How we work with clients to achieve great report design  Reports are chunky pieces of work. Whether you’re crafting an annual report, presenting valuable research to your industry or launching a strategy for the future of your organisation they’re an investment of time and resources. At Clark we help our clients maximise that investment by…

In celebration of International Women’s Day, I’m here to talk about taking on too much. Here I am on IWD, (wo)manning up and admitting that this week I took on too much, and didn’t get this blog written for Kirsty, our digital director.  She’ll not be best pleased.  It’s 4pm in the afternoon, and I know…

You’d have had to be living on the moon (or maybe locked in a fantastical chocolate factory) not to have noticed a certain confectionery-themed news story that has hit something of a sour note last week. The tale in question is, of course, Glasgow’s very own Willy’s Chocolate Experience that has featured in media outlets…

The tech sector pulsates with a thrilling, sometimes chaotic, energy. Change happens so fast; it feels like the right leg strides forward before the left even knows it’s moving.  Each day, headlines bombard us with news of tech for good, or tech (and its developers) behaving less than optimally. The constant battle between good and…

By George Francis, Account Director Dog people and non-dog people. I think everyone in the entire world falls into one of these two camps. And, while a predisposition to pooches isn’t a pre-requisite for working at Clark, it certainly helps. My own wee canine companion, Rosie (pictured), is an endless source of brightness and has…

By Lesley Brydon, Managing Director When markets are a bit tricky, its easy to let that define your year, but at Clark, it’s equally important to celebrate other ways in which the business is moving forward.   This year we found ourselves approaching a coming-of-age, properly transitioning from being a small business to a medium sized…

by Lisa Donnelly, Associate Director Somehow, it’s been 10 years since I decided to leave my honours year of Primary Teaching at Strathclyde with an “I’ll work it out” attitude. Having spent the summer between third and fourth year of Uni doing Camp America in New York, I realised just how big the world was,…

by Kirsty McLaren, Digital Account Director In the ever-evolving landscape of social media, one platform has been quietly but steadily rising to the top, and it’s not the one you might have expected… With 950 million members as of July, LinkedIn has quietly entered the three-comma club, joining the ranks of social media giants like…

by George Francis, Account Director Despite being cursed with a reading speed similar to that of most seven or eight-year-olds, I love nothing more than whittling away the hours with a good book or interesting article. Not only is reading entertaining and cathartic, but I also find it useful in my professional life too. The…

By Lesley Brydon, Managing Director When we are creating business content for clients that relates to past performance or, in other words, reporting results, one of the most common discussion areas is the inclusion of detail. It’s an age-old dance, with PR’s bemoaning ‘too little’ and clients concerned about ‘too much’. The discussion invariably comes…

Exam results day. Few other days strike as much fear, anticipation and often joy into the hearts of thousands across the country, planning their bright futures among a multitude of paths suddenly stretching out before them. But for those who might not have achieved what they wanted or expected, the roads ahead can feel suddenly…

by George Francis, Account Director It’s fair to say my career to date has been somewhat eclectic. I started in PR agency, then spent a few years achieving a career dream by working for a football club (and launching the world’s greatest mascot), before returning to agency and eventually ending up in house at a…

by Rocío Camacho, Graphic Designer In an increasingly digital world, attention spans are getting shorter. Where once a 700-word blog would hold your audience’s attention alone, or a lengthy text-only social post, nowadays your audience doesn’t have the time or attention span to take it all in. Gone are the days of expecting sparkling copy…

by Anna Chambers, Account Director I have a confession to make – I’m a bit of a catastrophiser. I like to prepare for the worst, and if it doesn’t happen, that’s a bonus. I also tend to see the bigger picture, so in early 2020 when most people were just worrying about how to avoid…

by Kirsten Paul, Head of Clark.tech Pale, male, and stale – that’s the perception many have of the tech sector all around the world. Unfortunately, data doesn’t dispel those myths as just around a quarter of those in the sector are female (though, encouragingly, data from 2023’s Women in Tech survey has shown that since…

by Kirsty McLaren, Digital Account Director Over the past three years, we’ve seen a significant shift in how companies and brands market themselves online. Pre-Covid, social media was primarily used by B2B brands to push their product, shout about company successes, promote events or showcase top executives on platforms like LinkedIn. But lockdown accelerated a…

by Rachel Russell, Graphic Design Director Let’s talk about the wild world of design, specifically UI design. The field is like a high-speed train, constantly advancing at pace, with new technologies and trends always evolving. At Clark, continuous professional development (CPD) is our secret weapon to stay on track and deliver top-notch creative work for…

by Lisa Donnelly, Account Director It’s Mental Health Awareness Week, and this year’s theme is loneliness. I’ve been reflecting on the impact of the pandemic, and how a return to the office has changed the team at Clark. I recently heard a quote which I will paraphrase; “loneliness is like hunger or thirst – a…

