Creative: Aberfield jumps on board with National Railway Museum; New marketing agency creates the Perfect Storm; New Look deal for Brass; and more

THE National Railway Museum in York has appointed Aberfield Communications to provide PR support for a two-week event this month that will celebrate rail engineering past, present and future.

The ‘Future Engineers’ exhibition aims to inspire families, through a range of interactive activities, to take an interest in science, technology, engineering and maths and to discover more about careers in rail engineering.

According to the Royal Academy of Engineering, Britain needs to find an extra 87,000 graduate-level engineers a year until 2020 to meet demand from employers. Currently, there are just 46,000 students graduating each year with relevant engineering qualifications.

Darryl Butcher, head of marketing and communications at the National Railway Museum, said: “The UK is facing a significant skills gap, so we hope the event will really inspire young people about engineering.

“The event will be a fun, interactional and an educational way to raise awareness of the importance of Britain’s rail engineering heritage and the opportunities for a career in engineering.”

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DIGITAL marketing agency Perfect Storm has launched in Leeds.

Dave Nutter and Adam Errington have combined 20 years of experience to launch the agency, which instead of employing in-house designers, coders, copywriters and analysts, will be staffed by client service roles, project managers and strategists, bringing in external specialists from a network of partners as needed.

The company has launched with some big name clients including Crown Pet Food brands James Wellbeloved and Greenies, for which the agency will be handling SEO, social media and the redevelopment of websites.

It has also been appointed by sustainable housing developer Citu to design an interactive website for potential home buyers.
 
Mr Nutter said: “We believe what we are doing is unique in the digital world. The demands of clients have changed dramatically in the past decade – but marketing agencies have stuck to pretty much the same structure. When you look at the reasons clients have problems with agencies, it’s often that there’s a junior or inexperienced team physically delivering the work.

“With our business model and the network of partners we already have, we will be bringing in individuals who are top of their field to do the job, and doing that openly with clients, so they are confident about the virtual team working on their brand. We have an incredible amount of talent in our network and it’s great to be able to work with motivated people at the very top of their game. It means we can guarantee the quality of work we’ll provide, but it also ensures we’re helping brands plan and spend their budget in a more effective way.”
 
The agency is currently based at Marshall’s Mill but will be moving into new premises in Leeds next month.

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FASHION brand New Look this week launched its new AW16 promotional campaign online and across more than 600 retail stores in the UK & ROI.

Created by Leeds-based Brass, New Look’s newly appointed shopper and promotional marketing agency, the campaign encourages customers to ‘Shop Styles, Get Prizes’ with £1m of style prizes to be won.

Brass agency’s dedicated shopper marketing team created and delivered the campaign to help New Look engage with its savvy shoppers in-store, online and on mobile. Tasked with increasing transaction levels, Brass developed a marketing campaign prompting customers spending £30 or more to photograph their receipt and upload, email or text to receive a promotional code.

Brass created in-store POS and built the promotional website, allowing customers to enter for a chance to win some prizes from one of three different prize ‘worlds’; Fashion, Fun and Getaways.  Entrants not winning a main prize walk away with a 25% off voucher.

Brass managing partner, Paul McGann, said: “In a fiercely competitive fashion market, the new stylish multi-channel campaign for New Look has huge standout;  adding value and engaging a wide range of shoppers. We’re thrilled that New Look chose to work with Brass and join our growing list of shopper clients for which we create innovate, profitable and award-winning campaigns.”

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LEEDS-based Design agency Totality GCS is celebrating global gold after picking up an international award for its work with specialist micro brewery The Yorkshire Cider Company.

The Pentawards 2016 Gold Award was presented at a ceremony in Shanghai, for the Totality team’s packaging design for The Yorkshire Cider Company’s famous Scrumpy Cider.

James Ryan, director at Totality GCS, said: “This brief was a delight to work on and being recognised internationally for our work is an even greater boost. Our designs for the Yorkshire Cider Company had to capture the true ethos of the highly specialist micro brewery and make it stand apart from the competition in an ever-crowded market place. This award recognises the creative quality and marketing relevance of our work, which is tremendous testimony to our talented team.”

Totality GCS delivers an extensive portfolio of packaging design, corporate identity, literature and digital work for major brands and international companies, including Unilever, Sainsbury’s, Nestlé and Lidl.

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MARKETING agency Pure has been appointed to spearhead the rebrand of a sheet metalwork manufacturer Malton Laser as well as handling the company’s PR and marketing communications.

Based in North Yorkshire, Malton Laser specialises in providing a full service sheet metalwork solution to a host of different sectors, from laser cutting and pressing, to fabricating, powder coating and assembly. Combining cutting-edge technology with extensive experience, Malton Laser has quickly become one of the most renowned metalwork manufacturers in the industry.

Leeds-based Pure will develop and manage Malton Laser’s new-look brand, as well as building and launching the company’s website.  

Gary Dooley, director of Pure, said: “Here at Pure we have a wealth of experience in developing new brands for clients, so being selected by Malton Laser to create a new, fresh look for the brand is an exciting project for all the team at Pure to get involved in.

“Malton Laser offers a host of industry-leading services to its customers and our PR team will execute a strategic communications campaign to effectively target Malton Laser’s audience to ultimately help the company achieve its ambitious growth plans. Our integrated nature means we can ensure consistency throughout all messaging.”