Aberdeen, 02nd April 2019 – Aspectus, the global communications agency, has announced a new senior appointment as it looks to continue the global growth of its energy practice. Katherine Fair will be based in the company’s Aberdeen office in the role of Senior Brand Strategist and Content Specialist, with a view to increasing the strategic marketing communications services that the company already offers across its four international bases.
Katherine brings with her ten years of experience in marketing and communications having previously worked in energy, agency and government roles.
Laura Iley, Group Director and Head of Energy, Oil and Gas, said: “I am thrilled that Katherine has joined our expanding team. We have enjoyed steady year-on-year growth, highlighted by our success in Aberdeen since the launch of our office there in 2016. Katherine’s experience allows us to increase our strategic communications offering to our global client roster even further.”
“I am absolutely delighted to join as progressive an agency as Aspectus, underpinned by a unique results-based approach that has enabled it to make significant inroads since its expansion into the north-east in 2016,” Katherine added.
“The energy industry is on the up after the recent economic challenges and the collective experience of the team here shows we can successfully help our clients navigate the renewed competitive market that is beginning to emerge.”
The company’s energy portfolio spans a range of sectors including cleantech, oil and gas, power and renewable energy. The practice has enjoyed continued revenue growth since its inception and now employs a team four locally in Aberdeen. This has been echoed in the expansion of the team in London, most recently with Catherine Hunter and Michal Ratynski who both join as account executives.
Aspectus employs over 50 people across its offices in London, New York, Aberdeen and Luzern. The company specialises in energy, technology and financial services, with services including brand strategy, content, media and digital.
In today’s globalised economy, very few communications professionals only serve domestic clients. Probably, every day you make international calls with clients whose first language isn’t English. You quickly realise that, although your client relations skills are spot-on, there are some nuances that prevent the communications from being as slick as you’d like.
Speaking your client’s language is super beneficial in avoiding misunderstandings. It opens up unprecedented opportunities to learn specific cultural codes which are otherwise often lost in translation. Some basic things, such as ways of addressing people, vary enormously between different languages and often even the closest translation doesn’t do justice to the speaker’s original meaning. An example of a complex system can be found in the Japanese language which is far more formal than English when it comes to hierarchy or what is considered to be good manners.
At Aspectus, we aim to create a multicultural, integrated agency because an international workforce helps expand our horizons. Though English is often the lingua franca for B2B PR and marketing, multilingual teams make our communications easier and help expand the geographies we work in.
We are very proud that roughly 20 per cent of our workforce hail from beyond the UK and US. We have a bunch of Europeans (French, Finnish and Polish), Australians, a South African, an Israeli and a Zimbabwean in our offices. As a Pole I’m one of the international people who recently joined Aspectus. We recognise what our global workforce offers and work hard to support them with visas. And we want to become even more international as we keep growing.
Focus on European markets is another priority for Aspectus as it should be for any B2B communications agency. Regardless of the final outcome of Brexit, we will make sure to keep the closest links with Europe and recruit the best talent, wherever they are from. Why? Because having native speakers really helps to elevate business to foreign media outlets. A good example of successful pitching in a national language was our work for the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) in French-speaking Swiss media. We secured coverage in Le Temps and L’Agefi. Having direct contact with journalists can not only save on translation costs but also helps our agency to understand a wider picture of communications in Europe.
So, what are the advantages of the international people working for a PR and marketing agency? Communications is one of the most dynamic professions, which increasingly needs a global touch. Although the command of foreign language isn’t a necessary requirement for jobs in the sector, there needs to be a wider recognition that recruiting international people can really help boost business and bring the invaluable cultural knowledge to your company.
Are you looking for international PR and marketing support? Check out our services here.
Is anyone ever really ready for Offshore Europe? A journalist said this to me ahead of this year’s event in Aberdeen. I dare say, there was many an exhibitor or speaker who felt the same, but the bigger question, and one that was on the lips of many at the event this year was, who is ready for the energy transition?
Rewind five years and the main challenge for the oil and gas industry certainly wasn’t climate change. This new reality was heard loud and clear this year as climate activists staged a choreographed ‘die-in’ outside the conference to “send a message” to oil and gas majors.
But as many of us in the energy sector know, there isn’t just an off switch. This was a message echoed and strongly put by Sir Ian Wood. We have to be realistic about how much energy the world demands and where we get that from and the ultimate reality is that oil and gas will be part of the energy mix for a long time.
The struggle is real
That said, Europe’s oil giants account for around 70 percent of the sector’s renewable energy capacity and nearly all the capacity under development today. In recent years, these energy titans have accelerated spending on wind, solar as well as battery technologies.
But it’s not easy to jump from producing oil or gas to producing something like offshore wind power. Lamprell is a clear example of this, losing $10m due to mistakes on the 714MW East Anglia 1 offshore wind farm. Of course, there will always be risks associated with any project but moving steadily can mean the reward is much greater in the long term than the risks involved in the short term.
If Offshore Europe is anything to go by, the sector clearly wants to evolve and it is doing some fantastic things. From using empty North Sea gas fields to create Carbon Capture Storage projects to developing floating offshore wind projects. But who knows about it? I’m not quite sure the activists on day three of the event were quite up to speed.
Get a voice
I was at another conference recently where a young girl stood up and said she wanted to work for an oil company who was thinking about its environmental impact as much as its profit. She urged companies to communicate their energy transition work to the younger generation, as many deem the industry as outdated and dirty. Communication is absolutely key and it’s not happening as much as it should be.
Now more than ever, it’s important that the energy sector refreshes itself. Be bold and be heard. How are you going to attract the next digital twin mastermind if it looks like your business is behind the curve? Make sure your audience knows the energy transition is not just a bunch of words but a bunch of real people trying to make a difference.
Aspectus, a global communications agency focusing on financial services, energy, oil and gas, technology and engineering, has appointed Claire Wych as a Senior Account Manager for the energy practice. Based in London, Claire will work across a range of energy accounts while also providing expertise in heat and decentralised energy.
Claire joins from the Association for Decentralised Energy where she worked for five years as the in-house Communications Manager. Her work focused on emphasising the voice for user-led, decentralised energy including under-utilised technologies such as combined heat and power, district heating and demand side response.
Celebrating her appointment Claire said:
“The team at Aspectus is everything that I could have hoped for from making this move from in-house to agency; inspirational, motivated and forward thinking.
“I am doubly excited by the prospect of using my expertise in low-carbon heat and decentralised energy to help more businesses engage their audience in what is a niche but rapidly growing market.”
Laura Iley, Group Director and Head of Energy, Oil and Gas said:
“With strong year-on-year growth we are delighted to have Claire join the energy practice strengthening our expertise in a range of areas.
“It is a pivotal time in the energy transition and here at Aspectus we are committed to attracting and retaining best-in-class talent to help us deliver exceptional results for our existing clients while expanding to service a wider range of energy businesses across the industry.”
Aspectus has a diverse energy, oil and gas portfolio, with 25 clients spanning a range of sectors including cleantech, consultancy and renewable energy. Aspectus supports businesses at all stages of growth, from start-ups and scale-ups through to mergers and acquisitions. Aspectus delivers creative communication campaigns that are fully integrated with other marketing activities (including search engine marketing) to engage target audiences and generate business outcomes.
If you work in energy and it wasn’t on your radar, you must have been living down a hole since 2014. Yes, you’ve guessed it, the ‘oil price downturn’. Those words have been used in millions of articles, documentaries and whitepapers for several years now. The downturn in itself was horrific for a lot of people, it changed lives and it has changed the industry. But can we talk about the comeback story?
The other side of the coin – low oil prices have resulted in the potential comeback of deepwater projects. It’s projected that the gap in supply by 2030 will create an opportunity for new cost-competitive deepwater projects. Not only that but a lot has changed. In fact, you could say the oil and gas industry has, in some places, transformed itself. If the oil price had remained at US$100 dollars a barrel, would BP be expanding its horizons and looking at other means of energy? Energy transition is now a trending topic and a serious initiative for companies like BP who are renowned for their oil and gas expertise.
The energy transition…
The way in which energy is produced, consumed and distributed is changing dramatically. Even the way we view fuel has changed. If you told any oil worker at the start of the 20th century (the gusher age) that we would be driving electric cars and commissioning wind turbines offshore, their jaw would certainly drop or rattle with laughter. But, you have to be in it to win it. Whether you work in the financial services, tech or the energy industry, times change, things get replaced and if you don’t keep up, you are left trailing behind. Take digitalization as an example. There is no denying the oil and gas industry has a long way to go, but just in the last five years we have seen some fascinating things, from enterprise software platforms calculating risk on an offshore oil platform to throwing out the old Excel sheets and converting to the Cloud.
The ultimate comeback
So how does a leading brand go from producing carbon to being seen as a supporter of a low carbon economy? A creative fresh idea can have a dramatic impact…
I used to look at it, covered in dust, lurking in my Grandparents’ bathroom – Old Spice. Then boom! With the right communication approach, the brand was propelled to the top of its category. ‘Old’ Spice was new again. Who knew a topless man on a horse would change the brand forever? Well, its agency did.
Even closer to home is Statoil. A major player in the oil and gas space rebranded to the name of Equinor, as it moves into the green energy space and, in a bid, to attract young talent. After its rebrand the company did a survey where students found Equinor to be 10 percent more attractive as an employer than the name Statoil. Result.
Whether you are producing an aftershave or hydrocarbons, the way you tell your story can have a dramatic effect in the way your audience feels about your brand. Even in the darkest of places there is always the opportunity for a comeback story.
Aberdeen and London, UK, 25 April 2018 – Aspectus Group is celebrating on multiple fronts as the energy, oil and gas practice marks the second anniversary of its Aberdeen office by reporting £1 million in annual revenues, and over £5 million globally.
This milestone represents the third consecutive year of 20 per cent year-on-year growth. Furthermore, increasing revenues are reflected in a growing team of eight full-time specialist energy communications and digital marketing consultants, three of whom are permanently based in Aberdeen.
Laura Iley, Head of Energy, Oil and Gas at Aspectus Group, says: “When we opened our Aberdeen office with just a single employee, the oil price was at a low ebb. But we’ve remained relentlessly committed to the sector and we’re incredibly proud of our growth.
“We never lose sight of the fact that, like any investment, communications needs to deliver a return. When that’s underpinned by an expert team, creative ideas and a unique results-focused approach, it becomes very powerful.
“But we’re not stopping there. This is a truly exciting time in energy and we remain on the lookout for best-in-class talent to help us expand our range of clients across the industry.”
Aspectus Group has a diverse energy, oil and gas portfolio, with 25 clients spanning a range of sectors including cleantech, consultancy and renewable energy. The agency supports businesses at all stages of growth, from start-ups and scale-ups through to mergers, acquisitions and beyond.
Alastair Turner, CEO at Aspectus Group, concludes: “These are very exciting times for Aspectus across all of our core sectors – financial services, energy and technology. We deliver measurable business outcomes for our clients, wherever they are in the world. And by continuing to integrate specialist sector knowledge with broad digital and communications skills, we are confident that we’ll continue to deliver strong returns.”
In Aberdeen, Megain Buchan, Account Director, joined Aspectus Group from oilfield services company ProSep. Louise Douglas, Account Manager, previously worked as a journalist at Red Mist Media and Zoe Poxon, Senior Digital Account Executive, joined the company from Centrica.
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About Aspectus Group
Aspectus Group, the engagement agency, is an international communications agency specialising in financial services, energy, technology and engineering.
In our hands communications transforms the way businesses engage with their markets. Our award-winning approach, creativity and market knowledge builds brands, increases sales, attracts investment and supports business growth.
A recent survey conducted by Flurry revealed that we spend over 5 hours on mobile devices each day. This tells us that there is a vast and engaged mobile audience out there which we could be tapping into, and it’s one that is growing year on year. Pretty much everyone has a mobile device, and there are plenty of ways to reach the right people.
So, what can you do to keep up with this growth and take full advantage of mobile marketing in 2018? Here are some things to look out for.
Google’s mobile-first indexing
In 2016 Google announced that they’re switching to ‘mobile-first indexing’. This means that Google will start to base its ranking of your website on its mobile version and no longer its desktop version (even if someone searches for you from a desktop).
If we look at some stats on how many mobile searches are made today, it’s not surprising why this shift is happening. Mobile search currently drives more traffic than desktop. And according to official Google statements last year, over 50% of searches are made from a mobile device. We can only expect this to grow in the future.
What does this mean for your business? To ensure that your site ranks as well as it can, make sure that you have a few different versions of your site available in different screen sizes, and that each version is optimised for search. You might even want to consider creating an app as the best way forward.
My point is, voice search is (kind of) the new kid on the block, and in the world of mobile marketing, it’s one to watch. It works by aggregating the best and most popular answers that are being searched for around a particular topic. To ensure that you stand the best chance of showing up in the voice search results, make sure your key content is featured on your main website pages. This makes it easier for Google to scan your website and pick out the most relevant content and answers to a query. If you’re lucky, you might even get featured by Google in a ‘Featured Snippet’ – a search result that appears in a card at the top of the results page, which includes a summary of the answer. It looks something like this:
The summary is extracted programmatically from content on the web page. When Google recognises that a query is asking a question, it finds pages with an answer, and shows the top result as a featured snippet.
If you want to feature as top content, a useful tip is to have quality and credible answers to common ‘what is…’, ‘what if…’ and ‘how to…’ type questions on your mobile site. To understand more about how Google determines ad position and ad ranking, they’ve written an article to tell you everything you need to know.
Your website alone is a strong marketing tool as it should hold all your key content that will sell your product or service. Don’t let delays in loading time be the reason your audience is turning away.
Mobile advertising
There are many more specific ways to boost your mobile marketing efforts. You could use mobile advertising on websites, in-apps and on social media. Or try adapting your digital content to make sure it looks great on mobile screens (e.g. social media posts may need to be expanded / images may not appear as good as they do on desktop). And let’s not forget the option to advertise within mobile messaging apps. It’s a great way to reach a growing and hyper engaged audience – Facebook Messenger has over 1.3 billion active users, and with LinkedIn Sponsored Content, you can tap into their audience of over 500 million professionals.
Today, people spend more time looking for answers on their mobiles than on their desktops. Whether B2B or B2C, it’s every brands’ responsibility to provide answers to these questions, and to ensure their websites are tailored to provide a streamlined mobile experience.
If you’re looking to boost your mobile marketing, get in touch today to find out how we can help you.
London, 13th 2017 – PennWell, the host of brand new electricity and power conference, Electrify Europe, selects Aspectus, the global communications agency serving the energy, financial services and technology sectors, as its communications partner for the eighth year running.
Electrify Europe is the world’s first event dedicated to the convergence between the power-generation and transmission & distribution sectors. Aspectus will boost awareness of the event through content development, messaging, and both social and traditional media relations. Previously known as POWER-GEN Europe and Renewable Energy World Europe, Electrify Europe will take place in Vienna, Austria on the 19th to 21st June 2018.
Crispin Coulson, PennWell’s Senior Marketing Manager, comments: “Electrify Europe is our response to shifting market conditions such as the transition to a digitised power market. The challenges and opportunities of this change will be addressed at the event. With Aspectus’ in-depth industry knowledge, ability to engage target audiences and standout content, it is the right partner to take us through this pivotal time.”
