Stuff worth shouting about the word from our satisfied clients

A Testimonial from Caroline Blondel, Founder of Monkey PuzzleWe had been reflecting on how we communicate with our parents in this very fast moving and busy life that everyone leads these days. After consultation with many parents it was decided that communicating via social websites, email and the web were the preferred options. Unfortunately I am a technology dinosaur and I needed help putting together all my wishes which I knew were feasible but had no idea how to make them a reality. Crowd Media came highly recommended and the team more than lived up to my high expectations.

The brief was quite different to the norm for a Nursery and School setting. We already had a talented photographer on the staff who we wanted to take the idea forward. Initial meetings with Jo and Simon clearly stated how the website would move forward. At all stages either Simon or James explained their ideas and what they needed us to do. These meetings were always fun and inspiring and at no time did I feel that this wasn’t our project.The results speak for themselves. We have a truly beautiful website, easy to navigate full of information with ongoing support from the team at Crowd to ensure we get the full potential from it. A big thank you to all the team @ Crowd, It was the best phone call I made when I called you!

A Testimonial from Jonathan Watson, Director of Hospitality, Herm IslandCrowd Media first suggested that Herm Island use Social Media Marketing as a part of its marketing strategy in September 2009. Throughout the winter months of 2009 and early 2010, we worked with Jo and her team to co-ordinate the best possible channels of social media that would have a dynamic impact on our potential audience. Once established, Facebook saw the quickest rise immediately, with values being broken on an hourly and daily basis. 100 likes, 500 likes, 1000 likes and upwards, with dramatic results. Flickr, YouTube and Twitter were also getting a considerable following, which has steadily grown since the first seeds were planted. Set-up is not where the Crowd genius finishes though. Firstly understanding and then teaching our team the importance of two way social conversation leading to our team fully understanding that our social friends have the power to spread our values far further than we could have imagined was the next stage. Having 5000+ brand advocates through Facebook alone, allows us to offer a real-time online dialogue that potential future customers can “check out” what people really feel about our products and services. The team also have an enviable knack of being able to understand and listen through the various channels on social interaction, and are able to pick up quickly on interest generated. Their ability to identify potential opportunities for our business has lead us to a number of rich rewards, which would have otherwise passed us by. Keeping in contact with our guests, and advocating our brand to our potential customers is not where this ends. Recruiting around 90 seasonal staff is a big deal, so our social media channels also give us an advantage in attracting and employing our teams across the island. We’re delighted with the results to date, and aim to continue to build our relationship with Crowd Media, and in turn those guests, visitors and Herm Island lovers that wish to keep in regular touch with us.

A Testimonial from Tim Joyce, Managing Director, Sarnia Yachts We had not even identified a need to improve our company’s online/social presence, let alone how we might go about it. All that social stuff is for kids, isn’t it? That was until a chance introduction to Crowd Media. Crowd who? Never heard of them until that point. We have a website. It is OK, isn’t it? They can talk the jargon, but is it real? I soon realised that what they were saying was certainly the way forward. By this time, at least we had recognised we needed help, so I placed my trust in Crowd. Crowd saw the potential in us that we struggled to express and handheld us through the whole process. The further we went down the road the more we realised the potency of what they were helping us do. Even now we are still at an embryonic stage with “L” plates on, but instead of having a website just because everyone else has one, our new website is now the central tool in our approach to communication. Every day we find new ideas and ways in which it can help us get our message out. The team at Crowd is small, informal and friendly. They all have different but complimentary skill sets and you deal with the person who works on each aspect of your project, which is refreshing. They don’t do the job for you, but build you the means for you to do it yourself and are always there for support. When I now look back at what we were not doing, it makes me laugh!

A Testimonial from Nick Hannah, Managing Director, marlborough trustIn 2010, we decided to review our digital marketing strategy. Our website was too static, it didn’t reflect our brand personality and it didn’t take advantage of “stuff” we kind of knew was happening in the digital world. We brought in Crowd Media Limited to educate us (quite literally) on how to reposition our digital presence and utilise tools to engage in online discussions and with clients and interested parties. Any concerns we had about hard-wiring digital media (and ALL that it encompasses) into our marketing strategy were quickly dispelled as Crowd convinced us that the benefits far outweighed any perceived negatives. Our online presence has allowed us to respond instantly to any changes within our industry, by expressing an opinion keeping our audience informed of any relevant information and, most importantly, what our views are thereon. So (hello sceptics) it’s not just about having a Facebook page and sending a few tweets now and then; it’s about listening, filtering, integrating, broadcasting and engaging. And as we now know, there are increasingly sophisticated tools available to us to do all of the above automatically – OK, well almost automatically…It’s not a “one size fits all” marketing panacea – it is a complimentary weapon in the marketing armoury and in many ways forms the backbone of strategy. It takes time and patience but with Crowd holding our hand (that’s a monthly retainer to the uninitiated – #justsaying…) we will remain ahead of the curve.

OLD government house hotel

A Testimonial from Michelle Morley, OGH DirectorRealising the increasing importance of social media in today’s world, with regard to sharing hotel news and special offers with our customers, we knew that we needed to understand how best to use channels such as Facebook and Twitter from a business perspective. We decided that a training course was needed for the sales and marketing team and also certain heads of departments, so we spoke with Jo at Crowd Media to explain what we felt we needed. Jo was extremely helpful and promptly put together a quote for a half day training in the hotel for us as a group. On the day the training was interesting, easy to understand and full of examples of how to and how not to use the various social media platforms. Part of the training was general and the other part more specific to our needs as a hotel, but all of it was delivered passionately and with great enthusiasm. Jo and James answered all of our queries and provided us with notes from their presentation for us to refer to in the future. Since the training we have been far more comfortable in our use of social media and we now also understand why it is so important in our line of business. It is evident that Crowd have extensive knowledge in all areas of social media and that they are keen to impart this knowledge to as many people as possible.

A Testimonial from Joe Edwards, Hurricane MarketingA true expert in the social and digital world, highly professional and full of personality. I could not recommend Jo more highly, her industry insight and project execution are second to none. Jo’s attitude rocks when it comes to social media. There are so many “guru’s” out there that talk the talk, Jo walks the walk, always with the business objectives in mind.

A Testimonial from Jon Holloway, Hurricane MarketingJo is a new breed of marketer, working across the digital spectrum but with a hefty knowledge in the old world of marketing communications. Her forthright views on the old agency and marketing model are resonated by our own thinking which puts her at the forefront of the digital and social worlds. Working with Jo is an always-exciting task; she doesn’t suffer fools and challenges everything, which is something we don’t get from the other people we work with. Although this sounds like a big pat on the back for Jo, it is just the honest truth, her ability to train people and take them on a journey into the new world that doesn’t scare them to death is second to none. She rocks!

A Testimonial from Darren Wadley, Managing Director, Corporate Risk SolutionsJo and her team at Crowd Media designed and built our website, assisted with content and guided me through the world of social media. The end product has been amazing. Jo did more than build us a website, she has helped shape the public face of our company and will continue to do so in the future. I cannot recommend Jo and her team enough.

Simon from Crowd has recently assisted us with copywriting. Whilst I knew what I wanted to say, I found it difficult to convert this to written words for the web, not to mention the fact that I did not have the time to devote in order to meet my own high expectations. After a brief meeting with Simon, he managed to take my passionate explanation of the Company and services we offer and turn it into concise blocks of text for our web visitors. The quality of Simon’s work is second to none, I would strongly recommend him to anyone who needs a designer or copywriter.

A Testimonial from Melanie Torode, Director, Morgan SharpeFrom early discussions through to the launch of our new website, our experience with the Crowd Media team was extremely positive. Jo and Simon took the time to really understand our company and what we wanted to achieve with our new website ensuring that the experience was enjoyable and easy. This being our first step into the world of social media, Jo and Simon were honest and approachable and really helped to guide us through the process. They took our ideas and requests and turned them into exactly the website we had imagined, and all within the timeframe which had been set at the start of the process. I would not hesitate in recommending Jo and Simon and the team at Crowd Media.

