THE BLOG

10
Jan
7 Steps To A More Effective CV – For Internship/Graduate Positions

7 Steps To A More Effective CV – For Internship/Graduate Positions

A very happy new year folks!

I hope you are all as incredibly excited about this new year and decade as I am. Speaking of New Years, this time for us at the loft means our inbox starts to become full with CVs, cover letters and folios from students looking for internships or even graduates looking for their first full-time job. We’ve received hundreds, if not thousands, of these in the past, each with different levels of effectiveness, so we thought we’d share a quick guide to help those of you preparing your CV right now.  

1. Know who you’re applying too

Before starting to prepare your CV, it’s worth taking the time to better understand who you’re applying too. A branding agency that has a fun people-focussed culture, a digital company which is always looking to the future or an academic organisation which values research – each requires different approaches and involves you showing a slightly different side of your personality. Writing and designing your CV with this in mind, will greatly enhance your chances of being replied too, gaining an interview or even being given a trial. 

2. Save multiple versions of your CV

As mentioned, it’s important to know who you are applying too. In all likelihood, your CV is going to have to be used multiple times and be sent to lots of different people. So, we recommend keeping multiple versions of your CV for different occasions – most of the information will be roughly the same but it is useful to have different layouts or versions which include different skills or experiences. 

3. Prioritise your values, skills and experiences.

I’m sorry to say that a CV only really has a few short moments to make an impression so get across the most relevant information as promptly as possible – in this case – your values, the capabilities that are most valuable to whom you’re applying and the experiences which they are most likely to find interesting.  

On a separate note, if you are a student supporting your studies by working somewhere like Tesco, Subway or McDonalds, etc – it really is to be admired and your self-dependancy should be applauded. However, consider carefully where you position this information – or if you include it at all. With so much different information to be given – there just might not be the space. 

Which leads us nicely to…

4. Keep Your CV Concise

The first impression of your CV should be that it looks like a document that a stranger would want to read. Or even better – ask yourself the question if you had a little time – would you want to read such a document?

In practical terms – this really means including it all onto one side of A4. As stated above – pick the most relevant information, intelligent formatting can be your friend and leave some things for the interview. 

5. Personal Statement

One of the biggest challenges you are likely to have is standing out so one of the best ways you can differentiate yourself is by writing a paragraph, a couple of sentences or even a few words as a personal statement.

There are many different ways you can do this – and ultimately no right way – but it should be more about who you are as opposed to what you do.

A couple of good examples are below..

‘My superpower is my smile, as well as my sensitivity and passion for great visual design.’

Or…

‘A results-oriented, ethical and highly adaptable individual with a drive to effectuate lasting positive social change in Scotland.’

There are many different approaches and it’s worth mentioning that professional LinkedIn summaries are a great source of inspiration for personal statements.

6. Print Make A Difference

Again, when it comes to standing out,  you should take every opportunity available to you. This means that if you are able to do so – have your CV and cover letter printed and sent on high-quality paper. 

Quite simply, it will make more of an impression than a digital CV.

However, please ignore this advice if a company is asking for a ‘Digital Application’ only. 

7. Mention what you have to offer – be specific, personal or even humorous

Finally, when asking for something, it is always useful to mention what you have to offer in return for the job, place or internship you are seeking. So take the time to mention this in your cover letter and for those that want to go the extra mile – be specific, personal or even humorous – it is a human-being that is reading your CV after all. 

  • A designer, photographer and videographer all-in-one.
  • The best meme-creator in the West of Scotland.
  • The only person who knows how to use TikTok
  • Or if all else fails… ‘The humble person who’s happy to learn and will make the tea for everyone. 

7 short steps that will make a difference. Best of luck with those CVs and don’t hesitate to let me know how you get on and please get in touch if you have any questions?

For you creatives out there – keep an eye out for a similar post on Portfolios.