Write a blog ‘they’ say (being our social team). It should really encapsulate the last ten years, charting the development of the Clark business and celebrating how far we’ve come, ‘they’ say. I write for a living, and this brief is possibly one of the hardest tasks I’ve been set. Pithy or enlightening comment on…

by Joel Meekison Blink… and you’ve been here six months. My time as an account executive at Clark so far has flown by and been packed with loads of opportunities to learn and grow my skills in communications. When I envisaged my career in PR it turns out I had a pretty good idea of…

PR, digital and design agency Clark has further boosted its tech credentials by adding The Data Lab to its tech client roster. The win, which followed a competitive pitch process, will see Clark.tech – Clark’s technology boutique – provide public relations services to the innovation centre. The agency will work in partnership with Quantum Communications,…

Question: What do logarithms, MRI scanners, cash machines, and Grand Theft Auto have in common? Answer: they were all invented in Scotland. Many people abroad associate Scotland with bagpipes, castles, salmon, Irn Bru…all of which, of course, are important parts of Scottish culture. But technology and innovation should be included in that list, too. Despite…

PR, digital and design agency Clark has today launched Clark.tech – the first technology-focused PR boutique in Scotland. Headed up by Associate Director, Kirsten Paul – who has also been promoted to Head of Clark.tech – the specialist offering follows the rapid strategic growth of the agency’s technology client portfolio which has gone from strength…

PR, digital and design agency Clark has recruited two new team members in anticipation of further business growth during the second half of 2021. Clare Todd is appointed as client service director, a new role that will see her focus on delivering added value for Clark clients over and above ongoing tactical support. Clare joins…

By Kirsten Paul, Account Director Next week marks the first anniversary of what will forever be known as “that time we lived through a pandemic”. While it can only be described as a rollercoaster of a year, we are indebted to the technology that has benefited us and kept us connected despite our physical distance…

Angela Hughes, Deputy Managing Director We’ve been working remotely for 38 weeks.  I recall conversations among our team speculating that the initial three-week period would most likely be extended to six weeks. How optimistic we were! The pandemic and associated lockdown and restrictions have forced business leaders to have conversations about the future of the…

by Rachel Russel, Graphic Designer The final stage of the Clark rebrand was to bring every element together in a brand book. This is a document that outlines how our new brand should be applied throughout the business, owned by every member of our team. The brand book begins with the more obvious visual elements…

Lisa Donnelly, Senior Account Manager There has been some discussion in recent years about the relevance of company email newsletters, and whether they are just an opportunity to “humblebrag” about the company’s achievements. But, according to Forbes, “quality email marketing is still one of the best marketing tools available, especially for service-based businesses”. If you…

Kirsten Paul, Account Director The end of the year is nigh – a time I’m sure everyone will relish this year. It also marks a date in my PR diary when I start to think about the upcoming year. Not to necessarily make resolutions for me (it remains the same every year – move more,…

by Carrie Wieteska, Account Manager An interesting thread came up on Twitter this week in which the author posted about the idea of “snacks vs meals” – that is, simple and viscerally satisfying ideas versus longer form, complex stories. The example she gave was a timely one of Republican versus Democrat messages in the recent…

by Hannah Scally, Graduate Account Executive Basic staples of a communicator’s workday include a detailed to-do list, a bucket load of coffee and the ability to package industry trends into neat little “buzzwords”. Our ability to compartmentalise trends has hailed phrases like Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and most recently, podcast marketing….

by Heather Peebles, Senior Account Manager There haven’t been many silver linings for businesses during this year’s global pandemic but one industry that has reported a spike in demand has been the cosmetic surgery market. Known as the ‘Zoom Boom’, doctors and plastic surgeons from around the world have reportedly noticed a dramatic uptake in…

Welcome to the final instalment of the design diaries — following graphic designer Rachel as she develops a new look for Clark Communications.

15-week old Harry the Dachshund is a welcome addition to team meetings!

We are in the midst of a brave new world. Learning new skills and tailoring processes that six months ago were natural to us.

We’re back with the next instalment of our design diaries — following graphic designer Rachel as she develops a new look for Clark Communications.

