MPAD News

  • Why are you here? Opportunities for charities to create communications that count.
    23.05.2018

    Why are you here? Opportunities for charities to create communications that count.

    If you go by media reports then 2018 has been tough for charities. We’ve had the Oxfam, Save the Children and President’s Club scandals that, if you believe reports, have rocked the sector. On top of this, the new chair of the Charity Commission – Baroness Stowell – has said that: “People now trust charities […]

    MPAD News, The Good Thinking Blog
  • 04.03.2018

    How Tom’s dadvertising combines awesome UX and a fear of death

    Appreciating the quality of a company’s UX (user experience) and UX content while feeling a strong sense of mortality is not an everyday occurrance. However, that happened to me just the other day when I was stopped in my tracks by a targeted Facebook advert (or dadvert) for Tom.co.uk. Tom.co.uk has a simple mission: to […]

    MPAD News, The Good Thinking Blog
  • 02.03.2018

    Beast from the East hits Cornwall

    We enjoyed a couple of impromtu snow days after the Beast from the East hit Cornwall on Wednesday (February, 28) and Thursday (March, 1) creating our very own snowmageddon.   With school closures and icy roads, the team ‘worked’ remotely – this included a rare outing for Mark’s 36 year old wooden Blue Peter sledge! […]

    MPAD News
  • 07.07.2017

    Cornish Creatives Collaborate to Grow Out of County Contracts

    Two Cornish creative agencies have joined forces in order to grow business on a national and international scale.   Leap, based in St Austell, and Truro-based MPAD will collaborate on projects in the charity, health, education and sustainability sectors.   The alliance was forged by Leap director, Matt Hocking, and MPAD director, Mark Picken.   […]

    MPAD News, The Good Thinking Blog, Uncategorized
  • Beardstroker beer
    30.06.2017

    MPAD is 18

    I was at an event in Exeter last night and bumped into an old acquaintance from Falmouth who runs a very successful Cornish company. As the presentations were about to start, he nudged me and said: “You do realise that we’re now in the elder statesmen bracket of businesses in Cornwall!” My immediate response was, […]

    MPAD News, The Good Thinking Blog
  • Running a UX session for a leading Cornish charity
    07.02.2017

    Five Reasons We Love UX

      UX (user experience) is becoming a significantly more important part of the work we do to help clients have a positive impact.   Here’s five reasons why we love UX:   Understanding users With 7 billion now on the planet, the chances of marketing to everyone are pretty limited, so it’s important to know […]

    MPAD News, The Good Thinking Blog
  • 01.02.2017

    Creative Inspiration

    MPAD’s creative director, Mark, took some time away from the office for a few days to take in the sights in London and get some creative inspiration.   Here’s a few highlights…..   Installations at the Tate Modern     William Shakespeare street art near The Globe Theatre     Interior at The Loft bar […]

    MPAD News, The Good Thinking Blog
  • 21.10.2016

    What’s the Collective Noun for a Group of Designers Called Matt?

    After eight years we said goodbye to our designer, Matt Hollands, this week. Matt, who joined the company as fresh-faced 23 year old on a freelance basis in 2008, is moving on to pastures new. We’re very proud of how Matt developed his skills and talents during that time and are going to miss him […]

    MPAD News
  • 20.10.2016

    Favourite Christmas Recipes from the MPAD Team

    Thank you for all your support in 2016! Here are the MPAD team’s favourite Christmas recipes to give you some creative inspiration over the festive period. Picken’s Mince Pies Ingredients Mincemeat (I used two 411g jars of Robertson’s Classic Mincemeat) For the pastry 375g plain flour 260g unsalted butter 125g caster sugar 1 large egg, […]

    MPAD News
  • 08.08.2016

    Planning for the Future

    Cornwall-based communications agency MPAD is announcing a change in directorship. Rachel Picken has resigned as managing director to pursue her own consultancy and teaching business Agile PR, through which she teaches Chartered Institute of PR qualifications. Mark Picken, who established MPAD in 1999, will continue to lead the business, as it prepares to move to […]

    MPAD News
  • 19.07.2016

    Un-picking Pokemon

        Sitting in MPAD towers it’s easy to lose touch with ‘The Kids’ – which is why the yearly work experience period is so vital to us. Last week we were lucky enough to be joined by Jay Banks who apart from being a whizz with Photoshop and full of great ideas was also somewhat […]

    MPAD News
  • 11.02.2016

    What’s your problem?

    Designers are taught from the start that the problem is defined before anything else. So when I came across this pillow that incorporates a mobile phone, the question needs to be asked, what is the point? The twitter post on Design Milk was liked by many. However, should the designer be putting their talents to more meaningful […]

    MPAD News, The Good Thinking Blog
    consumerism. design. process. thinking.
  • 10.02.2016

    Six Things I Learned From My Car Getting Stuck In Storm Imogen’s Flood Water

    So, I took my girls on a Daddy Daughter road trip to rural Devon on Saturday afternoon to stay with some old friends. It was pretty horrendous journey on the A30 and I was looking forward to getting off the main road and on to the farm lanes away from surface water and spray. It’s […]

    MPAD News, The Good Thinking Blog
  • 27.01.2016

    MPAD Predicts The Future

    As an integrated communications agency, we’re lucky enough to have a wide variety of talents and interests buzzing around at MPAD Towers. There’s so much value to come from discussing things as a group, so every now and again we like to rack each other’s brains to try and work out just what’s happening in […]

    MPAD News, The Good Thinking Blog, Uncategorized
  • 07.01.2016

    What’s in a name?

    When setting up a charity, business or social enterprise, one of the most important decisions to make is coming up with the name. Furthermore, if you have already been established but your name is out-dated or doesn’t represent your service, when and how should it be changed? There are a number of influencing factors during […]

    MPAD News, The Good Thinking Blog
    branding. names. words.
  • 25.11.2015

    MPAD managing director Gets Chartered

    The head of Cornwall-based communications agency MPAD is one of the first PR practitioners in the UK to gain Chartered status under a new assessment scheme. Rachel Picken joined eight other PR professionals at the Chartered Institute of PR on Monday (November 23) in London to gain the accreditation through a pilot Chartership Assessment Day. […]

    MPAD News, The Good Thinking Blog
    Chartered. CIPR. Public Relations.
  • 18.11.2015

    Cornwall Air Ambulance Volunteer Campaign scoops national gong

    A campaign that helped recruit up to 250 volunteers for Cornwall Air Ambulance has won a national charity award. “Groundcrew” won UK Best Air Ambulance Campaign at the Air Ambulance Excellence Awards 2015 last night (Monday, November 16). The campaign – which involved creating a visual identity for volunteers on the ground whose work keeps […]

    MPAD News
    Brand Identity. innovation. Marketing. Strategy.
  • 06.11.2015

    #ManOnTheMoon

    We’ve carved pumpkins, crowded around bonfires and “ooo’ed” at fireworks, which means one thing: Christmas adverts are a go! Over the years there’s been some brilliant adverts from the big guns in retail, usually involving a heart wrenching story line or adorable animals, but this year one particular organisation has really impressed us. John Lewis’ […]

    MPAD News, The Good Thinking Blog, Uncategorized
    Advertising. Video.
  • 21.10.2015

    TEDxTotnes

    Designer and Account Manager, Matthew Stone, wrote the following blog piece following the TEDxTotnes event earlier this month. Happy reading… [View the story “TEDx Totnes 2015” on Storify]

    MPAD News, The Good Thinking Blog
    ideas. Tedx. Totnes.
  • 16.09.2015

    Fashionable Tanks

    © Leon Neal / AFP Fashionable Tanks It’s happened to all of us: we’re just settling down in front of the telly after a long day at work and suddenly we see an advert that completely changes our mood. Immediately our minds have turned from our dinner to the subject of the advert. We’re trying […]

    MPAD News, PR & Marketing, The Good Thinking Blog, Uncategorized