Benedetto

 

 

 

 

04
Dec
LOFTCAST Episode 2, ‘Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things with Brian Williamson’

LOFTCAST Episode 2, ‘Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things with Brian Williamson’

We are absolutely thrilled and delighted to present the second in our LOFTCAST series this week. For those, that aren’t in the know, this video and audio podcast features high-impact, transformative and radical thinking individuals who are rapidly changing the world in which we live today. For the second episode, our founder Benedetto Bordone interviewed Scottish entrepreneur, investor and multiple-award winner Brian Williamson who talks to us about ‘Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things.’

In a wide-ranging interview, Brian speaks about his up-bringing, the tremendous success of R&D Tax Credit specialists Jumpstart and how his early experiences as a manager in a factory in the highly unionised 70s and 80’s shaped his career for the better. He gives some great insights into how he has been able to effectively engage, energise and create more efficient workforces, his passion for entrepreneurship, how the significance and benefits of a 4 day work week with current company 4icg is shaping their success and finally how receiving ‘the yellow card’ (cancer) has affected his outlook and the changes he’s made since going into remission. There is also a special Q&A at the end of the interview with questions from the Scottish Business Community.

This film is rich with advice, stories and experiences from Brian’s past, present and future. It is absolutely perfect for people who are looking to develop a more entrepreneurial mindset, for business leadership, for managing people at work and anybody with a desire for personal development to become more successful with their careers.

Finally, we’ve taken the entire interview and divided it into 27 mini-films that seamlessly flow from one to another, so you can pick and choose those that are most relevant to yourself.

We hope you enjoy watching this series as much as we’ve enjoyed producing it for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bte2pk4PWZs&list=PLIM9y7uEvauiT4TN6m8tipHvweMPKAb6V
15
Sep
From Brand Communication to Brand Experience, A Subtle Shift…

From Brand Communication to Brand Experience, A Subtle Shift…

We’ve been having a good look at ourselves at the loft recently – thinking about our values, our culture and where we want to be in the next 18 months or so, a great exercise..

One of the things we’re most excited about is the subtle shift of what our company does from Brand Communication to Creating Brand Experiences For People.

What’s the Difference?

Well communication means engaging people on one level whereas producing an experience is much more profound, encouraging of creativity and most importantly – is effective for the client.

In practice, the services remain the same, and the way we do them to a certain extent too. But we now build on those details which make a difference. The magic touches that create an experience – more creative print techniques, better paper-sourcing for brochures, websites with buttons that people want to press, campaigns that are more dialogue and less broadcast, brand marks which truly capture the imagination, etc.

As stated, all things we’re already doing but with a greater emphasis on surprise, delight and a proper commitment to the end-user experience.

Benedetto

29
Aug

Dr Iain MacRitchie, MCR Pathways and the LOFTCAST Video Podcast Production

Some of you may or may not know but the loft released its first ever video podcast production last month called loftcast, yes we like that title too. The loftcast is a brand new series designed to help individuals with big goals, ambitions and aspirations fulfil them by sharing the experiences of other high-impact people. Those who have seen it, done it and are now ready to talk about it. The first in our series seen us interview Dr Iain MacRitchie, a hugely successful commercial entrepreneur who is helping disadvantaged young people through his charity MCR Pathways. They really don’t come much more high-impact!

You can see the full interview on YouTube at http://theloft.video/loftcast

However, for those of you that are a little in a hurry check out these smaller clips of the interview.

Enjoy!

Benedetto

 

1. Introduction
Introducing a leader, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Iain has delivered over £500 Million in shareholder value, overseen a 6-fold increase in company profits and received international acclaim for the 18+ organisations he’s worked with. All of which, he states, pales into insignificance compared to the ‘challenge of a lifetime’ in supporting disadvantaged young people to realise their potential despite circumstances. 2000 young people supported so far with a plan to reach 5000.

 

 

 

 

2. MCR Pathways
Introducing MCR Pathways, a transformational programme supporting young people through the education system to make sure their talent defines them and not their circumstances.

