Adwatch of the Year

December brings out the reminiscent and celebratory nature in most all of us. It's a time to look back on the achievements of the year, the trials and tribulations we've overcome and look forward to what the new year will bring.

For us at St Luke's it's been a particularly successful year, and this has been topped off by Marketing Magazine's "Adwatch of the Year" feature, which runs down the 20 most effective adverts of the year in terms of memory recall. Adwatch of the Year 2013 celebrates our Shop Direct clients Littlewoods and Very.co.uk as the year's biggest success story. Throughout the year, adverts for both have featured prominently in the weekly brand recall listings during their time on air, but for both to make the top 10 of the year is a fantastic achievement for them and for us!

It's even more remarkable when the budgets for both brands were considerably lower than any other ad in the top 20, making us the best value advertisers of the year!

It's been a fantastic team effort, and has seen both brands making the best creative and effective work they have ever done - from Littlewoods launching their first Kids ad for Ladybird, to Very and their new uber-stylish Definitions brand it's great to see recognition from the ad industry as well as those crucial sales figures increasing.

Time to dust off the awards cabinet!

It's not every day that an advert for a feminine hygiene product is mentioned in the same breath as ones for Nike, BMW or the award hoarding awareness campaign 'Dumb Ways to Die.' However, we're delighted to say that our Mooncup 'Rap Battle' won Bronze for 'Best Original Song' at the London International Awards (LIA) awards in November.

                                               
The London based awards celebrate the creativity and power of ideas in all forms of advertising, digital, branded content, design, production, music and sound. The lyrical flow of our rap battle and its unconventional content stood out amongst some pretty hefty competition, and we're delighted with our bronze trophy.

And the winning doesn't stop there! Our Moments of Truth campaign for Strongbow, which launched earlier this year has also just won a Silver in the Epica Awards in the drinks category.
     
                                

They say things come in threes, and here is our final win (for the moment!) Our Business Director Jonathan Dale has been crowned winner of The Biggr Picture, a competition run by Campaign and Flickr to find the most talented 'extra curricular' Adlander. We're very proud of Jonathan's culinary achievements and his star feature in this week's Campaign.

Interconnected by deeds not words.

Our Managing Director, Dan has written a fantastic article which has been published in both Marketing Magazine and Campaign this month. "Interconnected" breaks down the real truths behind brands and how they act in an increasingly connected, information sharing market place. Brands can no longer get away with claiming excellent service or superb value in the safe confines of outbound communications without proving it in practice, as in the harsh reality of the interconnected world, the nature of such claims will be revealed by how the brand acts. Customers will share their experiences of those actions on social media and price comparison sites with great ease.


                                         

Dan's article goes on to explain the interconnected world in the light of how we work here at St Luke's, with particular mention to our Strongbow, Majestic, Very.co.uk and Littlewoods clients. Our agenda is not only transform a brand's communication ideas, but also the client's business ideas in order to create a strategy that rings true throughout their whole organisation, and create a brand identity which reflects the fundamental truths of their audience, company and product.

I don't want to give the whole article away, you can read it here, and you should. It gives great food for thought on how we can sculpt and encourage organisations to embody their brand identity and be true to themselves in an interconnected world.

Strongbow challenges 'normal' guy to score like a pro

Last night, during the England v Germany match (where we disappointingly lost 0-1), one regular guy stepped up to a challenge. Not during the match, but in the half time ad break in our latest Strongbow challenge.

The Football Challenge is specifically aimed at getting those guys who always claim they could have scored that missed penalty to step up and prove it. Whether it's your mate, brother, boyfriend, husband, or dad - we all know a bloke who likes to shout at the TV and think they could do better. Our guy, Jared Aransibia, was chosen from thousands of applicants, to prepare for a once in a lifetime opportunity of scoring a penalty 'for England' against our fiercest football rivals Germany.

Jared was mentored by legendary former England player and Coach Stuart Pearce and he underwent two days of intense training which saw his stamina levels pushed to the limit by fitness coach and former Olympic sprinter Ade Mafe. This was topped off with a session by leading sports psychologist Dan Abrahams who helped mentally prepare Jared for his 12 yard challenge. He faced Hamburg’s German international goalkeeper Rene ‘Iron Man’ Adler on his home turf in the epic surroundings of the Berlin Olympic stadium.

                           

Sam Fielding, Strongbow Marketing Manager comments "This week’s game between Germany and England was the perfect opportunity for us to introduce Jared's challenge to football fans across the country. Jared stepped up to a once in a lifetime opportunity alongside Coach Stuart Pearce that provided us with some fantastic and engaging content people will love to watch.”

