Arke’s New SEO Specialist

A brand new Arkenaut has joined the crew! 🚀🌟

Sam Hadley has joined our team as our brand new SEO Specialist, bringing with him over 4 years’ experience and a background working with national and international brands in diverse industries. Sam brings to the table plenty of fresh ideas and an expert understanding of content optimisation, technical SEO, and search strategy, but let’s find out more about Sam beyond the SEO!

Tell us about yourself!

I’m a Brighton native and I love where I live – there’s something special about this vibrant, creative city. I came into SEO by accident really and I haven’t looked back since. For me, it’s the perfect blend of creativity and analysis; I’m just as happy writing some flowery product copy as I am getting into the weeds of technical issues.

I studied music and it’s still a big part of who I am. I used to focus mainly on the flute, but lately I’ve been getting really into (don’t laugh) trad-Celtic low whistle and Irish flute.

I’m a history nerd and have a real appetite for learning. I always have a book on the go; at the moment, I’m reading The Romanovs 1613–1918 by Simon Sebag Montefiore, but I’m already eyeing up my next read. Book recommendations gladly given and received!

I spend as much time as I can with my wonderful wife and our two crazy kids. Weekends usually mean pancake breakfasts, trips to the park, and dumping the entire Lego box all over the living room floor.

Can you tell us some fun facts about you?

I once delivered a litter of puppies. I also met Ray Mears who is a hero of mine. Oh – and a (very minor) character in a Peter James novel is based on me. I don’t know whether these qualify as fun but they are definitely facts.

What are you most excited about working at Arke?

It’s an exciting time to be in SEO and AI is changing the way people search. I’m looking forward to bringing my ideas and experience to Arke to help develop and implement strategies that will keep our clients ahead of the curve and drive valuable traffic to their sites. The team at Arke are really switched-on and collaborative, which is perfect for a bold and curious SEO!

Who’s this? We have a new Arkenaut on the ship! 🚀🌟

Rachael Morrow is Arke’s newest Account Director, bringing her breadth of knowledge from working across numerous industries across the world to our growing team! With the clear enthusiasm she brings to every project along with embodying Arke’s values of clear and transparent communication, Rachael sets out to achieve each goal for all her clients with a professional and friendly outlook. But first, let’s find out more about her!

Tell us about yourself!

With nearly a decade of account/project management experience under my belt, my passion and expertise lie in branding, campaigns and communications. Having worked in London, Vancouver and now Brighton where my career began, I have gained a breadth of experience across multiple industries including digital, third-sector and brand/communication agencies.

I pride myself on providing a human, honest and transparent partnership with all our clients. I aim to balance professionalism, clear communication and bringing enjoyment to each project – especially at the crunch points!

Can you tell us some fun facts about you?

After 8 years in London, I returned to Brighton a couple of years ago and have fully immersed myself back into beach life, walking on the South Downs and exploring the vibrancy that Brighton & Hove has to offer. I have recently been attempting to teach my toddler how to bake (with mixed results!) as well as trying to explore the UK and abroad when we can.

What are you most excited about working at Arke?

I am very excited to blend my communications background (branding/campaigns/employee engagement) into a more data-driven and strategy-led approach, in which Arke excels. I love understanding client’s unique objectives, challenges and ways of working so I’m looking forward to delving into all the projects on offer!

What a start to 2025; we’re thrilled to announce Arke are finalists for four awards at the UK Paid Media Awards!

We’ve been shortlisted for

• Best Integrated Paid Media Campaign for our campaigns with London Gatwick and the British Film Institute (BFI)
• Travel & Leisure Campaign of the Year with London Gatwick
• Small Paid Media Agency of the Year as Arke!

After a record-setting 15 awards shortlists last year, we’re overjoyed to kick off 2025 with a bang. We can’t wait to dust off our awards outfits for the ceremony in March!

The team has worked incredibly hard alongside our amazing clients on these campaigns:

 “Sorry for the Convenience: Strategic Flight to Market Expansion” with London Gatwick

 “Bringing Hand-Picked Cinema to Untapped Markets” with BFI Player

And of course, we’re beyond excited to be finalists for Small Paid Media Agency of the Year!

We look forward to finding out the results on 13th March at the UK Paid Media Awards 2025 and a huge congratulations to all the other amazing finalists! Keep your fingers crossed for the Arkenauts

Verified DAN and IPA Agency

Christmas trees are down, New Year’s resolutions and goals are set, and we’ve circled back to everything that was put on hold for the festive season. 2025 is fully underway, and we’re starting the year off with not one, but two exciting pieces of news! We’ve been verified by the Digital Agency Network (DAN) and are now an Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) Accelerator agency!

Having access to both of these networks provides us with even more resources to draw upon for our research and upskilling opportunities within the team, so we’re thrilled to be able to share this news. We’re passionate about ensuring we’re living up to our brand values, so having more resources to allow us to “be curious” is exciting to everyone in the team!

“Joining the IPA Accelerator Scheme and DAN is a really exciting step forward for Arke as we continue to expand our capabilities in the digital and advertising sectors. These memberships demonstrate our commitment to maintaining industry best practices, promoting innovation, and remaining competitive in the market. The extensive resources, training and collaborative opportunities available through these networks will ensure we continue to be equipped to achieve outstanding results for our clients.”
-Jon Llewelyn, Head of Paid Media at Arke 

We’re so excited to achieve more recognition and to be part of the incredible lineup of agencies featured across both the DAN and the IPA Accelerator Scheme; what a way to start the year! With so many exciting projects and announcements still to come, 2025 is looking bright. ✨

What a year it’s been! As the end of 2024 approaches, we’re taking time to reflect on all that we’ve achieved over the last 12 months. From launching a new website, to setting a new company record of 15 awards finalist announcements on national and international levels, we’ve had a busy 2024 (and we can’t wait for an even busier 2025!)

Arke-lytics

We’ve been busy, but here are our top achievements and stats from the year!

Number of new websites launched: One!
In June this year, we launched our brand new website, complete with a new look and feel. Same amazing award-winning work, shiny new visuals to match. Time has flown by, and we can’t believe the new website is only 6 months old.

Number of media partners used: 16
We had the opportunity to introduce even more channels in our media plans this year, including Uber Ads and SkyAdsmart to find innovative approaches to increasing campaign reach!

Most used channel for paid media: Google Ads
Although we’ve had amazing opportunities to utilise a wide range of channels for paid media, the “old guard” channels like Google Ads and Meta have earned that title for a reason!

Did someone say “Award-Winning Agency?”

We’ve had an amazing time on the 2024 awards circuit and we’re so grateful for all the hard-work the team has put into all their campaigns, and for our amazing clients we get to work with!

Finalists for 15 awards across 6 awards bodies (both on a national and international level), setting a new company record for most number of finalist shortlists!

Double award wins at the UK Agency Awards – Best Integrated Campaign for BFI and Campaign Effectiveness for Health Counts, and took home Employer of the Year at the Sussex Business Awards!

Officially certified a Great Place to Work!

Culture-rama

Our team has been growing this year, with a mix of brand-new hires and promotions!

We’ve had 6 promotions in 2024, including our amazing founder, Steph Noble, stepping into her new role as CEO of Arke and Alex Watson being promoted to Managing Director!

5 New Starters – Blair, Sasha, Emily, Kim, and Jon all started at Arke this year, and we’re so lucky to have them as part of our team.

Our Charity Round-Up

We’ve supported 6 charities and causes that are near and dear to our hearts:

Endometriosis UK, who we’re proud to be a registered Endometriosis Friendly Employer with and who we organised an 8-mile fundraising walk, to symbolise the 8-year average waiting time for an Endometriosis diagnosis in the UK. We raised an incredible £820 for the cause!

In support of PlasticFreeJuly, we conducted a beach clean-up of our beautiful Brighton beaches and collected a whopping grand total of 60-kilos of litter!

In October, we hosted an office Tombola and “Wear It Pink” day to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and raised £238 for Breast Cancer Now! We had amazing community support from a number of local businesses, so it’s especially rewarding to bring everyone together to support the cause.

10 of our Arkenauts are also using one of their volunteer days to support Chomp, a Brighton-based charity that supports low-income families. The team will be helping with packing and delivering Christmas hampers, and we’re so glad to be able to support such an amazing local charity.

We’ve also donated to the Clock Tower Sanctuary, another local Brighton-based charity, and have partnered with CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) as one of our volunteer partners!

We’re so proud of all the hard work our team has done this year! We will be taking some time off to recharge and rest up for Christmas and New Year’s, so we will be closed from the 24th of December until the 3rd of January when we’ll be back and ready to kick off the new year! Until then, Happy Holidays, and see you in 2025!

What a positive note to end the year on! We’re proud to announce that not only have we won Employer of the Year at the Sussex Business Awards, but we’ve also been certified by Great Place to Work!

Getting Certified

“Great Place To Work is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience and the leadership behaviours proven to deliver market-leading revenue and increased innovation.”

We’ve worked diligently to implement policies and initiatives at Arke that benefit both our team and the wider community. From our flexible working policies designed to allow team members time to attend appointments during the week, to our volunteer day scheme, which provides everyone with extra time to support causes they care about, we are committed to making a difference. We also actively support charities such as CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) and have proudly become an Endometriosis Friendly Employer through Endometriosis UK.

Arke won Employer of the Year at the 2024 Sussex Business Awards!

At Arke, we are proud to foster a culture where employees are encouraged to provide feedback and suggest new policies. This culture ensures that everyone feels supported and safe while also promoting collaboration, motivation, and inspiration. In fact, on our Great Place to Work survey, 100% of our team reported that Arke is a great place to work, far exceeding the national average of 54%!

Our amazing Arkenauts in our Brighton office.

Receiving recognition for our workplace culture at both regional and national levels is a testament to the dedication and hard work that have shaped our seven years at Arke. We are incredibly proud to support impactful charities and initiatives, such as CALM and Endometriosis UK, while cultivating a supportive and inclusive environment for our team.

We’re so proud of these achievements, but this is only the start of our journey! This has been a wonderful way to end 2024, and we’re excited for all the new initiatives and projects to come in 2025.

“I’m over the moon that Arke has won Employer of the Year at the Sussex Business Awards and achieved the Great Place to Work certification. The team were instrumental in the changes we made and embraced this year, and I can’t thank them enough for their openness to feedback and honesty when giving it.

A special big thank you to our Senior Operations Executive, Elif Bekler, for leading the way with a number of big projects this year and to our Managing Director, Alex Watson, for helping steer the vision and direction.”

– Steph Noble, Founder & CEO

“I’ve been at Arke for just over 3 years now and to be able to see us grow and develop into the company we are today has been amazing. To be recognised as Employer of the Year by the Sussex Business Awards and as a Great Place to Work by 100% of our team has been a real reflection of the hard work and investment that Steph, our CEO, and Alex, our MD, have put into the company this year, just happy to have been able to be a part of the process! So so proud of the Arkenauts and I’m really looking forward to everything to come next year!”