 

 

 

 

3. A Journey From Commercial To Social Entrepreneur
From making money to making a difference, how a restless journey of goal-setting, being on the edge of the comfort zone and an ultimate search for satisfaction has led Iain to doing what he does today.

 

 

 

 

4. Creating Positive Change
How success is down to persuasion – persuading others that a change is the right thing to do and coming out your own head to understand, help and eventually lead others to success.

 

 

 

 

5. Being Comfortable With Failure
How thinking, dwelling and eventually boxing-off failure, or the fear of the unknown, in your mind can lead to freedom.

 

 

 

 

6. From A Mindset Of Failure To Success
From defining the best version of something to understanding where you are now and creating the steps in-between can lead to real transformations.

 

 

 

 

7. Removing Uncertainty
How uncertainty takes the wind out of everything and the importance of understanding – then removing it – for the success of your venture. All starting with a thought-process.

 

 

 

 

8. Creating The Best Version of Something
How there are sparks in everybody and the right combination of Motivation, Commitment and Resilience – can lead a person to become the best version of themselves.

 

 

 

 

9. Turnaround Professional Of The Year to Bust! (ALMOST)
How an unforgettable evening for Iain at the Savoy London, with 2 major award wins, almost went sour.

 

 

 

 

10. MCR – Motivation, Commitment and Resilience
How connecting Motivation, Commitment and Resilience can become the chemistry of change and propel individuals, teams and organisations to real and lasting change.

 

 

 

 

11. Bridging Vision With Reality
What do we want it to be? What is it right now? And what do we do in between?

 

 

 

 

12. Transformational Impact of MCR Pathways Mentoring
From 48.8% of young people progressing to University, College or University over a three-year period to 83%. Ridiculously effective but with simplicity at its heart.

 

 

 

 

13. Creating Sustainable Change
How spending time with those that need it and applying MCR principles has led to a more sustainable form of change – both in organisations and with young people.

 

 

 

 

14. Liam’s Story
From 4 years behind at school to a degree, job, home ownership and now mentoring others alongside his new wife – The Ripple Effect.

 

 

 

 

15. Realising Potential Despite Circumstances
How giving individuals the way, the choice and support can lead to freedom.

 

 

 

 

16. Testing Yourself & Challenging Habits
You don’t know what you’re capable off until you’re on the edges of your comfort zone.

 

 

 

 

17. The Future Of MCR Pathways
How Iain wants every single young person, close to the care-system or with social work involvement, to have MCR Mentoring as a right. And for the model to be introduced in every Western economy too. Dead Easy!

 

 

 

 

18. The Future For Iain
How sharing MCR’s techniques wherever they can be applied – institutions, organisations and even countries – gives us a glimpse into Iain’s future.

Thanks for taking the time to watch Iain. If you enjoyed our first video podcast production then, why not check out our second…  ‘Brian Williamson, Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things.’ >>> 

 

13
May

A shout-out to the successful ones…

It’s been sooo gratifying to hear about some of our clients successes recently. I ended the week last Friday on the train looking at LinkedIn on my phone and seen that one of our customer-experience clients had just won a competitive pitch to represent a global brand – nationally.

Another pitch win for a company that is doing remarkably well. We helped with the opening stages of the design of that pitch which included some pretty late-nights, 11th hour changes and one or two deck overhauls to get it into shape. To see that they had finally got it over the line a few months later was truly wonderful.

This comes at a time when many of our clients are expanding internationally, recruiting new people, opening offices, winning awards and experiencing phenomenal growth.

‘Partnership’ is something we take seriously at the loft – taking responsibility for the success of projects whether a task falls within our remit or not. It can be harder, at times, much harder. But in the end, it is also so much more rewarding and mutually beneficial.

So a quick shout-out to those who are knocking it out the park and for those that aren’t YET. We promise to do more!

Benedetto

Benedetto is an enthusiastic Creative and Business person.

‘Design with soul’ may be the company tag-line, but to Benedetto, it is also a way of life. He believes that creative and commercial enterprise is about purity of thought, honesty of construction and boldness of execution.

