Better Brand Agency

The end of a crazy week

Date:

22/05/2009

From Mark’s IfWeCanYouCan Blog.

Well, its been a crazy week. Its now over a week since the finalists where announced and time has just flown by.

Not only have we been hectic in the business working on a few proposals and the studio has been working all hours on client projects, we’ve also been trying to embrace the increased profile and new experiences that have come from being part of the IWCYC Campaign. (more…)

Is this the end of focus groups?

Date:

29/04/2009

I was talking yesterday with an account manager who during a discussion about market research said that social media metrics would never replace the value gained from facial expressions, body language and the tone of voice of people attending a live focus group.

I’ve planned a few focus group sessions in the past when I was part of the team that re-branded Frisp Crisps and I have to say I remember them as being interesting and generating some useful feedback, particularly that the crisps were considered as being quite ‘foody’ and filling, more than a snack. That fed into the decision that new ‘foody’ such as Buttered Jacket Potato & Mature Cheddar would fit with our customers’ perception of the crisp brand.

(more…)

NEBusiness.co.uk – True Grit

Date:

08/04/2009

Apr 7 2009 by Jez Davison, Evening Gazette – view article online.

MARK Easby had to face his mum’s cancer and a confidence crisis before becoming Tees Valley’s king of communications. JEZ DAVISON discovers how the Big ‘C’ transformed his life

THE year is 2000 and a young Teessider is caught in a crisis. Former college drop-out Mark Easby had just scraped through university with a third class honours degree before being crushed by the death of his mother Gwyneth from leukaemia.

With confidence and motivation at rock bottom, he decided the only way was up and embarked on a post-graduate qualification “as much for my mum as for myself”. (more…)

Better getting bigger as more digital experience comes on board

Date:

02/04/2009

We’ve looked long and hard for the right person to be the cornerstone on which we build our web development offer. Our criteria was pretty big. We wanted someone who had buckets of big agency experience, who had spent a considerable amount of time working through the product development cycle at the very highest level and who could shape how we offer web development to our clients.   (more…)

North East Digital Awards – A Better win!

Date:

31/03/2009

We we’re at the North East Digital Awards last week and picked up the award for Best Social Media Campaign – Growing your digital footprint. The event, held at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle, was attended by all of the shortlisted agencies and was a great evening with some fantastic digital innovation celebrated. (more…)

mima adopts better thinking towards social media

Date:

29/03/2009

mima (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) has partnered with Better to help develop and deliver a social media strategy for the landmark arts venue. Better primarily helped the marketing team at mima understand how social media integrates with their communication strategy and bring it’s audience closer to them on a daily basis before being asked to build and integrate and number of social media tools around their destination website. (more…)

Sign posting people down 'The Funnel'

Date:

18/03/2009

I’ve seen lots of social media maps, some good some not so good.

The problem is they sit there in lofty isolation, a sea of mostly unfamiliar names and quirky identities.  They are a secret cypher known only to social media cool kids it seems. These maps are not connected to the real world (The one in which hard pressed marketing professionals are fighting hard for their budgets and their jobs) in any recognisable way. We’re missing an opportunity here and, if we’re honest, being a little bit condescending to boot. Another thing, social media buzz words are such a crock! Real people don’t talk like that!

(more…)

Growing your brand's digital footprint

Date:

13/03/2009

Growing your Digital Footprint

We find ourselves drawing this diagram all the time for clients when we’re talking about social media so we thought we’d reproduce it here and get some feedback.

Conversations tend to go something like, “Why social media?”.

After introducing them to the idea that engaging with audiences, listening and harvesting feedback, gaining insights into audience thinking and breaking down corporate barriers is the most rewarding business change event they’ll ever implement it’s much much simpler to draw it.

(more…)

PHP/MySQL Developer needed to join the Better team

Date:

07/03/2009

On the back of winning some exciting digital projects, the Better team is growing again. We are looking for a talented and exciting PHP/MySQL web developer to join us.

The web developer role requires demonstration technical ability but more importantly the passion required to forge a career in digital media that by its very nature requires continuous learning. You should have a love for all things web. You will see web projects as being not only design and functionality, but also understand the marketing and communication requirements for the project (including SEO). You should find code and problem solving interesting and have a genuine interest in perusing a career within a vibrant commercial studio and an environment where deadlines change daily.

Software and skills:
Expert knowledge of Object Orientated PHP/MySQL., Javascript and AJAX
Expert knowledge of building sites in CSS/XHTML
Content Management System Models
Hosting and Email Set Up and server support
Search Engine Optimisation
Aware of Accessibility particularly W3C and WAI 
Web 2.0
Design standards and technology

Salary/Package: Negotiable based on experience.

You must be able to join the team to support both existing projects (additional work, problem solving) but also lead on new projects using your technical understanding to help with scoping out technical website specifications. You needs to be able to work comfortably on your own while maintaining close communication with the rest of the team. Having a strong attention to detail is critical.

(more…)

North East Digital Awards

Date:

20/02/2009

The North East Digtial Awards celebrate the excellence of the growing digital industry in the North East of England showcasing the best of the region’s digital talent.

We’ve entered the digital supplier – Best Social Media Optomisation Campaign category, so fingers crossed we get something. Anyone can vote in the awards so use you click and support us. (more…)