– Elif Bekler, Senior Operations Executive

At Arke, our foundation is built on principles of transparency, data-driven results, and innovation. These core values drive our mission to deliver unparalleled solutions and services to our clients.

It is the dedication and talent of our exceptional Arkenauts that truly bring these principles to life. Individuals like Alex Watson, our CRO, exemplify the spirit of Arke, continuously pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve.

It is with great pride that we are announcing the promotion of Alex Watson from Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) to Managing Director (MD). As Arke’s MD, Alex will be responsible for leading the way for business strategy, overseeing operations, and ensuring our passion for excellence is embodied in everything we do.

This change in leadership marks a milestone at Arke. Arke started as a team of one in our founder Steph Nobles’ living room, and just seven short years later, we have become an internationally recognised, multi-award-winning agency.

Alex’s step into an MD position also marks a change for Steph, who is transitioning from Managing Director to CEO.

The change reflects our commitment to continued growth and excellence, innovation and dedication to our clients and values, and with Alex at the forefront, Arke Agency is poised for a dynamic new chapter.

About this exciting next step for Arke, Steph said:

“The journey I’ve been on so far with Arke has been one of growth, reflection and a lot of fun. In these seven years, I’ve learnt that the alignment of goals and trust is the biggest contributor to our success. With this, I’m excited to have appointed Alex Watson as our Managing Director. Since Alex joined Arke two and a half years ago, he was the first person I turned to for strategic direction, being a logical soundboard for growth planning.

Having seen our business goals achieved quarter-on-quarter my role is now becoming the CEO of Arke. I’ll be working strategically with our client’s, creating and adapting Arke’s long term strategy and planning effectively to continuously build upon our success. This means Alex is taking on my current day-to-day responsibilities, working seamlessly with our heads of department and ensuring Arke’s culture continues to shine, support and be true to what we stand for. We’re growing, we’re motivated and we’re committed.”

We sat down to discuss Alex’s journey, vision, and the future he envisions for our company.

Tell us about your Arke journey, where did it all start and lead you to where you are now?

My journey at Arke started two and a half years ago when I was brought in to develop the sales and marketing strategy and process for new business acquisition, which quickly evolved to combine with client retention and growth. Over the years, I’ve had the honour of working with an incredibly talented team and working closely with Steph, who is now transitioning from MD and CEO to CEO. Steph and I have known each other for 12 years and worked together for 8 of those. We know exactly how each other ticks, what frustrates and excites one another, and have very open communication. This long-standing relationship has been pivotal in understanding each other’s strengths and aligning our expectations and business objectives. The two and a half years have had their ups and downs, challenges and successes, and we have learnt from them all. It’s been an incredible journey that has brought me to this point!

What are some of the key achievements you are most proud of during your tenure as CRO?

We have had so many wins over the past couple of years, from working with BFI Player, to London Gatwick and many other awesome clients, and every week we have more and more to look back on. Just last week we launched our new Arke website, we won a significant tender, I became MD, and we booked our summer party! Keep your eyes peeled for pictures on socials soon!

I’m so lucky to have such a dedicated and talented team by my side, and I’m proud to see and support the professional and personal growth of the team. Working so closely together during some high-pressure moments has pushed us to identify strengths and weaknesses, and build on these to individually be the best we can be! This shines through how work as a supportive team that works on some great client partnerships, and won some incredible national and international awards along the way.

How have these accomplishments prepared you for the role of Managing Director?

Each achievement has given me a deep appreciation and understanding of our business, clients, and team – and we/I have evolved with each! Working so closely with Steph and our Senior Ops Exec Elif has provided invaluable learning and insights into the operational and strategic aspects needed to lead the business effectively. These lessons will be crucial as I step into the MD role, where I’ll focus on continuing our excellence, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, and driving our strategic goals forward. I’ve also learnt that along the way you need to have fun and celebrate the wins – it’s too easy to rush month to month without looking back. We have created a wonderful culture across the team and clients that I only hope to build upon – being an agency people want to work at, or work with.

What excites you the most about transitioning from CRO to MD?

The transition from CRO to MD is exciting because it highlights the trust that Steph and the team put in me, a responsibility I value greatly and am excited to prove. I’m thrilled to work even more closely with our talented department heads and directly impact our strategic direction. Leading Arke into its next phase and continuing to establish ourselves as industry leaders is a huge responsibility and an honour. We have clearly defined and, importantly, realistic objectives and strategies for the next five years and beyond – and I am excited to deliver against them with the team.

What is your vision for the company’s future under your leadership as MD?

My vision for Arke’s future is one where we thrive in a competitive market through strategic innovation and through challenging the norms. We’re in a great position to invest in our team and give our clients the expertise and support that they require to succeed themselves. Moving forward, I aim to focus on recognising our team’s exceptional work, fostering bold ideas, and driving impactful results for our clients. It’s about delivering the best work possible, nurturing our team’s growth, and maintaining our leadership in the industry. Above all, I want to create an environment where everyone feels valued, inspired, and excited about our journey together. And yes, we’ll be celebrating our successes!

Poised for success

Alex Watson’s transition from Chief Revenue Officer to Managing Director is a reflection of his deep understanding of our business, clients, and team dynamics. He has been an integral part of the Arke structure for years and his strategic achievements and collaborative relationships have prepared him to steer Arke towards continued excellence.

With a vision focused on innovation, team growth, and client success, Alex is set to lead Arke into an exciting future, fostering an environment of inspiration and achievement, and we are thrilled to see what comes next.

Visit our About page to learn more about Arke’s entire team of experts.

G’day mate!

We are so excited to welcome a brand new Arkenaut to our team! Blair Foley is our new Graphic Designer, coming all the way from down under! He will be the mastermind behind our creative assets, but first, lets learn more about him.

Welcome Blair, tell us a bit about yourself

Hello, I’m a recent transplant to the UK!

I was born and raised in South Brisbane, Queensland: where sunshine is in abundance and ozone is scarce. I studied a Bachelor of Entertainment Industries, majoring in Interactive Media and Design. This degree set me up with the ability to balance creativity with practicality, bringing those big creative ideas that rattle around in your head all the way to fruition. I got my start in design working for music festivals and live events around Australia, designing and constructing stages and installations. Building things is one of my passions. I love to get my hands dirty.

Tired of jumping from gig to gig, I moved to Japan for a few years to teach English and soak up everything that incredible country has to offer. I now speak Japanese and continue to take classes to this day. My teacher says I have the fluency of around a six year old. Thanks, Hiroshi.

Due to COVID I returned to Australia and was bitten by the Digital Marketing bug, where I became Digital Marketing Manager and Design Manager for the peak industry body of caravanning and camping in the state. After two wonderful years building campaigns to encourage people to get out into the wild and camp, I decided to move to the UK to pursue new career opportunities. Which is how I ended up here: at Arke!

Can you tell us some fun facts about you?

I am a massive film, music and TV buff. There’s nothing I love more than discovering a new film, album, show or director to obsess over. My current obsession is everything Stephen Sondheim, if you haven’t already delved into his genius, I highly recommend. Conversely, if you have any recommendations for me, I’m always all ears.

I love to cook. Eating out has its time and place, but nothing tastes better than a meal you make yourself. My most recent culinary mission has been to create the perfect focaccia (the secret is mashed potatoes).

I also love to travel. Having recently moved to the UK, I have several new locations in the near future I’m looking to explore. Looking at you, Tuscany.

What are you excited about working at Arke?

I don’t want to be just a good designer, I want to be a great one. The thing that excites me most about working at Arke is developing my creative skills on a daily basis. Working for such a funky agency to bang out some killer work is going to be a great new adventure, one I’m excited to tackle with such a progressive, supportive team.

It’s one small step for Arkeanuts, one giant leap for marketing. 🚀

We are thrilled to announce a new Arkenaut has joined our ever growing team! Sasha Klepitskaya has taken on the role of Brand and Content Marketing Executive, leading on social media and content strategies, brand management, and copywriting.

So, let’s get to know her…

Welcome Sasha, tell us a bit about yourself

My background is in journalism and English teaching, so I have always loved connecting with people and telling visual and compelling stories. After pursuing my postgraduate degree in marketing, I worked as a marketing executive for an education company, both on B2B and B2C levels, managing client relationships, social media channels, and brand growth. I have been a huge fan of Arke Agency for some time now, and was thrilled at the opportunity to join this amazing team! Here, I am excited to continue connecting with clients and getting to tell each brand’s unique story.

Can you tell us some fun facts about you? 

I was born and raised in Russia and moved to the United States when I was nine. That is where I grew up and pursued my higher education. After university, I had a keen desire to travel the world and learn about different cultures and people – thus, I studied to become a qualified English language teacher. I have since lived in six different countries, across five different continents! I speak two languages fluently – English and Russian – and can get around in Spanish.

I love cats, especially my Bengal/Tabby mix Arlo, the outdoors, and travelling the world!

What are you excited about working at Arke?

As I mentioned before, I have been a fan of Arke for some time now. What drew me to the agency is their ability to stay transparent, modern, and ahead of the curve, while maintaining company-wide values that align with mine: being a woman-owned brand, a proud living wage employer, and giving back to our amazing community, to name a few! I’m ready to bring my personal and enthusiastic touch to the team while learning from the best.

Feel like you’d be a great fit for our team? We’d love to hear from you, so check out our current vacancies.

Arke has come a long way in the past six years, and we’re proud to be ever expanding our talented team of Arkenauts. Now, we’re thrilled to welcome Ollie as our new Account Director here at Arke! Ollie will work with the client satisfaction accounts team to ensure expectations continue to go above and beyond across Arke’s client portfolio and contribute to the Accounts Team’s strategic direction.

So, it’s time for you to get to know Ollie! Let’s jump in…

Welcome Ollie!

Tell us a bit about yourself

Over seven years deep in the digital marketing game, my skill set has evolved to include SEO, design, paid advertising, and client relationship management. Inevitably my broad knowledge and strategic approach perfectly equips me for the Account Director role, where building and fostering strong client relationships is paramount. My working style is strategic with a creative cherry on top.

My core strengths lie in communication, understanding client needs, and a specialisation in digital and creative strategy. I apply these skills across a wide range of projects, consistently aiming for innovative solutions and always thinking outside the box.

Can you tell us some fun facts about you?

I’m an avid songwriter and when I’m not at the desks delivering quality service to clients, you can find me sitting at the piano, writing lyrics for producers or behind a microphone. If I’ve caught your attention enough already you can catch my favourite song ‘Only Matters That We Made It’ on Spotify.

I’ve also lived in four countries including France, Spain and Germany (France possibly being my favourite due to the many ski slopes at large). Cooking is also a passion of mine and with inspiration for my love of Japan I make a cracking Gyoza (from scratch) accompanied by a delish bowl of ramen (although a little spicy).

What are your goals at Arke?

My primary objective centres on optimising the account management process to increase consistency across our diverse client base. It is of paramount importance to me that we uphold our commitment to delivering top-tier value and performance to each and every client, ensuring that our entire team operates in harmonious alignment to achieve the best possible outcomes in every project.

Internally, I’m also excited to get to know everyone in the team and earn my ‘Arkenaut’ title as soon as possible!

Feel like you’d be a great fit for our team? We’d love to hear from you, so check out our current vacancies.

That’s right; we won the ‘Campaign Effectiveness Award (small)’ at the UK Agency Awards alongside our client Joint Living!

The Award Win

At the awards ceremony in London on Thursday 21st September, we were so excited to be announced as winners of the ‘Campaign Effectiveness Award’ for our campaign ‘Record results in Luxury Student Living’ as we supported student accommodation provider Joint Living to revolutionise the property marketing game.

In the face of fierce competition, we were able to obliterate targets and provide smashing results that gave credit to the superior services Joint has to offer.

Utilising creative approaches, a website rebuild, improved tracking and hyper-targeted approaches, this campaign turned real estate advertising on its head. Our future-forward mindset and unwavering commitment to being a trusted partner drove us to create a campaign that resonated with the spirit of Joint, captivating audiences with unstoppable momentum using novel approaches to targeting.

In just three short months, and only using 61% of our budget, this full-service initiative conquered targets on unparalleled levels with a 3875% ROAS. With bookings soaring 40% YoY, the client is now poised to launch 12 new properties across 2 additional cities, 4 months ahead of schedule.

We’re over the moon to have won such a prestigious award with Joint. At Arke, it’s our mission to deliver above and beyond, and we’re glad this was recognised in the judging process.

Judges’ Feedback:

A notable mention from the judges included:

“The creativity, energy and vibrance showcased in this campaign are truly enjoyable and captivating, and it is clear why this campaign had such a powerful impact on it’s audience.

We are impressed with the agencies ability to position what could be considered a difficult product to market, in such an exciting and full of personality way. Furthermore, the volume of results generated from the campaign is highly impressive and overall they are a very deserving winner.”

Find the full list of winners here. For more information about the campaign, take a look at the case study.

Incorporating inclusivity into your advertising strategy requires ongoing effort and a willingness to learn and evolve. Brands that prioritise inclusivity not only enhance their marketing results but also contribute positively to social progress and foster a stronger connection with their audience.

In fact, 87% of UK consumers agree that diversity should be a priority in advertising and marketing. Remember, inclusivity is not just a trend; it’s an essential aspect of responsible and impactful advertising in today’s diverse and interconnected world.

Now, that’s not to say the advertising industry has achieved the goal of total inclusivity – far from it. However, we are seeing brands and businesses take further strides in assuring audiences feel represented and included in advertising practices, and there’s good reason for doing so.

Are you interested in the impact of inclusivity in advertising and how can you make your advertising strategy more inclusive?

These are the top things you need to know to make your advertising more inclusive.

1. 67% of people believe that companies should promote a more diverse and inclusive society through advertising.

As the modern world starts to take shape, consumers are more eager to see brands that reflect the diverse world around them, meaning that whoever the audience you’re targeting are, they will likely stand up and take notice of your brand for the right reasons if you embody inclusivity. Although some advertisers have recognised the importance of gender and racial inclusion, there remains significant progress to be made. The representation of people with disabilities and individuals from the LGBTQI+ community in advertisements is strikingly scarce, despite comprising approximately a quarter of our society.

However, whilst businesses need to make an effort, it’s important for brands that before they go live with diversity in their campaigns, that they also ensure they represent an inclusive workplace too.

Making your brand more inclusive starts with an internal shift. To really embed inclusivity into your organisation, we’d recommend Allsorts Youth Project for inclusivity training in the workplace. We worked alongside Allsorts Youth Project and attended their training session, Understanding LGBT+ People and Making Your Organisation More Inclusive, to gain a greater understanding of the experiences of LGBT+ people, became more confident in supporting, and being an ally to, LGBT+ people and discussed how to create more inclusive environments for LGBT+ people.

Allsorts Youth Project is a fantastic service we would hiiiiighly recommend to any businesses that want to ensure safe spaces for everyone at work. Sorry, fangirl moment over.

2. When the representation of different gender, race, and sexual orientation in ads is more accurate, purchase intent increases by 44%.

If you want consumers to buy from your brand, they need to feel seen in your advertising. If you are not actively being diverse in your campaigns, and are seen to be ‘jumping on the action’ during important events like Pride and Black History Month, consumers will notice. Facebook even found that in 90% of ads they ran, diverse representation was the winning strategy for ad recall lift when diversity was consistent.

It’s important to represent ALL your customers in your advertising all year round. Consider including more diverse talent in your ads, creating ‘safe spaces’ and advertising on a range of platforms. Google even offers business owners an option to list their companies as ‘safe-spaces’. Companies can market themselves as ‘LGBTQI+-friendly’ and as a ‘Transgender Safe Space’ on their Google listing to let customers know they’re always welcome. These attributes appear on a business’ Google listing on Maps and Search.

System 1 and ITV’s Feeling Seen Report details how diverse advertising essentially lets people ‘feel seen’, with 5 key details on things brands need to understand if they want to make commercially effective work that celebrates and includes diverse groups. The results? Diverse advertising unites us.

3. People are 38% more likely to trust brands that show diversity in their ads.

The key to consumer retention is achieving customer loyalty, and trust plays a big part. If people can see your authenticity in your means to be diverse and inclusive in your advertising, then the link between trust in your brand and products will follow.

But it’s important to include diversity in all aspects of your marketing – including all the way down to your web pages and SEO. Considering that 64% of consumers are more likely to consider or purchase a product after observing diversity or inclusion in advertising, your landing pages and comms across the market should reflect this too.

For example, in the last 5 years, search interest in “gender fluidity” increased by 80%. Are you using neutral terms across your website, or are you labelling products to specific genders, which could cause other groups to feel dismissed?

In fact, 85% reported that LGBTQI+ representation shows that a business is committed to offering products for all types of customers – so why take the risk of making that pool smaller?

Basically, THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN! Audiences, in general, regardless of how they identify, are searching and interacting with brands that cater to diverse audiences.

Now don’t get us wrong, advertising still has a way to go with full diversity, but it’s important for us all to make a conscious effort to get us there eventually. Diversity isn’t a token you should just stick in your adverts, it should be just the way it is.

If you want to start your journey to becoming more inclusive in your workplace, you can check out ASA’s advertising guidelines here, or get in touch with Allsorts Youth Project, and find out how their inclusivity training can get you on the right path.

Summer is in full swing and things are heating up at Arke HQ. And no, we’re not referring to the weather; we’re talking about being announced as a finalist in the European Paid Media Awards and UK Agency Awards 2023.

The nominations

As a small agency with a massive passion, we tirelessly pursue our ambitious goals alongside our equally driven clients, and it’s incredible to be recognised for our work, especially when our clients are at the heart of everything we do.

Our work with luxury student accommodation provider Joint has been recognised for the Campaign Effectiveness Award at the UK Agency Awards 2023. Utilising creative approaches, a website rebuild, improved tracking and hyper-targeted approaches, this campaign turned real estate advertising on its head. Our future-forward mindset and unwavering commitment to being a trusted partner drove us to create a campaign that resonated with the spirit of Joint, captivating audiences with unstoppable momentum using novel approaches to targeting.

In just three short months, and only using 61% of our budget, this full-service initiative conquered targets on unparalleled levels with a 3875% ROAS. With bookings soaring 40% YoY, the client is now poised to launch 12 new properties across 2 additional cities, 4 months ahead of schedule.

And it doesn’t stop there, our work with London perfumery Shay & Blue has also been recognised for Retail Campaign of the Year at the European Paid Media Awards. The already award-winning campaign ‘The Scent of Success’ fed into Shay & Blue’s wider brand strategy, conveying their unique value proposition, ‘Perfume is Personality’, to their rebellious audience. We honed in on data and built up their mailing list to successfully target customers in this campaign, while collecting first-party data for subsequent campaigns.

With a 1009% ROAS, the campaign resulted in a record-breaking period of online trading for Shay & Blue, revenue attributed to Paid Media increased by 244.59%, generating their biggest month in online revenue in a single week – a huge impact for a small, niche brand.

We couldn’t be prouder to be nominated for such great work with equally great clients. At Arke, it’s our mission to deliver above and beyond, and we’re glad the judges recognised this.

Arke’s Head of Paid Media, Ben Halliday, led the ambitious advertising approaches for both campaigns and said: “We are incredibly proud to have been shortlisted for these two prestigious campaign awards, which reflect the hard work and dedication of our talented team here at Arke.”

“This is a true testament to the trust and partnership we have cultivated with both Joint and Shay & Blue, who we thoroughly enjoy working with to bring their brands to life with outstanding results.”

The results for the Campaign Effectiveness Award will be revealed at the UK Agency Awards 2023 ceremony in London on the 21st of September, and the results for Retail Campaign of the Year will be revealed at the European Paid Media Awards on the 27th of September. We can’t wait to see all the other finalists there to celebrate great work in the industry. Fingers crossed we come away as winners!

We’re incredibly excited to welcome Panida into our ever growing Existing Business team. Panida is joining us as an Account Manager, helping to work directly with our clients to understand their objectives and deliver results.

So, let’s get to know her…

Hi Panida!

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I have been working in project and business management for just over 6 years! I started out running my own Thai street food business with my mum. After covid hit, we moved to takeaways and I moved to learning. I signed up for a course in Brighton amplifying my digital skills. From this, I worked in a paid media agency managing my own clients, and now I’m ready to move these skills to working at Arke!

Can you tell us some fun facts about you?

I can’t mention fun facts without mentioning Tiny Thai! I absolutely loved running my Thai street food business Tiny Thai with my mum for 5 years. We worked at weddings, festivals and markets! It’s probably no surprise that Thai is also my second language, but nonetheless, I’m actually not that keen on spicy food! I also recently bought my first house and I’m enjoying the exciting city life Brighton has to offer!

What are you excited about working at Arke?

Now I’m here at Arke, I’m super excited to get stuck in. I can’t wait to meet new people and start managing and working with Arke’s amazing clients! I think this will be a great opportunity for me to learn lots of great skills and I’m ready to get started.

Feel like you’d be a great fit for our team? We’d love to hear from you, so check out our current vacancies.

Did someone say winner, winner?

That’s right! After a successful night at Tuesday’s UK Paid Media Awards 2023 we are over the moon to announce we won ‘Paid Social Media Campaign of the Year’ with our fantastic client Shay and Blue!

Having previously won the European Paid Media Awards, this win adds value to the brilliant results our paid media campaigns can achieve for your business.

The award-winning campaign ‘The Scent of Success’ fed into Shay and Blue’s wider brand strategy, conveying their unique value proposition, ‘Perfume is Personality’, to their rebellious audience. We honed in on data and built up their mailing list to successfully target customers in this campaign, while collecting first-party data for subsequent campaigns.

With a 1009% ROAS, the campaign resulted in a record-breaking period of online trading for Shay & Blue, revenue attributed to Paid Media increased by 244.59%, generating their biggest month in online revenue in a single week – a huge impact for a small, niche brand.

We couldn’t be more proud to win this award with such a fantastic campaign and client! Congratulations to all the other finalists and winners, it was such an amazing night thanks to Don’t Panic Events.

Arke Agency Founder and Managing Director, Steph Noble said: “We loved working so closely with the Shay and Blue team to create such an impactful campaign, delivering target smashing results through a full in-house collaboration. It goes to show the powerful impact social media can have on your brand, and the importance of agility in delivery.

“This award serves as an attribute to the amazing work the team continuously achieves for our clients, something that is evident as we stand strong as a multi-award winning agency. Well done Arkenauts!”

See more of our work with Shay and Blue.

This International Women’s Day, 8 March 2023, we’re talking all things DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.

And what better way to do this than honour Arke’s talented founder and Managing Director, Steph? Luckily for us, Steph had some free time in her busy calendar to sit down with us to discuss setting up, running and advocating an award-winning business as a woman and the many barriers women face in the marketing and advertising industry today. Importantly, Steph shares some ideas as to how these barriers can be broken down and what we can do as a society, business owners and individuals to make a difference.

Let’s get straight to it.

Tell us about the founding of Arke and why you decided to start your own agency

I was never looking to run an agency. However, there came a time in my life where I wanted to be in control of my future and career following certain experiences I’d gone through. I wanted the prospect of a better work/life balance, and desired to have the best opportunities for myself. With this in mind, I left my senior position at a marketing and advertising agency with the plan of starting a freelance career.

However, with a network I had built up over my career, the demand quickly grew for my services, and it became apparent that I needed to hire a team for what I was providing. This sparked my passion for wanting to make a difference, and make sure women in the workplace felt respected and had their voice heard, as from my own experiences, this is not something that was championed, for me and my female colleagues. With this new vision and ambition, Arke was born, and I wanted every female employee to feel valued and invested in.

Without speaking for all women, I think it’s fair to say so many women have been in a situation where she doesn’t feel valued, especially for myself being 5ft 1; you can have your strategic thinking overlooked or often your male counterparts re-voice your narrative in a meeting, gaining credit for the research, strategy and plan you’ve been working on!

One of my main focuses directing Arke is creating an environment where everyone feels they are recognised and supported, but importantly they are given the space to explore ideas and can pitch them in an open-minded, safe and encouraging environment. Just this year, we launched ‘Open Door Fridays’, which gives the team the opportunity every fortnight to float innovations, strategic investments and voice issues or concerns. I’m proud that we don’t just say we’re a female-friendly employer but we actively act upon this internally.

What are the main barriers to women becoming business owners or leaders in the marketing/advertising industry?

Before I jump into answering the question directly, I want to address a narrative that I remember from my year 4 parent’s evening. My mum was told I was “opinionated” and that I asked too many questions. I immediately felt a sense of dread and shame, but my mum politely pushed back on this with my teacher. She was proud to have raised a young girl with the confidence to speak up. She always nurtured this part of my personality and embraced what I thought for myself. I was eager to learn and apply myself in every way possible, even when it may lead to endless questions at bedtime! This approach to teaching is something I really hope has changed; so that when young women are entering the world of work, they feel confident to use their voices.

Advertising and marketing roles are quite often viewed as ‘admin’ or junior positions, which have stereotypically been associated with women in the past. However, to work in this industry in any role and at any level, a high level of strategic thinking, an analytical understanding and a critical thinking mindset are vital. These are skills that are often overlooked and under-nurtured in women. It’s time to change this view and nurture these skills.

The lack of women in STEM education also creates a barrier; where if young girls were to learn about these skills and the opportunities available to them from a young age, it could help with more women coming into the industry and becoming strategic leaders in their field. There is also an aspect of needing more STEM courses to encourage girls towards a subject of their choice.

There is still a lack of targeting specifically for females for new innovative courses, and that needs to change. It’s also been reported time and time again that women are less confident to apply for jobs if they feel they don’t meet the skill requirements. 80% of men have the confidence to apply for a job even if they don’t have the listed skills, whereas only 50% of women will. We need to build this confidence in girls at a young age so they feel they can leap into something new.

At Arke, we strive to reach out to women when recruiting. I am really passionate about getting more women into senior leadership and technical roles, as well as providing the funding and support to train and educate our team, whether it’s to help build more confidence in their next meeting with myself or pitching to potential clients.

It sounds cheesy, but it all comes back to when women had to fight for what we wanted, so as time goes on, I really want to see more senior women and issues like the gender pay gap disappearing. We’ve been actively monitoring this internally, and I’m proud to say that the gender pay gap at Arke does not exist. We do also need to educate our male team members about the history of women in the workplace to stop history from repeating itself.

We have also recently become an Endometriosis Friendly Employer, which will hopefully allow my female colleagues to feel comfortable, understood and cared for at work. I really strive to champion women in the workplace, but I can’t do this alone; it requires the whole team to be bought in and share these values. I’m also extremely proud to say that our last Employee Satisfaction survey resulted in 100% of the team stating that Arke is “at its core a truly equal opportunities employer”.

Have you experienced any of these barriers personally?

I set up Arke when I was 27. Being young, and again, being of small stature, commanding a room can be intimidating. I’m also sure I’m one of many, but I have been ripped to shreds by people in meetings who have zero experience in marketing. Within these meetings and others, often my male counterparts were fully addressed regarding my area of expertise, and I felt left totally ignored – even though I’d just presented for half an hour alone.

I’m almost certain every woman has experienced this. My male counterpart is not my line manager or my “keeper”; they actually report to me… so why is this so hard for people to get their head around?! (Respectfully) calling this out, as my colleague did, is the only way these situations and perceptions will change.

Another thing to note is actually setting up the business, and all the paperwork is relatively straightforward; it only takes a few moments to list a company on Companies House, but actual pen to paper and getting your services out there to the world is where the real challenges lie. It can be super stressful, and you doubt yourself, a lot. You go through all the different phases in your mind like – what am I doing? Am I good enough? But you do what you have to and pull yourself out the other side with continuous self-belief, even if it may diminish sometimes.

I strongly believe that this is due to my professional career history of being undermined and dismissed in the workplace, even when I was leading a team of 20+ people. A strong support network is also important. Having your nearest and dearest cheering you on and being selective with your team, clients and partnerships you place yourself in are immense to build up your confidence to challenge outside of your bubble.

What are some benefits of having more women in leadership/as business owners in the marketing/advertising industry?

You have to remember that nearly 50% of the population are women. Not having women in leadership positions means you are potentially not understanding half of your target audience, team or society. You’re not learning from their lived experiences which is absolutely bonkers when you think about it. I don’t like speaking for everyone, but definitely, from my own experience, I feel I have brought something quite different to a leadership position throughout my career.

Being one of the only women in a senior leadership position in previous roles, I took it as an opportunity to challenge issues and raise my voice. Even from very minimal requirements like having sanitary bins in toilets and bigger issues such as building strategies built on stereotypes, or ‘My wife said this’ ideas. Small changes but so important.

As an agency, I feel we have a huge responsibility to play our part in society and being on the right side of history. I am determined that we build people up, we face challenges head-on, and we learn to be better. In order to create strategies based on real beliefs, emotions and experiences, you have to bring a different perspective to any board room. My experiences have shaped me as a leader for my team and strategic vision for Arke alongside those of our wonderful clients. I believe in compassion and progression and massively value innovation, all of which can only be achieved from a balanced representation in the workforce and industry.

What can the industry do to support more women in the industry or to get into the industry?

This is a great question. I would say as an agency, we want to provide the best working conditions for the team, and with that comes understanding from clients. A lot of women in the workplace have gone through different life experiences, from pregnancy and returning from maternity leave to menstrual conditions. This means that flexible approaches to working enable employees and employers to get the most out of themselves and their team’s last-minute demands, such as childcare requiring flexi hours, and this would be so much more accessible for women if businesses also had this understanding as standard.

We are all humans at the end of the day, so compassion from colleagues, clients, and society is crucially important.

From an industry-wide perspective, I’m an independent female agency owner. To be able to access or have the quality assurance stamps against you, whether it be awards or being a part of a body, it all adds up and helps your business get recognised. I believe if the industry wants to support more women, subsidies for female small business owners would really help. Providing discounted courses, workshops, and support networks that aren’t just online or in London would be especially valuable.

What have you done or do you plan on doing at work to break the bias and encourage more women into the industry?

I really want to be able to do more than just the occasional tokenistic actions, like having basic necessities like tampons in our bathrooms. Although, saying that, when my friend visited the office she thought it was brilliant and couldn’t believe an office was doing that – she’s a female electrician! It’s about what every woman goes through every day, and making work a more comfortable, motivational and opportunity-driven place to be. We need to break the taboo around periods and women’s health!

We also decided to have gender-neutral toilets at Arke. We are a team of 16, and all humans at the end of the day, so we should be able to share. As Arke continues to grow, I want to hire more mature and open-minded people into our team. We are all feminists here, and having a bathroom area to accommodate women is a no-brainer to me.

Arke also recently became an Endometriosis Friendly Employer. We’re actually having some team training soon to ensure I’m learning as well as management so we can pass the education piece to the rest of the team and those we come into contact with every day. I really hope this will help everyone here at Arke understand some of the things women go through more deeply, and just how complex they can be. I don’t know all the answers, and I’d rather hear from the team to address issues before they rear their heads where possible.

It’s also why giving my employees flexible working is important to me. If anyone, not just women, needs sick time, they will receive full pay, as well as if women have a rather painful period, working from home is available to them if they prefer to work, so they can continue to feel supported and valued to achieve their full potential, no matter what their situation. Even if someone is particularly suffering with their mental health on certain days, I would rather them take a sick day or work in an environment comfortable to them.

From a recruitment standpoint, we understand the barriers women face when applying for jobs. Therefore, we actively encourage applications from women into senior leadership positions and tech roles to bring diversity to our company’s culture and vision. We are part of women’s networking groups and always make sure to list the salary on our job adverts to encourage transparency.