He believes in bringing out the true essence of human endeavour and considers his job of articulating the great work of people and companies an absolute privilege.

His journey has taken him from a career in car design through to his current role as the Founder and Creative Director of the loft, a branding consultancy in Glasgow.

He is honoured to manage a great team, work with great clients and have a lot of fun mixing with so many great people in business

 

27
Apr
7 Years, happy birthday the loft…

7 Years, happy birthday the loft…

It’s kind of unbelievable to think, but on the 27th of April 2012, I got the Companies House certificates e-mailed from our accountant and the loft was officially born.

7 years ago today.

It’s been an incredible journey and if somebody had told me what the future would hold, I would have thought they were absolutely mad! So I wanted to take a moment and celebrate the 7 best things about the journey so far. Here they are, in no particular order..

1. Friendships

Some say you shouldn’t mix business with friendship. I honestly don’t think you can have a business which doesn’t have true friendship at the heart of it – particularly in the services sector. I’m truly humbled and honoured with the friendships we have made in the last seven years – clients, partners, suppliers, some of our old staff and even people we’ve just happened to meet along the way. We’ve had friends lend us office space when we didn’t have a home, we’ve been paid early at times by people who wanted to help and we’ve been the beneficiaries of some great advice too.

To give an example of just how amazing our friends are… A few weeks ago, I was discussing a challenge we were having with a lawyer friend and old client. In addition to some good advice, he ended our coffee meeting by asking ‘what’s your mailing address?’ and one day later I received the absolutely amazing ‘Shoe Dog,’ the biography of Phil Knight, the founder of Nike in the post – an Amazon Prime gift. The most incredible gesture from a wonderful person and we’ve been blessed to have experienced so many of these in the last 7 years. People really are good, full stop.

2. Mentors

Mentors are great, they provide inspiration and a pathway to a better tomorrow and I’ve been so lucky over the years with the ones I’ve had. Lots of people have mentored me in some small way but I’ve also been fortunate to have three ‘kind of’ official mentors too. All three are business owners, all are incredibly successful and titans in their own ways. I can’t tell you how much wisdom, support and great ideas I’ve had from all three of them.

3. Values

There is nothing better than making a living from just being yourself and I’m so proud that the loft has an abundance of great values and lived them to the max too. Everything from pushing the limits of what is possible, to giving great ideas energy to grow, to doing more than you’re paid for, to treating clients like partners not customers, giving something back, finding the beautiful in the seemingly mundane and taking ‘Action’ at every opportunity. There are just so many and we’re at our very best when we live them in the truest way possible.

4. Great Work

We have done some staggeringly good work over the years, and again it goes way beyond what I’m personally capable off, something thats been truly satisfying. Branding projects packed with meaning to infographics that are almost works of art to brochures that are so inviting that you have to read what’s inside. Soooo many great projects and we invest so much time, effort and energy to painstakingly get it right time and time again and without this it just wouldn’t be worth doing. ‘Design With Soul’ IS more than a tag-line, IT IS a way of life.

5. Learning & Limits

You don’t really learn anything until you jump in and test your limits and boy have we jumped in at times. Some times we’ve got hurt, some times it’s been sore but each time we’ve gained something of incredible value. The kind of experience school can’t teach and money can’t buy.

6. Teamwork

We’ve been fortunate to work with some outstanding creatives – both in the team and also contractors and it is their contribution which really should be celebrated. Each of them have given and developed thousands of ideas, some of them absolutely mind-blowing and it is their energy that has helped our hundreds of clients over the past 7 years to achieve their outcomes using design and branding. They are the giants whose shoulders we stand on to make us taller as a company, a creative provider and as a brand.

7. Gratitude

This whole post is a little bit of an acceptance speech but it is worth mentioning again. I am just so grateful to the people that have helped, and you know who you are. But I am even more grateful to have had this experience, it has truly been a blessing. Every day I wake up – sometimes insanely early, sometimes with virtually no sleep, sometimes running on empty – but I just absolutely love what I do. I really love it in a way that words can’t describe. Helping people bring brilliant ideas to life is the most rewarding profession in the world and I’ll happily do it until the day I die.

