Muckle Media recognised with double win at Edinburgh Chamber Annual Business Awards

Muckle Media recognised with double win at Edinburgh Chamber Annual Business Awards

Muckle Media recognised with double win at Edinburgh Chamber Annual Business Awards

Muckle Media, the creative communications agency, is celebrating success after taking home two awards at this year’s Edinburgh Chamber Annual Business Awards.

A prestigious accolade within the Edinburgh business community, the agency received the ‘Mid-sized Business of the Year’ award alongside ‘Employer of the Year’ for its business achievements. Aligning with the award’s ‘Grow, Scale, Succeed’ theme, Muckle Media has witnessed a period of sustained growth within the past year, including the expansion of its B2B and Corporate Communications team.

Additionally presented with ‘Employer of the Year’, the business was celebrated for its distinctive work culture and values, including the implementation of a four-day work week in September 2023 and its B-corp status.

The event was hosted at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, with the 13th Edinburgh Chamber Annual awards set to commemorate business leaders, influencers and entrepreneurs, sponsored by LNER, to celebrate Edinburgh’s talented business sector.

Nathalie Agnew, founder and Managing Director of Muckle Media, said: “Muckle Media has gone through a period of change within the past year, including the expansion of our B2B and Corporate Communications team, and the introduction of a four-day working week. Our values are important to us here at Muckle, and it’s great to see them recognised.

It’s an honour to be recognised alongside so many accomplished businesses in Edinburgh, and we’re thrilled to be taking home ‘Mid-sized Business of the Year’ and ‘Employer of the Year’ for our work.”

The two awards join Muckle Media’s recent ‘Agency Employer Brand of the Year 2023’ at the Marketing Society Scotland’s annual awards.

Muckle Media holds offices in four of Scotland’s major cities: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness.

 

 

Muckle Media bolsters corporate team with two senior hires

Muckle Media bolsters corporate team with two senior hires

Muckle Media bolsters corporate team with two senior hires

Michael Scobbie joins as Head of B2B and Corporate Communications and Hannah Blackford as Senior Account Manager

Creative communications agency Muckle Media has welcomed two new employees, Michael Scobbie and Hannah Blackford, following a period of continued growth. The pair will join the agency’s B2B, crisis and corporate communications specialist team, with Scobbie joining as Head of B2B and Corporate Communications and Blackford being appointed as Senior Account Manager.

Michael Scobbie joins the agency from Scottish SPCA where he was Head of Communications and Marketing, bringing a wealth of experience in strategic communications and reputation management.  Under his leadership, the team won ‘In-House PR Team of the Year’ at the 2021 CIPR PRide Awards in Scotland.

Hannah Blackford joins the agency as Senior Account Manager from a London-based strategic communications agency, where she led campaigns for Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and AstraZenca. Blackford additionally has seven years’ experience in account management, with a wealth of communications experience in industries including the third sector, transport and renewable energy.

Commenting on his new role, Michael Scobbie said: “I’m over the moon to join the team. Muckle has gone from strength to strength in recent years, as evidenced by the slew of awards in 2023 for industry-leading communications campaigns.”  

Hannah Blackford added: “I’m delighted to be joining Muckle Media’s B2B and corporate communications team. It is a business that has strong values, a really talented team, works with interesting and important clients and looks after its people. I’m really looking forward to helping them drive new and existing client growth.”

Commenting on the two new team members, Muckle Media Founder and MD, Nathalie Agnew, said: “We are really excited to welcome Michael and Hannah to the Muckle team. The B2B, crisis and corporate communications team are going through an exciting period of growth and I look forward to working alongside them to continue to deliver award winning work.”

Muckle Media saw a period of continued growth throughout 2023, with corporate new business client wins including charity Culture & Business Scotland and more-than-profit organisation Cyber and Fraud Centre Scotland. Hannah and Michael will work closely to build on Muckle Media’s B2B, crisis and corporate communications services.

Muckle Media was recently awarded ‘PR Consultancy of the Year’ at Scotland’s CIPR PRide Awards, and ‘Agency Employer Brand of the Year’ at the Marketing Society Scotland’s annual awards.

For more information on Muckle Media and the services we offer please get in touch at hello@mucklemedia.co.uk

What can the PR industry expect from 2024?

What can the PR industry expect from 2024?

What can the PR industry expect from 2024?

Have you heard that AI will break new ground in 2024? So have we – but we know that next year is going to be big one in lots of different ways.  As we wrap up 2023 and look to 2024, we’re thinking about what we can expect and hope for in line with our core values of being kind, getting results and making the world a better place.

Be Kind
America’s oldest dictionary, Merriam-Webster, named ‘authentic’ as their word of the year for 2023. But what does ‘authenticity’ actually mean?  In a PR and marketing context, we know that people want to see brands display their ‘human’ side. We think that next year will see consumers continue to place more importance on connecting with brands on a genuine, personal level. As an agency we’ll also continue to encourage authenticity within our workforce by nurturing everyone’s individual talents and allowing our team to be themselves at work – and hopefully we’ll see more and more organisations do the same.

Get results
Although we expect the human aspect of PR to be a focus next year, the advancing role of technology certainly isn’t to be ignored – so as an industry, we need to find ways to use it to our advantage. There are so many tools out there that can help us, but we’ll need to evolve to keep up with the brave new world we’ll find ourselves in. For us as an agency, we’ll be making the most of the technology on offer to help us think outside the box in terms of getting great results for our clients.

Leaving the world in a better place
Since we became a B Corp in 2022, we’ve seen more and more organisations become interested in doing the same. Being certified as a B Corp means that organisations have high standards to live up to. B Corps value social and environmental sustainability, accountability, and transparency – qualities that are more important than ever as we go into a year that looks like it will be shaped by the climate crisis, the spread of misinformation and political and economic uncertainty. We’re expecting to see more businesses look to demonstrate their commitment to these values – and we’ll be continuing to put our B Corp values into action too, as we aspire to have a positive impact on the world around us.

So as 2023 comes to a close, we’re looking forward to seeing where the coming year takes us – with the knowledge that our core values will help us to navigate whatever comes next.

PR agency celebrates employer brand success at awards

PR agency celebrates employer brand success at awards

Creative communications agency Muckle Media is continuing its winning streak after taking home the prize for ‘Agency Employer Brand of the Year 2023’ at the Marketing Society Scotland’s annual awards.

One of the industry’s most prestigious accolades, the ‘Agency Employer Brand of the Year’ category considers a range of factors including leadership, values and culture, employment policies and quality of work produced.

Amongst the seven contenders for the award, Muckle received particular praise for its distinctive values and positive culture. The agency’s B-Corp status and 4-day working week contributed to its success at the awards.

Muckle was also recognised for its clear internal proposition, ‘Bright Careers. Realised’, which mirrors its external proposition of ‘Bright Ideas. Realised’ and acknowledges the positive effect of a fulfilled team which produces inspired work.

Muckle Media founder and Managing Director Nathalie Agnew said: “The agency has grown and evolved over the past few years but we’ve kept our values close to our hearts, and it’s rewarding that our focus on making Muckle a great place to work is being recognised. Attracting, retaining, and developing talent in Scotland is always a priority for us, and we’re looking forward to seeing our team and our client base grow from strength to strength”.

The ‘Agency Employer Brand of the Year’ trophy joins Muckle’s recent CIPR ‘PR Agency of the Year’ award, received at the PRide awards last month.

Hybrid working – why Flexibility Works for Muckle Media

Hybrid working – why Flexibility Works for Muckle Media

Recent research conducted by Flexibility Works – a Scottish Government funded organisation which works with employers to develop flexible working practices – revealed key insights into Scotland’s approach to flexible working.

On the back of the research, a report called What does hybrid working look like in Scotland? was published to provide employers with evidence-based insights on how to make hybrid successful for people and for businesses.

The report found that while 71% of office workers in Scotland have been offered a form of hybrid arrangement, 29% have been told to work in the office full time.

While the majority of businesses in Scotland are adopting a flexible approach to working, the report highlights a gap in flexible working practices across Scotland, with many employers still sitting on the fence.

 

As an employer offering truly flexible working, Scottish PR agency, Muckle Media spoke to Flexibility Works about the benefits of offering hybrid working to its employees to the business and its workforce.

 

Muckle’s managing director, Nathalie Agnew, said: “Hybrid working, alongside our other flexible ways of working, has made our business better. Since moving to a hybrid four-day week, our percentage of billable hours has increased, which shows our productivity has gone up. It’s also appealing from a recruitment perspective and ‘sticky’ in terms of retention.

“We put a lot of trust in our staff and let them work the way they want. In return we expect everyone to work hard. It’s a two-way thing. But if you get the culture right then the work just clicks into place.”

 

Muckle Media people across Scotland, from Edinburgh to rural Perthshire and Inverness. The company works a four-day week and has a ‘hybrid remote and digital first’ approach. Office presence is not monitored and there are no company-wide rules on when to meet in-person except a team day every other month. Each team decides as and when to meet up in person. But the company is proactive in ensuring staff – however remote – still feel connected to their colleagues.

