One Minute Brief of the Day: Advertise the @JCBmachines #Hydradig

One Minute Brief of the Day: Advertise the @JCBmachines #Hydradig

After our last brief with JCB went so well, we're doing another collab! We've got a great brief for you with some brilliant branded prizes to be won.

We're looking for your One Minute sketches, designs, notes to advertise the JCB Hydradig. Feel free to use the images below in your ads or for reference.

The winner receive a selection of JCB goodies ranging from a JCB model, JCB pens, notepads, folders, JCB 3D USB stick, keyrings, caps, gloves, mugs and more!

See below for info on the JCB Hydradig.

http://hydradig.jcb.com/machine.html


FIRST FOR VISIBILITY

See all four wheels.

Moving the engine and tanks to the chassis lets you see all four wheels from your driving position.

Reduced counterweight and tailswing lets you work against a wall with confidence.

The JCB CommandPlus cab has more glass to further enhance your visibility.

Optional LED lights give you amazing daylight working conditions after dark.


FIRST FOR STABILITY

1000kg at maximum reach*

Work in total confidence with class-leading over the side stability and with reduced tailswing.

Engine and tanks mounted to chassis lower the centre of gravity and transform stability.

Match every job with any combination of dozer and stabiliser options.

Choose single, dual or floatation tyres to suit the ground conditions.

* Twin articulation boom offering lift capacity of 1000kgs through 360° off dual tyres


FIRST FOR MOBILITY

Stable 40kph roading

A lower centre of gravity and 2.6m wheelbase provides unrivalled true and stable 40kph roading.

No changing gear with our stepless single speed hydrostatic transmission.

Manufacturer approved 3.5T towing capability and trailer lets you take all your attachments with you.

Achieve high torque at low revs with the 81kW JCB Ecomax engine.


FIRST FOR MANOEUVRABILITY

Under 4m turning radius

Turn and work in a single carriageway with an under 4m turning radius.

Enjoy 3 steer modes in 1 machine with 2WS, 4WS and crab steer.

Always face forwards with our new reverse steer option.

Go anywhere performance with class-leading axle oscillation


FIRST FOR SERVICEABILITY

Rapid ground level servicing

No more climbing on to upper structure with ground level access to all daily checks.

Unrivalled serviceability with class-leading SAE rating.

Long 500 hour intervals on all dig end, dozer and stabiliser grease points.

OMBTips: A Guide to OMBling

OMBTips: A Guide to OMBling

A few people have been asking for tips on OMB lately so I've put a list together to help all the OMBLES!

1. Have No Fear.
There's no such thing as a bad idea at OMB. It's all about quick thinking. Don't be scared of sharing an idea, ever.

2. Hashtags
Use related hashtags when you tweet your entries. This will give it much more chance of getting shared.

3. Mentions
The more people/Twitter feeds you mention in your tweets, the more chance you will have of people sharing it. Tweet your ideas to influencers and celebrities. And, if they RT, your entries have the potential to go viral.

4. Tags
You can now tag people into images on Twitter. If you are tagged in a tweet you're likely to share it. So get tagging people!

5. @'s
Don't start your tweet with an @. It will only go to the person you are mentioning and you will be hindering it's chances of getting shared.
Eg. 

Wrong: @OneMinuteBriefs here is my poster.

Right: Here is my poster @OneMinuteBriefs

6. Multiple Photos.
Twitter now allows you to attach multiple photos to a tweet. But when it comes to OMB entries, don't!! Tweeting your entries separately means that you have more chance of having your ideas seen and shared.

7. Bios
Putting @OneMinuteBriefs and #OMBLE in your Twitter bio guarantees you a follow from OMB. It is also a quick shortcut for you to get involved each day. Make sure you don't miss out on those prizes!!

8. OMBook
Get yourself a copy of the OMBook here: http://www.lulu.com/shop/nick-entwistle/one-minute-briefs-ombook/paperback/product-22327680.html?ppn=1
In this book you'll find OMB stories, testimonials and a Hall of Fame etc. 

9. Websites
Add your OMB's onto your website and portfolios. These are a great way of adding work to your book and getting recognition for being involved. And if you are an OMB winner, feel free to use the badge below on websites/email signatures etc.

10. Get involved.
Stick at it. If you don't win straight away. Look at the winners and their simplicity. Learn from them. Keep entering. Try different things. There are no rules and restrictions here apart from quick one minute ideas. Scribbles are valued as much as photoshopped ideas. The idea is king. Enter every day. Not only will you improve your creative thinking, you'll meet some amazing new friends, win prizes and experience some amazing opportunities. OMB is a fantastic community and we want you all to be a part of it.

Remember you're an OMBLE.

Thanks,
Nick

One Minute Brief of the Day: Campaign to promote Ducks in a Row Life Coaching

One Minute Brief of the Day:

Campaign to promote Ducks in a Row Life Coaching

Today we've got a brilliant brief for an interesting subject with a fantastic prize. Looking forward to seeing lots of you get involved!!

