Each Friday in The Wrap, one of the North’s leading media and creative figures gives us their take on the week’s news covered by Prolific North. This week it’s the turn of Kieran Edwards, Social Strategy Director, Shoot the Moon.
Unfortunately, this week began with a solid reminder of just how rapid and direct social media can be. The news that Patrice Evra conducted himself in a ‘patronising’ manner towards Eni Aluko was, in fact, old news by the time it had reached our favourite publications. A dive into our social listening platform depicts just how reactive we are, with thousands of tweets condemning Evra and his actions. It’s something myself and the team are very aware of when working through social strategies, but this eye-opening mishap should reiterate just how important our every move is within a social space. Attention to detail is key, and crisis management isn’t a buzzword for the corporates – between Love Island and Evra’s muggy move, ITV have their work cut out for them this week.
Switch across to BBC on the other hand, and we’re seeing England’s victory against Tunisia become the most watched TV programme of 2018 (18.3 million), beating the Royal Wedding. A great show of support for the lions and, if you take a look at the shift in social sentiment following the match, I’m sure the players would have had another lift when scrolling through Twitter that evening.
Another positive from the week was the news that two very well-established restaurant and bar operators have appointed Manchester agencies to implement their digital marketing strategies. Roland Dransfield have been tasked with launching Drake & Morgan’s new concept, The Anthologist; and Gusto partner with Cube3 as they look to gain a deeper understanding of their customer’s digital habits. As our work at Shoot the Moon is predominantly within the Food, Hospitality and Retail sectors, we’re well aware of the barriers we often face when looking to work with London-based operators, who like to stick with London-based agencies. But it’s great to see this changing. Between clients and our Food Porn Awards, I can see many groups now looking to agencies across the North and so I’m pleased to see another two contracts being kept at home this week.
My final comment is on the announcement that Manchester and Liverpool will be the first to get 5G, expected to launch by 2020. With the development of new technologies, we’re already seeing the strains on our infrastructures to keep up. We recently moved the agency to be 100% cloud-based, along with an upgraded solution for client asset management. It’s about being easy to work with, 24:7 and maximising value for time – so the 5G “photonic” technology will allow us to continue to build on that ethos, as well as pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve digitally.
