To help the audience visualise this complex concept and form a quick, easy understanding of the uRenew value proposition Delineo suggested an ‘animatic’ presentation. These animated shorts can be hosted online, embedded into presentations or used in any number of broadcast situations. They are a simple, cost-effective means to inform a wide audience about the merits of a solution in a highly consistent manner.

The animatic can be viewed in Fullscreen, simply click the “Fullscreen” button in the lower right-hand corner of the media player.

Click here to view our latest videos and animatics.

Want to advertise in next week’s Super Bowl? Got $3.5 million? You’re in.

On February 5th, dozens of advertisers will cough up the dough to advertise in the 35 minutes of space surrounding the 2012 Super Bowl. Over 111 million watched the event in 2011.

Last year, we were treated to adverts from Honda, Coca Cola and Budweiser. This year sees the return of Ferris Bueller, a barking new Honda Advert and trailers for this summer’s biggest blockbusters.

Unsurprisingly, given the audience figures, the Super Bowl has been home to a number of advertising’s most iconic affairs. Here’s just a few of our favourites.

It’s that time of year again, the end of January, and all of us romantic gentleman start thinking about the outstanding gestures we can make to our loved ones on Valentine’s Day. This year, I am inspired. Over the last three weeks we have been working on a Valentine’s project for a client, helpfully suggesting what amazing romantic gestures can be made on Valentine’s Day. Mrs Rowlands is in for a treat.

So the creative teams have gone overboard with romantic gestures that cost the earth, gestures that would woo the best friend, the mother-in-law and, more worryingly, attract the attention of my wife. Typically, the Client Services team came up with financially prudent ideas, ones that are achievable and within the timeframes of delivering before the 14th February.

So, at the briefing, the inevitable question came my way.

‘Sam, what romantic gestures would you suggest to somebody this Valentine’s Day?’

After a rather uncomfortable silence and an outbreak of a cold sweat, I quickly established I was devoid of ideas beyond a card and a box of chocolates from Spar.

But having given this more time, my mind tracked back to something I stumbled across on YouTube late last year. A flash mob, or smart mob proposal, on The London Underground…This guy really got it right.

The flash mob originated as something of a social experiment, purporting to take the mickey out of hippies, It’s been extended to organised pillow fights and silent discos. And now, romantic proposals.

But more importantly, this discussion of flash mobs also gives me the chance to wax lyrical about my favourite ad of 2010 (going back a while I know), T-Mobile’s Love-Actually inspired, flash/smart mob at Heathrow’s Terminal 5.

We love this. We really do. Love it…

More than I love my wife? No. That would be dangerous. Think ahead this Valentine’s Day. You don’t have any excuses.

It’s always been popular to apply a bit of a tune or jingle to your brand communication. Some of the earliest advertising relied on the method to grab attention and communicate what a product does. This advert for Colgate from the 1960s for instance:

We still see a lot of brands doing this today, but with the wide range of musical genres available, brands can target different audiences with a specific type of music. For example, you’ve got the Toyota Yaris advert which uses rap music to appeal to a ‘cooler’, younger audience.

Then, you’ve got something like the recent Weightwatchers Advert that uses Alesha Dixon’s latest single; it’s designed to appeal to a wider female audience. These two ads stand out more for me than the likes of Go Compare and WeBuyAnyCar and, whereas these advertising campaigns almost use a badgering technique to make you remember who they are, Weightwatchers and Toyota have chosen and devised music that is not only relevant to their brand but also relevant to their audience. They’re memorable for the right reasons.

The right choice of song can even communicate your brand to a wider audience, for instance this Mcains ad.

But, is presenting your advert in a musical way the easy way out? It obviously works, and it has done for decades, but I wonder if there will could be a better way to communicate a product or brand than via the musical medium.

My personal favourite though is this little chap…

A recent project completed by Manchester creative agency Delineo was to design a campaign for Liberty SIPP pensions, a company offering self-invested personal pensions; a pension which allows individuals to make their own investment choices, charging no fees on drawdown.

The aim of the campaign was to raise the profile of Liberty amongst financial advisers, providing the client with a greater presence in London and beyond. A key part of this strategy was to emphasise its unique “No Fees on Drawdowns” proposition. Other objectives included raising the company’s presence and brand awareness.

In order to highlight the USP of “No Fees on Drawdown”, one of the main elements was to re-skin the clients website landing page, producing an interactive banner which brought the website into line with the campaign creative. The campaign also included Liberty sponsoring IFAonline and Citywire, who are a London-based financial publishing and information group.

A member of the Liberty Pensions team commented: “ It’s exactly how I pictured the campaign in my head. I’m so happy with it, now I can relax.”

You can read more recommendations of our agency work here.

James Tilbury blogs on his first days’ experience of working in the planning and strategy team at Delineo and what he hopes to achieve during his placement.

