It’s no secret that both school spending and teacher’s pay are bones of contention amidst an ongoing political debate in the UK Education sector. Just ask any Headteacher or Leadership team, managing school budgets to attract and maintain high standards of learning is no easy feat.

What makes you so special?

How can you create both a learning environment and workplace which invites students and teachers to really belong? Our experience has found this usually starts with the school ‘Brand’ and everything this stands for. It is very easy for a brand to be disregarded or deemed superficial if it creates no real sense of what it represents or values.

Your School or Sixth form brand may already have a striking appearance on the surface, but when exploring deeper themes and the varying communications these can be filtered through – is your message reaching the right candidates?

The answer is a difficult one to substantiate, especially without hearing from those directly invested in the ongoing and future success of your institution. Schools are now taking the time to listen and learn from the community, parents, students and teachers about their strengths and weaknesses; recognising this as a vital step forward in developing a longer-term strategy.

Understanding what can be improved

Understanding what can be improved and clearly identifying what your unique successes are can invoke a sense of pride in developing values which personify who you are and what you can offer. Although often the case in schools, developing a brand identity and personality can at times lack appropriate investment, this tends to be particularly true among Sixth Forms as they are typically viewed as an ‘extension’ of the School.

Taking the time to learn

If you feel your messages are being misunderstood or perhaps not showcasing the school to the very best of its potential, why not take the time to listen to those closest? One small step forward could bring about big improvements in the short and long term. Developing your brand comes first, how can these messages then be effectively promoted to your audience to drive Word of Mouth. Simon Hepburn at Marketing Advice for Schools provides some great advice on this subject, see his article on 6 ways marketing can drive ‘word of mouth’ about your school to read more. Not sure where to start? Get in touch with one of our specialists for a chat about taking the next step. Or, you may already be spot on the money, in which case good for you!

Whilst you’re here, why not take a look at the branding work we did for Heckmondwike Grammar School and Sixth Form.

Do you need some assistance in redeveloping your brand personality? Get in touch with our experts at education@creativeworld.co.uk

On the 3rd March 2014, you may remember Ellen DeGeneres taking a certain selfie at a certain ceremony that happened to become one of the most retweeted pictures of all time with a whopping 3,270,934 retweets and 2,311,858 likes. What you might not know is that this ‘spontaneous’ selfie moment was actually planned…kind of. Ellen planned to take a selfie with Meryl Streep in the rehearsal of the ceremony and in the moment, live on air, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong’o, Julia Roberts, Jared Leto, Kevin Spacey and Bradley Cooper all decided to join in. We’re obviously not telling you to hire a bunch of actors to boost your exposure, what we’re saying is a simple selfie can break down the corporate barriers of your business and make you seem more human to your audience.

The Byroms

Our amazing partners from All4Maternity, Sheena and Anna Byrom, are huge advocates of the selfie, using it at conferences and meetings as a way of sharing milestones and important moments with their audience. Sheena herself is one of the most influential midwives in the world online. This is because she has put in an incredible amount of hard work to be a leading mind in her industry and in the process has built a brand around herself. It’s a transparency which is hard to emulate and because she is so real and emits a refreshing positivity, it ultimately encourages engagement and loyalty from her following. So long as you’re authentic with your approach, it will resonate with your audience.

Here’s what Sheena had to say about embracing the selfie:

‘I found it hard at first doing selfie’s as I was brought up in a time where we were encouraged not to draw attention to ourselves. But I felt the fear and did it anyway, capturing moments and sharing them to raise awareness of issues, or simply to let others experience the moment too, if they are interested! ‘

To conclude, a few selfies used in the right context, mixed with authenticity, can really help build a brand, and on world selfie day, we want to celebrate that.

Takeaways from the power of the selfie:

• Selfies promote transparency
• Selfies help break down corporate barriers
• Selfies encourage engagement
• Selfies aren’t all that bad
• Selfies are a powerful tool

Our latest Social Media Blog: Tips for Schools on Social Media

For more social media support get in touch on info@creativeworld.co.uk 

Who are the Simply Bees?

Simply Bees is a voluntary organisation, they share facts and tips about bee preservation and offer educational sessions to schools and organisations throughout the community. All of their great work is not- for profit with all the proceeds they raise going back to the hives, the bee park and the local community.

What we did

Creativeworld was approached by Simply Bees to design the promotional material for the event which included the creation of banners, banner stands and leaflets. Team Creative was thrilled to be able to support such a great cause within the local community.

What is World Bee Day?

The purpose of World Bee Day is to raise awareness of the importance of bees and beekeeping, inform the public of major beekeeping events around the world and celebrate World Bee Day. In the long-term, the protection of bees and the beekeeping sector can help reduce poverty and hunger, as well as preserve a healthy environment and biodiversity. Scientific studies have proven that bees have become increasingly endangered.  It is only through joint efforts that we can ensure the protection of bees and their habitats, so World Bee Day is a great opportunity to raise awareness of this huge issue.

What on for Buzzin Bee Day?

