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We may be only one month in but good news stories have been few and far between so far this year. That’s why we were pleased to see the Office for National Statistics (ONS) report that the number of people in work in the UK has reached a record high. Other findings from the report, which measured the period from September to November 2018, included: Estimated 32.54 million people in work - 141,000 more than for June to August 2018 and 328,000 more than for a year earlier. Employment rate estimated 75.8%, slightly higher than for a year earlier (75.3%) and the highest since comparable estimates began in 1971. 1.37 million unemployed people, 68,000 fewer than for a year earlier. Unemployment rate estimated at 4.0% and hasn’t been lower since December 1974 to February 1975. Average weekly earnings for employees in nominal terms (not adjusted for price inflation) increased by 3.3% excluding bonuses, and by 3.4% including bonuses, compared with a year earlier. Average weekly earnings for employees in real terms (adjusted for price inflation) increased by 1.1% excluding bonuses, and by 1.2% including bonuses, compared with a year earlier. The number of job vacancies rose by 10,000 to a record high of 853,000. What was the reaction? Employment Minister Alok Sharma said to the BBC: "Our pro-business policies have helped boost private sector employment by 3.8 million since 2010, and as the Resolution Foundation's latest report shows, the 'jobs-boom has helped some of the most disadvantaged groups find employment', providing opportunities across society." Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics also told the BBC: "We doubt that wage growth will be sustained over the next six months at November's strong rate. Pay settlements likely will weaken this year, as the previous year's inflation rate usually is the starting point for negotiations. Nonetheless, the labour market now looks tight enough to ensure that wage growth does not slip below the 3% mark." Tony Wilson, director of the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), commented: “With unemployment so low, vacancies at their highest ever and EU migration slowing, there is very little spare capacity to meet employer demands. In recent years, we’ve seen more people joining the workforce from ‘economic inactivity’ – typically parents, older people and those with health conditions – but this is slowing fast, with fewer economically inactive people saying that they want a job than ever before. This lack of capacity may well be fuelling pay growth, and, in turn, may start to feed through into inflation.” Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) director of policy Tom Hadley said at the time: “However the politics play out over the coming weeks and months, employers will need to continue innovating in how they hire and attract staff to fill vacancies. Recruitment professionals will play a pivotal role in finding new ways of meeting workforce challenges in high-demand sectors, ranging from engineering and healthcare to hospitality, construction and logistics.” As we mentioned, anything positive on the news agenda is most welcome right now; however, Jeremy Thomson-Cook, chief economist at currency dealer WorldFirst, offered some perspective in the Guardian: “Employment in itself is a lagging indicator. It is slow to react to positive or negative changes in the economic cycle so, although these numbers are ostensibly for what happened in November, they are more a representation of what happened in the summer. The summer was a good time for the UK economy, and so wage and jobs numbers reflect a time of strong business confidence, heightened productivity and relative political calm. Remember that?” Time will tell, and 2019 is shaping up to be an interesting year for all. One thing’s for certain; Henry Nicholas will continue to work closely with our clients and candidates to ensure in-demand talent is matched to the right roles. Looking to join a team that’s going places? Check out our latest vacancies and apply today.

