The Best of our Brands 2022

As I sit down to review some of the work by our sister brands over the last quarter, I am bombarded by cost-of-living headlines. I don’t profess to understand all government policy or the financial markets, but it is clear the cost-of-living crisis isn’t going away as millions of households (and many marketing departments) reassess how their finances will change, as a result of the autumn budget, planned strikes, soaring energy costs and double-digit inflation.

What I do know is that our partner brands have been focusing on the recession, to put plans in place, so our clients are ‘belt and braces’ prepared. As I have, probably tediously repetitively voiced, it’s a time for honesty and openness, not just holding your breath and hoping that things will be alright. It’s a time to work together and get a plan that works. And most importantly, it’s a time to be bold and talk ourselves up, not down.

Let’s look at where we are: the good news is that Audience Collective are an insight-driven group of specialist agencies that use their collective expertise to give clients the right advice, service and products for their business. And, this quarter, we have used that insight and expertise to generate some great work.

Ponderosa Agency – Panel Interview: Staying Noisy

Not being shy of voicing my thoughts, I recently joined my fellow recession veteran at Ponderosa, Steve Henry and Audience Collective’s straight-talking e-commerce director Mark Garrett to discuss how to face the recession head on and why making noise, by maintaining marketing activity, really pays off during economic uncertainty. There may be no silver bullet, but we shared insights, understanding and real-life scenarios on how best to use budgets in the most cost-effective way moving into 2023. Key take outs being: don’t hide, work together, be smart, utilise insights, remember the long term and STAY NOISY.

Spark Market Research – The Spotlight

Turning the spotlight quite literally onto our strategic insights agency, Spark who imparted their wisdom into sustainability, cost-of-living, the metaverse and marketing pressures. Spark’s very own Justin Healy , and Alicia Myers , recently shared insights and chatted through understanding gained from extensive research into consumer behaviour and the markets, in their new video, The Spotlight. They examine the importance of using intuitive market research to empower confident decisions. Definitely worth a watch.

Crunch Media – Inspired Recruitment Playbook

There’s no getting away from unprecedented upheaval over the past few years within the recruitment industry, from homeworking to labour shortages, then the recently announced strikes as ambulance drivers join nurses, rail workers, border control and postal workers in the worst wave of walk outs the UK has endured for over a decade. Organisations need to create the maximum amount of impact to attract talent – advancing their recruitment mission which is what the recruitment playbook is set out to do. An essential read for anyone with a workforce of any size.

Unicom Agency – Integrated Media Blog

Moving onto the workforce of the future, students. Reaching first class prospective students is no mean feat, however our higher education experts, Unicom, are always ready with advice to share their insightful comms. All very different from my university experience, with just a selection of brochures to look through and word of mouth knowledge of which cities had the best nightlife!

With more universities than ever vying for students’ attention, Unicom offers advice on how to get your open day to the top of the visit list using a hybrid first approach. Worth a look for any university looking to attract the right students for your institution.

Heading away from the UK to our international partners, who provide insights into the digital landscape.

Audience Collective US

Heading across the Atlantic, meet Nicole Levings , MD at ACUS who, through her podcast , talks about their latest research on the brand-consumer-tech relationship and why a human-centric digital experience is vital for the success of the modern marketplace. This is a great listen to pick up tips on how to ensure tech innovation enhances the customer journey, without losing the human touch. That fine balance we all strive to find!

Audience Collective Middle East

Hot off the press…our team of experts in The Middle East have just finished producing The Momentum Report: 2023 Digital Trends. Digital acceleration really has moved into the fast lane, but with opportunities, comes more choice and often greater complexities. It’s an exciting time and brands that get it right will reap the rewards, but first, brands must future-proof their marketing activity.

To gain deeper understanding and current insight, ACME has produced an in-depth report based on consumer research and channel usage to help shape digital marketing strategies to drive forward future focused digital transformation into the coming year.