Finalists in CIM’s prestigious Wales Marketing Awards

We are delighted to have been shortlisted in four categories for the CIM Chartered Institute of Marketing Wales/Cymru Marketing Awards 2016 for…

Best Integrated Campaign
The Media Angel (UK) Ltd. In partnership with The National Botanic Garden of Wales – Summer Campaign

Best Advertising Campaign
The Media Angel (UK) Ltd In partnership with The National Botanic Garden of Wales – Summer Campaign

Best use of PR
ACT Training In partnership with The Media Angel – #BEYanapprentice

Best Use of Creative
ACT Training In partnership with The Media Angel – #BEYanapprentice

CIM’s prestigious Wales Marketing Awards (previously known as Canmol) rewards excellence and celebrates achievements of marketing professionals in Wales giving individuals, teams and organisations the recognition they deserve. These awards are a fantastic acknowledgement of the creativity and originality delivered by marketers who are at the forefront of their profession and recognises the success of all those involved.

This year 36 entries have been shortlisted for 12 Awards across all sectors including Welsh brands such as Dwr Cymru- Welsh Water, Public Health Wales, Cadw and Braces Bread as well as two of our clients, National Botanic Garden of Wales and ACT Training LTD.

The National Botanic Garden of Wales, based in Carmarthenshire needed to increase their visitor numbers after a number of years of flat-lining figures. In order to achieve this goal their objectives were to concentrate on increasing family visitors: following the creation of new family offerings, which culminated in the opening of The Butterfly House, Plas Pilipala, we composed a campaign to publicise this new offering to family with children across South and West Wales.  A creative multi-faceted campaign which encompassed video, online quizzes and message reiteration across outdoor advertising and radio, created a social buzz and an overall increase of family footfall up a massive 68% over the summer holidays.

David Hardy – Head of Marketing and Communications for National Botanic Garden Wales said “We are delighted to be shortlisted for two awards for our Butterfly House campaign with The Media Angel who did a fantastic job…we are still reaping the benefits of their excellent work today”

ACT Training, Wales’ leading training provider’s objective was to hit their traineeship recruitment target. ACT and The Media Angel devised the #BEYanapprentice campaign to help achieve this goal. Jayne McGill-Harris, senior marketing and PR Manager of ACT Training Ltd says

“One of the main marketing challenges we face each year is how we can compete with huge FE and HE organisations that have much larger marketing budgets and a larger voice in the market compared to ourselves. In order to inject some originality and imagination into our marketing communications activity, we hired The Media Angel as an extension of the team.

Between us, an integrated campaign that included an experiential marketing stunt, as well as online advertising and a promotion, was planned to achieve a competitive advantage and provide a memorable brand experience for prospective learners.”

A Beyonce lookalike was hired and a buzz created around Cardiff on the day of Beyonce’s concert in June.  “Beyonce” engaged with concert goers encouraging them to enter a competition and post pictures on social media ensuring high levels of exposure and data capture from their target audience. This highly successful campaign attracted 63% increase in new traffic to their website and ultimately achieved 830 enquiries- an increase of 40%.

Our Managing Director Alison Debono says

“We are beyond thrilled to be shortlisted again this year for 4 awards at CIM’s Wales Marketing Awards. We are the only media planning and buying agency in Wales to achieve this accolade. The two very different campaigns that we have been shortlisted for highlight that great results and a good return on investment are achievable with limited budgets, creative imaginations and by selecting the most appropriate media mix to deliver the campaign objectives.”

Alison further says “Both campaigns for ACT Training Ltd and National Botanic Garden of Wales are fitting case studies that underpin the essence of our work and how we can help clients develop an innovative approach to marketing to help them STAND OUT and get results”

If you need award-winning advice to ensure your marketing plans are crafted to perfection and deliver results contact us on 02921 320 300 or via email: [email protected]

Beyonce Takes Cardiff By Storm

 City Centre shoppers and concert goers alike were stunned to come across international pop sensation Beyonce walking around alongside them.

The ‘Crazy In Love’ singer was seen popping into Cardiff’s Park Plaza Hotel on Wednesday night and spotted having a drink with rugby pundit Jonathan Davies.  She was also caught last minute shopping in St David’s 2 shopping centre prior to her Formation tour performance at The Principality Stadium on Thursday 30th June.

OK!, we confess, it wasn’t the real Beyonce. It was an awareness campaign for our client ACT Training Limited. We hired a high-profile look-a-like Beyonce to tie in with Queen B’s concert, with the objective to raise awareness amongst young people about the apprenticeship schemes ACT has to offer.

Watch the promotional video below.

Gemma Shaw, our hired Queen B spent two days in Cardiff, travelling around in an ACT branded taxi and interacting with fans in the City Centre, followed by “Paparazzi” and accompanied by her entourage, drawing large crowds and taking selfies with fans.

Hired entourage and promo staff were briefed to engage with the general public, ideally targeting 16 – 24 year olds. As they eagerly waited to have a snap with the look alike pop queen, they were informed of ACT’s key messages.

Traineeships, Apprenticeship and Higher Apprenticeships – all offer an opportunity to earn and learn, working towards nationally recognised qualifications, whilst earning a wage, gaining skills and building a rewarding career. ACT works with over 700 employers across Wales who are waiting for young, ambitious candidates.

The first orchestrated sighting of “Beyonce” was on Wednesday evening at the Park Plaza Hotel the night before the concert, accompanied by ACT brand ambassador Jonathan Davies. We thought this scene of an unlikely couple would be perfect to create talkability across social media and ignite the buzz of Queen B’s arrival to the Welsh Capital.

• Reaching 2,000 views on a video in 24 hours was perfect thanks to a post from I loves the diff.
• #BEYanapprentice was trending on Twitter across Cardiff due to a high volume of tweets, retweets, and social interaction.

Thursday 30th the day of the concert, we arranged for the lookalike to visit ACT apprentices in their workplaces, The Early Bird Cafe, and The Vanilla Rooms in Cardiff where the look alike Beyonce used their services to promote the schemes. The entire process was documented and leaked across social media channels to achieve interaction across our client’s social media channels.

The stunt was reported on WalesOnline – monthly audience of 2 million unique visitors. The stunt reached the site’s most read section of the website and achieved almost 1000 shares.

 

Jayne McGill Harris, ACT Training’s marketing and PR manager said:  “The Beyoncé lookalike, was spotted all over Cardiff and we’ve had a great reaction on social media. We are hoping that the extra attention our channels are receiving will help to raise awareness of the options available for young people to live, learn and earn with apprenticeships.”

Our Managing Director of The Media Angel, Alison Debono, added: “This was a great way to engage with youngsters on an interactive and unique level, ensuring that ACT’s campaign message Live Learn and Earn was seen by as many potential apprentices as possible.”

In 48 hours the campaign  –

• achieved a massive 496.2% increase in Facebook engagement
• reached 142,139 Twitter accounts
• gained 170 ,936 Twitter impressions
• had a 125.0% Increase in received Twitter messages
• saw 2,093 Twitter link clicks

If you want help to STAND OUT with your Marketing then contact The Media Angel  on 02921 320200 or [email protected] for award–winning advice on your next advertising campaign.