The key to Arke is we listen. We are committed to listening and continually improving our business for all, through regular surveys for our staff and clients.

Thanks, Steph!

Wow, what a woman, and definitely one to celebrate this International Women’s Day. Today, and every day, we celebrate women, so let’s continue to #PowerOn. We’d love to hear about your experiences as women in the workplace, so join the conversation over on LinkedIn.

If you are interested in a career at Arke, find out about our available roles here. To find out more about this year’s theme, visit the International Women’s Day website.

As the Living Wage Foundation says, ‘a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay’ – we couldn’t agree more. This year, 14 – 20 November is Living Wage Week, and it’s time to spread the word and celebrate. Having been a Living Wage Employer since Arke was founded, we’ll be proudly flying the flag and sporting the Living Wage logo across our social media along with our fellow Living Wage Employers across the nation.

We’re thrilled that the number of Living Wage Employers across the UK is increasing; there are now 11,000 employers who have taken the pledge. We’re proud to have played a part in the increase in employers signing up in our local area, having worked with Brighton Chamber and the Brighton & Hove Living Wage Campaign to encourage local businesses to sign up to the Living Wage Pledge.

Our campaign has recently won two awards; for Local Campaign of the Year at the European Paid Media Awards and Best Low Budget Campaign at the UK Social Media Awards. The campaign resulted in 58 more businesses taking the pledge, in addition to an increased awareness of the movement.

Sarah Springford, CEO at Brighton Chamber, commented “Our local Brighton & Hove campaign is business-led and has gone from strength to strength. An additional 58 employers signing up means better wages, work-life balance and well-being for their employees. We are thrilled to have worked with Arke on an award winning advertising campaigns (albeit with tight budgets).”

This year’s Living Wage theme is ‘The Real Living Wage is More Important Than Ever’. While our Living Wage campaign positively impacted 272 salaries in Brighton and Hove, we’re hoping that it doesn’t stop there because we truly believe that it’s never been more important to support our team and our wider community than now.

As a small marketing agency in tune with our local community and our team, we understand the importance of the pledge first-hand, particularly amid the cost of living crisis.

Steph Noble, Founder of Arke, commented on Living Wage Week, saying: “Being a Living Wage Employer is more than simply paying your employees more. It’s about taking the time to understand and emphasise with your team and put solutions in place to support them.”

Why should your business take the pledge?

While the number of Living Wage Employers is rising, there are still 4.8 million workers earning below the real Living Wage in the UK.

Taking the pledge will positively impact your brand and your local community; from increasing job applications to boosting staff retention. According to the Living Wage Foundation, 93% of university graduates seek out Living Wage Employers and would rather work for them over brands who haven’t taken the pledge and 60% of Living Wage Employers experience increased motivation from their employees. There really are no downsides, and we certainly haven’t looked back since committing to the cause ourselves in 2018.

We’re always on the lookout for new talent at Arke, and we’re constantly recruiting for Paid Media, Digital and Creative roles. Even if there’s a skills gap, we believe true talent deserves wages reflective of that. That’s why we offer the best perks for our team – including a real Living Wage that excites them to come into work every day.

Is your business ready to take the Living Wage pledge? It’s simple to do and will have such a big impact on your brand and your team. Find out what you need to do to get the Living Wage accreditation by clicking here.

There’s no denying that we’ve been growing at Arke, not just our team but our client base too. And there’s a new partnership in town that’s very special to us and our local area: Say hello to our new partners: St Barnabas & Chestnut Tree House, the hospice charity providing essential care for adults, children and their families.

Implementing GA4

We love working with brands that make a difference in our local community, and we already know this partnership will be rewarding in many ways. We’re implementing Google Analytics 4 and training for the charity so they can better understand the web, and donor customer journey. This will provide essential analytics to help the charity build strategies that will engage with their web visitors, and drive donations whilst increasing awareness of the charity.

Arke aims to empower people, so we’ll also be providing over 70 hours of Google Analytics training to St Barnabas & Chestnut Tree House to upskill their team and make using GA4 a breeze. This will help the charity to identify any ‘donation-blockers, i.e. any issues on their website causing donors to drop off, and seek solutions to rectify those issues, improving the user experience along the way.

The new partnership

St Barnabas and Chestnut Tree House sought a partner whose values aligned with their own and an agency that would guarantee results. After seeing our previous work, we provided them with a digital health check to showcase how our analytics and training services could drive donations. Our understanding of their digital requirements, as a local charity, assured the trust in Arke for this project.

Commenting on the partnership, Sam Skilton, Digital Manager, said: ‘We’re thrilled to be working with multi-award winning marketing agency Arke, a brand whose people-first values align with our own. As a charity, we rely on donations to provide hospice care for local people and their families. Understanding how Google Analytics 4 works will help people to find us when they need help and facilitate the donation process by improving the donor journey, which will be invaluable for us and the continuation of our work’.

Our founder Steph Noble commented saying, ‘Our motto at Arke is be real, bold, be curious, and we’re extremely passionate about people. We’ve begun a super meaningful journey with St Barnabas and Chestnut Tree House to help them increase donations and continue the incredible work they do.’

We’ll be sharing the impact of this work on the charity! Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn for all the updates!

You may have heard that we’ve had a pretty exciting year so far. From record-breaking results for our clients, being named as a finalist for six award nominations at the Social Media Awards 2022 and European Paid Media Awards 2022 and the move to our swanky new central Brighton offices – it’s been one heck of 2022 already. And now, as we continue our record year, we’re looking for YOU to come and be a part of it!

What are the roles?

Do you love getting mind-blowing results for clients? Want to work for an award-winning company? We’re excited to announce that we have six opportunities on offer to join our Paid Media and Account Management teams!

The roles cover a wide range of experience and skill levels, whether you’re looking to start your marketing career to an experienced Account Manager looking for their next step.

• Graduate/Junior Paid Media Executive
• Paid Media Executive
• Senior Paid Media Executive
• Paid Media Manager
• Account Manager
• Account Director

The new roles will help to build, optimise and report on client campaigns for the company’s ever-growing client base.

Why become an Arkenaut?

Not only do we consistently achieve mind-blowing results from our clients, but we also have a brilliant team culture. It’s our people and their ideas that drive us. We foster and encourage independent thought and questioning of every known truth.

Our people are a wonderful mix of individuals who work collaboratively to shape new ways of problem-solving and provide integrated solutions.

As we approach our sixth year, we’re proud of the huge growth of Arke and the journey we’re on to make waves in our industry.

(Plus, did we mention office doggos and beer o’clock?!)

Here’s what our company Founder Steph Noble has to say: “At Arke, we are committed to our promises of transparency, whether that’s within our client work or as a team. I’m so proud to lead such a talented team of people who are continually pushing themselves to achieve more for our clients as well as themselves, which is evident in the results we produce.”

“Since our beginnings only five years ago, our growth has been phenomenal, and this year is set to be the best yet – with six award nominations this year, expanding into a new central Brighton office and record results for our clients. I’m so excited to welcome new members into our passionate team as we continue to expand.”

Make me an Arkenaut!

Alright, ready to come aboard? Head to our Careers page to read more about the roles available.

Got a question about the roles? Email hello@arkeagency.com and one of our team will be in touch!

We’re celebrating after being shortlisted for four categories in the prestigious UK social media awards!

UK Social Media Awards

Launched in 2017, we specialise in marketing, with a strong focus on transparency, and have since amassed a number of clients around the UK from industries including higher education, film and entertainment, government, financial services and more.

On the back of recent successes, such as record client wins and expanding into new offices, we’re proud to have been shortlisted in the Best Use of TikTok, Best Low Budget Campaign and Best Use of Research & Evaluation categories at the UK Social Media Awards 2022, alongside our Head of Paid Media, announced as a finalist in the Mark Hanson Rising Star Award.

Founder & Managing Director Steph Noble commented: “We’ve come such a long way in our mere five years, and I couldn’t be more proud of the Arke team.

“Since the start of this year, we’ve experienced a huge growth period alongside mind-blowing results for our clients, leading us to welcome new team members and moving into our new central Brighton offices. And being recognised for these fantastic awards really is the icing on the cake.”

“I also couldn’t be more pleased for Ben, who embodies our company values and has consistently gone above and beyond for our clients and the Arke team. He couldn’t deserve this recognition any more.”

On being shortlisted in the Rising Star category, Ben Halliday said: “I was blown away and truly honoured to learn that I’d been shortlisted for this year’s Mark Hanson award, among such brilliant industry talent.”

“I’m so grateful to Arke for nominating me (on the very edge of 30!), but also for believing in my potential, supporting my growth from day one, and frankly being the best agency I’ve worked for in my career to date.”

“A huge & heartfelt thank-you to all involved.”

The winner for each category will be announced at the 2022 UK Social Media Awards, taking place on Thursday, 8 September, at the Montcalm Marble Arch, London.

See the full 2022 awards shortlist here. Find out more on Arke Agency’s website, or for an interview with Steph Noble or Ben Halliday, email marketing@arkeagency.com 

Pride 2022 is in full swing, bringing communities together through boogie-filled and affectionate events. However, whilst there’s certainly fun to be had, it’s also important to point out the absolute no-no’s from a marketing perspective – such as rainbow washing.

Today, we’re talking to all you advertisers who want to get educated and understand why rainbow washing is something you should absolutely avoid doing through your marketing efforts. Let’s get to it!

What is Rainbow Washing? 

Rainbow washing is when businesses present themselves as allies for the LGBTQIA+ community through weak or empty gestures. Want an example?

Have you been on social media recently? Are you scrolling through LinkedIn right now? You’ve probably noticed some companies’ logos have changed in the last few weeks to something more rainbowy. Even stranger, these logos seem to turn back to their classic colours when Pride comes to a close.

Of course, we’re not calling out all companies here, but many think changing brand imagery to Pride colours is enough to proudly state – “look at us, we’re an ally!”.

Rainbow washing can be easy to fall into. Exploiting team members for content, pushing products through rainbow-filled imagery or marching in parades for your own publicity are just a few of the actions considered harmful.

And when you do, the reaction from users can be brand-damaging, but more importantly, it misrepresents and takes away from Pride’s importance and its communities. Let’s look at this in greater detail.

Why does rainbow washing matter? 

The LGBTQIA+ community has a gigantic stock in marketing. According to LGBT Capital, the global annual spending power of the pink pound across the communities is a whopping $1.4 trillion – yes, trillion!

But with that comes caution in how you advertise or support these communities. Of course, you can’t please everyone – take M&S’ LGBT Sandwich, for example. But you can account for intention, value and respect.

Unsurprisingly, people within the LGBTQIA+ community like to be represented and supported with consideration. Slapping a rainbow on your brand or overemphasising someone’s identity in your ad to be “inclusive” damages what Pride is continuously working against.

