The benefit of a bigger team means more skills, more talent and more ideas! As part of Muckle Media’s acquisition of Spey, Designer and Art Director, Patrick Jordan, has joined Muckle’s Head of Studio, Jill McPherson to bolster our studio capabilities.

Here we speak to Jill and Patrick to hear more about their creative backgrounds, what most inspires them and how they bring creatives to life for our clients.

Q: Tell us about your design experience 

Jill: I have over 15 years’ experience as a graphic designer, working in creative roles both in-house as part of marketing teams and in integrated full-service design agencies.

My diverse experience across a variety of sectors, including food and drink, sport and leisure, education, not-for-profit and public sector, helps me to easily adapt my style for different brand identities, target audiences and digital and print platforms.

Patrick: After college I built up my credentials as a freelancer working across the public, private and third sectors before joining Spey to lead on the development of creative for top-tier brands. I still design, but I now get much more involved with campaign development and art direction.

Q: What’s a typical day like for you?

Jill: Being a designer at a Muckle is all about variety and creativity. One day, I might be sketching out ideas for a new brand identity or developing visual guidelines, and the next, I’m deep into creating layouts for an impact report or designing advertisements. I work closely with the wider team, and even the clients themselves – to bring our bright ideas to life.

There’s always a mix of brainstorming, designing, and refining, with deadlines keeping me on my toes. It’s a fast-paced, ever-changing role, with a mix of creativity and problem-solving, no two days are ever the same and I absolutely love that!

Patrick: Some days I can be out on a shoot, some days picking through budget trackers and tenders and others so deeply immersed in InDesign that the outside world may as well have disappeared. I’m not sure this job comes with typical.

Q: What design elements can you support clients with?

Jill:. We can bring your ideas to life whether your design project is large or small. From logo design, brand guidelines and visual identity, marketing collateral or visuals to support your digital presence, we can support brand development to ensure a strong, recognisable, and effective brand presence. We regularly design using existing brand guidelines, but can create new ones and design for a variety of platforms, including print (annual reports, signage, promotional materials) and digital assets (adverts, social assets, web assets).

Patrick: I’ve worked on new and refreshed identities, documents large and small, social content, packaging and merch as well as digital and print OOH. I’m also a dab hand at planning and directing shoots, fixing things in Photoshop and can stitch together a video with simple motion graphics.

Q: Where do you get your inspiration from?

Jill: Some of my biggest sources of inspiration come away from art, music, the everyday, my friends, fellow creatives and taking photographs of things I like. I’m always on the lookout for new and diverse sources of inspiration, so I can keep my creativity flowing to develop fresh and innovative ideas. I think it’s important to keep an open mind and to look for inspiration in unexpected places.

Patrick: Inspiration hits me when it hits me, so I just try to keep my eyes and mind open, maintain a curious mindset and try [a lot] of different ideas.

Any big trends we should be watching out for?

Jill: As environmental concerns grow, sustainability in design will become more even prominent. Designers will focus on eco-friendly materials, energy-efficient processes, and designs that promote sustainability and social responsibility. As certified B-Corp we fully support this and commit to improving our environmental performance across all our business processes and try to encourage our business partners and those in the wider community to help support this effort.

Patrick: Styles now come and go so quickly it has never been more important to stick to the basics whatever is trending: understand the problem you’re trying to solve then communicate your solution clearly and consistently. This is how we separate our clients’ signal from the noise.

The Women’s Enterprise Scotland Awards, which recognise established and emerging women business leaders from across Scotland, are awards that are close to our hearts here at Muckle Media after the agency took home the ‘Growth Business of the Year’ accolade at last year’s awards.

Last night, we had the honour of attending the 2024 awards at the voco Grand Central Hotel in  Glasgow, where we acted as the sponsor for the Purpose Led Business Award. As Scotland’s first PR agency to become a B-Corp, it’s an award category that we’re passionate about.

With a shortlist of outstanding companies that demonstrate a clear purpose and huge impact in their respective sectors, each nominee was truly deserving of the award. We extend our congratulations to all included in the line-up – egg, Fairlie Curved, Flexibility Works, MoneyMatiX Ltd, Stitch the Gap CIC, Studio Lutalica – and are thrilled for the award winner, MoneyMatix, which took home the coveted award!

Last night’s awards were a true testament to the truly talented women-led businesses trailblazing Scotland and beyond. Adding to the glitzy evening which saw ten fantastic businesses receive awards was a keynote speech delivered by President of TechUK Sheila Flavell.

