Meet the clients: Ghostbikes

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Ghostbikes is one of the UK’s largest retailers of motocross and motorcycle clothing and accessories. Adam Patel, Managing Director, discusses the experience of working with Morgan Agency to create a new brand for part of the business.

What projects have you worked on with Morgan Agency?

Morgan Agency ran us a workshop to look at our portfolio of brands, they created a strategy to work out how to optimise the portfolio and identified gaps and overlaps within it. This led to the creation of a new brand for motorbike accessories.

Why did you choose to work with Morgan Agency?

I met Sam, the MD, on the Goldman Sachs Business Growth programme in 2011 and I knew he was someone I would like to work with.

What did you think of the Brand Insight and Expression approach?

We found it a simple, straightforward and useful approach to looking at our different brands.

How did you find working with Morgan Agency?

It was great to bring in some professionals who can do something we just can’t in house. Sometimes they reaffirmed what we were already thinking which gives you reassurance that you’re going in the right direction and moving towards a clear objective.

Would you recommend working with Morgan Agency?

We would definitely recommend Morgan Agency and plan to work with them again.

Meet the clients: TeacherBoards

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TeacherBoards is part of a PLC and specialises in a comprehensive range of teaching and presentation equipment and has significantly evolved as a business over time. This evolution left them with a brand identity that no longer reflected their offer. Lee Horton, Chief Executive, explains how they worked with Morgan Agency to create a whole new brand identity.

What projects have you worked on with Morgan Agency?

Morgan Agency helped us to develop a new brand identity and used it to design a new website and product catalogue, among other things.

Why did you choose to work with Morgan Agency?

We invited three companies in and gave them a brief to refresh our brand and asked how they would approach it and looked at their previous branding work. Following that process, we felt Morgan Agency was best placed to provide the service as well as being easy to work with.

What did you think of the Brand Insight and Expression approach?

We sometimes found the rebrand process challenging but Morgan Agency helped us to articulate what we wanted. Once this had happened, the process sped up and had a very positive outcome.

What kind of response has the new brand had?

We’ve had very positive responses to the new brand – both from staff within the business and external customers. People have commented on it without being prompted which is a good sign. We’re now looking at how to drive the new look forward.

Would you recommend working with Morgan Agency?

We definitely would – everyone at Morgan Agency has been great to work with.

Meet the clients: Study Links

Study Links is an organisation that offers support, advice and practical help to international students studying in the UK. Although they had been through a rebrand with a different agency fairly recently, they felt it didn’t reflect them as a company. Ailie Fan, overseas liaison officer, explains…

What projects have you worked on with Morgan Agency?

We went through a comprehensive rebranding process which started with a brand workshop, followed by the creation of new logo options, brand styles, and tone of voice.  The new look has been applied to a new website, brochures, exhibition stands, stationery, newsletters, email templates, the office – all of our marketing materials.

Why did you choose to work with Morgan Agency?

Of all the agencies we saw, we were most impressed with Morgan Agency’s portfolio – the brands they had created for other organisations. They had experience in our industry and they understood us and our market. We’re a young team and that didn’t come across in anything the other design companies showed us.

What did you think of the Brand Insight and Expression approach?

It was amazing. We couldn’t articulate what it was that we wanted but the process brought us together as a team to produce some concise ideas. The workshop was both professional and good fun, a real breath of fresh air.

What did Morgan Agency bring to the project?

Morgan Agency managed to articulate what we felt but couldn’t express. At Study Links, none of us are designers so Morgan Agency really helped with the visual side of things and their knowledge of brands. We had never considered who to focus our brand on and Morgan Agency turned all our thoughts on their head and gave us a new direction for the brand.

How do you feel about the new brand?

It’s totally us and we are proud to show it to everyone. We love it so much that we are redesigning the whole office in our new colours. We’re looking forward to the official launch in January.

Would you recommend working with Morgan Agency?

We would and we already have! I just want to say a huge thank you to the team – we couldn’t have asked for more from you.

Meet the clients: Igniyte

Igniyte provides reputation management services for clients, companies and brands, helping them to build a strong, positive online presence. Having changed their business model, they needed to update their brand identity – director Caroline Skipsey tells how she found the process of working with Morgan Agency to develop a fresh new look.

Why did you choose to work with Morgan Agency?

We spoke to a few potential agencies but we chose Morgan Agency because we felt that branding was their niche, it’s at the heart of their business. We really liked the portfolio of previous work they have done with other clients.

What project have you worked on together?

The rebranding of our existing Igniyte brand. We were established in 2009 but we were a very different company offering different services. Since then we have completely changed the business model and all our old branding just doesn’t reflect the company we are today.

