We recently celebrated our 21st birthday, and so, what better way to celebrate our success than strengthening our Blumilk branding team with not three but four fantastic new starters.
The Blumilk Studio is home to some of the region’s very best creatives who regularly produce inspiring and innovative campaigns for our range of successful clients.
Strong team = Strong branding
However, to ensure our clients receive the very best service level with a dedicated point of contact, we have appointed two new project managers, Abi Dodwell and Holly Dawson.
Abi and Holly, as part of Blumilk’s live projects team, will work alongside our clients to understand their objectives and act as brand guardians to steer their projects to success.
Overseeing the live projects team will be Blumilk’s new Head of Strategic Delivery, Jo Roberston. Jo brings a wealth of experience to the Blumilk branding team, having worked for some of the world’s largest utility and travel brands across Europe including DFDS and Northumbrian Water.
Our fourth recruit is Kim Walker, who joins Blumilk as Head of Sales and Marketing. Kim will work alongside client director, Lauren Hindhaugh, and Client Relationship Manager, Katie Armstrong, to ensure Blumilk clients receive the best possible pre-project care level.
Kim will also be responsible for all of Blumilk’s marketing functions.
Say hello…
Holly Dawson – Project Manager
‘I have worked in marketing and customer engagement roles since leaving sixth form.
With such a huge interest in business growth, branding and the creative element of marketing brands, my role at Blumilk sees me guiding our clients to success and their projects to life.
My experience comes from working as part of an in-house marketing team, but I love the variety that working for an agency brings.
Every day is different, and I get to work with unique brands, their exciting projects, and some of the best creatives in the industry.
Away from my lists and plans (I’m super-organised), I love to try new places to eat as well as exploring new places. I recently visited Barcelona and can’t wait until I can return.
Oh, and I love dogs!’
Abi Dodwell – Project Manager
‘I started working as a project manager for Blumilk just before lockdown, and although it’s been strange getting to know our clients and my team remotely, I feel as though I have been part of the team for years.
Before I began my marketing career, I worked in film and hospitality. You could say working in these industries is a great combination of creative and client engagement!
I am incredibly excited to be part of Blumilk and am already working with some great clients who are already seeing their projects and visions become a reality.
Outside of the Ouseburn (or home at the moment!) I enjoy staying active and do this by exploring new places at every opportunity I get.
The Simpsons are my obsession, hence the framed Matt Groening-style portrait I have at home.’
Jo Robertson – Head of Strategic Delivery
‘I’m no stranger to the marketing industry, having headed up a number of strategic teams to deliver exciting and inspiring marketing campaigns.
I am excited to work with all of Blumilk’s fantastic clients and my experience with leading strategic projects for brands both local and global, particularly in the utility and travel sectors, will greatly support them on their journey to growth and success.’
Kim Walker – Head of Sales and Marketing
‘As a qualified journalist and digital marketer with a strong background in business development, I am delighted to be part of the Blumilk team.
Having worked on sales and marketing campaigns in-house for the utility, manufacturing, and training sectors, I appreciate first-hand the importance of understanding a client’s objectives and working alongside their current marketing resources to achieve them.
Whether it’s a total rebrand or minor changes to their app, I am confident that by marketing Blumilk’s approach to client relationships, as well as their remarkable creative capacity, Blumilk will be able to grow and, more importantly, so will our clients!’
If you’re looking for a branding agency who is as creative as they are business-minded, we would love to hear from you. You can reach us on 0191 232 4401 or email kim@blumilk.com.
COVID AND YOUR BRAND. COVID has been responsible for some of the biggest business demises in a generation such as Easy Jet and Boots, to name just two.
So we thought, since we’re a friendly bunch who know a thing or two about branding and marketing, we’d put together a helpful guide on how to COVID-proof your brand.
As humans, our (and most of the Western hemisphere) entered utter panic. The COVID virus was moving fast, and the threats to the lives and livelihoods of those that matter were genuine, albeit quite strange.
