I can work, I want to work

Working and volunteering make a huge contribution to social inclusion, parity of esteem and purpose for those with disabilities.

Scottish Personal Assistant Employers Network (SPAEN) board member Andy Higgins opens up about how ‘locked-in’ syndrome hasn’t held him back from developing his skill-set or his desire to be in gainful employment. #glassdoor

A short film developed with SMARTS Communicate for Scottish charity SPAEN on the eve of new welfare powers coming to Scotland.

 

Watch your speed on country roads

Following last year’s collaboration with SMARTS Communicate on the Scottish Government’s country roads campaign we’ve just completed a trilogy of hard-hitting films on the lasting trauma of fatal road accidents.

British Lions and Scottish International Stuart Hogg remembers his best friend Richard, whilst Firefighter Iain McGarry and Paramedic Tanya Ellis share their haunting experiencs of attending at the scene.

The target audience was young male drivers who account for three out of four fatalities on Scotland’s country roads.

The campaign has been a great success. Our previous Stuart Hogg film received 274k views and was broadcast to over 6 million during the 2015 Rugby World Cup. You can watch here

New home of the Scottish Open

We were invited by design agency Glowfish Creative to produce a promotional film for Dundonald Links – the new home of the Scottish Open. This championship course on the Ayrshire coast was designed by American golf architect Kyle Phillips.

The aim of the film is to portray Dundonald as an exceptional golfing experience in tune with the natural environment and played with the true spirit of the game. It is presented through the sensory experience of a single player as he plays a round here for the first time. The narrative captures the atmosphere, whets the appetite and gives a flavour of the undulating landscape, deep bunkers, challenging greens, and coastal habitat.

Alison Hunter, Marketing Manager at Dundonald Links said “We enjoyed working with James and are delighted with the end result. He captured Dundonald Links beautifully, in particular the camaraderie between player and golfer.”

 

Scotland’s Stuart Hogg shares tragic story

Around 55% of road deaths in Scotland happen on country roads, and driving too fast for the conditions is the most common cause. Last year alone 755 people were killed or seriously injured whilst driving on country roads. 75% of them were male.

This video was commissioned for a Scottish Government led campaign that aims to show that you never know what’s round the corner when travelling on a country road, and driving at an appropriate speed gives you more time to react. It was filmed on location in East Lothian during the making of a new TV ad.

Visit  Don’t Risk It to find out more about the campaign.

Glasgow Welcomes

A celebration and look back at the success of the Glasgow Welcomes programme. The film was commissioned as a centre piece for the 2015 signature event held at University of Strathclyde.

Glasgow Welcomes was developed in partnership with local tourism businesses to enhance the experience of all visitors to Glasgow and create a city acclaimed for its high level of service excellence.

The film features time-lapse photography and contributions from Leader of the Council Cllr Gordon Matheson, restaurateur James Rusk of Hutchesons Bar & Brasserie and Butchershop Bar & Grill and CEO of Glasgow Airport Amanda McMillan.

Visit  Glasgow Welcomes to find out more about the programme.

Nanu Nanu: Aliens Land in Campbeltown

We’ve made an ‘out of this world’ alien spoof for Weber Shandwick to highlight the bid from Machrihanish Airbase Community Company’s (MACC) to become Europe’s first spaceport. #backMACC

We spent a fantastic day at the airbase – aka UK’s Area 51 – in Campbeltown and around the Kintyre coast with two very friendly and ‘up for it’ aliens!

The spoof got a full-page spread in The Sun on 1 May and coverage in the Herald, Daily Express and Evening Times!

Visit  Discover Space UK for more info

Live Fast Die Old

We’ve been at the Scottish Motorcycle Show with Stripe Communciations interviewing bikers about their favourite routes, tips for the touring season and what they love about biking.
The films were designed to build an audience on social media for the Scottish Government’s new motorbike safety campaign ‘Live Fast Die Old’. With over 6000 views and 50 shares on Facebook in less than a week this is a great example of how straightforward, fast turnaround video content can quickly grow an audience. Each interviewee was contacted when the content went online which meant the films were shared across loads of different networks.
The official safety ad will be launched on April 10. Like the ‘Live Fast Die Old’ Facebook page for more info

Your Apprentice in Safe Hands

Our new animated film promoting The Scottish Painting and Decorating Apprenticeship Council’s (SPADAC) apprenticeship scheme to employers is rolling out across Scotland.

The Scottish Decorators’ Federation specially commissioned our team to create the two-minute animation. Eagle-eared listeners may recognise the narrator as Karen Bartke who plays Officer Karen in BBC Scotland’s spoof documentary Scot Squad.

The finished product – believed to be the first of its kind in the sector – has already wowed many in the industry and will be used by CITB’s Apprentice Officers to explain to employers how their apprentices could benefit from the scheme.

Ian Rogers, chief executive of SDF, said: “The idea behind of the TV cards is to stand out and promote the scheme. The TV brochure also ensures that, through AOs, we deliver a consistent message to employers about SPADAC and what we do for our apprentices.

“SPADAC is an apprenticeship scheme that has been recognised by BIS so it’s only fitting that everything we do reflects our best practice approach, including marketing.”

Phil Ford, Strategic Partnerships Director (Scotland) said: “CITB is delighted to support this fantastic new initiative. This new format is an engaging and innovative way of reaching employers, and will help to increase the number of apprentice registrations, at a time when we urgently need more young people entering the construction industry.”

The film will also be available on the SPADAC website and the websites of the schemes partners – SDF, CITB and SQA.