Our MD and Founder of Muckle Media accepted last year’s award and presented this year’s Purpose Led Business Award, Nathalie Agnew, said: “As Scotland’s first PR agency to become a B-Corp we were thrilled to sponsor the Purpose Led Business of the Year Award and the winner was truly deserving, demonstrating a clear purpose and huge impact in their sector. The Women’s Enterprise Scotland Awards is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the success of female entrepreneurs across Scotland and highlight the continuing gaps in support for the different needs of female business owners. WES does a great job in campaigning for more support, which in turn leads to better economic outcomes.”

Muckle Media has been recognised as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces in Advertising, Media & Marketing by Great Place To Work® UK in the 2024 small and medium category.

To determine the Best Workplaces™ list, Great Place To Work® UK administered their research-backed Trust Index© employee survey and analysed the responses of UK-based Advertising, Media & Marketing employees.

The surveys, which were anonymous, asked employees to comment on how their company supports their work-life balance, sense of fulfilment, job satisfaction, psychological safety and financial security. Evaluations also included an assessment of how well the organisation was able to deliver consistency of their employee experience across all departments and seniority levels.

The award comes as Muckle Media has also become a regional winner in the People and Work category in the British Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year awards. The category recognises business that have shown a commitment to recruiting, training and retaining a skilled and diverse workforce, which has led to an improvement in business performance. Demonstrating how diversity and inclusion is prioritised and plays a pivotal role in its culture is also a contributing factor.

Muckle Media is a dynamic communications agency that realises bright ideas, both for clients and for the future of the PR and communications industry. Offering public relations, digital marketing, crisis communications, events management, design and media training, to name a few, it recently acquired 100% of fellow B-Corp, Spey’s shares, making it a fully owned subsidiary. The deal, which grows the collective team at the two agencies to over 35 people, is a further step in Muckle Media’s ambitious growth plans, following the successful acquisition and integration of food, drink and hospitality communications brand, Taste Communications, in 2022, and award-winning PR agency Platform PR in 2015. 

Nathalie Agnew, MD and Founder of Muckle Media, said: “We’re really proud to have been recognised as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces in Advertising, Media & Marketing in the 2024 shortlist, especially as the acknowledgement is a direct result of the feedback given by our very own team.

“Leaving the world in a better place each day at a time is something we pride ourselves in, not just in achieving the very best for our clients but in championing the happiness of our team to ensure we create a positive, supportive and encouraging work environment. It’s a delight to see the culture and ethos we consistently strive for recognised.”

Benedict Gautrey, Managing Director of Great Place To Work® UK said: “Advertising, media and marketing cover a dynamic sector heavily influenced by rapidly changing consumer behaviours and emerging tech. Leaders at the UK’s Best Workplaces acknowledge that there will always be parts of one’s job which will cause stress, and which cannot be changed – such as the fast-paced landscape of certain industries. As such, these organisations champion a multi-faceted wellbeing strategy which is integrated within their company culture and everyday ways of working. From mental health and psychological safety to job design and fulfilment at work – these organisations have implemented effective, holistic strategies able to target all dimensions of employees’ wellbeing, leading to a healthier, more engaged workforce. Congratulations Muckle Media for creating a truly ‘great’ workplace.”

This summer I joined the team at Muckle Media for a 4-week internship through
the UNLOCKED programme created by the John Doe group.

Coming from a completely different background in healthcare and after almost a
year on maternity leave, I think nervous was an understatement but from the
minute I joined, the team at Muckle made me feel right at home.

I have learned so much from everyone about the work a PR agency does, it’s
been fascinating to see all the different strands of marketing work together to
bring a campaign to life and truly no two days have been the same.

I’ve had the opportunity to join brainstorming meetings for clients, brush up on
creating media lists, press releases and sell-ins. I’ve learned how to monitor the
results of those for clients and create coverage reports.

The Muckle team have kindly spent the time to teach me the various aspects of
working in a PR team from social media to design and building media relations.
It’s been an incredibly rewarding experience working here and the team are very
eager to help, and have, very patiently, answered my many questions. I will
leave not only with the knowledge I’ve gained from my time here but also more
confident in my ability to continue on to a career in PR.

I’m very grateful to both the Unlocked programme and everyone in the Muckle
Media offices for the experience and time spent here. It has definitely set me up
well for the future.

Interested in joining us on our ever-growing journey? Head to our careers page to
find out more about what we have to offer.

