You’ve found a copywriter
And I’m creative, conceptual, imaginative, fast, flexible and, above all, honest.
I’ve written ads for TV, cinema and radio as well as plenty of press. Then there are all the web sites, scripts and online marketing. Football and business journalism. Tons – literally - of POS, DM and brochures (the chances are you’ve ‘recycled’ something I’ve worked on). Brand guidelines. Film reviews. Pitch work. Editing, planning content, ensuring compliance.
In fact, it’s been quite a day.
On top of all that, I provide consultancy to organisations in the UK, Europe and North America who want to bring clarity and consistency to their communications.
Anyway, this site shows you a few things I’ve worked on, but only a few.
“Mark is one of the few freelancers who can instantly understand what’s required, challenge a brief where necessary and pick up the right tone of voice. He produces strong, relevant concepts and copy across both digital and print for a wide range of brands, from HSBC to Nokia.”
“Mark’s logical and efficient approach made a complex project far more straightforward and simple than it would otherwise have been. He very quickly absorbed a lot of information and turned it into clear, compelling copy.”
“We asked Mark to come over and work on a digital project for a well-known drinks brand - and were pleased we did. He generated strong ideas and his writing was just as impressive. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to anyone looking for an experienced and creative copywriter.”
“It wouldn’t be too creative to say Mark played a major role in developing our BlackBerry and Nestle Purina accounts, turning his hand to pretty much everything from tone of voice to TV ads, web sites, integrated campaigns, promo film scripts... and darts.”
“We had a lot of specific messages to get across on our new site, but we also wanted to keep it short and sweet. The writers we’d tried here in the US just didn’t seem to get that, but Mark gave us just what we were looking for, with a great tone and the right amount of humour.”
“I've been working closely with Mark on a series of projects for a global brand. When we took over the account, creative had received a
client rating of 'Unsatisfactory'. 12 months later it is now 'Outstanding' - the highest possible. I think that says a lot.”
“CoPilot Live is the leading satellite navigation software for mobile phones and a top selling iPhone app, but none of our agencies have managed to reflect that in our communications. Mark provided real differentiation, brought in a designer and helped the brand take a real step forward.”
“I've worked with Mark for nearly 10 years now and he's very, VERY, good. He has a fantastic wry/dry sense of humour that really hits the spot - and he's very smart indeed. If you can book him to help you with your copy then do book him.”
Using the ludicrously powerful Audi RS 6 to position the brand as second to none in terms of power and performance, the site contains specially commissioned footage and CAD to show the car hurtling along at speeds you can’t show on TV. Every part of the site shows performance and extends this idea by being available to download, email and embed in blogs. The campaign also included online comms and touchscreens.
Another ‘brand halo’ campaign , this one for the über-sporty R8. The car takes so long to build by hand, in clinical conditions and probably in a secret laboratory, they only make 25 a day. That’s why the multi-layered, information-rich site is based on the theme of time, with a circular navigation linking to 12 stories.
I worked on reinventing the BlackBerry tone of voice across web sites, launch packs, brochures, leaflets and films to boot, such as this one that launched the first BlackBerry with built-in GPS. Rather than their usual ‘3D tour’, we produced a journey that highlighted all the features on offer, with particular reference to the GPS.
Designed to communicate what BlackBerry does to a consumer audience, ‘I can’ worked across consumer literature, point of sale, product seeding, events display, training collateral and a series of short films. The concept’s inherent flexibility allowed BlackBerry to integrate consistent, brand-led messaging into product launch activity for the BlackBerry® Curve 8300 and 8320 smartphones, and continues to serve as a foundation for future device and service releases around the world.
Having helped to establish a high quality, central creative agency to successfully pitch against roster agencies (WWAV, Y&R, Triangle), I worked on numerous online, print and integrated campaigns for Lloyds TSB, Goldfish, Scottish Widows easyMoney and More Than (as the largest online advertiser in the UK at the time, we brought in 60% of all new account openings). Anyway, Create was an entire rebranding exercise for a credit card – and these guidelines are full of nice ideas for online and print.
Electronic Arts was about the first gaming company to do ‘proper’ adverts, rather than the kind that use fonts dripping with blood. As well as radio, cinema and print for global markets outside the USA, I wrote a 7-minute TV ‘infommercial’ that went on Channel 4, with 3-minute spin-off ads for cable TV.
Vodafone offer a world of mobile office solutions, so basically you don’t need your desk any more. In fact, you can destroy it right now and honestly, nobody will mind. On average, visitors spent over 4 minutes interacting with the site. 88% of those who crushed a desk online went on to explore the rest of the site. Figures aren’t available for the number of employees prosecuted for criminal damage by employers.
An integrated multi-channel, multi-discipline campaign to support Nestlé Purina UK's biggest ever below-the-line product launch. The three month campaign included segmented direct mail sampling, sampling roadshow, online advertising, emails, microsite, online competitions, point of sale and PR. All delivered within a consistent, taste-led campaign creative. Not that I tasted it. Over 300,000 trial samples were distributed, helping the brand to notable share gains.
Having spent most of their budget on a new brand, Devonshire suddenly realised they only had a few coppers left to produce any communications. Enter Herring. I wrote this novel take on a CD-ROM brochure, their web site and their press advertising. AND they’re still in business, you know.