Bristol is a unique UK city that really does have everything, from creativity and culture to a rich and fascinating history. However, given that it’s home to the Henry Nicholas head office, we would say that wouldn’t we? That’s why we’ve pulled together some ringing endorsements from external sources that prove it really is one of the best places to live and work in the UK today. New York Times seal of approval Bristol was the only English city to feature in the New York Times’ list of 52 places in the world to go in 2018, with the write-up stating: “Edgy, creative Bristol is aiming for another label in 2018: cultural powerhouse”. The article also gave a shout out to the Bristol Old Vic, Britain’s oldest continuously working theatre, St. George’s Bristol concert hall, and the Great Western Railway (yes, really). It’s the best place to live The Sunday Times voted Bristol as the “best place to live in Britain” in 2017, and although it was dethroned in 2018 (damn you, York!), it was name-checked in as one of the “best places to live in the city” according to the Times. The cities on the list were featured thanks to their cutting-edge culture, finest food, buzzing nightlife, and a short walk home. Food, glorious food! Bristol’s food scene has gone from strength to strength in recent years with a host of brilliant new openings and award recognition for established haunts. In fact, Casamia, run by chef Peter Sanchez-Iglesias, was named the best regional restaurant in the UK by online restaurant guide SquareMeal.co.uk. Voted by readers and food bloggers, Casamia climbed 11 places from 2017 to take the coveted top spot. Ben McCormack, editor of SquareMeal, said: “With its 14-course tasting menu, space for just 35 diners, restricted opening hours and contemporary good looks, Casamia has everything you would expect from an ambitious destination restaurant in one of Britain's most vibrant cities.” Making other cities green with envy For a number of years, Bristol has been associated with the green movement and has gained the status as a Green Capital. Founded in 2007, Bristol Green Capital Partnership brings together over 800 member organisations who are committed to working towards Bristol becoming a sustainable city with a high-quality of life for all. Additionally, Bristol is the UK’s first Cycling City and is also a Fairtrade City meaning it trades fairly with nearly five million workers in 58 developing countries. Not only this, but Bristol is also home to the Soil Association and sustainable transport charity Sustrans, and this week it was reported to be the world’s most vegan city! Top for tech Bristol is one of the top 10 cities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa when it comes to technology, according to investment company CBRE. Beating Vienna, Cambridge and Rotterdam to bag sixth place, it was named a ‘super cluster’ which means there are between 50,000 and 70,000 people in high-tech employment. This is partly due to the presence of telecoms companies such as EE, BT, Nokia and Vodafone, and other large tech employers including Lloyds Banking Group. Tom Morris, managing director at CBRE in Bristol commented: “Our strong universities and vibrant urban environment have made Bristol a magnet for young development talent and the city is attracting tech companies of all sizes.” And finally… It’s home to Henry Nicholas! I know, I know, but we couldn’t resist. Take a peek into life at Henry Nicholas and why it’s such a great place to work in Bristol. Henry Nicholas - Work For Us on Vimeo. Interested in joining our team? You won’t regret it. Find out more about us and what we can do for you and your career, and apply today.

Each month, we’ll be catching up with a member of our team to find out more about who they are and what they do at Henry Nicholas. We’re kicking things off with a chat with our superstar consultant Emma Whitting… Emma, is there such a thing as a typical day at Henry Nicholas? No! Every day is different. You could be working on a client brief, talking through roles with candidates, arranging interviews, and visiting clients all of the way through to managing job offers, which involves dealing with the associated paperwork and arranging start dates. You can try to plan your day but everything can change depending on the needs of our clients and candidates, so you’ve got to be ready to adapt, think on your feet and multitask. What type of roles do you recruit for? A lot of agency roles spanning comms, creative, PR and branding. I recruit a broad range of levels from junior account executives, to creative and development all of the way up to senior management and board level roles. I also recruit for in-house roles for well-known brands in retail, travel, finance and the not-for-profit sector, including everything from marketing managers to data and insight specialists. What makes a successful recruitment consultant? Excellent people skills are essential. You’ve got to be able to get stuck in from day one and start building relationships. At Henry Nicholas, consultants must have a genuine passion for our specialist sectors as we spend a lot of time immersing ourselves in our clients’ brands, culture and values in order to speak credibly about their business and roles to candidates. What are today’s candidates looking for from an employer? Salary remains an important factor, but progression is also key. Candidates are looking for evidence of long-term progression opportunities within ambitious companies that continue to grow. The right cultural fit is critical too; candidates want to know more about the team, their personalities, working style and social scene before they get put forward for a role. How about employers? There are skills shortages in certain sectors and therefore a much smaller candidate pool. As a result, retention of staff is crucial, with employers offering competitive salaries and extra benefits to entice the right talent. How would you sum up the culture at Henry Nicholas? We’re like a big family. We support one another, work hard and have fun. There’s a lot of trust put in each member of staff, so it doesn’t feel like there’s a hierarchy as all senior team members are hands-on and offer us help and support. What advice would you give to someone thinking about a career in recruitment? You’ve got to immerse yourself from day one. Get embedded in a specialist industry or sectors and learn as much as possible, so that you can become an authority for both clients and candidates. Recruiters have to be resilient too as things won’t always go your way, so the ability to overcome challenges and obstacles is essential. If you’re passionate about recruitment and want to join Emma on the Henry Nicholas team, send over your details today!

Whether it’s to increase market presence, fight off competition or simply survive, buy-outs and acquisitions have become the norm over the last decade. Not only do some of the deals impact us as consumers, but it can also significantly affect both the UK and international jobs market. 2018 has been a particularly exciting year for brands, with buyouts, acquisitions and mergers accounting for £1.9tn in the first half of the year alone. Let’s take a look... Supermarket sweep March saw the completion of Tesco’s £4bn takeover of wholesaler Booker, creating a true force to be reckoned with in Britain’s £200bn-a-year food market. A deal that hasn’t been quite as straightforward is the planned mega-merger of Sainsbury’s and Asda. The latest sees a court finding that the Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) had treated Sainsbury’s and Asda unfairly in not allowing them more time to respond to evidence submitted as part of an investigation into the proposed £12bn merger. A final ruling is expected in March 2019. Sports Direct flashes the cash Sports Direct bought department store chain House of Fraser for £90m and Evans Cycles as part of a pre-pack administration. While the deals have unfortunately resulted in a large number of job losses and store closures, we’re interested to see what the future holds for both of these high street staples in 2019. Caffeine overload It was reported in August that Coca-Cola (a brand that’s recently graced our blog) would be purchasing Costa Coffee in a £4bn deal that will turn the soft drinks giant into the UK’s biggest coffee shop player, giving it a firm foothold in one of the world’s fastest-growing drinks categories. Getting busy with the fizzy August brought news of another major drinks deal, this time from Coca-Cola rival Pepsi which announced it would be buying Isreal-based SodaStream for £2.5bn. The deal is said to provide Pepsi with a new way of reaching customers in their homes and has been struck at a time when its signature sugary drinks are becoming less popular, especially since the introduction of sugar tax. Oodles of noodles October cemented a £559m deal that saw The Restaurant Group (TRG), who owns Frankie & Benny and Garfunkel’s, purchase Wagamama. Stating that the Asian-themed restaurant had “consistently and significantly outperformed its core UK market”, TRG announced plans to expand the chain in a bid to capitalise on the trend for healthier eating. DAN gets GEG Just this week, it was announced that Dentsu Aegis Network had bought Kansas-based digital agency Digital Evolution Group (DEG), which will join Isobar to form DEG, Linked by Isobar. This mega merger looks to leverage DEG’s existing relationships with Salesforce, Adobe and Microsoft cloud platforms to help the newly formed agency strengthen its marketing technology capabilities. As the UK edges closer to leaving the European Union, we’re expecting an interesting start to 2019 for some of our most recognised brands. So, stay tuned to the Henry Nicholas blog for the latest brand news, opinions and commentary.

Who doesn’t love a good end-of-year round-up? You may have seen our top picks for Christmas adverts in a recent blog post, and now we’ve put our heads together to pick our favourite campaigns that pushed the envelope this year. Has yours made the list? Lloyds Bank with‘#GetTheInsideOut’ This award-winning campaign created by adam&eveDDB, featured a mix of celebrities, members of the public and Lloyds staff taking part in a guessing game with sticky notes that depicted mental health conditions. The adverts aimed to remove the stigma of mental illness and encourage people to talk to one another about it. Nike featuring Colin Kaepernick We love it when brands take a risk, and Nike certainly did that this year. Created by Widen+Kennedy, the ad featured American footballer Colin Kaepernick who at the time was a controversial figure in the US due to his decision to kneel during the national anthem to protest racial injustice. His actions split opinions across the states, which made Nike’s decision a bold one, especially with the accompanying strapline of ‘Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything’. KFC says ‘FCK’ We had a sneaking suspicion this print ad might make our end-of-year list. An impeccable (pun?) demonstration of effective crisis comms, KFC released the cheeky ad after it was forced to shut hundreds of its restaurants in February following a chicken shortage. Instead of adopting a serious approach, KFC rearranged its letters to make FCK in a national print ad created by Mother London which apologised to the general public. Luckily, the UK saw the funny side and sales of buckets weren’t affected. SpaceX takes a Tesla into space It didn’t get more random than this. In a move that had ad execs exploring a new galaxy of opportunities, Elon Musk’s enterprises SpaceX and Tesla teamed up to send a Tesla Roadster to space. You have to see it to believe it, but the stunt was a resounding success, drawing millions of viewers and thousands of pieces of press coverage. CALM delivers Project 84 The campaign that had the most significant impact on us came from charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) and shaving brand Harry’s to increase awareness of male suicide in the UK. Project 84, saw the sculptures of 84 males placed on top of ITV’s This Morning studio and South Bank building, signifying the number of men who take their own this every week. The installation, created by adam&eveDDB and US street artist Mark Jenkins, formed part of a larger campaign by CALM, which is calling for real government action on suicide. It had an incredible response, with 34% more people reaching out to CALM for help and enough signatures on CALM’s #StandAgainstSuicide petition. It’s been another wonderful year for creative thinking, with the UK making its mark across the world with outstanding and impactful campaigns. Stay tuned to the Henry Nicholas blog for our top marketing picks throughout 2019.

