THE VOICE. M3.AGENCY | Summer 2026
A NEW CHAPTER
A MILESTONE WORTH CELEBRATING. A FUTURE WORTH BUILDING.
The first half of 2026 has been one of the most significant periods in M3’s history. After months of reflection, collaboration and rigorous assessment, we officially became B Corp certified. While the certification itself is a huge achievement, what makes us most proud is what it represents. It recognises the way we do business today, but it also commits us to continually doing better tomorrow. Becoming a B Corp isn’t the finish line. It’s the beginning of our next chapter. It reinforces our belief that great agencies should create value far beyond the work they deliver. It means continuing to put our people at the heart of our business, strengthening our relationships with clients and partners, supporting our communities, reducing our environmental impact, and holding ourselves accountable for the decisions we make every day. Throughout this edition of The Voice of M3, you’ll see examples of what that commitment looks like in practice. From the partnerships we nurture to the campaigns we create, we’re focused on building a business that delivers meaningful, lasting impact alongside exceptional results.
for M3. Designed to celebrate the strength of our city’s business community, the evening brought together clients, partners and local organisations to share ideas, make new connections and take pride in everything Birmingham has to offer. Hosted in the iconic Industrial Gallery at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, the event featured an inspiring line-up of speakers. Jack Buckner and Katharine Merry opened the evening with their thoughts on the exciting athletics events coming to Birmingham this year. Naomi Riches MBE shared a powerful reflection on resilience and achievement, before Omar Sharif closed the evening with an unforgettable reminder that even the most challenging beginnings can lead to extraordinary outcomes. More than just an event, Made in Birmingham embodied many of the principles that sit at the heart of our B Corp journey: creating opportunities for people to connect, championing our local community, sharing knowledge and inspiring positive action. The response was overwhelmingly positive, leaving us with one clear ambition: to build on its success and create even more opportunities to bring our business community together.
That same thinking was behind another highlight of our year: Made in Birmingham - Business Leadership Summit.
As we look ahead to the second half of the year, we’re excited about what comes next. New ideas, stronger partnerships, bigger ambitions and, above all, a continued commitment to making a positive difference through the work we do and the way we do it.
Taking place in April, this was the first event of its kind
We’re just getting started.
BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN: VISIT JERSEY X BERGERAC
CRACKING THE CASE
HOW BERGERAC HELPED PUT JERSEY BACK ON THE MAP Sometimes the best campaigns come from spotting the perfect cultural moment. With the return of Bergerac to our TV screens, Visit Jersey had a unique opportunity to remind audiences why the island has captivated viewers for decades. As Jersey’s dramatic coastline and picturesque landscapes once again became the backdrop to detective drama, we set out to turn renewed interest in the show into renewed interest in visiting the island. Rather than creating a traditional destination campaign, we leaned into the world of detective fiction. Inspired by the classic detective pinboard, our creative borrowed the visual language of Bergerac and crime dramas alike. Polaroid photographs of Jersey’s attractions were pinned to a wall map, connected by
strings, notes and scribbles, inviting audiences to piece together the clues. In video formats, the camera panned between multiple locations, revealing different attractions and messaging while maintaining the intrigue of the investigation. The copy followed suit, playfully adopting detectivestyle language with a travel twist, encouraging audiences to uncover the mystery for themselves by booking a trip to Jersey. The campaign became one of our strongest demonstrations of how niche-interest marketing can drive travel intent. Instead of relying solely on broad destination messaging, we connected a specific cultural hook with a relevant travel action – and the results spoke for themselves.
Across channels, the campaign delivered:
Google Ads: 640,000 impressions, 24,500 clicks, a 7.89% click-through rate and 6,600 conversions.
Meta: 254,000 video completions at the top of the funnel, converting through to an impressive £0.56 cost per landing page view from a cold audience.
Reddit: 9,100 clicks, a 0.47% clickthrough rate and a highly efficient £3.46 CPM.
communities around travel and television. The test delivered encouraging results, demonstrating Reddit’s potential as an engagement channel, and providing valuable insight into how niche communities can complement Visit Jersey’s wider media mix, even if it hasn’t yet reached the CPC efficiency of more established channels such as Meta. While Visit Jersey’s always-on campaigns continued to deliver the strongest overall CPA and conversion rates thanks to established highintent audiences, the Bergerac campaign proved something equally valuable: tapping into a relevant cultural moment can generate significantly higher engagement and efficiently feed new audiences into the conversion funnel. It’s a great example of how creative thinking, strategic media planning and cultural relevance can work together to deliver measurable results. Case closed.
