Whether or not to submerge your business into the pond of social networking can be a tricky decision to make; there will always be arguments for and against it. Although it is an instantaneous and influential medium through which many now choose to communicate, we can still argue that, 10 years ago, before anyone had even uttered the words ‘Facebook’ or ‘Twitter’, the business world was ticking over just fine. But the flip side of the coin is that such a statement can be made about any modern technological creation. Sooner or later we find ourselves unable to avoid these new fads that often start replacing what we were accustomed to using in the past!

Yet, while social networking is still not ‘essential’ to brand or business growth, it’s important to ask why you’re doing it and what it will tangibly achieve for your business. It takes time, sometimes money, and can do you more harm than good should you do it wrong! Some brands completely lend themselves to a Facebook page, Twitter account, or a YouTube channel as a regular means of audience engagement; others don’t. The important thing is to have a plan. An objective. A desirable outcome. A good strategy by which you’ll achieve what you want. Tweeting for tweet’s sake can otherwise just turn into a desperate attempt at sales, humour or delivering office trivialities about which nobody actually cares.

And just because you’re not updating a Facebook page every day doesn’t mean you can’t utilise those sites at all! Using them for advertising purposes might be much more fruitful.

If you’re stuck in a rut or sitting on the fence when it comes to social networking, why not pop in and meet our digital team? We can lay out all the possibilities and have a chat about a crafting a promotion, campaign, or strategy for you – we might just be able to uncover the ways it could be great, or not so great, for your business!

Mobile applications or ‘apps’, as they are known to the everyday technology enthusiast, have stormed the globe since the smartphone and tablet market exploded. As with all new technology sensations, we recognise the app market as one that is only going to grow so, naturally, we wanted to get involved and add another string to our already industriously strung bow!

Our digital team has been busy getting versed in the art of app creation and were thrilled to recently produce one for the world’s largest medical technology company, Medtronic. The app was designed for Apple’s iPad and provided Medtronic’s sales team with an easy way to display and interactively engage with multiple presentations. For them, it was a huge and revolutionary step forward; we were delighted to be a part of that.

The main reason we are excited about our offering of app production is that the possibilities are simply endless. You might struggle to find an app solution for your business but, we assure you, we can help you find one. If you have an idea, even if it’s not a clear one, come and have a chat with our creatives and throw some concepts onto the table. We will, too. Then the next step will be bringing it to life.

The digital marketplace is flooded with companies claiming they can do it all – SEO to email marketing, website design to intranets, social media campaigns to iPhone app design – and, like us, they probably can! But think how many emails or DM pieces you get from companies who ram down your throat the opinion that you must be on Twitter, sit at the top of Google listings, and give a facelift to your old-fashioned website in a shameless attempt to sell what they’re offering. Quite a few, we would imagine.

At Bluestone360 we like to do things a little differently. We don’t believe you should blog, tweet, ‘Facebook’, advertise online and create an app just because you can, or you feel like you should. Quite often, the result won’t be anything like you imagined. Questions need to be asked, such as: ‘is this the best way to reach my target audience?’ And that’s where we come in.

It is a given that we can provide you with all things digital so, in order to do it properly, we spend time discovering how your business works and what you want to achieve. We tend to get the ball rolling by holding a Digital DNA meeting between members of our team and yours – this process extracts the digital objectives of your business and helps to establish all the key information about your brand. Considering all this information, we create a strategy which will outline the most effective ways to communicate your message, on brand, and reach your desired audience – and this certainly won’t mean exhausting every digital channel! It might be a beautiful new website, possibly an online advertising campaign, or perhaps even a consumer-driven social media promotion, but we assure you, the creations will truly be right for your business needs.

With hundreds of thousands of words to choose from in the English language, it can be a challenge to find the ones that best express you and your brand. Even more difficult is finding the ones that will make you stand out in a crowd – one crowd in particular being the ever-expanding World Wide Web.

At Bluestone360 we, just like you, know the importance of a dynamic online presence. More importantly, we know how to create one. In fact, creating eye-catching, brand-inspired, award-winning websites is a great passion of ours. We couple our cutting-edge copy with striking designs, capturing the core essence of brands and businesses in every creative way we can.

If you could do with sprucing up your online brand experience, we can help! Why not drop us a line? These folks did…

We have been celebrating in the office after winning a nationally acclaimed Golden Gramia award for our production of the latest Ginsters website. The 2010 awards took place last week at the Savoy Hotel in London and Tracy and Paul were proud to attend the event. The online category saw a great deal of fierce competition which has made our win even more rewarding!