We celebrated four award wins at this year’s Marketing Society Scotland’s Star Awards, taking home three gold wins for our work with Popeyes in the Communications Category for PR, Sector Category for Retail & Hospitality and our very own Managing Director Nathalie Agnew FCIPR took home Inspirational Agency Leader of the Year.

Putting the ‘aye’ in Popeyes, the Taste team – our specialist hospitality division, stopped traffic and broke global brand sales records when launching the brand’s first Scottish restaurant in Barrhead.

People queued for a record-breaking 18.5 hours, with influencer posts reaching over 1.3 million views across Instagram and TikTok and 82 pieces of press coverage.

Taking home silver in the Communications Category for PR was our client, the Loch Ness Centre for its legendary PR campaign, Nessie or Nonsense which saw us launch the largest ever search for Nessie, The Quest. Our Inverness-based team know that Nessie is more relevant to an international audience than a local one, so our campaign strategy had to focus on dialling up the Loch Ness Monster story for wider UK and international audiences.

Over a four-week period, we generated over 2,300 pieces of coverage for The Quest with media secured across the globe.

Our Loch Ness Centre client team were also honoured with the Chairman’s Award for Small to Medium Enterprise.

Nathalie Agnew, founder and Managing Director of Muckle Media, said:  “We love creating campaigns that help our clients achieve their goals, and it’s wonderful to have our hard work recognised by industry peers. Working with Popeyes and the Loch Ness Centre achieved mass brand awareness and showcased the impact of PR on business growth. I’m immensely proud of the Muckle team for their creativity and hard work. Winning four awards at the Marketing Society Scotland Star Awards is a huge honor, and I thank the judges, our clients, and the Muckle team for making it possible.”

Read more about our award-winning work here.

Scotland’s first two PR agencies to certify as B-Corps are coming together, after Muckle Media acquired 100% of Spey’s shares, making it a fully owned subsidiary.

The deal, which grows the collective team at the two agencies to over 35 people, is a further step in Muckle Media’s ambitious growth plans, following the successful acquisition and integration of food, drink and hospitality communications brand, Taste Communications, in 2022, and award-winning PR agency Platform PR in 2015.

At the recent PRCA DARE Scotland Awards, Muckle Media was named best large agency and Spey was named best medium agency, so it is fitting that the two brands are coming together. Spey was set up in Speyside to deliver PR balancing profit with purpose, contributing in particular to the local community by creating jobs where there were not before. In March, Spey launched the first ever tracking tool to measure the climate impact of PR activity.

Muckle and Spey will both continue to operate separately, with client teams across consumer, corporate, spirits, hospitality and tourism continuing to serve existing clients and win new business.

 Jennifer Robertson, owner and founding partner of Spey, said: “After almost a decade growing Spey, I think it is a good time for a new chapter in my career and life. It has been a privilege to build the agency working with the very best colleagues and to serve clients from every corner of the globe, with whom I have had the honour of a lifetime to work with.

“I have been thinking for some time about what I want to do with the next stage of my career, while juggling the joy and challenges of being a mother to young children and continuing to contribute to the organisations and industries that I am passionate about.

“In Nathalie, who hails from the Highlands and whose company is also a member of the B-Corp community, there is clear shared values and purpose, running a successful agency with a presence across rural and urban Scotland.

“I leave the company in great health with a highly talented team across our offices in Speyside and Edinburgh, working with the finest group of clients. I wish Nathalie and the now much bigger team the very best in this next exciting step of their journey.”

Nathalie Agnew, managing director and founder of Muckle Media, said: “Jennifer has done a fantastic job at growing a values-led, strategic communications agency, very closely aligned to the values at Muckle Media. From Muckle Media’s first office in the Highlands of Scotland, to our now Edinburgh based HQ, we have been on similar journeys, and both focused on delivering the best strategic and creative work for brands that we love, with consideration for more than just shareholder profit.

“I’m excited to continue to build upon Spey’s success, working closely with the skilled team to deliver long term results that deliver business impact. We look forward to investing further in the team and brand and building upon successes to date.”

Spey doubled its client base in 2023, with new clients including the world’s most awarded single malt, Glenfiddich; Scotland’s number one food brand, Graham’s Family Dairy; engineering company Briggs of Burton; the UK’s oldest wine and spirits merchant, Berry Bros and Rudd Spirits; and Europe’s longest established solar company, AES Solar.

Robertson will exit the business following a brief handover. Muckle Media was advised by Mark Probert at Cactus and Hybrid Legal and Spey Media was advised by AAB and Ennova Law.