There’s lots in store for Buzzin Bee Day at Ightenhill Park to celebrate World Bee Day, such as the welcoming of Simply Bees’ new hives and raising funds to support the Bees and ongoing park improvements. It will be a fun day which will also feature appearances from Lancashire Care’s HARRI, The North West Ambulance service and of course the new Simply Bee Mascot, Bertie Bee. There will be plenty of activities to participate in, as well as food and drink to enjoy, so if you’re in the area and want to support a great cause, make sure you get down.

Check out the great work the Simply Bees team gets up to over on their Facebook page.

For more about our marketing support, get in touch with Dave Bee-net over at dave@creativeworld.co.uk 

HARRI is Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust’s new-look wellbeing resource on wheels. HARRI stands for Health Advice Recovery Resilience Information and members of the public will have the opportunity to visit HARRI at various scheduled locations and events throughout the year.

What does HARRI do?

HARRI is designed to offer simple health checks and useful advice. People can hop on board, take advantage of the free services and pick up health tips and information throughout the scheduled stops. Furthermore, HARRI is one of the many ways Lancashire Care is reaching out to local communities to promote the positive aspects of mental health and wellbeing, in addition to the other services they provide.

What did we do?

Having worked with Lancashire Care on a number of marketing campaigns, most recently the Quit Squad Smokefree Sidelines campaign, we were appointed to produce the branding, design concept and installation of the graphics for HARRI. To begin with, we collected data from focus group sessions to fully understand what the public wanted from Lancashire Care’s new programme; this led to the creation of several concepts which were based around the key phrases and keywords that were gathered through the sessions, making the engagement vehicle accessible and informative for all across the region. In addition to this, service user designed images were also incorporated into the design in key areas to showcase their involvement with the exciting new project.

Where’s HARRI?

HARRI is now visiting locations across Lancashire Care’s footfall, allowing the public to engage with the Trust and discuss health and social subjects. It’s the perfect vehicle to support communities and promote local services to a wide audience in just a few hours. It couldn’t be easier for experts to highlight their initiatives, raise awareness and discuss residents’ concerns. Find out where HARRI is heading here

Business Development Manager David Bennett had this to say about HARRI:

HARRI is another excellent initiative to help engage with the people of Lancashire. At the same time, HARRI gives Lancashire Care the unique opportunity to gather face to face feedback which can be used to improve future services not only for health but for social wellbeing too. We are so proud to be associated with this project and it is really encouraging to hear that it has already been well received across the region as a great initiative.

As part of our services to Health, we offer consultation, brand development, creative design and much more. For more about our health services click here.

The team at Creativeworld was absolutely delighted to see the launch of the Quit Squad’s #SmokeFreeSidelines in Penwortham. The new initiative focuses on denormalising smoking at grassroots sporting events in the hope of creating a healthy, shared space for young people and families.

On launch day, 54 games were played in the Mid Lancs Colts Junior League, which meant approximately 800 young people were able to play football without the sight of parents and coaches smoking or the effects of second-hand smoke.

As a result of previous marketing support provided by Creativeworld, the Quit Squad service saw an overall increase in service awareness and recognition of the brand through utilising the Quit Squad concept in all resources. Having seen these results, the Quit Squad approached Creativeworld for their Smokefree Sidelines project as they knew they could deliver. This time the team created a new brand identity to be used across various marketing channels and produced the artwork for sideline boards, banners, bibs and posters to help increase awareness of the new campaign.

Gareth Beck, Team Manager, Lancashire Tobacco & Nicotine Addiction Treatment Service (Quit Squad) had this to say about working with Creativeworld:

‘I’m excited to be working with Creativeworld on another Quit Squad campaign. Their attention to detail and professional service makes the whole process very efficient. We look forward to seeing many more grassroots leagues and clubs from all sports in Lancashire join the new initiative on the back of this campaign.’

If your children, nephews or nieces play any grassroots sports and you’d like to know how the Quit Squad could support your club or league then get in touch with the Quit Squad on 0800 328 6297

Need marketing support for your next health campaign? Get in touch with the experts by calling 01282 858200

We were commissioned by Heckmondwike Grammar School to deliver a full brand consultation and implementation. As part of the branding process, we had to ensure we understood the needs of the audience whilst maintaining the profile of the School.

The initial brand discovery stages (which involves a trial and error phase of what works and what doesn’t) included a full consultation period with all stakeholders, including Staff, Parents, Communities, Students and Alumni. The process was carried out through focus group work, interviews and written feedback from all groups. This involved gathering information about what the stakeholders felt about the Heckmondwike ‘brand’. From this feedback, we developed a new brand strategy which best represented the institution.

The Concept

Our concepts were inspired by various key indicators made in the initial insight and engagement work carried out; this was then passed back through the various communications channels and concluded in a new evolved brand. The new branding enabled the School and Sixth Form to utilise it internally and externally. A set of Brand guidelines and a toolkit have been created to cover the main aspects of the school’s communication channels, including signage, digital media, prospectuses, stationery, presentations and internal communications literature. This has assisted the School to become more joined up with their branding across all formats.

