Journal

Tips from our team... keeping remote working creative

More from Faith this week on keeping creative when your team are all working remotely...

"We've learned that remote, or even blended working patterns don't have to mean the loss of co-creation, team collaborations or creative projects. In fact, there's opportunities to do even more to keep your communications creative, relevant and impactful.

Think sprint not marathon; find new platforms; bust the brief…

These are just three of the top tips for keeping teams creative during the pandemic restrictions that we shared at a Charity Comms conference a few months ago. If you're interested in hearing what other charities told us about their biggest challenges, join the recording of our presentation. If join the recording to dive straight into top tips to run great remote creative ideas sessions.

Inject some new thinking

We've set up a (slightly silly, definitely useful) new idea prompt generator on our website. If you're stuck and need a quick injection of something fresh, take a look and scroll to the bottom where you'll find our 'New thing please' prompt generator right there!

Don't rule anything out

In spite of current restrictions, we've been helping clients to run incredibly sucessful, engaging events, running focus groups and continuing with audience testing for our digital and campaign work, making new films for clients and running Covid-safe photo shoots. There really is no need to feel that you have to put any of your charity's plan on hold - now more than ever is the time to increase your presence, engage your supporters and wider audiences and express exactly who you are as an organisation.

We're running Zoom sessions right now to help clients navigate all of these issues and many more – so if you think we can help (even if its just to assess your current site, without firm plans to make radical changes) get in touch.

Tips from our team... briefing in a film

This week Chris shares his top tips for briefing in a film to your agency:

"If you’re planning some filming for the Autumn, here’s a few pointers to help you get the most out of your shoot…

Ask yourself, is it a film?

This might sound daft, but film is great at taking your audiences to interesting and unusual places and to capture emotions and opinions. Not everything makes a great film, so the first big question to ask is - is film the best and most compelling way to get the information across?

Covid-safe

It’s an obvious one but follow the guidance on safe shooting. Our team have all taken the Covid-safe filming test and have the certification. We can guide you through this if needed to make sure we all stay safe on the job.

Planning makes all the difference

A successful film takes planning and organising. Getting the best locations, the most interesting angles and the most interesting interviewees all takes planning and visualising the final film before you even start.

Vox pops are rarely the best approach

We are often asked to capture ‘vox pops’ which in reality are interviews simply because the subject matter can be more complex than a simple vox pop question. We’d suggest planning your film by thinking about the message first and then decide the best way to communicate your message or story. Vox pops are rarely the best way!

Film it once, use it many times

If you are going to invest in capturing some film content, think about how you can use this content across different channels and formats. This might mean making a few different edits or re-purposing your film to work in portrait or square format. We’d recommend getting the maximum value from your filming by running the content across all of your channels.

Would you watch it?

This last point is critical - only make films that you would watch! What we mean is, make sure your films are as interesting, vibrant and visually dramatic as possible. If you enjoy watching them, then so will your audiences

Good luck!"

Charity webinar: mastering digital and social advertising for your charity

NEW DATE!!!

Creative Concern and Root Media have teamed up to offer a free webinar for charities on 3RD NOVEMBER, 11AM - 12.30PM

When it comes to using using digital to increase fundraising, increase awareness and engagement and build a charity’s brand, there’s a huge range of options that you can take advantage of. But many of us stick to the same few approaches, time and again, because we don’t have the time or knowledge to explore other (potentially far more impactful) routes.

We're inviting charities to register for a 90min, interactive live webinar on 3RD NOVEMBER, 11AM - 12.30PM to bring you up to speed on the latest opportunities available to charities across digital platforms, and give you a chance through questions and group discussion to explore the potential for your organisation. We’ll get stuck into:

- social platforms; does it really have to be all about Facebook? Ways to expand your profile effectively across other social platforms

- integrating your off and online efforts, so they work together and help you build momentum

- how you can ensure that your digital activity doesn’t just drive traffic to your website or social channel, but actually leads to meaningful engagement

- how to maintain high levels of creativity, even when working with strict formats

There are limited places. Please get in touch with Faith on faith@creativeconcern.com to reserve your space. See you there!

Tips from our team... proofreading

This week, our Senior copywriter, Rebecca shares some top tips for tip top proofreading:

"Proofreading is an important part of any job – it picks up those typos and grammar mistakes that can often slip through earlier drafts. It’s always a good idea to get someone else to proofread your work, a pair of fresh eyes can be key. If you’re proofreading your own work, here are three top tips to spot those mistakes:

1. Don’t rely on spell check. Even when words are spelt correctly, they may be being used incorrectly or be a simple typo (‘an’ instead of and’, ‘dairy’ not ‘diary’). For example spell check won’t pick up ‘What is there name?’ as it’s all spelt right, but it should be ‘What is their name?’.

2. Read aloud. You’re more likely to spot mistakes and awkward sentences if you read them out loud. If you stumble over the words, chances are your reader will too.

3. Check it twice (at least). You’ll do well to spot everything in just one proofreading session. There will be checks for consistency, cross referencing (page numbers etc.) and so on that you’ll need to check back over after the first run through.

Good luck!"

Tips from our team... providing amends to your designer

This week, Faith (our Business Director) shares some tips on how to provide amends and feedback on drafts of creative work.

"We know there's always going to be amends on creative drafts and we build in time to cover these of course! But there's some simple, practical ways to make sure that your designers really understand what you mean, and rounds of amends are kept to a minimum.

1. Think about three key areas: content, accuracy and design, when you're reviewing creative drafts. Ask:

Are all the written and visual elements that you expected to see in the draft included (as occasionally, images or lines of writing may be accidentally cut when being added to the draft)?

Are you completely happy with how the document reads?

Are you happy with how the images and graphical elements in your draft appear?

Are all contact details (telephone numbers, email addresses, web addresses etc) included in your draft are correct?

Are all figures (statistics, quantities etc) included in the draft correct?

Are all references and photography credits correct?

2. If you're marking up PDFs, try to use the correct markup tools; there are specific commenting tools for text deletions, replacements, insertions etc. Sticky notes should ideally be kept for general queries or design changes, as it can be difficult to locate exactly where in the text the amend is. There is helpful advice on the Adobe website: https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/acrobat/using/commenting-pdfs.html

3. If you're supplying replacement copy for any part of the document, please supply this as a typed version on email or word document and provide the page and paragraph number for each amend (so we’re clear about what we’re amending)

Super practical - but helps to speed the amends process up and get the final result ready for you much quicker!"

Happy amending! Faith

On common ground in Istanbul

Creative Concern’s partner agency in Turkey, Myra, staged its fourth annual conference on communications for social good in December 2018. Our CEO, Steve Connor, took to the stage to give one of the day’s keynotes entitled 'How to make mistakes if you don’t include emotion in your campaigns'.

Themed around ‘The School of Hard Knocks’ and how we learn from our mistakes, the event featured 17 speakers from NGOs, corporations and the creative sector, with 200 participants including academics, CSR managers from multinational corporations, NGO reps and communication/design professionals from 150 different agencies.

A number of speakers from our European partnership of sustainability-focused agencies, the DNS network, featured on the roster. The conference also presented the opportunity to launch the English/Turkish edition of our network book, 'Be Good', which showcases the network's collective portfolios of responsible, sustainable and ethical creativity.

Forestry Commission Centenary launch

2019 marks the Forestry Commission's centenary year. To celebrate this achievement, the programme launched with Turner Prize winning artist Rachel Whiteread who was co-commissioned by the Forestry Commission and 14-18 Now to mark the centenary with one of her sculptures in Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire.

Nissen Hut is a concrete cast of the interior space of a Nissen hut, the distinctive military structure invented by Major Peter Nissen during the First World War. These prefabricated steel structures were easily erected and had a variety of uses, such as field hospitals, housing and even churches.

Nissen huts were used to house labourers on Forestry Commission land after the organisation was established in 1919. These labourers helped to replenish the nation's timber reserves, which were almost entirely depleted following the war effort.

Creative Concern worked with the Forestry Commission on regional PR for the event. There’s more information about the project and visiting the Nissen Hut on the 14-18 Now website.

Arrive Happy

Our Arrive Happy campaign continues with the launch of several short films promoting the benefits of cycling and walking into and around Liverpool City Region as part of a healthier, happier commute.

Made on behalf of our client Merseytravel, the films were produced and edited by Creative Concern and feature our Arrive Happy ambassadors walking and cycling around the city region, with dynamic scenery shots and on-screen messages explaining that whether you’re looking to get fit, clear your head, or boost your mood, walking or cycling as part of your daily commute could help to make all of that happen.

The films were shared across the Arrive Happy Facebook and Twitter channels and promoted via advertising. From a modest budget the films have so far achieved 23,000 full-length views and a reach of almost 100,000 on social media alone.

The campaign is still in full swing, with lots of exciting projects planned for 2019.

Watch the Arrive Happy Film.

Discover more on the Arrive Happy website.

Population Matters new website

Last year saw us work with Population Matters for the first time – a charity that campaigns to achieve a sustainable human population, to protect the natural world and improve people’s lives by promoting positive, practical, ethical solutions.

The team were looking for a full review of their existing communications to refresh the way they talk about themselves, with a focus on being bolder, clearer and more positive about the work they do.

We brought their brief to life by developing a new website that clearly communicates their vision, who the organisation are and highlights the damaging effects of overpopulation to our planet, whilst providing clear actions that supporters can take to make a difference.

Head to the Population Matters website to find out more about the organisation.

New brand, website and launch campaign for King’s College Hospital Charity

The new brand for King’s College Hospital Charity has just been launched across the group of hospitals supported by the Charity. The brand, developed by Creative Concern, is the result of six months of research and development including focus groups, drop-in sessions, online surveys and brand analysis.

The new brand reflects the Charity’s focus on 'changing lives through pioneering care' and the need to appeal to a broad range of potential donors. The Charity works to make the best care possible by raising money for cutting edge equipment and facilities, innovative research and pioneering treatment.

As well as developing the brand, Creative Concern has developed the new King’s College Hospital Charity website, the Charity’s Annual Report and a range of high impact launch graphics currently being rolled out across the hospital sites. We also produced a series of design templates, tone of voice and brand guidance to help the in-house team work with the new brand.

BREATHE - North-East air quality campaign

The issue of air quality gained national attention in the headlines last year and sanctions have been imposed on local authorities as part of the Government's efforts to reduce traffic-related pollution in the form of nitrogen dioxide emissions across the country.

We worked with three councils in the North East on a creative campaign highlighting the issue of air quality and raising awareness of potential measures that will be put in place in Newcastle, Gateshead and North Tyneside, to ensure the new Government targets are met.

The creative was accompanied by a raft of messages used primarily on the council social media channels. A phase of initial engagement took place towards the end of 2018 and the campaign will continue into 2019 with a public consultation beginning soon.