Whilst shooting on location we’ve received many perplexed looks from folks passing by. In September JMS Group’s crew travelled to Ipswich to film the University of Suffolk’s new TV & cinema campaign. Confused stares reached a new high!
We’ve been collaborating with the University of Suffolk (UOS) and their Ipswich neighbours Firebrand Creative to spread the university’s message: Be fearless, not faceless. At the UOS you can be yourself, not an anonymous cog in the machine of a giant university.
The campaign began with a 10-second teaser to advertise the UOS’ fictional nemesis. At the large and impersonal ‘University of Sheep’ individuality is discouraged – the students wear identical sheep masks and are referred to only by number. We were inspired by hacktivist network Anonymous and the cult TV series Mr Robot. We gave the University of Sheep a dystopian feel by shooting at a suburban bus stop and washing out the colours.
Several days after the release of the 10-second teaser, a 30-second ‘reveal’ commercial joined the campaign. In the thirty, one of the ‘sheep’ waiting at the bus stop removes their mask. They break free from the bland anonymity of the University of Sheep, and stride towards the bright and lively UOS campus.
The campaign aired on Sky AdSmart and was also shown in Odeon cinemas across East Anglia.
To bring life to your next TV campaign contact the team on 01603 811855 or email francesca.deLacey@jms-group.com.
Over many years visiting Norfolk homes and offices and helping customers choose the fabrics for their handmade blinds, local people have been asking for countryside themed blinds. Although Norwich Sunblinds source fabric from a wide range of suppliers, they felt that their customers wanted more choice. And what better way to do this than to commission a local artist to produce some bespoke designs.
Talented local artist, Mandy Clarke, has created two exclusive designs for Norwich Sunblids, which are available as limited edition fabrics.
The design is printed onto the fabric, which is then made into bespoke blinds. The fabric is water-resistent and wipeable, which makes it ideal for kitchen windows.
There will be only 100 of each blind, and the lucky owners will receive a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist.
Fiona Garwood, Director of Norwich Sunblinds says:
“We wanted some cheerful floral countryside type fabrics, which would sit well on kitchen windows, and particularly wanted a poppy design, as lots of clients have poppy designs on their mugs and dinner plates.
The bramble fabric has some nice colours to blend with lots of colour schemes, and brings the outside in on a dull winters day.”
These fabric designs are exclusive to Norwich Sunblinds and can be viewed in either of the Norfolk Showrooms or you can book an in-home appointment:
The new website creates a stronger online presence for the school, along with a greatly improved navigation system to allow parents to find the information they need quickly and easily.
You can see more about this project on our website.
Why it pays for employers to understand mental health at work By Marina Glasgow, Deputy Director, Acas East of England 1. Did you know? 2. 5 common signs of workplace stress 3. Stress at work: an employer’s checklist 4. Minimising stress and maximising production 5. The first steps to stress-free working
In an increasingly competitive 24/7 economy, companies are facing unprecedented pressure to perform. Longer hours and heavier workloads are having a significant impact on employee health. And poor management could be to blame. A study by CV Library shows that workplace stress is on the rise with over half of employees saying they were dealing with stress at work on a daily basis. Worse still, almost two thirds of the people questioned believed that they received little or no support from their managers. Stress and anxiety in the workplace are not just bad news for your workforce; they can also have a negative impact on performance, productivity, recruitment and your ability to retain staff. So it makes sense to spot the signs, establish a healthy work/life balance and introduce measures that effectively manage work-related stress.
Did you know? • Mental health problems cost UK employers £30 billion a year through lost production, recruitment and absence. • Over half of the nation’s workers (53%) are dealing with stress at work. • 89% of professionals believe being susceptible to stress at work can have an impact on career progression. • Two thirds (67%) admit that they feel stress can negatively affect performance.
5 common signs of workplace stress Employees who are suffering from stress may exhibit unusual behaviours, or sudden mood changes. Knowing what to look for may help employers to tackle the problem at an early stage. 1. An increase in unexplained absence or sick leave 2. Poor performance or time-keeping 3. Poor decision-making 4. A lack of energy 5. Uncommunicative or moody behaviour
Stress at work: an employer’s checklist Stress can hit employees at any level and in any role. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has identified six common causes of stress at work. These provide a clear check-list for employers. • Unreasonable demands – heavy workloads can place heavy demands on staff. It is also important to consider the working environment • A lack of control – employees may feel that they have little or no say over their schedules • A lack of support – staff may believe that that they are left to tackle problems without the support of line managers or other colleagues • Poor working relationships – a lack of trust, or the wrong culture, can cause stress and anxiety • Uncertain roles – unclear or ill-defined roles can lead to conflict and leave employees feeling confused • Unexpected change – sudden organisational changes can make employees feel isolated and uncertain
Minimising stress and maximising production While mental health is complex, there are a number of things managers can do to help their employees cope with work-related stress. The Centre for Mental Health charity estimates that employers could cut the cost of mental health – in lost production and replacing staff – by a third – just by improving their management of mental health at work. The key is to focus on the factors that are within your control. The HSE has developed a suite of management standards, which help organisations to tackle the key causes of stress and anxiety at work. These offer guidance in the following areas: • Demands – ensuring employees can cope with the demands of their workload, work patterns and working environment • Control – allowing employees to have more of a say in the way they approach their work • Support – providing encouragement, sponsorship and resources to address employee issues and concerns • Relationships – promoting positive working to avoid conflict and responding quickly to unacceptable behaviour • Role – defining roles and responsibilities to remove ambiguity and responding to concerns • Change – liaising with employees to minimise the impact of organisational changes and upheaval It is important for employers to compare their current workplace culture with these standards and continually evolve their working practices to eliminate stressful situations. These simple steps, alongside our top tips for employers, can help to influence employees’ workplace wellbeing and performance.
The first steps to stress-free working Employers don’t have to be qualified counsellors to make a difference to their staff’s wellbeing. Encouraging employees to talk and being a good listener can provide the perfect opportunity for people to discuss problems at home, or other factors that may be affecting their performance at work. It is also important for employers to keep an open mind. There are many misconceptions about people with mental health. And the more line managers understand about mental health issues, the more they can do to help their staff cope with the challenges the modern workplace poses. There is lots more information about managing mental health including stress at www.acas.org.uk/mentalhealth Marina will be hosting Acas mental health and wellbeing conference: Shining a Light on Mental Health and Wellbeing at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford on 23 January 2018 with Sir Brendan Barber and Francoise Woolley of Acas, Andy Woodcock and Audrey Clark of Brentwood Community Print and mental health ambassador Rachel Kelly. Come along and find out more about managing health, wellbeing and stress to improve resilience, the impact of our own mental health and wellbeing, initiatives for support and the legal implications of discrimination and mental health.
We believe employing young people brings a wide range of benefits, such as;
· More diverse and creative approaches to problem solving
· Energises the workplace with increased adaptability to change
· Cost-effective way to grow a workforce
· Encourages shared values and good practice
· Insight into changing markets
· Increased loyalty and reduced staff turnover
On Track is a new service, which aims to remove barriers to employment for some of Norfolk’s most vulnerable young people. It is focused on maximising the opportunities of 16 to 24 year olds furthest from the labour market, to access the skills, qualifications and the self-confidence needed to secure and sustain employment.
It provides a package of short training courses tailored to personal needs with a systematic focus on getting participants training, education and work ready. It is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and European Social Fund as part of Building Better Opportunities programme. It is led byThe Matthew Project in partnership with YMCA, ACE, GYROS, NANSA and The Princess Trust.
On Track provides free support and training for employers of On Track participants. We train work-based mentors and offer training to staff to raise awareness of issues such as mental health in the work place.
Find out how you and your organisation can get involved by joining us at our launch event on Thursday 23rd November 08.30 – 11.00 at Kings Centre, Kings Street Norwich, NR1 1PH.
Pure Executive brings region’s Finance Directors together to discuss gender pay reporting and GDPR
Senior finance professionals from across the East of England have come together to discuss topical regulation updates including gender pay reporting and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) at the Autumn series of Finance Director (FD) Breakfast Clubs.
The quarterly FD Breakfast Clubs are organised by accountancy firm Grant Thornton in association with executive recruitment consultants Pure Executive to provide forums for the region’s finance leaders to come together and discuss topical issues likely to impact on businesses and the local economy.
Five Autumn breakfast sessions were held in Cambridge, Chelmsford, Peterborough, Ipswich and Norwich between 16 October and 2 November and were attended by over 130 finance professionals. The interactive sessions provided a combination of technical updates and strategic thinking around gender pay gap reporting, changes to GDPR regulations and best practice on tax governance.
Tom Earl, Director at Pure Executive, said: “The continued introduction of new reporting requirements such as gender pay and GDPR brings an element of both internal and external financial and reputational risk to all organisations. Our latest FD breakfast clubs focussed on managing this risk by providing practical support and information to help ensure organisations are compliant and that they understand how some of these requirements will impact businesses on a practical level.”