Having recently completed a degree in marketing management, I have spent the last few months considering the next stage in my life and the best way to start my career in my chosen specialism. After quite a bit of extensive research I came across Manchester advertising agency Delineo. Several emails later (and some very quick replies – thanks Simon!), I was all set to begin my work experience, which will hopefully provide me with an insight into how a marketing agency operates. Having always aspired to work in an agency, I was delighted to be placed in one with such a great reputation.

Having successfully completed my first day, and just beginning my second, I feel I have learnt significantly more than I did in my first few weeks of university! My first day started with a warm welcome, followed by several meetings with Head of Marketing Ella and some brief desk market research. I cannot wait to get more involved and follow various projects through the development process, getting to see the final results at the end. In particular, the one subject I have picked up on and have been very interested in, is the use of search engine optimisation. Having always appreciated the importance of search engines in directing business, I am excited to learning more about this area, possibly going on to specialise in it in the future. I also didn’t quite realise the benefits of online social networks and their potential to be measured for directing business and creating awareness.

Regardless of what the rest of the month brings, I know the rest of my experience at Delineo will be extremely invaluable and I’m looking forward to getting stuck in.

Today is the most depressing day of the year: Blue Monday. We’ve got no money, our resolutions have fallen by the wayside, Christmas is a fading memory and we’re swimming in debt. It’s the end of the world as we know it. Until tomorrow.

Or at least, that’s what ‘Blue Monday’ is all about. We’re miserable and, at last, we have a reason for it. Except we don’t.

Blue Monday was a publicity campaign for the now defunct Sky Travel; a stunt based on a convoluted equation which proved the date to be the most depressing day of the year. The mathematical sum, which was designed Cardiff lecturer Dr. Cliff Arnall (or the PR agency, depending on who you talk to), proves the mid-January date in question to be the most unhappiest date in the calendar.

Here’s a bit from the press release, originally sent out in 2005:

“Blue Monday – January Blues Day is Officially Announced: The 26th January is the most depressing day in the calendar for the majority of Brits as measured by a simple mathematical formula developed on behalf of Sky Travel.

“By taking into account various factors such as avg temperature (C), days since last pay (P), days until next bank holiday (B), avg hours of daylight (D) and number of nights in during mth (N), we create a formula such as C(P+B) N+D. This formula allows us to work out the day with the highest ‘depression factor’ which you can then use as a focus for making things better, booking your holiday etc …”

Naturally, the whole thing has been thoroughly disproved. Still, that doesn’t stop thousands of us talking about Blue Monday every year. Below, you’ll find a chart documenting today’s references to ‘Blue Monday’ on Twitter.

Interestingly though, Sky Travel closed its doors in 2010. So, while the notion of Blue Monday has been adopted by various companies hoping to capitalise on the day, this seven-year campaign has been fuelled, mainly, by us talking about it. And we can’t think of another advertising campaign quite like it.

For many, empty space in an advert is the enemy. Why leave an empty space when you can fill it with more information, right? But, if this text doesn’t add anything to the idea or the purpose of the ad then why fill it?

Flicking through Marketing Week, I came across an ad for recruitment agency Collectivo. The advert simply had the word ‘jump’ in the middle of a large blue space. It made me stop and look at it closer. It’s unusual now for adverts to give up the majority of their media to empty space. But, I find empty space very intriguing. It focuses you to look closer and find out what is going on.

Other good examples of this includes the Volvo safety-pin advert. With such a simple idea, the image said everything that needed to be said.

Simple copy, simple execution, simple message. For me, creating an effective advert couldn’t be any more simple. Although, saying that, the simplest ideas are always the hardest to find.

Yemi Bolatiwa joins Delineo’s client services team. Here, she shares her thoughts on her first week.

I started my marketing career working as a marketing assistant at Sunshine Dance Studios Ltd Manchester following an internship, and went on to work as a business development executive at a B2B advertising agency.

I am pleased to now be a part of the client services and campaign management team here at Delineo, and think that this position is the right one for me! I graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University and attained a Bsc Hons in International Consumer Marketing in July 2011. I dare say I’ve learnt more about marketing in the last six months than in the three years of my degree!

I’m really eager to get involved with the broad portfolio of clients that Delineo have, and aim to be a key part of the team and future projects.

So far, I have found the role challenging (in the best sense of the word). For me, working in a job that keeps you on your toes and keeps your brain ticking is the best role; you grow and learn every day. The whole team have been more than welcoming and I’ve settled into the office really quickly, not to mention having already had a few good laughs.

I am inspired by marketing and advertising that is charming. By this, I mean a campaign that uses wit, humour or a clever streak which makes it memorable. These types of adverts are successful to me because they’re memorable and tend to resonate with the viewer emotionally, while also gaining the respect of the consumer. An example of this for me is the Skittles’ ‘Midas Touch‘ advert, it definitely made me want to go out and buy Skittles in abundance!