Google Ads demonstrated the strength of a layered full-funnel approach. Demand Gen built awareness and engagement, while Performance Max converted that interest into action. The Bergerac creative achieved a strong CTR, proving that niche-interest audiences can convert strongly when supported by the right lower-funnel strategy. The campaign also marked the introduction of Reddit as a new channel for Visit Jersey, allowing us to reach highly engaged, interest-based
WINNING IN THE NEW ERA OF PAID SOCIAL
PAID SOCIAL HAS CHANGED. HAVE WE? If you’ve worked in paid social over the last few years, you’ve probably noticed something: the old playbook doesn’t work like it used to. There was a time when success came from building increasingly complex campaign structures. We obsessed over audience segmentation, interest stacks, lookalikes, placements and bid strategies. The more control we had over campaigns, the better we expected them to perform. Today, that’s no longer where the value lies. Platforms like Meta now make many of those decisions for us. Their algorithms determine who sees an ad, where it’s shown and how budgets are distributed. Instead of trying to outsmart the platform, our job is to help it make better decisions by giving it stronger signals. So what changed?
Creating ads has never been easier. AI tools, templates and faster production mean brands can generate huge volumes of creative in a fraction of the time. But because everyone has access to the same tools, feeds have become crowded with brands saying similar things in similar ways. Consumers are more selective than ever, attention is harder to earn and creative burns out much faster than it once did. As a result, the old advantages of audience targeting and campaign structure have diminished. Meta has shifted much of that work into its machine learning models, which means the question is no longer “Who should we target?” It’s “What signals are we giving the algorithm?” One of the biggest developments behind the scenes is Meta’s retrieval system, Andromeda. Rather than comparing every ad with every person, it creates a shortlist of the ads it believes are most relevant before they even enter the auction. The auction still decides which ad wins, but Andromeda decides which ads get the opportunity to compete in the first place. That’s why creative has become so important.
Creative is no longer just the final asset produced once the strategy is complete. It has become the strategy. Every element of an advert sends a signal to the platform – from the person on screen and the opening hook, to the language used, the problem being addressed, the proof provided and the call to action. Together, these signals help Meta understand who the ad is most relevant for. For marketers, that changes how we should approach campaign planning. Rather than spending hours refining audiences, we should spend more time understanding customer behaviour. What frustrations do people have? What objections stop them from buying? What misconceptions can we challenge? Those insights should become creative hypotheses that we test through our campaigns. Every ad should have a clear job to do: capture attention, introduce a problem, reframe it, provide proof, present the solution and encourage action. When results come in, we shouldn’t just ask whether the campaign worked. We should ask where it broke down. Did people scroll past because the hook was weak? Did they watch but fail to click because the proposition wasn’t compelling enough? Did they click but not convert because the landing experience didn’t match the promise? Every answer should inform the next creative test. Paid social is no longer a technical discipline with creative added at the end. It’s a creative strategy discipline powered by media data. The teams that will succeed won’t necessarily be the ones producing the most ads, but the ones producing the most relevant ones. So, let’s stop feeding the machine more creative for the sake of it. Let’s feed it better creative instead. Better insight leads to better ideas, better ideas lead to better campaigns and, ultimately, better commercial results. Now’s the time to flex those creative muscles.
