The good news reminds us of our previous Transform success where we were similarly fortunate, being shortlisted for three categories and subsequently winning one gold and two silvers for our work on the Parasol rebrand.

This time around the categories in question are ‘best corporate rebrand following a merger/acquisition’ and ‘best rebrand in the property sector’, and with global branding agencies such as Interbrand and Landor appearing on the shortlists, we’re pretty chuffed!

The Merseyway rebrand involved a complete overhaul of its brand identity, with the aim of rejuvenating its image and connection with local Stopfordians.  Since the launch of the rebrand in late 2010, Merseyway’s 2011 footfall figures saw an increase of 950,000 shoppers, focus groups demonstrated a much-improved public perception and major retailers such as Primark and Costa Coffee opened new stores at Merseyway.

The ceremony itself is being held on March 21^st in London, and looks to be a fantastic evening that will definitely keep us in high spirits no matter the outcome!

One of the topics of discussion was the way in which many people are now consuming media in a two-screen environment – the most common being while watching TV and being on a laptop/smartphone/tablet at the same time.  This has allowed an entirely new level of engagement whereby viewers are playing an active role in what they’re watching.  For example you might have either sent a Tweet to Alan Sugar during The Apprentice, or done my personal favourite and put a virtual million on the line during Channel 4’s Million Pound Drop.

A similar trend is also being encouraged by brands in their advertising, with more and more Twitter hashtags being spotted at the end of adverts in the hope that people will create/join a discussion around whatever product is being sold, adding that extra level of engagement.

However, the talk that stole the show was from Sky’s Nick Milligan, who pointed us towards the future of television advertising.  In his talk he introduced Sky’s AdSmart technology – a service that will bring TV advertising into the Internet age and deliver tailor-made adverts, specific to your home, based on the information they have about you.

If it works, TV will finally be able to give brands the option to target extremely specific demographics with their adverts in the same way online can, even specifying the number of times they want each consumer to view each ad.  And even more importantly – no longer will I have to sit through adverts for dentures and Clarks shoes.

I can’t wait!

First up was Ian Wharton of software start-up Zolmo who as I already knew from a recent Northern Digitals/BLAB night is a superb speaker. In this environment, Ian was similarly entertaining and shared some of Zolmo’s finest moments with us, mainly their work producing apps for brand Jamie Oliver. As he departed the stage he left us with the inspirational last thought “In this industry, if you’re pissing a few people off, chances are, you’re doing something right”. Superb stuff.

If this was a tough act to follow then it needed the cool head of Stephen Mellish (Radical Company) to pick up the baton. Stephen’s talk was mainly future focussed, offering his thoughts on where mobile goes next or as he more appropriately suggested…the device with no name. With no stone unturned Stephen lent his thoughts to how ‘mobile devices’ could be practically used in every way from treating health conditions to voting live on political issues (who needs MPs he quipped).

After a great opening by two live speakers we were then treated to a broadcasted version on the big screen of Roger McNamee at Tedx SantaCruz. You can see his engaging ‘Steve Jobs’ style right here Roger McNamee – Disruption and Engagement including this great opening line “Have you ever been in a position of watching Silicon Valley take off and knowing what was going to happen.” At 15 minutes, it’s an effort but please do take this time to educate yourself and listen to an absolutely top class technology expert.

Back to live speaking and Alex Dunsdon of M&C Saatchi ably stepped upto the plate (as a last minute replacement I might add) with a different slant. The twitter stream faded immediately as Alex requested we all take a little time out as to contrast our mobile behaviour with that of nomadic tribes. Alex actually produced the second most unusual word of the day, the rather cartoony cute sounding ‘weisure‘ a modern observation on how work and leisure behaviours are now combined simultaneously via the power of mobile device. The visual example of a father checking his email with one ear and half a brain focussed on their child is an experience some of us are all too familiar with. The point being that for the first time ever we can physically be in one place yet virtually in another…all due to the power of mobile. It’s a fascinating cultural observation and Alex’s belief is that while many will embrace and ‘Opt In’ to this lifestyle, many will deliberately ‘Opt Out’ and resist the advances around us.

Following this, another twist in technology, as we joined Dan Lyons, Newsweek Technology Editor in a crystal clear Facetime broadcast from the States which took us nicely through to the interval.

Finally some time to condense thoughts, compare notes and bump into some old and new industry contacts, all fuelled by the free Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Happy days.

