BBC Songs of Praise: School Choir 2012 Final

Three top junior school and three top senior school choirs went head-to-head in Sunday evening’s BBC Songs of Praise ‘Choir of the Year Final’, which was hosted by ‘Walking in the Air’ singer Aled Jones at The Lowry, Salford Quays.

Heath Mount School, Hertforshire, and St Georges College, Weybridge, prevailed as winners in their respected categories, based on performances judged by Russell Watson, Suzi Digby & David Grant.  The show also featured a performance from former X Factor finalist Joe McElderry.

Hive Manchester developed the Songs of Praise logo (and subsequently the School Choir of the Year logo) back in 2011 to celebrate the iconic programme’s 50^th anniversary.  The selected logo was designed to subtly reflect the underlying elements of music and worship running through the show.

Marketing is Dead?: Response to Kevin Roberts

Kevin Roberts’ bold as brass declaration that ‘marketing is dead’ has induced a nationwide disappearance of eyebrows, as they spring into industry hairlines everywhere with the kind of shocked skepticism that only a true radical can achieve.

Roberts’ general stance is hung around the changing face of brand communication, where the low-cost immediacy characterising the digital age is fast becoming a major challenger to the former effectiveness of the ‘big idea’ – the dedicated and costly marketing campaign designed to hit wide audiences with one perfectly executed, strategically honed message.  His suggestion is that brands scrap strategy and instead embrace the power of the people – effectively letting the public decide what they want to interact with by releasing a ‘little-and-often’ supply of creative ideas.

“To win today you need a culture and an environment where the unreasonable power of creativity thrives.” 

A creative bunch ourselves, we can appreciate what he’s saying.  And you only need to look at junior singing sensation Sophia Grace, Charlie’s brother with the bitten finger, or Ben- sorry Fenton the dog, to see how effective social media can be for distributing popular ideas.  But scrap strategy althogether?  As one Drum reader points out:

“Try telling that to Apple. Their strategy of delivering a great user experience while locking people into iTunes hasn’t done them too badly. Just because you need vision doesn’t mean you can run a business without a plan!”

Ignoring strategy altogether does seem like an outlandish idea, and in actual fact that’s just what Roberts has put out there.  It’s a radical view.  Just as politicians work on a spectrum of right wing to left wing, with everything positioned somewhere in between, polar opposites strategic planning and creativity do much the same.  Creativity is a most valuable currency in the world of business success.  But can it act alone?  And does it make sense for it to do so?

Having a dream for your brand is wonderful, but without an understanding of the market, or a realistic plan of how that dream can become an actuality, then surely you’re running the risk that that is exactly how it will remain -  a dream.  Strategy and creativity aren’t separate entities, they’re intrinsically linked at opposite ends of a continuum, and effective business is balancing somewhere between the two.

Laura Moulden

Manchester Creative Agency Cast a Spell over Scarborough

Visitors of Scarborough Museum will be left spellbound by MediaCityUK-based advertising agency, Hive Manchester, following the launch of the museum’s new Fears, Foes and Faeries exhibition.  Hive won the opportunity to design the weird and wonderful exhibition space after enchanting the curators at Scarborough with their inspired designs.

Fears, Foes & Faeries opened its doors to the public on Friday 23^rd March, and is the culmination of a three-year project as part of ‘Precious Cargos, Stories of the World’, one of the key projects of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.  The exhibition features part of a large collection of charms and amulets assembled in the early part of the 20th century by Scarborough naturalist, collector and amateur folklorist, William James Clarke.

Hive Manchester have been involved in the conceptualisation and design of this project in its entirety, from the exhibition logo to the display graphics and cabinets.  Their final design features full-height wall graphics, which create an immersive environment and provide an impressive backdrop to Scarborough’s fascinating collection, as well as a range of interactive display units designed to enhance the learning experience.

Karen Snowden, Head of Collections at Scarborough Museums Trust, said, “My experience of working with Hive was extremely easy; they are creative but very efficient, and were more than capable of maximising on budget without compromising on quality.  Most importantly, they provided practical solutions to any concerns, whilst still delivering the impact that we wanted.”

Hive Manchester is based at the Pie Factory, MediaCityUK, and was founded in 2006 by Creative Director Edwin Jones, who said of the agency’s collaboration with Scarborough, “it has been wonderful for us to get involved in such an fascinating project.  Designing this exhibition space was unlike anything that Hive have taken on before, but has been fantastic in terms of the creative license it allowed us, and the experience that we have gained as an agency.  Knowing that the client and everyone that we worked with are so happy with what we have achieved, and so appreciative of all our hard work is really pleasing.”

