Author Archive

Be a part of the Viral Ad Network

ally stuart - August 24th, 2011

VAN is recruiting for a Bristol-based Campaign Manager. The role will involve:
Client handling & sales (daily)
Writing proposal documents to support the sales team. Developing and closing inbound warm leads, working to achieve the monthly sales target.
Account management duties, including:

  • Responding to client requests by phone and email.
  • Maintaining the agency-client relationship throughout campaigns.
  • Reporting and following up on campaigns
  • Developing relationships to drive repeat business.

Campaign Operations (daily)
Creating and monitoring campaigns, creating media bookings and ensuring targets are met for media spend.
Reporting on campaign success – adding detail to the client dashboard during the campaign then delivering a final report at the end.

Publishers (when necessary)
Developing and maintaining relationships with publishers, including research, recruitment and account handling.

Marketing (occasional)
Assisting with marketing collateral including DM material, blog posts and presentations. Updating direct marketing lists with new clients.
_____________________________________________________________________
What you’re like
You’re probably not “well-rounded” (because it’s hard to be exceptional at everything). But you will definitely need:

  • A good degree or good work experience. Everybody here has proven themselves academically or in the workplace.
  • A genuine desire to get stuck into the world of work, do something, make good stuff, take responsibility.
  • A passion for all things digital and social. You should already be active on social media spaces, and writing a blog would be a bonus!
  • An exceptional talent. We’ve got a great team in place but we’re always on the lookout for more match-winners.

Interested? Feel free to read more, but to apply mail Ally with a covering letter outlining why you think you are suitable for the position and where your strengths lie along with a 2 page CV.

Blogging FTW!

ally stuart - January 6th, 2011

Now competitive blogging is not really something I have encountered before, until I saw a report compiled by the Ministry of Insights entitled ‘Who are the Best Agency Bloggers in Bristol – 2010?’.

Our Team Rubber blog has been ranked #1 out of 152 of the Bristol Media companies included!  Now we need to note that this is only part one of the report and is the quantity based section (we had 109 posts), but it’s still good to win when you didn’t know you were competing!

This started a little inter-agency rivalry with Gez (from Delib) noticing that they had posted 140 times in 2010, so could actually have beaten Team Rubber. Over at the Viral Ad Network we managed a lowly 101 posts, and Rubber Republic is yet to comment icon wink Blogging FTW!

Personally I find that regular blogging is a tough task to maintain – client work always seems to get in the way! But I do think its worth trying to be disciplined. At VAN we find that blogging, alongside other social outreach, is a great way of generating new business and attracting relevant people to our site.

I’ll leave it at that before I type myself into a New Years Resolution!

Air junkmail

ally stuart - December 16th, 2008

scan10002 Air junkmailNow I don’t pretend to know everything about the rules of print advertising, but sometimes it is hard not to laugh at an advert. This leaflet found its way to a member of the Team Rubber staff, and I can’t help but raise a smile as I look at the outside. It appears to come from Hong Kong (judging by the postmark) which is unusual enough, but the content and design of this junk airmail is what really sets it apart.

The first thing I read is a summary of the dangers of ‘HIGHLY addictive video games’. These include:

‘Doesn’t eat right?’ and ‘You irritable all the time?’.

Flitting between tense, person and font size, it describes the effect of video games, ending up with the summary of

‘A dead end job, no education, and no dreams!!!’ (yes, three exclamation marks).

It then provides the answer to these problems; no, it’s not a good education, it’s not a new job website, it’s not even turning to scientology. Instead, a website is listed: www.R2hobbies.com. Intrigued, I open out the leaflet to discover more on how to change my life around for the better.

At this point, I am suddenly struck with the idea that maybe the advert is just very ‘in’ – neo punk or something? The designer knew the rules, they were just such a maverick renegade, that they didn’t care. They were Wolf from Gladiators, smashing the rules of design and grammar with their pugil stick, probably after the whistle. In fact that actually sounds quite good; maybe I am in the wrong?

scan100031 Air junkmailWith a new respect I open the leaflet, and enter Aladdin’s cave. The inside of the leaflet is equally as ‘innovative’. By putting all of the information in a variety of fonts, each of their own colour and reading in different directions, Wolf has made a journey of the page. It is not so much about taking in the information as it is the vibe. It is heavy distortion to the eyes. Minutes later, I am no more aware as to what R2 hobbies actually do, and I have a splitting headache. Maybe this was not as intentional as I previously thought.

I eventually regain my focus and find the text that is most important. R2 hobbies is a website that sells create-your-own model planes/trains/boats. This info was craftily (sorry) hidden around the outside of the paper, making it extremely difficult to read.

This isn’t a bad angle to take; trying to sell your hobby craft kits as alternatives to video games. However, the tone and design of the advert renders it almost completely useless. The insulting generalisations made about video gamers (the target customers) combined with the near total incomprehensibility of the information is enough to leave the reader unsure whether they should be offended or amused. However, saying that, I did still check the website, and am writing about it here, so maybe the Wolf was cleverer than I think.

Striving for Christmas acceptance: secret santa in a new job

ally stuart - December 12th, 2008

As a Team Rubber newbie, Christmas is a difficult time of year. I have no worries over the luxurious holiday allowances, or getting too merry at the christmas party; that’s like snow off a ducks back. The problem I’m having is the Team Rubber secret santa.

This year we are going with ‘mug-themed’ gifts: so basically a cup for coffee, tea or whatever other beverage our recipient prefers. Now you’d think that would leave me in a fairly safe place. I mean, how many different drinking vessels can there be?

However, being new to the team, I am still getting to grips with everyone’s names and don’t know everyone as well as I’d like. Upon drawing my name from the (non-santa) hat,  I realised that I didn’t completely, exactly, even remotely connect the name to any of my new collegues.

Here began my quest for Christmas acceptance. After hours of stealth research I finally determined who my lucky mugcipient was. To my relief, I also managed to avoid the ‘faux pas’ of asking someone to point themselves out in the office.

Next comes the issues of taste. Should I get them a ‘hilarious’ slogan based mug? Or a ‘trendy’ pantone colour chart mug? Or just go all out and get one with a model who loses their clothes when they get hot? I have no real idea what my mugcipient likes, and even  if I did, would that help me choose what they want to drink their tea from?

In the end I have decided that i’ll just go with a sure bet. It won’t be the best mug going, but it won’t be offensive enough to be smashed on sight. I mean who wouldn’t like a mug with “I put the tea in team” on it?