Sarah Nelson, Author at APS

We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve been shortlisted in the ‘best direct mail campaign’ and ‘best social media campaign’ categories for the 2019 Northern Marketing Awards.

The awards celebrate the best of the best when it comes to creativity and excellence in the region’s marketing scene.

Best Direct Mail Campaign – The Football Pools ‘Lucky Clover’

For the ‘best direct mail campaign,’ we’re extremely proud to showcase our work with The Football Pools, who we’ve partnered with for more than six years to create engaging and attention-grabbing direct mail. Most recently, this involved delivering an effective strategy for its ‘Lucky Clover’ game, where our in-house onsite team was tasked with driving subscriptions for the Irish-lottery based campaign.

Best Social Media Campaign – Ideal Standard

Our second nomination, for ‘best social media campaign,’ looks back at an event where our Agency Services team carried out social media management for client Ideal Standard’s biggest event of the year, ISH, held in Frankfurt. We were tasked with translating the client’s new brand position into a strategic and visual approach that would work across specified social media channels – growing the client’s new social media channels into an engaging audience of target customers.

In just a short time, our campaign saw Ideal Standard’s follower-base grow from 50 to 5,272 followers – an increase of 10,444%.

The Northern Marketing Awards

The Northern Marketing Awards celebrate the excellence, creativity and achievements of the marketing industry in the north. The 2019 awards ceremony will take place on Thursday 21 November at The Point, Lancashire County Cricket Ground in Manchester.

“It’s been an incredibly busy and rewarding year for APS. We’ve been lucky enough to work with some great clients on really exciting projects, including the two we’ve been shortlisted for. It’s fantastic to see our teams being recognised for their exceptional talent and hard work.” says Nick Snelson, Group Managing Director.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if students looking to get a foot in the door at an agency could learn first-hand from those already in creative industries? Someone that could tell them what skills they need to develop, how they can collaborate with other disciplines, and what a real working brief might look like?

This is exactly the premise of Two+Two – a day-long event that brings together more than 120 students from universities in Lancaster, Leeds, Manchester, Salford and more, to work with industry mentors.

APS’ creative agency has been involved with Two+Two since last year’s inaugural event and we’re delighted to return in 2019 as an event sponsor. Lending support on the day, our creative teams will be there with a team in tow and will kick off proceedings with a coaching session designed to help students unlock their creative thinking – giving them the tools and techniques they need to work together in groups before they’re set to work on a real brief.

This year, the brief comes from organ donation charity Live Life, Give Life. The laws around organ donation are soon changing, with an opt-out policy fast approaching. Yet, despite the change, families must still provide ultimate consent. Currently, only 43% of families agree to organ donation – often because they aren’t aware of their loved one’s wishes.

The teams will be tasked with devising a campaign that raises awareness of this issue and encourages people to talk about wanting to be a donor. Industry mentors will be circulating throughout the day so that students have access to people from different backgrounds who can help them shape their campaign.

The best ideas will then face a judging panel which comprises Tom Richards from Havas Lynx, Monica Tailor from McCanns, Kieran Edwards from Shoot the Moon, Roydon Turner from Live Life Give Life and our Agency creative team.

While the event is a fantastic opportunity for the students, equally, we see it as an amazing chance to meet the next generation of creatives and find emerging stars. As our own teams continue to grow, we want to ensure we are nurturing tomorrow’s talent – which is why we’re offering one student a paid month-long internship at APS Group.

As well as providing printed materials, we’ll also be sending a team of videographers and photographers to capture moments from the day. We want to hear from students and industry folk alike so grab us to say hello if you’re going to be there!

To get a flavour of what Two+Two is all about, take a look at the video from last year’s event –

…and a sneak peek here of what you can expect at this year’s event.

Two+Two is the brainchild of Creative Resource and takes place on Friday 8 February in Manchester.

Recently, APS Group has been commissioned to create a wide range of animations for a number of global brands, ranging from Philips to Duracell and the NHS. Projects that have seen the in-house animation and illustration team at the Group’s creative agency triple in size in the last 12-months.

Speaking about the growth in animation and illustration projects, APS’ Group Creative Director commented: “The body and standard of work that our animation team has created is truly impressive, they’ve managed to adopt a wide range of animation styles and win projects against several dedicated creative design agency and animation studios. It’s safe to say that the animation and illustration team we have created is truly a creative force to be reckoned with.”

As well as projects for a wide range of global brands, the animation and illustration team have also developed brand films for charities such as Project Inc, and worked on high profile projects for Public Health England, the Department of International Trade and Merseyside Police.

Speaking about where the motion graphics department goes from here, APS’ Director of Group Agency Services said: “Our commitment to investing in the right talent, underpinned with the technology required to deliver outstanding creative output has resulted in the Agency winning and producing some fantastic results for our clients. As the requirement for animation, illustrations and filming services grows, we will continue to ensure that we have the depth and breadth of expertise to meet our client’s requirements.”

Recently, APS Group has been commissioned to create a wide range of animations for a number of global brands, ranging from Philips to Duracell and the NHS. Projects that have seen the in-house animation and illustration team at the Group’s creative agency triple in size in the last 12-months.

Speaking about the growth in animation and illustration projects, APS’ Group Creative Director commented: “The body and standard of work that our animation team has created is truly impressive, they’ve managed to adopt a wide range of animation styles and win projects against several dedicated creative design agency and animation studios. It’s safe to say that the animation and illustration team we have created is truly a creative force to be reckoned with.”

As well as projects for a wide range of global brands, the animation and illustration team have also developed brand films for charities such as Project Inc, and worked on high profile projects for Public Health England, the Department of International Trade and Merseyside Police.

Speaking about where the motion graphics department goes from here, APS’ Director of Group Agency Services said: “Our commitment to investing in the right talent, underpinned with the technology required to deliver outstanding creative output has resulted in the Agency winning and producing some fantastic results for our clients. As the requirement for animation, illustrations and filming services grows, we will continue to ensure that we have the depth and breadth of expertise to meet our client’s requirements.”

APS Group shortlists for two Northern Marketing Awards

Why Two+Two = a brilliant opportunity for the next generation of creatives

APS Group launch their enhanced animation & illustration agency service offering

Kylie, APS Group and The Gate team up for Studio.co.uk’s relaunch TV campaign