David Bennett, our Educational Consultant added, “it’s been an exciting project to work on with such a prestigious School as Heckmondwike Grammar School. They worked well with us to ensure all stakeholders were involved in the process of the brand development and how important the brand was for the tradition of the School to continue”.

Is stakeholder engagement and brand evaluation on your list of objectives? It’s important for your audience to have their say in how they want you to communicate with them. Contact us to find out more about how the team can assist your organisation. dave@creativeworld.co.uk

Creativeworld was officially commissioned by the UK arm of Scandinavia’s largest lighting supplier, Nordlux, at the start of this year to design, develop and bring to life the company’s digital marketing strategy.

Divine Lighting e-commerce website

The brief was to develop a digital experience with both the end client and Divine’s trade customers in mind, and provide an experience that would create not only new business opportunities but encourage engagement and dialogue between them and their desired audience.

With this in mind the team proposed the creation of a new multi-platform e-commence website along with a rebranding exercise of Divine Lighting’s full digital offering.

On the recent collaboration, Creativeworld’s Jack Dyson commented, “We were delighted to have had the opportunity to demonstrate our skills and visions with such a forward thinking business as Divine Lighting. It’s been refreshing working with a group of individuals who share not only our love of quality design but also for high end functionality and digital marketing.”

It was important to Divine Lighting to not only endorse their Nordlux association but also reinforce their own brand and service offering. The new website design takes this fully into consideration with the incorporation of a new colour palette, font type and bespoke imagery.

Stunning product photography

The Creativeworld team was able to efficiently ascertain our unique digital needs and put forward a proposal which we were more than happy to work towards.

Nick Galea, Sales and Marketing Manager at Divine Lighting added, “The Creativeworld team was able to efficiently ascertain our unique digital needs and put forward a proposal which we were more than happy to work towards. Throughout the whole process they have been an absolute pleasure to work with, all the way through from the initial enquiry stage to the end product which you can see today.

Their patience and willingness to listen to our requirements, coupled with their creativity and digital expertise have helped give us the online presence and identity that we desired, resulting in a website that we are proud to call our own.”

Along with the creation of the new website came a complete overhaul of Divine’s email and social media marketing.

New ‘REVO’ Brand Identity

Lancashire based creative agency, Creativeworld, was officially appointed to design and develop a new brand identity and marketing collateral for leading foam experts Vitafoam, as they looked to deliver their new 4th generation sleep technology to the market.

As with any new product launch, Vitafoam needed to decide on a unique product name and brand identity. With over 30 years of corporate identity design and development experience, the team was perfectly positioned to work hand in hand with Vitafoam to create something that was both original and on brand.

As marketing trends and techniques continue to evolve, the art of developing a unique brand identity has become ever more important for brands who are looking to stand out from the crowd.

The exciting new 4th generation foam technology developed by Vitafoam was christened ‘REVO’, and has been specifically developed as a Revolutionary Cool Sleep Concept which is set to provide ‘the perfect night’s sleep’.

Vitafoam corporate website

As part of Vitafoam’s global REVO launch, the Creativeworld digital team also conceived and developed a fully animated bespoke CGI video which incorporated a professional voiceover. To complement the video, the team also designed a range of printed literature and branded memory sticks for use at dedicated events and pitches.

On the recent collaboration, Creativeworld’s David Bates commented,

“Working closely with the Vitafoam team was a pleasure as always, especially as they had a clear direction and message that they wished to convey to their target audience.

New and Innovative product development keeps Vitafoam at the forefront of their industry and this time ReVo looks set to revolutionise mattress construction for years to come by offering a ‘Cool’ nights sleep.”

You can visit the new Vitafoam website by Creativeworld at Vitafoam.co.uk and watch the full video for yourself.

As 2015 approaches, Creativeworld has seen an increasingly high demand for responsive websites, a technology which enables your website to accommodate a vast range of mobile devices and users, with recent studies showing that this year the number of active mobile devices worldwide has surpassed the 7.2 billion mark.

With this in mind, it’s vital going into 2015 that your website is future proof; allowing your target audiences to seamlessly access your information on multiple platforms.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is, as ever, key in ensuring potential customers can locate your business online with ease. The same is true of Social Media – most of which is accessed via mobile devices. Imagine the frustration when someone discovers your website via their mobile device, only to find themselves having to zoom in on miniscule text along with having to scroll and navigate through information, all of which was designed with a desktop in mind. This is a common problem that clients approach us with; where the layout doesn’t resize and leads to tedious scrolling and zooming.

The responsive mobile sites our in house digital team develop are also faster to load, which allows for a more user friendly and streamlined experience.

Furthermore, with the integration of new cloud technology, internet browsing history can be synced through a users home or mobile network, allowing them to stop and resume surfing on alternate devices. Imagine this, a customer searches for and identifies your nearest store location on their tablet at home, they then carry product specifications on their mobile phone to the store for reference, followed by the product purchase. Mobile devices should be considered as some of the best sales assistants for your brand!

To see if your website is mobile friendly head over to this link and run the test.
For further information and help on how to make your business mobile friendly, get in touch with our expert team here at Creativeworld. You’d be surprised what we can do…