We have designed a new Apprenticeships Directory for Edexcel which targets training providers, large employers and Foundation Education colleges. With training providers and employees being the primary audience the aim of the directory is to show the breadth of apprenticeships Edexcel offer from Health & Social Care to Retail. Edexcel is a well-known and respected name, offering a wide range of flexible apprenticeships, with its key message of ‘more support, for more successful apprenticeships’ running through the directory. Each apprenticeship sector is colour coded to make them more accessible to readers, with large, glossy, cut-out, colour photography to bring the information to life.

Portillion Ltd was formed in 2009 and has financial backing from RIT Capital Partners plc and philanthropic interests associated with Lord Rothschild.

Portillion are in the process of preparing to launch in the UK offering good value financial products, service and distribution management, together with techniques to achieve better quality business.

The Portillion name derives from the French word “portillon”, meaning the security gate in front of a castle. We are working with the business to develop a B2C and B2B brand that reflects their commitment, culture and values.

We have also developed a corporate micro-site for the business during the pre-launch phase.

NHS Hertfordshire asked us to create A2 and A3 posters for their GP surgery’s and A&E’s. The aim of the posters was to stop people going to A&E for minor injuries and to utilise the full range of services the NHS offer. Our solution was to use large, striking typography mixed with strong photography to create maximum impact. Each poster targets a different injury, e.g. Bites? Cuts? Grazes? positioned in a star, with the message “you don’t need to be here!” Alongside we used large, colour photos of objects that could be a cause of such an injury, such as a dog, football boots etc. The posters then have different tips on each illness/injury, telling you where you should go and what you can do to help yourself rather than wasting your own time or NHS resources at A&E.

The challenge of this brief was to subtly make people think about how they use the NHS and reassure them that minor injuries, in most cases, can be treated much more quickly and efficiently away from A&E, which is there to treat much more serious illnesses. At the same time the posters needed to be engaging and bold enough to stand out amongst lots of other information on GP surgery walls and in A&E waiting rooms. We think this has been achieved with our choice of striking photography and a strong message.

Over recent months we have been working with Edexcel on an integrated communications program to promote their range of BTEC qualifications nationally to teachers. The campaign utilises press ads, direct mail, events, email and website. Here is a preview of the campaign and the new taster packs.

We have been working with the NHS Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust on a number of communication initiatives to share health care information and the good work they do for the county.

Over recent weeks we created and produced their 2008/2009 report and accounts, producing a new visual treatment for the documents.

A big challenge for the trusts is to keep the whole of the county informed on key health support and on the current initiatives being delivered to the public. It is a real challenge to communicate with such a large audience.

We designed, printed and distributed these new information packs to over 500,000 homes in the Hertfordshire county giving the trust maxmuim exposure and keep the public informed.  Feedback from the public has been very positive already :-)

A new piece of our work … spotted and snapped in Holborn. We recently completed a 25 Year celebratory wall chart for Edexcel. Their BTEC qualifications have been around since 1983, the year the race horse Shergar went missing and we shivered over the miners strikes. Many happy returns to BTEC :-)

We launched Meat Free Monday's digital integrated communications recently and our activity on this high profile campaign has grown even further…

Meat Free Monday is a campaign to help the planet, by reducing everyones carbon footprint through eating less meat. Mass meat production is hurting the planet and this campaign asks us to help reduce mass demand by not eating meat on a monday. Everyone at Silver Chair is now meat free on a monday – join it too!

Our work on this campaign has been to create a number of digital media platforms that communicated the campaigns ethos and activities – see the site we developed at Meat Free Monday Website

You can now join in and keep in touch with the Meat Free Monday community on Twitter,  Meat Free Monday Twitter  and there is already are over 5,000 fans on the campaign's Facebook site – Meat Free Monday Facebook

We have found eating no meat on a monday isnt as hard as you think and is healthy. Linda McCartney Foods are publishing yummy recipes each week to help on this link Linda's MFM Recipes

Our resident Pap has been on the loose again…and taken this pic of a poster we created recently. Seen in London, it's promoting a campaign we're working on with Edexcel to launch the new GCSEs which kick off in September 2010. The new exam helps young people realise their full potential by making them a little less focussed on "exam-day" performance (and nerves). They have also been re-structured to be really engaging to ensure learners remain enthusiastic from start to finish. Just what a few of us round here could have done with… 

Don't look at the three folk strolling in the sunshine, look at the monster sized window graphic, screaming Edexcel's FLT snapped by Fran (who was luckily armed with the corporate camera, gorgeous designer handbag, a latte, several notebooks and a spare pair of shoes) en-route to a meeting in London.

We created this new brand for client Edexcel which was recently launched together with a nifty digital package – that just sounds so wrong… so to be more specific…We worked very closely with Edexcel to give them a concept which would work across a number of media and digital tools.

It's all part of the 14 – 19 VQ (Vocational Qualifications) Reform Programme. The FLT will help learners aged 14 + maximise their potential – especially those who might fall off the radar in more traditional qualification structures.

Well Snapped Fran!

When Creative Director, Terry returned from his Meat Free Monday client meeting recently and told us he'd been singing with Paul McCartney we honestly thought he'd spent too long in the sun.

That was until we had the proof. Terry, (sitting directly next to PMcC) seems to be quite at home, in an awkward, self conscious, musical sort of way. Apparently he sings like an angel ;-)  take a look at the full video by clicking here