The FD Breakfast Clubs were first launched in 2014 by Pure Executive and Grant Thornton to help support the local business community and to grow the regional economy. Subjects covered at previous sessions have included Corporate Governance, Apprenticeship Levy, Cyber Security and Data Protection and the impact of Brexit.
The FD Breakfast Clubs are open to all senior finance professionals. For more information about future events email Lucy Plumb: lucy.plumb@pureexecutive.com
Having succeeded in a number of hugely competitive industries online including payday and guarantor loans, bridging finance and construction, we were approached by the team at Perfect Funeral Plans who are growing their company, offering and brand. With the price of the average funeral in the UK having risen by more than 100% in the last 12 years, Perfect Funeral Plans have set up to establish a service that allows customers to afford funeral plans for the future.
Although not something most people wish to think about, funeral plans are important as set up and in place, loved ones will not need to foot the expensive bill of burial or cremation at a very distressing time. These plans cover costs including the burial or cremation, funeral director costs and other costs associated with saying goodbye to a loved one. Allowing the applicant to pay in monthly instalments as opposed to a lump sum up front, these plans are increasing in popularity and Perfect Funeral Plans have seen the need to rank strongly online to offer an important service to consumers.
What we Have Done
Perfect Funeral Plans have a WordPress website which has allowed our Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) the necessary flexibility to get into the heart of the website and its functioning. Initially, we had an in-depth consultation with the client to discuss their needs and aims for their brand. From here we established a clear online strategy encompassing SEO and pay per click (PPC) advertising on Google.
Then, we have implemented SEO-friendly meta data (titles and descriptions) for the site to allow Google and other search engines to efficiently and accurately read and rank the website online. Furthermore, we have produced various landing pages, information and guide resources to engage users and to capture the longer tail searches around their industry that exist online and this has already seen the site rank for a few very good terms that are moving up Google day by day.
In addition, we have moved the website to a secure server to protect user data and information and have paid special attention to the user journey and the speed of the website. This I s to ensure maximum engagement of the customer on the website, something Google give more importance than ever. We will shortly be moving into the mobile user experience on the site, with Google’s new, mobile-first algorithm being fully rolled out shortly.
What is to Come
In order to maximise effectiveness online and to capitalise on the work already carried out to great success, we will be undertaking a strong and clean backlink and online PR strategy. This is to ensure that Perfect Funeral Plans only receive l inks and referral traffic from the highest quality sources and websites. Moreover, we are expanding the offering of Perfect Funeral Plans to allow for other websites to share the content produced by Perfect Funeral Plans to enable the natural acquisition of links from reputable and trusted online sources and websites. We will also be producing additional landing pages, guides and informative content for the website to increase its offering and expand upon the progress made thus far.
We look forward to building further upon the progress already made with the exciting team at Perfect Funeral Plans and are excited for what the future holds for this truly exciting brand and online offering.
The Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) team at Tudor Lodge Consultants is pleased to announce our recent commencement of work with James Howard Education. Offering a novel approach to private tutors and tuition for studies at all levels from primary school through to university level, James Howard Education are an Ofsted accredited agency who are revolutionising the way people are looking at the private tuition industry. Whilst traditionally, pupils would need a one on one session with a specific tutor, James Howard’s approach differs.
They are able to offer both one to one tuition for those needing specific attention and also group tutorials and study groups run in relaxed and friendly settings. Based in North West London, James Howard Education caters to students from all backgrounds. Also, rather than offering tutors who cover numerous subjects to a mediocre level, James Howard provide expert tutors who specialise in a particular field and are experienced in getting students top results. This ranges from the sciences to religious studies, mathematics and beyond.
With shining testimonials and reviews of their tutors and services, James Howard Education have received a lot of customers and clients via referral and word of mouth.
James Howard Education approached the team at Tudor Lodge Consultants with the concern that they were not receiving much attention or traffic online. They already have a website, built on the Wix platform and seeking to improve organic traffic via Google and search engine results pages (SERPs), our team have been working on the website with the team at James Howard.
We have initially reviewed their website, its architecture, content and crawling factors (how Google and other search engines actually ‘read’ and rank the site for users.) Our team undertook the necessary initial keyword research to see where the online organic traffic in the tutoring industry lies. Having provided the results and consulted with the team at James Howard, we have been optimising the crawling factors such as their onsite meta titles and descriptions, H titles and content in general.
In addition, James Howard Education have never undertaken any digital PR campaigns in the past and therefore have had little to no online presence. They also have a non-existent backlink profile. Working across our network of strong, clean and SEO-friendly websites, we are working towards strengthening the domain of James Howard and also helping them to be found by increased numbers of users via referral traffic on strong and reputable third-party websites.
We are continuing our work on the James Howard Education website and look forward to further building on the work and progress already undertaken as well as that to come.
Atkins Gregory, Cambridgeshire-based commercial contract cleaning provider, and part of the Monthind Group, is both delighted and proud to announce that it has received the bronze award from the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS), in recognition of our commitment to the scheme.
ERS encourages employers to support defence and inspire others to do the same. The scheme encompasses bronze, silver and gold awards for employer organisations that pledge, demonstrate or advocate support to defence and the armed forces community, and align their values with the Armed Forces Covenant.
Atkins Gregory’s Managing Director, Simon Biggs, says: “I am a veteran, ex-Army and a big supporter of the reservists. The Armed Forces Covenant is the nation’s commitment to those who serve in the armed forces and their families; that commitment continues after they leave the services. Reservists and veterans have a host of skills to bring to the workplace, but sometimes need a little extra support or a helping hand to during the transition to the civilian career ladder. Atkins Gregory is proud to be part of that. It’s not a totally altruistic gesture, though, as a company we benefit from the forces’ training, whether that is in management skills or general work ethics, it makes sense for us to invest in these people.
“Signing up to the Armed Forces Covenant ERS brings a host of positive outcomes to any organisation, it enhances the workforce, not only with skills but also with accredited training; it demonstrates a commitment to local community and Corporate Social Responsibility; and it gives something back to those who would give their lives for our freedom and safety.”
For more details of Atkins Gregory’s services please visit https://atkinsgregory.com/ or call 01223 438118
We hate bad WiFi. It really annoys us, especially when we have been working on an installation all day, check into the hotel for the night and the WiFi doesn’t work. We always book a hotel on the basis that there is WiFi but its always a hit or miss experience.
The Norwich and Norfolk Eco Awards celebrate projects and schemes with a strong ecological or environmentally-friendly ethos, or groups and organisations which can show they adopt a sound eco approach to their business.
The awards recognise local unsung environmental heroes, who put the environment at the heart of their work. It’s free to enter and easy to apply, open now for applications until 1 December 2017.
All category winners will receive a trophy and certificate, as well as permission to use Eco Awards branding for marketing purposes.
The winner of the primary school category will also receive brand new tablet devices for their school.
The awards are hosted jointly by Norwich City Council and Norfolk County Council.
Vote for your eco hero To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the awards, we’re giving you the chance to nominate someone (or yourself) for a new Eco Hero category. The winning eco hero should be able to demonstrate a passion for protecting or improving the environment. Our judges will shortlist four potential eco heroes in December, and there will be a public vote throughout January to choose the winner. So the nominees will have plenty time to drum up lots of support and get as many votes as they can.
A district heating project installed by Attleborough-based Finn Geotherm has won a prestigious industry trophy at the national Heating & Ventilating Review (HVR) Awards 2017. The installation undertaken for housing association Flagship Group has been crowned Sustainable Project of the Year.
The HVR Awards 2017 celebrate innovation in the building services sector. The awards recognise and reward companies across the country that demonstrate excellence in their field, outstanding technology or exceptional customer service and true innovation in the way they operate or in what they produce.
The Sustainable Project of the Year Award was presented to Finn Geotherm for its ground source heat pump system, which is delivering domestic heating and hot water for 30 flats at Orchard Close in Watton, Norfolk. The first domestic heating scheme for communal use in the East of England, it will cut Flagship customers’ heating bills by two thirds, creating annual savings of hundreds of pounds. In addition, it enables Flagship to dramatically reduce its maintenance costs and CO2 emissions. The project is expected to be the first of many for the housing association, with Flagship hoping to roll out other ground source heat pump systems to other customers as part of its plan to create more affordable and environmentally friendly homes.
Guy Ransom, commercial director of Finn Geotherm, said: “We are absolutely delighted to win this award for our project at Flagship. District heating offers housing associations such as Flagship a fantastic opportunity not only to dramatically reduce the cost of heating for their customers but also to have a significant impact on the organisation’s carbon emissions and green credentials. Using heat pumps in this way should be the future of heating for every housing association and we’re very pleased to be recognised for enabling Flagship to become one of the first to really harness the potential of district heating.”
Matt Smith, Compliance Manager at Flagship, said: “To win this award is fantastic news. We have worked hard to get the scheme up and running, so to be recognised in this way is a great achievement for everyone involved. We are continually trying to improve the service we offer our customers while at the same time reduce our carbon footprint, and the system in Watton has allowed us to do both.”
For more information on ground and air source heat pumps and details on Finn Geotherm, visit www.finn-geotherm.co.uk.