We as humans, are like magpies to silver, when it comes to visual content on social media. Having said this though, our attention spans are incredibly short. We seek visual stimuli and if we don’t like it, you’ll loose us immediately. With that in mind, it’s now essential for you to know that if your content isn’t visually compelling or stimulating, it’s going to be ignored. It could be the greatest written content around, but if your article or website is being promoted with a terrible image or even worse, no image, then no one is going to be paying any attention. It’s said that you have approximately 8 seconds to draw attention to your article. This is because, with the advancements in technology, our standards for being visually stimulated are getting higher and higher. So this means when promoting your service, you need to be paying more attention to making your social media marketing strategy visual.

Imagery

Imagery is crucial for attracting people to click through to your site. If you don’t have the resources or time to create a video, then an image is absolutely essential. People scrolling through their newsfeed are less likely to click on a link which isn’t accompanied by an image unless the hook line is really gripping. In case you’re not quite convinced, here are a few stats:

• Tweets with images receive 150% more retweets than tweets without images (article)
• In an analysis of over 1 million articles, BuzzSumo found that articles with an image once every 75-100 words received double the social media shares as articles with fewer images
• Facebook posts with images see 2.3X more engagement than those without images (article)
• Eye-tracking studies show internet readers pay close attention to information-carrying images. When the images are relevant, readers spend more time looking at the images than they do reading text on the page (article)

Video

According to Cisco, by 2018 video will account for almost 82% of Internet traffic 

It’s the natural progression. Social Media is constantly adapting and so is the way that companies are reaching out to their audience. It’s becoming essential that companies and organisations start incorporating video as part of their online marketing strategy. Facebook is changing its algorithms to ensure that videos reach the wider audiences therefore giving them more exposure. Furthermore, it’s far more engaging and direct, it adds a human element to it and boosts the customers trust in your brand. This can also be linked to the rise in influencer marketing, those who are pushing their own personal brand in order to inspire people and come down to their level which makes them likeable and more relatable and ultimately making the viewer more likely to buy into their brand. But it’s also about value, brands can’t simply post about their product anymore. Customers expect value from content, it needs to elicit some kind of emotional response whether it be anger, happiness or humour.

Here’s a few stats about the effect of video on social media:

• Facebook users watch 8 billion videos per day (article)
• Facebook video receives, on average, 135 percent more organic reach than a Facebook photo (article)
• Videos up to 2 minutes long get the most engagement (article)
• Organic Facebook engagement is highest on posts with videos with 13.9% and photos with 13.7% (article)

Live 

You may have noticed a surge in social networks adding live video applications to their services. Obviously, video is the king of content on social media now it’s so easily accessible from our phones. The average adult consumes up to five hours a day of video content, one hour of which is online. The reason for the rise in this kind of content is simply because it’s real. It completely squashes the stigma that videos are heavily edited and produced, in order to make as much money as possible. Live video is raw, anything goes and that’s what’s so fascinating about it. The big social media corporations such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have all jumped on the live streaming bandwagon. It’s a new and more easily accessible way for people to broadcast their lives. So when it comes to your marketing strategy it may be worth considering live video. Whether it is showing the customer reaction to your product, reviewing it or showing an inside preview into your business/institution.

With a wealth of expertise and experience in marketing, get in touch with us and see how we can help with your social media strategy.

As an award winning creative agency, we always seek the brightest talent when it comes to employing new staff, and Maisie’s keen eye for design and interest in the creative sector made for a perfect fit! We understand how difficult it is for young people these days to acquire that essential experience needed to get their ideal job. For that reason, we welcome those who are seeking work experience and we aim to provide the best opportunity for those hoping to find careers in the marketing/design sectors.

From helping the team come up with fresh ideas for campaigns and designs to experimenting with photography, it’s safe to say that Maisie made an excellent addition to the team, despite her stay only lasting a week.

Here’s what Maisie had to say about her time at Creativeworld:

‘From taking pictures and designing campaigns, my time doing work experience here was… creative to say the least. My week on the inside gave me an insight into ‘Creativeworld’ – the design, the media and everything else in-between. The relaxed, but hard-working environment of the office showed me a professional approach to achieve all the necessary aims of every working day. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Creativeworld and felt it took no time at all to become part of Team Creative.’

The team thoroughly enjoyed having Maisie join us for the week and we wish her all the best for the future.

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.

Following on from the plethora of high profile Irish appointments received in 2014, we are delighted to announce our latest collaboration with joint agencies JLL and CBRE on the largest investment to come out of Ireland in recent times, the TARA Collection.