Stuart Pearce said: "We all watch a game from the comfort of our sofa and think we can do better, take that corner or score that penalty. We can all talk a good game but there aren’t many times you get the opportunity to 'walk the walk'. Jared was armed with all the physical and mental tools to score the penalty but the rest was up to him.”

The trailer as aired can be viewed from the image above, and full content following Jared’s journey along with the result of the penalty is live on strongbow.com/football now.

So, what are you waiting for?

Client Services Internship

Fancy becoming part of the team?

We are looking for a Client Services Intern to help support our Account Management team. 

To find out more contact lpoole@stlukes.co.uk for all the details.

Good Luck!

Doing Christmas 2013 in a Very stylish way!

Besides celebrating the birth of Jesus, singing Carols about wise men and eating far too much; Christmas is a time for spoiling each other (and ourselves) with gifts, new outfits and celebrations.

Our 30" Gifting advert for Very celebrates important Christmas preparation tasks such as gift-wrapping, cooking up a storm, hanging decorations and dining with friends, in a beautifully stylish and effortless way. With Very's range of gifts, fashion, homeware and electricals, it's easy to look effortlessly stylish whilst simultaneously delivering the perfect Christmas.  

The ad launches today, 7th November, during Emmerdale (ITV 7pm) and features a remix of the traditional Christmas Carol Silent Night. But this is Silent Night as you've never heard it before! Now well-known for having stand-out soundtracks, this Very spot follows on from our Christmas Partywear ad and the Definitions campaign using original remixes, a motion-control camera, and freeze-frame vignettes.

Fearne Cotton appears in the final scene, celebrating a toast and sumptuous festive feast with her friends. Get ready for a stylish Christmas with Very.co.uk

Check the ad out here or the image above and let us know what you think @stlukescomms.

Our agency Reception display is looking rather Christmassy too now that both Shop Direct clients, Littlewoods and Very have launched their Christmas campaigns!

Ho Ho Ho! Christmas excitement arrives as our Littlewoods advert airs!

It's the first of November which can only mean one thing, Christmas is coming and the best adverts, seasonal songs and  festive jumpers are all heading our way!

 We've been quick off the mark with our campaign for Littlewoods, which launched today. It's set in Santa's workshop in the North Pole, where a girl has posted her letter to Father Christmas, and he starts to read it aloud. Myleene Klass magically wraps presents while Santa's other celebrity helper Mark Wright, is sitting on a shelf, waiting to be chosen as a Christmas gift for a lucky lady. There are a whole host of elves bustling around in the workshop too, to make sure that every child and family gets the presents they deserve, all with the help of the Littlewoods Touch, meaning you can spread the cost of your gifts. We also filmed a Behind the Scenes film, so you can see what it was like on set, and how we made the magic.
The ad features a "Christmassed-up" version of Arlissa's track "Into The Light"  which was featured in the Funfair campaign, and was also directed by Michael Gracey through Partizan.
Let us know what you think, it's given us the Christmas spirit at St Luke's, and there's even more to come this week...

Latest news from St Luke's

It's been a pretty busy time at St Luke's of late, and not only in terms of new work launching. We've welcomed Rose Van Orden as our new Planning Director and she'd been thrown straight in at the deep end, with new business projects and planning strategy for Very.co.uk. Rose joined us from the BBC where she was a senior planner for radio and music, driving insight for stations such as Radio 1 and Radio 4. We're thrilled to have her on board, and she's joined at what is a thriving time for the agency.

We celebrated St Luke's day on the 24th October which marked our 16th birthday. As the UK's longest running independent agency, it is undeniable that there have been some tight spots over the past few years, but St Luke's day gave us the opportunity to celebrate what a fantastic year we've had in 2013. Everyone got up to present the work we've done over the past few months, and we had speeches from CEO Neil Henderson and MD Dan Hulse to keep our motivation and spirits high. Then it was time for the party, with a kid's themed birthday party in the agency then on for a steak feast at the fantastic Sophie's Steakhouse. 

Happy Birthday St Luke's - we're all raring to go for an even better 17th year!

Ding - we're at the top of the charts with Littlewoods Funfair!

We're delighted to have tied at the top spot in Marketing Magazine's Top 10 ads of the week.

The chart of ads is based on those which are most highly recalled for that week, and our delightful Funfair advert and its respective 10" cutdowns have raced to the top of the chart with 44% recall, alongside the anti-smoking campaign Stoptober.

