Our dream projects for 2017
As we reach the end of our most successful, creative and busy year, we’ve done a little whizz around the team to think ahead to what our dream projects would look like for 2017. These are the kind of projects that we’re all hoping to sink our teeth into, so if these are on your wish list too, or you have your own dream project that you need a little help with, then you might want to have a chat with us to see how we can partner up to make such awesomeness a reality.
John: Let’s create content that really helps to make people smarter
It wasn’t like we were short of things to be appalled about in this dreadful year. But one of the most shocking was that knowledge and experience seemed to lose their power, in favour of just believing really hard in random stuff until you burst a blood vessel. Fake news. Brexit. Trump. It’s been a rough ride.
So in 2017, it’s time to double down on knowledge. I’m looking forward to doing projects with people who have something to share with the world, rather than worrying about what’s on trend. I’m looking forward to tapping into the reserves of insight and experience that exist in many global organisations, and delivering projects that make people smarter, rather than drowning audiences with more stuff. It’s crowded and loud out there, which is all the more reason why intelligent, informed work shouldn’t lose its voice.
And it looks like Pamela agrees…
Pamela: Crafting content to show that discovery rocks
When ‘post-truth’ was named word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries in November, I – like thousands of others – felt deflated by the increasing prevalence of anti-intellectual attitudes across the globe. So in 2017, I want to geek out with facts, evidence, expertise and knowledge. My dream client for the new year would be to work with a research institute, scientific society or public engagement project or event. Think the European Space Agency, Crick Institute or Cheltenham Science Festival…. If you want to create fresh content to share discoveries and insights online, whether it’s through social media, websites or multimedia – get in touch. Let’s show 2017 that discovery rocks!
If you’re interested in some of our views on our responsibility in a post-truth world, you might be interested in Tracy’s blog post about anti-intellectualism and the role that we have to play in addressing this.
Tracy: Designing a truly integrated omniplatform content strategy
spend my life working on, thinking about and talking about content strategy. It underpins all of the work that we do here at Pickle Jar. However, more often than not when we talk about and work on content strategy projects, there is a strong focus on thinking about content strategy just for the web. We think about how to we plan, create and structure content for our websites, we plan editorial and workflow approaches for social media, and we seek to understand our audiences’ behaviours and motivations within the context of their use of a specific technology. I think this thinking is too limiting.
A dream project for me would be one that designs a content strategy for an organisation in its broadest possible sense. So, this wouldn’t be tied to a web project (a new design, or otherwise – though it certainly might and should preclude any web redesign that you’re going to work on), but instead would start with organisational objectives and brand, and build a strategy that touches across all communications and engagement touch-points – web, print, events, face to face, interactive (i.e. virtual reality, augmented reality or AI experiences) and so on – to look at the whole piece. So, this would pull in some really detailed audience research that really understands motivations and behaviours in the broadest sense, and plan for omniplatform content experiences outside of what we only share through a screen, all the while designing an approach that makes organisational use of content more efficient, engaging, reliable and effective.
Robert: Advancing data-driven influencer mapping and engagement
The relevance of social media to our daily lives and the wider world around us has never been more prominent. In 2016 we’ve seen how online filter bubbles can affect the proliferation of false information, and how that in turn can play a part in national and international events. The role of online communities and how influence works within these groups is something I’d like to explore more in 2017.
One of my favourite pieces of work in the past year has been a detailed, data-driven look at online influence for a research-intensive university (read more on this on the blog soon). I’d really like to do more of this for our clients in 2017 – finding out what they consider to be influential, digging in to their own spheres of influence, and finding ways to communicate with audiences they might not have considered relevant in the past. It’s data, it’s community management, it’s content creation… all the stuff I love best!
Rosie: It’s time to really take some risks and push creative boundaries
I think 2017 should be the year of taking risks. I’d like to work with someone who wants to build an innovative campaign to expand their reach to their audience, something that completely pushes the boundaries. I want to be teasing out ideas in a discovery workshop, delving into the minds of their audiences and developing something that will leave people feeling inspired and pretty darn impressed. We have some of the best writers, creators, strategist and analysts in the sector, here all under one roof. So if you’re ready to take that leap, we’re definitely here to jump with you.
Altman: Working with international outreach teams to expand knowledge of digital engagement in China
Personally, I am keen on doing a workshop on Chinese youth culture and Chinese social media. This workshop’s target audience are the marketing teams and international student recruitment officials of UK universities. In the workshop, I will provide audience with up-to-date knowledge about how social media are used by Chinese young people and how this influences these young people’ everyday lives. Attending the workshop will help audience build an in-depth understanding of digital marketing campaign in Chinese socio-cultural context. It helps universities develop optimised strategy to address the emerging Chinese market.
In the meantime, you might want to read some of our blog posts about communications, digital engagement and social media in China.
Ellie: Engaging audiences to really impact our environment
Anyone who knows me, knows I love nature, and over the past 12 months, I’ve been trying to do more to help the charities and organisations that I have a personal interest in. As a nature-lover and dog-owner, my social media feeds feature lots of photos of our dog walks, and the birds that we see (particularly the local Kingfisher). I’ve recently started fostering hedgehogs for a local hedgehog rescue centre and I also support a dog rescue centre in South Wales by managing their Instagram account (as well as volunteering there in person when I can!).
In 2017, I would love to put my professional skills and knowledge in digital marketing and social media to good use and make more impact than I can at the moment. I would like to work on a project that allows us to raise awareness of (and gather support for) conservation issues such as the decline in hedgehog numbers and the bee population, promoting dog rescue centres as an alternative to buying puppies from breeders, and educating young people about nature and wildlife. If you work for an organisation that needs advice and support with any of those things, or an academic department leading research into some of these environmental issues, please let us know – whether through Pickle Jar or our sister company, Utterly Content, that works with the charity sector too!
Zoë: Finding creative applications for emerging technologies
From Snapchat glasses to Instagram stories to Facebook Live, it’s fair to say that 2016 really threw some interesting concepts at us in the world of social media. It would be fun in 2017 as a result, to figure out the most innovative and creative ways to best use these so people are left questioning, ‘Why hadn’t we thought of that?’ In using these new concepts, having the opportunity therefore to then work on content within a project that is visually appealing, that inspires people and encourages them to think in a larger context outside their norm is something I’d like to have helped accomplish by the end of the new year. 2017, in my books, is a time to think and do differently, the year for thought provoking innovation.
Your dream project for 2017?
What would your dream project be to work on in 2017. Don’t forget to let us know, and have a chat with us to see if we can help turn those dreams into reality.