With the 2017 event attracting over 12,000 visitors, Electrify Europe 2018 will unite stakeholders from across the electricity supply chain to promote collaboration, innovation and business growth for the new digitised, decarbonised power sector.
“Long-term relationships are important to us as an agency, because this is how we create partnerships and help develop brands over time. This means we can work with clients in an ever-changing landscape to keep their voice relevant, reach their target audience and continually help achieve their business goals,” added Head of Energy at Aspectus, Laura Iley.
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About Aspectus
Aspectus, the engagement agency, is a global communications agency focusing on financial services, energy, oil and gas, technology and engineering.
Our award-winning work builds brands, increases sales, attracts investment and supports business growth. We develop creative, integrated campaigns that engage target audiences and we guarantee outcomes, focusing on business results. That means original ideas and high-impact visual and written content promoted through the most effective channels. We do this all in a way that builds clients’ online profiles, integrates search and drives prospects to their website.
Influencer marketing is all the rage among brands and PR professionals. In a recent study, which elicited responses from marketers across a range of industries, 86% used influencer marketing in 2016, 94% of whom found it effective. It’s a new tactic and there’s still mystery surrounding it. So, what exactly is it – and should you be doing it?
Here’s how it could help your business.
What is influencer marketing?
Influencers are specialists, or celebrities, that have built and retained trust and two-way communication with their followers. Influencer marketing taps into this already established and engaged audience to promote a product or service. Usually, the best campaigns are those where the influencer creates their own unique content to support the brand and its goals. From health and fitness to stock marketing, social media is swamped with influencers that we try to emulate. And they’re so easy to find – there’s no need to search beyond the standard social media channels. If you need to, they’re probably not worth following.
Is it worth your time?
For this haircare company, one selfie post from Kylie Jenner enabled the brand to reach her 96.7M Instagram followers, generating more than 1.9M engagements:
This comms trick doesn’t just work on the A-list celebrity scales. If you’ve got interesting and relevant content, it’s worth taking the time to find the right influencers to get your story in front of your audience.
Whilst there is some debate over how to measure the success of influencer campaigns, they can have a higher ROI than traditional media campaigns. Take the Budweiser #GiveADamn campaign during the Super Bowl 50. 50 influencer posts across Instagram and Twitter reached 107M people and cost 13x less than Budweiser’s 30 second TV ad (it reached 114M people, at a cost of $5M).
What are the benefits?
There are obvious tangible benefits including follower engagement, driving traffic, and the creation of more authentic content. But let’s not forget that word of mouth recommendations are more important than ever, and social media makes great content essential and relevant.
With the rise of ad blocker usage (and the fast forward button on our TVs), it’s easy to avoid traditional advertising. This, plus the fact that consumers are shifting their attention to digital platforms, makes influencer marketing a very relevant and effective social media strategy.
What does influencer marketing mean for B2B?
It’s unlikely that the Jenners would share our content, but we can relate to other major influencers in our sectors. Martin Lewis has a huge impact in the energy market – all it takes is one mention on This Morning for a company’s sales to rocket. Similarly, a mention from Ashton Kutcher would certainly spark interest in technology. The tech investor has put money into Airbnb, Spotify and Uber, to name a few.
When we generate compelling and engaging content, we might reach out to journalists or thought leaders in our respective sectors to share or put a unique spin on our stories. We might also use Google Hangouts or conduct a poll, which are great ways to gain valuable audience insights. We can then use findings as the basis for creative content, or a broader marketing approach.
How can influencer marketing supercharge your comms?
Influencers are already talking to your target audience – they have done the ground work by creating an audience (follower base) for you
They have built credibility and trust – followers will be genuinely interested in what an influencer has to say
They are everywhere – every industry has influencers, you just need to use the right tools to find them
Traditional PR channels still have high value. But if you’re looking to really amplify your digital comms; engage the influencers that have already won the hearts and minds of the people that would genuinely listen to your message.
To understand how influencers can support your marketing goals, please get in touch.