We've received great feedback in industry press and on social media for the campaign, which you can watch below featuring Myleene Klass, Mark Wright and a track from the up and coming singer Arlissa.

Local Business Accelerator Awards announces 2013 winner!

The Local Business Accelerators was an idea born here at St Luke's for our client the Newspaper Society, as a partnership between local papers, fledgling businesses and established business leaders to give businesses a boost with free local advertising and the support of business mentors. When 32.9 million people read a local newspaper every week, making it the most widely read print medium in Britain, it seemed like a great way to encourage both local newspapers and businesses alike.

This esteemed initiative is fronted by national ambassador and Dragons' Den star Deborah Meaden and backed by Prime Minister David Cameron. Now in its second year, the 2013 LBA Awards took place this week, where the winning business The York Cocoa House battled against 2,000 local businesses nationwide.

As the 2013 LBA national winner, York Cocoa House will receive a year's business mentoring from Deborah Meaden, a local newspaper ad campaign designed by us at St Luke's and £10k cash from the Business Growth Fund.

It's party time with Very.co.uk

Before you know it it’ll be party season, and in every office across the land colleagues will be dressing to impress and celebrate the festive season.

Our latest ad for Very.co.uk, which launches today (17^th October), is set at a stereotypical office party. As you would expect, there are streamers, cheese and pineapple chunks on sticks and the obligatory festive mistletoe, but continuing from our recent Definitions campaign we present the girls in gorgeous, head-turning outfits from the Very collection to create a much more stylish party than your average office do.

The ad follows a series of vignettes, shot using a motion control camera, which culminate in a final end scene featuring Fearne Cotton. The impressive soundtrack is an original remix of Tainted Love sang by Gloria Jones and remixed by up-and-coming producer Ryan Hemsworth, and is sure to catch your attention every time it comes on your TV.

All the dresses, including Fearne’s from her signature collection, can be shopped online at Very.co.uk, so make your Christmas party a stylish one this year.

Get a sneak peek of the ad by clicking on the image, or catch it on your screens from tonight! Let us know what you think at @stlukescomms.

Roll up! Roll up, to the Littlewoods Funfair!

To sit alongside our current Autumn Winter TV campaign for Littlewoods, featuring Myleene Klass and Mark Wright, we have been busy creating and developing a social media campaign to encourage interaction and engagement with the Littlewoods Funfair this season.

The Autumn social media campaign kicked off on October 3rd and will feature a series of Funfair themed Facebook games that employ a mixture of platforms including Twitter, Pinterest and Snapchat over the next month.

Littlewoods are offering participants a chance to win a range of prizes, from the latest tablets to fashion essentials. The games themselves are all based on classic funfair games, each given the Littlewoods touch – such as ' Snap-a-mole, Hook-a-Duck and Test your strength.'

The first game was Test Your Strength, which received over 1800 likes, making 3 winners. The 2nd game opens today, and you can keep up to date with all the games and have your chance to win on the Littlewoods Facebook page, and you can watch our Autumn Winter adverts here.

Cricket gets the Strongbow treatment

As a team at St Luke’s, we believe in practicing what we preach. So when positioning Strongbow as the brand which “rewards men who step up to a challenge and get the job done”, the next step was to set up some live challenges to see which Strongbow drinkers really could live up to their name! 

                                   

The first, Cricket, goes live today and shows the story of eight finalists (picked from thousands) who experienced two days of intense training before the final winner was selected to face an over from Jimmy Anderson in front of a 200-strong crowd. 

Keen cricketer, Pete Moxom was chosen as the winner to face deliveries travelling up to 85mph from Anderson. All he had to do was last the full over. Watch Pete step up and EARN IT. as he takes on Jimmy in the first Strongbow challenge.

If you think you have what it takes to EARN IT. there is still time to sign up for the Comedy challenge.

Strongbow Dark Fruit gets exemplary mention by Marketing Week event.

‘Outdoor Works’ an event run by Marketing Week magazine and the Outdoor Media Centre (OMC) has just taken place, with its over-arching theme as “The Power Of 5.” This refers to the five key benefits of outdoor advertising, according to the OMC, which are that it: Connects, Influences, Activates, Amplifies and Inspires.

Imagine our pride when we heard that our creative for Strongbow Dark Fruit was to be used as an excellent example of “attention-grabbing, disruptive creative executed at scale across a range of formats” by one of the expert guest speakers.

For our client to see their brand being praised on a big screen in front of hundreds of industry people is a huge credit to them, our team here and their collaborative efforts in strengthening the Strongbow brand as it expands its portfolio.

Cheers!