Member Article

The bgroup appoints team of trend surfers

The bgroup has appointed its very own crack team of international trend surfers to help it remain at the forefront of youth communications.

One trend surfer has been installed in each of the creative agency’s three teams, focussing on digital, marketing and design developments in youth communications in their specialist fields.

The pioneering approach comes in response to a recent report by the Office of Communications (OFCOM), which revealed that the youth market is the hardest audience to reach through traditional communication methods. Instead, more and more young people are favouring new social software tools such as podcasting, wikis, blogging and instant messaging.

Siobhan Bales, MD of The bgroup said: “Our approach to seeking out the latest marketing trends, and understanding international developments in our field is allowing us to gain a national reputation as innovators in our field. Every member of our team takes an interest in the cutting edge of their specialist area, be it design, media or web, but our trend surfers have specific responsibility for analysing those trends, testing them out and if appropriate, introducing them to our clients when we map out their campaigns.”

Chris Stainthorpe, manager of the digital division, looks mainly to tech blogs from the US to learn about the latest in web programming and online tools that could benefit his clients.

Dan Sawyer tracks the marketing campaigns from many of the world’s biggest brand names for new media developments that are testing new communications channels and showing good returns on investment, as well as keeping an eye on underground movements in viral marketing.

Designer Glen Craig is responsible for aesthetic forecasting and seeking out the newest design techniques setting the images the rest of the world will follow as they filter through to the mainstream.

The bgroup have already put the results of their research into practice in the North East with the introduction of the ‘Flash Mob’ viral marketing technique – made popular in New York - to support one of their national campaigns. They successfully gathered 200 young people to take part in a mysterious photo shoot on Newcastle’s Quayside. True to its name, the shoot only lasted 20 minutes but it worked due to its use of SMS viral marketing.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .