Creative Scotland has appointed Civica, a global leader in software for public services, to help power its new funding management system via enhanced data management. Creative Scotland supports the development of arts, screen and creative industries across Scotland. It distributes over £100 million of funding from the Scottish Government and The National Lottery every year. The public body has been providing a lifeline to the hard-hit creative industry during COVID-19. Since March 2020, it has received £139 million from the UK Government to distribute. To support this process, Creative Scotland has set-up a new funding management system. It is powered by Microsoft Dynamics365 CRM and MultiVue, Civica’s master data management (MDM) platform on Microsoft Azure. The project forms part of a transformation programme focused on building a flexible, digital framework. This recognises data as critical to organisational development and providing sector support.
Shutterstock, Inc. has announced an exclusive three-year partnership with West Ham United Football Club of the English Premier League. The partnership allows Shutterstock to capture and distribute real-time photography for all of West Ham United’s Premier League, FA Cup, and League Cup fixtures, both home and away. The agreement also grants Shutterstock exclusive access to off-the-field events, including behind-the-scenes coverage of training sessions, signings, press conferences, community appearances and feature work. Shutterstock’s global distribution platform, Editorial, will provide commercial partners and publishers across the world with real-time access to license the latest action shots from London Stadium, the home of West Ham United, and all of the club’s away fixtures.
In a year defined by economical difficulties, Illustrate Digital has experienced rapid growth and revenue increases. The WordPress agency has launched several key new websites, hired half a dozen people in 2020, and improved revenue by 70% year-on-year comparing 2019 to 2020. Illustrate Digital completed twelve new site launches in 2020, including sites for Hodge Bank, Pure Property Finance, Bristol Waste Company, Technology Connected and Countingup Bank during 2020, as well as maintaining and levelling-up their current client websites. After employing six team members last year, the agency is looking to hire for a further seven roles in Q1/Q2 of 2021. New client wins to kick off 2021 already involve a number of technology brands, medical device manufacturers, a global CRM provider and some innovative software projects encompassing data, identity and online comparison tools.
Fleet Feet has chosen Brightpearl to help accelerate its order processing as its sales skyrocket. By selecting Brightpearl as its digital operations platform, Fleet Feet can now better optimize and streamline its fulfilment process, saving time on manual tasks and delivering products to eager runners at breakneck speed. Brightpearl is now the central operating system and is powering automation for the entire Fleet Feet ecommerce fulfilment operation, from the moment the customer places an order, all the way through to shipping or collection via curbside pick up. Fleet Feet will also benefit from Brightpearl’s intuitive, geo-location order routing, which automatically directs orders to the closest physical store based on the customer’s location, cutting back on processing time, shipping costs and enabling the brand to process a higher volume of orders each day.
QUIZ, the omnichannel fast-fashion brand, has partnered with AI platform HelloDone to revolutionise its post-purchase customer support. Thanks to HelloDone’s innovative technology, QUIZ customers can get instant answers to questions about their orders using Facebook Messenger. With more customers wanting QUIZ products delivered to their homes, the brand is committed to giving them the best possible experience from the moment they hit the ‘buy’ button, all the way to the front door. As well as keeping customers better informed about the progress of their orders, the new platform will give them easier access to carrier services, such as parcel redirect so customers can reschedule their delivery or ask for it to be left in a secure location. This messaging support should be extended to include exchanges and returns later this year.
Browser-based video meeting tool, Whereby, has picked Words + Pixels to handle its PR and influencer work as it prepares for an ambitious 2021. As video meetings become the norm, Nordic tech company Whereby is looking to challenge the likes of Zoom, Microsoft and Google with its simple one-click platform that promises to help people collaborate more easily and simply, wherever they are. The brand wants to highlight how to run better online meetings, and Words + Pixels has been briefed to drive awareness of the platform’s key differentiators; simplicity, security, and quality of video meetings for businesses and consumers across the globe. The brief also includes influencer activity to further amplify campaign spikes.
BrandContent, a creative content and PR agency based in Cardiff, has been reappointed to lead the FTSE-100 insurer Admiral’s consumer-facing PR for the fourth year in a row. The agency was first awarded a 6-month contract in 2017, which was subsequently extended. In 2020, the BrandContent team has delivered an 176% increase in consumer coverage and a 560% increase in links driving traffic back to the insurer’s website. The new brief will see the agency deliver media relations and integrated digital PR and content campaigns for the insurer across a range of insurance products including home and motor.
Selligent Marketing Cloud (Selligent), the intelligent omnichannel marketing cloud platform, today unveiled the results of a recent campaign with the UNHCR: The UN Refugee Agency. Working closely with agency partner, Acxiom, Selligent’s omnichannel platform supported the organization’s Ramadan digital Campaign for the MENA region, resulting in a 30% lift in donations from the previous year and an impressive 23% open rate for the campaign emails. On the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, UNHCR launched its global fundraising campaign ‘Every Gift Counts’ to help raise funds for the most vulnerable refugees and internally displaced people. Ramadan is a holy month in the Islamic calendar and is known as ‘the month of giving’.
As a part of a thoughtful, segmented email communications strategy, UNHCR told the personal stories of refugees and people of concern from regions that include Yemen, Syria, Jordan and Bangladesh. By leading with a highly-engaging digital marketing strategy using Selligent’s advanced marketing automation technology, the campaign drove one of the most successful Ramadan donation periods in the history of UNHCR, including more than 330,000 emails sent, with a 23% open rate.
Mixology Communications, a new brand positioning and engagement agency, has added two new accounts to its client portfolio. The new client wins are for: Magway, a revolutionary zero-emission high-capacity delivery system that transports goods using its proprietary linear motor and control technology while making roads safer and our air less polluted, and Moods & Bears, a luxury CBD health food brand that uses the most sophisticated smart farming technologies and the best plant geneticists to produce safe, healthy, and reliable CBD products. Mixology Communications has been appointed as integrated communications partner for both brands.
Digital solutions and technology services company Zensar has announced that it has been selected by insurer NFU Mutual to form a new strategic technology and digital relationship to support multiple technologies that underpin a number of the company’s key business systems. Zensar will be working to help NFU Mutual deliver on a number of strategic technology initiatives to help deliver the short- and long-term vision for the business as it moves into 2021 and beyond.
Influencer led, social-first marketing agency Captivate Influence has been appointed by inclusive tights brand, Snag Group Ltd to head up its digital marketing activities. The Captivate team will develop and implement an international social media strategy designed to build on their community of fans and engage with and attract new followers. The Manchester-based agency will also lead its influencer outreach and campaigns, working closely with directors at Snag Group Ltd.