Or at least for another 7 years.

Happy birthday the loft…

Benedetto

Benedetto is an enthusiastic Creative and Business person.

‘Design with soul’ may be the company tag-line, but to Benedetto, it is also a way of life. He believes that creative and commercial enterprise is about purity of thought, honesty of construction and boldness of execution.

He believes in bringing out the true essence of human endeavour and considers his job of articulating the great work of people and companies an absolute privilege.

His journey has taken him from a career in car design through to his current role as the Founder and Creative Director of the loft, a branding consultancy in Glasgow.

He is honoured to manage a great team, work with great clients and have a lot of fun mixing with so many great people in business

 

25
Jul
Sergio Marchionne 1952 – 2018

Sergio Marchionne 1952 – 2018

Heroes. Most people grow out of them quite quickly but as I’ve got older I’ve more and more embraced that part of me that remains eternally youthful. I have sporting heroes, design heroes and today I’m absolutely devastated at the loss of my business hero – Sergio Marchionne.

Sergio Marchionne represents every value and ideal that I hold dear – courage, strength, drive, humanity, the desire for a better tomorrow, the knowledge we can shape it and above all else – the belief in the impossible.

In an incredibly packed career, he saved two massive car companies from bankruptcy – Fiat and Chrysler, turning them into great companies, allowing hundreds of thousands of people to keep or obtain employment, he turned Ferrari into the most valuable car company on the planet and sorted the F1 Team as well.

More than that, he was famous for doing it all on 5 hours sleep a night, drinking far too many espressos a day, chain-smoking and refusing to wear anything but a black sweater. I never had the privilege of meeting him but he sounded like an absolutely amazing man.

I am unbelievably sad at his passing and feel a bit robbed of what was yet to come. However, those emotions pale into insignificance compared to the incredible gratitude I have for the inspiration, an inspiration which I’m sure will last a lifetime.

Sergio Marchionne

Thank you, rest in peace.

Benedetto

27
Oct
‘Soaring Spirits’

‘Soaring Spirits’

Spirit’s an interesting concept – intangible, unquantifiable, easier to feel than properly articulate. Every now and then you can experience it at its strongest – a football match where your team score at the last minute, a gig where your favourite band just kill it on stage and tonight at the Kelvingrove where the kids from MCR Pathways have just wowed us with an amazing music and drama performance.

For those that aren’t in the know, ‘Young Glasgow Talent by MCR Pathways’ is an organisation that helps young people unlock their talent. The organisation teams up with schools and provides mentors to students, some of whom, have had the most ridiculously difficult starts to life. The organisation has an exceptional record (over 700 young people supported, 15 schools participating, 800 plus mentors and 1321 volunteers registered – and all in a very short space of time.)

Tonight was the Creative Showcase, we had the great and good of Glasgow out in their many, we had the launch of a painting by the world class Gerard M Burns and it was all hosted in the most magnificent of settings – The Glasgow Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

However, all of that pales into insignificance when compared to the soaring spirits of the young people who thrilled, entertained and moved us from the stage tonight.

Where do you start?

The evening was kicked off with an incredibly moving drama performance of the students just oh-so gently reminding us a little of what they had been through before kicking into a wonderfully moving cover of Bruno Mars’ ‘Just The Way You Are.’

We were treated to the story of Gerard Burn’s painting and how some of the students had contributed to its creation – the painting itself really is something.

And the evening was concluded by the incredible Mya, a 14 years-old singer-songwriter who confessed on stage that she suffers from autism and anxiety, but whose renditions of ‘Firefly’ and ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ left the audience absolutely stunned of the sheer potency of a 14-year old voice.

What amazing things can happen when talent is unlocked!

She mentioned she was looking to get her Facebook fanbase over 1000 and if you happen to be reading – check out https://www.facebook.com/MBmusicProductions/.

It’s definitely worth a like.