 

-Ends-

 

Photography by Tony Bartholomew

 

 

Featured in:

Creative Boom

Salford Online

 

 

Pinterest: Business or Pleasure?

Scanning through my weekly fix of Stylist en route to the office a few of weeks ago, my eye was automatically drawn to an article in the Online section. The article in question was entitled ‘is Pinterest the new social media power player?’ and laid out a reasoned argument as to why the newest social media fad on the block is here to stay.

The stats are impressive; the site has accrued more than 10m users since its launch in January 2011, making it the second fastest growing website. The concept is simple: users can create a number of individual boards, theme them however they prefer, and when they see something that they like online, they pin it.

An old fashioned kind of girl, I’m not ashamed to admit that I still snip out the bits I like from my monthly glossies and pin them onto an already over-crowded cork pin-board hung in the corner of my room. The reason: if I find an image or a headline captures my attention, it makes me think, or even if I just think that it looks nice, I want to keep reminding myself of it, kind of for inspiration. Cheesy? Probably. But I like doing it all the same. It’s nothing to be taken too seriously, just an accumulation of things I like.

The modern equivalent of my pin-board, Pinterest allows its users to build up a collaboration of images that, essentially, they like. Whilst Twitter allows a person to build up an identity through the medium of words, Pinterest allows it’s users to express themselves through imagery. But whilst Twitter is fast-becoming an essential tool for tech-savvy marketeers, Pinterest remains a hobby tool, with 85% of it’s activity belonging to females.

So how does Pinterest fare in the modern world of online interaction, and can it compete as a space for organisations to connect with their market?

Well, initial thoughts suggest that it doesn’t offer as fertile a ground for business as its more established counterparts, Twitter and Facebook. Firstly, anybody that wishes to join Pinterest must request an invite. Once invited, though users are free to pin whatever they like, self-promotion is discouraged and users are always reminded to credit the source of their pins, the idea being to give the brain behind the image – whether that be a multi-national corporation, the humble blogger or undiscovered creative – deserved recognition for their work. Coupled with the fact that Pinterest doesn’t share Twitter or Facebook’s immediacy, the site’s appeal for business use is somewhat limited. To build up a relationship with other Pinners requires a much higher investment in time and energy. Concerns have also arisen about Pinterest’s distinctly feminine vibe, potentially deterring male users; one male critic described the site as, ‘a crowd-sourced scrapbook for hairstyles and decorating ideas.’

Feminine vibe? What gives you that idea?

But just because Pinterest isn’t as immediately attractive in a marketing capacity, does that mean that it can’t be described as a ‘power player’? Well, one thing that Pinterest does do is credit the hard work and talents of individuals who might otherwise go undiscovered. It also allows individuals to express themselves within the online community via a more tactile and creative medium than a mere 180 characters, gently re-shaping the way that we interact with one other online. And could it be that because Pinterest is less immune to crude business strategy, it’s users are more willing to invest their time on there, or more likely to develop a higher level of trust in it as an online retreat? Time will tell, and although I’m not ready to give up my old cork pin-board yet, maybe it couldn’t hurt to give the contemporary equivalent a chance.

What Would You Recommend?

Hive Manchester are proud to announce that based on feedback gathered from our clients, we have been awarded Recommended Agency status from the Recommended Agency Register (www.recommendedagencies.com). Our ‘Recommended’ status means that we have received high ratings from clients who have enlisted our services over the last 12 months, so we’re proud as punch to show it off*:

Enjoy, and thanks to the wonderful clients who provided ratings!

*you may notice that we splash this around a LOT over the next 12 months.

Fears, Foes and Faeries Exhibition at Scarborough Art Gallery

Hive have been working on the design of a fascinating new exhibition looking at British folklore through the ages for Scarborough Art Gallery. Opening on the 23th March and running until the 30th September 2012, Fears, Foes & Faeries features part of a large collection of charms and amulets assembled in the early part of the 20th century by Scarborough naturalist, collector and amateur folklorist, William James Clarke.

Hive have been involved in every aspect of the design from the marketing including posters, beer mats and advertising to the exhibition design itself including panel graphics, layout, plinths, cabinets, design and build of 3 interactive games to create an exciting exhibition space for these small objects.

The exhibition explores various aspects of British Folklore including:
Witchcraft – a collection of objects, many dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, which were believed to protect against witches
Faeries – charting the development of faeries from dark and threatening creatures to their current, more whimsical incarnation as benign beings
‘Charmacy’ – charms and amulets with a medical slant believed to provide protection against a range of ailments
Birds and Beasts – it’s believed that Clarke’s interest in folkloric objects may have  developed from his interest in the natural world.
Safety at Sea – a subject close to many Scarborians’ hearts!

