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

Manchester Museum: It's in our nature

In the summer of 2018, Manchester Museum came to us to reveal their exciting new plans for their future.

As the Museum closes a number of its galleries to enable essential building work to take place as their new South Asia and Chinese Culture galleries take shape, the Museum needed to communicate to visitors that their renowned natural history galleries are still open for business – and their dedication to natural history and environmental issues as steadfast as ever.

As the Museum and Creative Concern share a similar outlook and approach – with shared values, especially regarding sustainability and environmental stewardship – we are excited about the Museum’s longer term ambition for this much-loved Mancunian institution.

We came up with the Change? It’s in our nature strapline to demonstrate how Museums are continually evolving their exhibitions and gallery spaces to adapt to new influences and to accommodate new ideas, much like the natural world. A physical change to the space, we hoped to convey, shouldn’t be something to fear. This new strapline also signals the Museum’s ‘back to nature’ focus: examining its roots and celebrating its history whilst looking forward.

Manchester Museum has long had a strong, distinct and memorable visual identity. We wanted the Change? Campaign to work within this well-established framework, but also to evolve and push its boundaries. To carry the strapline, we introduced a bright, bold colour palette, with a gradient to illustrate moving and shifting. We also sought out images of natural phenomena synonymous with change and evolution, such as weather and migration, to further lift the creative and provide visual interest.

On approval, we supplied the campaign assets for the Museum team to roll out across signage, building dressing, interpretation and digital channels. You can read more about the plans for the Museum’s transformation on their website.

We wish Manchester Museum all the best for the forthcoming programme of activity and we look forward to enjoying the new-look Museum when it opens in 2021.

Beelines

A Cycling and Walking Strategy for Greater Manchester

Following our work on the Made to Move strategy, which set out the ambitions of Chris Boardman, GM’s Cycling and Walking Commissioner, we teamed up again with Chris Boardman and his teams at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Transport for Greater Manchester to show the region – and the world! – the exciting new cycling and walking infrastructure planned for Greater Manchester.

Working with Peter Saville, we took the region’s much-loved icon, the bee, and developed a marque that we hope will become synonymous with cycling and walking in the region as it will feature on the signage for the new cycle and walking pathways which will make it easier, safer and more enjoyable for the region’s residents to leave their cars behind. We also designed the document that outlines the plans and shows local residents where the new pathways will be constructed, and exhibition boards for the event that launched the scheme to the public. As the initiative evolves, we have remained involved, designing and producing lapel badges and consultation documents, and we look forward to sampling the new infrastructure when it goes live!

https://www.tfgm.com/made-to-move/beelines

Libraries Connected

In June 2018, Society of Chief Librarians (SCL) announced it would now be known as Libraries Connected, and unveiled an exciting new visual identity.

We worked with SCL on this branding project since Autumn 2017, following a competitive pitch, and were excited to see our new brand launched at the organisation’s two-day conference in June.

SCL is a membership organisation made up of every library service in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, that seeks to advocate for public library services and share best practice. After a successful bid to Arts Council England, SCL entered into a new chapter in its history: to become a sector support organisation for public libraries, strengthening the sector by providing best practice, training and events, promoting the value of libraries and brokering beneficial partnerships with third parties.

Getting the name right for this organisation was critical, especially given the number of different stakeholders involved. The organisation wanted to be ambitious with its naming choices, but also wanted a name that would be easily understood at-a-glance – something that SCL no longer achieved.

We began with a period of extensive research to better understand the crowded private and public library brandscape in the UK and consultation to interrogate motivations and barriers with diverse stakeholders: the transformation steering group, regional chairs and members, former presidents, and key influencers and partners.

Once a shortlist of names was created, we embarked on a further period of testing and consultation to decide on the correct route. Libraries Connected proved a clear winner and once this was confirmed, the visual identity development began.

We needed an identity to invoke the heritage of the organisation and its solid, well respected reputation, but also one that speaks loud and clear in a contemporary context.

Since the brand has been approved, we have been working on a suite of marketing and communications collateral, stationery and the design and build of the organisation’s website: www.librariesconnected.org.uk

Student mentoring

In 2017 we started delivering our inaugural mentorship scheme with graphic design students from Manchester Met. Working with six third year students, we have been helping them develop their design skills ready for when they graduate.

Each student has been paired up with a designer at Creative Concern who – through one-to-one sessions – has critiqued their work, providing advice on how to develop it.

The scheme aims to help these students get a more realistic and practical idea of what a career in graphic design will be like and what will be expected of them when they start applying for roles after graduating.

We’ll be working with this group of students until May 2018 and we’re looking forward to developing the scheme further for a new set of students in September.

Lakes Ignite

We are really excited to be working once again on the Lake Culture programme to promote Lakes Ignite 2018. We're supporting the festival with digital, social media, PR, content and creative to showcase this unique collection of contemporary art in Cumbria.

Lakes Ignite launched in January and runs through to July, with six specially commissioned artworks. Each installation celebrates the Lake District’s UNESCO World Heritage status, providing a different perspective on the cultural landscape of the Lakes.

Presenting a broad spectrum of media including metal, wood, mirrors, inflatables, performance and virtual reality, the artworks are free to visit and explore at six venues.

Inspiring stories

You Can Foster is a major project that’s been very close to our hearts for the last year, and one that’s involved almost every aspect of Creative Concern’s multi-disciplinary team from PR and social through to design and digital.

The 2017/18 campaign has also seen us working right across the North of England hosting events, working with media (TV, online, radio and good old print), working with foster carers and young people in their care, heads of City Councils, even the good people of Knowlsey Safari Park, culminating in a fantastic high-profile competition – Inspiring Stories – that reached out to young people in foster care to write personal short stories that were judged by our all-star panel of writers.

We’ve worked with our friends – the performance poet Tony Walsh and Frank Cottrell-Boyce – and some of the UK’s most gifted children’s authors to encourage even more foster carers to come forward and sign up to their local authority to change a young person’s life by fostering. The project has involved working with councils across Yorkshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire East and Merseyside.

As a unique one-off prize each category’s winning story has been recreated by the Creative Concern design team to have its own imaginary book cover.

Find out more at www.youcanfoster.org