The Union Advertising Agency

Some pics from the Star Awards. Unionites having a ball.

We were 27 years old on 1st March. Happy birthday to us. Our four founders started out in a pokey basement in St Colme Street - with some desks, chairs and a single landline phone. No clients, very little money and a lot of fear. They were stitched up legally like kippers by their former agency. Other agencies called us 'The Onion' - they said it would all end in tears. But it didn't and we're still here; you're all here. Scotland's longest surviving independent creative agency. But that is the past. We can only afford to look back occasionally. The agency has succeeded because has always looked forward, moved forward, and created new stories and successes.
[A postcard sent out to former clients, after a six-month restrictive covenant had ended. To say hello. Thankfully a few of them moved their accounts to the agency. For that we will be ever grateful. The clients that choose you at the start are the ones who really trust you; as ultimately they are taking a risk.]

Our Mood of the Nation Report shows that women are far more likely to switch brands at the moment than men. We're seeing massive changes in behaviour - 88% of women in Scotland now say they are likely to switch brands. Definitely a time for marketeers to be on their toes. https://lnkd.in/eUF8Uxyt

Are we about to see the biggest mass brand-switch in living memory? Our Mood of the Nation Report shows dramatic changes in consumer behaviour. folk need to be on their toes. https://lnkd.in/eUF8Uxyt

People in are drinking less, gambling less and having less s*x. An impact of the (Admittedly not all bad news.) Our new Mood of the Nation Report tracks attitudes and behaviours in the current climate with insights for advertisers and people. https://lnkd.in/eUF8Uxyt

You may have seen media reports yesterday on our 'Mood of the Nation Report'. Conducted by the Union Strategy and Insights team, in partnership with research company 56 Degree Insight, the report sadly (and perhaps unsurprisingly) provides a very depressing set of insights into how people are coping at the moment in Scotland; both in terms of attitudes and feelings, as well as how this is impacting on behaviours. We did the report because, as marketeers, we felt an urgent need to really understand where people were 'at' in today's topsy-turvy world.

The report raises real challenges for all of us marketing; especially how brands, service providers and retailers should communicate with their customers in the next 12 months. Tough times ahead no question. What strikes us particularly is the speed of behaviour change; and the rapid changes in shopping and purchasing habits. The report also highlights how it tends to be women who are responding and changing behaviours faster in purchasing, more so than men. More details on our website. https://lnkd.in/eUF8Uxyt

Cost of living crisis cuts deep | The Union A new ‘Mood of the Nation Report’ published today by The Union captures how the cost of living crisis is impacting on people living in Scotland.

Robbie Hurst, Union Planner, tells us why comparative advertising should be approached with caution. In some instances, it might even going as far as promoting competitors. https://www.union.co.uk/thunk/comparative-advertising/

Comparative advertising: A knockout blow to the competition or self-inflicted wound? | The Union Every so often we’re treated to the advertising equivalent of sporting trash talk, when brands go toe to toe, calling out the other in their advertising in an attempt to […]

Our monthly thunking is here. Gus Chalmers Union Direct MD writes about the importance of creativity in uncertain times. https://www.union.co.uk/thunk/creativity-isnt-an-optional-extra/the-full-thunk

THUNK | Creativity isn’t an optional extra | The Union As we all face change, crises and recession, Union Direct's MD, Gus Chalmers, unpacks why creativity is at the core of business stability and success, not the cherry on top.

We're delighted to welcome Adam Swann to the agency. He joins as Chief Strategy Officer, from independent Boston agency MMB. Our Strategy and Planning team works with the whole Union Group. https://www.union.co.uk/our-news/union-hires-adam-swann-to-lead-strategy-team/

Adam Swann hired to lead strategy team | The Union Adam Swann has joined The Union as the agency’s Chief Strategy Officer. His role will be to lead the Strategy and Planning Department.

Great post by Andrew Girdwood our Digital Guru; worth reading for all Drupal clients. Our CMS of choice across multiple projects. Highly secure, flexible and user friendly. It's being updated and here are some things to watch out for. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6976104843652308992

www.linkedin.com

We at Union would like to extend our sincere condolences to the Royal Family on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. She has been a constant in all our lives; for most of us, for all our lives. It’s incredible to consider that her reign saw fifteen Prime Ministers come and go. Her life was one of devotion and service right to the very end. An example to us all, she will be sorely missed. Rest in peace.

Delighted at the news we've been appointed to three of the Scottish Government's new marketing rosters. (We applied for there and got onto three.) Well done to Union team involved; huge effort. In every case our 'quality' score was over 90%. Massive. https://www.union.co.uk/our-news/union-appointed-to-three-scottish-government-marketing-frameworks/

After over two years of collaboration, consultation and creativity with our key clients from Transport Scotland we're delighted to announce the launch of the new Traffic Scotland website. The amount of work that has gone into its design and testing is gargantuan - way more than on any other website we've built. It will be able to handle the traffic.

https://www.traffic.gov.scot

We're very proud of this launch. Transport Scotland hold tons of traffic data. They wanted to give the public access to this data in a user-friendly format. Our challenge was to present the data to all road users - in their hundreds of thousands - every day, on demand. The finished site has an amazing array of data of our trunk road network, from the usual traffic congestion to live camera views, roadworks, closures, EV charging points, latest incidents, and even the salt treatment on roads for the winter! There is a also a brilliant route planner. Phase two, which we are working on now, will add further to this functionality.

This website, and the Traffic Scotland service, is a 'national infrastructure service'. This means it needs to be available no matter what. This website runs on a high-availability platform; a cluster of web servers, load balancers, application firewalls and redundancy servers. We had to build this as well as part of the project. So the site keeps running, come rain, shine or anything worse. Well done to the amazing Union Digital team who delivered this; and our great clients who were with us every step of the journey!

Link to news story on the awards night...https://www.union.co.uk/our-news/union-wins-ten-stars-at-2022-marketing-society-awards/

Union wins ten Marketing Society awards at 2022 event | The Union The Union topped the total number of awards won at the The Marketing Society Scotland Star Awards 2022 with ten awards.

Louise and Emma in the Scotsman...https://www.scotsman.com/business/twin-sisters-secure-matching-roles-at-edinburgh-based-creative-agency-the-union-group-3753181

Twin sisters secure matching roles at Edinburgh-based creative agency The Union Group Identical twin sisters have been promoted to matching senior roles in two organisations that are part of an Edinburgh-based creative agency.

This month's Thunk is out. As ever, some thoughtful thunking from our Union team. Read all about it. https://www.union.co.uk/thunk/keeping-it-virtually-real/

Keeping it (virtually) real Summer is here. Finally. And while we get a little sweaty and squint at our laptops in the sunshine, this month’s Thunk is all about reflecting. From making sure our campaigns reflect the diversity of our audiences, to learning to mirror our emotions for better engagement in our online world.

So pleased for all our clients who won awards at The Marketing Society Scotland Star Awards last week. Great work only happens with great clients and we clearly have a lot of those! Congratulations to all the winners on the night; showcasing the best work in Scotland over last 12 months.

We are happy to announce double promotion in more senses than one. So pleased to announce that and Emma Campbell have both been made Deputy MDs. Both have been integral to Union Group's success in last few years! https://union.co.uk/our-news/promotions-at-the-double-in-the-union-group/

Our Everyday Superstars!
Rachel McMullan (aka Rachy) is known by her clients as the one where nothing is ever too much hassle, and by her team as the one who never lets you down - whether you’re in need of a problem solved or just a right good laugh. It’s no surprise she’s soaring into the galaxy this year as one of the shortlisted Marketing Society Scotland Rising Stars. We’re over here rooting for her, because if anyone deserves this recognition, it’s you!

our Creative Director manages a huge team and a dry wit. He mentors, coaches and teaches and still manages to be in on every conversation; that’s why he’s in the running as Inspiring Agency leader of the year. Where did human genome sequencing get to?

Everyday Superstars
isn’t the Marketing Society’s Rising Creative Star, she’s ours. Lady luck has tried her damnedest to rattle Jeanette but she’s made of stern, clever and brilliant stuff. We’re very lucky to have her.

Our Worldwide Partners, Inc. friends met in Cannes recently to discuss with clients (inc. Ocado, Formula E, Pinterest) the ideal agency/client relationship. Well worth a read. So lucky to be part of a great network and work with 70 brilliant independent agencies. https://campaignlive.co.uk/article/making-marketing-manifesto-cannes-summit/1791338…

The making of The Marketing Manifesto: Cannes summit It’s time the client-agency relationship improved. Following extensive global research and a senior-level summit between both sides, we are producing a Manifesto for better working practices…

Well, well. How about that? No less than 2 Golds, 2 Silvers and 6 Bronzes at the The Marketing Society Scotland Star Awards 2022. We think that's the biggest medal haul of any agency - and possibly a record total for us. Hats off to all the Unionites who wrote the entries and to our great clients for their support and buying great work. A fun evening was had by all, and with 600 people there, and top quality of entries, it's good to see the industry bounce back after some tough years. Thank you, Marketing Society Scotland.

Why do we fear innovation? Our Creative Director Michael Hart opines on , and the shock of the new in our Thoughtpiece #3 https://www.union.co.uk/our-news/the-great-cycle-of-mediocrity/

The ancient city of Babylon served for nearly two millennia as a centre of civilisation, and we can thank them for the discoveries of the wheel, sailboat and the modern map. Star signs as we know them today also originated in Babylonian astrology, dating back to 2400 BCE. Each sign was named after a constellation the sun moved through while crossing the sky. It seems fitting that during the lead up to the Marketing Society Scotland Star Awards, we look to the stars themselves for guidance, knowledge and insight. Just as the Babylonian’s were thousands of years ago; we at Union are agents of change. Jane Blanchard, Account Manager at The Union looks to the stars for insight and knowledge. To find out more check out her blog.

https://www.union.co.uk/our-news/the-babylonians-guide-to-edi/