The second session got fired up by Tom Scott of Sky 1 HD’s Gadget Geeks. A nice bit of interactivity where the present and virtual audience were asked to take part in a crowdsourcing exercise. Using twitter as the channel we were asked to guess the answer to five questions such as how many wind turbines are in the UK?  The questions were all deliberately posed to prove when and how crowdsourcing can be effective and when it can fail. “Going from someone who is an expert to the rest of the world isn’t always the right path to take” Nice big screen interaction, short and sweet, a winner.

Things were then about to seriously geek-up a level with Jeff Coghlan of Matmi who made most of us feel terribly old with the archaic images of 70s/80s/90s consoles & technologies… we extracted some minor revenge when even a tech-whizz like Jeff had trouble fitting his powerpoint slide to the screen…failed…and then got on with it anyway.

“I wish this would fit on the bloody screen, serves me right for doing it on a mobile device”

Jeff predicts the demise of consoles…why should we pay so much for content we can only play in one place…why can’t I stand in Times Square and play with friends on a screen type thinking. But I’ll definitely remember his talk for the startling (well, worrying) revelation that there are now more mobile phones in the world than toothbrushes (ugh!).

The penultimate speaker was Nicholas Cumisky of Google who I’d seen earlier in the year at TFMA. Nicholas had sat through a degree of Google-bashing throughout the day…not heavy stuff, more subtle digs…and had the unfortunate bad luck to cite Best Buy as a great online case study (on a day the firm went bust, oops!). That aside, some fascinating insights, great stats and a little gift at the end in the shape of Google’s own global mobile data research, which can be found at http://www.ourmobileplanet.com/

Last, but by no means least, the appropriately titled Chief Wonka of ustwo, Mills, real name Matt Miller, the self-proclaimed King of Succailure (the most unusual word of the day). We were walked through his Studio of Dreams…and some of the apps they have beautifully crafted, like Mouth Off, Whale Trail, Papercut and Nursery Rhymes with Storytime. A real eye-opener for those looking to make a fast buck from apps & his own advice… “Don’t innovate if you’re trying to make money” a lesson they have clearly learnt the hard way.

A hard core of delegates then took things to Leaf Cafe round the corner for a few well deserved beers and technology chat. An excellent event I hope to see in Manchester sooner rather than later.

We’d spent weeks planning the first of our Northern Insights mini-series and despite the number of registrations exceeding our original expectations by 50%, we nervously anticipated the arrival of our first guests, wondering who would show up and who wouldn’t.

As 8am loomed large, the inviting smell of bacon sarnies, pastries and coffee welcomed a shade over twenty visitors to a nice relaxed atmosphere of networking chit chat and industry banter. By 8.30am, Allie was in full swing and giving us her theories behind good branding as well as analysing some diverse brands that have got it just right.  The presentation was rounded off with an open Q&A session (yikes, we’d forgotten to ‘plant’ some questions, but the crowd duly obliged) and a fun business card draw. Our delegates returned to their offices armed with a branded smoothie and a swatch of some key seminar takeouts including some of our favourite smoothie recipes. One lucky delegate also walked away with an engraved iPod.

We’ve had some excellent feedback thus far and as a result have planned a repeat event on 11th May for those who couldn’t join us first time round. You can get a flavour of the presentation by looking at the video file we have uploaded here and watch this space for the sequel event which is planned for sometime in June. We are just digesting the event feedback to help us decide upon the content you’ve told us you want to hear about next.

If you couldn’t make it along but would like to be involved in future Northern Insights sessions please give Simon Calderbank a quick call on 0161 237 5151 or drop him an email simon@studionorth.co.uk

Allie Johns is proudly in her 20th year as a brand builder, having experienced all aspects of integrated marketing strategy from brand creation to campaign delivery. An award-winner in external and internal communications, she has proactively devised, managed and delivered a wide variety of work in the UK, Europe, USA and the Far East – both agency & client-side.

So we have this theory…a healthy brand is a healthy business. We’re sharing our thinking over some breakfast and asking people to take some time out of their day to reflect on your own brand.

We’re holding a mini-series of these free seminars. The sessions will provide practical overviews to demonstrate why effective branding communications make sense. The first of these interactive sessions ‘A healthy brand is a healthy business’  will provide an overview of:

1. The theory behind good branding

2. What is a good brand?

3. Our perspective

4. Brand communications

Serving the session – Allie Johns, Brand communications & strategy

Allie Johns is proudly in her 20th year as a brand builder, having experienced all aspects of integrated marketing strategy from brand creation to campaign delivery. An award-winner in external and internal communications, she has proactively devised, managed and delivered a wide variety of work in the UK, Europe, USA and the Far East – both agency & client-side.