Muckle Media account manager Toni Dowling is a true example of just how flexible a forward-thinking PR agency can be. Supported by Muckle through hybrid and flexible working practices, Toni has been able to pursue a career as on-call (retained) fire fighter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service while continuing to progress her career in PR.

Serving her local community in rural Perthshire, Toni is on call at Killin Community Fire Station much of the week, and is called out roughly once a fortnight to deal with various incidents including fires, road traffic accidents and water rescues. But she is also able to book time off when required to keep dedicated time for her Muckle role.

Toni, who’s 27, and lives on her family’s farm in Killin, said: “Muckle has been so supportive. I have protected time for Muckle when things are really important or time sensitive, such as client meetings or if I have a project deadline. Around that, Muckle is really flexible. I work in the office about once a month and always look forward to it. But I mostly work from home so I’m on-hand if an emergency call comes through.

“I feel like I have the best of both worlds, with two different but brilliant careers, and it’s down to the fact Muckle has an open mind on how work can be done. I’m so pleased I’ve been able to build a life around the community I love.”

Talking to the Press & Journal about hybrid working 

Talking to the Press & Journal about hybrid working 

Talking to the Press & Journal about hybrid working 

Hybrid working has been a hot topic for a number of years, brought into sharp focus by the Covid pandemic.

Here at Muckle, we are proud to embrace a hybrid working model, with our team working across Scotland, from Aberdeen to Inverness, Glasgow to Edinburgh, and even a farm.

Hybrid working allows us to have the best of both worlds, an office base when we need it, and the flexibility to be at home as well.

Our senior account manager Jess Murphy, who is based in the Granite City, spoke to the Press and Journal to share her insights on how hybrid working works for her (and her cat Merida too!)

From making sure to keep active, remaining connected to colleagues, and other thoughts on the benefits and balance of hybrid working, read more here: *link to P and J story – https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen-aberdeenshire/6265642/hybrid-working-wellbeing-aberdeen/ )

Scotland’s PR Consultancy of the year celebrates award winning success

Scotland’s PR Consultancy of the year celebrates award winning success

Scotland’s PR Consultancy of the year celebrates award winning success

Muckle Media, the creative communications agency, is full of PRide after taking home four awards at Scotland’s CIPR Pride awards.

The agency received gold awards for environmental campaign of the year, integrated campaign of the year and PR consultancy of the year and a silver award for consumer relations campaign of the year.

One of the industry’s most sought-after awards, PR consultancy of the year is awarded to an agency who has had an incredible year in terms of financial performance, client campaigns, business strategy and all-round achievement.

The other categories are judged against a thorough criteria which considers campaign brief, objectives and budget, ideas research and planning, strategy, creativity and innovation, delivery of tactics and measurement, evaluation and impact.

Muckle’s silver award win for consumer relations campaign of the year was secured for its work with Moray Council and Stagecoach Bluebird, delivering a campaign to encourage locals and visitors of the Moray region to utilise public bus routes. The same campaign also secured this year’s gold award for integrated campaign of the year, for successfully implementing a multi-channel approach to reach target audiences.

The environmental campaign of the year was awarded for Muckle’s work with Highlands Rewilding, to promote a three-month fundraising and crowdfunding campaign. With Muckle’s support, the crowdfund exceeded 50% of the initial target within the first three weeks of the crowdfund going live and by the end of the campaign, the crowdfund stretch- target was exceeded, with a closing total of £1.2 million raised from over 725 citizen rewilders.

The agency was shortlisted for a further 5 awards in recognition on its industry leading work including; best use of content, low budget campaign, public sector campaign, not-for-profit campaign, and healthcare and/or wellbeing campaign of the year.

Muckle Media Founder Nathalie Agnew said: “The agency has gone from strength to strength over the last couple of years while we’ve been in a period of rapid growth which has seen us bring on new team members as we’ve built our client base exponentially.  We’ve focused our efforts on making Muckle Media one of the best communications agencies to work for and with so I’m delighted to see the efforts of the team being recognised.

Delivering press coverage on a global scale

Delivering press coverage on a global scale

Delivering press coverage on a global scale

Following our campaign with the Loch Ness Centre this summer, Alastair Campbell called Nessie Scotland’s ‘Golden Goose’ on his ‘The Rest is Politics’ podcast, saying it was ‘PR of the highest order’, and even gave the Centre’s General Manager, Paul Nixon, a shoutout for his fantastic yellow suit. Admittedly, it felt nice to get praise from someone like Alistair Campbell, but what exactly did we do to deserve it?

