news
We've a new thought piece looking at why many CEOs and directors are cocooned in a boardroom bubble when it come to the benefits of employee engagement and presents a compelling case for how to break them out of it.
The cost of disengagement to the UK economy is estimated to be between £59 and £64bn per year. A whopping cost none of us can afford.
Find out if the carrot and stick are dead and what you should be doing instead.
Employees don't quit their companies; they quit their bosses
Wow this hit the spot! The response to this thoughtpiece was just amazing. It looks at the power of the line manager in developing employee engagement. Want to know 12 practical ways a manager can build positive relationships with their teams? Click here if you missed it.
Notes from a small island
Back from Malta and wow what a rollercoaster of a few days it was. We've had the privilege of sharing our passion for the joined-up brand and the chance to rub shoulders and share ideas with the leaders in the travel industry.
See here for some of the coverage.
Woodreed packs bucket and spade and heads to Malta
The Travel Convention is the biggest and most significant annual event for everyone involved in the UK travel and tourism industry, organised by ABTA The Travel Association.
The Convention is attended by the who's who of the travel industry, with around 1000 senior travel industry practitioners and travel media coming together to learn, debate and network over a three-day period. This year's theme is Driving Change. Willie Walsh is the opening keynote speaker, Ken Livingstone closes the Convention and Woodreed has been asked by ABTA to give a masterclass to delegates on brand as a powerful tool to drive employee engagement.
Of course Woodreed is delighted to have the chance to unpack the swim suits we thought wouldn't see the light of day till 2011 and polish our sunglasses (not to mention our presenting skills) to ensure we deliver the best possible masterclass we can in Malta this October.
We are so passionate about putting the brand at the heart of internal communications and can't wait to share it with the 200 or so delegates who will be in our audience.
See here for more.
Hello to our newest 'Woody', Simon Hooley, who took on the role of Account Director in June 2010. Simon's agency career has seen him work across a wide range of brands including Honda, Nike, 118 118, Clairol and Bausch + Lomb. Experiencing these and other brands has given Simon exposure to the full marketing spectrum; above, through, below and even to the side of the line - understanding that clarity of thought is vital for success in each and every discipline. Find out what makes Simon tick outside of work by clicking here.
Magic and Muffins
What do you get if you cross a cracking idea, a bunch of energetic 6 year olds (and a 3 year old), a client with a sense of humour, a patient producer with a magical touch (he was called Paul Daniels after all) and a box full of M&S muffins?
Godfreys, the south east's leading garden and outdoor equipment retailer had just begun sponsoring the weather on Kent's local radio station KMFM. Along with the sponsorship, we had also negotiated 3 months of radio airtime.
Eschewing the old adage never work with children or animals we re-wrote the childrens rhyme One man went to mow for Godfreys and set about finding some enthusiastic angel-voiced little darlings to bring it to life. We need not look any further than the offspring (and assorted friends) of the multi-talented Woodies themselves.
The result - an afternoon of giggles and fun and an ad, which according to Paul Harvey the head of media at KMFM, had real cut through
This is one part of a full integrated campaign which includes outdoor and print.
Click here to see the making of the ad. - the final version of the ad itself starts at 2'40"!
"They might as well have written 'you're special' in macaroni and glitter"
This cynical and disgruntled employee's comment sums up the issues undermining some of the best attempts at employee engagement. See our latest thoughtpiece which explores the issue and suggests ways of bridging the brand gap between external and internal communications. Click here for more.
May the film be with you
Woodreed's latest thoughtpiece looks at this important medium and the many channels available in todays ever-expanding digital environment. Find out how you can roll out the right film for your internal communications. Click here for more.
Woo-hoo! We've won top West Kent Business award!
The waiting's finally over! We've come out top for Customer Care and Service in the 2008 West Kent Business Excellence Awards. The agency's really buzzing with the news and the sound of electric drills as we put up our shiny new trophy. It's really great to have been recognised and rewarded for something that's been at the heart of our business for so long. Our customer care and service are key values that our clients appreciate - it's why many of them have been with us for years. We're sure they'll be glad to know they're officially getting the best service in Kent!
