Day One at Agent | Placement One

| Day One |

AM

My first day began with looking into Agent Marketing's online presence including social media& how they portrayed themselves as a brand online;

Twitter @Agent_Marketing

Facebook AgentMktg

Instagram agent_marketing

A feature I particularly liked was Agents Thought Of The Day, I think this creates a particularly personal feel to the business& something that can be interesting to an audience each day.

I then looked into Agent's previous work & what I liked/thought could be improved about it.

Make It Happen

Statement colour to catch attention.

Quite unisex to suite all audiences.

Short sentences to catch the reader, nobody really takes the time to read extremely long sentences.

NHS South Sefton

Bold Imagery - not to be overlooked.

Bright colour &quirky characters.

Mixture of all people; race,gender,size etc. so suited for everyone 

"Staying local together" - all as one.

Liverpool Womens

Faces to names, many people are nervous about hospitals so putting friendly faces on boards/adverts may mean customers recognize them & feel more relaxed.

Colour - Eye catching and brands the hospital as it matches the logo, people will instantly relate these colours to the hospital.

Hand signed signatures allow the adverts to feel a lot more personal & individual.

"part of the Liverpool Women's Family" - friendly as well as a play on words as the woman's is aimed to pregnant women.

 

Can Cook

Straight to the point.

Imagery means you instantly know the website is promoting food/food based business.

Layout is easy to see/understand &highlights any important information e.g. pop up kitchen workshops.

80/20 Foundation

Colours being primary/bold, quite nature like which could mean the company is down to earth?

"Time To" is almost a slogan - also time is used within the slogan as the 80/20 are small sand timers.

"Why wait when you could be investing now?" - Time related again, quick moving, motivated business.

First Ark Group

Tonal shades & colours - all match and can clearly see the brand identity. 

"creating success together" - no business level & consumer level, all together making the customer feel safe& trusting in the company.

Seasons/ day&night - the company is always there for you no matter what time of day.

"A journey" - all together, nothing you ask is to much.

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Hillside Fact Find

As a extra I completed a small amount of feedback to a website Agent recently for a high school:

Hillside High School

http://www.hillsidehigh.co.uk/ 

About the School – have a look at the about us section and search for their vision, mission and values statements? How many pupils are there? What is their tagline?	By reading the head teachers opening paragraph you instantly understand her wants and hopes for the children of her school, not only to achieve their best academically but maintaining a passion and interest in their talents and hobbies during school time to. In terms of missions I believe the school want to promote a bond between not only the school and pupils but parents to, keeping them in the loop so to say. There are currently 915 pupils enrolled at the school. I believe the schools tag line would be “We are aspirational for our pupils and see it as our duty to ensure that at the end of five years with us our pupils have the best life chances possible.”
Results gained – both from OFSTED and their own performance levels (this should be on the website). Also state when their last Ofsted was.	Hillside High’s most recent Ofsted report was during October 2013 (the 4th) at which they achieved mainly positive of feedback. After reading the most recent ofsted report I could see that 53% of pupils had gained at least 5 GCSE’s at A*-C level. For their own performance levels I headed to the result section where I could easily view the exact facts and figures of the school throughout the current year as well as previous, during 2012 42% of pupils gain at least 5 A* - C grades yet 2014 achieved a slightly higher amount of 52%, this showing an increase and therefore an achievement.
About the Team – who to they introduce within their website? Who are their Governors?	The page features 11 members of staff accompanied by their full name, a photograph and job title. The page includes not only the head and deputy head teacher but also three assistant heads and five other team members. Although only a small variety of staff photographs are shown, a full list is available to download if the website viewer wished to. I think by adding a photograph a parent or pupil could look at this and feel more relaxed about attending an open evening or interview, just as they could recognize a staff member and see it as a friendly face. There are a team of seven governors supporting Hillside School including; Mr J Rimmer (chair of governors) Mr D Walker (vice chair of governors) Mr P Reed Mr P O’Brian Mrs S Lees Mr R Webb & Mrs F Stoddart.
Marketing Tools – is there evidence of using social media, newsletters, are there any downloadable materials?	The marketing tools included on the Highside High website include direct links to each of their social media platforms, these being Twitter and Facebook. A entire page is used to maintain a regular update written by the head teacher herself, the updates are regularly updated to share the most recent news and information about the school, along with anything that could benefit a pupil or parent e.g. a school trip, a visitor any out of hours clubs etc. I noticed a huge amount of downloadable information on the website such as reports, staff member lists, letters that would be sent by post etc. What I particularly liked about this was just how detailed each downloadable item was, I think it would make the parent/viewer feel confident within the school as if nothing was been hidden from them, almost as if the school isn’t just telling them what they want to hear. I think the opportunity of downloading all letters addressed to parents is a great idea as children don’t always remember to share letters and leaflets with them.
What do you like – give a general overview as to what you think about the site and if it works for you.	As a general overview of my opinion of the website I liked how the colours and theme coordinated with the school uniform/badge as I think this instantly adds an identity to the school, the website was easy to use and each link could be found quickly and easily which would be suited for a parent who’s maybe not the best with technology. In terms of content for the website I particularly liked how a list of uniform is provided, a lot of school’s don’t give a exact list about what a child needs to purchase or wear, (especially for their first day). By a parent knowing exactly what they need will make the initial idea of school feel a lot less daunting. Another thing I liked was just how detailed every step of the website was, I think any question/enquire a pupil or parent could ask they would be able to gain a answer online, however if not the contact details were extremely east to find which I also thought was good. The only changes/ additions I could think of for this website would be maybe adding a achievement page to feature the children at a more personal level, the page could include any photographs of recent theatre productions, a place to display art work, poems etc. with this in mind the school could also branch out onto more social network sites maybe Instagram or Youtube. However in design terms I believe the website is particularly well suited to the client and their target market.

