PPC MASTERS

Not always ones for blowing our own trumpets, but we’re pretty proud of what we’ve achieved in the last 8 months! We took over a large PPC account from a specialist “digital” agency and managed to improve the click through rate by 5% while also reducing the cost per click by 32%. Go Bluesoup!

FARM & COTTAGE HIGHLY COMMENDED AT TRAVOLUTION AWARDS

Hip Hip Hooray! We might only have been managing and developing the Farm & Cottage website for 9 months, but in that time we’ve done enough to pick up a highly commended accolade at the prestigious Travolution Awards, held last night.

What did we do…? Lots of little things in all honesty, but when you understand websites like we do, it’s the little things that count. A combination of improved code and functionality made the site run about 30% faster for users. Better information was provided through searchable Google Maps and more video content. New sections were also added to the site to entice users to book providing deeper content about holidays. What did it all mean…simple really, a site conversion improvement of 18% year on year.

No time to bathe in the reflected glory though…we’ve got our sights set on winning next time!

FIRST MARINE CONSERVATION ZONE WEBSITE - THANKS TO BLUESOUP

Bluesoup are proud to announce the launch of the first ever website dedicated to a Marine Conservation Zone….on our doorstep around Lundy Island.

The sea around Lundy island was first designated as England‟s only Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) in January 2010, and today (14 September) it launches a website to open a new window onto its clear waters. The unique world of colourful undersea landscapes and spectacular marine wildlife living around this small granite island is now more accessible at a click of a mouse. The site was developed by the Lundy wardens in collaboration with Bluesoup Communications; and the project has been funded by Natural England.

Nicola Saunders, Lundy warden, said: “The website is a great new resource for anyone wanting to find out more about the island or marine conservation in general. It is packed full of fantastic photos which reveal a whole host of species that you otherwise just wouldn‟t know were there. We asked for the design to engage a wide range of people, with slideshows and video clips found alongside academic research papers and reports – and with an all important live weather forecast link if you are planning a visit.”

Ben Duhig, the managing director of Bluesoup Communications, said: “It’s been a real privilege to work with the team at Lundy to create the first website for a Marine Conservation Zone. To get the opportunity to develop a site celebrating the diversity of the Lundy MCZ and to use such stunning imagery has been an amazing project to be part of. We hope the design, navigation and the way we have used the technology available to us brings this stunning environment to life for visitors in an inspiring way.”

Check out the site for yourselves at www.lundymcz.org.uk

SUNDAY TABLOIDS - WHAT NEXT?

There’s no getting away from the growing drama surrounding News International and the closure of the News of The World. With new revelations each day and a growing number of high profile individuals falling on their swords we are being exposed to the kind of drama normally played out on screen.

So what happens to clients that relied upon the News of the World as one of their key national press titles for advertising? Where should they go now? As you can imagine, these are key questions that have been floating around our office and between us and clients since the NOTW closure. NOTW delivered a large audience across a wide demographic – it was a tabloid yet still managed to hit the ABC1 market. No other Sunday came close to the 7.5m readers each week and only the Mail on Sunday pipped it’s ABC1 readership (3.17m vs 2.93m). In comparison, the Sunday Times only manages 2.87m ABC1s. The public will be testing different titles to see what they like & what they don’t like and in the next few weeks they will probably be picking titles by headline/front page alone. It will take a while for the dust to settle and for the public to establish a new relationship with a Sunday tabloid.

As you would guess the other Sunday Tabloids are hot on the tails of this new ‘floating’ audience – the Mail have run a direct mail campaign, the Mirror have been doing a massive push for new readers and the Sunday Express have reduced their cover price. But has it paid off? Well early indications are that it may have done…

Sunday Mirror Circulated 1.94 million that’s 835,000 extra copies sold = 75.6% increase The People Circulated 890,000 that’s 411,00 extra copies sold = 86.0% increase Mail On SundayCirculated 2.4 million that’s 400,000 extra copies = 19.3% increase Sunday Express Circulated 650,248 that’s 100,000 extra copies = 15.19% increase

So does this mean you should plough your budget into The People / Sunday Mirror? Not necessarily. Over the coming weeks you need to assess the consistency of the circulation, the accuracy of the readership and the content within these titles. It is then a case of planning your media strategy in the national press in all the usual ways. If you don’t advertise in the tabloids at this time of year you don’t need to jump on board these bigger circulations now. It is still all about the Target Audience and what is right for you.

It’s a funny old time in the world of national press and we’re watching closely to see what’s on the cards for national press and what further revelations will continue to shape the media as we know it…and that’s without the likely launch of a new Sunday from News Int in due course or even the new red top from Associated, called “Sunday”. What’s next?

GOODBYE TO A DEAR FRIEND & COLLEAGUE!

Today we say good bye to BN08USO, or The Focus as it became known.  “Focus” joined us way back in 2008, when Bluesoup was just 5 months old.  The agency is what it is today in no small part due to the efforts of this plucky 1.8 diesel, taking us over 80,000 tough miles.

