Purple Appoints New Digital Media Manager

We are absolutely delighted to announce that the Purple Agency have appointed Samantha Alderman as our Digital Media Manager to drive our digital media and marketing strategy.

Samantha has worked in digital media for nine years at two of the top 10 agencies in London, PHD Media and Starcom Worldwide. At PHD Samantha had a number of roles, starting as Digital Media Planner / Buyer, progressing to Digital Media Manager, Digital Account Director, then on to Digital Buying Director.

Don’t Get Your Apps in a Flap

Flappy Bird became an overnight success, shooting to the top of the charts months after release. But just as quickly as Flappy Bird soared, it came crashing down rather like the little character in the game. So can Flappy Bird teach us anything about how to make a successful app? 

Many digital phenomena have such sparse life expectancies they can be likened to a firework on the 5th of November. They ascend into the night sky with a lot of commotion and promise, only to fail all expectations with a half-hearted bang and a few sparks, before darkness descends and then the next one tries its luck.

Junior Digital Designer - Job Opportunity

We are looking for a young, dynamic Junior Digital Designer to join this exciting Basingstoke based Integrated Agency.

Pinterest – A Picture Perfect Way to Engage Your Audience

With 70 million users worldwide, Pinterest is the fastest growing social media channel for online content sharing (Share This), making it a must-have tool in any business’ social media strategy. Since Pinterest is image based, it’s the platform of choice for showcasing brand personality, as well as demonstrating your products and services.

The Purple Agency Win Best Corporate Communications Agency Award

Purple are delighted to have picked up their first Award win of 2014.

At a glitzy evening held at the Grosvenor Hotel, London, the annual RAR awards brought together the great and the good of the Agency world. These are the only awards that are judged purely on the feedback provided by clients. 8,000 ratings were provided by clients across the spectrum of agency services and it is purely on these scores that judging is based.

  

Don’t Let Your Brand Become Another Marius

Pity poor Marius. One minute you’re being fed your favourite meal (rye bread, apparently) the next you are yourself a meal. All because his genes were not the right fit. On the whole you have to say that whatever the scientific justification, the shooting of 12 year old Marius the giraffe by Copenhagen Zoo is nothing short of a PR gaff.

You can’t go around shooting healthy giraffes, whatever their genetic shortcomings, let alone butcher them in front of the kids and then chuck the raw and bloody bits to the lions. Though I’ll bet there a few marketing directors reading this who've faced board meetings which may well have felt like they were heading towards a similar outcome. 

Photograph: Scanpix Denmark/REUTERS

Who Do We Think We Are?

After all these years, why are we still patronising our audience?

“The consumer is not a moron; she is your wife” said David Ogilvy.

Of course if you watch Mad Men (and who doesn't?) you’ll realise that in the 1960’s, defining the consumer as the average woman was hardly a tribute to razor-sharp intelligence.

Yet just because ad men have (largely) stopped groping receptionists in the lifts, smoking continuously and offering alcohol at every meeting, don’t assume that anything’s fundamentally changed. Yes, attitudes to women have moved on a bit, but attitudes to ‘the consumer’, hardly at all.

Copywriting – A Natural Selection for Digital Comms

In our fast-evolving digital world some see the copywriter as an endangered species, hanging on to the last leafy patches of the marketing landscape. But be careful before writing-off these highly adaptable creatures. Overlooking this valuable resource could leave your projects without the vitality they deserve.

A writer’s habitat
Traditionally, copywriters have been responsible for penning ads, direct mail, sales aids, brochures, guides and manuals. But their place in the marketing ecosystem is bigger than that.

Copywriters are key to communicating the benefits of the product, service or brand in such a way that encourages the reader to buy, participate or think in a certain way. This automatically puts them at the top of the food chain when it comes to creating copy for websites, social media and other digital communication platforms.

Aiming to Delight

Apple's iOS 7 Human Interface Guidelines describe three themes running through the operating system:

• Deference
• Clarity
• Depth

Deference (the visual hierarchy, making important elements distinct from the less important ones) and clarity of content are key elements of all design. It is the third item, depth, that is more mysterious. Apple's marketing team describes it thus:

"The use of translucency provides a sense of context and place... animation and motion make even the simplest tasks more engaging."

Thirteen ‘Lucky’ Print Tips for Friday 13th

With the creative work complete and the print volume confirmed, all you need to do is get the job printed, right? Whilst straightforward to some, it’s all too easy to get superstitious about the results when your print requirements are inadequately planned.

With 25 years in the print arena, 10 of those in print management, I’ve seen many horrors and misunderstandings in my time. Now with my client services hat on I want to share some of the potential pitfalls and ensure the printing process doesn’t prove unlucky for anyone.