Blackberry themselves were condemned for the outages, with users flocking to social media sites to vent their frustrations.  However, the outbursts were not only aimed at the service’s downtime, but were also related to the lack of communication from Blackberry themselves.

When asked whether he thought Blackberry’s communication was good enough during the outages, Managing Director Stephen Bates stated that they “didn’t spend enough time thinking about communication”.  Considering the purpose of their products is to help people communicate you have to love the irony.

Lack of communication during a crisis, however, isn’t anything new.  A classic example occurred during the 2010 BP oil spill.  During the cleanup operation, BP gave very few updates of their progress, and some photos they did release of their efforts were found to be Photoshopped.

In response, a fake Twitter account was created under the BP moniker, providing extensive and hilarious updates throughout the spill.  As a result, the handle gained over five times as many followers as the official page, a statistic which must have deeply saddened BP America’s Head of Communications.

The moral of these stories can be summarised pretty easily.  With mass communication inevitable with the advent of social media, brands need to either play an immediate and active damage limitation role in a crisis, or be prepared to deal with the aftermath of letting others do the talking for them.

However, Blackberry and BP would probably rather think of their PR at the times in the the following way:

Having only graduated myself in July, I know how they feel.  Coming out of a university environment where you are constantly doing something in the day, be it lectures or group study, (or at least playing Ultimate Freebie), to being sat back at home, mindlessly filling out tens of applications a week, can quickly become frustrating.

Add to this the fact that when you do find the confidence to apply for a job you feel you are suited for, the large number of applicants means that not only are your chances of securing the place slim, but it’s unlikely that you’ll even get a reply.  After a few times of going through this process it’s easy to take it personal and become disheartened, forgetting that you are in the same boat as nearly one million others.  I know I did.

The problem for this generation is that we are not necessarily competing against each other anymore, but instead are competing against those who have lost jobs and bring with them a wealth of experience.  As many companies are struggling enough in the present climate, it’s unsurprising that they will want to hire someone who can hit the ground running, freeing up valuable hours for existing employees.

With this in mind though, I often get surprised when asking friends if they have considered applying for work experience at companies.  A few say they’ve toyed with the idea but most seem to feel as if it’s a step backwards, as it doesn’t offer long term security and is often unpaid.  While these are of course valid points, continual rejections from companies quickly showed me that all of the qualifications in the world don’t make up for a lack of experience in the present job market.

Now I’m not saying that the search for employment should be abandoned in favour of looking for work experience, I regard myself amazingly lucky to have been able to stay at Studio North for 2 months after initially applying for some, but I do think it’s an option that many people don’t consider as much as they could.

For me, applying for work experience as the best thing I’ve done since graduating.  Wanting to begin a career in branding/marketing, I’ve learnt a lot about the industry, met some brilliant people, and, perhaps most importantly, learnt a lot about myself.

I do miss Ultimate Frisbee though!

My mum, who is in her early 60s has a slight obsession with Clarks, every time she is visiting from Sweden she has already checked out the website and has a long shopping list for herself as well as half of her friends, because ‘ They are just such good quality and very comfortable’. And I suppose this is the image I have of them, good quality and comfortable, but hardly fashionable?

In the current climate more and more brands see the need to branch out, looking at new segments of the market, but how do they do this without alienating the old ones?

Marks and Spencer, who traditionally are considered an ‘older’ fashion brand, are very good at this. They always include a range of women at different stages of their lives in their TV advertising. In fact, their most recent campaign is of two women, one older and one younger both getting ready for their dates. They also work hard making sure that their fashion collections are in fitting with their respective segment.

In a bid to follow suit Clarks has teamed up with Mary Portas, the ‘Queen of shops’, to create a new shoe collection, as well as a complete re-vamp of their other women’s shoes collections. The results? The excited noises from my female colleagues when checking out the website speaks for itself. They have a range of very fashionable shoes and boots that most fashion conscious 18-35 year olds would most definitely consider wearing. And teamed with their traditional brand values of good quality and comfort, puts them onto a definite winner! Perhaps the next time my mum is visiting I might even join her on her trip to Clarks?