Alex Copping Strategy Director, M3 Manchester
SHARING WHAT WE KNOW
LEARNING GOES BOTH WAYS It’s something that fits naturally with our purpose-led approach. We believe our impact shouldn’t stop with our clients. By investing our time, experience and skills into people at every stage of their careers, we can help strengthen the industries and the communities we’re part of. We’ve recently welcomed two students from the University of Birmingham into the agency for a placement as part of their degree studies. Over the coming weeks, they’ll be spending time in the office, working on live client briefs, collaborating with our teams and experiencing the pace and variety of agency life first-hand. Having run the placement programme previously, we’ve already seen the value it brings. It gives students the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom to real commercial challenges, while gaining confidence and experience that simply can’t be replicated in a lecture theatre. Across the border, M3 Cardiff has also been supporting the next generation of talent. Kate recently joined the FutureReady Bootcamp, Digital Skills for Tomorrow, at College Y Cymoedd, delivering a session on copywriting to students exploring careers in digital marketing. Sharing practical advice and real-world experience helps bridge the gap between education and industry, giving young people a clearer picture of where their skills could take them. Supporting emerging creative talent has been a big focus for our Group Creative Director, Justin Griffiths. As a Birmingham City University alumnus, he has maintained close links with the university for many years, regularly returning to deliver Professional Experience lectures. This summer, M3 was honoured to present an award at the BCU Illustration Graduate Show, where Justin and Lennon, Managing Partner of M3 Telford, reviewed the graduates’ work before selecting
Cat Coal as this year’s winner. Her outstanding portfolio, alongside the work she does teaching young people in the community, made her a deserving recipient. The relationship with BCU doesn’t end there. Working alongside course leader Helen Wheeler, M3 has established a framework for ongoing live briefs, giving students and graduates the opportunity to work on genuine commercial projects. The first collaboration has already seen a group of newly graduated illustrators commissioned to contribute ideas for an exciting client rebrand due to launch in early 2027. Justin also headed to London with Social Media Creative Consultant Julie Seal for this year’s D&AD New Blood Festival, where more than 40 universities showcased the very best graduate creative talent. Alongside attending talks and reviewing portfolios, the aim was simple: meet emerging creatives, build relationships and identify opportunities to commission graduates on future client projects or welcome them into the agency as new recruits. For us, education isn’t a one-way street. Every lecture, placement, live brief and conversation is an opportunity to learn something new ourselves. By opening our doors, sharing our experience and creating genuine opportunities for emerging talent, we’re helping to build a stronger future for the industry while staying connected to the creativity, ideas and ambition that continue to inspire us every day.
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One of the most rewarding parts of what we do is sharing what we know with others. Whether it’s giving students their first taste of agency life, helping graduates take their first steps into the industry, or inspiring the next generation of marketers and creatives, education has become an increasingly important part of life at M3.
By sharing our experience, we’re helping build a stronger future for the industry.
GROWING OUR TEAM
BUILDING THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL AT M3 We’re pleased to welcome Claire Banks to M3 as our new Director of Development Services, alongside two experienced design and engineering specialists joining her team: Dave Rees - Lead UX Designer & Developer, and Mark Pavlitski - Technical Lead. Together, they bring decades of experience across UX, development, technology and digital transformation, strengthening our capabilities as we continue to deliver innovative, effective solutions for our clients.
Dave and Mark each bring around 25 years’ experience within the industry, adding further depth to our UX and technical expertise. Their knowledge will play a key role in supporting our teams, enhancing our UX & development offering and ensuring we continue to deliver high-quality, user-focused solutions.
BUILDING A STRONGER DEVELOPMENT FUNCTION As Claire and the team settle into M3, the focus will be on building strong foundations, understanding our existing capabilities and ways of working, and identifying opportunities to enhance how we deliver development services across the agency.
Claire’s career transitioned from an early clientside technology role into a 21-year tenure at McCann. There, she directed multidisciplinary teams across diverse client sectors, designing the platform strategies that unlocked sustained, long-term commercial growth for clients.
Over the coming months, the team will focus on integrating with our people and clients, improving operational consistency, and creating a clear strategy for the future of the development function. This will help ensure our technical capabilities continue to evolve alongside the needs of our clients and support M3’s wider growth ambitions.
At McCann, Claire established and managed the UK’s UX & Development Centre of Excellence (COE), leading a specialist team and working collaboratively across the agency network to connect technical expertise with client needs.
The arrival of Claire, Dave and Mark is an exciting step forward for M3, bringing new expertise and fresh perspectives that further strengthen our ability to help clients grow through effective, creative, and responsible platform solutions.
“I’m really excited to be joining M3 and helping to build on the fantastic work already happening across the business,” said Claire. “My focus will be on bringing together our people, processes and capabilities to create a development function that supports both our teams and our clients as we continue to grow.”
Claire Banks Director of Development Services
CREATIVITY, CONNECTION AND A DAY WITH ADMIRAL A few months ago, the Cardiff team were delighted to deliver a day of Creative Masterclasses for the brilliant team at Admiral Group.
Alongside the theory, the Admiral team took part in interactive workshops, bringing their own experiences and perspectives to the sessions.
Our creative duo Group Creative Director Justin Griffiths and Creative Consultant Vince McSweeney – explored the power of creativity and storytelling in business.
It was one of those days that reminds us why we love what we do. The engagement was fantastic throughout, with plenty of laughs, some powerful moments and great creative energy.
The first session focused on creativity as a tool for solving problems, generating original ideas and creating work with real purpose. The second explored why storytelling continues to resonate, uncovering timeless frameworks that help ideas connect more deeply with audiences.