The portfolio of high end commercial properties will offer potential investors an unrivalled opportunity to gain exposure to the strongly growing Dublin CBD office market, whilst developing core rental income with value added opportunities through new lettings, re-gearing lettings, refurbishment and redevelopment.

Creativeworld North West HQ

Commenting on the recent appointment, Creativeworld MD Clive Wood added “The Irish property market in particular is one that we have seen really develop and grow over the last 12 months at Creativeworld. As a leading marketing agency, we have a responsibility to develop and offer our clients the very latest designs, concepts and finishes in commercial property marketing and we are confident that with the TARA Collection we can do exactly that.”

The jewel in the crown of this one off investment comes in the shape of 4 and 5 Grand Canal Square. Designed by renowned international architect Daniel Libeskind, this is quite simply the highest quality office building in Dublin and brings with it a tenant to match, Facebook.

“The whole team is excited to be involved in a project as high profile as this. It isn’t every day you get the opportunity to work on something linked so closely with one of the largest businesses in the world. This has the potential to be one of the finest property projects we’ve produced in thirty years of business.” Clive added.

Team Creative will be given the task of creating a newly developed brand identity for the TARA Collection, along with a unique marketing strategy to promote the investment internationally. This strategy is set to include a range of unique printed literature, press adverts, location photography along with a website and secure property data room.

Producing innovative marketing campaigns and strategies for overseas markets is something the Creativeworld team has had vast experience of in recent times, having previously worked closely with international clients in both Russia, Saudi Arabia and most recently Ireland.

The latest international client Team Creative has been appointed by is leading global commercial property agency Cushman & Wakefield, Madrid, as their team look to bring in a digital marketing agency to develop a bespoke online data room for their latest retail investment opportunity, Islazul.

Islazul, Madrid Data Room

Our bespoke data rooms are an online platform, found through a registered domain name, that allow you to upload confidential files such as legal documents, tenancy schedules, floor plans and even photography to a secure private log-in area, which can be accessed only on request. Anyone wanting to view or download these hidden documents must first be granted access; once granted access the individual will be sent a set of personal log-in details which will enable them to release the files.

“It was important to Cushman & Wakefield that we created a design concept that best represented the retail centre’s individual personality, style and appeal. With this this in mind we decided it would be beneficial to incorporate the scheme’s striking imagery available throughout.”

Over the years our digital team has worked hard to develop unique a data room software package, allowing us now to offer this bespoke package to a wide range of business sectors all over the globe.

On the recent work, Creativeworld MD Clive Wood said “As a business we invested a lot of time into our data room offering, as it was an area in the digital market we felt was going to take off in the future. As an agency, it’s our job to not only produce creative design ideas, but to ensure we are able to offer our clients the very latest and up-to-date technologies and services.”

Multi Platform Friendly Data Room

The newly developed data room includes a uniquely designed front end which allows images of the award winning shopping centre to do most of the talking. Once users enter the site, they are able to explore the investment in more detail. Key messages are presented along with links to a photo gallery, floor plans, contact details and a separate download area.

Since opening in 2008, Islazul shopping centre has established itself as the “must-go” urban fashion & leisure family destination for the south of Madrid.

“It was important to Cushman & Wakefield that we created a design concept that best represented the retail centre’s individual personality, style and appeal. With this this in mind we decided it would be beneficial to incorporate the scheme’s striking imagery available throughout.” added Adam Wood, Digital Media Designer at Creativeworld.

At Creativeworld we are always striving to develop and improve our digital marketing offering, ensuring we are at the forefront of modern trends and technologies at all times. This exact philosophy is why Team Creative continues to work hand in hand with some of the North West’s best known businesses and brands.

The latest Lancashire based business to approach our team, seeking our expert services, was Clayton Le Moors based, Sparth House Hotel, as they looked to appoint a creative agency to deliver their dream website.

As with any new website design, we sat down with the Sparth House team to learn more about them, their personal tastes and what they wanted to achieve moving forward with their new website.

It became clear to the Creativeworld team early on in the design briefing that their then current website wasn’t portraying in the best way or what they offered as the new business owners.

“When I first walked through the entrance of Sparth House Hotel, I instantly pictured the look and feel required of a website to reflect the opulence and grandeur of this wonderful establishment.”

Sparth House has grown and developed in recent years as a business, offering visitors not only the opportunity to stay in their luxury bedroom suites but to host corporate events, weddings and even the chance to wine and dine for the evening in their luxurious restaurant. With this in mind it was important that the new website highlighted each service tastefully and accurately, while making each service offering easy to navigate through and informative.

