Underdog News http://underdogmedia.co.uk/ Copyright 2007 Underdog Ltd. Underdog:Kennel info@underdogmedia.co.uk en-uk Bienvenue à Paris!
After years of early morning Eurostar commutes and with the ever increasing volume of work with French clients, we finally decided it was time to open an office in Paris!  Now that we have a base in the centre of Paris, we can ensure that all our French clients have someone local to contact when they have questions, concerns, or just want to meet up for a chat. Plus, it gives us an excuse to pop over for coffee and a pain au chocolat.]]> 35 Wainani Dombrowski Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:00:00 GMT Another award!

Hooray! Another award! We’re thrilled the team at Design Licks chose us for their “Site of the Day” award. Design Licks challenges designers with the question “How creative can you get?” and focuses on creativity, usability, and attention to detail. Incidentally, these are the same qualities we value when building a website, be it our own or one of our clients’, so we’re honoured to receive this award for our very own site. Click here to check it out.


]]> 34 Wainani Dombrowski Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:00:00 BST We're Hiring

Our studio is a fun and playful place to work. We believe above all else you need to enjoy coming in to work everyday and if that happens, it naturally becomes a place of creativity and innovation.



Current Vacancies:
Currently we are looking for:

Business Development Director We're looking for the best of the best who believes we are up there with the best and deserve the opportunities out there to shine amongst the best! Package Negotiable. Producer Have a organization fetish? Great! We love you for it. Underdog are in need of a really solid producer with a strong technical background who doesn't miss a trick. You will be responsible for the delivery of a variety of projects from small two or three day jobs, to large scale 6 month design & builds. If you think you are up to the challenge, here's the skills you'll need: Tech Skills: • Supreme mastery of time scheduling
• A background rooted in development
• Experience of managing teams of 10+
• A good grasp of both creative and devlopment processes Personal Skills: • Strong client facing skills
• A good sense of leadership
• Obsessive compusive disorder for process & planning We would also be doubley impressed if you have some background in video also....... Salary: Negotiable based on experience To apply, please send us a few words about you and your CV to: hr005-dpm@underdog.tv Flash Designer/Developer We need a superstar flasher to help us design, animate and develop rich media advertising and flash websites. You’ll know your stuff when it comes to flash & action script but equally be passionate about design and creativity. Geek skills required: • Flash, AS2 & AS3
• Good knowledge of XHTML and CSS
• Photoshop/ Illustrator
• We’d be impressed with After Effects/Final Cut Pro
• Photo/Video/Sound is a bonus, but not necessary Cool skills required: • Sense of humor, likes music and able to contribute to office banter. Salary:negotiable based on experience & portfolio Send us a few words about you and your CV to hr008-interactive-designer@underdog.tv Creative Interns Calling all bright young talented students and grads... If you wish to get into the design industry, THIS MAY BE YOUR CHANCE! No professional design experience is required but we would expect to see a portfolio of your work on application. hr009-design-interns@underdog.tv

]]> 3 Ben Young Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:00:00 BST Dope Award
We’re always happy to see the underdog win, especially when that underdog is, well, Underdog. We were very pleased today to find out we were awarded the Dope Award for our own website. The Dope Awards recognize excellence in flash websites and showcase some of the best websites in the world. With personality and impact making up the largest portion of the judging criteria, we’re glad to see that our little site made such a big impact. Pleased as we were with our new Dope Award, we were thrilled to find yet another Design Gallery was taking interest in our site, this time in the form of FlashElite. The FlashElite site showcases some of the best websites in the world, and we're proud to see underdog firmly among them.]]> 32 Wainani Dombrowski Wed, 08 Jul 2009 01:00:00 BST Bench

We’ve just launched our latest campaign combining fashion and music for leading British streetwear brand Bench. Our work with Bench is one of several projects we’ve undertaken uniting the music and fashion industries, and we’re always up for the challenge of mixing band and brand into a cohesive whole. Our role with Bench and breaking band Maths Class involved everything from idea creation and full production of the Maths Class music video, to online seeding. We’re excited by the resulting video of the new single “Peach,” which features Micky McGuire of "Shameless" fame, and are eagerly watching competition entries rack up as fans of the video enter to win tickets to see Dizzee Rascal in Ibiza. We're always excited to create a project that supports up-and-coming musicians while promoting the initiatives of our client. Http://benchlive.co.uk

 ]]> 31 Wainani Dombrowski Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:00:00 BST Internships available!