A huge thank you to everyone at Admiral for the warm welcome and enthusiasm. It was a privilege to work with a team so open to new ideas and willing to challenge their thinking.
BUILDING B2B BRANDS THAT DRIVE GROWTH
WHY BRAND & DEMAND NEED EACH OTHER IN B2B MARKETING
For years, B2B marketing has focused heavily on product features, technical specifications and rational decision-making. Yet spend time browsing industry websites, attending trade events or scrolling through LinkedIn, and you’ll notice many businesses making remarkably similar claims. Everyone is innovative. Everyone is customer-focused. Everyone promises exceptional service and marketleading solutions. When organisations communicate in the same way, differentiation becomes increasingly difficult. Standing out requires more than simply having a good product or service. Although B2B purchasing decisions are often viewed as logical and data-driven, the people making those decisions are influenced by more than facts alone. Trust, confidence and credibility all play an important role, particularly when significant investment, risk or long-term partnerships are involved.
THE COMPLEXITY OF B2B BUYING The traditional linear sales funnel no longer reflects how most organisations buy. Decisions are typically made by multiple stakeholders, each bringing different priorities and perspectives to the process. A finance director may be focused on cost and risk. Technical teams will want confidence in functionality and performance. Senior leaders are often considering long-term value and strategic fit. Despite these differing priorities, every stakeholder is looking for reassurance that they are making the right choice. Strong brands help provide that reassurance. They create familiarity, demonstrate expertise and build confidence long before a conversation with the sales team takes place.
MOVING BEYOND THE ‘ME TOO’ MARKET Many sectors have become crowded with businesses offering similar products, services and messages. When there is little to separate one organisation from another, competition often shifts towards price. Brand provides an opportunity to compete on something more meaningful.
A strong brand articulates what makes an organisation different. It creates a clear identity, communicates a distinct point of view and gives customers a reason to remember you. Importantly, brand extends far beyond logos, colours and visual identity. It is shaped by every interaction, every experience and every impression people have of your business.
WHY BRAND AND DEMAND WORK BEST TOGETHER Brand building and demand generation are often seen as separate, but the strongest marketing strategies combine both. Brand activity builds awareness, familiarity and trust, ensuring customers already recognise your business when they’re ready to buy. Demand generation turns that awareness into action through targeted campaigns, relevant content and effective customer journeys. Without brand, demand generation becomes more expensive. Without demand generation, brand recognition alone delivers limited commercial results. The greatest impact comes when both work together.
BUILDING BRANDS PEOPLE REMEMBER As B2B markets become more competitive, businesses need more than product-focused messaging to drive growth. They need a clear identity, a compelling proposition and a brand that inspires confidence. Organisations that balance long-term brand building with effective demand generation are better positioned to create trust, generate opportunities and build lasting customer relationships. In a marketplace full of similar claims and competing messages, being remembered can be just as important as being found.
Lennon Kelly Managing Partner, M3 Telford
A NEW DIGITAL EXPERIENCE FOR JSM
JSM LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE WITH STRONG EARLY RESULTS JSM partnered with M3 Telford to deliver a new website that better reflects the scale, expertise and ambition of their business. As JSM has grown across its three core service areas – Power, Digital Infrastructure and Advisory – its existing website no longer provided the clarity needed for users to understand the full breadth of its offering. At the same time, JSM was undergoing a major rebrand, led by McCann, creating an opportunity to align its digital presence with its new visual identity and positioning. Working alongside McCann, M3 translated the new brand into a user-focused digital experience. The team developed a new site structure, wireframed seven key pages and built more than 30 reusable components to create a flexible platform for future growth. Delivered within an ambitious eight-week design-to-build timeline, the new website provides clear pathways through JSM’s services and a much-improved user experience. The site launched in June and has already delivered impressive results. Compared with the previous period, total sessions increased by 104%, engaged sessions rose by 64%, total event interactions grew by 110%, and average engagement time increased by more than 20%. The project is a great example of collaboration across agencies, with McCann delivering the brand strategy and creative vision, and M3 bringing that vision to life through a high-performing digital experience. M3 continues to support JSM through ongoing SEO activity and website enhancements as the business builds on a successful launch.