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PM

Costings for press releases: Each advert&coverage is worked out by a costing table.

Article Height X Price of Table X 2.5 = PRICE

PR articles are worth 2.5 times more than an advert as the business has to pay for an advert whereas a press release is free coverage and in a way more worth as it hasn't been paid to feature/sponsor. 

Product Placement - You can not force clients - they must be confident with the brand/product and want to buy it.

Researching into PR articles and seeing the difference from adverts and press releases.

Details/ Layout of a Press Release:

-          Synopsis: Overview snapshot of story.

-          Background & Why: who, when, where & why?

-          Background of organisation: details, scheme, idea.

-          Quote: Usually from the highest member of the team (manager of shop, director of company).

-          Call to action: The reason for doing so, what will they gain?

-          Editors Notes: Facts and figures about the company, background facts.

Examples Of PR

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I then wrote my own example press release for the Made in Britain clothing brief :

Taking Flight

Liverpool’s well known Bold street will soon be joined by an exciting new menswear shop. The new brand will keep in fitting with the well know quirky fashion scene of the street itself as well as adding something a little bit new in terms of the cut of garments and daring prints.

Made in Britain Menswear was created by two Liverpool based graduates who have decided dressing vintage doesn’t necessarily mean having to buy an old moth balled shirt from a second hand shop. Instead they have taken on a whole new approach to the modern day vintage man. To celebrate the opening of this exciting new take on menswear clothing, the store shall be hosting a vintage kilo sale as well as showcasing their never before seen designs, all starting at 7pm, Saturday 31^st May at the ‘Made in Britain Menswear’ shop, 11 Bold Street.

Both designers have developed their clothing line from a range of vintage sportswear garments, taking most inspiration from the likes of aviation and racing sports. Not only has vintage clothing inspired each of the designs sold in the shop, but also the extremely high quality of the garments to. Each piece is handmade here in Liverpool from start to finish in the shop itself, meaning the new menswear brand really does have something completely new to offer to the city centre. Although the initial idea may have evolved from a love of vintage, these designers really are creating bold looks for the modern day man. As quoted by M.Jones at Made in Britain Menswear “ long gone are the days of pocket watches so why not buy a coat with a different pocket specifically sized for your iPhone or tablet instead?”.

The new individual clothing brand are hoping that not only do men still wish to buy well made yet creative garments, but that fashion students will see them as the inspiration future graduates  need. ‘Made in Britain Menswear’ wants to be proof that it is possible to set up and continue running a successful business once graduating, and prove that the hard work will pay off eventually.

Editor Notes

Bold Street, Liverpool is the most well know street in the city centre for small bespoke and independent businesses. They feature a lot of alternative coffee shops as well as vintage and bespoke fashion.

