It is often said “It’s not what you know but who you know.” In my experience, often ‘It’s not who you know It’s who you don’t know’ that leads to the greatest opportunities.
When I left my previous company and started Drive, I had no business plan, no office and no equipment. The one thing I did have was a non-solicitation clause.
That was probably one of the best things that could have happened. I was starting from scratch, so I couldn’t offer the same level or range of services that my previous company did. Therefore those clients I knew may not have been able to use my skills anyway. It meant that I had to approach new clients, and offer them what I could at that stage of Drive’s existence. Expanding my automotive network and making new contacts led to clients that aligned with my offering, enabling me to grow Drive as well as my relationship with them.
By the time my non-compete period was over, we had built up a new offering and were in a position to reach out to people I had worked with previously to build our potential client base.
It can also be difficult to change people’s perception of who you are, if you have been an intern it can be difficult to shake off that tag when you return as an employee. When going to university or being employed at a new company is an excellent opportunity to re-invent yourself. As a consultancy our process involves everything from strategy and concept design through to production surfacing. We often provide one aspect, for example animations, to support a project and from then on it is very easy to get pigeon holed by the people you are dealing with.
So as your company develops and what you offer changes, approaching new clients who don’t have any previous relationship with you can be easier to sell the new offering to. This can obviously allow your company to expand beyond the current perceptions.
Of course the network of family, friends, colleagues and contacts that I have made (too many to name here) and learnt from over the years, have been incredibly important in my development and the growth of Drive and I am indebted for their wisdom and support ……. but even they were strangers at one time.
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The Coventry Automotive Design Drive Sketchbook Award Winner 2021 Tom Hylton, was revealed at the Automotive and Transportion On-Line Degree Show.
Following the high level of response to the Instagram online voting, there were 3 designers who were clear favourites with the voters. They were Tom Hilton, Yong Chang Lee and Henrik Svanvig, with Henrik gaining the most votes.
However the judges decided that Tom Hylton is the deserving winner of the 2021 Drive Sketchbook Award. Tom’s sketchbook showed he had a lively imagination, a touch of humour and that he was taking in what was going on around him in his local environment and the world generally – key to being a great designer.
His choice of sketching style was varied, confident, vibrant and engaging. Sketches also need to be persuasive, and some of Tom’s sketches had a certain ‘unknown quality’ which immediately drew our attention.
Congratulations to all who took part.
It has become so important for car companies to engage with their audience through the social media platforms that car animations for social media marketing are becoming necessities.
It is clear that for manufacturers, car animations are the strongest attention grabbing content in the news feed on social networks. They set your post apart and increase audience engagement, attracting likes and in turn new followers. Simply by holding viewers attention for longer than average, most of the social media algorithms will promote these posts, again driving the brand’s profile, raising its popularity and audience engagement.
Original content that presents a brands unique style and originality, will stick in the mind of the viewer and more likely lead to recommendations. By exploiting the use of CGI and the ability to combine realistic footage with unrealistic scenarios increases recollection, therefore brand awareness and recall.
If this is all new to you, give us a call to discuss your ideas and what is achievable, always happy to chat even if you decide on another marketing direction. 01483 211 200
These are a couple of example of car animations for social media marketing that we produced to promote our own creative team.
See some of our recent work here CGI STUDIO
https://www.instagram.com/drivedesign/
23hrs 55mins and the suspension collapsed.
Challenge yourself, be prepared, don’t assume, have a plan, be adaptable and never give up.
3 weeks beforehand I was offered a drive in the ’96 Nurburgring 24 hours race – a complex track, new car, lack of recent racing – a challenge and opportunity I just couldn’t miss.
But could I do myself justice and not let the team down?
At the time I was working in the Mitsubishi Design Centre near Frankfurt, so meeting the UK team wasn’t possible but driving the legendary 13 mile Nordschleife was! The GP part of the circuit would be learnt at the event itself. With fellow designer Tony Pettman strapped in taking notes, 3 laps were completed before the brakes and tyres cried enough. Not perfect preparation but I gathered as much information as I could to reduce the uncertainties.
Arriving for the race, being a UK team, I had assumed the car would be right-hand drive. It wasn’t. The track picture in my head had to move by a metre and initially approaching left corners the right wheels were touching the grass and I was missing the clipping point. During my first practice laps, times dropped by 10s of seconds, but I was soon on the pace.
The team’s plan for the race was to coincide the fueling and brake maintenance stops, so 2 hour stints for the 3 drivers for a consistent and fast but not punishing pace. This was a marathon not a sprint.
The race for us wasn’t about outright victory, that was for the works teams and this time included the only female winner Sabine Reck (Schmitz). We aimed to win our class and after 18 hours the class leader was just over a lap ahead, when an unexpected failure cost us 5 laps or 55 minutes, fixed by our resourceful team who had been awake all night. A top 3 finish became the goal and the strategy changed to longer stints driven flat out.
For 2.5 hours I had the exhilaration of driving quickly around the notorious Nurburgring, through smoke and smell of campers’ BBQs. The ABS failed half way through my stint but still the lap times came down as each lap I learnt more about this incredible circuit. Handing over driver duties the speed was maintained – never giving up. We closed in on 3rd place, when with 6 minutes left the front suspension of the Subaru collapsed approaching the finish line having completed 100 laps.
Our car, the only Mercedes, passed the stricken car to complete 101 laps for 3rd place in class, a great team effort.
Events outside our control can disrupt our plans, the last year being a perfect example, but at Drive we adapted as individuals and a team, with new methods, technologies, clients and projects. I often challenge myself, not always successfully, but it can have its rewards, as it did on this occasion.
https://bit.ly/3zZTaAK Nurburgring Track
Ed Stubbs, Final Year tutor, ran a series – Automotive and Transport Design Course Podcast Interviews, during the lock down to keep the students in touch with various figures from the automotive industry.
On this occasion he caught up with Chris Longmore to discuss drive, Consultancy and the continued support of the course with the Drive Sketchbook Award.
Previous winners include Jordan Barnes and Marco Gulla.