M3 ON THE MIC Lennon recently joined the That Moment podcast to share his thoughts on what it takes to build a modern agency. From the power of regional talent and the realities of making difficult business decisions, to why purpose-led marketing matters, Lennon gave an honest insight into agency life. He also discussed M3’s recent B Corp certification, standing out in an increasingly competitive market, and the mindset of always striving to be better. A great conversation and a brilliant opportunity to showcase the people, values and thinking that make M3 what it is.
A FESTIVAL BUILT ON CREATIVITY AND CONNECTION
DESIGNING CHANGE:
MY EXPERIENCE AT BIRMINGHAM DESIGN FESTIVAL 2026 Following a genuinely profound experience last year as a volunteer, I was asked to become part of the Delivery Team at Birmingham Design Festival 2026. BDF is a three-day celebration of design in the city, where thousands of visitors attend more than 80 events across three design districts – Graphic, Digital and Analogue – before coming together each evening for the headline events at the Giant Screen in Millennium Point. The festival was co-founded by Luke Tonge and Dan Alcorn in 2017, and 2026 marked its eighth year. Each year has a theme, from Truth to Freedom, and this year focused on Change. A very apt title in an age of increasing AI presence, economic uncertainty and the revolving door of political shuffling. But BDF has always been about people: the community it has created between hosts, volunteers, speakers and visitors. Therefore, some of the most impactful speeches were the human stories of struggle, career pivots and personal revelations. Following our team training sessions and preparation, I joined the team in the “Analogue” District at the EH Smith Design Centre – a truly striking industrial space. Around 150 years old, it is a literal library of bricks for the architecture and construction community, and it served us incredibly well over the three days. As well as the Design Centre, we were also given use of the excellent café area of renowned architects Howells, who designed the Centre itself, as well as the very building M3 is based in: No. 2 Paradise. The Analogue Delivery Team worked tirelessly to set up the event and support it throughout the three days. I had the honour of co-hosting the event alongside Hazel Howat. We had a brilliantly diverse range of speakers, kicking off with mural artists UUendy Lau and Mo Ali, who transform public spaces into places of connection and positive change, and British visual artist Liz West, who is known for her beautifully immersive light and colour installations. On day two, we heard from Dauvit Alexander, whose recent work transformed thousands of confiscated knives into jewellery. We also enjoyed the
stop-motion wizardry of Chris Randall at Second Home Studio, who M3 know well, alongside talented animator Laura Tofarides, who premiered her animated film Brain Space to a delighted audience. Day three brought inspirational and touching stories, from Amy Louise Evans’ rallying call to start drawing for fun again – something I’ve since made my own mission – to Meg Fatherly’s open, warm and generous talk, which genuinely moved the room. We finished the day with tactile stories from Kaye Symington at Newspaper Club and Jan Waterton’s journey to discovering his unique approach to furniture design. A huge part of BDF is its evening events, and this year’s line-up was exceptional. Opening night, Culture Changers, featured Too Gallus Creative Director Barrington Reeves, Nadja Lossgott and Nicholas Hulley, Chief Creative Officers at AMV BBDO, and Aneesh Bhoopathy, whose branding work helped power Zohran Mamdani’s successful NYC mayoral campaign. Night two, World Changers, explored political protest and playfulness through local hero Cold War Steve, the inspiring story of the Corita Art Center in LA, and Led By Donkeys, whose talk made us laugh, cry and really think. The festival closed with Scene Changers, featuring the Gowers, the world-famous practical special effects artists behind productions including Saving Private Ryan, Stranger Things and Game of Thrones; awardwinning movie poster artist Akiko Stehrenberger; and puppeteer James Ortiz, who voiced and operated Rocky alongside Ryan Gosling in this year’s Project Hail Mary. And that was BDF 2026. An amazing event for Birmingham, the creative community and far beyond. It was a pleasure to be involved. Full credit has to go to the organisers, Dan and Luke, and the dedicated family of volunteers they’ve built. I look forward to helping deliver next year’s two-day event in June 2027.
Finally, a special mention to M3, who give every team member three Community Days per year to volunteer for an organisation they wish to support. It’s thanks to M3 that I can contribute in any way I can to help BDF continue to be the amazing event that it is.
Justin Griffiths Group Creative Director, M3 Birmingham
CREATING CONNECTIONS WITH A STUDENT AUDIENCE
A SOCIAL SPARK JOINS M3 MANCHESTER M3 Manchester has welcomed Social Producer Jen to the team, adding her creative energy and experience across social media, content production and strategy to the mix. Passionate about creating content that connects with audiences, Jen joins the team to bring fresh ideas, new perspectives and a social-first approach to the work we deliver for our clients.