The handle is currently owned by Jason Castillo, who created it in April after appearing to have forgotten the login details for his previous unspecified handle.  His first Tweet simply states his annoyance at having to create a new account and that he “needs to write stuff down” as he “aint doing this again”.

However, his disorganisation may prove to be quite profitable, as a similar case concerning the Twitter handle @Israel saw Floridian Israel Melendez received a five-figure sum for his account.  Hopefully my own disorganisation will be equally rewarded after losing the spare key for my car, although I’m not entirely sure how to go about this.

What‘s particularly interesting to me about this story are the potential implications for Netflix.  Since announcing the Qwikster rename, Castillo’s account suddenly gained an unexpected spike of new followers in their thousands.  When you consider that @Qwikster’s Tweets mostly contain an army of spelling mistakes, profanity and references to marijuana use, you can imagine that this doesn’t convey the kind of social media communication that Netflix was perhaps intending.

On the flip side, you have to wonder how much of this was actually the “grave mistake” European Domain Centre Director Christopher Laursen purports it to be.  It seems almost impossible for a company as tech-savvy as Netflix to leave what should be one of their biggest social communication channels in the hands of an off-colour grammar murderer, particularly when considering that Qwikster.com was registered by Netflix in May 2010.

But in doing exactly this they have definitely generated a buzz.  The near-sensationalism of Castillo’s Tweets has got Twitter, the US and indeed the world talking about this apparent oversight.  Surely that’s what marketing is all about?

For me Twitter user @RossRegan sums it up best: “@Qwikster is either the best viral marketing tool ever or our new global village idiot”.

Now about my spare key…

Thankfully, being neatly tucked away in Ancoats, Studio North was largely unaffected by the ordeal, but a read through of the plans left an impression regardless.  The mention of the currently ubiquitous campaign “I ♥ MCR”, which with 20,000+ “likes” on Facebook is something people are definitely paying attention to, makes you wonder why similar campaigns haven’t been attempted to restore consumer faith in the current economic climate.

A quick look at the “I ♥ MCR” Facebook page wall shows a barrage of comments with consumer offers and business promotions available for all to see.  This combined with an attractive logo plastered throughout the city centre gives people a ‘cool’ reason to pump their hard earned money back into the economy.

Time will tell whether or not the campaign will produce any tangible results, but it is safe to say that there is a clear opportunity for both the consumer and the economy to benefit.  If such benefits are realised, it may be worth local councils and Westminster taking note, and in future rather than releasing statements from suit donning ex-Etoners urging people to spend, instead investing a little into similar, targeted campaigns, which benefit the consumer and give them a reason to actually respond to efforts promoting spending and economic growth.

And of course give marketing and branding agencies loads of business!

(Stuart McMullen is a graduate in English Language from Lancaster University and is currently on a paid work placement with Studio North as a Brand Research Assistant)

Dear Asda,

I popped into your Hulme store this morning for some mini pancakes and a banana and was amazed to hear Radiohead playing throughout the store. Quite cool in a way, but very wrong in another way.

I’ve always been a fan of the band, admiring the way they’ve never stood still creatively, always trying to push musical boundaries but I just feel something a bit more light hearted may be better in a retail environment.

You see, when it’s raining outside you don’t want the store music to make it feel like it’s raining inside – especially when your brand promise is all about the feel good factor of saving people money. Music should be used to help make our shopping experience more pleasurable, therefore making us stay longer, spend more and come back again.

The dreary track in question, Pyramid Song, is actually about drowning (not teabags), and like a lot of their later work was inspired by bouts of manic depression.

I’m sure you spend thousands on your audio branding strategy, so maybe it was just one of the shelf stackers who popped in his ‘best of indie’ cd by mistake. However if you don’t, it’s something we’re really interested in at Studio North so would love to talk to you about it – you can tweet me @sbuckers or call us at Studio North on 0161 237 5151, www.studionorth.co.uk.