Following a £1.5 million investment in the Loch Ness Centre and Deepscan cruises from leading UK tourist attraction manager Continuum Attractions, we were tasked with delivering global coverage to bring tourists to the centre.

Loch Ness Centre were arranging ‘The Quest’ – a weekend of events at the end of August arranged in partnership with Loch Ness Exploration’s (LNE), an independent and voluntary research team, for volunteers to search the famous waters of Loch Ness and uncover its mysteries.

We knew there is always interest in Nessie, but we wanted to make sure we had something that would capture the attention of the world.

After research, we found out that we could position ‘The Quest’ as the largest search in over 50 years with new technology being used to search the waters of the Loch – this was the hook we were looking for.

Through strong media relations when we launched ‘The Quest’ we secured significant global media coverage.

One week from the event, we drafted a further press release calling for Monster Hunters across the globe to sign up and watch the live web cams of the Loch over the weekend, and search for anything unexplained.

Over ‘The Quest’ weekend, we managed media invites and the media schedule pre and during the weekend, with media on site from the Washington Post to German broadcasters ZDF and Australia’s ABC.

Finally, Following the weekend, we followed up with media once again with details of findings from the weekend, keeping the legend of Nessie well and truly alive.

Over a 4-week period, we generated over 2,300 pieces of coverage with media secured across the globe, including New York Post, Washington Post, BBC, and The Guardian and over 192 pieces of broadcast coverage including Good Morning America, BBC Radio 2, BBC Breakfast and Sky News.

During the period, over 6,000 people visited the Quest part of the Loch Ness Centre website, and over 200 people volunteered to take part in the hunt arriving from countries including the US, Canada, Poland, and Denmark, and over 300 people from across the world watched the live stream.

So what can we learn this?

It’s not every day you get a world-famous beast as part of your PR arsenal, but there are lessons to learn, we took an event and elevated it with a key hook on being the ‘biggest’, we also created several story moments to keep up momentum, and maybe most importantly we made the event open to everyone with a live stream making the event truly global.

If you want to hear how we can help elevate your PR and stories, get in touch. And if you want to hear what Alastair Campbell had to say about the campaign, you can hear it here from 10.50:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6FDw1P3LZiiDlSMLZHojre?si=EjO6kYTLSsOREiiI7uhOSg

Muckle Media recognised amongst outstanding women-led businesses at the Women’s Enterprise Scotland Awards

Muckle Media recognised amongst outstanding women-led businesses at the Women’s Enterprise Scotland Awards

Muckle Media recognised amongst outstanding women-led businesses at the Women’s Enterprise Scotland Awards

Creative communications agency Muckle Media’s team are celebrating awards success after winning ‘Growth Business of the Year’ at the Women’s Enterprise Scotland Awards 2023.

Taking place at Glasgow’s voco Grand Central Hotel, the ceremony recognised female business leaders across ten categories and was attended by BAFTA-award winning television journalist Kirsty Wark, who delivered the keynote speech.

Sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Growth Business of the Year Award celebrates women-led businesses which have achieved considerable growth and financial performance, as well as a solid understanding of creating and sustaining commercial success within the context of the markets they operate in.

Muckle Media founder and Managing Director Nathalie Agnew said: “Women’s Enterprise Scotland is doing invaluable work in championing women-owned and women-led enterprises, and it’s an honour to be recognised alongside so many accomplished female business leaders in Scotland. We’re thrilled to be taking home the Growth Business of the Year Award and extend our congratulations to all the finalists and winners at this year’s awards for their ambitious and innovative work”.

Along with the Growth Business of the Year accolade, Muckle is shortlisted for a host of prizes this awards season, including in four categories at the CIPR PRide awards.

My internship with Muckle Media

My internship with Muckle Media

My internship with Muckle Media

Written by Chloe Ainslie

I joined Muckle Media for a three-week internship. As a recent graduate from Queen Margaret University, I was nervous but keen to start building up my professional skillset now that I was no longer a student.

Although I had graduated with a degree in Film and Media, I had never directly done anything in PR, and I couldn’t really tell you what it meant if you were to ask me at the start. Regardless, I was ready to start, and didn’t expect the experience to be as fulfilling and enjoyable as it was!

I took part in a range of tasks whilst at Muckle, such as, assisting with the launch of a new restaurant, doing deep dives into the food and drink industry and its community, drafting copy and more.

