Two Cheshire based computer companies have reached an amicable agreement on using the brand name Fabric. Delta Comtech Limited which trades as Fabric IT has agreed to purchase the Fabric trademark and domain name fabric.co.uk from Fabric Digital Limited for an undisclosed sum. Delta Comtech provides IT support services whereas Fabric Digital provides web design and digital development services. Delta Comtech's Sales Director, Carl Enser, explained that Delta Comtech rebranded two years ago to Fabric IT and at that time, as the two companies operated in different fields, there wasn't an issue. However more recently there appears to have been [...]

Roger Ward is former MD of BDH/TBWA and now owner of Manchester’s independent chop houses L-R: Andy Hamilton, MBE, Mark Hamilton and Roger Ward in Studio Egrem, Habana, Cuba, Dec 1999 I was with my dad, Norman, for three weeks before he died in September 1999. I still miss him everyday. The last question he asked me was why I was still working for other people. BDH (as I still call us) had just won Agency of the Decade. After his funeral, I went back to work and finished chairing the IPA’s area Advertising Effectiveness Awards. We held a dinner [...]

By Phil Cookson, director at Creative Resource & co-founder School of Thought It’s fair to say that the last few weeks have been challenging for all of us in the creative and marketing industries, whether we are working from home, on furlough, running businesses, seeking jobs or freelancing. At Creative Resource, we’ve been working with universities, brands and agencies for some time with events like Handle This, School of Thought and Two+Two.  Using those contacts we have been able to pull together a programme of virtual workshops, masterclasses and webinars for industry folk and this year’s graduates.  The creative and [...]

The MPA team are working hard to provide support for the many challenges we are all facing. One issue that is currently driving a lot of debate among our members revolves around property. Whether landlord, tenant, leaseholder or desk-renter, many are looking for support to alleviate financial or relationship tensions. Cheetham & Mortimer are a respected firm of chartered surveyors here in Manchester, well placed and happy to help our members in what can often be a baffling, frustrating ... but vital ... aspect of agency life. Here’s Stephen Perrett, Partner at C&M to introduce how they can help. MPA [...]

by Mark Kelly I’ve been rethinking how I deliver what I do for clients. Hopefully some of my musings here spark a thought with you. I work in both digital strategy and agency management and pretty much all my work is delivered face to face. I get the occasional international gig but that's been via Skype and Slack (hello LA and Melbourne, the view out the agency window looked great). For the training element of what I do, I work with agencies, client teams, individual agency and business owners and students. Most of that has been on-site, face-to-face. Phil Mitchell [...]

By Roxanne Vure, Associate Director, MediaCom Manchester Chloroquine is a proven cure, children are immune, and the virus is spread via 5G – oh, and don’t forget to eat garlic for proven infallible protection... Back in February, the World Health Organisation announced that accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic was an ‘infodemic’ of misinformation. Formerly, considerations around misinformation and ‘fake news’ propaganda have centred largely around politics, Russian electoral interference and celebrity scandals. But now with Covid-19, the first major global health emergency within the era of fake news, it could have sombre implications for public safety and unsurprisingly, has accelerated conversations [...]

Let’s face it, it’s been a pretty challenging few months for our industry. I’ve heard lots of people saying “It’s fine, everyone is in the same boat” But are they, I ask? Admittedly, the Government’s support package is world class and we are very fortunate as a nation to be presented with the programme of activity to help boost our economy at speed post Covid-19. That said, there are also a lot of people out there that are not eligible - especially freelancers and Company Directors that are in fact very exposed and worried about what the future holds. I have [...]

Q&A with Richard Pearson, Creative Director, BJL It’s clear that the coronavirus crisis is forcing businesses to rethink their approach to advertising and communications at such a challenging time. Amid all the disruption and the restrictions of lockdown, Manchester-based creative agency BJL has been busy adapting its processes so that it can remain as reactive to the needs of clients as possible. Here, BJL’s Creative Director Richard Pearson explains how brands can remain relevant during the crisis, and why advertising is still an essential growth driver during a downturn. Has the role of creativity shifted during the coronavirus crisis? RP: [...]

by Sandy Lindsay MBE, chair of Tangerine Group Anyone who knows me will know I’m a complete geek for anything dystopian, fantastical or magical. Give me Lord of the Rings, His Dark Materials, 1984, and most especially Harry Potter and I’m happy. I love the premise of good triumphing over evil; a plot where the good guys win and live happily ever after, while the bad guys die a deserved (and ideally dreadful) death. The basic outline of these stories is that, there you are, plodding on with your safe and happy life, worrying about things like homework, looming exams, [...]