The Brief
Design a poster for social media that does one of the following:

· Advertises Ducks in a Row Life Coaching (please include logo).

· Advertises life coaching in general.

· Tackles the stigma surrounding life coaching.

Tweet your posters to @ducksinarow_uk and @oneminutebriefs for the chance to win three life-coaching sessions worth £300!!

Background

What is Life Coaching?

A life coach is a person who is employed to help people overcome difficulties or challenges in their lives and achieve their goals. They are not therapists or counsellors. They inspire people and show them the tools to get them from where they are to where they want to be.

Examples of what people may be life coached on include: motivation, goal setting, weight loss, work/ life balance, relationships, personal development, health, and organisational skills etc- the possibilities are endless!



About Ducks in a Row
Life coaching is extremely popular in the U.S. and our vision is to make life coaching affordable and accessible for everyone in the U.K. We strongly believe that it has a hugely positive effect on individuals as well as society as a whole.

“You don’t have to be ill to get better”

As well as personal coaching, we have created a training course for others to become coaches. The big difference between us and other courses is that we don’t simply train people to become life coaches and leave them to it. The aftercare support is just as important to us as the training itself. We help people build their own business as well as source clients through social media and marketing.

Brand Values
Integrity, positivity, excellence, accountability, family, knowledge and gratitude.

http://www.ducksinarow.uk.com/

One Minute Brief of the Day: Campaign to motivate youth to vote in the EU Referendum

One Minute Brief of the Day: 
Campaign to motivate youth to vote in the EU Referendum

Inspired by @BiteTheBallot... here's today's brief:
Get: Young brits, those aged between 18 and 24 on June 23, 2016

Who: Are probably disenchanted with mainstream politics and one of the 52% of young people who didn’t vote in the last election and likely won’t vote in the the EU Referendum either.

To: Believe that participation in the upcoming EU referendum will have an immediate effect on their lives - whatever way they vote and whatever the outcome. Not for or against the EU, not scare or fear about what will/won’t happen if they don’t vote, but empowering young voters to have their say.

We’re not promoting either voting choice – just encouraging young people to come out the other side of the referendum feeling like they at least had a say in their future.

You must register by 7 June, 2016 if you want to vote in the EU referendum. 

For more, see: http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/upcoming-elections-and-referendums/eu-referendum 

Tweet your idea to @OneMinuteBriefs & @BiteTheBallot with the hashtag #YouthVoting

Prize
The winner, and any other ideas taken through to execution, will receive £125 cash. 

Key messages

Define who you are - don’t let them define you.

We need to convince youth that the referendum is an important event in their lives. That the result says something about who they are as a young British person - whether it is “in” or “out”. So they should be part of that decision and branding themselves - not letting someone else do it for them.

Give us ideas for emotionally arresting content (slogans, quotes, images, gifs, short films, UGC…) that gets the attention of young people and gives them pause to consider whether they should exercise their right to vote. It can’t be too pro or anti-EU, heavy or worthy - it should be fun and shareable but true.

Ideas can either encourage registration specifically, or generally voting – which by implication requires registration.
Background

For young people the result of the EU Referendum will, naturally, have the greatest impact on their lives. Yet older and more privileged voters are much more likely to vote. Whatever way they vote, and whatever the outcome – young people deserve to feel like they have had some say in their destiny to empower them to continue to take control of their lives in the future.

Many young people might know this intellectually, but that doesn’t result in registration or voting day turn outs. When it comes to voting, on the whole - young people have a short horizon of concern, respond to emotional over rational arguments, believe that generally no options reflect their interests, nor that one vote will make a difference, and are generally somewhat “relaxed” about getting to the polls. BUT if they are emotionally invested in what seems like an immediate concern they will turn out in droves, e.g. the Scottish referendum which saw 84% youth turn out.
About the Referendum:

On June 23, 2016 the UK will vote in its third ever national referendum. All eligible voters will be able to answer the question, “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?”

One Minute Brief of the Day: Campaign to help #Sheffield reach it's full potential with @grantthorntonuk

One Minute Brief of the Day:
Advertise #Sheffield Help it reach it's full potential with @grantthorntonuk

Grant Thornton has partnered with One Minute Briefs to encourage the nation to think about what the future could look like for Sheffield it were to reach its full potential.

Prize: £200 Amazon Vouchers

Tweet your posters to @OneMinuteBriefs and @GrantThorntonUK with the hashtag #VibrantSheffield

Grant Thornton is looking for content to share with their community to engage in their mission to unlock their cities’ potential. The One Minute Brief coincides with the Sheffield ‘Live Lab’ taking place in the city today. How can we promote how great Sheffield already is and how we could make it even better?

As part of Grant Thornton’s ‘Vibrant Economy’ campaign, consider what Sheffield’s future might look like if it reached its full potential, focusing on its strengths in Tech, Innovation and Creativity.

About the Vibrant Economy campaignIn March 2016, Grant Thornton revealed that the nation’s untapped business potential could add a prospective £479bn to the UK economy by 2025. The leading business advisory firm has launched an 18 month programme of activity to create a nationwide conversation about how we can drive a more vibrant economy to help bridge this potential gap, including a series of city inquiries across the UK.

Grant Thornton is kicking off the first city inquiry in Sheffield. They are gathering 200 people from the cross-section of Sheffield’s dynamic landscape – from public sector leaders to entrepreneurs – and hosting a Live Lab session that asks the region ‘how can Sheffield become the innovation and creativity capital of Europe’? 

For more info click here:

http://vibranteconomy.grantthornton.co.uk/sheffield-inquiry-building-a-brighter-future-together/

One Minute Brief of the Day: Advertise the #MPAFooty Tournament

One Minute Brief of the Day:
Advertise the #MPAFooty Tournament

Today we've got another brilliant brief with a great prize to be won.
We are collaborating with our friends at the MPA who arrange several football tournaments a year for the Greater Manchester creative community.

Last year we entered a One Minute Briefs team and made it to the final after some great matches against the likes of TBWA and BJL. 

With lots of agencies already signed up, we are looking to get as many Manchester based agencies involved as possible. And, with a thriving and growing creative industry, we are looking to get some of the newer agencies to take part as well as the more established agencies.

As well as a way to test your skills against other agencies , it's a great chance to network and, above all, it's great fun!

Today we'd like you to advertise the tournament & tweet your posters to @OneMinuteBriefs & @MPAweareyou with the hashtag #MPAFooty
We'd also like you to tag in creative agencies in Manchester & encourage them to get involved!

PRIZE: Winner will receive £50 Amazon vouchers. 

See below for info:

MPA Football Challenge - KICK OFF - Thursday 19th May 5.30pm 

http://www.mpa.org.uk/events/mpa-football-challenge-new-date-new-kick-off-time-19-05-2016

To book your place email jennie@mpa.org.uk

Why not save with our special Hat Trick offer of 2 or more bookings at a reduced price?

One tournament booking - £199 + VAT
Two tournament bookings - £175 + VAT
Three tournament bookings - £155 + VAT

Team requirements are 5 a-side.

Venue: State of the art facilities of Soccer in the City, Castlefield, Manchester.

The venue boasts:

- State of the art 3G pitches
- Qualified referees
- Secure car park
- Stylish licensed bar
- Showers and changing facilities

One Minute Brief of the day: Campaign to promote WWF-UK’s Wear it Wild Day

One Minute Brief of the day: 

Campaign to promote WWF-UK’s Wear it Wild Day

Brief:

Encourage people to Wear it Wild on Friday 27^th May  and raise funds for WWF-UK’s vital work to protect wildlife. Design a poster for social media (landscape orientation preferred) to spread the message and inspire people to register for their fundraising pack and raise funds.

Tweet your poster to @OneMinuteBriefs and @wwf_uk with hashtag #WearItWild.

Prize:

The winner will receive £250 cash and a Wear it Wild goody bag. Their design will be featured on WWF-UK’s social media – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Key messages:

Wear it Wild for a day. Love wildlife forever.

Sign up, dress up and donate to protect our world’s wildlife.

Background:

Since 1970, populations of wild species have fallen by half. Among these are iconic species like rhinos, polar bears, lions, elephants and tigers.

This year, though tiger numbers rose for the first time in conservation history, WWF needs help to answer the overwhelming challenge of species decline and create more success stories for other animals under threat.

In workplaces, schools and homes up and down the country on Friday 27^th May, people will be donning wildlife-inspired fancy dress to help protect precious wildlife.

From cocktails with tails at home, tiger stripes in the classroom to rampaging rhinos in the office, taking part in Wear it Wild is a way to stand out from the herd whilst raising vital funds and awareness of the threats facing animals and their habitats.

About WWF:

WWF is one of the world’s largest independent conservation organisations, with more than five million supporters and a global network active in more than one hundred countries. Through our engagement with the public, businesses and government, we focus on safeguarding the natural world, creating solutions to the most serious environmental issues facing our planet, so that people and nature thrive.

Find out more about our work, past and present at wwf.org.uk.

Social/web links:

http://wwf.org.uk/wea

facebook.com/wwfunitedkingdom

twitter.com/wwf_uk

One Minute Brief of the Day: Advertise that exams aren't everything for young people

One Minute Brief of the Day:

Advertise that exams aren't everything for young people 

For the last two weeks The Drum and One Minute Briefs have been running hypothetical charity briefs to remind people that donating just a little time can make a huge difference. Today, we’re making it real.

We’ve teamed up with Big Change, the organisation created to think differently about the role that charity can play in driving change for young people in the UK, to run a live brief today.

At its heart Big Change is about helping young people to thrive in life, not just in exams. So for today’s briefs we want you to advertise that exams aren’t everything for young people. All you have to do to take part is tweet your idea to @OneMinuteBriefs and @TheDrum @BigChange_ using the hashtag #BeWorthwhile.

The charity wants you to help create content for its community of influencers to share with their networks so they can engage in their mission to help young people develop a "growth mindset’ or belief in being ‘limitless". 