Jen Sedona Lea Social Producer M3 Manchester
FROM STUDENT ACCOMMODATION TO SOCIAL FAME: HOW CANVAS STUDENT IS BUILDING MOMENTUM ON TIKTOK Canvas Student has quickly emerged as one of M3 Manchester’s strongest early-stage case studies. With the partnership formally kicking off in May, the first month of activity quickly demonstrated a clear shift in performance and positioning. Audience growth increased by +275%, driven primarily by a TikTok-first strategy that prioritised native, student-led content over more traditional student accommodation output. That shift has been most visible on TikTok itself, where audience growth reached 873% in the first month. But the more interesting signal sits beneath the headline numbers. Engagement quality has also improved, with stronger performance across shares, saves and interactions. In practice, this suggests content is resonating more deeply with student audiences – not just reaching them, but prompting action. Alongside performance, there has been a wider strategic reset in how Canvas approaches social. An early stakeholder strategy session helped secure alignment on a more ambitious direction: moving away from social as a maintenance channel, and towards building Canvas as a recognisable brand entity within student culture. Internally, this has been defined as a brand fame strategy, one that is focused on presence, relevance and cultural cut-through, rather than purely retention-led organic activity. That shift is already shaping the next phase of activity.
GUIDANCE
CANVAS STUDENT SOCIAL Brand Guidelines One-Pager
COLOUR USAGE •
Use Canvas colours to add energy, emphasis and recognition.
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Use asset-level colours where content is location-specific.
• • •
Use the master Canvas spectrum sparingly so it still feels ownable and premium. Avoid making edits too busy by using too many colours at once. Colour should support the moment, not distract from the story.
CANVAS SPECTRUM
Canvas is more than rooms, buildings and amenities. It is the backdrop to student life: the best days, rest days, stressful days, first friendships, late-night chats, study sessions, local discoveries and everyday routines. Every social asset should help students picture themselves living their own story at Canvas.
REAL PEOPLE / REAL SPACES / LOCAL ENERGY
VISUAL STYLE PRINCIPLES
DONT’S
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Talk like a real person.
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Hard sell.
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Use contractions, such as “we’re”, “you’re” and “here’s”.
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Over-explain.
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Keep captions short, clear and useful.
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Sound corporate or overly polished.
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Lead with the student moment, not the sales message.
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Use “you” and “we” to make the tone feel direct and human.
Use words banned by the brand, including “luxury”, “stunning”, “perfect”, “contemporary” and “stylish”.
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Ask questions where it feels natural.
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Be playful, especially on TikTok and Reels.
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Include a clear CTA where needed.
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Swear.
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Say “Canvases”. Use “Canvas locations” instead.
Relatable: POV: you said you were only popping into the common room for five minutes.
Community-led: The best part of Canvas? The people you meet when you least expect it.
Useful: Moving to Manchester this year? Here’s what to know before you arrive.
CTA-led: Want to see the rooms, spaces and student life for yourself? Book a viewing.
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Don’t stretch, squash, rotate, flip or alter the Canvas logo.
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Don’t change the gradient or intensity.
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Do not interfere with the lock-up.
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Use the logo clearly and confidently, but do not over-brand every frame.
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Use Canvas brand assets to support the content, not overwhelm it.
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The Canvas frame can be used as a light brand device, especially for end frames, title cards or transitions, but should not make content feel boxed-in or overly templated.
SOCIAL VISUALS SHOULD FEEL •
Authentic: real students, real spaces, real moments.
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Unstaged: avoid overly posed, property-sales-style shots.
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Dynamic: movement, action, transitions and energy.
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Colourful: use the Canvas colour world confidently, but avoid clutter.
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Local: bring in the city, neighbourhood, landmarks and local student culture.
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Inclusive: reflect different students, routines, personalities and lifestyles.
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Warm and homely: show rooms and shared spaces being lived in, not just displayed.
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Fun: social content should feel like student life, not a brochure.
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Avoid making assets feel too glossy, generic, stock-like or estate-agent-led.
DON’T SQUISH
DON’T ROTATE
DON’T STRETCH
GUIDANCE
Use bold, punchy, easy-to-read on-screen text.
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Use subtitles for speech-led content.
Keep headlines short.
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Use all caps where it feels brand-led and legible.
Ensure text has enough contrast over footage.
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Prioritise readability on mobile.
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Avoid long paragraphs on screen.
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Hook first.
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One idea per frame.
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Keep it human.
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Make it readable in under two seconds.