The little blue motor has enjoyed countless drive throughs, a spell of vegetable samosas and even the odd health kick where nothing more exciting than fruit and bottled water were consumed.  Radio 2 was a staple of any journey, but “The Organist Entertains” and the free Cliff Richard CD were low points in an otherwise solid musical repertoire.

So, as we go our separate ways, it’s with many happy memories.  Good luck & thanks to The Focus!

WELLINGTON WEBSITE GOES LIVE!!

Bluesoup were tasked with refreshing a tired website and designing and building a new site that reflect the values of comfort, service and history that run deep through the Wellington’s story.  The Wellington Hotel in Boscastle provides the perfect location for exploring North Cornwall’s dramatic and romantic coastline and sits as a prominent landmark within this famous harbour village.  Under new management and inspired with a passion to deliver an evocative visitor experience, the new website reflects the heritage, warm welcome and service visitors can expect to find.   Check out the site at www.boscastle-wellington.com

BRAND CONSISTENCY... ARE YOU MISSING A TRICK?

Consistency. What is it? Is it important? Are you doing it right? Be brave.

What is it? Consistency is and should be considered one of the most important aspects of successful branding. Your brand consistency should be like a stick of rock, wherever you cut into it reads the same company message. That message isn’t just a colour, a logo, a type face or a strapline…but also and some would say more importantly, tone of voice and how you’re talking to people.

Is it important? Well yes, it’s hugely important. Research has shown that brand consistency = familiarity, familiarity = trust, trust = brand loyalty… and we all like that! Branding experts and industry opinion leaders where questioned in a an Interbrand’s survey late January this year. Here is the list of the top 10 aspects of successful branding, as resulted from that study:

Consistency (36.0%) (see I told you so!)Understanding of Customer/Target (18.2%)Message/Communication (14.7%)Creative/Design/Brand ID (12.8%) Relevance (12.4%) Differentiation/Uniqueness (12.0%) Key Stakeholder Buy-In (10.9%) Positioning (9.7%)Clarity (8.9%) Connection to Customer/Target (8.9%)

Are you doing it right? Most importantly you just have to be honest with yourself. Checking you’re doing it right by yourself is very difficult. You live with your brand 24/7 and are likely to not notice certain things because that’s the way they’ve always been. Getting an external marketing expert to audit all you external and internal communications would be a great start.  They have the ability to have a non biased view to assess where you are in terms of brand consistency and then put a platform in place as to how to make it better.

Be brave. One of the most common mistakes a company can make is to get fidgety brand fingers. As mentioned before if you’re living with your brand 24/7 you will undoubtedly see your branding communications every hour of the day. Many companies do not take into consideration that the consumer (unless they’re stalking you) will only be involved with your brand very occasionally.

Who does it well? Well there are lot’s of companies doing it well…Here’s a few of my favourites:

Howies Boden Innocent Nike Apple

So, get your brand communications right… then sit back, be brave and stick with it for a few years. Simple.

WELL DONE TEAM BLUESOUP!

2012 glory awaits Team Bluesoup!

4 members of the elite Bluesoup athletic team took part in the Bideford 10k race today.  Katie (2 marathons) Pratt led the pack home in an impressive  time of

56min, closely followed by Wayne in a time of 57min.  Ben was next to cross the line, glowing a high shade of red, in 1hr 5mins whilst Steve brought up the rear, in a gallant style, supporting a friend who needed his encouraging words in 1hr 21mins.

Sore legs are nothing compared to the sense of quiet self satisfaction.  What’s next…?!

TOWARDS A BUSINESS COMMUNITY

All right we’ve talked about the amoeba like qualities of a business community and why we have to evolve from having a static, transactional based database to a space where people who love what you do interact with each other. Sometimes you’ll organise this, occasionally the community will organise themselves. BMW doesn’t organised the Mini Club rally’s that take place on sunny Summer afternoons!

What’s critical in this process and what binds your business community is its connections. The connections between your employees, their customers, suppliers, their customers customers, competitors and you! You’ll map this connection visually once a year (we’re working on a model at the moment.) This will show connection lines, participation lines, influencing lines, prospecting lines and information channels.

Once you’ve mapped it, you can start to influence it yourself. This is where the new marketing tactics complement direct mail, telesales and advertising. This is not about stakeholders, like an overladen plane, that really never took off. This is about the regular convening of groups of people, facilitated by you across cross-sections of your business community with common interests. We’ll call them hot groups an evolvement of Jean Lipman- Bluemen and Harold J Leavitt’s idea! Where WOM and viral really can take hold.

It will eventually develop into an eco-system that thrives on information and knowledge flow. It will mean your organisation unlearning and letting go of lots of stuff:

Control to facilitation Marketing to business communities Closed to open Broadcast to socialRestriction to freedom Management to leadership

I’ve seen this working with a few clients and organisations and its fascinating, powerful, enlightening and inspiring watching companies engage with their ‘database’ sorry ‘business community’ in a very, very different and dynamic way!

SHE'S DONE IT!

