11 minute read
PULSE PICS
As the world struggles to comprehend the horrors being faced in Ukraine, Milton Keynes has been demonstrating its support in colour. There was also the launch of a substantial new art exhibition, fun at the historic Olney pancake race and the beauty of the gentle creatures who reside in Woburn Abbey park. Here are this month’s Pulse Pics...
Pic: Chris Parnham
This beautiful image of a majestic deer soaking in the spring sunshine was taken at Woburn Deer Park by photographer Colin Kempster.
All eyes were on Olney again for the annual pancake race on Shrove Tuesday, and of course it proved to be flippin’ great fun! Little Albie certainly enjoyed his first ever pancake race as his big smile proves. The horror currently being inflicted on Ukraine is difficult to comprehend, but people have been responding in very individual ways, and for Milton Keynes artist Shelly Wyndebank that meant getting creative. The result is a particularly striking mixed media collage she has called Ceasefire. Shelly will sell prints of the piece and monies raised will go to help those displaced by the conflict. Visit FB: @shellywyndebankartist
Pic: Sammy Jones
At Milton Keynes Civic Offices the Ukrainian flag is flying to show support for the embattled country. Easter is coming and in Newport Pagnell one clever knitter has come up with an egg-cellent way to mark the festive season. With thanks to Mark Wicks for the ‘cracking’ photo.
Artist Ingrid Pollard held a private view of her exhibition, Carbon Slowly Turning at MK Gallery. This is the first major survey of her 40 year career. Works include delicately hand-tinted photographs, a flotilla of small ceramic boats and a cast of protagonists that includes boxers, musicians, tango dancers and writers. The show continues until May 29.
Pic: Kerry Lewis-Stevenson
In Broughton, one resident decorated a bridge in the colours of the Ukrainian flag, and other residents have been adding their own ribbons making for a striking display of unity. “I went to add a ribbon and felt quite emotional,” said Lynn Maddocks, who took this image.
Shopping centre invites new firms to pitch for free space
Entrepreneurs are applying for the chance of winning free retail space at the Midsummer Place shopping centre in Milton Keynes.
Small business owners have the opportunity to take their brand to the next level and open a store within the centre for six weeks, completely rent-free T he centre has launched its Hatch competition, which offers small business owners the opportunity to take their brand to the next level and open a store within the centre for six weeks, completely rent-free. The winner will also receive marketing support from Midsummer Place.
The deadline for entries is May 2. Interested businesses should apply via the Midsummer Place website. The winner will be selected after a pitch process, with the store opening later this year.
“We are delighted to be running the Hatch initiative for the first time, as we firmly believe this competition offers businesses in the region a fantastic chance to expand and grow,” said Midsummer Place general manager Shelley Peppard.
Find out more at: www.midsummerplace.co.uk/news/ hatch-your-chance-to-win-rent-freespace-for-your-business
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Defining Your Brand Vision, Mission and Values
Think about the brands you purchase from over and over. Why do you choose to buy products and or services from them, even when cheaper options exist? Well, there's a good reason for it — because of their values. Darren Isaac explains why a company's values are vital to its success.
If you run your own business, one of the first things you should do is define the fabric of your brand—what does it stand for? It’s actually quite common for many businesses not to have done this but it is hugely important and valuable in defining your direction and every decision you make. When working out 'what should we do?', you need a brand barometer to evaluate your decisions against so you are actually considering 'what would our brand do?'.
Why we do what we do The reason many business owners overlook this is that they simply aren’t aware it is something that should be done. Most of us are so focused on delivering what we do day to day, that we end up forgetting the importance of why we are doing it and who we are doing it for. Without our customers we have no business so we serve our customers’ needs and expectations and have to embody this in all that we do. The underpinnings of your brand decisionmaking are all about ‘finding your why’; why there is a need, why I am doing this and, ultimately, why should people buy from me? (or do they buy from my competitors?) When we look at what drives our business from the customer end we start to look more from the outside in than the inside out and this is the most important viewpoint we can have.