How did you find working with Morgan Agency?

It was great – they helped us to collate what we already knew but we found we were too close to the company to see the way forward. There are two directors here with different views so it was very helpful to have external people come in and draw everything together.

What did you think of the Brand Insight and Expression approach?

We thoroughly enjoyed the branding workshop. It was so important to go back to basics and look at who we are and what we offer. It gave us the opportunity to collect our thoughts and evaluate what’s important to us. The design stage was trickier but we’re really pleased with the outcome – we were looking for something clean and corporate with no gimmicks and that’s exactly what we’ve got.

What’s next for the new branding?

The branding is now being taken forward into our new website. This process is proving to be very straightforward because we have done all the hard work and created a strong brand which has laid the foundations for everything that comes next.

What has feedback been like to the new materials?

We’re so pleased with the new brand – it’s a million times better than what we had before. We work with clients from very different industries so it was important to have something that would appeal to all of them.

Meet the clients – International Procurement & Logistics Limited (IPL)

IPL, whose head office is based in Normanton West Yorkshire, is the biggest single importer of produce in the UK. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Asda, they source all produce for the retail giant as well as supplying a large range of other products from wine and cheese to nuts and dried fruit, house plants and flowers. The organisation has a bold new brand style created by Morgan Agency.

We meet communications and events manager for IPL, Lucy Armitage, and hear about her experience of our Brand Insight and Expression approach.

How did you find working with Morgan Agency?

I found them to be a really professional organisation who always got back to us in a timely fashion. They helped us to stick to the process, kept us informed at every stage and were always full of ideas.

What projects have you worked on together?

Morgan Agency started off by creating an employer brand for us to use to communicate to employees, stakeholders and suppliers. This brand style has been applied to brand guidelines, a new corporate website, recruitment website, posters, a brochure and two films – a corporate overview film and an animated recruitment film.

What did you think of the Brand Insight and Expression approach?

We weren’t too sure at first, we couldn’t see how it was going to pan out but we were really impressed by how it brought so many elements together and how thorough it was. We really enjoyed the workshop that Morgan Agency ran at Cambridge University. It felt like we were on a journey together throughout the process.

What were Morgan Agency’s strengths?

Their professionalism – it really felt like we were looked after. We’re all very busy in our day jobs – the branding exercise was not our only focus – but Morgan Agency kept prompting us to keep us on schedule.

What did Morgan Agency bring to the project?

As a company, we had a number of discussions about how to project ourselves to the outside world. We knew what we wanted to promote but not what that looked like. Morgan Agency created this strong, iconic imagery which we feel brings all parts of our organisation together while keeping it simple.

What has feedback been like to the new materials?

The feedback has been that the new brand looks so strong. It doesn’t need any text with it, it is instantly recognisable and we have been able to roll it out across so many different elements. We didn’t have anything in place before and now we are using it on absolutely everything.

What’s next for the new branding?

Now we’ve finished the corporate website and intro video, we’re looking to introduce the brand across even more elements including into our internal office spaces.

Would you recommend Morgan Agency?

Definitely – we worked well together. It was a lot of hard work but we’re really pleased with the end result.

Yorkshire agency and University join forces to create innovative prospectus

Erin Walmsley of the University of Derby with Sam Burgess and Simon Bucktrout of Team Impression at the Fedrigoni awards

Morgan Agency has won a competitive pitch to produce the University of Derby Arts, Design and Technology (ADT) prospectus for the third year running.

The partnership between the Leeds-based agency and the university previously led to a renowned international award. Morgan Agency-produced a four-part prospectus that won an award out of 260 entrants from across Europe in its category at the annual Top Applications Awards in Milan.

Erin Walmsley, Marketing Officer for the Faculty of ADT, said: “We were really impressed with the ideas that Morgan Agency brought to the pitch. Having worked with them before, we’re confident that they will be able to provide us with a great design concept –something innovative and engaging that will represent the Faculty, and capture the personality of the University of Derby.

“Morgan Agency offers an holistic approach with a real understanding of a brand in its entirety, and we feel that they’ll be able to give us the wow factor that we are looking for.”

Sam Burgess, Managing Director of Morgan Agency, said: “We’re looking forward to getting started on the new version of the prospectus. Our mission is to build on the innovation and success of the previous two years.”

The brochures Morgan Agency designed for the University of Derby last year.

Morgan Agency taps into new London-based premium brand

The new eaucouture brand

A new premium brand has been created by Morgan Agency in the world of taps and brassware – it brings designer products direct to consumers through a new e-commerce website, also designed and built by the agency.