Newly founded company, Made in Britain Menswear team currently consists of two designers and one machinist. They are also competitors in the Graduate of The Year Award, coming up in October of this year.

For further information send an email to MIBmenswear@gmail.com or head to the store opening this weekend.

Placement One | Agent Marketing

Agent Marketing is a eight year old company based in the Baltic Creative Campus, Liverpool but also have offices based in London. 

baltic-creative.com

Agent specialize in three areas of business including; 

Strategic Marketing Consultancy - Take apart& put back together.

Graphic Design - Video, Animation, Advertising, Photography, Re-brand.

Public Relations - TV&Press, Billboards, Events, Social Media.

Agent are consultative based and never work just for a brand but with them. 

They are a full service company and work with businesses from small manager owned to  huge hospital trusts each to re-brand and develop the company's to the best of their ability. Whether the change they create be with social media, a new website layout, business cards, strategic marketing strategy's etc. they transform businesses and gain them a much larger& dedicated audience. 

Agent have a long list of successful past collaborations including; 

- Liverpool Women's Hospital/The Hewitt Fertility Centre

- Make It Happen

- NHS South Sefton

- 80/20 Foundation

- First Ark Group

- Go Create 

- Can Cook

- Salt Dog Slims

- Everyman, Liverpool

Agents Values as a company:

- Challenge (yourself, never do it the easy way just to save time.)

- Courage

- Character (Agent are quite a quirky marketing company in my opinion, ever their office proves this).

- Commitment 

- Credibility 

- Conscience

- Culture

The entire team is a total of eleven staff each fulfilling a vital job role to ensure to succeed the business:

Job Table

Each member of the team is willing to go far out of their way to reach the success levels needed, this is something I particularly noticed during my placement, staff would stay dedicated to the brands they develop not matter what time of the day it was, it wasn't just 5pm everyone going home, the staff are dedicated and seriously care about what they do, nothing is created half-heartedly.

Mission Statement

My role whilst working at Agent Marketing consisted of working with the communication side of Agent, this includes brand promotion, targeting media/ social media. The communication team created me a fashion brief called Black Lace Clothing, for the two weeks I was to create this business from start to finish in a way that Agent would, this meant using the three sections of business for myself;

1) Strategy - Foundation of the brand.

2) Creative - Branding/recognizable branding. 

3) Communications - Publishing the brand.

(these three words are what the agent marketing logo represent)

Although I was working on my own brief I was able to gain a whole variety of experience whilst being there to, this including; 

- Shadowing meetings to give me an insight to the sales side of Agent.

- Giving feedback on previous work. 

- Initial meetings about new briefs to add my view/opinion (a new police based company to begin developing in Knowsley and Liverpool - Oscar Mike).

- Creating PR tables working out the pricing of advertising and if it is beneficial.

- Meetings with a collaboration with a local school, began creating names and logo's for their new company.

As my first placements wasn't just fashion based a lot of the placement activity questions from the booklet would be hard to answer for this first placement& more suited to my second which is in a dressmakers however I have answered best I can any that could relate to Agent.

As there are three sections to the company the design team use a lot of specialist technology to enable them to suit any brand/client. The team of three create a wide range of advertising products using specialist computer programmes such as;

- 3D animation - Jarvis& Tech Pads.

- Leaflets, Business Cards etc. - Photoshop, Adobe.

Once a CAD design/proposal was created it would be proof read several times by separate members of staff (quality assurance) and be sent to be printed externally (another business, usually locally based for a quick turn around time).

In terms of a permanent place of work at Agent Marketing I would need to further by degree and specialise in one of the three sectors at Agent (marketing, design or communications). 

Other staff had studied a whole range of subjects including;

Marketing, PR& Communications, Media Studies, Graphic Design, Animation, Journalism, Event Management.

Production Chain

- Client or tender would approach Agent with a brief/ idea.

- A initial meeting is held with the client and either full team or part of the Agent team to discuss what/how they would further the brief& ensure it worked to the best of their ability.

- Next would be a group meeting/briefing in which everybody would say how they individually interpret the idea, this then leads to key words& idea's being discussed.

- Once a desired idea is decided the production team begin to create mock ups which may include a mock newspaper article, leaflet, business card etc.

This is they presented to the client/tender on a second meeting aswell as a marketing strategy which includes everything Agent would do for the brand (press, events etc. whatever is suitable).