The winner will be showcased on The Drum's channels with a prize of a Drum Magazine and year's subscription.

The competition coincides with the launch of Mashable's BeWorthwhile app, which
will debut during a panel at Advertising Week Europe today (21 April) at 2.30pm moderated by our editor-in-chief, Gordon Young. The app was devised at The Drum's Do It Day event last year and is for professionals looking to make better use of their corporate volunteering days.

The app uses artificial intelligence to match volunteers' skills, time and location with the charities that need them most. It means you could use your particular skillset to make a major contribution to good causes across the UK.

One Minute Brief of the Day: Advertise a charity to tackle internet trolling.

One Minute Brief of the Day: 

Advertise a charity to tackle internet trolling.

Today we are collaborating with The Drum to set another creative challenge to remind people that donating just a little time can make a huge difference to worthwhile causes.

In the second of our hypothetical creative briefs, we want you to Advertise a charity to tackle internet trolling. All you have to do to take part is tweet your idea to @OneMinuteBriefs and @TheDrum using the hashtag #beworthwhile by 7pm tonight.

The submissions will be put to a vote tomorrow with one entrant winning a pair of tickets to The Drum and Mashable's BeWorthwhile event on Thursday 21 April at Advertising Week Europe. We'll also be showcasing the work on The Drum and the best entries will go on display at Ad Week next week.

There, we will be hosting the official unveiling of Mashable's BeWorthwhile app, which was devised at The Drum's Do It Day event last year and is for professionals looking to make better use of their corporate volunteering days.

The app uses artificial intelligence to match volunteers' skills, time and location with the charities that need them most. It means you could use your particular skillset to make a major contribution to good causes across the UK.

Last week's brief challenged the creative community to advertise a charity for mobile phone addicts, with 130 brilliant creative responses flooding in from across the industry in just one day. Congratulations to the winner Matthew Wyatt who submitted this idea.

One Minute Brief of the Day: Advertise #DontStreamAndDrive Day

One Minute Brief of the Day:

Advertise #DontStreamAndDrive Day

Today we've got a brief for a very important subject in collaboration with @SgtTCS who is campaigning against the current trend of streaming whilst driving on the likes of Snapchat etc.

Remember to put your Twitter handle in the corner of your ads and tweet to @OneMinuteBriefs & @SgtTCS

About:

2016 is being lauded on social media as the livestreaming year. Many new platforms have appeared and existing social media giants are getting in on the act including Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook and YouTube. The use of mobile phones with faster data connections has meant that livestreaming video has gone mobile. People are now driving and streaming at the same time. Holding the phone, flipping the camera, reading and replying to comments all whilst driving. The dangers of such distractions whilst driving are obvious. I hope to help people understand these dangers and stop them from doing it.

Social web links:

Blog: https://thecustodyrecord.wordpress.com/2016/02/05/dontstreamanddrive-day/

Prize for winning idea:

- Idea featured in big #DontStreamAndDrive Campaign

- OMB Book.

One Minute Brief of the Day: Advertise a charity for mobile phone addicts

One Minute Brief of the Day:
Advertise a charity for mobile phone addicts

Today we have an exciting brief in collaboration with The Drum. 
http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/04/07/beworthwhile-and-take-part-drum-and-one-minute-briefs-creative-challenge-today

With a brilliant prize to be won, we'd like as many people as possible to get involved in the first of a series of briefs with the focus on charity. In this brief we are looking for you to create mobile phone addiction charity ads. The brief is totally open to interpretation. We re looking forward to seeing the results.

Shortlisted entries will be shown in a gallery at Ad Week. An amazing platform to exhibit your ideas!
So remember to include your twitter handle in the corner of your images and tweet them to @OneMinuteBriefs and @TheDrum


PRIZE:
Pair of tickets to the Mashable and The Drum event where they will present the app that will change the world at Advertising Week Europe http://advertisingweek.eu/calendar/-be-worthwhile-2016-04-21-1430

Be Worthwhile web link - http://beworthwhile.me/
The Drum Twitter - https://twitter.com/TheDrum

Mashable’s BeWorthwhile app, launched at The Drum’s Do It Day event last year, is for professionals looking to make better use of their corporate volunteering days. Instead of painting your local community centre, you could use your particular skillset to make a major contribution to charities across the UK.  
How does it work? Professionals are matched up with charities according to needs, skills, time, and location. 
The Drum and One Minute Briefs are kicking off a campaign to remind people that donating a just little time can make a huge difference. Respond to the next two weeks’ worth of briefs with your creativity and ideas, and you could win tickets to the Be Worthwhile event being held at Advertising Week on Thursday 21st April. 
The best thing about it? You don’t even have to leave your desk.

One Minute Brief of the Day: Advertise @CopyCabana2016

One Minute Brief of the Day:
Advertise @CopyCabana2016

Today we've got a brief with a brilliant prize to be won. My friend Vikki Ross, who I run @AgencyQuotes with, has organised an event with Andy Maslen to celebrate the art of copywriting.