It’s even worse when you realise the financial gain from these watered-down actions is filling the fat pockets of large, uncaring corporations.

So, what can marketers do to ensure they’re contributing to genuine change?

Pride – The full 365 

It’s fantastic that the LGBTQIA+ community get a month to celebrate in all its glory. However, once the party (and potential hangover) is gone – support must carry on.

Support takes many forms; it can be the tiniest detail. Respecting people’s pronouns across social media and conversations creates fluid normality for identities. This means a great deal to audiences consistently interacting with your brand.

Innocent drinks are a brilliant example of how brands can use a tone of voice to be respectfully inclusive. The company’s LinkedIn post highlights how the brand now attaches pronouns on Teams, email signatures and social media profiles.

Innocent also invited speakers from the LGBTQIA+ community to share their experiences; so everyone across the business has a chance to hear what life is like for others. That’s how you do it!

Call out crappy content! Highlighting brands doing it wrong within Pride is one thing. Being there for them throughout the year shows you honestly care about better expressions for the communities within advertising.

Make your platform a pedestal. Do you have a large audience or influential presence online? Share the spotlight and highlight the creative work from LGBTQIA+ brands similar to your work – or things you think need preaching!

Rich Ferraro, chief communications officer at GLAAD, states – “If a brand doesn’t have a 365-day-a-year plan for LGBTQ inclusion, they really need to prioritise that over prioritising a one-off Pride campaign.”

Measured Success 

So you made your socks for the month rainbow coloured. Well done. Now, what are you going to do? As mentioned earlier, empty gestures won’t help. You have to have a clear objective and outcome for community-supportive branding.

Whether it’s in Pride or a personal campaign throughout the year, ask yourself – “why are we creating this campaign?” Are you supporting a specific cause or charity? Is the product targeted at a niche audience?

These questions will lay the foundations for what social and creative assets need making. But make it unique – don’t dye your product’s colours just because; create a campaign that resonates with the audience.

Check out D&AD’s award-winning LGBTQ+ campaigns celebrating diversity for some snazzy inspiration.

Owning Up 

Sometimes, you can get it wrong. It may not be intentional, but slip-ups can happen. What’s necessary is taking responsibility and addressing the situation.

Campaigns are reactionary, and changing with the times keeps you ahead of the game. Engaging with LGBTQIA+ communities and understanding why a campaign doesn’t vibe well with them shows dedication to improvement.

Evaluate your values. If your ideologies are transparent, your mistakes are easier to identify. It also shows that even if you make mistakes, your goals are to improve and learn from them – everyone likes improvement.

If you’d like to know more about supporting the Pride community throughout the month (and across the year) – check out our other blog here.

It’s Pride time! However, whenever your city celebrates pride, that doesn’t mean we have to wait around until the parties and parades kick off to get involved.

There are several ways you and your business can support the LGBTQIA community right now. Let’s dive into some specific examples that help these societies in all the right ways!

Donate to create

Charities across your local area make all the difference in supporting those impacted due to their identification. The best thing you can do is donate to those charities and keep their continuous strides for change strong.

Whether it’s independently or a collective donation from your team, investing in a charity that resonates with your values is a perfect springboard into a supportive mind frame.

There are so many wonderful charities to choose from too. AllSorts, a charity we support, enables LGBT+ children and young people to develop their voice, influence and place in society. They’re a fantastic organisation we’ve proudly worked alongside – click here to see our work with them.

Perhaps you’d like to share the support organisations far and wide. You can do exactly that with Amazon Smile – a service that allows you to shop through Amazon whilst they donate to your favourite charitable organisation, at no cost to you.

So, get to researching something that matters to you and your team; there’s a charity out there that needs supporting, and you’re the missing piece!

Get Educated!

It’s one thing to support communities; the extra step is understanding why these communities need support. Get yourself educated! Make a day of it and travel to a seminar, lecture or creative event that delves into the topics you’re unfamiliar with.

Queer Frontiers: An Exhibition Celebrating the Work of Ashton Attzs is a multi-site exhibition celebrating the LGBTQ+ Community throughout Brookfield Properties buildings in the City Of London. Ashton is a 24-year-old UK-based painter and illustrator whose work resonates strongly with communities across the spectrum.

Additionally, our friends at AllSorts have a training and education section regarding everything to do with organisations and businesses; tailor-made for companies who want to understand the critical issues and challenges experienced by exploring individuals’ sexual orientation or gender identity.

Put your money where your mouth is

Don’t just preach; splash that cash and make it rain! There are plenty of LGBTQ-owned brands around you can shop through and support financially. The scope of brands owned by the LGBTQ+ community is forever expanding – so explore the ones that dish out those delightful products you’re into.

One of our favourites is the Bokksu Monthly Subscription Box, which delivers authentic Japanese snacks, candies, and teas sourced directly from centuries-old family makers. Not only is Bokksu empowering unheard voices and supporting communities, but it also tastes so so good.

Brand engagement can come from all sorts of places. Your business could promote brands’ products across social media, shouting from the rooftop how great they are. Sometimes, sharing the spotlight and highlighting other companies’ efforts is a great way to get the conversations rolling.

Turn up!

We can’t talk Pride without mentioning all the fab-tastic events across the country. From Brighton’s Pride Parade to LGBTQ+ tours around London – there’s a ton to get stuck into or boogie throughout the day (and night).

Of course, the overall revenue for these events is insane, with Brighton Pride boosting the city’s economy by £20,500,000!

However, it’s just as important to pump revenue into the businesses catering across the events. Take the time to thank, post about and appreciate all the hard-working individuals who aren’t dancing madly in the streets and have the impossible task of serving food to slightly-less-than-sober celebrators.

These small businesses are at the heart of the LGBTQ+ community. Acknowledge their voices and services – they’re a vital piece of community growth and representation.

Take Accountability

More than ever, it’s time to be an ally. For starters, to be supportive at a base level costs absolutely nothing.

As a business, you can use platforms to catalyse conversations, challenge less inclusive branding or highlight the work of talented individuals in the community.

Educate yourself on the importance of these cultures and ensure their voices and identity are represented respectfully throughout branding, be it creative, copy or casting.

And remember, Pride is a celebration; the conversations and communities live on throughout the year alongside everything else. Don’t limit these discussions to 4 weeks only – continuously engage, support and spotlight those in the LGBTQ+ community!

User experience (UX) is a pivotal driving force behind audience engagement. It sounds obvious, but if a product’s accessibility isn’t good, users won’t want to come back and use it again.

Building upon this, accessibility isn’t as simple as everything functioning properly. It’s also about taking extra precautions when marketing to audiences who may find it difficult to use and navigate platforms.

So, how can you make sure everything and everyone are working towards UX being amazing across the board? Let’s dive into how brands are paving the way for greater accessibility.

A brighter, better tomorrow

Media should be accessible for all – but making that a reality takes time and needs careful consideration.

Many brands have started making progress in accessibility via their platforms. For example, Meta added automatic closed captioning and audio-only options to its live-streaming functions – meaning the reach for those services will only increase.

However, as technology continues to get more advanced with what it can accomplish, accessibility experimentation will only grow, especially as the Metaverse begins introducing more unexplored avenues in design.

But, before getting into the nitty-gritty of what needs improving, the first thing to set in order is your values regarding UX and accessibility. Does your brand promote these issues which need improving? Better yet, do you act upon them?

Where’s the issue?

Conducting audience research is one way to understand how users interact with your product and how accessible it is for everyone.

However, an even better option would be having users who struggle with accessibility at the ground level of discussion – which right now doesn’t seem to be the case:

“Recent research findings undertaken by C Space on behalf of The Valuable 500 show that while 88% of corporations claim disability inclusion is important to their business strategy – only 8% regularly include people with disabilities in marketing and communications.”

Perhaps UX improvements would rocket forward if more people with disabilities were contributing to marketing and brand strategies from the get-go, pinpointing where the issues are from both a design and engagement perspective.

Until these changes are made, users won’t engage with your services. In fact, 71% of web users with a disability will leave a website that’s not accessible or user-friendly.

Though we’re still far away from complete inclusivity, there are brands making strides for a brighter UX. Let’s take a look at a few and make some notes on how they’re getting it right!

The right way to do it

Recently, Snapchat partnered with a group of passionate developers and designers from SignAll, a company dedicated to improving communication between users who are deaf and those who can hear.

From this, Snapchat created a new fingerspelling lens through its augmented reality (AR) tools.

The AR lens allows users to sign words which will then replicate on the screen through emoticons and spell out the statement.

Snapchat’s new feature increases social media communication for those hard-of-hearing whilst encouraging users who can hear to engage with sign language in an immersive and creative way.

Kenny Mitchell, Snapchat’s chief marketing officer, stated:

“It’s important to us to make that human-to-human connection possible for everyone in our community, and that’s why we are passionate about fostering linguistic equity between people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and the hearing world.”

With over 15% of the world’s population encountering a disability – it’s essential social media brands provide tools that efficiently allow for all kinds of communication, and Snapchat is heading in the right direction.

Not only has Snapchat shown how creatively engaging and positive accessibility can be on digital platforms, but it also presents itself with strong corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Update: Meta has also just showed off its AI assistant “Builder Bot“, which lets users craft and create virtual worlds in the Metaverse by speaking directly into the mic. Though we still have a long way to go until achieving complete inclusivity across UX, these are definitely the right steps forward.

Celebrating accessibility

Inclusivity doesn’t have to come from the products alone, branded events in which we praise accessibility can also do wonders.

To celebrate improvements in accessibility, writer for Sony Santa Monica, Alanah Pearce, hosted the second annual Video Game Accessibility Awards. Based on guidelines published by the charity, AbleGamers, the event awarded brands for bringing inventive and accessible designs to video games so everyone can enjoy them.

Live-streamed across Youtube and Twitch, the ceremony highlighted how the biggest brands could help spread the importance of UX.

The big winner was Xbox Game Studios, which gained five nominations, including praise for clear and readable text and offering a “training ground” to practice skills and button layout.

The event reached a huge gaming audience, with the Youtube stream of the event gaining 29,383 views.

A great takeaway from these ideas is that you can maximise CSR in several ways – whether it’s making a product more accessible or joining in on the conversation and supporting those who do.

What’s vital is that it feels genuine and realistic; there’s no point preaching about better UX and accessibility without contributing to the cause.

How can you be more accessible?

Looking for some ideas to spark your move into accessible design? You’ve come to the right place!

Here are a few tips to get the UX ball rolling:

Use screen reader software

Also known as text-to-speech, screen readers read out written text on the screen, from text to images!

Twitter brought in new team members to help develop its “voice tweets” function in 2020, helping users who struggle with reading to understand and engage with the platform more conveniently.