In a previous blog post, we discussed Iceland’s Christmas advert which never made it to our television screens due to it being too political on its stance on the use of palm oil in products. At the time of writing that post, we were still eagerly awaiting the John Lewis advert to drop, and other big retailers were remaining tight-lipped about their seasonal showcases. However, fast-forward to the first week of December and Christmas is in full-swing in ad-land! From human plugs to a near carrot catastrophe, we run down our top Christmas picks for 2018. The boy and the piano Let’s address the most hotly anticipated festive ad of the year: John Lewis’s big-budget Elton John extravaganza which takes a nostalgic look back, Benjamin Button-style, through the singer’s life. While Kantar Millward Brown’s annual survey of the year's biggest Christmas ads revealed that people found it lacked relevance and credibility, we enjoyed this outing from Adam & Eve/DDB and thought it lived up to the hype surrounding its premiere. Kevin the Carrot leaves us hanging The internet collectively lost its cool when Aldi released its Coca-Cola spoof featuring Kevin the Carrot and a (literal) cliffhanger, complete with the hashtag #savekevin. Were they really going to kill off arguably the most popular Christmas character from the last three years? McCann UK certainly knew how to ruffle some feathers, and there have since been some fairy tale follow-ups featuring the lovable vegetable and his family, but our favourite was the one that kicked them all off. Two words: The plug Sainsbury’s was one of the first big brands to debut their Christmas advert this year, and they did it with a bang thanks to their all-singing, all-dancing school production theme. There’s a LOT of festivity in this creative offering from Wieden & Kennedy, from dancing turkeys to a boy dressed as a plug performing an epic jump into a socket. Despite recent controversy surrounding the plug scene and how it might prompt children to play with sockets, this ad performed highly on "enjoyment" and "brand love" in the Kantar survey. We certainly got that fuzzy festive feeling. Have you seen Santa? A surprise hit for us this year came from Specsavers, which was not only impressive due to the fact it was created in-house by Specsavers’ film-makers Lenny Lenfesty and Kristin Rathje, but also because it captured real heart. The series of adverts feature real primary school children describing their experiences of seeing Santa, with the accompanying line 'Never seen Santa? Should've gone to Specsavers'. It might not be the one everyone’s talking about, but we loved the simplicity and the fact that they got it done on a shoestring budget! Love is a Gift Our list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning a certain viral advert that wasn’t actually created for any brand at all. Yes, we’re talking about the emotional short film that was famously created for just £50 by filmmaker Phil Beastall. Shot back in 2014 but only released after John Lewis shared their Christmas outing, Love is a Gift tug at the heartstrings and serves as a reminder of what Christmas is all about. YouTube viewer rankings* John Lewis & Partners Christmas Ad 2018 - #EltonJohnLewis - 11,616,163 The Big Night | Sainsbury's Ad | Christmas 2018 - 4,271,007 views LOVE IS A GIFT - Christmas Short Film - 1,645,102 views Aldi Kevin the Carrot Christmas Cliff Hanger Advert - 1,529,075 views When I saw Santa, I saw him in real life | Specsavers - 3,656 views *Results taken 4th December from each brand’s official YouTube channel only. Stay tuned to the Henry Nicholas blog for the latest news and insights from our team about all things creative.