Karen Snowden, Head of Collections at Scarborough Museums Trust, said: “This is a very quirky and eccentric collection. Charms and amulets are basically about managing fear,
the thing we find most unmanageable in our everyday life.”

Fears, Foes & Faeries is the culmination of a three-year project as part of Precious Cargos, Stories of the World, one of the key projects of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

There is a packed programme of events themed around the exhibition, including faerie workshops, Goth makeovers, and a witches and wizards academy. For more information please visit the website scarboroughmuseumstrust.org.uk

Kony2012

If you’re reading this blog post the chances are that you’re already familiar with the Invisible Children’s ‘Kony2012’ campaign.  The ‘not-for-profit’ organisation introduced a 30-minute film to the world via social media last Monday, and in one week viewing figures reached an estimated 74m worldwide – equivalent to the population of Turkey – and a number that’s rapidly growing.

We’ll admit that prior to the sudden foray of ‘Kony2012’ hash-tags cropping up in our Twitter feed, none of us in the office had ever heard of Joseph Kony or his barbaric regime.   Having watched the video in full, we were horrified to learn of the sheer scale of Kony’s alleged crimes against humanity, which specifically target children.  The world is a big place and nothing hammers that fact home more heavily than the sudden realisation that almost twenty years of large-scale murder, child abduction and prolonged mental and physical abuse all in the name of one man’s power trip, have slipped under the radar relatively unnoticed by the Western world.

Since its release the film has achieved great success, but as we know, with great power comes great responsibility, and already the leaders of Invisible Children have been forced to respond against an aggressive media backlash.  Amongst claims that the actual threat of Kony is misrepresented by the group’s campaign, questions of authenticity have also been raised regarding the three founding members, who just so happen to have been film-makers on the trail of inspiration in Uganda when they were first made aware of Kony’s plight.

There is absolutely no doubt that there’s some brilliant marketing work behind the campaign. Those who’ve seen the film – and there’s a hefty proportion of us that have – will agree that it has been incredibly well put together.  The inspired involvement of Jason Russell’s four-year-old son eloquently highlights an alarming contrast between the blanket of protection enjoyed by children of the Western World, and the harsh threat of cruelty faced by Ugandan children daily.  Coupled with the fact that a time limit has been applied to the campaign calling for immediate and urgent action, the film resonates with its audience in a way that few campaigns have managed to date.

But in a world where the Internet can play an integral part in the process of getting your talent noticed (lest we forget that Justin Bieber has YouTube to thank for his unparalleled success), the fact that getting their work trending on a worldwide scale surely presents an attractive prospect to three lowly filmmakers, has been busily planting seeds of doubt everywhere.

After much tea-fuelled discussion, the office remains divided. Some of us felt compelled to sign the pledge as soon as we’d watched the video, whilst others were sceptical about the aims of the organisation, particularly after discovering the price of the ‘all-inclusive’ campaigner pack ($225 in case you were wondering).  The rest of us worried that – though not entirely convinced by the campaign – we were in danger of letting the fact that behind this organisation lies a crack-team of film-makers, clever marketeers and sturdy social media strategy, get in the way of recognising a good cause. We believe the issue lies with the vast amounts of money now changing hands – specifically from our hands to the Invisible Children’s.  Where exactly is what must now equate to a phenomenal profit going?  Have the Invisible Children essentially created a billion-dollar brand?

One thing that we in the office can agree on is that this probably represents the next chapter in ‘A Practical Guide to Social Media’ – a work in progress as the human race battles to get to grips with the rapidly developing realm of online interaction. In Psychology, one of the fundamental principles we consider is that no man is an island entire of itself: the idea that in society, we internalise the attitudes and behaviour expressed by others, and use it as a blueprint for how we ourselves think and behave. The inclusive and immediate nature of social media in this case has allowed this one emotive video to bolster into our everyday lives at lightning speed, trafficking us in droves towards their nifty e-commerce site.

Whatever your view of the Kony2012 campaign, it is undeniably a fantastic example of the strength with which social media can now govern our attitudes and behaviour.

KidsCan Can Can World Record Attempt

The team here at Hive love to get involved with helping local charities, from participating in events such as the Great North Run to raise money, to giving support to the charity, by dedicating planning and creative time.

For the past two years we have been very proud to be supporting local charity KidsCan Cancer Research Centre, who we have worked closely with to develop their marketing.

When we first met KidsCan their supporter numbers were growing but they were looking for a fundraising idea that was a bit different; would inspire people of all ages to get involved; and would help raise their profile regionally and nationally.

Our response was the KidsCan Can Can Guinness World Record attempt. We wanted to reinforce the name KidsCan and the positivity of ‘can’.

Now after two years of planning we are extremely happy to announce that the KidsCan Can Can event will be taking place on the 1st July at Event City, just opposite the Trafford Centre.

We are looking for energetic people of all ages to continuously ‘Can Can’ dance for 5 minutes. The current record stands at 1503 people and we are determined to set a new record in Manchester.

The day will be a fun filled, high-spirited event with live entertainment, indoor fairground rides, face painting and photo opportunities, amongst other carnival activities.

KidsCan are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year and what better way to celebrate such a vital local charity than to slip on a tu tu and join in with the high kicking at Event City on Sunday July 1st at 12 noon!

We produced a microsite for the team to promote the Can Can event and to make it easy to sign up. For more details please visit: www.cancan4kidscan.org.uk and for more information on the charity please visit: www.kidscan.org.uk

Beans without the Gas – Mini Case Study

Client:
Malton Foods Limited

Project:
Wayfayrer Brand and Packaging Development.

Challenge:
Modernise a the brand with over 14 years of heritage to sit within a dynamic marketplace without alienating current core users.

Solution:
A fresh, modern brand and packaging – perfect for it’s position in the outdoor sector.

Packaging:
With the restriction of a generic pack and the need to overprint variant names, designing a strong and dynamic pack was a challenge. Following through from our development of the modernised and energised logo, we developed a deceptively simple design with enormous shelf standout.

Result:
Now with the BIG increases in sales following the launch the Wayfayrer brand is going from strength to strength.

Client quote:
“Hive not only understood our brand; they understood our consumers and created a pack that really delivered! Since its introduction we have seen an upturn in sales.”
Marketing Controller, Malton Foods

Consumer marketing:
To accompany the new identity we created a range of marketing materials. Powerful consumer ads, in-store posters, stickers and banners, as well as trade literature and product information leaflets.

NEW Range Extension 2011:
Following the success of the initial brand and packaging development. The range has been extended and New Self Heating Food Kits have been added to the product offering, which includes a heater pack as well as a meal, for instant hot food without the need for a stove. Perfect for the outdoor market.

The next step for consumer marketing:
A consumer flyer was also produced which was die cut with a euro slot making it easy to display in store right next to the Wayfayrer packs, this launched in 2011.

Trade promotion:
As part of the marketing campaign we produced a brochure for the trade. This introduced buyers to new additions to the Wayfayrer range, as well as
giving helpful advice on category management. As part of the project we undertook a photography shoot for the whole meal range, focusing on quality and taste. We also carried out a lifestyle photography shoot to bring the product up to date with the rest of the outdoor market.

A Great Salfordians Evening in aid of Start in Salford

After initially being involved in promoting Start in Salford, a local charity, in their successful bid for The People’s Millions, Hive Manchester are now helping Start to arrange their first fundraising evening:

We are delighted to announce that in October this year we will be holding a ‘Great Salfordians’ themed evening in aid of Start in Salford Creative Arts and Wellbeing Centre.

Start is an arts based and wellbeing charity, with a dedicated centre in the heart of Salford that supports people with or at risk of experiencing mental health problems and social exclusion through the arts.

Approximately 250 people from the world of sport, music, the arts and business will be attending in support of Start, including a number of celebrities, who were all born in or have strong ties with Salford. The evening will feature numerous live performances, including a set from local legend Peter Hook; speeches from keynote speakers; and casino entertainment. Though guests won’t win cash for playing on the casino tables, the person with the most casino chips at the end of the night will receive a prize that money couldn’t buy. Salford born Harold Riley, the prestigious painter who was friends with L S Lowry, will present the winner of the night with a personal portrait. Riley’s previous works include portraits of Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II and George Best, with the lucky winner being added to this list.

Start provides services for nearly every group in Salford, from young people at risk from suffering mental health problems to the over 50s who, without Start in Salford, would have very little provision for their needs. It has been running for over eighteen years, after Salford resident Bernadette Conlon started delivering workshops from the boot of her car to help people with mental health difficulties.

All the money raised at the ‘Great Salfordians’ event will go to the centre, so that it can continue its essential work with people who are all too often ostracised from society.

In the build up to the ‘Great Salfordians’ event, Start is also running an art competition to encourage local creative talent, with a £1,000 cash prize for the winner, as well as two tickets to the evening. If your interested in entering email: info@startinsalford.org.uk for more details and an application form.

If you are interesting in attending the evening or getting involved with supporting Start in Salford then please email: info@hivemanchester.co.uk.

For more information visit the www.startinsalford.org.uk website or visit www.hivemanchester.co.uk