However, be cautious of your copy! Screen reader software will read out long stretches of URLs or emojis as a whole, so make sure to use them sparingly. Additionally, avoid emoticons (for example, XD) as text-to-speech won’t recognise these as emojis.

Subtitles and Captioning

Captioning your content is essential for users who are deaf, hard of hearing or have learning disabilities.

Though you can caption and subtitle your own work, there are plenty of tools that automate the process available on the Google Play Store or Apple Store if you search “closed captions”.

According to the BBC, “around 10% of broadcast viewers use subtitles regularly, increasing to 35% for some online content.” – The BBC have a fantastic subtitle guide to read through, which you can view here.

There are more ways subtitles can enhance accessibility; they also assist in the varying ways we consume entertainment. Take commuters, for example; having captions for videos can keep users engaged with your content in busy and booming environments.

Voice Descriptions

For those who have difficulty viewing your content, we’d also recommend producing versions of your content that describe what’s on the screen.

Here’s a quick ‘n easy tip – play your content with your eyes closed. Based on the descriptions alone, is any part of the content missed out?

What’s next?

Though we’ve seen positive changes and developments in accessibility and UX, there’s still plenty of progress to be made.

Whether your products need tweaking, brand values need improving, or marketing made more inclusive, everyone should be on board to make products, media and entertainment accessible to everyone.

Good UX doesn’t just make content accessible for everyone; but from a business perspective, it also increases conversions. Always remember that the needs of the consumer come first, and the conversions will follow.

There’s still so much to discuss regarding UX – we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible. Colour correction, elderly audience accessibility – we’ll be covering it all!

Keep an eye on our LinkedIn page for our next blog drop in our UX and accessibility series.

Until then, if you’d like help improving UX for your platforms, websites and products or want further insights into how accessibility can improve audience engagement – contact our digital team now!

British Airways i360 appoints local award-winning agency, Arke, to spearhead their digital advertising and creative.

Arke Agency and British Airways i360 announced today that the two companies have entered into a partnership that will see Arke act as the integrated advertising agency for the iconic landmark in Brighton.

Arke’s focus will be on raising awareness, driving ticket sales and increasing incremental revenue from BA i360’s varied customer experiences.

“As a Brighton based digital marketing agency, we work closely with businesses of all sizes throughout the local area, so we’re delighted to partner with a landmark that is so recognisable across Brighton and Hove, and further afield,” states Steph Noble, CEO of Arke.

“We will be taking their advertising and creativity to the next level to attract more visitors to the city and boost our local economy.”

“British Airways i360 champions the city it stands in, from the drinks available in their Nyetimber Sky Bar through to being a Living Wage employer, which is an ethos that we share with them. So, for them to partner with a local agency such as ourselves, further extends that mission. We’re delighted to be on the journey with them as they head into an exciting future.”

Anna Prior, Head of Marketing at British Airways i360, says: “We are thrilled to be working with a local digital marketing agency that embodies the same core values as us. During the selection process, Arke clearly demonstrated their passion for both the i360 and for promoting our wonderful city of Brighton.  We look forward to our journey with Arke in delivering exciting new campaigns for existing and new customers”.

Speaking on the first day of the Adobe Max conference, Tasha Lutfi, Principal Design Director at Microsoft and co-founder of Women in Design, discussed how diverse teams can spark creativity in a company, whilst highlighting crucial hurdles that need addressing in the workspace.

Why Diversity Matters

Referring to research Design Senses conducted in 2019, Lutfi addressed that women make up 61% of the design industry. However, only 11% of leadership roles in the design world are occupied by women.

What makes these statistics even more shocking is when you take into account women make $0.80 to the dollar a man does, which means the majority of the design industry is being paid less than the minority…

This is clearly a problem we need to challenge. Lutfi emphasises that efforts towards diversity could net the IT industry revenue that equates to $400 billion a year!

The issue right now is that the door of opportunity is not open for everyone. Those who aren’t represented in the workplace lack role models, mentors, career support or awareness in issues surrounding diversity.

Diversity & Creativity

These statistics make no sense when you look at how diverse and creative communities improve and innovate companies.

Lutfi emphasised that companies with diverse cultures have a 975% appreciation for equality value. On the contrary, institutions with poor diversity experience 18% lower productivity and more errors.

Furthermore, a significant factor for millennials deciding on their career path is an environment with a great culture, including diversity. In fact, it’s their number 1 decision-maker.

The Lifecycle of Diversity

Maintaining a respectful mindset about culture and diversity in the workplace should be at the forefront within the creative industry, but it’s not where it begins.

Nurturing people’s unique independence through education (secondary, further and higher) allows for authenticity in a creative voice; it allows people to express freely and, as a result, opens up new avenues for companies to explore narratively.

Lutfi puts it best, “a product reflects the team that creates it”.

Sparking a Change

Lutfi highlights 3 key points that can elevate diversity within the creative community.

Be aware. Listen and learn; immerse yourself in someone else’s shoes, give them the chance to tell their story.

Be a voice. Speak up when you see something wrong. Saying nothing is part of the problem; if we don’t support those communities who struggle to be heard, there will be no progress.

Be a guide. If you’re in a position of power, use your authority to bring more people to the table. Invite those unheard to the discussion; they could bring something new to the project you never dreamt of.

This is a mindset we should all embrace.

These are just a few of the highlights we took from Tasha’s Adobe Max session. Tasha Lutfi is an exceptional narrator and storyteller, and we’d highly recommend signing up and streaming the seminar (which you can do so by clicking here.)

Be sure to continue checking out the Arke News page throughout the week, as we’ll be posting more insight that we’ve gleaned from Adobe Max week!

Bite-Sized Learning Session

We were delighted to be invited by Brighton Chamber to host a “Bite-Sized Learning Session” to help Brighton and Sussex-based businesses supercharge their brands using social media.

A huge thank you to all those who attended – a major part of what we do is focused around Brighton, so we’re always delighted to be able to support our local Brighton business community. We’re thrilled to have received some brilliant feedback, but we’re not done just yet…

We thought it’d be beneficial to share some of the key takeaways that our presenters took attendees through, so you can apply them to your own social media efforts.

Social Media Channel Breakdown

Facebook

With over 2.79 billion people using Facebook globally, and 79.9% of that number being mobile-only users, it presents a huge opportunity to hit your target audience.

Firstly, post with intent! Decide what you’re going to post and when, and stick to it. Being confident and consistent with your posts will not only keep you stress-free but also present your brand as a reliable and stable source.

Additionally, Facebook is a great platform for customer service. People expect replies within minutes and Facebook enables you to do this without any additional widgets attached.

Useful Tools for Facebook:

• Facebook Pixel – Installing a pixel on your page allows you to collect data about who is visiting your site and allows you to retarget those users later within Facebook. Plus, it gives you the bonus of accessing lookalike audiences. To find out more about Facebook Pixel, click here.
•  In addition to Pixels, it’s beneficial to use Custom Audiences on the site too. By doing this, you can retarget users who have watched your videos, interacted with your posts, or followed your page, to name a few.

Instagram

Here in the UK, 71% of businesses use Instagram and with 1.074 billion users globally, if you’re not using Instagram to promote your business, what are you doing?!

Our first top tip would be to post content that is consistent with your brand personality. When users land on your Instagram page, they should be able to identify exactly what your brand is and what you stand for.

As well as this, we encourage user-generated content (UGC). When users share posts that feature your brand, they expose your brand to their audience. When you share the user-generated content on your account, you give credibility to your brand.

In a recent Instagram case study, 75% of the participants said that UGC makes a brand more authentic.

Top Tips for Instagram

Instagram offers a wide variety of features for you to use and promote your content with. Instagram Stories, videos, Reels, and Carousel Ads are a few we’d highlight but the list goes on!

Just remember, 98.8% of users access Instagram with their mobile devices, so designing content that caters to mobile should be front and centre of everything that you do on Instagram.

Twitter

In the last 12 months, 82% of B2B content marketers used Twitter for organic content marketing due to the platform having 187 million monetisable daily active users. Needless to say, Twitter is a great platform to market your business on.

Twitter Tips

Twitter is all about conversation and engagement. When you’re selling products or services, you don’t want to be scrolled past instantly. To avoid this, we’d recommend not trying to sell all the time – don’t just advertise, open discussions, and be in conversation with your audience.

There are two sides to all conversations – speaking and listening. Keep your ears open on Twitter. Learn about your competition, gain feedback on your products or services. It’s a perfect platform and opportunity to understand what your customers’ needs and wants are.

Lastly, when it comes to marketing on Twitter, Promoted Tweets are the most common method of advertising, consisting of creating a tweet and sponsoring it. Promoted Tweets are a terrific way of generating, increasing brand awareness, and promoting your products.

LinkedIn

Being the most trusted online social network, with over 55 million companies using the site, LinkedIn is an essential tool in your armoury when it comes to social media.

LinkedIn Suggestions

Within LinkedIn lives LinkedIn Analytics (each channel has its own analytics suite) which allows users to see who follows you, how they found you, and what the most engaging pieces of content are on your page, amongst a whole host of other metrics.

In terms of advertising, there is a range of different ways in which you can advertise on LinkedIn, such as:

• Sponsored Content – “Native Ads” that show up in the feed.

• Sponsored Messaging – Directly advertising to users through their inboxes.

• Text Ads – Ads that appear on the top and right-hand side of the desktop feed.

•  Dynamic Ads – Ads that appear on the right-hand side of LinkedIn and are personalised.

By using a variety of these marketing techniques, you’ll be well on your way to creating a strong supportive journey for the audience’s awareness, consideration, and conversion stages of brand engagement in LinkedIn.

TikTok

Last (but certainly not least), we have the newcomer to the social media family – TikTok. Whilst it’s the youngest of all the platforms listed, TikTok has exploded since its initial release in 2017. With over 2 billion downloads globally, TikTok is a serious contender amongst these social media giants. Alongside this, users under 24 (which is 76% in the UK) spend an average of 1 hour and 14 minutes using the app every day – so users are seriously engaged.

We like to say that TikTok is all about experimentation. It wants you to create, to play, to interact. It’s a tool for creativity. Marketing on this channel is new and exciting, and with that comes a number of intriguing ways to advertise on TikTok.

TikTok Tips

TikTok is a great channel for creating trust between you and your audience. It allows brands to present themselves as an individual and not a faceless company.

A great example of a brand utilising TikTok’s personal touch is The Washington Post.

Dave Jorgenson, the face and ambassador of The Washington Post’s TikTok account pitched the idea of the platform being a great way to get younger people to trust and get to know the brand. Instead of reporting news on their page, The Washington Post account creates videos centreed around their office life and behind-the-scenes clips of what they’re up to, usually in a humorous manner.

This tactic has proven to work pretty well for The Washington Post, as their TikTok page has accumulated over 997.3k followers and 42.3 million likes – pretty impressive for a newspaper with an average reader age that would typically not be viewed as TikTok’ers.