The eaucouture website offers consumers finest quality British-designed taps, showers and other bathroom brassware at great value prices. Constructed in Italy from the finest quality materials, the company keeps prices low by cutting out the middleman and selling direct to consumers.

Sam Burgess, Managing Director of Morgan Agency, explains: “We took the inspiration for the new brand and the design of the website from the clean, crisp lines used in the designer bathroom products on offer from eaucouture, the name itself evokes high design, fashion and luxury.”

The agency worked with eaucouture on market insight, the creation of the brand itself, the design and build of the e-commerce website and is now working on ongoing SEO, PPC and social media campaigns to drive traffic to the site.

Daniel Lloyd, Marketing Manager at eaucouture, said: “We’re so excited by the new brand – Morgan Agency has managed to encapsulate everything we love about our new products in the brand and website.”

Eaucouture also has a showroom at the Design Centre in Islington.

 

Top five brand marketing trends for 2014

This year is flying past, Christmas is just around the corner and now our attention is shifting to the new year. But what will be hot when it comes to brand marketing in 2014? Here are some pointers that I think you should keep in mind:

1. Get mobile – Mobile is now mainstream and any brands that want to be taken seriously need to look hard at their online presence to make sure it’s mobile optimised. In 2014, more than ever, consumers will be browsing the internet and making purchases on their mobile devices so it’s up to brands to make this as easy for them as possible.
2. Get emotional – Customers are making emotional decisions to connect with one brand rather than another and brands from John Lewis to Google are playing to this in their marketing. Successful brands should bear this in mind to differentiate themselves from their competition.
3. Get engagement – It might sound obvious but if customers don’t engage with your brand, it will fall by the wayside. We are all constantly bombarded with information – on our phones, through our TVs, on our journeys to work. Reach out to your target market and invite them in, then, if they choose to engage with you, keep them interested!
4. Get personal – Consumers are starting to not only expect advertising that has been selected for them because it is relevant to their interests and lifestyle but also services and experiences that are targeted to their needs.
5. Get visual – With so much for us all to take in these days, a brand’s use of imagery has never been so important. The blog posts that most people choose to share are the ones with well-placed imagery and infographics – they go viral on social media because they allow information to be digested quickly and easily. The popularity of social sites such as Instagram and Pinterest are testament to this.

So here’s to a creative and successful new year for all of us – please do get in touch for a chat if we can help your brand achieve its potential in 2014.

Samuel Burgess, Managing Director

European Petrochemical company BP Acetyls Europe becomes Morgan Agency’s 200th client

We’re proud to celebrate our ninth birthday by winning our 200^th client and fuelling our celebrations with a contract win with BP Acetyls Europe based at Saltend in Hull.

We will be working on various marketing projects with the multinational. The Saltend site manufactures acetic acid and acetic anhydride, key raw materials in washing powder bleaches and pharmaceuticals, as well as in purified terephthalic acid (PTA) for textiles, bottles, packaging and film products.

Our Managing Director Samuel Burgess said: “It’s wonderful to achieve this double milestone with such a prestigious client. We’re really excited about developing chemistry in our relationship with BP and seeing some great results.

“We’ve been lucky enough to work with some fantastic clients over the last decade and we just want to say a big thank you to them all.”

Meet the Clients – Sportcal

This month Sarah Smith, general manager at Sportcal, is under the spotlight as she talks about how Morgan Agency helped them rebrand.

How long have you worked with Morgan Agency?

Since early April 2013, so four months now.

Why did you choose to work with Morgan Agency?

They were an introduction and pitched alongside a few other agencies. They had the best understanding for what we were looking for and because the people you work with are so important, Morgan Agency seemed a good fit.

What projects have you worked on with Morgan Agency?

They did our rebrand which included evolving our brand identity and creating a new brand style and brand guidelines – the most critical deliverable for the new brand is our website – they designed it and we built it in-house. They’ve helped us with subscription packs, media packs, flyers, adverts and recently rebranded our magazine which they are now producing for us quarterly.

How do you find working with Morgan Agency?

Great, they get a really clear understanding and feel of the business which helps with a quick turnaround. You learn how to work together with a new supplier through communication. It could have been more stressful but they were always on hand to help and that made the whole process much easier to manage.

Has the distance been a problem?

Not at all. They are always willing to come here and once the concepts are signed off it’s fine to chat on the phone and e-mail.

What impact has Morgan Agency’s work had?

The feedback has been great. People have said it looks cleaner and more professional which goes hand in hand with what marketing directors wanted. Morgan Agency’s creative interpretation and execution has been perfect and their infographics have made things much easier to understand.

How do you feel about your new brand?

Very happy with it. It’s freshened us up without entirely altering the original concept. It’s all good.