I trust this feedback will be taken constructively – on a positive note the music did remind me that I needed razor blades and paracetemol.

Warm regards,

Steve Buckley

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 ‘Healthy Brand, 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 is Allie Johns, Brand communications & strategy

Allie 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 Simon Calderbank on 0161 237 5151 or email simon@studionorth.co.uk

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

Strictly clientside marketers & senior executives only.

Everyone has an opinion on this and there are merits to both sides of the coin. For me, it all comes down to one question, what is the benefit (to the client)? Suits don’t create the subtle, clever headlines, memorable visuals or innovative uses of new media channels; I’d never profess to do so! However, in order for these to be developed, clear insight and direction is needed from the good old suit! We live in the real world and unfortunately from a commercial perspective there isn’t an unlimited pot to spend. Therefore, creatives need guidance and this is where the challenge begins.

Some agencies don’t employ suits and, other than the fact I wouldn’t have a job, I feel there is a need for us; after all we offer skills that creatives may not have. More importantly, creatives should be getting on with what they do best – let the suits deal with all the other stuff! Here comes the benefit, our clients are busy people; they want the delivery to be on brief, relevant to their audience and from time to time even better than expected. They want the service they receive to be seamless, simple, and reliable.

I’ve heard the jokes before – suits are glorified taxis blah blah blah, they just ferry elements from one place to another. I’ll counter that with the following, creative’s wouldn’t know who to pick up, where they needed to go, what time they need to arrive by, who they’re picking up next, how much the fare is going to cost and where to go when there are diversions galore along the way.

I don’t like the term ‘suits v creatives’, why the ‘us v them’ mentality? Look at the bigger picture, through clarity and clear communication suits ensure creatives spend their time on creating fantastic messages. Subsequently, our clients are happy because they receive what they need and can be comfortable trusting the job will be done correctly. I’d argue that is the most important outcome and by bridging the gaps between our clients and creatives, suits ensure everyone benefits.

Firstly, it’s very easy to identify what we’re not looking for. To a degree, this blog has been prompted by an email that  landed only the other day and is pretty much the A-Z of what not to do…

“Hi I am soon to be graduating from xxxxxxxxxx University and I am enquiring about taking part in work experience. I have looked at your website and find your work aesthetically pleasing and interesting. I have been studying Graphics for 6 years now and will be looking for a career in Graphic Design within the next few years.”

Where shall I start? The poor grammar in the opening sentence perhaps. Or the total vagueness of when this individual would like to partake in either his work experience or the real world. It was also reassuring to understand he approved of our work. Why didn’t you say so sooner, here’s the Creative Director’s chair…

There was nothing else by the way, no examples of work, basically not a single reason why he should be considered for anything other than rejection.

We’d love to reply to every social media conversation, email or posted CV about potential opportunities but we simply can’t, as the quantity is just overwhelming. Applications like the one above make us feel less guilty about not replying.

Anyway, here are four ways you can elevate yourself above the rabble.

1. Form an opinion

That you are exceptionally creative is a given. If you aren’t, someone, a friend perhaps, should really do the decent thing and put you out of your misery by telling you to your face. If they don’t, someone else will, probably in about 15/20 years time and it won’t be pretty. It’s frightening how many wannabe designers just don’t see that they really are not that very good at all.

Anyway, on the basis you’ve passed this little test what we’re looking for is personality & opinion. This is a surefire way of getting noticed. There’s no sitting on the fence in this industry. Be it a creative or even a suit, we’re in the business of giving expert opinions…occasionally wrong but usually right. Demonstrate this by telling a story, in words or pictures. Facts are boring, opinions aren’t.

2. Do the extraordinary

This is the tricky one and I’m not going to give away any examples of outstanding creative approaches I have witnessed but you have to question how we are going to find you in the noise of another 100 applications using precisely the same methodology of an emailed CV, with a bog standard covering letter blah blah blah.