Register your interest now by calling Becky on 0161 237 5151 or email becky@studionorth.co.uk

For those of you that can’t make it, share your thoughts with us #northerninsights

Strictly clientside marketers only.

Fylde Coast carries out some vital work in the community that adds real value to the lives of the people who use their services on a regular basis. It was essential we made the new site as informative and useful as possible whilst also being engaging and fun to use.

Given the different audiences Fylde work with we needed a cohesive online platform that would provide opportunities for personal and social development through various community based and social initiatives. The new site will ultimately increase brand awareness, act as an effective resource tool for existing and potential clients and create an online information portal.

Not only are we extremely happy with the result, the project has also been a thoroughly enjoyable one to be part of. Have a gander and let us know what you think!

Last year’s Power 100 included the cream of our industry leaders so it’s something we are naturally quite proud of here at Waulk Mill. However, being proud is one thing, but there are growing signs the news has already gone straight to Nick’s head.

Last Friday, to a gathered assembly of employees, suppliers & C list celebrities, Nick hushed the crowd, and as Snap’s The Power quietened down, he boldly announced that with immediate effect his new job title would be ‘Director of Creative Power’. In other sweeping changes, the rest of the team have been forced to adopt numbers instead of names & job titles. I am deeply honoured to be number 6.

Externally, Nick maximised his £250,000 marketing budget with a simple campaign identity, based on the brand proposition of ‘Vote or be sacked’. The integrated TV & radio campaign was also spearheaded by a live roadshow and a ‘pint for the cameras’ with leading darts player, Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor.

Finally, those of us in the know realise that Nick’s true power doesn’t even extend beyond his own doorway, does it Donna?

As the darkness descended all across the bleak East Central Manchester landscape hometime was not far away as the wind howled all around the four walls of Unit 4.1, each gust more powerful than the last. Then, all of a sudden, literally a dozen or so yards away from me, the staff door started to shake and then the handle moved up, then down, then up again before violently shaking every which way. This went on for some 30 seconds as somebody was seemingly trying to force the door open. It hadn’t yet occurred to me, but I had heard no footsteps on the creaky floorboards outside the office. Then the noise and movement stopped. Again no footsteps. I was frozen with fear, initially with the threatening thought of robbers ransacking the building attempting to force their way into the office. What would I do? Hide, fight, run? The other more peculiar thought had not yet occurred to me.

I had quickly picked up the phone to call security but Chief Wigham of Notmyproblem Security had no CCTV sight of anyone entering or leaving the building. “What do you mean nobody – there is definitely someone in the building, can you come out?” I pleaded. “Nope, son, we’re not contracted for that, you’re better speaking to the police”. “But, but…oh forget it”. I did think for a second of calling the police, yet I hadn’t seen anything except a door and a handle shake. What would I say?

Not long after this and the missus was back from her shopping trip in town to pick me up. I instructed her to stay back from the main entrance and go round to the back of the car park where you can see into the building & more importantly the stairwell and lift. “Right, can you see anyone going up or downstairs” I asked, not knowing what answer I really wanted. “Er, nothing…hang on…yeah, there is something…oh, it’s like a tall dark shadowy figure…wait a second, hang on, it’s just disappeared”.

Thanks for that information. “What do you mean tall? Taller than a human? And DISAPPEARED….” Now things were really starting to click into gear inside my head. No footsteps, no internal door opening between the corridor and staff door. Gulp. Shit in fact. I want my robbers back!!! I can’t remember much else after this except a few seconds later I quite literally legged it. I swear I broke the building record for top floor to ground (3.5 seconds) and once safely in the car I could breathe safe in the knowledge that I had escaped the clutches of the Ghost of Waulk Mill. Aka The Dark Shadow.

PS. Only a couple of months ago, something in Waulk Mill knocked over the heaviest plant pot you could imagine. Friday PM, stood upright, everything OK, office locked. Monday AM, office opened, pot knocked over, soil everywhere. There is absolutely no logical explanation whatsoever for this paranormal activity. Not even a typhoon could have knocked it over. Someone having a laugh? Or something lurking in the shadows once again?

Last month, our official Head of Scouse, Dominic McVeigh presented an insightful breakfast session on retail marketing ably supported by a plentiful supply of croissants, pastries and coffee. Dom’s presentation was rounded off superbly with a competitive and interactive exercise based on repositioning an established but poorly performing brand (whose name we won’t mention here).

Next up is Steve Buckley tomorrow morning and we like the look of the promotional flyer…