Individual talent aside, what is even more impressive is the spirit and togetherness of the young people – there was an incredibly moving moment at the end of Mya’s performance when her friends from the organisation just gate-crashed the stage, clapping, singing and all wildly encouraging us to share in the most joyous of moments.

We all did.

What’s more, the spirit of the young people is matched by each and every person in the MCR Pathways team. Whether it’s Claire O’Hara urging the audience to leave the safety of their seats to embrace the magic of the young people by standing closer to the stage. Iain MacRitchie, the founder absolutely making sure the Gerard M Burns Painting could be photographed and sent to the Herald before 730PM to make the deadline for Page-3 tomorrow. Or Robin Dewar, the IT manager who just went out in the cold Glasgow rain to get me a laptop to write this with my phone out of juice.

To a person, each and every-one of them care so much, give it everything they’ve got and exemplify this ‘soaring spirit’ themselves.

Whether you are a person interested in mentoring, an employer who wants to provide a talent taster work-experience or just somebody looking to get a little more involved – this is an organisation that’s worth knowing and supporting.

‘Soaring Spirits’ each and every one of them.

Check out http://www.youngglasgowtalent.org for more info…

Benedetto

Benedetto is an ideas-driven Creative Entrepreneur. He is on a mission to unleash the power of creativity to create a better world – for people, business and society. He is the founder of the loft, a design and branding house which operates worldwide helping companies bring their brands to life in the most imaginative and effective ways possible. A real man on a mission. Benedetto likes to make things happen fast and in a big way.

08
Oct
Great Brands Sell Ideas First…

Great Brands Sell Ideas First…

Whatever line of business you’re in, people don’t buy what you do they buy why you do it.

I got a very useful reminder of that this week when helping some early-stage entrepreneurs. They had a great software solution and were looking for ways to generate more leads from their existing website.

Having initially bored them with some worthy but rather uninspiring solutions (contact forms with less fields,) it dawned on me that to really make a significant gain, to really make a dent with what they were doing, that the site itself had to sell the higher nature of what they were offering.

In this case – a tailored solution for a specific user-group, up-to-date programme with current legislations and exceptional value.

What a difference this simple shift in communication had. It never ceases to amaze me how effective a new home-page image, tag-line and corresponding graphics can be to a potential client.

What’s more the exercise of implementing these ideas is fun and energises everybody in the organisation itself.

In Napoleon Hill’s classic ‘Think and Grow Rich’ the author states that “All master salesmen know that ideas can be sold where merchandise cannot. Ordinary salesmen do not know this – that is why they are ordinary.”

Successful companies know this too – Coca Cola sells the hit of instant refreshment not carbonated soft-drinks, Sky TV sells the cutting-edge of in-house entertainment not just TV packages and great politicians sell the vision of a brighter tomorrow not specific plans and policies.

If you’re selling professional services – sell the friendliness of the service. Selling gym memberships – sell the intensity of the exercise. Even if you’re selling double-glazing, sell the strength and protection of the final product first not the properties of the glass.

Logical information only confirms decisions we’ve already got our hearts set on. But the heart’s got to be set on something in the first place.

If you want a brand that is going to generate a lot of new business – sell the idea first. If you want a hand then give us a shout.

Benedetto

Benedetto is an ideas-driven Creative Entrepreneur. He is on a mission to unleash the power of creativity to create a better world – for people, business and society. He is the founder of the loft, a design and branding house which operates worldwide helping companies bring their brands to life in the most imaginative and effective ways possible. A real man on a mission. Benedetto likes to make things happen fast and in a big way.

30
Aug

Building a Brand on a Budget

Your brand is the most potent weapon you have to grow your business. A strong brand is like a magnet for your business in helping you to attract new customers, team members and increase the desirability of your goods and services. At the loft, we help companies of all shapes and sizes create brand communications – everything from beautiful identities to informative infographics to show stopping campaigns.