We had a fantastic night at the glittering awards ceremony (as proved by the fuzzy heads the morning after), and our achievement was put into real perspective when we met our fellow finalists and recognised the quality of the opposition. For further details visit http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/businessawards.html
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CPD Accreditation is good news for us - and good news for you!
We're proud to announce that the IPA has awarded Woodreed CPD Accreditation - that's the seventh year in a row! Achieving the required standard for the IPA's programme of Continuous Professional Development (CPD), means you can be confident you're dealing with an agency who takes the development of their employees (or Woodies) seriously. Of course it helps that Woodies are a good bunch who take their own careers seriously too, and are always on the look out for opportunities to progress.
CPD adds value - personally and professionally - to our team, from which our clients then benefit. It helps us stay ahead of the game too, as it focuses our attention on the bigger industry picture (it doesn't come to a screen near you - Woodies go the extra mile!). And CPD is becoming increasingly valued by clients, as Peter Buchanan, Deputy Chief Executive of the Central Office of Information points out, "Anything that improves the professionalisation of agencies is good for their clients...and I see the IPA Continuous Professional Development as an excellent programme of its type."
The IPA's CPD programme is just one of the advantages of being an IPA member. The IPA is committed to promoting the value of agencies, and through them we have access to expert legal advice, information and intelligence. For further information about us and the IPA click on the link opposite.
Woodreed helps the earthsmile
One of our creative director's glamorous agency friends recently retired from the industry and moved with her hubby and newborn into a brand new house with a brand new car, and brand new this, and a brand new that...
They surrounded themselves with an exclusive materialistic environment, attended the local gymnasium, delicately ate lots of organic foods and lived what they thought was a perfect (if a little opulent) lifestyle.
But guess what? Guilt and the sudden realisation how false their life had become, quickly wiped the smile off their faces and made them into an unusually unhappy family.
Decisions had to be made and quickly they were. They left their super cool modern pad and found a beautiful cottage with green space and started collecting recyclable goodies for their friends.
Then a eureka moment: "Why don't we make this a business and then we can make ourselves and the earthsmile?"
So they popped in to see Woodreed and told us all about their exciting plans, but to kick start they needed us to do a lovely corporate identity system which would be emblazoned onto their vehicles, tee shirts and other customer facing media. Woodreed really loved the concept and so readily agreed to help them brand themselves and at a cost that would also make them smile.
Woodreed created a compelling strapline "saving you time to save the planet" and created a memorable, friendly and mischievous logo with a meaningful colour palette to accompany it.
It was a joy to work on and now this happy identity is being seen in all parts of mid Kent and very well received by consumer and press alike.
Enough to make anyone smile.
Press Release: A brand new style for Woodreed
Tunbridge Wells-based creative communication agency Woodreed - best known for applying its creative skills and innovative thinking to brands including AXA PPP healthcare and the Volkswagen Group - has recently turned the tables by putting a particularly discerning client under the microscope: itself.
After sixteen years, Woodreed felt the time was right to reinvigorate its brand and sharpen its commercial offering with a new proposition and identity reflecting its fresh approach. Explains Woodreed's Managing Director, Jo Moffatt, "It's a proven fact that, when it comes to profitable brands, internal communication - ensuring those who work for a company understand and deliver a company's brand values - is every bit as vital as external communication, ensuring the supplier, consumer or customer enjoy a consistent experience of what the company's brand stands for.
"That's where Woodreed is unique: we offer an 'inside-out' approach to communication, so that everyone involved, from employee to customer, understands and shares the company's brand values, something that we know has a positive effect on the bottom line. We haven't re-invented the wheel here - just finessed what we, and our clients, already know we're very good at."
In keeping with their strapline, 'inside out thinking for brands', the Woodreed team cut the ribbon of their re-branded office wearing specially selected pants outside their trousers. Though what the male members of staff thought of their cerise lingerie is anyone's guess.