After months of intensive training, Miss Katie Pratt successfully completed her 2nd London Marathon – in an amazing 4hrs 25mins!  She smashed the times posted on the office sweepstake, leaving Meg with an amazing £4.50 in winnings having guessed the nearest with 4hrs 30mins.  Meg has promised the money won’t change her and Katie is thinking what next….an Ultra Marathon, an IronMan…or simply the Bideford 10k!  Suggestions for her next challenge should be emailed directly to Katie…or investment opportunities to Meg!

GO TACHE YOURSELF!!

Captain Tiptoes website goes live!! as Bluesoup helps launch this exciting new snack brand onto the market.

Captain Tiptoes is a new brand of bar snacks who needed a website designing and launching in just 3 weeks.   Not only did we meet the challenging timeline (which would have stumped many of our peers), we brought innovation to the table.

Check out the new take on navigation or how about a downloadable moustache?!  In fact, why not tache yourself at www.captaintiptoes.com?

WEST SOMERSET COUNCIL & VISIT EXMOOR SELECT BLUESOUP

Market expertise, creative vision and an ability to deliver a complete design & build service has secured Bluesoup winning the contract to deliver a new website promoting Exmoor as a top destination for visitors to the South West.

A big well done to the team for pulling together a water tight pitch illustrating our tourism calibre and of course to Steve for the stunning creative that promises to showcase the stunning Exmoor scenery.

LUSHIOUS LUNDY ISLAND

We are lucky enough to be able to see Lundy Island from our office windows glistening in the crystal North Devon waters and are very excited to be working with the Lundy Island Company, Natural England and partners to deliver a spanking new website to promote the unique Marine Conservation Zone that inhabits the waters around the island.

After a competitive pitch Bluesoup secured the contract by illustrating a complete website solution for the project team supported with creative clout and project management support.  We look forward to getting up close and personal with the incredible marine wildlife in and around the island over the next couple of months.  Well done team.

CORNISH COASTAL HOTEL GROUP SELECT BLUESOUP FOR BRANDING & WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT

Bluesoup has been commissioned by the Cornish Coastal Hotel Group to develop a new corporate identity and website.  The new ident provides a stylish and contemporary umbrella brand within which the portfolio of hotels sit.  Well done to the Bluesoup creative team who have captured the essence of the group and delivered a dynamic and fresh identity.

BLUESOUP AND RIVERBANK CARE HOMES

Some projects come along and have a way of making you stop and think for a while, working with Riverbank has been both an eye opener and a pleasure for team Bluesoup.  We’ve met some terrific people and discovered what a wonderful philosophy of care and support Rivercare provide.  This philosophy has provided the foundation for the development of a new corporate identity and website which we hope illustrates the tremendous homelife residents enjoy.

EXCITING NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH WITH OLIVES ET AL - WATCH THIS SPACE....

Bluesoup are currently working on an exciting new product launch with Olives Et Al, which is set to revitalise a cluttered snack category.  Launch is set for mid March – we’re sure it going to grab your Attention!!

PARKHAM FARMS WEBSITE LAUNCH

Living and working where we do we get to see a lot of cows, but it’s not everyday we get up close and personal, let alone film and photograph them.  After weeks of working alongside some magnificent cud chewing milking machines at Parkham Farms we’ve designed, built and launched their new website.

Parkham Farms are the leading producers of the award winning Westcountry Cheddar and instructed Bluesoup to ‘tell their story’ via a dynamic website and of course who better to star than the black and white residents themselves.  It’s been a lot of fun and we’ve tasted some delicious cheese along the way….yummy!

IT'S PANTO SEASON - OH YES IT IS....

We knew it wouldn’t be long before Wayne was back on stage and sure enough he’s just finished a PTA panto alongside his daughter Alice in The Park School Panto – Arthur & the Knights of the Round Table.  You know what us creative folk are like, any excuse to dress up, hold an audience on our every word, wow with fancy technical staging and have a genuine reason for wearing makeup!!  £1600 raised for new sports hall equipment so a good result all round.

NATIONAL MARINE AQUARIUM FLOAT THEIR NEW LOGO

The NMA have launched their new corporate identity, designed and developed by Bluesoup, it provides a striking, confident logo that has been adopted across all marketing materials and website that helps to position the NMA as an authority in marine conservation for the UK.

EXHIBITION SUCCESS FOR ROCKLEY AT EXCEL JAN 11

High five to the Rockley team for pulling off a tremendous stand at Excel for the London International Boat Show running 7th-16th Jan.

Stunning eye catching design and engaging supporting stand literature which has wowed not only the client but visitors and neighbouring exhibitors alike. Well done team.

BLUESOUP ADDS MORE TALENT TO ITS WEB DEVELOPMENT TEAM

With demand growing amongst our client base we have strengthened our online team and welcomed three new web wizards to the Bluesoup team, Ron, Mike & Dan.

With over 30yrs of experience between them they bring a wealth of experience in online marketing and website development.

Got a web issue? Drop us a mail and we’ll get the .net guru’s on the case!!

KELLY GETS QUALIFIED!

Big well done to Kelly who is now officially responsible for the sticky plasters, bandages & emergency chocolate after qualifying as our First Aider. The accident book could not be in safer hands ...... :)