Looking forward to see how the OMBLES tackle this brief. Remember to put your Twitter handles in the corner of your ads and mention @CopyCabana2016 in your tweets.

Prize: Signed copy Andy Maslen's latest book on copywriting: Persuasive Copywriting

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0749473991?keywords=andy%20maslen&qid=1457616439&ref_=sr_1_3&s=books&sr=1-3

INFO:

10 SPEAKERS
1 DAY – 1 BEACH
28 SEPTEMBER 2016

Are you in love with copywriting? Optimistic about copywriting? Addicted to copywriting?

Are you excited by the power of copywriting to create better products, better experiences, better brands, better lives? Not a copywriter but words really do it for you or your brand?

Join us for insights from some of the most creative, dynamic, left field, experienced, provocative minds in copywriting, marketing and advertising.

Grab a seat. And hold on tight. Prepare to celebrate the life linguistic.

This is Copy Cabana 2016.

www.copycabana.co.uk
@CopyCabana2016

One Minute Brief of the Day: Campaign to raise awareness of Cash for Kids with @CFKKey103 @whenyouwishuk and @Key103

One Minute Brief of the Day:
Campaign to raise awareness of Cash for Kids with @CFKKey103 @whenyouwishuk and @Key103

Today we have a brilliant opportunity to be involved with a fantastic cause in collaboration with Manchesters number 1 radio station Key 103. In the first of a few OMBs, we are looking for all the amazing OMBLES to help raise awareness of the charity Key 103’s Cash for kids and encourage people to donate. We'll then be doing another exciting OMB for a special event they are planning. Watch this space!

Brief: Campaign to raise awareness of Key103’s Cash for Kids with @Key103 @cfkkey103 @whenyouwishuk

The webpage is http://www.key103.co.uk/superhero

PRIZE: 2 tickets to the KEY 103 Summer gig at the Manchester Arena.

When tweeting... please include the following:

@cfkkey103 along with @whenyouwishuk and @Key103 

Info:

Key 103 Cash for Kids
Key103’s Cash for Kids is a local charity that fundraises to help disadvantaged and disabled children across Greater Manchester. We stand up proud in our local community championing the children & projects who need an extra helping hand, supporting children in our city living in difficult circumstances dealing with issues such as poverty, abuse, neglect and short life expectancy. Every penny that is raised stays locally dealing with issues on our doorstep and responding to the needs of our communities.

As a grant giving charity for Superhero Day every year we identify an extremely worthy cause and pledge to raise around £100k. This year the worthy cause is ‘When You Wish Upon A Star’.


When You Wish Upon A Star is a charity whose primary aim is to grant the wishes of children suffering from a life threatening or terminal illness.  Each day the charity receives referrals from Hospitals, Hospices and families requesting a wish for a child in their care. When You Wish Upon A Star comes into their lives at a time when the family of a newly diagnosed child, is in deep distress. The charity’s Wish Fairy sprinkles her fairy dust and the magic begins…a Wish is Born!

A donation of £100,000 would enable the charity to grant more wishes for children and their families, when they need it the most.

A wish is time spent with family away from long stays in hospital and painful treatments. It can be a treasured meeting with their favourite Pop Star, be a Superhero for a day, and “a Once in a Lifetime” wish to meet Mickey Mouse, Swim with  a Dolphin, or have a special Birthday Party  in Cinderella’s Castle in Disneyland.

It means so much to have the support of Key103, Cash for Kids, enabling  children from the Greater Manchester area to say, “When I Wished Upon A Star …. My Dream Came True!

Charity Number: 1122062 Company Number: 06424810

#OMBmeet Soho Saturday 05/03/16

#OMBmeet Soho Saturday 05/03/16

In the first 2016 warm up for #OMBLive3, we are having an OMB meet-up in London on Saturday 5th March.

We'll be meeting at The Crown and Two Chairmen pub in Soho at 7-30pm on 05/03/16. Come down for a beer or 7 and some One Minute Briefs challenges. There are already a few OMBLES coming down and the more the merrier!!

E-mail me at interest@bankofcreativity.co.uk or tweet me @OneMinuteBriefs to let me know you'll be there as I may need to reserve an OMB table.
You can also let us know if you're attending on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/events/1063245807031993/

Hope you can make it.
Nick x

February 13th 2016 - One Year On...

8pm February 13th 2016...

It's exactly one year since I suffered a heart attack at the wheel of my car whilst driving home from a football tournament after the happy and proud moment of my One Minute Briefs team getting to the final. Here's what happened: http://creative-account.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/what-it-feels-like-tohave-heart-attack.html

I thought it was the end of the world, whether I survived or not... but with the help of family and friends I have been able to rebuild my confidence and return to work. I have been able to achieve things that, at the time, I thought would never be possible and I wanted to put the last year into words as a lot of people have helped me along the way.