Our behaviour to everything we had known shifted almost overnight. The way we communicated, how we consumed the news, and how we acted as consumers all completely changed – not to mention how we re-evaluated our alcohol consumption – temporarily for the better!
Many brands have suffered the consequences. Whether it was through not taking the pandemic seriously or refusing to change their business model, now more than ever, as business people, we can see how crucial it is to have a Plan B to deal with any crisis that heads our way.
We must foresee how quickly our buyer types and service users’ behaviour can change at a click.
Because of this, brands need to have the flexibility to navigate whatever flies their way and meet the ever-changing ways humans interact.
The New Normals?
How many of us longed for a profession that would give the flexibility of working from the comfort of our own home? Yep, who’s laughing now? Not many of us, I bet!
But, we have to embrace it and so do the brands we’ve worked so hard to create.
It’s going to be quite some time before we’re pre-COVID or if that is ever going to be possible.
Not knowing what the future holds means that the Captain Mainwaring approach should always be, ‘expect the best but prepare for the worst.’ Positive, ay?
We need to be able to adapt our methods of communicating with our audiences.
Even pre-COVID, many brands focused their attention on shouting about all the things they deemed important without considering what their audience actually care about. So many brands didn’t take the time to listen.
COVID has taught us that we need to stop and listen to our consumers to understand how they want us to communicate. And, while many businesses have managed to quickly adapt to this new mantra, it’s still very much new territory for many.
To blame COVID entirely on this would be unfair. Our audiences’ behaviour was already on the cusp of change; COVID just sped it up and turned it on its head. Could we consider it a good thing? Wait…
Many brands may have managed to ride the historical marketing pony for a little longer without the crisis, but now, they’re forced to rethink their entire business model. They’re being forced into the digital era far quicker than many would like.
With a significant increase in mobile consumption, brands are looking at new methods to reach their audiences in ways that traditional marketing and advertising would otherwise fail.
To come out on the other side, brands need to act with intelligence and sustainability.
COVID and your brand
Before lockdown, socialising and shopping was just the norm. Thanks to COVID, we were all stripped of our once taken-for-granted privileges.
Suddenly, seeing family and friends, nipping to the shop for some ‘bits’ or handbrake turning into the Golden Arches was replaced with Zoom chats with relatives who had only just figured out how to use the timer on the oven, PPE’d to the max standing outside of Sainsbury’s for two hours for a bottle of white (of the semi-skimmed variety), to buying food processors, bread makers, knife blocks, silicon Supoons, hands-free tin openers, etc., etc. from Amazon.
For those on Furlough, leisure time was suddenly available. So long as they didn’t go out. It’s no surprise then that we saw an incredible increase in the time spent on digital devices, from watching Tiger King re-runs to monitoring the news for the latest death rate.
Don’t get away from the fact that during this time, uncertainty and anxiety were high up on the list of emotions, and most looked for outlets where they could be delivered a portion of sanity and escapism.
It’s how humans cope.
As a race, we’re pretty inconsistent with our emotions and behaviour, and that’s why brands haven’t got the privilege of being the same. We need to ensure that when our audience needs us, we’re there for them.
Humans have pretty high expectations of brands. We want brands to provide us with information—products we need in a timeframe we want. If you can’t offer this, we’re off.
COVID-PROOFING YOUR BRAND
#1 Be there or be square
When uncertainty levels are high, you’ll want to ensure that you can support your users quickly and easily with an enormous amount of flexibility.
Look at your current processes. How can you streamline these to speed up the time it takes to respond and appease your audience?
#2 Think about your customer’s feelings
The age-old saying of: ‘You can’t please all of the people, all of the time’ still rings true, and as it’s impossible to provide a ‘one size fits all’ approach, it’s imperative to look at the assumptions you have made as a brand about your target audiences and revisit this data as often as possible.