Keep key text, subtitles and logos away from the top and bottom UI areas. Avoid placing important copy on the far right where TikTok icons and engagement buttons sit.
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Keep subtitles central and comfortably above the lower caption/CTA area.
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Do not place logos or CTAs too close to platform buttons.
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Assume the asset may be viewed without sound, so subtitles must be clear and legible.
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Recommended editor rule:
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Keep all essential text and logos inside a central safe area, with extra breathing room at the bottom.
DON’T MESS WITH THE LOCK UP
KEEP IT ALL IN THE LOCAL COLOUR
NOPE.
Opening hook
Keep edits tight
Edit for sound-on and sound-off
Add subtitles to all speech-led content
Use clear CTAs only where needed
Use strong contrast
◦ Remove dead space.
◦ Use trending sounds only when they fit the idea and the brand.
◦ Keep them legible, accurate and within safe zones.
◦ Keep booking or viewing CTAs simple.
◦ Avoid tiny text.
◦ Prioritise clear dialogue where students or staff are speaking.
◦ Avoid covering faces or key action.
◦ Do not make every post feel like an advert.
◦ End frames.
◦ Accessibility.
◦ Avoid slow intros.
◦ Use natural pauses only when they add humour, emotion or authenticity. ◦ Sound.
◦ Avoid overloading the screen with copy. ◦ Make sure the message still lands without audio.
◦ Subtitles.
CONTENT PURPOSE CHECKLIST
TIKTOK, REELS AND STORIES • •
DON’T DELETE THE LOCATOR
◦ Start with the strongest moment. ◦ Make the first two seconds visually or verbally engaging.
SOCIAL SAFE ZONES
TYPOGRAPHY AND ON-SCREEN TEXT Canvas uses TT Firs Neue, with bold, punchy headlines and medium-weight body copy. •
DON’T FLIP
EDITING BEST PRACTICE
PRACTICAL CHECKLIST FOR EDITORS
◦ Pacing.
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CANVAS BLACK
LOGO, FRAME AND BRAND
CAPTION AND COPY GUIDE
DO’S
BLANK CANVAS WHITE
KEY RULES
FINAL CHECKLIST BEFORE EXPORTING 1.
Does this feel like Canvas, not generic student accommodation?
2.
Does it show student life, not just a room or building?
3.
Is it warm, human and inclusive?
4.
Is the hook strong enough for social?
5.
Is the copy clear and easy to understand?
6.
Are subtitles, logos and CTAs inside safe zones?
7.
Is the branding present but not overpowering?
8.
Would a student see themselves in this?
9.
Does it make Canvas feel like a community?
A key focus moving forward is the development of student-led content at scale, working directly with residents to produce high-quality, socially native UGC that reflects authentic student life. This will be paired with a more structured paid media approach designed to support peak leasing periods across July, August and September, particularly around results day and clearing. On the performance side, paid creative development is being built around Meta’s Andromeda framework, with a strong emphasis on high-volume, iterative testing. The aim is to accelerate learning cycles and continuously refine creative output as campaigns scale. What’s emerging is a clear repositioning of Canvas Student’s social presence – from functional, accommodation-led messaging to something more culturally embedded and socially driven. The foundations are now in place for sustained brand growth and, over time, genuine brand fame within the student market.
BUILDING A PLATFORM FOR THE FUTURE
CREATING A FUTURE-READY DIGITAL PLATFORM FOR OPEN PREPAID FUNERALS
HELPING A SPECIALIST FINANCIAL SERVICES PROVIDER TRANSFORM ITS DIGITAL EXPERIENCE When it comes to planning a funeral, customers need clarity, reassurance and confidence. For Open Prepaid Funerals – a longstanding client of M3 – providing that support is at the heart of their service, but changes to FCA regulations meant their existing digital platforms needed to evolve. The updated regulations introduced new requirements around customer protection, governance and sales processes across the prepaid funeral plan sector. For Open, this presented an opportunity to do more than simply meet compliance requirements. They needed a digital platform that would improve the experience for customers, make life easier for their internal teams and provide the foundations for future growth.