The Henry Nicholas team caught up with Jonathan Brook, Head of Software Engineering for the UK’s leading provider of land and property search information Landmark Information Group to find out how software development has evolved and what its future might hold. How have you seen the software development landscape change in recent years? When I started working in software development over 23 years ago, it was a niche sector; no one could anticipate how much things would change. The biggest shift has been in the last five years following the rise of cloud services (AWS, Azure and then Google). Since then, the mindset has switched from being purely focused on technologies to a much more business-outcome approach. The cloud environment helped this significantly because many tasks that we used to do, creating invoice and authentication systems etc., now are off the shelf Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions. It means we’re able to shift our focus from operational tasks to always thinking about competitive advantage. What talent are you looking for right now? At Landmark, we require engineers who not only understand the basics but who are ready to take on any challenge. It’s about much more than Java or .Net developers nowadays, we need professionals who are willing to use multiple languages in multiple cloud environments. Open source components are now prevalent in all software that is produced by software engineering teams and all our engineers should be prepared to embrace and contribute to open source projects. From a Landmark perspective we see real positives from our staff doing this, not only because it gives them professional development but it is a great recruitment tool for us when trying to attracting great candidates. What advice do you have for those considering a career in development? Graduates need to leave university with confidence. Landmark’s graduates are hungry to succeed, nimble and fast learners with many quickly becoming as good as our senior staff in a short space of time. I advise learning multiple languages across multiple environments where you can. Today’s professionals need to have a genuine love for tech and be ready to take on new challenges so they can continue to develop. What are your predictions for the future of development? On top of the continued evolution of agile companies there are two key areas changing at the moment: Artificial Intelligence (AI). If you’re not in cloud environments and using AI technologies, you can’t compete. AI should be in everything that you do and ingrained in all of your products and services. It’s about future-proofing your business, with image processing, language processing and bots playing a considerable part in this. The ethical challenge comes with ensuring these AI tools remove tasks without removing people, so staff are free to focus on gaining a competitive advantage. Security. Organisations need to protect themselves against data breaches and hacking in this post-GDPR world. There are great off-the-shelf tools, with SaaS for security products emerging all of the time, meaning your people don’t need to know how everything works, but rather how to assess risk. This is an especially important area due to an ongoing shift that sees engineers being accountable for the code they bring live and its security. For the latest news and insights from key figures in our specialist industries, stay tuned to the Henry Nicholas blog.

In a stroke of marketing genius, budget supermarket Iceland released its Christmas campaign online following reports it was banned from television due to breaching political advertising rules. Iceland made a deal with Greenpeace to use its animated short film featuring a baby orangutan wreaking havoc in a little girl’s bedroom. The story highlights the destruction of rainforests at the hands of palm oil producers, which has led to orangutans now being classified as critically endangered. During a time when so-called festive ad wars are taking place between retailers, Iceland chose to use the opportunity to highlight the removal of palm oil from all of its own-brand foods. It’s a ballsy move from Iceland during a time when the aim of the December advert game is to drive footfall and Christmas profits. However, Iceland is far from the only brand that’s listening to consumers and prioritising sustainability in its marketing efforts. Tesco In May this year, it was reported that the supermarket giant would be banning all non-recyclable plastic, which includes plastic film, polystyrene and water-soluble bio plastic, by 2019. Tesco’s chief product officer Jason Tarry stated: “We will work with our suppliers to redesign and reduce all packaging materials and, after consultation with our leading suppliers earlier this year, we will remove all packaging that is hard to recycle from our business by 2019.” Along with Sainsbury’s and Aldi, Tesco signed the UK plastics pact, pledging to eradicate single-use plastics from packaging, with any remaining plastic having to be completely recyclable by 2025. Carlsberg The Danish beer company is on a public mission to cut its carbon footprint, water waste, irresponsible drinking and workplace accidents by 2030. In an interview with Ethical Corporation, Carlsberg’s sustainability chief Simon Hoffmeyer Boas discussed a number of initiative’s including plans to continue reducing the environmental impact of aluminium, glass and cardboard. The brand’s innovations include the green fibre bottle, which will be the world’s first bio-based beer bottle, made from sustainably sourced wood-fibre that is 100% biodegradable. In more recent news, Carlsberg reported it would be replacing the traditional plastic rings that hold together cans with glue dots to save on plastic. Levi Levi has introduced its Wellthread® Collection made from 100% recyclable cotton, as part of a major project that seeks to promote conservation and incorporate sustainability into every stage of the development process. The collection is the first ever to feature Levi’s Water Read More