The work was one of the strongest aspects, challenging my tech and communications skills whilst teaching me about a range of different topics and companies. There was a sense of being ‘behind the scenes’ which made me feel very accomplished. But undoubtedly the best part was the people. I got to work with very kind, helpful and patient colleagues who helped me feel more confident as the weeks progressed. Some days would be slower than others and I could sometimes feel a bit shy about asking for more things to do but ultimately, I was met with warmth and helpfulness.

I am very happy I was given this opportunity to intern for Muckle Media. It was a rewarding and worthwhile experience that turned out to be the ideal start for professional life after university. I now have a better definition for PR from when I first started – sheer variety and surprisingly fun!

P.S – there’s an on-site barista, beer taps in the Edinburgh office AND it’s dog friendly. Easily the best workplace I’ve been to.

Muckle Media becomes gold standard four-day week employer

Muckle Media becomes gold standard four-day week employer

Muckle Media becomes gold standard four-day week employer

As a further commitment to its employee proposition, ‘Bright Careers. Realised.’ Muckle Media has accredited with The 4 Day Week Campaign and secured gold status. The agency now operates a four-day week, with the team working either Monday to Thursday or Tuesday to Friday, for full time pay.

Muckle Media trialled a four-day week during the summer, with the introduction of weekly team wellbeing days, and measured productivity and team happiness. Productivity, which is measured as the percentage of team time attributed to billable work, increased eight percentage points during the trial, despite the trial falling during the summer when the most annual leave is taken. Happiness, measured by employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) increased from 23 in June to 53 in October, on a scale of -100 to 100, with over 50 classed as excellent.

The agency has also introduced further benefits this year, with eight weeks of holiday and enhanced maternity package including a month’s wages pre-baby to help with buying baby equipment.

Muckle Media Founder, Nathalie Agnew, said,

“We are continuously looking for ways to ensure our team have a good work/life balance and are able to deliver exceptional results, without undue stress and pressure. As a B-Corp we are committed to finding ways to support our team wherever possible. We appreciate the environment we work in is fast moving, so we will always have appropriate support available to clients, particularly in a crisis or when a fast turnaround opportunity arises.”

Joe Ryle, Director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, said:

“The four-day week with no loss of pay improves productivity, and is a win-win for both workers and employers. Workers are desperate for a better work-life balance after the Covid pandemic and now is the perfect time for companies to implement a four-day week. Organisations should adopt the four-day week as a way of retaining staff, attracting new talent and embracing the future of work.”

You can find out more about the 4-day week campaign here: https://www.4dayweek.co.uk/

 

Isle of Harris Distillers Perfectly Paired with Taste  ​

Isle of Harris Distillers Perfectly Paired with Taste ​

Isle of Harris Distillers Perfectly Paired with Taste

Creative communications agency Taste has been appointed by Isle of Harris Distillers to support its PR in 2023.

A dedicated food, drink and hospitality PR brand, now part of the Muckle Media Group, Taste was appointed by the Hebridean distillery company following a competitive pitch process.

The announcement comes hot on the heels of a busy year for Taste, which helped to deliver the most successful Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival on record and supported the launch of Edinburgh’s Gleneagles Townhouse – the first outpost for the iconic luxury hotel beyond the Perthshire hills.

The experienced team will be supporting PR activity throughout an exciting period of growth for Isle of Harris Distillers, which is set to launch its first ever Single Malt Scotch Whisky in September 2023. Founded in 2015, the distiller has become renowned for its award-winning gin produced on the picturesque Isle of Harris.

Founder and Managing Director of Muckle Media, Nathalie Agnew, said: “This is dream client territory for our dedicated food, drink and hospitality division. We are honoured to be onboard with Isle of Harris Distillers, helping to tell its story at such a pivotal moment in the business’ history.”

Mike Donald, Chief Storyteller at Isle of Harris Distillers Ltd, said: “We’re excited to partner with the team at Taste as we look to share our distillery story even wider than before. It’s a big year for us here in Harris as we launch our first historic whisky The Hearach and continue to grow our family of Isle of Harris Gin fans across the globe. Taste have impressed us with their understanding of our brand, enthusiasm, and creative ideas even at this early stage in our journey together. We’re very much look forward to working together and writing the next chapter of the social distillery.”

The Muckle Media Group has continued to grow over the last 12 months with a number of new client wins and the acquisition of Taste Communications – Scotland’s first food, drink and hospitality agency – in April 2022.

The creative agency has offices in four of Scotland’s major cities: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness.