Specialist marketing agency

Battersea Dogs Looks for a New Creative Agency

The UK is a nation of dog and cat lovers but after Covid-19, spiralling inflation & food costs some owners have been forced to give up their beloved pets and re-house them with great charities such as Battersea & the RSPCA.

So, this week saw Battersea Dogs & Cats Home review who handles its creative account whilst using Oystercatchers to help them in the process.

FCB Inferno said it has “stepped back from the re-pitch process”, ending a four-year partnership with the animal rescue centre.
Selected and invited agencies are now being asked to pitch for the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home account.

“We are immensely proud of our partnership with FCB Inferno and the work produced, which has stood out in the sector and has achieved so much for our brand and for rescue animals,” Harriet Lancashire, head of brand at Battersea, said.

“As we embark on a new chapter for Battersea, we feel now is ultimately the right time to review our partnership and consider pitches from new agencies.”

FCB Inferno was appointed in 2019 following a three-way pitch against VCCP and Wieden & Kennedy.

The charity previously worked with Karmarama and, prior to this, it used a number of agencies on an ad-hoc basis.
FCB Inferno has since created work like “Rescue is our favourite breed” and “Wear blue for rescue”.
Owen Lee, chief creative officer at FCB Inferno, added: “To make such a significant contribution to a cause that’s close to our hearts has been a source of great pride for the agency.”
Lee said that research shows the shop has encouraged around three quarters of people to be “more open-minded and positive” about rescue animals.
Lee added: “We wish Battersea continued success in the future.”
Manning Gottlieb OMD has worked on the charity’s brand media planning and buying since 2017.
Image credit Campaign Live
Battersea
https://specialistmarketingagency.co.uk/battersea-dogs-looks-for-a-new-home/

B2B Marketing Trends That Will Grow Your Business in 2023 😀

2023 will see B2B marketing trends rapidly evolve as content marketing becomes even more important. Marketers have now shifted their focus from just sales performance to search engine optimisation and bespoke digital content marketing strategies.
To give you an idea on the trends here are some key takeaways for 2023

Key Takeaways
The number of businesses adopting artificial intelligence has grown by 270% in four years.
67% of consumers reported using a chatbox support system in the past year and expect 24/7 customer service.
Increasing your spend on content marketing will earn your business a predictable Marketing ROI.

So, what are the marketing trends for 2023?
1) Sharing high quality content is key to leveraging your brand and boosting your company’s credibility and sales revenues.

2) Artificial Intelligence is on the rise and the number of businesses adopting AI has risen by 270% in 4 years. AI can digitize data, automate email sequences, enhance business efficiency whilst also avoiding manual mistakes.

3) Retention Marketing – it’s much easier & less costly to sell to existing customers than it is to find new customers. So, keeping your existing customers happy, maintaining good relationships and growing the business you get from them is key. Retention Marketing also provides a much higher return on investment (ROI) through continued sales growth at a much lower cost per sale. You can also cross-sell and up-sell to existing customers using Retention Marketing strategies.

So, what can you do to retain existing customers?
· Onboarding & Education
· Customer Training
· Constant Marketing Communications
· Ongoing customer support
· Surveys & testimonials
· Customer appreciation

4) Content Marketing – only committed businesses are going to win in content marketing – so you either go big or you go home! If you publish unique content consistently using your researched keywords then you are on to a winner in growing your audience and generating more sales.

5) Interactive Content – Make your own interactive content by creating short form videos, quizzes or use infographics to share a case study or story. Don’t forget to share your posts regularly on social media channels such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram whilst at the same time engage more with your customers online.

6) Chat Bots – this software is becoming more essential in web design and will continue to grow. Globally, 67% of consumers reported using a chatbox support system in the past year. Indeed, consumers are now expecting businesses to provide 24/7 support and chatbots can be programmed to match human behaviour whilst giving quick replies to standard questions.

Need Help to Market & Grow Your Business? Then call 0845 408 5488

New Logo designed for fantastic signalling design company who we have been helping to grow their sales. If you need a new or new or any other # services then call us on 0345 408 5488 to see how we can help

New business cards and new logo we did for a new rail client. If you need any marketing, business cards, a new brand or just general help with sales growth then call us on 0345 408 5488 to see how we can help😀

Changes at the Top for Story Contracting
As Story Contracting enters its 35 years in business it has revealed that Andy Joy, Story England, Managing Director, will take over as CEO from April next year.

Changes at The Top for Story Contracting
As Story Contracting enters its 35 years in business it has revealed that Andy Joy, Story England, Managing Director, will take over as CEO from April next year.

Joy joined Story Contracting last year after having had a very successful career with Amey, and being responsible for their £400m rail business.

Story Homes was founded in 1987 by Fred Story who worked tirelessly from his bedroom office. Many years later the business incorporated Story Homes and Story Contracting. Today, Story Contracting is a privately-owned, award-winning infrastructure company. With regional offices across England and Scotland, Story is highly respected nationally for providing rail, plant and construction solutions.

Story is also ranked among Britain’s fastest growing private companies. Fred Story’s motto is to ‘Do It Right’ and this moto applies to their employees, their clients and members of their supply chain.

Current chief executive Jason Butterworth, who amazingly grew the firm from £70m revenue in 2016 to a £200m business under his 6-year leadership as CEO, will become Vice Chair of Story Contracting. Butterworth will also continue to be at the helm and work closely with existing clients and the Story Board of Directors on the business’s future strategic direction.

Chairman Fred Story said: “This is a really exciting time for the business, and as we celebrate our 35th anniversary, I am delighted that Jason has agreed to take on this role to support the board with investment decisions, the diversification strategy, our major frameworks, and helping me to ensure we achieve sustainable growth across the regions.”

The team at Digisig Rail would like to wish Andy Joy and Jason Butterworth every future success and long may this successful business flourish and grow.

https://www.digisig.co.uk/changes-at-the-top-for-story-contracting/
Image Credit Construction Enquirer
Andy Joy Jason Butterworth Dave Prior

£10 less to fill your tank with petrol but it depends where you buy it from?

£10 less to fill your tank with petrol depending on where you buy it from?

Thankfully for rail contractors and those businesses who have fleets of vans the cost of filling up a car is set to be £10 cheaper within the next few weeks. So as wholesale prices continue to fall drivers will be forking out less to fill their car up. Wholesale petrol peaked above £1 a litre on 1st June but then fell to 80p a litre for last week. That’s a saving of 20p per litre at the pump within a fortnight.

The Competition Watchdog is currently investigating the “growing gap” between the oil price and the wholesale price and petrol and diesel.

The Competition Watchdog recently carried out an urgent review of the market, which was ordered by Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, following concerns that a fuel duty cut announced in March was not being passed on by Tesco’s Sainsbury’s, Morrisons & Asda “in any visible or meaningful way”.

Darren Briggs, chief executive of Ascona Group, said companies such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda are failing to pass on savings to drivers despite buying in fuel more cheaply than independent rivals.

However, earlier this month the watchdog said its preliminary findings suggested oil refineries were largely to blame for the gap in prices.

Currently petrol costs on average 188.76p a litre and diesel 196.96p and the cost of filling up a family car recently rose to above £100 for the first time ever and after the Ukraine war drove the price of oil higher.

Oddly enough oil prices have dropped back in the last few days ($95 barrel) for the first time since the Ukraine war. And most likely fuelled by consumers worrying about a recession which has lead to lower demands.

Luke Bosdet at the AA said: “Wholesale petrol’s trajectory, if sustained, would lead to savings from the record highs – providing the fuel trade is prepared to pass them on.

“So far this morning, even with oil rebounding, wholesale petrol remains below 80.5p a litre.”

Mr Bosdet added: “The problem is that, in many places, the price cuts are quite simply not happening despite more than six weeks of falling costs.”

Image Credit to BBC

Your Fired!
Did anyone see the Apprentice on the 17th February? It was so good. Absolutely love Alan Sugar, who turned up in his own bespoke black POD. The current candidates taking part in this new series learn this time round that they must gear up to design, brand and pitch their own electric driverless POD. They also need to pitch their newly design pods to major corporate clients such as Network Rail, Urban Airport & the NEC all of whom have million-pound budgets to lease driverless vehicles. The two teams called ‘Diverse’ and ‘Infinity’ are given the orders that whichever team makes the biggest overall sales will drive away with the win. The team that sells less PODs, well, unfortunately one of them will be fired.
https://specialistmarketingagency.co.uk/the-apprentice-pod-your-fired/
When it came to advertising and marketing experience within the team there was one volunteer Akshay Thakhar of team ‘Diversity’ who put his hand up to be PM. Whilst Akshay and Kathryn Burn went to town on designing their pod it was quite clear that no one had done any real market research on what their clients really needed. This led to having no specific ideas what the final design POD would represent & the real target market the POD was going to be sold to. The Graphic Designers time whilst on set was mainly taken up with trying to put different types of stars on the vehicle, instead of being given a full design brief. During the design process the amazing Baroness Karen Brady described their POD “as looking like a toaster that was going to explode.”
The other team namely Brittany Carter and Aaron Willis decided to design their POD branding it as sustainable and pure – BEEPURE. The POD had a design of leaves & sunflowers alongside some bees. As was pointed out by Tim Cambell the leaf was yellow instead of green, the blue was meant to be water (but no water was incorporated into the design) basically in a nutshell a total branding mishmash. The finalised design also caused issues with the rest of the team who thought the design should have been more simplistic.
In the final sales pitch most of the buyers were saying that both PODs had a limited market within their current design scope. However, team ‘Infinity’ raised £1,262,000 of sales, whereas Team ‘Diversity’ only managed to raise £535,000 of sales.
In the boardroom, you can see that Lord Sugar is driven to distraction, leading him to slam on the brakes as one particular candidate Sophie Wilding is told, ‘You’re fired!’ If you cant wait for next weeks episode then go to BBC Iplayer image courtesy of BBC.


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The Apprentice - POD - Your Fired The Apprentice - POD - Your Fired

Partnering with an Inexpensive Marketing Agency Brings Big Cost Savings

Did you know that online a user’s attention span is just 8 seconds? So the chances of you finishing this article are minimal. However, if you are reading this whilst drowning under a “to-do-list” full of marketing tasks, then we beg you to give us just 5 minutes of your time. We’ll keep is snappy. So here are our top 5 reasons why your business will benefit from a Specialist Marketing Agency:

Cost
If your company needs some brand awareness via advertising or PR, or your website needs an increase in traffic and sales coming in pronto, then our team will get you results you need in the most cost-efficient way available whilst also providing you an excellent return on your investment.

The cost of any agency relationship should usually be around two to three times cheaper than you hiring full-time permanent staff.

Call 0345 408 5488 & watch sales fly!

https://specialistmarketingagency.co.uk/partnering-with-a-marketing-agency-will-have-your-business-dancing-in-2022/
Results & Accountability
Lets be honest: hands up if you don’t enjoy having financial targets resting squarely on your shoulders. Being able to have support in all the critical areas of sales and marketing performance is one of life’s luxuries. As an agency we thrive on understanding and implementing digital marketing campaigns that consistently increase visitors, engagements and sales. So leaving things to the experts like us gives you the peace of mind that your sales numbers will continue to grow whilst simultaneously keeping the boss and the bottom line happy. You’ll also get monthly reports to keep you up to speed & demonstrate your marketing performance, reports which you can showcase to your boss.



Access to advanced tools & insights
Working with an established agency means you benefit massively in terms of the ideas and understanding about your customer profile or industry sector.

Research, insight, regular reporting and various forms of business analysis from the multitude of in house tools agencies have at their fingertips means you’ll learn loads along the way. And you’ll see how your marketing works at it’s most effective and efficient: zero wastage, targeting the right customer at precisely the right time.



Time & efficiency
Employing an agency to take care of X,Y and Z means you can focus your time on what you’re best at. After all you never said you were an SEO specialist, social media expert or web developer.

You can crack on doing what you do best, safe in the knowledge those delegated tasks are in the hands of experts who business relies on making you shine. Plus you’ll have an agency agreement with bespoke terms and conditions to fall back on.



The beauty of using a Manchester Marketing Agency
Ok, so we’re perhaps a little biased but wherever you are based, we think a Manchester Marketing Agency provides the best of both worlds.

A lot of our team have worked in London, globally or in other regional offices. So our workforce has the same level of knowledge and skill as agencies further South but we charge much less. You can trust us to provide you with a first-class bespoke marketing service, not a one-size-fits-all factory-line approach. We have the knowledge, expertise and creativity delivered with refreshing honest and down to earth humour.

If you’ve felt like you need an extra pair of hands to help your marketing fly, or that you lack enough expertise in one specific area then please pick up the phone or email us.

Like all Mancunians worth their weight, we believe a table is for dancing on. A meeting with us will cause your spirits to soar. We’ll listen with both ears and ensure that your business will be dancing through 2022 and beyond.

We’re Listening So Call 0345 408 5488

Partnering with a Marketing Agency will have your Business Dancing in 2022 Partnering with a Marketing Agency will have your Business Dancing in 2022

Tailored consumer experience is now the major focus of Coca-Cola as the brand focuses on personalisation in the digital marketplace. As the rising tide of e-tailers and food service partners such as Just Eat and UberEats dominate the Food and Beverage Industry, Coca-Cola’s agenda is to strengthen the brands foothold by adapting their marketing approach from commercialised to individualistic. https://specialistmarketingagency.co.uk/coca-cola-brand-focuses-on-personalisation/

Over the past 21 months the brand engaged in experimental technological advances, one in which gave rise to the new direct-to-consumer (DTC) ecommerce marketplace, yourcoca-cola.co.uk which allows customers to order Coca-Cola products directly to their homes. The brand had to create new and innovative methods to adapt to the changing world due to lockdown last year, with customers migrating to online channels of service. Yourcoca-cola.co.uk is already growing with the options to create personalised cans, build product bundles and set up a subscription for regular delivers.

Chief marketers’ fears circulate within the industry that creativity has been stunted by remote working. The post-lockdown climate, a hybrid working model is the new norm although CMOs fear that less time in the office is negatively impacting creativity. A study by LinkedIn (completed by 1,304 C-Level executives), finds that 58% of senior marketers believe that social ties are not as strong between team members as most have never meet before. The issue is that remote-working flexibility, will be a permanent fixture in the professional world but with that there could be a strain on interpersonal relationships and comfortability to express ideas and generate creativity. Alternatively, 76% of CMOs accept that flexible working has encouraged young talent and greatly improved employee diversity which has increased creativity with fresh perspectives. Major organisations are still in the experimentation phase of discovering the work/life balance that allows both parties to thrive. Employers must listen and adapt to grow with the changing world around them to achieve success.

Coca-Cola brand focuses on personalisation Coca-Cola brand focuses on personalisation

There is still a lot to get excited about when it comes to TV ads & the latest effort from the AA is sure to give viewers a laugh. Capturing a touch of nostalgia & plenty of humour the AA has certainly taken a new approach http://ow.ly/ADQE50yHV0j

Cracking New Advert from the AA
There is still a lot to get excited about when it comes to TV ads & this latest effort from the AA is sure to give viewers a laugh. Capturing a touch of nostalgia & lots of humour the AA has certainly taken a new approach http://ow.ly/YZ2C50yI15n

Is consumer confidence on the rise?
A rise in wages, house prices & a decrease in unemployment has seen consumer confidence leap forward by 2 points to -7 in February. However, the impact of Coronavirus is still an unknown quantity http://ow.ly/n8Jo50yEBK4

Is Consumer Confidence on the Rise? - Specialist Marketing Agency Manchester The last time a three-month consecutive improvement was seen in the GFK’s consumer confidence index was 2014. However, six years on and things are looking good. A rise in wages and house prices, as well as a decrease in unemployment, has seen consumer confidence leap forward by two points to -7 in...

HSBC Turns Its Fortunes Around with "Together We Thrive Campaign"
HSBC was facing a drop in brand value of as much as 25%. So, Saatchi & Saatchi came up with the campaign of ‘Together WE Thrive’ after number of bank closures. http://ow.ly/kbne50yjpfZ

HSBC Turns Around Fortunes With ‘Together We Thrive’ Campaign - Specialist Marketing Agency Manchester HSBC has been going through a tough time of it in recent years. In 2018, it had lost its identity somewhat and this forced the bank to close branches and deal with other issues. What this meant was that HSBC was facing a drop in brand value of as much as 25%. In a nutshell,

UK Top Brands - Things Are Changing
Aldi has been the top brand since 2014 but Netflix has now knocked Aldi off the top spot, making it the UK’s favourite brand according to YouGov’s annual BrandIndex ‘Buzz’ rankings http://ow.ly/Hxex50ye34K

UK Top Brands - Things Are Changing - Specialist Marketing Agency Manchester The surge of Netflix continues and it has now knocked Aldi off the top brand spot, making it the UK’s favourite brand according to YouGov’s annual BrandIndex ‘Buzz’ rankings.

Tactical Expedia Ad for Canada is a Genius
When the news broke that Prince Harry and Meghan would no longer undertake Royal duties, the world was almost shaken to its core, more especially as the couple wanted to start a brand new life in Canada http://ow.ly/Ofnq50ye1Vw

Tactical Expedia Ad for Canada is Genius - Specialist Marketing Agency Manchester Expedia, the holiday website seizes the opportunity to take advantage of advertising holidays to Canada after Harry & Meghan start their new life there

Economic Worries Lead to Caution Around Hiring
As the start of the year has passed us by, there is no doubt that the future of the UK hangs in the balance as a result of Brexit. As a result, UK marketers are using caution when it comes to hiring http://ow.ly/CM0N50xZQ77

Economic Worries Lead to Caution Around Hiring - Specialist Marketing Agency Manchester As the start of the year has passed us by, there is no doubt that the future of the UK marketing industry hangs in the balance as a result of Brexit. As a result, marketers are using caution when it comes to hiring.

Veganuary Brands Cash In
In recent years more people have made the decision to go Vegan. As a result many brands saw an opportunity to cash in on this and to complement the change in consumer thinking - the Co-op is the latest brand to join in the action http://ow.ly/1e1Y50xRiw2

Veganuary - The Opportunity For Brands To Cash in On the Trend in 2020 - Specialist Marketing Agency Manchester Many retail outlets are capitalising on launching a Vegan range of foods that why we at specialist marketing agency are helping FMCG companies to successfully launch new products.

Black Cab Turned Into a Miniature Bar by Schweppes - Specialist Marketing Agency Manchester

London Black Cab turned into a Miniature Bar by Schweppes
Schweppes has taken marketing to another level because it is helping people get into the festive spirit by hosting a miniature bar inside a hackney carriage. When passengers are picked up, they will be met by a private driver & also their own mixologist.http://ow.ly/2X4g50xCpzp

specialistmarketingagency.co.uk With the festive period in full swing, everyone is in the party spirit. With this comes office parties and family get-togethers, all of which will usually involve some form of alcohol. Christmas is an important time of the year for brands, especially those who play a big role in helping people to ge...

Enhancing Brands - Is Nostalgia the Key? - Specialist Marketing Agency Manchester

Enhancing Brands - Is Nostalgia the Key?
When it comes to marketing, nostalgia has always carried a certain weight and it seems as though things are not changing.

YouGov has carried out a study that involves consumers explaining how they feel about the way in which their attitudes are impacted by the past and how it influences their purchasing decisions.

The study found that 90% of people look at the past favourably occasionally while 47% of those stated that they reminisce regularly. As they get older, people are more likely to look back at the past while Millennials claim that they reminisce more than that of older age groups.

To add to this, 55% of people said that if they had the chance to go back in time, they would with only 28% stating that they would like to go to the future.http://ow.ly/m3bm50xlTOV

specialistmarketingagency.co.uk Need an award winning marketing agency that can leverage your brands performance? Then call us now on 020 8242 6484 and watch sales fly!

Things to Consider Before Hiring a Marketing Agency - Specialist Marketing Agency Manchester

Things to Consider Before Hiring a Marketing Agency
If you have found yourself in the position where you have decided that you need to hire a marketing agency or marketing consultant then you are taking a step in the right direction. Maybe it’s been because your sales are down or your business is loosing market share, whatever the reason for hiring an agency then you need to look at this as an investment to achieve growth whilst achieving your marketing goals.

The truth is, finding a marketing agency has to be done right because it will be the beginning of a relationship that will grow your business. However, before you make that decision, what do you need to consider? http://ow.ly/34jg50xd0V3

specialistmarketingagency.co.uk If you have found yourself in the position where you have decided that you need to hire a marketing agency or marketing consultant then you are taking a step in the right direction. Maybe it’s been because your sales are down or your business is loosing market share, whatever the reason for hiring...

Choosing the Right Marketing Agency - Specialist Marketing Agency Manchester

How to Chose the Right Marketing Agency
Marketing is a crucial aspect of running a successful business and getting your brand noticed. Indeed, in times of recession, businesses often cut back on marketing spend, when in-fact this is actually a time when marketing investment is imperative. Without marketing, a business will blend into the background, never get noticed and worse still not fulfil its true potential. Therefore, businesses should see hiring a marketing agency as an investment. However, with this in mind, it is important to make sure that you choose the right agency.

Are they Specialists in Your Area?

Agencies will specialise in different areas. Whether that is working in a specific industry sector, or specialising in different media formats such as digital, TV, PR, Advertising, Social Media or web design. So choosing an agency that can achieve your desired business goals is crucial to your investment. Whatever the Agencies specialisms might be, if they have the skill sets that you need then you are on the right track http://ow.ly/lVpW50x7OtT

specialistmarketingagency.co.uk Marketing is a crucial aspect of running a successful business and getting your brand noticed. So chose a marketing agency that delivers results! Call 020 8242 6484