We’re in the business of creating stand-out communications, making waves, having impact…if you can’t do this with yourself then you’re in real trouble.

3. Be relevant

We’re very busy. Like most people in business these days. Nobody is carrying extra heads anymore and time is precious. Give us the information that is relevant. You may think it’s extremely interesting to pen a letter about how you took a degree in Fashion Marketing, have been to Paris, Milan etc., not found your dream job, been there, done that…now decided you quite fancy the creative industries….zzzz….get to the point. Quickly.

Focus on the most relevant information & we are more likely to get to it.

4. Persevere

Most things in business are about timing. Honestly, you will be extremely lucky to land that stunning piece of thinking on the Creative Director’s lap the very minute he has realised he needs to create a new junior role.

If you do, well done, can I have your lottery numbers please? If not, don’t be put off by the cliche ‘we’ll keep your details on file’. Certainly, we mean it.

There’s no harm, if given this feedback, to tap away…obviously there is a line to be drawn between plain annoying and maintaining regular contact…but you’ll have to work that out for yourselves.

Oh, and spell-check everything.

I was about to enter a couple of ideas on behalf of Studio North earlier today when I noticed another piece of work already entered by The School of Communication Arts in London. I wouldn’t want to post the visual here, but to describe it, it was a fictitious ad for eBay featuring a box of cherished childrens toys with the inscription ‘Madeleine’ written on it accompanied by the headline ‘When it’s time to throw it away, it’s time to eBay’.

We’d be nowhere without freedom of speech and creative expression but this was beyond the bad taste category it was entered into – it was absolutely disgraceful. Mocking the abduction of a young girl for critical acclaim, in the name of creativity.

When I explained my feelings of disgust to the Dean at The School of Communication Arts I was even more alarmed to hear him defend the work of his students.

“We encourage our students to take risks, to create communications that normal mortals wouldn’t dare to show and to push every boundary.” Said Marc Lewis

So that’s ok then. Someone gives you a platform to be creative and you use it to be as vile as possible.

Speaking as a normal mortal I believe pushing the boundaries of ‘creativity’ is one thing, thinking of the most tragic circumstance possible possible then making fun of it is another. That’s not creative or pushing any boundaries, that’s breaking through the boundaries and is vile and irresponsible.

Maybe in today’s happy slapping society where anything goes it’s become cool to be cruel. Other ads from different contributors on the Chipshop Awards website that mock the Holocust and recent tragedies in New Zealand and Japan would support this.

Maybe Marc and others like him that are charged with developing the next creative generation would be better getting them to use their talents to make a difference, to think of innovative ways to help victims of tragedy instead of poking fun at them.

I believe in freedom of creative expression, but not at the expense of basic human morals and compassion. We are human beings first and a designers second. But we are designers, and that makes us different because as creative thinkers we have the ability to use our talents for good, to make things better. It’s an obligation.

The clue is in the word ‘creative’.

A friend of Studio North, writer and creative thinker Mick Greer recently blogged this story…

Design that matters is an American company run by Timothy Prestero. They were recently looking into neo-natal incubators for villages in Africa.

The problem is that if you give a modern incubator to an average sized village in Africa it will work fine for a year or two then one day something will go wrong and it will stop working.

No one will have the skills to repair it or, probably, the parts that are needed. So they started to look at what skills the local population had. No matter where you are in Africa you will always see cars on the road.

Cars that by rights should be dead and on a scrapheap.

There are clearly good mechanics everywhere in Africa. With this fact in mind Design That Matters then set about, and succeeded in, designing an incubator made from car parts. It has headlights for warming, a fan for cooling, door chimes for an alarm and runs off a car battery.

This incubator is now up and running and helping babies in developing countries everywhere. The parts to repair it are easy to come by and there’s always someone who has the skills to do so.

By looking at what resources were available instead of what technology was available Design That Matters has created something truly amazing and made a real difference.

Now that is what I call pushing the boundaries.

You can read more about Design that matters here designthatmatters.org