Larry File, Brand Communications Manager for Ginsters, said: “The new site has been very well received by our consumers and by our retail customers. The messages about our local sourcing and quality ingredients are coming across loud and clear.”

At Bluestone360 we firmly believe that our creative team’s ability to produce such a high-calibre, brand-inspired website was fuelled by the excellent ongoing relationship we share with Ginsters and have maintained for so many years. We are proud to be associated with such an esteemed industry giant and look forward to collaborating on many more successful projects in the future.

Here at Bluestone360, we are thrilled to announce the launch of the new CHICKS website. Having worked alongside the children’s charity (Country Holidays for Inner City Kids) for a number of years, we saw the perfect opportunity to provide them with a digital refresh through the inception of the Bluestone360 Academy.

The academy was created in order to give talented graduates the chance to work on exciting live projects in a fast-paced working environment, ultimately adding a substantial layer to their CV.  After a number of graduates presented their initial design concepts to a panel of judges, which included several CHICKS staff members, Angie Chan was the selected candidate to proceed through the Academy.

Angie worked a three-month placement here in our studio and, with the help of the digital team, pioneered the design and build of the website from scratch. The end product is a fun, informative and accessible website that the CHICKS team are incredibly happy with. This is a true testament to the benefits of running the Bluestone360 Academy and we sincerely hope to see an equal amount of success with the next project we pursue.

CHICKS’ Head of Fundraising Elanor Hoskin said: “Angie has designed a fun, fresh and interactive site for the charity that will help to raise much needed funds. We provide free respite breaks for disadvantaged children from across the UK and with the world constantly evolving our website is our public face and it is crucial that it sets the right image and tells our supporters all they need to know. We are incredibly grateful to both Bluestone360 and Angie for all their hard work and dedication.”

You will find their website at http://www.chicks.org.uk/

A new Academy formed by one of the South West’s top creative agencies, Bluestone360, is set to attract the best young design and digital talents in the region.  The Academy will offer a talented student or graduate the opportunity to gain valuable work experience from within Bluestone360’s offices in Royal William Yard, Plymouth.  They will be exposed to the creative and digital arena working on live projects and adding an extra layer to their CV.

There is high interest and buzz surrounding this exciting new innovative venture.  Only one place is available, so the Academy is open purely to the best talent.  Students who are interested will be sent a full, authentic creative brief.  They will then be required to submit their initial creative concepts to the agency for consideration.  The best six will be invited to present their concepts to a panel made up of the agency, client, trustees and media including Alexis Bowater, journalist and former Westcountry news presenter.  The winning student will then join the Bluestone360 Academy for an initial three months with the opportunity for a full time contract if they excel.

Crucially, one of the main projects the candidate will work on from conceptual idea to live venture is the national children’s charity, CHICKS (Country Holiday for Inner City Kids) website.  CHICKS provides free respite breaks for disadvantaged children across the UK.  Aiming to give children the chance to be children and create happy memories that they can hold on to when they return to their difficult home life.  This task has a wide scope and will be both challenging and exciting for the candidate.

Gavin Braithwaite -Smith, Blustone360 director commented, “The Bluestone360 Academy will seek to attract and harness the south west’s best young design and digital talents.  Proving that the region can be a creative hotbed and that London alone doesn’t have to be the automatic choice for graduates or those seeking to further their career.  The CHICKS website represents the perfect opportunity to launch the Academy.  A live project, for a national charity, led by one of the region’s most established creative agencies. We are delighted that this Academy will offer one talented young person a fantastic opportunity to advance in this field.”

Alexis Bowater, Academy Panellist added, “It is vital to give people chances at any time of life. For students entering the rapidly changing world of media this is a golden opportunity. The winning candidate will not only have to have innovative ideas, flair and imagination but also to be able to work as a team. CHICKS is a life-affirming organisation which changes lives in a positive and permanent way. Giving young students the chance to take part in a project like this continues that philosophy.  It will bring cutting-edge ideas to the charity’s website enabling them to communicate their important message more effectively to an ever wider audience.”

If you are a student or recent graduate and would like more information on the Bluestone360 Academy, please visit the Academy website at http://www.bluestone360.co.uk/theacademy/ The closing date for entries is 7^th May 2010.

John Downie joined us after completing a work experience placement with our digital team. John graduated from the University of Plymouth in Business Information Management Systems and has joined Bluestone360 as a Digital Developer. With widespread digital knowledge, he provides central web and multimedia support, working at the forefront of many of our major projects.