A Testimonial from Jerry Cobb,  Fractional Chief ExecutiveA core remit of the Fractional website was to ensure that the advantages of a commonly misunderstood concept, Fractional Ownership, were conveyed with clarity to a variety of stakeholder groups such as property developers and potential buyers. Crowd ensured that this was the case; providing us with a website that allows our audience to derive a clear message via clean and simple navigation, complemented by appropriate visuals. The use of open source technologies as a basis for our content management system was an un-familiar concept at first, but has proven to make perfect sense; ensuring FOC are able to react to the evolving demands of our audience both quickly and cost effectively.

A Testimonial from Susie Andrade, Chartered Management InstituteJo and Simon delivered an engaging and educational workshop to a cohort of CMI members earlier this year. The quality of delivery and professionalism of their work was exceptional and I would highly recommend Crowd Media to any individual or business.

A Testimonial from robin pitcher, Consilium Trust DirectorIn 2011, after some significant developments in introducer relationships, Marlborough decided to launch a niche brand exclusively for the ultra-high net worth private client market. Consilium Trust Company Limited was born. Positioning the brand was crucial to its success and we therefore engaged Crowd to develop a logo and brand guidelines. The turn-around from brief to delivery was exceptional, as was the ancillary support given in getting domain names secured, putting a holding page in place and partnering us with a print specialist for the delivery of, you guessed it, printed stuff… Crowd know what they’re good at but when they feel the need for help they’re not afraid to admit it and bring in external resource (as in dealing with printers etc). CrowdSourcing (if you like). How refreshing in today’s full service (not) Agency world…

A Testimonial from Melissa Campbell, Director, Situations RecruitmentWe have been dealing with Crowd Media since the end of 2010 regarding the design, delivery and on-going maintenance of our new website, as well as our social media campaign. Jo, James and Simon are a pleasure to deal with, their specialist knowledge of social media is exceptional and they provide a professional, prompt and very friendly service. We would not hesitate to recommend them.

A Testimonial from Darren Gibbs, Head of Pensions, ShearwaterThe Crowd Team have brought a great new look to our tired website and have worked diligently to push the project along. With my days constantly filled with other matters it was relief to work with a team that knew when to push for content but intuitively knew when to hold off so that I could get on with more pressing matters. They have also converted me to the whole world of Social Media; As someone that was vehemently against all forms of social media for business I have found it refreshing and informative to work with the team at Crowd, they have been patient throughout and have successfully won over an ardent sceptic by demonstrating real life examples of the rewards it can bring.

A Testimonial from adrian howe, director, shearwaterBuilding on the success of the Marlborough website Shearwater Pensions was next up. We needed to draw reference to Marlborough while ensuring Shearwater found strength in it’s own brand; Crowd were right on the mark, maintaining the successful layout and architecture of the Marlborough website while bringing the Shearwater brand to life. Social media and content driven marketing are core to our communications approach. Disparate tools have been replaced by an integrated strategy. Having the ability to react to changes in the industry and communicate our position in real-time is not only a massive advantage, it just makes sense. Crowd’s skills of design and production are exceptional, but more importantly their sensitivity to existing business processes and ability to ‘get to know’ your business ensures the tools they provide you with become integral to your approach.

JO - Crowd founder

Jo and her team at Crowd Media designed and built our website, assisted with content and guided me through the world of social media. The end product has been amazing. Jo did more than build us a website, she has helped shape the public face of our company and will continue to do so in the future. I cannot recommend Jo and her team enough.

Darren WadleyCorporate Risk Solutions

Jo is a leading expert in her field not only in locally but on a more international level which is a truly outstanding achievement for a Guernsey based company. Jo shows true creativity backed by unrivalled knowledge of her industry. I have no hesitation in recommending both Jo personally together with her company Crowd Media.

Simon TorodeLiving Room

Jo has an approach to business that many can learn from - she is forth-right, honest and innovative and she displays a genuine love and commitment to breaking conventional thinking and delivering high quality, high impact solutions.