On the recent collaboration, Creativeworld’s Sales and Marketing Manager David Bates said “When I first walked through the entrance of Sparth House Hotel, I instantly pictured the look and feel required of a website to reflect the opulence and grandeur of this wonderful establishment.

When searching for a quality hotel, whether for a business stop-over or a romantic break, it’s important get a feel for the luxurious facilities on offer – with the all new Sparth House Hotel website we feel we have achieved just that.

Ease of navigation enables visitors to see exactly what to expect, and the availability checker and booking system means that within a few clicks your reservation is confirmed.”

The new look Sparth House website features all the things you would expect to see on the modern day website with large feature photo galleries throughout, social media and SEO integration, a clean, fresh on-brand design template and a simple booking system.

The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) recently placed more than 20 North West businesses in front of Irish Companies. All met with potential buyers, suppliers, business partners, and exporters, and a number are now keen to build on those initial contacts made. Fiona Castela, European project manager for EEN, says: “There is been a notable increase in the level of demand for EEN and UKTI’s services in Ireland from UK companies.”

One Lancashire business has been making the most of these opportunities, selling their services across the Irish Sea.

Leading North West marketing agency Creativeworld has seen work in Ireland snowball recently.

Last year, it collaborated with Irish property investment and development company Ballymore Group, which saw the team appointed to design and develop a marketing brochure for the sale of its Old Spitalfields Market investment in the City of London. Off the back of the successful sale of this investment, and with the exposure generated in the Irish market, Creativeworld has this year been approached by two of Ireland’s largest property investment agencies, JLL and Savills, which in turn has resulted in solid orders.

Managing Director Clive Wood said:

“Ireland is a very interesting opportunity right now. The country sank into a deeper recession than we did, but it is on its way out. For us in particular, the means that the banks that took properties when businesses went into receivership are putting them back on the market,including the types of £100m plus developments that we deal with.”

“As we are in the creative marketing sector, the only difference between working in the UK and working abroad is the time difference, which isn’t even a hurdle when dealing with Ireland, and having a price in Euros.When putting together a proposal we have to account for currency fluctuations so that we don’t lose out, but we also need to remain competitive.

“However, we are now a trusted name in this sector. We have worked on six £100m appointments recently. Our phone is ringing, which allays worries over price a little.”

The first Irish opportunity Creativeworld was appointed on came from JLL Dublin as they looked to appoint a property marketing agency to created a printed and digital marketing package for the launch of their Ulysses Portfolio.

After completion of the Ulysses Portfolio came a host of other high profile Irish opportunities from both JLL and Savills, which saw Creativeworld produce case bound brochures and secure data rooms for new investment opportunities Central Park Dublin, Heuston South Quarter Dublin and most recently, the Acorn Portfolio, a three shopping centre retail investment.

Via LBV magazine 

The Irish economy has continued to show signs of stabilisation and recovery over the course of this year and with this growth, Creativeworld has seen a strong influx of commercial property marketing requirements come through from a range of Irish based real estate agencies. Last year, we reported our collaboration with leading Irish property investment and development company, Ballymore Group, which saw our team appointed to design and develop a unique marketing brochure for the sale of their Old Spitalfields Market investment in the city of London.

Off the back of the successful sale of this investment, and with the exposure generated in the Irish market, Creativeworld has this year been approached by two of Ireland’s largest property investment agencies, JLL and Savills, which in turn has resulted in Creativeworld producing some truly bespoke property marketing solutions for these latest investment opportunities.

On the recent Irish collaborations, Creativeworld’s London Account Executive, James Wood commented.

“The Irish property market is one that we have seen take real shape in recent months. With our wealth of knowledge and creative experience in the property marketing industry and with the work we have produced, not only in the London, West End and City markets but all over the UK, we are able to offer a comprehensive marketing service all from our North West Studios to clients all over the UK and the rest of the European market.”

The first Irish opportunity Creativeworld was appointed on came from JLL Dublin as they looked to appoint a property marketing agency to create a printed and digital marketing package for the launch of their then, 25 assets strong, Ulysses Portfolio. This included a 120 page D ring portfolio a custom built website and an online secure data room. The finished results were truly unique in every sense of the word, as Creativeworld’s in-house team took design inspiration from the famous Irish modernist James Joyce novel, Ulysses.