Defining your Vision The first place you should begin is with the vision you have for your brand. The aim is to write a few succinct lines, maximum a short paragraph of around 50-100 words, that define what success looks like for your brand. You really want this to be ‘big thinking’ in the context of what you personally would like to achieve. This can be as big as you want it to be but it shouldn’t be any bigger. What I mean by this is there is no sense in having a vision for growth and expansion if you would simply like to be the most popular Italian restaurant in your area. On the flip side, you may have a dream of building a regional franchise network of Italian restaurants. Let’s imagine you run a dry cleaning business and your goal is to retire in ten years’ time with a group of dry cleaning stores that virtually run themselves.
Your Vision may look like this and should follow this type of format: “Vision Statement: Clean Genie’s vision is to be the most profitable independent chain of dry cleaning stores in Buckinghamshire. We aim to be the brand that the public knows better than any other and that customers choose first because we consistently meet and exceed their expectations and we do so with personality and style.”
Your Vision Statement need be no more than this and you should have it on your wall and remind yourself every day what you are working towards.
Defining your Mission The Mission Statement is as important as your Vision Statement. How can you achieve your vision without some kind of idea of how you’re going to get there? Well, this is your mission. You will see an immediate difference in that the vision is centred around you, and what you aim to do, whereas the mission is centred around your customers and how, by pleasing them, they will facilitate your vision. The Vision Statement belongs on the wall in your office and the Mission Statement on the wall in reception. Your mission is your summary roadmap for success and it looks like this:
“Mission Statement: We will become the most recognised and loved dry cleaning brand in Buckinghamshire by creating positive and memorable visibility of our brand in all of the locations we serve. Our style will be bright, vibrant, warm and we dare to be different in ways that our customers will love. In delivering our service, our customers will find that they simply get more than expected with us, consistent excellence and value, and that this keeps them coming back and also telling their friends and family to do the same.” Anyone can run a good business. Running a great business, one that really stands out, takes an unwavering commitment to being different in ways that really matter to customers and that are palpable in a superior customer experience.
Though quite simple, you can hopefully see how valuable a statement like this in setting out, very specifically, the components of how you will do what you do. Moreover, it sets out the things that will have true value to your customers and enable your business to reach its goals through a growing customer base. Your mission defines what makes you different in your delivery and the things you will strive for, every day. Ultimately, you want your customers to love doing business with you and to tell others because you do it differently and you do it better. Brand Values The final piece of the puzzle with your brand foundations is your set of brand Values. It helps to go through the process in the order I have set out above because having a Vision and a Mission are your roots and these help to shape your values that form the trunk of the tree. Your values are essentially a list of words, elaborated into broader sentences, that define the spirit and strengths of how you do what you do.
Your brand values list should look something like this:
• Care and Excellence - We care for our customers’ garments as though they are priceless, returning them without a crease or a mark, always on time. • Warmth - We take the time to get to know our customers, provide service with a smile and simply be enjoyable to do business with. • Giving Extra - The little things that matter and that make a difference will be prevalent in our service every time.
Ideally, you want somewhere between five and ten core values that you run your business by. Now you have set in clear and simple terms, what your brand goal is, how you’re going to get there and the way you will do things to make it all happen. This should be part of your DNA and, going back to what I said at the very start, should underpin every decision you make and all that you do.
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Covering the entire marketing mix
Based in Northamptonshire, qoob group helps businesses to market themselves effectively.
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In early 2022, alongside their acquisition of SilverDisc, the Management Team behind Square Media officially formed the qoob group. Square Media had already enjoyed years of skyrocketing growth, and having recently established a sister company, geexe, it was time to bring all the companies together under a single common entity. The formation of the qoob group serves to add an additional dimension to the businesses, allowing us to pool expertise, attract top talent and continue to deliver exceptional marketing campaigns for our clients.
No individual agency can be good at everything... But as a group we offer a true full-service marketing agency, dealing with consultancy, strategy, and advice, through to implementation across print, media, and digital.
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