Behind the scenes, Quad continually evolves its strategy-backed content solutions to ensure clients reap rewards. Ben Dickens, Quad’s Managing Director, outlines what we’ve been working on in preparation for the year ahead.

Don’t worry, this isn’t another 2015 marketing trend prediction post (we’ve already done one of those – see here ). Instead, this is a look at what Quad will be up to in the coming months… with a little review of last year thrown in for good measure.

2014 was an interesting year for us. We grew a number of retained accounts for 2015 – a great vote of confidence in Quad and our methodologies – and we worked hard to ensure our output was integrated across various digital channels, which paid dividends in all our projects.

Goodbye water, hello land

We moved offices, too! Finally saying goodbye to the HMS President – our home for over four years – we set up shop in the heart of Shoreditch. Although undeniably sad to leave the boat, dry land beckoned. Now we just have to shake off the sea legs! We’ll definitely be dropping back on board for the various networking events held there though, as well as the odd drink on the deck when the sunshine and warmer temperatures return.

The end of 2014 culminated with the launch of a number of new projects and the completion of some of the bigger campaigns we have been working on – notably for luxury travel brand Hayes & Jarvis.

Looking internally

Suffice to say, 2015 is going to be an exciting time for Quad. We’ve focused hard on refining our internal processes over the past 12 months, and this year will see the launch of our planning methodology, Connection Mapping.

We’ve also spent a long time looking at the fragmented media landscape that has widened through technology, and examined how this has dramatically changed consumer behaviour. Ever-advancing technology across multiple devices means marketers need to stay on top of innovations and trends to ensure we’re reaching consumers in the best way.

With this in mind, we have been determined to create a new process to tap more effectively into the media consumption landscape for our clients. As a strategically focused agency, this all starts at the planning phase. Better understanding leads to a better framework for our creative thinking and, ultimately, better results for our clients.

Growing our brand

Alongside this, 2015 will see us evolve our own brand. Our plans are already well advanced, and it’s time to start telling everyone.

Creatively, 2015 will see us develop our internal skill set further, specifically in the areas of interactivity and interface design. We’re conscious of how consumers use the internet, and the ideas we create will further enhance the consumer experience.

On that note, integration is always at the forefront of our minds; it’s essential in a modern world where consumers are exposed to a brand on multiple platforms, usually for very short periods of time. Consistency and clarity of message and experience are key to building a relationship with potential customers.

Constantly evolving

Whether we are working with a broad brand and marketing strategy or creating the bigger picture ourselves, we are constantly evolving our creative thinking and production skills to maximise what can be achieved for our clients.

The last area we are growing this year is our media function. We’ve successfully employed PR and blogger outreach in many campaigns, and have also managed blogs and utilised social media in the owned space. So, the next logical move is to develop our paid proposition.

The paid models that interest us are those that drive engagement and expose new consumers to the community-oriented platforms and content we create. I think it’s fair to say a big ad network is not on our agenda. Instead, clever use of paid models that extend the reach of, and increase the engagement with, our brands is a must. Of course, this will always be fully integrated from the planning phase to ensure we generate the strongest ROI for our clients.

If you’re interested in how Quad can help bring strategy to play in the digital sphere, integrate your activity, and implement work that delivers, contact us here . You can also !