If you’ve been following our social feeds over the last couple of weeks, you might have noticed that the Henry Nicholas team had a fantastic time at this year’s Bath Digital Festival! We’ve rounded up our top 10 talks and workshops that still have us talking and debating in the office. 1. AI vs Human Creativity: Rob McGowan and Toby Brown from Edit Rob’s topical take on the divisive nature of AI and how technology can stir emotion had HN’s Dan Carne questioning the rise of the machines and technological bias. Follow Rob on Twitter @Herd6 or connect on LinkedIn. Follow Toby on Twitter @Tobybrown01 or connect on LinkedIn. 2. Grow Your Agency: Janusz Stabik from The GYDA Initiative HN principal consultant Tony Allen got stuck into Janusz’s insightful workshop, talking to other business owners about differentiation and growth in agency land. He came away inspired and armed with fresh ideas to help further our internal brand into the future. Follow Janusz on Twitter @januszstabik or connect on LinkedIn. 3. New Frontiers in Digital Creativity: Kate Gorringe from Mr B and Friends We thought Kate’s insight into the creative industry from pre-Mac days through to the present day was fascinating. Tony commented: “I didn’t quite appreciate the impact that graphic design software had when Macs first arrived in the studio, with crafting roles like the Typesetter losing their place in the market almost overnight.” Kate proved that traditional creative and digital can still have a symbiotic relationship, as demonstrated by Mr B and Friends’ work for GB Basketball as well as Ikea’s Toy Box Project. Follow Kate on Twitter @kate_gorringe or connect on LinkedIn. 4. New Frontiers in Digital Creativity: Jamie Elull from Supple Studio Jamie’s journey from design student to setting up the highly respected design and branding agency Supple Studio was a fascinating insight into the depth of a creative mind. Follow Jamie on Twitter @jamie_ellul or connect on LinkedIn. 5. New Frontiers in Digital Creativity: Ben Steers from Fiasco Design Ben showed that passion projects are the way forward, showcasing Fiasco Design’s ingenious interactive map of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi which helped to win the agency a lucrative new client in Mexico. Follow Ben on Twitter @BenSteers or connect on LinkedIn. 6. New Frontiers in Digital Creativity: Ed Robin from Mytton Williams Ed showed some great examples of how a creative agency can take a corporate brand and make it stand out including how Mytton Williams helped law firm Rawlison Butler reinforce their reputation with existing clients and educate their target audience in the quality of their approach. Follow Mytton Williams on Twitter @myttonwilliams or connect with Ed on LinkedIn. 7. New Frontiers in Digital Creativity: Nick Ellis from Halo Nick told the story of Coke’s rebrand mishap (discussed in last week’s blog), and the great work Halo has been doing for Live Nation. Follow Nick on Twitter @Nickhalo01 or connect on LinkedIn. 8. Designing a Better World: Merle Hall and Craig Whiteman from Kinneir Dufort, Simon Miller from 3Keel, Matt Golding from Rubber Republic Our consultant Sam Kacher was blown away by Matt Golding’s approach to declining work from companies that he doesn’t morally agree with. Matt spoke at length about how to say no through asking questions, scoping out the ultimate purpose of the project and the company’s moral standing to maintain integrity. Follow Matt on Twitter @mattgolding or connect on LinkedIn. Follow Kinneir Dufort on Twitter @KinneirDufort or connect on LinkedIn with Merle Hall and Craig Whiteman. Follow 3Keel on Twitter @3KeelLLP or connect with Simon Miller on LinkedIn. 9. Cultures not Vultures: Ash Phillips from Yena, Bryony Farmer from Precious Stars, George Hart from Tobooka, Alicia Teagle from Socially Responsible Recruitment HN consultant Emma Whitting enjoyed this thought-provoking talk that gave insight into company culture and empowering people to think for themselves. Tobooka’s George stated: “Deliver flexibility and people will over-deliver for you.” Follow Ash on Twitter @TheAshPhillips or connect on LinkedIn. Follow Bryony on Twitter @preciousstarsYT or connect on LinkedIn. Follow George on Twitter @GeSiHart or connect on LinkedIn. Follow Alicia Teagle on Twitter @AliciaTeagleSR2 or connect on LinkedIn.​ 10. The Secrets of Social Media: Paul Wickers from Huggg, Bruno Forte and Patricia Powell from Swoon Gelato Our Consultant Mark Trist was especially impressed to hear from Huggg and Swoon about their experiences of starting up and building a business, and the crucial role that social media and content engagement made to their success. Follow Huggg on Twitter @huggg_uk or connect with Paul on LinkedIn. Follow Swoon Gelato on Twitter @SwoonGelato or connect with Bruno on LinkedIn. It was another fantastic year at the Bath Digital Festival, and we can’t wait to return next year for more interesting and exciting insights.

