Mediamix: magneticNorth, Studio North, Fig, and more

DIGITAL design company magneticNorth has been appointed by BBC Writersroom to create a new online system to help them manage the thousands of scripts they receive each year.
 
An open door to writers of all ages and experience, the BBC Writersroom website is the first port of call for scriptwriters on the web, and was set up as a resource to inform and inspire writers.

Aspiring writers are currently required to submit their scripts to the BBC by post, resulting in a huge manual management task for the Writersroom team.
 
A new online system, which will let writers submit their scripts digitally, is due to launch in early Autumn 2013.
 
Tom Hackett, head of business development at magneticNorth, said “It’s been a really interesting process getting to know the BBC Writersroom team and understanding the way they work. We were blown away by the scale of how much is currently managed manually by the team. We understand how important finding and championing writing talent is to the BBC, so it’s crucial that we work collaboratively to make sure the new solution is thorough and seamless.”

::

BRANDING agency Studio North has created a new identity for Equity Housing Group.

Equity Housing Group is a social landlord with 4,500 homes across Greater Manchester, Stockport, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire and Shropshire.

Studio North came up with a new brand for Equity Housing as well as sub-brand names and identities for four new divisions.

The firm secured the contract following a tender and competitive pitch process. The aim of the brief was to make Equity stand out in a crowded market.

Georgina Crosswell, client Services director at Studio North, said: “This desire to lead the way in their sector whilst focusing closely on customer needs drove our thinking towards a brand based around being challengers of the norm, celebrating individuality and creating the future for affordable housing.

“However, we also know that every part of the business is built on a solid financial foundation providing the ability to be creative without the potential associated risk. This key message of trust and sustainability is especially relevant in today’s volatile economic climate.”

::

GLOSSOP-based Fig Creative marketing and design agency has won a branding bid for the new Buxton and Leek College, formed by the recent merger of the University of Derby’s Buxton and Leek Colleges of Further Education.

Fig Creative’s winning branding already appears on the signs at the entrances to the Buxton and Leek campuses. It will also feature on all the college’s print and online materials, including a new website and student brochures for the 2013 intake.

The agency won the contract following a bidding process that included the presentation of branding ideas to the university’s marketing management team, who then tested a shortlist of ideas with over 300 stakeholders.

Fig’s managing director Helen Duncan said: “Fig Creative entered the bid with confidence, having already put its shortlisted designs to the market for testing. We are thrilled to have won this high profile contract, and to be able to continue our work with the University of Derby, as it enters its latest, exciting phase of development.”

::

PH Media, the Manchester business which produces phone messages for businesses, has launched its own charitable foundation in a bid to raise funds for a number of good causes.

The PHMG Foundation has been established to conduct activity in support of the company’s chosen charities, reinforcing an existing commitment to corporate social responsibility.

Having raised more than £6,000 for chosen charity Action on Hearing Loss during 2012, PH Media Group is now aiming to support a wider range of organisations. This year, the list includes the British Heart Foundation, Alzheimer’s Society, Down’s Syndrome Association, NSPCC, Great Ormond Street Hospital, The Christie, Francis House and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

Finance director Chris Berisford said: “PH Media Group is committed to using its position to exert a positive impact on both the immediate community and good causes across the UK. Establishment of the PHMG Foundation represents a giant step in helping the company to achieve this goal, making corporate social responsibility an integral part of ongoing strategy. It has also inspired employees to take a more active role themselves, making their own pledges through a series of fundraising

events, both large and small.”

::

PR consultancy Tangerine PR has formed a UK-wide partnership with radio giant, Bauer Media Group, to offer hands on media training to companies across the UK, through its network of state-of-the-art radio stations.

Paul Lockitt, a senior broadcast news journalist at Key 103 in Manchester, will conduct the training alongside crisis communications specialist and group MD of Tangerine, Sandy Lindsay.

She said: “Paul is an excellent journalist and Bauer has some of the UK’s leading radio stations in its network. We’re really excited to offer this extension of media training to our clients and other companies right across the UK.

Tangerine is promising bespoke training to individual companies to help “meet current business challenges and opportunities or prepare for an impending issue or crisis”.