDFEV and visit https://www.ninetreestudios.co.uk/community for more information and terms.
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Nine Tree Studios is Bristol’s largest independent studio.
Suitable for set builds, commercial productions, photography and HETV, the space features two main studios – a 4,640sq ft soundstage and a 567sq ft infinity cove – plus a podcast suite, green rooms, production offices and a 9,000sq ft backlot.
For more information visit www.ninetreestudios.co.uk or email [email protected].
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