The Henry Nicholas team are fresh off the back of this year’s Bath Digital Festival and can’t wait to share some of our favourite learnings and insights from the event. One of the sessions we enjoyed was New Frontiers in Digital Creativity featuring designers from leading creative studios who were offering advice on how to craft killer digital experiences. One of the speakers, Nick Ellis from Halo, talked about how Coca-Cola changing their name and recipe in the 1980s negatively impacted their brand, stating: “A brand is what you and your consumers agree it is.” This got us thinking more about the Coca-Cola debacle and some other branding disasters that have stood out in recent decades… ‘New Coke’: When market research goes wrong In April 1985, Coca-Cola announced it would discontinue its original Coke in favour of a new product that many coined as ‘New Coke’. The company had lost market share in the late 1970s and early 1980s and had evidence that taste was a key factor in this. As a result, a massive piece of market research was conducted in the US with almost 200,000 blind product tests conducted. The results revealed that over half preferred New Coke over the original and huge rival Pepsi. Trusting the research, original Coke was withdrawn and replaced with New Coke, which proved to be a colossal mistake. Why? The market research was deeply flawed due to the assumption that taste was the sole factor when consumers purchased Coca-Cola. The taste-testers weren’t informed that it was an either/or scenario and were never asked whether they would be happy to forego the original formula for the new recipe. Perhaps most importantly, Coca-Cola didn’t realise the emotional investment people had made with the original Coke brand and how angry they would be when it was taken away. Had Coca-Cola trusted their gut instinct, rather than insisting on using insights to inform their creative direction, the New Coke misstep would have been avoided, and the company would have saved millions. Gap’s $100 million logo disaster In 2010, Gap decided the time had come to replace its 20-year-old logo consisting of iconic lettering encased in a dark blue square with something more ‘modern’. What Gap failed to do was announce the rebrand, instead introducing the new logo seemingly overnight. The new look featured the word Gap in a bold Helvetica font with the iconic blue square now fading from light to dark in the top corner. The company was mocked for the change and was forced to reveal the new look was a result of a first-stage crowdsourcing design process. Just six days later, the old logo was reinstated with the rebrand flop said to have cost the company $100 million. Yorkie Bars ‘Not for Girls’ Sometimes brands make decisions that don’t ruffle too many feathers at the time, but unfortunately see them rearing their ugly head again many years later. When Yorkie launched its £3 million ‘Not for Girls’ advertising campaign back in 2002, it was considered controversial to some but Nestle’s marketing director at the time Andrew Harrison stated: “Yorkie feels that this is an important element of men's happiness and is starting the reclaiming process of making a particular chocolate just for men." While there were petitions to boycott the bar, the campaign continued for a further decade before the slogan was dropped in 2011. However, so successful was the campaign that it remains etched into our memories, causing Yorkie’s name to still get dragged into the conversation whenever a brand is highlighted for sexism. An example occurred earlier this month when Kleenex announced their tissues would be renamed ‘Extra Large’ instead of ‘Mansize’ in fear of causing offence. Users on social media were quick to name-check Yorkie as the epitome of sexist branding, proving that, in the internet age, nothing is ever forgotten. Cardiff City Bluebirds become Red Dragons Some new football club owners don’t wish to rock the boat in fear of upsetting loyal fans. However, this didn’t seem to be an issue for Vincent Tan. When he took over Cardiff City in 2010, Tan implemented a dramatic change to the club’s identity, changing its logo from blue to red and replacing its famous mascot. Cardiff City was synonymous for blue kits and a blue logo, before the club’s beloved Bluebird was replaced a Welsh Red Dragon. To make things even more confusing for fans, Tan allowed the team to keep their original Bluebirds nickname and even kept a small bird at the bottom of the new red logo. Former skipper Mark Hudson, the first Bluebird to score in Cardiff City’s controversial red kit stated that the change “pulled the heart and soul out of the club”. Indeed, the rebrand proved fractious for supporters and, following a relegation, Tan relented, and the club’s logo and kit returned to its original blue. Stay tuned to the Henry Nicholas blog over the coming weeks to find out more about what got us talking and debating from the Bath Digital Festival. We’re already looking forward to next year’s event!