If tender is happy they the genuine production begins.

Once done, proof read & sent to tender.

Any changes/ alterations the clients wants to change would be send back and done.

Once all happy, the development would be signed off& sent to be printed/shared etc.

Agent, have a really quick yet high quality turn around of products, whilst there I helped with a Police Brief which had a turnaround of just one week, the tender shared the brief Monday morning &the product were ready to be printed Friday afternoon. Agent works well with the current need for ever changing branding and bring something 'new to the table'.. Everyone's opinion counts not matter how high up in the company they are.

Under The Microscope Photoshoot For Portfolio

For my shoot I used my subtraction dress& a neutral backdrop, I then edited a few of the images together and added my pattern designs over the top. Overall I stuck to my photoshoot plan which I described in detail in my previous blog post.

CLICK HERE FOR ONLINE PORTFOLIO

Subtraction Dress; Photoshoot Planning

| Subtraction Dress Photoshoot |

Theme:  Pastel, Whimsical and almost mystic feel to the shoot.

Setting: Inside in a well lit room (natural lighting) against a plain white wall enabling my to layer patterns or colour onto the backdrop digitally on photoshop.

Garments: Subtraction dress, which is quite pastel themed therefore matching the theme of the shoot.

Colour: Light and airy, light leaks, vintage pastel, summer tones.

Lighting: Soft natural lighting.

Content: What is the video based on, is there a story (narrative) within the video? Does it link to the collection, if so how?

Imagery: Polaroid camera shots along with digital.

Model: Female model wearing plain make up but a heavy lipstick (a deep dull colour such as maroon or plum).

Styling: Nothing very dramatic, I want to whole shoot to loot natural almost fairy like.

Props: Small delicate flowers to hold.

Accessories: Handmade flower crown.

Made In Britain Concept Video

For my collection concept video I wanted to create more of a mood or feeling rather than a planned story. I decided to feature a range of vintage looking imagery such as birds in mid-flight, fabrics, a male walking (to ensure a view knows it is for menswear) along with a few background scenes including the skyline at different times, woodland textures and rockery. 

In terms of shot I wanted to use a diverse selection of camera angles such as close up's, 

WATCH VIDEO HERE

My choice of song was chosen due to its whimsical feeling, I liked how it gave a relaxed feeling to the video. Although the song it pretty modern and sang by a teenage boy his voice has a very vintage feel to it fitting in with my.

King Krule - Baby Blue.

For my opening shots I used a still image that I have used in my portfolio, the image features smoke clouds and a man’s leg that has being mirrored. 

The next shot was a clip I had recorded of the sun setting, it was a beautiful pinky sky which matches many of my portfolio pages (almost resembling smoke), as well as being a direct link to aviation/flight. I then shot a group of flying birds landing on an old looking building, the reason I did this was to portray this theme of aviation through my video and garments, however I did not want it to be quite as literal as recording a plane, instead I stuck with the theme of flight.

To change from shot to shot I used the dissolve technique, I liked how it was a subtle change rather than the images just changing really quickly.

 My next series of shots were based on texture, I included a lot of natural fabrics such as leather hides and fur. This was because of the British Racing brief, we were to use vintage/natural fabrics. I have features the fabrics in tonal blues as my colour story is blue (my garments will also be blue shades). I used eye – level shots for this clips as I wanted to keep the filming quite natural alike to the textures.

Continuing with the flight theme I then filmed small birds however this time the birds are trapped in a small metal cage, by switching between the bird clips to the tree’s I think it adds emotion as the birds should be free& flying.

Keeping with the outdoor theme I then inserted a clip of sunlight hitting a series of metal steps, the sunlight is very bright and once again adds the idea of nature being involved in my design research.

These shots were filmed as a point of view shot, creating the feel that the viewer themselves are looking up at the tree’s or walking along side the metal railing with the sun hitting their face.

 From the blue colour story to green natural earthy tones, I featured a clip of a male walking in a vintage tweed coat, I reversed the clip in time to the music to create something a little different, I used a slightly higher speed for this section as well as the model being an age of the target audience for Made in Britain.

The map clip is to symbolise aviation again, as I have features a lot of map backgrounds in both my designs and portfolio. The short section with the Polaroid camera is just to add something a little different to the film rather than just textures and feelings. I plan to use Polaroid’s within my final shoot therefore linking each of my projects directly.

