what3words x Jaguar Land Rover

The Perfect Shot

Branded content for what3words and Jaguar Land Rover / Defender

I co-wrote and co-produced the film, conceived the overall creative concept, shaped and edited the online and print articles and was the client lead.

This is the best example yet of the multi-channel content offering we built at BASE from scratch, how it all connects, intertwines and gets the best value for the client brand.

All around a cool, epic story using one of the influencers we’ve built deep relationships with, in this case a Nat Geo presenter and his crew.

The central video was distributed by all three parties (BASE, JLR global YouTube (!) and what3words PR networks) and we pulled off the shoot using our US talent, previous US adventure shoot experience and knowledge of the eerie and spectacular desert landscape of the Alabama Hills.

We built out the story to make a striking and unusual (and a bit Goth?!) mag cover, a central spread and a print marketing tool for our clients what3words. Online we added social and interactive elements so that viewers can be inspired and take real action too.

It was all topped off by the capture of spine-tingling, starry nightscape shot of Mount Whitney.

GE Healthcare

‘Lou’ - a B.A.D. story

It was really tricky to get the tone and story right for this one. It was a video campaign to drive awareness and behaviour change around Bile Acid Diarrhoea for GE Healthcare. Bile Acid Diarrhoea can be soul-destroying and debilitating for sufferers, alongside the other chronic effects.

The aim was to give sufferers a voice and show them that there were options to improve the situation and not to suffer in silence, as many understandably do.

I led and designed the audience research before scripting and what came through from the patients we interviewed was a common sense of dark irony about the absurdity of the condition but also a longing for companionship and shared experience.

In the concepting, scripting, and creative direction of this film, working with a brilliant German animator remotely, this is what we tried to pull off. Also managed to cast one of my favourite actors from Smack the Pony and sneak in a Die Hard reference.

Austria Tourism

Branded content

For this brief from Austria tourism, the ask was to drive consideration and visits to a gravel biking destination at short notice (in late summer/early autumn 2023)

Taking an outline idea from one of the staff writers I built a multichannel story based on the insight that ‘gravel-curious’ riders are attracted as much by the social scene around biking as the biking itself.

I used the BASE global network to identify local influencers and creators who along with our UK subject specialist writer could tell this story, craft the content, feature within it and amplify it.

WWF

Content Strategy & Audience Development

For WWF, I help steer the content strategy as a consultant bringing data-informed insights to improve new and existing content, overall member engagement and campaign contributions.

You can only see the member content if, well, you’re a member.. so we’d have to chat this one through in person.

BASE Adventure Media

Sizzle

I wrote and co-produced this BASE sizzle. We wanted to show (in 60 secs, gulp) the richness of modern adventure culture, how participation and activity levels are rocketing and convey the influence of our network - our audience, our team, our network of collaborators and influencers. All pegged hard to the moment.

Its purpose is for an investment campaign, with both angel investors and crowdfunding, as well as to introduce the BASE offering to clients and agencies.

It seems to work really well. Which is nice.

Citalia

Social strategy

For Immediate Media, I set the social strategy and creative direction of the executions for longstanding travel brand Citalia, part of the Travelopia group. Having studied, worked and then got married there, it was cool to be able to inject some of that experience into this ongoing programme of work.

Move Technologies / MoveGB

Comms & content strategy

Back in the pandemic, (urgh, remember that?) I helped launch a new digital product and service set for Move Technologies (formerly MoveGB).

A pretty hard ‘pivot’ was required given the violent market shift. I led all the B2B positioning and messaging as well as the roll-out of the new services.

We made the most of the unique data we had via a marketplace platform to flip it into properly useful insights and recommendations for current and prospective clients.

BASE Adventure Media

Content strategy | Audience development

Also as part of growing the BASE brand and audience, I set up a gear reviewing network of 50+ reviewers and influencers for a key part of the site.

I designed and established SEO optimisation approach, editorial structure, governance and workflow, setting the team off to self-manage.

It’s now the best performing area of the site by some distance.

BASE Adventure Media x Crowdcube

Investment Campaign | Angels + Crowd

Following on from that, I led the team delivering this debut Crowdcube crowdfunding campaign which successfully overfunded at 107% in the ‘worst market for investment since the financial crash of 2008’.

I designed the messaging, strategic approach and creatively directed all of the assets.

I led the angel investor relationship-building, pitched in person at large scale events and directly to individuals. With the lead investors secured, I then coordinated the crowdfund campaign delivery team.

BASE Adventure Media

Brand and digital strategy

When I started working with BASE, it was as a freelance consultant. One of the first jobs we had was to make the brand match-fit for the digital world and move the perception away of being a print-led title.

I led the overhaul of the brand, its content and channels to better engage the target consumer audiences and be more attractive to brand/commercial partners.

Directing a web design and build agency, together we re-organised the website’s IA, added multiple new sections, aligned it with evolved branding and enhanced the content display and interactive possibilities.

Soon (within 6 months) we made organic the main source of traffic, and within 18 months were hitting over 1 million impressions per month according to Google Search Console.

Secret Compass

Brand strategy & identity

A regular freelance job-type over recent years has been working with designers to provide brand identity governance and direction for cross-functional teams.

In this case, we needed to move the brand identity away from its positioning as a trip (albeit pretty extreme trips..) provider to consumers (B2C) and to a new positioning to reflect the business’s evolution to one primarily supplying risk management services to both film & TV industry (B2B). But also continuing those extreme adventure trips.

So, some elastic thinking was required to find a positioning equally rich and relevant to both business aspects and which stayed true to the very well established spirit of the brand.

BASE Adventure Media

YouTube Channel Build

Back at BASE, as a test and learn phase to work out what we might achieve community-building, I co-managed set-up, workflow and content strategy behind the launch of BASE’s YouTube channel. We also built a studio in a seagull-plagued industrial space in south Bristol for it.

We focused on help and hub style content for adventure fans to start with but the more entertaining formats worked best.

We had some good chunky hits and some great lessons too.

Ocean Spray

Ad Creative - print + OOH

Some (refreshingly?) straight forward executional work here for Ocean Spray.

The creative brief was already decided so the job here was to work up key headlines and copywriting in a market with a lot of product parity.

It’s mostly about making sure each individual word works damn hard and keeping brevity.

KOKO (non-dairy brand)

Digital strategy and creative

I conceived this campaign idea answering a creative brief and created some of the supporting executions.

Savoie Mont Blanc tourism

Print advertorial

Sometimes clients don’t have creative but would love to place an ad in the magazine we make at BASE. We often take their raw assets, brand guidelines and create an execution for them in the absence of agency.

Grab iT

YouTube ad creative

I conceived and wrote this ad answering an existing creative brief. It’s kind of based on Technologic by Daft Punk, if you can believe it…

Transformers movie

YouTube viral videos

Some early (like 2009) viral and carefully seeded videos to promote the Transformers film series which I co-devised and produced.

Campaign

Expert comment

As part of a previous agency’s ongoing industry PR efforts, I was one of the internal leaders submitting opinion pieces to Campaign. My idea which I developed, pitched and wrote for the leading industry title.