BRINGING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND COMPLIANCE TOGETHER The project involved transforming two key areas of the business: the customer-facing website and the internal management platform used by the Open team. Behind the scenes, we enhanced the bespoke system used to administer funeral plans, manage customer details and process payments. By reviewing and improving existing workflows, we helped ensure the platform supported the latest FCA requirements while making day-to-day management more efficient for the team. Alongside this, we completely rebuilt the Open Prepaid Funerals website with a focus on creating a simpler, more reassuring customer journey. Buying a prepaid funeral plan is a personal decision, and customers need to be able to easily understand their options before committing. We redesigned the experience to make information clearer, improve navigation and guide users through the process with confidence. The new website also introduced full eCommerce functionality, allowing customers to compare plans, purchase online and choose how they pay. The result is a modern digital experience that combines the reassurance customers need with the convenience they expect from an online service.
SUPPORTING GROWTH THROUGH DIGITAL MARKETING The project involved transforming two key areas of the business: the customer-facing website and the internal management platform used by the Open team. Behind the scenes, we enhanced the bespoke system used to administer funeral plans, manage customer details and process payments. By reviewing and improving existing workflows, we helped ensure the platform supported the latest FCA requirements while making day-to-day management more efficient for the team. Alongside this, we completely rebuilt the Open Prepaid Funerals website with a focus on creating a simpler, more reassuring customer journey. Buying a prepaid funeral plan is a personal decision, and customers need to be able to easily understand their options before committing. We redesigned the experience to make information clearer, improve navigation and guide users through the process with confidence. The new website also introduced full eCommerce functionality, allowing customers to compare plans, purchase online and choose how they pay. The result is a modern digital experience that combines the reassurance customers need with the convenience they expect from an online service.
A STRONGER DIGITAL FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE The new platform gives Open Prepaid Funerals the tools they need to continue evolving in a changing sector. By bringing together digital development, user experience and performance marketing, M3 has helped create a solution that works for everyone – from customers looking for a straightforward way to plan ahead, to the internal teams managing those plans every day. It’s a great example of how the right digital approach can do more than improve a website. It can transform the way a business operates and create a stronger foundation for what comes next.
A CHANGE OF SCENERY
TRADING DESKS FOR DECKS Throughout May and June, our team swapped desks for decks, heading out in small groups for a series of canal boat trips with our longstanding client, ABC Boat Hire. It was a chance to step away from our screens, spend time together and enjoy the simple pleasure of being out on the water. Setting off from Alvechurch Marina, we spent the day cruising the Worcestershire canals, navigating tunnels, spotting wildlife and, most importantly, enjoying time together away from the office. Agency life can be fast-paced, so taking a step back every now and then is important. These days out gave us the chance to switch off, catch up with colleagues and strengthen the relationships that make M3 such a great place to work. It’s often the conversations away from the office that help build the strongest teams. There were plenty of laughs along the way too, as we uncovered a few surprisingly talented helmsmen within the team!
FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES Thanks to Airbus for inviting Jim and Kate to attend the Farnborough International Airshow in July. The visit was a great opportunity to catch up with familiar faces, make new connections and get a behind-the-scenes look at some incredible aircraft. Thankfully, they also managed to resist the temptation to press any of the important-looking red buttons!
GROWING OUR IMPACT: M3’S PARTNERSHIP WITH TREEAPP
As a B Corp, we’re committed to creating a positive impact for our people, our communities and our planet. That’s why we’ve partnered with Treeapp, a global tree-planting platform that helps businesses support reforestation projects around the world.
environments for future generations. Our contributions have also helped reforest more than 10,005 square metres of land and created 15 days of employment for local communities involved in planting and maintaining these projects.
Through the initiative, M3 plants 100 trees every month, helping to restore ecosystems, support biodiversity and create opportunities for local communities.
While tree planting alone won’t solve the climate crisis, it’s one of the ways we’re contributing to a more sustainable future and supporting environmental projects that deliver measurable impact. Alongside our wider sustainability initiatives, the partnership reflects our commitment to the role businesses can play in protecting and restoring the natural world.
Since launching the partnership, we’ve planted more than 1,500 trees across Africa, Asia and South America, supporting projects in Kenya, Madagascar, Indonesia, Nepal, Brazil and Peru. The impact goes far beyond simply planting trees. Over their lifetime, the trees we’ve funded are expected to absorb more than 163.5 tonnes of CO₂, helping combat climate change and support healthier
Every tree planted is a small action that contributes to something much bigger – healthier ecosystems, stronger communities and a more sustainable future. We’re proud to be growing that impact, one hundred trees at a time.
This September, the M3 team is taking on a 25,000-step challenge to raise money for Promise Dreams, helping make dreams come true for children living with serious and terminal illnesses. Every donation will help create unforgettable memories for children and their families. Thank you for your support.
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