Tips for an Effective Email Campaign

Have you tried an HTML email marketing campaign? Fun, engaging and informative; HTML emails can be a great way to increase sales.

Here are Higher Ground London's top html email tips:
- provide numerous communication points to drive customers to your products or services - use carefully selected text and images to effectively target your customer base
- position the most important text at the top of the email to increase message exposure via preview boxes
- use Higher Ground’s experience to build HTML emails which are compatible with the latest and most popular email software and webmail applications including BlackBerry's and iPhones
- ensure files are not blocked by spam filters - use our online application so you can run campaigns internally, using your client database
- use as a supportive marketing tool or even as a campaign of its own
- ensure that you monitor and track the success of the emails (how many people click on which links within the email etc), so you can constantly evolve and improve their effectiveness.


Like what you hear? See what we can do.

Contact Higher Ground Creative now for a bespoke design tailored to your needs and help get that Xmas marketing campaign you’ve always dreamt of!

...and don't forget, we are a London based web design company that offer many marketing services, so would be glad to help your business grow, from designing logos to brochures (and much, much more!).

Read more

Higher Ground Win Deutsche Bank Pitch

Higher Ground Creative London are to collaborate with DB to assist with the design of the GPS application and the branding of their Autobahn project. The Autobahn branding shall see the consistent integration of various sub-brands to subsequently result in the production of numerous web designs and supportive marketing collateral.

Higher Ground are looking forward to working with Deutsche Bank on this project and helping to develop the consistency of the company’s online branding.

Higher Ground Win Pitch For General Electric Project

We have recently successfully pitched to work with General Electric (GE Capital) to design their new intranet site. We are really looking forward to working with another established multinational firm and building a strong relationship for the future. The team are relishing the opportunity to apply our expertise to this project and hope to upload some designs soon.

A Blog on Blogs

We’ve been checking out some of the latest, and greatest, blogs of the moment, keeping our fingers on the pulse of all the latest trends in the design world:

http://typeneu.com/ - Everything you ever wanted to see in contemporary typography.
http://www.septemberindustry.co.uk/ The blog itself is a great design, showcasing the best snippets of top International graphics from around the world.
http://fleuron.com/ Great design and great commentary on design.
http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/ Comprehensive showcase and analysis of the latest and greatest advertising campaigns.
http://www.typegoodness.com/ More typography for all you type nerds out there!
http://www.lodownmagazine.com/index.php?page=25
http://ffffound.com/
http://www.qbn.com/
http://www.krop.com/blog/
http://deviationmusic.net/blog/ - Recommended music blog


We have also recently finished designing the latest promotional banner for Getty Images, which is now live on their site as part of September’s monthly campaign. Take a gander below:

New Recruits!

Over the past few months whilst some companies have been struggling through difficult financial periods, Higher Ground Creative have defied market trends by increasing company work flows. To ensure our high quality stamp remains intact, we have recruited in both our design and account management departments.

Please join us in welcoming the following new faces to the team:

James Ward, Senior Account Manager: James has been a design industry professional for 13 years, and has a strong background in design project management from both a client and a service based perspective working with clients such as Universal Pictures, Disney, Fox, Paramount and Warner Bros.

Tamsin Barnett, Account manager: Tamsin arrives at Higher Ground from a leading London based digital agency bringing a wealth of account management experience.

Mark Donington, Designer: Mark has over 3 years of experience in the graphic design industry and has a passion for applying design across all medias.

David Mills, Account Executive: David brings commercial sales and marketing experience from one of the UK’s top TV broadcasters and holds a strong passion for marketing, the media industry and all things creative.

So what are you waiting for!? Drop us a line if you would like to talk to any of the new or existing friendly HGC team members.

Mug Shots!

It was an early summer's morning when the Higher Ground team took to the cobbled streets of Covent Garden for a team photo shoot. Soon to be aired on the fast approaching new HGC website, be prepared to see us showing our array of skills by conducting some stylish jumps and poses for the lens.

Check out the snaps below and let us know what you think!

Over and out

Over the last couple of weeks, we've been working with Excell Group on the design and development of a new website for one of their divisions, Excell Mobile and just in time for this week's blog update, the website has gone live!