I would strongly recommend Jo and Crowd to anyone and any business that needs guidance and support on how to take their business to the next level in terms of their use of social media and their use of the internet.

Richard HamiltonBIS Consultants

JO - Crowd founder

There are “Queens of Social” and “Social Queens”, Jo Porrit is definitely the former. Although, I'm sure she mixes with the latter variety as well. Outgoing, thought-provoking and commercially savvy she gives everything to her passion for creating remarkable communications. A great friend-maker, consultant and mentor. Hire her before your competitors do. And that's all i have to say :)

Paul CashHurricane Marketing

Jo has a unique and refreshing approach to her work. There is no dressing up of job titles or any room for fabrication or fluff. Her motto is 'Keep it real'. If you don't and you play it, what for many of us is the old way, then she will not be compromised. Unflinching in her drive to connect people through the social media channels, Jo approaches everything with a smile and positivity. The kind of person that when you see her on a social network or speak to her you cannot fail to be enthused and buoyed by her attitude, knowledge and passion.

Chris HallCow Bell Digital

Jo is one of the very few people in the Channel Islands who really understand the opportunities presented by social media marketing. She is astute, well researched, commercially minded and client focused, and I would recommend her services to anyone seeking advice and practical support in this area.

Matthew RobinsWebreality

Simon - Creative directorSimon has recently assisted us with copywriting. Whilst I knew what I wanted to say, I found it difficult to convert this to written words for the web, not to mention the fact that I did not have the time to devote in order to meet my own high expectations. After a brief meeting with Simon, he managed to take my passionate explanation of the Company and services we offer and turn it into concise blocks of text for our web visitors. The quality of Simon's work is second to none, I would strongly recommend him to anyone who needs a designer or copywriter.

Darren WadleyCorporate Risk Solutions

My recommendation for Simon is simple. He knows what he is talking about in the area of communication and information/knowledge management. Simon's ability to talk in a language that strips away complexity and confusion is refreshing. His understanding of business requirements is fantastic and it fills you with confidence that Simon will deliver what you and your business needs every time. I have no hesitation in recommending Simon.

Philip SmithCBO Projects

Simon understands that the evolving digital economy presents both new opportunities and challenges for all aspects of business and has provided us with invaluable insights into what is achievable, how to achieve it and, most importantly, how to monitor and measure it.He totally knows his stuff and will be at the vanguard of the communication revolution for the foreseeable future; learning, adapting and utilising the tools as they themselves evolve.”

Nick HannahMarlborough Trust

Simon - Creative directorSimon has a great approach to education and to work. He listens to advice, but develops his own ideas and responses to any issues raised or encountered. He sailed through several squalls, that blew up during his studies and project development, with grace, hard-work and a good understanding of people, and of which battles were worth fighting. His final project was impressive; but his reflective report on the issues, elements and concepts that pulled the whole project together was even better. It interested and entertained all three assessors who read it.

Professor Colin ChambersStaffordshire University

Simon is a breath of fresh air to work with. He has deep technical expertise in the digital world combined with a can do approach and design flair. He is very willing to learn and offers his opinions honestly and openly. I discovered he also has a profound understanding of accessible web design and helped us through a plethora of recommendations, legislation and "advice" to reach a practical solution and way forward. I look forward to working with again in the future.

Gordon SteeleGuernsey Post Office

Highly knowledgeable in his field, understand social media backwards, but works with you to come up with a creative, but practical, solution rather than dazzling you with technology. Mature way beyond his years, destined to go far.

Shelaine GreenThe Guernsey Disability Alliance

James - Community manager

James is highly professional in all aspects of his work with GBG media. His personal approach is refreshing and his knowledge of social media is exceptional.

Sue MarkhamGBG Magazine

James has been a pleasure to deal with; verypersonable, helpful, always available at the end of the line and he explains everything to us in words we understand! We would highly recommend James and Crowd Media to add real value to your business.

Melissa CampbellSituations Recruitment