I used a few cutaway shots during this section of the video as the male was walking away then reversed creating quite a interesting look, I also timed this to fit the flow of the music.

As I had previously used a section of clips with the birds and sky I wanted to create almost and opening and closing scene therefore I continued with the bird clip yet involved small sections of reversing the clips in time to the music before it slowly dwindling out to the end credits.

Overall I kept quite a slow and steady pace to the film as I wanted to make the view feel relaxed as casual as the garments themselves shall be. I am very happy with how my film has turned out and believe it do create the mood and feeling I was hoping for, therefore I have achieved what I aimed to do.

Made in Britain; Concept Video

Mind Map of initial idea's ; Also in sketchbook.

Mood Board for the concept film, showing the overall theme/mood that I wish to achieve.

| VIDEO IDEAS |

-          Vintage, Old Looking/ Retro

-          Old Props such as bird cages, Scrunching up fabrics, Vintage photographs

-          Man walking away in stop start motion, coat on and off, reversed video.

-          Sections indoors and outdoors, birds in cages.

-          Oversized, heavy garments, feeling of being trapped?

Theme: Is the theme vintage, modern, quirky, how can you describe it and link it to the collections and/or website.

Vintage, almost like an old fashioned film. Dusky filters as well as light colours.

Mood: How does it make you feel when you are watching the video? Can you describe the emotions it portrays?

Quite relaxed and free, more about the mood than a specific structure. Contrasting emotions of birds trapped and man free. 

Music: What style of music is it and can you link it to the collection?

Light, soft music nothing to loud or harsh, maybe something slightly classical.

Setting: Where is it set, is it indoors, outdoors, is in in urban setting or countryside? Is it in a busy space or an abandoned derelict area?

A blend of derelict places such as rundown fields/empty building with some being filmed inside e.g. scrunching fabrics, old photographs lay on tables.

Garments: Can you link the garments to an era or a specific style. Are the garments their collection or are they vintage? Or is it customised.

Charity shop, I may buy vintage looking blazers to throw/hang on and off objects/model. Faux fur collar to add the idea of aviation.

Colour: Are the colours bright, dull, monochrome, bold?

Pastel, light tones making it feel vintage and whimsical. By scrunching fabrics up and letting them fall back naturally I can use fabrics shade I plan to create the garment out of e.g. blue/grey velvets.

Lighting: Is the lighting harsh or soft, are images projected onto props or models, if so what are they?

Natural lighting with subtle hints of sunsets/cloudy skies (idea of flight to continue aviation theme). Could try some projecting techniques?

Content: What is the video based on, is there a story (narrative) within the video? Does it link to the collection, if so how?

No exact story more just stop start/ loose feeling abstract video clips. A mash of all things that inspired me whilst designing the menswear suit.

Imagery: Is there any imagery that links to the collection or such prints or patterns? Does any of the imagery relate to the overall story?

Polaroids? To add a vintage feel, could project images onto a face but may do that for Under the Microscope intead.

Model: How does the model reflect the collection or the brand?

Not showing faces more shots from far away and from the back, I want to film to be more about the mood and context than a specific model/theme.

Styling: What is the make-up and hair like, is it a specific style or dramatic?

Natural, just plain ordinary man to fit with the brief I have designed for.

Timing: Is the pace slow or fast, has it been speeded up.

Slow pace, just as if watching a film. Maybe adding a few stop/start shots with parts rewound.

Text: Is there any, if so how is it used within the video. What style of font has been used? Does it reflect the mood of the collection?

Not a lot of text, maybe just the collection name at the end. Plain white/pastel colour in a subtle smart text.

Props: Do they have any, if so are they props subtle or a bold statement, do they make a statement? Do they have animals in the video, this could relate to your sport?

Subtle natural props, e.g a vintage suitcase of chair nothing to drastic. I’d rather keep focused on the mood and overall tone than specific features within the shots.

Prints: Are they used within the backgrounds or projected, do they link to the collection?

The use of printed old maps to continue that idea from my portfolio and branding.

Accessories: Are there any hats, bags, helmets, watches, jewellery, shoes, glasses etc, do they relate to the theme?

Maybe just simple manly accessories such as a hat or bag.

Story Board for Video before starting to shoot.

Next I will begin to shoot clips of my film to then edit them next week.