Following the fallout from this year’s exam results fiasco, various stories started popping up to help ease students’ fears about potentially not securing a university place.

Name: Carrie Wieteska | Role: Account Manager | What project / client are you most looking forward to working on?

Clark Communications is getting a new look, here’s how we’re doing it…

Step #1: Briefing, planning, research

Name: Rachel Russell

Role: Graphic Designer

What project / client are you most looking forward to working on?

There have been many steep challenges to face over the last few months and the vast majority of businesses have suffered some sort of setback. But what about the highlights?

From day dot, it’s instilled in young people that the grades achieved as teenagers will map out the rest of their life.

Name: Heather Peebles

Role: Senior Account Manager

What project / client are you most looking forward to working on?

If you manage social media platforms, particularly those for B2B or professional services businesses, you’ll join me in lamenting LinkedIn’s follower analysis.

Lesley’s Lockdown Look: our very own ‘Queen of the Jungle’

Name: Lesley Brydon

Role: Managing Director

Kirsten’s Lockdown Look: Making the most of her live-in interns

Name: Kirsten Paul

Role: Account Director

Having worked in tech PR for over a decade, I have been fortunate to work with a wide range of businesses — from Fortune 500 companies to scale-ups

Angela’s Lockdown Look: from city centre office to dining room table Name: Angela Hughes Role: Director Client highlight during lockdown: The work we deliver for Virgin Money brings us into contact with their business customers and I’ve been talking to them about the financial challenges brought on by coronavirus. Some have taken a substantial hit on…

Lesley Brydon, Managing Director With rumblings of lockdown being lifted, albeit at different rates north and south, everybody’s heads are now turning towards ‘exit strategy’. I prefer to call it a re-entry strategy — we are not so much getting out of something but heading into new territory. And what an opportunity this provides for businesses to…

Tash’s Lockdown Look: Surviving open-plan living Name: Natasha Mahoney Role: Digital Manager Client highlight during lockdown: I’ve loved working with Seafood Scotland on their Seafood Supper Club events. We’ve been promoting the health benefits and easy cooking of fresh Scottish seafood with virtual dinner parties in various regions of Scotland. Each has been hosted by…

With a little light starting to appear at the end of the lockdown tunnel, it’s time for this week’s #ICYMI. There continues to be lots of good news which keeps us hopeful — here are some of the stories we’ve been talking about this week. Connecting the community: Being able to keep in touch with family digitally…

Name: Lisa Donnelly Role: Senior account manager Client highlight during lockdown I’ve loved seeing my client Glasgow Clyde College adapt their teaching and delivery to ensure students are getting as much support with their course work as possible. Hairdressing students are practising their skills on family members, dance students are choreographing routines in their living…

Welcome back to the latest #ICYMI. It feels as though time is flying in, it’s hard to believe we’ve reached mid-May!

We’re now seven weeks into the Covid-19 lockdown, and although gentle steps are being taken to ease lockdown protocols south of the border…

As we get to the end of week six in lockdown, it’s been another busy one for us in our remote “offices” and so, many stories in the latest edition of #ICYMI stem from our own clients.

In the first instalment of our internal communications advice blog, we focused on what companies can be doing now to maintain an engaged workforce.

In part one of our internal communications blog, we cover the importance of strategy, visibility and compassion.

As we reach the end of another week in lockdown and the beginning of a new month, it’s time for our latest edition of #ICYMI.

The business landscape looks a little different these days, with the majority of the UK’s office workers now working from home.

Before Coronavirus, we would have said that very few businesses will encounter a true crisis — where a catastrophic event happens and in a moment the norm is flipped upside down.

Time for the latest #ICYMI. As week five of lockdown comes to an end, we have pulled together a roundup of some news stories we have found interesting.

Covid-19 has completely blindsided us. It has also almost certainly challenged each of us both at home and at work. All the plans we had 

Right now, we are all trying to adjust to circumstances we could never have predicted. Most of us were at our desks on March 23rd feeling a wee bit uneasy 

We’re back for another #ICYMI. Rather unsurprisingly, it’s been another bumper week and between debate around lockdown extensions and Donald Trump

Have you noticed that as technology advances, so does our use of complicated jargon? Having worked with technology companies for over a decade…

There is no denying that the news agenda is moving faster than a barman at a PR awards ceremony. This has meant that a lot of news might not be getting the kudos it deserves.

It’s challenging to get people to respond to social marketing messages that are for their own personal good and that of society.