Firstly, I must thank the NHS for their amazing work during the weeks I was in hospital. Their level of care was outstanding and they made the experience as good as it possibly could be at the lowest point in my life. I will never be able to thank them enough. When I left the hospital, I attended 'cardiac rehab' a day a week. This wasn't easy. At 26, I was half the age of the next youngest person in the group and I must admit that I really didn't want to be there. You start asking yourself 'why are you here'? I wasn't allowed to run or even walk too fast. I found it embarrassing as I'm used to running around a pitch and playing football every week but that couldn't happen. I had to start doing weights at ONE kilogram and follow the set program. But my confidence was on the floor and it was helping me. When I was at home, I was too scared to do anything but this was making me become active again and realise that life wasn't over. Week by week, I began to do more and more until I was asking them to let me run on the treadmill when the plan was telling me to walk. I started to feel like I could live normally again. In fact, when I had finished the course, I asked them if I could play for a few minutes at the end of a football tournament in memory of my old football coach Craig Sellers who had passed away in his car of a heart attack just two weeks before I had mine.

They said if I make sure I warm up properly I could play a couple of minutes as it was so important to me. And, it was my intention to. I was nervous about kicking a ball again, especially after it happened playing football but it was even more scary when I realised my team only had ten players plus me. Of course, me being me, I couldn't let them play a man down so I ended up playing the whole thing, scoring in the final and being announced as man of the tournament. Probably a bit of a sympathy vote, but I could still do it and by just getting out on the pitch I was able to start believing in myself. It was amazing to be a part of something and pay my respect to a great man too.

This really helped to motivate me and return to normality. I needed to as well. As I was freelance I wasn't getting paid for weeks and weeks but I don't like to sit and do nothing... so I decided to write a book for One Minute Briefs. Then create another book for Agency Quotes with Vikki Ross. People were telling me to rest but this gave me something to focus on and it was something I had wanted to do for a long time but never had the time to devote to it. Just a couple of weeks later I had two books published and on sale. Again, just putting my mind to something made it happen and it's amazing to see pictures of the books in people's homes and agencies along with the great comments about them that I have received.

Then I had to start thinking about 'real' work and I must thank McCann Birmingham for allowing me to work from home for a few weeks before a full return. They have an amazing team there who had sent me messages of support throughout and it was amazing to travel down there to work with them for a few weeks afterwards and work on some great campaigns for E-Lites, Vauxhall and Evans Halshaw as well as make a return to table tennis! The reception I got from everyone when I returned was amazing as they have such a friendly team and I hope to see them all again soon!

I then did a stint at the Leith Agency in Edinburgh in a freelance creative team with Stephen Hunter. It was great to work with someone who I'd originally met through One Minute Briefs and we worked on some great campaigns for Irn Bru, Famous Grouse, Sourz and.... Drink Aware! Whilst I was up in Scotland I was able to see a lot of my family who I hadn't seen in a few years and I will be making an effort to see them a lot more as life is too short not to! I also held a One Minute Briefs meet-up and there was a brilliant turn-out. 

The OMBLES have been truly amazing in the past year. They were very supportive whilst I was ill and extremely loyal to the brilliant creative community. I always try and reward them for their efforts when I can and I have been able to give away thousands of pounds worth of prizes to the winners and I support them where I can. It was great to attend the Chip Shop Awards to cheer them on and see quite a few pick up awards. They even somehow persuaded me to dive in the hot tub afterwards in the middle of the event :O

Around the same time I was joined by one of the OMB followers, Aga, to host a stand at the D&AD New Blood Awards for the 3rd year running. It was an amazing success with the walls full with ideas even if it was on the hottest week of the year in the greenhouse that is Spitalfields Market in London! Was amazing to meet such great new creative talent and have lots of OMB followers visiting the stand. 

Not long after this I was delighted to be announced as one of the NABS Centurions for my services to the creative industry. I was extremely pleased to receive this as it's not just about the work. It's about the efforts to try and make a difference and help others so it's extremely rewarding and I'd like to thank everyone who nominated me.

In the Summer, I also had a great meeting with Jon Butler, the MD of Big Brand Ideas. He asked me to take on a creative director role within his agency on a freelance basis and I was very pleased to get involved. It's been amazing to work with such a great team and help to produce concepts for great projects. I have continued to work each week with them til now and even joined in the weekly 5-aside with them to try and get a bit of fitness back! Big Brand Ideas also sponsored my OMB event in Manchester. Hosted by their digital lead (and my best mate) Adam Britton, we had an amazing night of speed networking, OMB tournaments, talks, awards and a ping pong tournament/dance off at the end before moving to the main room for some dodgy dancing and more JagerOMBS. After having to postpone the original event date due to being in hospital, I was glad to finally bring everyone together for what was a memorable night. See the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeXQTEoHfBo

Shortly after, I was at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium and delighted to pick up the award for Best Social Media for One Minute Briefs at the UK Agency Awards. Against such great competition, it was a great result and great to have two OMB followers Bernie and Phil there as guests. They outlasted everyone on the dance floor too!

Back closer to home, One Minute Briefs picked up Best Social Media at the Cheshire Business Awards and I was extremely pleased to be part of the Big Brand Ideas team that picked up Best Agency on the same night.

Then it was back to London again for the Great British Entrepreneur Awards. Here I achieved my lifelong ambition, to meet Caprice! And I got a selfie with Carol Smillie too. Was amazing to win a Social Enterprise  Entrepreneur of the Year award and also a special award for Social Entrepreneurial Spark. An amazing night in which I never expected to be up on stage alongside some amazing entrepreneurs. In the same week I was also announced in the Social Buzz Top 50 alongside amazing names at Facebook, Twitter and Google etc and announced as a judge of the Chip Shop Awards.

I was now starting to get more and more busy and lecturing at various colleges and universities, when Simon Lewis got in touch and I started freelancing at Manchester creative house Magnafi. I have been working with them a lot since then on some brilliant projects including Bloom & Wild's debut TV ad, Samsung and, of course, the NHS.

The NHS is definitely the work I am most proud of. When Simon first asked me to get involved I saw it as an opportunity to say thank you for everything the NHS did for me last year and I wanted to get the amazing OMBLES involved. We set a brief to come up with an idea for a film to positively promote the NHS in uncertain times due to the cuts by Jeremy Hunt. We received a massive amount of entries and the campaign reached 500,000 people over social media in just two days. We were then contacted by the NHS to make their music video to help their campaign to get the NHS Choir to Xmas Number 1. Of course, we agreed and brought to life the winning concept by Stephen Hunter using wedding vows to show the relationship we all have with the NHS. The odds were against us with the likes of X-Factor, One Direction and Justin Bieber in the charts but I believed we could do it.
We created the music video which you can see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8qHXlShfUQ and began a #LoveYourNHS social campaign that saw celebrities including Holly Willoughby, Michael Sheen, Luke Shaw and Chris Evans, as well as the public get involved by sending us pics of themselves holding up pics saying 'I DO' when posed with the question 'Do you #LoveYourNHS' This campaign reached millions of people along with radio and TV appearances and, as we began to overtake Bieber in the charts, he himself tweeted his support! Unbelievable.

And the rest is history, literally. We made history on Christmas Day. Sitting watching the Official Chart show, we awaited the result and at 1pm we were announced as Number 1. All the hard work had paid off and it was a truly overwhelming experience as family, friends and doctors began to get in touch in tears at the amazing story of the NHS. Simply amazing.

So, where do you go from Christmas Number 1? January was quiet in comparison but still very busy and, with lots of exciting projects in the pipeline, Magnafi offered me the position of Creative Director. Today, a year on from what happened, I accepted the offer and I'm relishing the challenge of making some amazing work with amazing people.

My experience has taught me to make the most of every opportunity.
Let's see what the next twelve months brings.

One Minute Brief of the Day: Advertise #HairRestoration with @ZieringUK

One Minute Brief of the Day:
Advertise #HairRestoration with @ZieringUK

Today we have an interesting brief with a brilliant prize of £100 Amazon Vouchers.

Not bad for a minute's work!

Tweet us your ideas/posters to @OneMinuteBriefs and @ZieringUK  with for the chance to win.

About:

We provide surgical hair restoration for men and women, including facial hair (beard and eyebrows), and non surgical treatments to prevent male/female pattern hair loss. 

It's a very open brief and completely open to interpretation. The more ideas the merrier.

Our corporate colours are black and white.

Further links here:

www.ziering.co.uk

www.facebook.com/ukzieringmedical

www.twitter.com/ZieringUK @ZieringUK

One Minute Brief of the Day: Campaign to promote WWF's Earth Hour

One Minute Brief of the Day: 

Campaign to promote WWF's Earth Hour

Today we've got an amazing brief with a brilliant prize. Looking forward to seeing lots of you involved!

Brief:

Create a poster to tell the world about WWF’s Earth Hour

Tweet it to @OneMinuteBriefs & @wwf_uk with hashtag #EarthHourUK

Prize: 

£250 cash

Top-line message: Celebrate WWF’s Earth Hour with us on 19 March at 8.30pm to show you care about the future of our brilliant planet.

Background: At 8.30pm on Saturday 19th March, millions of people across the world will switch off their lights for one hour to show they care about the future of our brilliant planet.

Globally, from Samoa to Tahiti, a record 172 countries and territories took part in the world’s biggest Earth Hour yet.  The Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, the world’s tallest building Burj Khalifa in Dubai, South Africa’s Table Mountain, The Acropolis in Athens, The Eiffel Tower in Paris, The Empire State Building and Times Square in New York City, and the Las Vegas Strip were just a few of the world-famous landmarks that joined in.

Year on year, millions of people unite for Earth Hour to show they care about the future of our planet, but switching off the lights is just the beginning. The choices we make and actions we take past that hour can help reduce the impacts of climate change on our planet, its wildlife and future generations.

Few paragraphs about the company:

WWF is one of the world’s largest independent conservation organisations, with more than five million supporters and a global network active in more than one hundred countries. Through our engagement with the public, businesses and government, we focus on safeguarding the natural world, creating solutions to the most serious environmental issues facing our planet, so that people and nature thrive.  Find out more about our work, past and present at wwf.org.uk

Social/web links:

wwf.org.uk/earthhour

https://www.facebook.com/EarthHourUK

https://www.facebook.com/WWFUnitedKingdom

One Minute Brief of the Day: Advertise @DrawnBlind

One Minute Brief of the Day:
Advertise @DrawnBlind

A couple of days ago I created a new project called @DrawnBlind and think it would be great if the OMBLES could help me get it out there into the big wide Twitter world. 

The project started as part of my @_WhatTheBook_ project but there have been calls to turn it into a project of it's own right and that's what I have done.

It is as simple as drawing things with your eyes closed. It's a lot of fun and the results are often hilarious. I am hoping to get people to send me requests to draw blind and I want people to tweet in their own drawings too. My aim is to get a charity involved and eventually hold an exhibition of the drawings.

So today's brief is to advertise the project in any way you like. (Maybe it's simply to do some blind drawings yourself) Whatever it is... you MUST draw/write your poster with your eyes closed. No cheating! You can open your eyes to write the tweet though ;)

For the prize I'm offering a creative goodie bag comprising of:

- One Minute Briefs Book
- Ad Pad
- Marker Pen
- OMB tee.

Get involved and tweet your images & FOLLOW @DrawnBlind & @OneMinuteBriefs with the hashtag #DrawnBlind 

Other links:
https://www.instagram.com/_whatthebook_/
https://twitter.com/_whatthebook_
https://www.facebook.com/What-The-Book-816611165125703/

One Minute Brief of the Day: Promote #CharityTuesday @NHS4XmasNo1 supporting @mindcharity @carersuk @NIAMHwellbeing @samhtweets

One Minute Brief of the Day:
Promote #CharityTuesday @NHS4XmasNo1 supporting @mindcharity @carersuk @NIAMHwellbeing @samhtweets  

We have just returned to number 1 above Justin Bieber in the iTunes chart. Can we stay there & get to #XmasNo1?

ALL PROCEEDS from the song being shared between Carers UK and Mind (including Mind's sister charities in Scotland and Northern Ireland), and a smaller percentage will also be distributed amongst smaller charities in the New Year. 

BRIEF:
Promote how buying the single you will be donating to the charities at the same time as getting the NHS to the top of the charts. Please include any/all of the following in your tweets @mindcharity @carersuk @NIAMHwellbeing @samhtweets @NHS4XmasNo1 #CharityTuesday & link to download http://www.nhsno1.com/download in your tweets.

And, PLEASE download http://www.nhsno1.com/download, nominate all your family and friends to download it too and get involved in today's fun One Minute Brief!! 

Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8qHXlShfUQ

About Mind:
We provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. We campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding. We won't give up until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets support and respect.

About Carers UK:
Carers UK makes life better for carers.
Caring will affect us all at some point in our lives. We'll be here for you when that happens. With your help, we can be there for the 6,000 people who start looking after someone each day.

About NIAMH:
Niamh (the Northern Ireland Association for Mental Health) is the largest and longest established independent charity focusing on mental health and wellbeing services in Northern Ireland.

About SAMH:
SAMH is the Scottish Association for Mental Health.

At SAMH we believe there is no health without mental health. We're here to provide help, information and support; to campaign on behalf of people with mental health problems and to raise money to fund our vital work. We're here for everyone, and we're here for you.

 

If anyone can help make this happen. The OMBLES can! #NHS4XmasNo1

One Minute Brief of the Day: Campaign to help the NHS to overtake Justin Bieber in the race for #XmasNo1 @NHS4XmasNo1 #LoveYourNHS

One Minute Brief of the Day:
Campaign to help the NHS to overtake Justin Bieber in the race for #XmasNo1
@NHS4XmasNo1 #LoveYourNHS

Calling all OMBLES. We need your help. As One Minute Briefs has played a big part in the #NHS4XmasNo1 I have decided to devote the next few OMBs to the cause and will be giving OMB tees/pads/books to the winners. 

Your support this year has been immense since I needed the NHS myself earlier this year http://creative-account.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/what-it-feels-like-tohave-heart-attack.html and I think we can all really help the NHS choir in their quest. Especially with all proceeds from the song being shared between Carers UK and Mind (including Mind's sister charities in Scotland and Northern Ireland), and a smaller percentage will also be distributed amongst smaller charities in the New Year. 

So please download http://www.nhsno1.com/download, nominate all your family and friends to download it too and get involved in today's fun One Minute Brief!! More info below:

BRIEF:
You may have noticed that the NHS Choir is currently sat at Number 2 in the charts. Just behind Justin Bieber. Now we need you to spread the word and encourage the public to help the NHS overtake Bieber!! We want you to do this by tweeting us your posters and we want you to include @NHS4XmasNo1 @LoveYourNHS & @OneMinuteBriefs in your tweets with the hashtag #NHS4XmasNo1 & download link http://www.nhsno1.com/download & video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8qHXlShfUQ

 

If anyone can help make this happen. The OMBLES can! #NHS4XmasNo1