Excell Group are a leading provider of Voice & Data services, while Excell Mobile deals specifically with mobile solutions. This includes a range of handsets and accessories but also a set of software such as Mobile Manager (used by businesses to monitor employees' mobile phone use and spend).

We've worked with Excell a few times in the past (have a look through our portfolio for examples), but this time they came to us with an aim to increase their web presence - which was of course an offer we couldn't refuse. A few weeks on, the website looks great (if we do say so ourselves!) and all the relevant information on Excell Mobile and all their products is only a few clicks away.

Plus, we're not the only ones that are happy with the site - this is what Excell had to say about the project:

'Just wanted to say thank you for your professionalism and commitment to the project. I’m delighted with the final outcome. Please pass on my thanks to your team.'

So don't just sit there, have a click around and tell us what you think!

Higher Ground Creative - helping to save the world

This week, we thought we would write about a project we've just finished for Vestas - a company involved in 'making wind power a source of energy on par with oil and gas'. As an industry leader, Vestas dedicate quite some time to training their staff.

Although this is an internal-facing project, there's no reason that it can't still look good so we were happy to lend a helping hand. Next thing we know, we were working on the branding as well as planning, designing and developing an intranet website to accompany the 'Business Xpress' e-learning program for the Research and Development department.

We're happy with the outcome here at HQ, but don't just take our word for it - read what our client had to say:

'The team were excellent in accommodating all requirements and creating a great look and feel. We have only had positive feedback and everyone loves it which helps a lot with the communications of BX. '

Have a look at our designs below and let us know what you think!

Morning Press

Over the last year or so, we've often written about projects we got to work on for The Buffalo Club and well, it's that time again!

Last week, we got our hands on a quick turnaround job producing a full-page advertisement to go into CityAm newspaper. The ad was produced to spread the word about the Club's first event, which takes place on Saturday, 20th June and holds a £10,000 stake.

So, if you have a spare £11,000 for a seat at one of the table alongside all kinds of celebrities - why not register for the next event on their website?

In the meantime though - have a look at our ad and let us know what you think!



plus.... Become a Higher Ground Creative Groupie!

In addition to our Twitter account, which we wrote about a few weeks ago, we now have our own group on Facebook and YouTube too. Have a look, join our group and send through your comments!

Watch this space for a link to our Vimeo group too....

'Genesis' by HGC

You may remember reading about an event that we got involved in a couple of weeks ago alongside ditto and other like-minded creative folk. But in case you don't, it was part of the Shortcircuit event in the Roundhouse, Camden Town.

Anyway, this week we thought we would let you know how it all went. The night brought together all the individual pieces well and it was great to see the final product, considering the hard work that went into each segment!

From our point of view, it was great to see the 'fruit of our labour' (so to speak) on the big screen - have a look at the pictures below. Plus, the reactions that the audience had to our animation were all positive (if we say so ourselves!).



Have a look at more pictures from the night on Flickr and check out the ditto website for information on similar upcoming events - you may even see us there!

Higher Ground Bowling

Last Wednesday night bore witness to another (extremely enjoyable) Higher Ground team night out. Following some rather painful memories of flying paint from our last organised team activity (read more on this in our older posts), we decided to go for a more pain-free option this time.

Fueled by our love of healthy competition, we arrived at All Star Lanes in Brick Lane for an evening of good food, cocktails and bowling. After much careful consideration over an order of 8 cheeseburgers and various deserts, we managed to split the party into two teams (girls and Jay versus boys) and we were ready to hit the lanes. Of course, not before we put a small bet on the game - the loosing team were doomed to make teas and coffees for a whole week, while the winning team were stripped of their tea-making duties for the time being.

It was a close result, but in the end the boys were victorious and the girls (and Jay) must bow down to their bowling inferiority. Enjoy it while it last lads!

Missed Us?

As you may or may not know, over the past few months we've been working on the Short Circuit event in the Roundhouse in Camden Town. The event, which is also the world premier of ditto, deals with the idea of the 'human condition' and brings together an array of designers, photographers, musicians, illustrators (and more) in a showcase of their work.

Our contribution to the event is a 3 minute Flash animation on the theme of 'Creation' from Genesis, which is accompanied by a combination of spoken narrative and music by the seminal electronic music producer, Rolando Rocha.

The project has truly been a Higher Ground team effort and we've enjoyed every step of the way. Our animation will be shown alongside the other contributors' pieces at the Roundhouse in a few weeks and we can't wait to see it on the big screen! So have a look at our teaser video and let us know what you think:

You can also watch the full video live on the night (16th May) via an online feed.

Besides our involvement with the Short Circuit event, we've also worked with ditto to produce their logo, website and business cards. they've been an exciting client to work with and we're pretty proud of all our work with them, but we'd like to know what you think - so let us know!

The (all new) London List

Some of you may remember us mentioning something called 'The London List' at the beginning of the year. Those of you that decided to go ahead and try out some of its suggestions may be happy to know that we've updated the list with a fresh set of things to do. This month's update includes events such as the Bangladeshi New Year in the Barbican Theatre, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition in the Natural History Museum or the Banana Cabaret in The Bedford.

So whether you're into arts, comedy, film, music or theatre you'll definitely try something worth doing in the coming weeks. This time, we've even added a new section with suggestions of bars to try!

Go on then, do something new this week - visit the website or download the PDF for inspiration. If you have other suggestions you would like to see added to the List, please email Maggie.

And the winner is....

Hello fellow design-enthusiasts,

Over the last couple of weeks, we've been in contact with a company called 'Academy' and we're proud to be able to announce that we've managed to win a contract with them for a complete rebranding project and a whole lot of other elements off the back of this too!

Academy started off as a marquee hire company but have since grown and moved towards providing full event planning services too. They can help with functions like weddings, corporate events and product launches and so were looking for a new parent brand (as well as a sub-brand for each of their service areas) to reflect the new direction and ethos of the business.



Off the back of the branding, we will also be providing Academy with our standard set of services including websites, stationery, emails, pay-per-click campaigns and leaflets. But you should keep an eye out for Academy soon as we'll be designing vehicle branding, signage and t-shirts!

We're all really excited here at HQ, but for now why not take a look at Academy's current website and some photographs from a recent event and send through any suggestions you may have for the new brand!

The Tibian Adventure

As we've been updating our blog over the last 9 months, you may have been able to piece together an idea as to the type of projects we take part in and the work we do. So this week, we thought we'd introduce one of our more 'unusual' projects (just to keep you guessing!).

A little while ago, our Google Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising campaign caught the eye of Alex Pemberton. A taxi driver by day, Alex is currently in the process of self-publishing his first book. The first in a series of fantasy books, 'The Tibian Adventure' is set in the world of Vorboria, where a strange but very real danger lurks over the Tibian civilization.

Alex came to Higher Ground in order to develop an online marketing strategy for the book prior to its publication (possibly later this year). Based on the artwork used within the book and some other fantasy websites Alex likes the look and feel of, we put together www.thetibianadventure.com.



Off the back of the website, we'll also be working with Alex to design adverts for the side of his black cab, taxi receipts and adverts for the back of the taxi seats. Maybe our taxi advertising will make it as far as Mumbai like Creative Review's....

Extra extra!

Those of you that read our blog regularly may be aware that we do quite a bit of work with the prestigious poker club - The Buffalo Club. Well this week, we wanted to write about one of the latest projects we worked on with them.

Besides our ongoing work on the website, we also had the opportunity to design a full-page advertisement to go into the Financial Times. The advertisement was commissioned as a means of spreading the word about the Club's first event. This was to take place on Saturday, 21st March and held a £10,000 stake.

We liaised closely with both The Buffalo Club and the Financial Times on this one, to produce an end result we are pretty proud of. What do you think?



Keep an eye out next time you go down to the shops!

The Final Countdown

Over the last couple of months, we've kept you up to date with the progress of our involvement with the filming of Meisha's very first music video. Well, today we have some big news - we have now officially finished all of the filming! Yes, that's right.... take a moment to digest that....

The last part of the process took place one sunny, but (very) cold Thursday morning on the streets of London - and a bridge. Considering it was rush hour, we managed to get all our equipment set up pretty comfortably on Waterloo bridge and get a good amount of footage with the crowds while dodging cars, buses and especially motorbikes. We spent the second part of the morning on the lovely sun-kissed Southbank, where instead of motorized vehicles, the challenge was not to get hit by bikes.

Having survived these various attacks, we think it is safe to say we have all of the footage we need. Now the real hard work begins - it's time to look through all the footage and start piecing the video together. Well, now that you've stopped holding your breath there's not much more to say besides - watch this space!

Twitter-mania

Twitter seems to have taken the world by storm. The 'micro-blog', which allows its users to write 140 characters at a time to inform their 'followers' about what they're doing, has famously been used to book accommodation and travel for a world-round trip and to coordinate a mountain rescue. However, on a day-to-day basis Twitter is said to be an invaluable marketing tool for many businesses.

Of course, we at Higher Ground had to investigate what all the commotion is about! Although we're still getting the hang of this new phenomenon, we've set up our very own account so you can now follow the tweets from over here at HQ.

Have a look at our profile: http://twitter.com/higher_ground

Let us know what you think about Twitter!

Evolution Not Revolution

We've recently had the pleasure of working on a project involving a little bit of (almost) everything - from a logo update/redesign, new business cards and PDF templates through to a brand new website and HTML email.

SelectX are a consultancy firm specializing in improving risk management (particularly in life and health insurance) with a multinational clientele. When we met them, they were considering updating the look and feel of their brand and rebuild their website in order to ease user experience.

We've put together a few before and after screenshots for you to have a look over....

Before:

After:

Get in touch to tell us what you think!

We've also been updating our portfolio, so have a click around to get an idea of some of the other things we get involved with!

Reclaiming the beats

Hello design-enthusiasts!

This week we wanted to showcase a project, which involves design not only on the digital front but some work on print pieces too!

Equilibrium are a self-proclaimed 'global entertainment company with the brightest and most talented music artists and production team in the world' and they were after a new logo, web holding page and business cards. So, what else could we do but let our designers loose and make sure that this is all reflected in our designs!

But enough from us - have a look at their holding page and the business cards below and let us know what you think!

Hot off the press:

On a completely separate note (get it? :-)) we also helped out at the second part of the filming of Meisha's upcoming video last night. This time, the filming was at Terminal Studios in London Bridge, which were a lot warmer than the streets of Maida Vale!

The filming was great fun if a little dramatic as our Head of Creative risked his life in order to ensure everything went perfectly. Talk about dedication!!

Anyway, check out some pictures below...

Round round, baby, round round!

Once again we have the scoop on a VERY exciting project we're currently involved in. Ready?

Last Friday our MD and Head of Creative spent the afternoon in a larger-than-life brainstorming session at the prestigious Roundhouse in Camden Town alongside other designers, photographers, musicians, illustrators, 3D visual artists etc. Everyone was working on ideas for an exhibition we will be involved with as part of the 'Short Circuit' event in May.

Roundhouse started its life as a steam engine repair shed but has since become a legendary cultural venue and has hosted events such as the BBC Electric Proms or Lucha Libre London.

And now it's full steam ahead for Higher Ground!

Hi 5

They say that your iPod (or anything else you may use to listen to music..) can reveal all sorts of things about the type of person you are, so we've asked each member of staff at our Covent Garden HQ (aka 'the A team') to put together a list of the top 5 tunes on their iPod. Get ready to be amazed:

Greg Newman (MD & CEO)

1. Natalie Imbruglia - Torn
2. The Village People - YMCA
3. Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax
4. Right Said Fred - Deeply Dippy
5. Kylie Minogue - Do the Locomotion

Rob Parsons (Project Manager)

1. Half the world away – Oasis
2. Yellow – Coldplay
3. Sonny – Funeral for a friend
4. Smother me – The Used
5. Dream catch me – Newton Faulkner

Maggie Majstrova (Account Exec)

1. Timbaland - Way I are
2. Eminem - Superman
3. Support Lesbiens - Bubble Brown
4. Britney Spears - Piece of Me
5. Rocky Soundtrack - Eye of the TIger

Elizabeth Marquis (New Business and Account Exec)

1. Beirut – Elephant Gun
2. Skip James – Devil Got My Woman
3. The Who – Baba O’Riley
4. The Rakes – Just Got Paid
5. Nico – These Days