“The kind of work we are now bringing in from all over the UK is something as a North West marketing agency we are very proud of and excited by. With the team we have in place, and looking to expand in our North West studios, we are able to offer a truly bespoke and unique experience for any client that comes to us. These are exciting times.”

added Creativeworld MD, Clive Wood.

Swiftly after completion of the Ulysses Portfolio came a host of other high profile Irish opportunities from both JLL and Savills, which saw Creativeworld produce case bound brochures and secure data rooms for new investment opportunities Central Park Dublin, Heuston South Quarter Dublin and most recently, the Acorn Portfolio a three shopping centre retail investment.

On the recent work JLL Dublin, Managing Director, John Moran added

“JLL Dublin have worked with Creativeworld on the majority of our recent high profile portfolio sales including Ulysses Portfolio, Central Park and Acorn Portfolio. The team have produced the highest quality marketing material including brochures, websites, data rooms, newspaper ads and webmails. We can always rely on Creativeworld to provide a hassle and stress free service and they understand what it is we are trying to deliver. Having the full suite of services for marketing under the one roof ensures there is always consistency in the range of marketing material that is produced.”

One key client we have continued to work closely with on a number of their acquisitions throughout the year is Glenny LLP. The Chartered Surveyors and Property Consultants, established in 1896, offer a full-service multidisciplinary practice with five offices across the UK.

On the recent work, Creativeworld’s London based Sales Executive, James Wood, commented “2013 has been another great year for us as a commercial property marketing agency and part of that success has to be put down to the growing relationships we have formed over time with organisations like Glenny. We have produced some fantastic printed and digital literature for them over the last 12 months which has in turn played a vital role in assisting their agents bringing their properties to the market quickly, efficiently and cost effectively.”

The latest collaboration came in August as our team were commissioned by Glenny Investment Agent, James McFeely, to produce a bespoke 8 page PDF digital brochure and ibrochure for their Academy House & Wollaston House opportunity.

When asked about our recent work with Glenny, James McFeely added

“I had become bored by standard brochures and was looking for a fresh approach to marketing. Then I came across the work of Creativeworld and found exactly what I was looking for. A fresh innovative approach, hands on quick and proactive with their own suggestions and recommendations. A great team to work with. Now I wouldn’t go anywhere else”

Commercial Property Marketing Agency – Property Brochure Design – Property Marketing Data Room – Property Investment Marketing – London Property Marketing – Property Marketing Agency

The fund was established to develop a property portfolio of shopping centres by ING Real Estate Investment Management (REIM) in November 2004.

The diverse property portfolio opportunity with over 700 tenancies, from seven geographically diverse locations, offers a unique opportunity to acquire eight established shopping centre investments with excellent opportunities to enhance performance and added value in the future.

Our team was invited by Coady Supple to create a specialist property marketing package for the portfolio back in February as they sought to build a tailor-made strategy ready to go to the market for early May. Creativeworld’s MD Clive Wood, said, when asked about the recent work “Property Portfolios of this size and stature don’t become available to the market every day; this was a truly bespoke set of assets that required us create something extra special. It’s important to really get investors excited by what they are seeing from the outset and I think we have achieved this with what we have created here.”

It was decided between Coady Supple and ourselves that the portfolio, which now boasts shopping centres in Ashford, Bootle, Durham, Irvine, Leicester, Oldham and Wellingboroughwould benefit from both a custom built website and data room as well as the production of an oversized A4 portfolio and ibrochure.

We firstly arranged for both aerial and location photography of each site, ensuring that the timing of the shoot and weather conditions were both suitable. It’s important to get these elements perfect from the start as the photography of these investments plays a major role in the overall design and ultimately the feel of the marketing literature we create. For a lot of potential investors these photos will be the first they will see of the centres so it’s imperative that the photos show off the locations in their best light.

“Property Portfolios of this size and stature don’t become available to the market every day; this was a truly bespoke set of assets that required us create something extra special.”

With the photography signed off and approved an oversized A4 d-ring binder was designed and produced, with inner pages featuring a variety of custom drawn maps of each of the eight schemes, along with a detailed in-depth analysis report of the site’s financial offering. In addition it also included information on each of the centre’s location and surrounding area.

We also designed an interactive website and data room platform as part of the marketing package. The website featured fully downloadable documents which could be accessed through a secure login system. All downloads could be monitored through a statistics segment, allowing the vendor to monitor the activity of interested parties.

The Britannica Portfolio was acquired in June 2013 by Kennedy Wilson after contracts were exchanged with administrator Grant Thornton; the agreed fee is thought to have been close to the £250 million pounds price sought by Coady Supple.