Rather than focusing on all of the different socio-demographics, take the time to understand who your target groups are. Think about their pain points, frustrations, what excites them, and make their lives easier.
#3 Are you ready?
You need to be agile and flexible and willing to completely overhaul your entire business model from the word GO. Don’t ever consider yourselves at the top of your game. Keep an eye on your competitors and continuously monitor your user’s behavior and adapt your approach accordingly.
That being said, don’t suddenly jump onto an idea without thinking it through in the first instance. Consider your core competencies before changing completely. Test stuff out and see how it goes; otherwise, you’ll be wasting a lot of time, energy, and money, and during a crisis, no-one got time for that.
#4 Remember why you’re here
If you are one of the good guys who have zero interest in sacrificing their values, you’re a quarter way there. If anything, the brand you have built with humility and care will stand you in good stead moving forward. We don’t want you to take a Clipper to your mission statement in favour of the bottom line; we’re saying the opposite. Stay true to your brand vision and adapt your approach in favour of your existing audience. New ones will follow.
SUMMARY
Yes, we know we will continue to face much uncertainty, but it’s good to remember that any branding exercise is a marathon and not a sprint. Everything we do may not have the desired effect, but if we stay honest with ourselves and start to appreciate what your customers appreciate about you and find ways to build on them, you should do great.
If you have any questions at all relating to this article or if you would like to pick my brains (not just for our paying customers!), drop me a line at kim@blumilk.com.
Or for ways that the Government is helping brands, head over to their dedicated business pages here.
Take care and stay safe
#weareallinthistogether
Looking for some extra help in getting your start-up off the ground or navigating your way through creative branding? Head to How we can help here.
It’s our party and we’ll cry if we want to…
Alas, COVID has struck again and we’re not happy. Blumilk turns 21 today and we didn’t get to celebrate over a bottle of our favourite tipple, nor did we get a free Gregg’s pasty for having a birthday during the lockdown.
Our Lockdown Birthday
Thankfully, we’re one of the lucky ones who have managed to go from strength to strength during the pandemic. Still, we could have murdered a steak bake but hey.
21 years ago, Blumilk was just beginning. Our founders, Colin and Adam had a vision that they were going to change the landscape of branding and visionary delights for some of the UK’s most prominent businesses, growing with them and succeeding along the way.
Growing the business
Now, thanks to an unfathomable amount of hard graft and an unwavering appetite for giving clients an incredible feeling of success, 21 short years later we are one of the most trusted Creative Agencies in Newcastle.
We often ask ourselves why and we always come back to the same answer: we really do care about each and every one of our clients.
Our entire culture and ethos are built on understanding the smaller start-ups looking for an agency to help them build awareness of their brainchild to the huge powerhouses of the utility sector who require experts to assist them to navigate the marketing helm.
Studio Director, Wendy Robson, says: “Although, I haven’t been with Blumilk since the very beginning, during my 13 years here I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with some of the country’s leading creatives and business people as well as the variety of clients that have trusted us to enable their continued growth. Long may it continue!”
Client Director, Lauren Hindhaugh, mirrors Wendy when she says: “We take the time to understand our clients and thanks to not only our incredible creative force, we have the business acumen to back up key business decisions that have assisted our clients in increasing productivity, performance, and profit.”
Blumilk thrives under the pressure of creating bespoke business solutions that enable business owners, marketing managers, stakeholders, and start-ups to up their game.
And, it isn’t all about having a cutting-edge website, it’s about the whole picture. It’s about understanding your business, your people, and your clients and putting together a plan of attack that will address the gaps, improve your market share and increase your profits – that’s what it’s all about anyway, isn’t it?
And what about the C-word? As a nation, it’s one of the most difficult climates we have ever had to negotiate so, if there’s anything we can do to help, please get in touch with colin@blumilk.com.
But, in the meantime, stand by for our quarter centenary birthday, we’re going to make sure it’s a BANGER!