Jay Shipley (Head of Creative)

1. Martyn 'Natural Selection'
2. Mark de Clive-Lowe feat. Bembe Segue 'Voices Whisper'
3. Commix 'Bear music'
4. Radio City feat. Bajka 'The Hop'
5. Steely Dan 'Peg'

Tom Cleave (Graphic Designer and Illustrator)

1. Michael Franti & Spearhead - We Don’t Mind
2. The Presets - Girl and the Sea (Cut Copy remix)
3. Owusu & Hannibal - Watch Watch (Girls)
4. Chistopher Cross - Ride Like the Wind
5. The Black Seeds - Turn it Around

Edd Grant (Web Designer)

1.Keane - Atlantis
2. Mystery Jets - Two Doors Down
3. Oasis - Live Forever
4. Lemon Jelly - His Majesty King Raam
5. TBC

To match the names and music to faces have a look at our team page

Nights (or days) Out in London

We at Higher Ground have recently been working with the London List, to put together a few ideas of fun and creative things to do in London over the next few months. The List's suggestions include ideas ranging from Japanese theatre at the Barbican to the Cold War Modern Design exhibition in the V&A.

So, if you ever have that feeling that you'd really like to do something creative and exciting tonight - why not check out our suggestions? You can check out the blog or even download the list as a PDF. We're sure you'll find something that'll catch your eye!

You can even use the blog to organise meeting with like-minded individuals to enjoy these events together. Doesn't get much better than that! Go on then, stop imagining and start discovering.....

Sneaky peek before it’s complete!

Remember we told you about us doing Meisha’s music video? Well there has been huge progress! OK, so we can’t reveal the final video just yet (hold your horses!). We can however provide you with exclusive behind the scenes photographs. Gimmie’ a woo...

Higher Ground stormed Maida Vale and recorded the band in action and what action we captured on film. We can also reveal that the song which has been filmed is ‘On My Own Side’, which can be heard on Meisha’s MySpace page.

Check it out, our MD and Head of Creative aka the next Spielbergs...



So jokes aside, the shoot went amazingly well and we had a lot of fun on the way! So, as always - ‘Watch this space for the next instalment’...

It’s alive... It’s alive!

Yes that’s right folks. CTMS Travel’s new website is up and running and designed by yours truly!

Corporate Travel Management Solutions approached Higher Ground to design and develop their site and we were (of course) more than happy to help them spruce up their online presence and launch a brand spanking new website!

CTMS have been in the travel business for 20 years and provide impeccable travel management for hundreds of people all over the world. Their specialist services help to lighten the responsibility and organise everything from flights to visas to exhibitions in all the places we only dream of going.



Here at HQ have been working on this day and night to ensure its success... OK maybe not all night! So let us know what you think...

Higher Ground Creative is BAD to the bone!

Higher Ground Creative is proud to announce that we are an award winning agency!

What an exciting start to 2009! Firstly I would like to thank and accept this award on behalf of everybody who played a part of making this happen (tears, sob, cry) and I would like to thank my parents... just joking, but not about the award. Here at HQ we are as giddy as can be as our web designs have not gone un-noticed and we have won this month’s BAD Award! No, this is not an award for being bad at what we do! It’s the Britain Awards Design and is up for grabs each month and is open to anyone and everyone.

Last month we decided to enter The Buffalo Club website which we created back in November 08’ and we are delighted to announce that we bagged this month’s hot spot.


This award is open to anyone in the UK and covers all aspects of web design ranging from student to professional participants and we would recommend it to anyone and everyone! Check out the website to see Higher Ground featured on BAD’s home page.

A Higher Ground New Year

Higher Ground would like to wish you all a Happy New Year! It is the time when we ring out the old year and welcome the present with open arms! As promised here are a few pictures of what delights we received from each other for our Secret Santa gifts.

All in all we were pleasently suprised with our presents! Along with 'potty putter', we got some cool books, an etcher sketcher, a pair of braces, a funky salt n pepper shaker set and herbal tea for the hippie amongst us!

Watch this space as 2009 is going to bring some exciting new projects for Higher Ground to work on!