Ideagarden

The Four Seasons by Marc Chagall

Review of 07/08
As the next tax year looms, I realise that I should probably do a quick review of 07/08 before it really is too late:

My first project of the year was a continuation of some of the campaigning research work I’d done for Oxfam International. This culminated in me setting up and facilitating a 4-way agency pitch for some exploratory international campaigning work, to take them beyond Make Poverty History and discover ways that could help them recruit a global campaigning force.

The National Osteoporosis Society asked me to provide some support while they were between creative agencies. I had a pleasurable time going back to my roots by developing and writing a fundraising direct mail pack for their Autumn appeal. This involved interviewing people for case studies to use in the body of the material and it proved a very moving experience.

The Golden Web Foundation were looking at the principals of Major Donor fundraising and I did a sizable piece of research for them in order to help them respond to the new trend among Ultra High Net Worth Individuals called ‘Venture Philanthropy’. It was during this project that I discovered two major sources of inspiration: The Clinton Global Initiative and The Elders. I also had the pleasure of collaborating with the Factary as part of providing consultation.

One of my favourite pieces of work came to me via the Cambridge Business Women’s Network in the shape of Anderson Health Management. They were looking for someone to articulate who they were in a way that would appeal to local businesses and we had a lot of fun coming up with a Get Well Soon card that would introduce stress management workshops.  We also worked together in developing their communications strategy for the coming year for this target audience.

There was a lot of other activity going on too, mostly of networking furiously in Cambridge, following leads, putting in formal tenders for projects – some of which didn’t come off but did provide new contacts and in some cases new friends.

I celebrated my first full year freelancing as an independent creative director with a garden party at home complete with afternoon tea, scones, jam, and lashings of Pimms. A mixture of business contacts and friends (the boundaries become ever more blurred these days) turned up to help me celebrate and my sense of happiness surprised me far more than my sense of satisfaction.

Beating the backlash
Web stuff is fast becoming one of my favourite types of work. When you need to address something straight away you can respond really quickly and get your ‘voice’ out there for all to hear. Climate Care needed to review their website and replace the traditional ‘green’ profile with something more business friendly while still retaining their approachability. After all, these were the guys who responded to protesters camped on their roof by inviting them in for a cup of tea and a chat – which resulted in the protesters reconsidering!

It was important to counter the worst effects of the media offset backlashers that were lumping all offsetters into the ‘snake oil’ category. As one of the major champions of the climate change cause, Climate Care needed to debunk the myth of ‘indulgences’ and promote their internationally renowned projects.

Together we came up with terminology ‘Reduce and Offset Approach’ and I rewrote their website to reflect both this and the amazing community benefits their offseting projects engender. I worked as the writer member of the marketing team and we turned the whole thing round in three weeks.

Website: Healix IT, Copywriter/Creative Consultant: Ingrid Birchell Hughes, Editor: Eva Bishop (Climate Care), Marketing Director: Helen Johnstone (Climate Care).

Rolling up the sleeves and pitching in together
This was Oxfam’s campaign to keep the Make Poverty History momentum going and get thousands of supporters to sign up for the next step in ending poverty. It won Gold for Brand Building Strategy in the DMA 2006 awards, was integrated as part of the Oxfam GB brand and brought in over 400,000 new supporters.

Some how we had to persuade agencies to return a pitch for a full media campaign in two weeks and we had to get something that was ready to use. After the pitch we would be in production time for a full media launch, there would be no time to refine. This was a tall order — time to chuck the rule book out.

After refining the strategy with the Fundraising Director I sent the brief out with the offer that Oxfam’s Creative Director (me) would spend as much time with them as they wanted during the development process. This raised eyebrows and hopes in turn. Unsurprisingly several of the invited agencies said that there was no way they could deliver in two weeks but three said yes and that was the end of my life for the next three months. Two of the agencies really took advantage of my presence during the two week process as I spent time with them helping them to understand the brand and going through initial ideas with them. I also spent time with the Oxfam Directors who were on the pitch board, coaching them on how to be positive and maximise the pitch as a growing ideas session rather than as a judgement session. I was worried that we wouldn’t have a pret-a-porter and I needed them to see potential in anything we saw on pitch day. As it turned out, the coaching wasn’t needed because there were two excellent campaigns ready to buy and we went with I’m In.

Having been on pitches on both sides, I don’t think I will hesitate to chuck out the rule book again, I think there are more than a few agencies and organisations that might be ready to do the same. Trust and transparity. Very very important.

Takeaways are good for you
The Takeaway Remortgage enabled Nationwide to punch above their weight by increasing their share in the remortgage market year on year for 4 years. In the first quarter of 2003 the Takeaway Remortgage increased Nationwide’s market share from 5.3% to 7%, won them Remortgager of the Year 2003 and was awarded Most Innovative Marketing Campaign at the BT/ifs finance innovation awards.

I’m a bit scared of this one actually, it’s not every day you create something that helped an organisation to make not just millions but billions. But Nationwide can be justly proud of this one, while I had the original idea I also had the pleasure of working with an organisation that pulled together and made something wonderful happen. They believed in the idea, they had excellent communication channels in place and they backed it to the hilt. From the cashiers in the branches to the Chief Executive this organisation believes that they are the people’s champions of the financial world.

They wanted to make moving your mortgage a less scary process but being a building society they could not justify the expense of a ‘we’ll-do-it-all-for-you’ service. So we had to go down the DIY route and make it as easy as possible. I did some qualitative research and unsurprisingly it seems most people hate booking the interview and dealing with the complicated procedure. I got some of the mortgage people and legal chaps to work with me in a cross-team working group and we stripped out every single bit of jargoneese we could. I then reduced the application procedure to 3 steps only and wrote it in friendly but down to earth language – the working group ensured that it was still accurate. I don’t know quite how the idea of making it a Takeaway came to me, I knew I had to find a way that would make people want to do it; it had to be something you could grab along with your sandwiches during your lunch hour. But one morning, there it was, staring me in the face. It was scary too – I knew it would work but I also knew that it was a radical departure for them. They loved it, they made it their own and made it a success. And I will never forget coming back from holiday to find 6ft giant takeaway remortgage bags in every Nationwide branch window in the UK high streets.

Designer: Alison Fisher, Copywriter/Creative Consultant: Ingrid Birchell Hughes, Agency: The Agency – Nationwide Building Society.

Tearing up the junk mail
A lot of the time getting these things to work is more about self-belief and the right environment or culture than the brilliant campaign. Persuading the outside world that you are doing a great job and are therefore worthy of their financial support or custom is not nearly as hard as persuading the people inside the organisation. The Marketing Department may well have the next ground breaking idea but if the Head of Finance doesn’t ‘get it’ they can put up blocks and it will never get off the ground. I think many of my hardest ‘wins’ were getting fellow colleagues or other gate keepers to be brave, take a chance and believe it could happen.

When we eventually got the‘damaged’ fundraising pack to the RNIB they loved it, backed it and it raised lots of money. But the biggest fight in that one was getting a production guy to talk to the Royal Mail about doing something different. Somewhere along the line, this guy had lost the belief that you could do something that radical. It may have been a fear of failure – which will paralyse anyone. It took a lot of gentle hand holding to get him to take the idea on board. Eventually he did, he persuaded the Royal Mail to really support it, and when it became a success, he was as proud as punch. Getting him to believe he could do it – that was the real challenge.

Art Director: Tim Britnell, Copywriter: Ingrid Birchell Hughes, Creative Director: Kate Woodford.