TikTok is rapidly growing and offers an array of advertising tactics for you to use – with more being released all the time.

If you’d like to read more about how to unlock TikTok’s content and engagement potential, take a look at the blog we published on exactly that topic: https://arkeagency.com/news/tiktok-unlock-its-content-engagement-potential/.

Thanks, and Feedback

That’s just a slice of what we offered at our Bite-Sized Learning Session. A huge thank you to Brighton Chamber for inviting us to speak.

Through the session, we encouraged attendees to make use of social media, and we saw some brilliant engagement…thank you to all the willing participants!

We’ve also received some wonderful feedback from those who joined us:

Thanks Mike & Ben – great session!

Thank you, great session

So helpful, thanks guys!

Thank you

Thank you Mike and Ben!  V useful

Thank you so much, a really good presentation and very informative.

Many thanks, Mike and Ben. Great overview and lots of practical tips 🙂

Wrap up

As we’ve said several times already, a huge thank you to all who attended. We love working with the local Brighton business community and being able to deliver a session on something we’re so passionate about was a brilliant experience.

If you missed the session, hopefully, this blog has been useful and has given you some tips and tricks to supercharge your social media. You can keep up to date with all the different events that Brighton Chamber has to offer by visiting their website: https://www.brightonchamber.co.uk/

If you’d like help with your paid social, brand engagement, or guidance in supercharging your social media, get in touch with our social media whizzes.

From #MeToo to Black Lives Matter, social issues have occupied a large amount of the news and our consciousness over recent years. It’s becoming more and more common for brands to take a stand on social issues, and consumers are expecting it.

According to a 2018 survey by Sprout Social, 66% of consumers said that it’s important for brands to take public stands on social and political issues, whilst 57% of consumers are more likely to buy from or boycott a company because of its stance on a social or political issue.

A 2017 study, “Beyond No Brand’s Land”, found that 51% of respondents believe that brands have more power to solve social issues than the government, and that number has grown throughout 2020 thanks to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Never before have brands held so much influence over societal changes. Never before have brands had such an opportunity to drive change and make a difference. Never before have brands had the ability to raise awareness of issues that fundamentally align with their values. Whilst it might be stepping into the unknown and into an uncomfortable realm for some, in this blog post, we examine three brand campaigns that took a stand on social issues that reflect their core values and missions.

Lush: Spycops

Lush is a beauty/cosmetic store that sells soaps, shampoos and bath bombs. The company has regular activity in both eco and animal-cruelty circles, and in June 2018 launched their “Spycops” campaign, raising awareness of the emotional fallout and scandal caused by the raising and adopting of children whilst officers operated undercover.

Due to the sensitive nature of the subject and clear stance that Lush was taking, each individual store was given the option to opt-out of the campaign…once launched, the campaign was met with extreme backlash and counter campaigns such as #flushlush. There was an undeniable risk of the campaign being taken out of context, as it appeared in some stores before the actual campaign had launched.

Lush witnessed a 2321% spike in Twitter mentions within 24 hours of the campaign being launched, with 67% of those being negative. In comparison usually, 80% of Lush’s mentions are positive, which equates to approximately 800 people a day. Even in a time of extreme backlash, they achieved a record number of positive mentions, totalling 6,000 a day. 7 days after launch, Lush’s Twitter account was still experiencing a 700% increase in mentions, with a ratio of 5,800 positive to 1,400 negative.

An audience analysis of #flushlush showed that users had nothing in common with existing Lush followers, and, although the campaign received a fair amount of backlash, it was received well by their existing customers, and led to a 13% increase in sales.

Although this was a one-off campaign, it highlighted a social issue that fed into Lush’s ethos and brand values.

Nike: Believe in something

Nike is an American company that is the world’s largest supplier of athletic shoes and clothes and is hence one of the most well-known companies around the world and has a myriad of celebrity sports sponsorships. The company employs more than 75,400 people worldwide and was valued in excess of $20 billion in 2020, making it the most valuable brand among sports businesses.

Their core values are performance, authenticity, innovation and sustainability, whilst their mission is: “what drives us to do everything possible to expand human potential. We do that by creating groundbreaking sport innovations, by making our products more sustainably, by building a creative and diverse global team and by making a positive impact in communities where we live and work.”

The “Believe in Something” campaign was about more than shoe sales; it was about cultural relevance and social impact. The star of the campaign was NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who had raised awareness of police brutality towards African Americans by ‘taking the knee’ during the national anthem before NFL games. Kaepernick was soon dropped by the San Francisco 49ers and there was a national backlash aimed at him and those who joined him in the protest after.

The advertising campaign’s tagline was “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything”.

Nike’s shares fell almost instantly by $3.6 billion (3%) when Colin Kaepernick posted the video, and, as would be expected, the campaign generated a divided response. On one hand, it gained traction for highlighting the racial inequalities present in America, whilst on the other hand, some people viewed it as him disrespecting the national anthem and being “un-American”, therefore depicting Nike as “un-American”. One post of someone burning Nike trainers on Twitter gained over 50,000 likes and 45,000 retweets…

In the first 72 hours after the advertising campaign launched, there were more than 5.2 million mentions of the brand on social media. Nike received more than $43 million worth of media exposure in the first 24 hours after the campaign was released, made over $6 billion in sales and saw online sales grow by 31% within the first week, compared to a 17% increase the year before.

62% of people aged between 18 and 34 (Nike’s core target market) believed that athletes were “doing the right thing” by standing up for what they believe in.

Airbnb: #weaccept

Airbnb was founded in San Francisco and offers arrangements for lodging, primarily homestays and tourism experiences. Their mission is: “to help create a world where you can belong anywhere and where people can live in a place, instead of just travelling to it.” Airbnb’s values include:

Champion the mission
Be a host
Simplify
Every frame matters
Be a cereal entrepreneur
Embrace the adventure

In 2017, just nine days after President Trump signed an order to temporarily close America’s borders to refugees, Airbnb aired an ad during the Super Bowl in direct response to the decision. Super Bowl ads cost millions of dollars just to secure the ad space and typically feature celebrities and humour to capture the attention of the millions watching at home, so this is a significant shift from what viewers would normally expect to see during the ad breaks.

After airing the Super Bowl ad, the campaign continued with paid media across Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to boost the reach of their message. The campaign announced Airbnb’s pledge to provide housing relief to 100,000 people in need over the next 5 years and to donate $4M to the International Rescue Committee over the next 4 years.

On Twitter, #weaccept was the #1 used advertiser hashtag during the Super Bowl, generating over 33,000 tweets during the first half of the game, more than any other advertiser, with an overwhelmingly positive sentiment.

Airbnb saw a 13% increase in site visitors from the US and Canada in the week following the Super Bowl, and the call to the public to open their homes to displaced people has resulted in 15,400 total volunteer host signups to date.

What does this mean for you?

Taking a stand on social and political issues that your brand and your audience shares will create brand trust. What does your audience stand for and how can you live by and demonstrate those values?
Taking a stand can resonate with your audience tribes and help create a community around your brand that might be difficult to cultivate otherwise.
Taking a stand can help to refine your target audience. Those who don’t believe in the stand that you’re taking will go elsewhere and you will be left with high engagers and people who share your values. If you truly believe in the cause that you’re fighting for, then you want your customers to come along on the journey with you too.
Be careful – don’t be fake, make sure you completely align with it.
If you don’t have anything to say on a social issue or if it doesn’t feel right, take a step back, examine your brand values and cement those pillars.

If you’d like to talk about brand strategy with one of our friendly experts click below.

2019 was a fantastic year for us at Arke Agency & our clients.

Never one to blow our own trumpet  but we’re really proud of what we achieved within 2019, absolutely sterling effort from all involved 

Check out the highlights below in our short wrap up video and accompanying infographic.

If you want to do something awesome in 2020, click here to get in touch!

As part of our ‘Meet the Arkenauts’ series we asked our Operations Executive, Jen, to share her recent experience of public speaking and pitching training, something which we encouraged the whole team to get actively involved with.

Meet Jen

I’m sure most people get a similar mental picture when they hear the words “Public Speaking Training”. For me, it’s a grey room, grey vending machine coffee, and an introductory exercise that will require me to (frantically) come up with three interesting facts about myself (a stretch).

It was difficult for me, at first, to see how public speaking training was going to benefit me, especially as I am in a non-client facing role. Similarly, for many employers the question is often – is this going to be a worthwhile investment? Recently a group of colleagues and I bravely embarked on our own Public Speaking Training, and I’d like to share with you three reasons why it was a brilliant decision for us and the business.

A Confidence Boost

The most surprising take away for all of us from the workshop was renewed confidence. I was prepared to make a fool of myself, but the workshop leader helped us to understand how subjective our perceptions of ourselves can be. It is no secret that most of us are our own worst critics, and the workshop environment provided a great opportunity to give and receive objective positive feedback. For many of us, we realised that our worries about how we present or pitch ideas are totally unfounded. I, for example, was sure that everyone could see my hands shaking, but was delighted when no one noticed – and in fact, thought I came across very confident. Facilitating this kind of positive experience where people build each other up is a way employers can take an active role in empowering employees not only to engage clients but to have the charisma and presence to inspire each other to reach business goals.

Improved Communication

Whether or not employers realise it, their employees are public speakers every day. Whether they are on the phone to clients or conversing with each other within or across departments, the ability to communicate in a simple and effective way has the potential to improve efficiency and speed up processes tenfold. There is also an often-overlooked creative benefit – collaboration and sharing ideas is essential to the development of a business, so employees pitching ideas clearly and bouncing ideas around is crucial. Public Speaking Training is not just for client-facing employees, it can provide all employees with the ability to communicate in a more successful way.

A Refreshed Perspective

One of our values as a business is to be curious. This means questioning known knowns. Before taking part in this Public Speaking workshop I had a particular set of ideas about how to deliver a pitch. These ideas were governed by a set of “rules” concerning the way I should speak, look and even stand. Taking part in this workshop smashed my perception of the “rules” and opened my eyes to different ways to approach public speaking. We learnt that delivering an effective pitch doesn’t require you to impress or intimidate with knowledge, but that actually the key to engaging listeners is to talk to them in the same way you would talk to a friend, conversational, authentic and real.

We all left the workshop revitalised and excited to put what we had learnt into practice. Looking to the future, we now have under our belts improved methods and modes of communicating with clients and each other, a newfound confidence to pursue opportunities for presenting and sharing ideas and a fresh viewpoint that when trying to connect with and inspire others, often the best way is by breaking the rules. Public Speaking Training? Arke approved.

If you’d like to find out more about how we help our clients, what we stand for and what makes us different – check out our other blog posts or contact one of our friendly experts.