We are always working within the constraints of tight budgets.. In a few weeks time, we shall be giving a talk on how best to ‘build a brand on a budget’ for Young Enterprise Scotland and Bridge2Business.

In the meantime, here are a few ideas we’d love to share…

Imagination is everything…

Start-ups rarely have cash to build their brands so a great imagination is absolutely essential. You have to make every pound of money and every minute of time go that bit further than all the others to break through. One of the best companies who do this is Brewdog – with everything from roadkill beer packaging to driving tanks past the bank of England – they are the masters at making the mundane interesting and getting lots of attention for doing it in the meantime.

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One of our favourite examples of this is the design of these beermats a few years ago. Beermats tend to be one of those unremarkable items that modern-day brewers overlook and just stamp their logo onto. Not Brewdog who created these lovely little gems – giving the coaster a life of its own while hilariously endorsing the brand. Something that is bound to get everybody talking about your company and a definite social media hit – exactly what is required for building an effective brand. Amazing ideas like these cost not a penny more to create and require only a little bit of imagination. Brilliant.

Leverage that content…

Brand, marketing and creative activities for small to medium sized enterprises are considerable investments in time and money for both the company and individual involved. For those that are looking to really build their brand on a shoe-string, it is absolutely essential that a little bit of start-up resourcefulness is used to help get the most out of your investment. We recommend leveraging everything you do so that each and every activity gives you a great return.

SLGTwo of the most common activities that SME’s engage in are the design of brochures and the building of websites.

If you are about to engage in either of these activities., you definitely should…

– Make the most out of days with professionals such as photographers/ copywriters/ graphic designers. Most professionals do require a few hours to get into a flow with new clients so the greater number of activities that you can schedule at one sitting the better. They will be able to work much more quickly, efficiently and effectively. You will definitely receive a bigger bang for your buck.

– Leverage any written copy from a professional copywriter for the creation of these individual campaigns.

– Have any infographics re-formatted and prepared for social media channels. You can create a series of mini-campaigns on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube and Instagram with some basic infographics.

– Create mini-social campaigns around photography displaying service imagery, team members in action and even company processes.

– Re-format testimonials and case-studies into individual PDF documents that can be kept on file as print or digital files to be sent out to prospective clients or customers.

– For a little added impact – you can take your infographics, photography and ask your professional to convert them into little animations such as animated GIFs which can also have a great effect on social media.

Continuity is king…

For companies who want to maximise their brand/marketing/communications spend – working with established partners over a longer period of time is definitely a great way to maximise your investment. Building long-term relationships with trusted partners will allow you to build harmonious working relationships between the individuals in teams which is obviously invaluable, it also allows suppliers to give preferential rates for larger projects or additional items, there is a consistency to the the work produced which is of huge benefit to the other party. Finally the time saved in not having to continuously source new suppliers is a huge big deal.

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Just a few ideas on how to build a great brand on a budget.

Benedetto

 

BB

Benedetto is an ideas-driven Creative Entrepreneur. He is on a mission to unleash the power of creativity to create a better world – for people, business and society.

He is the founder of the loft, a design and branding house which operates worldwide helping companies bring their brands to life in the most imaginative and effective ways possible.

The loft serves companies in every sector and is quite simply the best in the business at creating brands that capture the imagination.

In addition to his role with the loft, Benedetto is an avid supporter of young people into enterprise. Having been supported by organisations such as PSYBT and currently by E-Spark, he does all he can to support young entrepreneurs. He provides assistance to organisations such as Bridge2Business, Young Enterprise Scotland and acts as a mentor for young business owners with Entrepreneurial Scotland.

His support to the next generation doesn’t end there, Benedetto is a big supporter of MCR Pathways, an organisation which helps disadvantaged children secure better futures through mentoring. Alongside his team at the loft, he provides creative support to the organisation as well as specialist work experiences for the students in the studio.

A real man on a mission. Benedetto likes to make things happen and happen fast and in a big way. He always wants things done yesterday and is relentlessly driven in his quest to make tomorrow better than today for his company, the people he serves and the wider community.