Underdog has re-opened their marketing internship programme! As an ongoing programme to support graduate and young aspirational marketeers, Underdog is offering placements on their 1 month internship programme. The experience we offer in exchange for your time is multi-faceted, working across online marketing, web design, print and video projects. We'll be honest, the role is a mix of the exciting stuff with some of the more arduous administration duties. We are a close-knit team, fun to work with and we're very hard working so you will learn a lot. What we look for from our interns is bundles of energy, a can do attitude, willingness to learn and enough sense to know that £200 is too much to pay for a stamp! To apply, please send your CV and a cover letter to hr006@underdog.tv]]> 25 Wainani Dombrowski Tue, 10 Feb 2009 12:00:00 GMT No 5 is alive!
Raising the bar once again in premium hospitality online, Underdog has launched the new online presence for hotel, restaurant and club experience, No 5 Cavendish Square. The site has been designed to mirror the unique characteristics of the building itself, which offers the discerning and fun-loving customer a haven where one can Host, Feast, Frolic and Retire in beautiful Georgian surroundings with fellow beautiful people! Designing a site to equal such an environment included unique 3D & video navigation, tonnes of illustration, quick and easy online guestlist requests, and a content management system that makes promoting ongoing events easy to do. Have a look and let us know what you think: www.no5ltd.com]]> 24 Wainani Dombrowski Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:00:00 GMT Maddox online
The site, designed by Underdog, has been launched to showcase the premium service offering including bar, restaurant and club, using a horizontal navigational style and image-led layout. The site is built on Underdog's bespoke content management system, "The Handler", which incorporates a web page, event and email management system in one, and is built particularly with the hospitality industry in mind. Not set out to break any records, the new Maddox website does all it needs to, and does it well - check it out and let us know what you think! www.maddoxclub.com]]> 27 Wainani Dombrowski Thu, 11 Dec 2008 12:00:00 GMT VisitBritain WebTV , following a three-way pitch.
The new site, which can be found here: www.visitbritain.tv was built using a bespoke platform designed by Underdog specifically for clients within the public sector. As well as hosting and streaming a library of video content, the back-end of the system enables the VisitBritain team to upload and manage their video content as they see fit, whilst also being able to tick a variety of functionality options including subtitling, language options, transcript, send to a friend and embedding capabilities. Check it out, let us know what you think!]]> 23 Wainani Dombrowski Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT domusnova.com Premium property firm Domusnova raises the bar in finding a new home with their new website

West London estate agency Domusnova has launched their new online presence this week with the aim of setting a new standard for the premium property sector. Designed by independent digital agency, Underdog, the new site showcases some of West London’s most sought after properties using an innovative style-led creative direction and ground-breaking search facility. Launched this weekend, the new online presence supports the company’s new office opening on Kensington Park Road and is a major component to the business’ wider growth strategy. “Our clients view us as the premium choice for property sales, lettings and management in London” says Domusnova Director, Rob Atkins, “Our level of service, our knowledge of the local area, and our genuine passion for what we do sets us apart from our competition. The new website positions us exactly where we want to be and is, from our point of view, the first site that truly gets across premium quality of service in both look & feel and functionality.” The Flash-based site is the first property portal to use full-screen high-resolution photography on all of its pages and includes a search facility whereby selection criteria link directly to the back-end database, enabling users to see the resulting properties revealed and narrowed in real time. An additional feature of the site is a full-screen map of the Notting Hill area. Entitled “Local”, this section of the site pinpoints all sales and lettings properties available, as well as known added-value information important to both buyers and tenants including local schools, restaurants and bars, transport links, sports and leisure facilities, plus interest points surrounding history and heritage and the Domusnova team’s “favourite places”. “The whole strategy behind this site is driven by what consumers want when looking for their next home” says Creative Director at Underdog, Alex MacLeod. “Insights gained from our work with the Domusnova team over the past year told us that images are king; that local knowledge and a personal touch really makes a difference; and that the ability to narrow down your selection quickly and easily without getting lost are key to creating a positive user-experience. This site does all of this and more. It’s been a fantastic project to work on and as a team, we’re very proud of the response so far!” Please visit http://www.domusnova.com

]]> 22 Ben Young Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:00:00 BST Kyoku for Men Launch , using web-led creative strategy and design from independent creative agency Underdog.
The brand, aimed at 18-35 year old style-conscious men, is the first branded product to be launched by leading American skincare manufacturer RNA. The initial range consists of 6 products with further variants being planned over the next 12 months. Unlike traditional retail-led launches, Kyoku for Men is harnessing the power of digital technologies from the off-set with the development of a website that contains both a series of 6 short films and full e-commerce capabilities. The films, created and produced by Underdog, aim to convey the core characteristics seen as synonymous with those of the target audience’s aspirations. Each one has been assigned to a product in the range and focuses on a different challenge potentially faced everyday by the ultimate male – the creative approach being that the range collectively holds within it all aspects of the everyday hero – the climax of masculinity. Underdog has also developed offline communications materials to support trade sales efforts including a DVD version of the site and premium sales presentation packs. “Premium and simplicity has gone hand in hand with this launch” says Managing Director of Kyoku For Men, Asim Akhar, “Underdog’s work with our team has taken the brand identity and strengthened it through every channel, creating a signature look and feel that holds within it the makings of a long-term brand language that will only deepen further as the product range increases”. “Using online as our primary channel has enabled us to create a rich, premium positioning for Kyoku for Men and get that across without the inflated budgets demanded by traditional media spend” says Commercial Director, Ben Young, “This has been an exciting project for the team, enabling us to tap into every area of our service offering and work closely with our clients to launch this exciting new brand to market.”]]> 21 Wainani Dombrowski Thu, 18 Sep 2008 01:00:00 BST Brand Film Top 5
The last few years has seen the emergence of brand films, sharp positioning statements that add to the lifestyle messages sectors from fashion to automotive are pushing. Getting the core components of what makes an effective brand film is key. Alex MacLeod, founder and creative director of creative agency Underdog gives his top tips on making brand films for any brand owners considering the medium: 1) Style is the message – the purpose of a brand film is to be aesthetically pleasing so as to pull consumer attention towards your brand, not to dictate brand values directly or talk about product specification 2) All about the visual – brand films can be delivered to the audience via many channels, but always account for the fact that sound may not always be possible. In-store, online and trade events may not cater for audio so the visual display must be strong enough to stand alone 3) You are not a corporate video. Information about your company, its structure, it quality control policies and investment in people are not part of an aesthetically engaging piece of film – leave that to the internal communications dept. 4) You are not a viral. Viral campaigns are created solely to be passed on and therefore generally consist of the funny, shocking, perverse or cute. A brand film’s purpose is to communicate your brand effectively to your target audience – the challenge is to make it engaging enough that people want to share it. 5) Consider all of your target audiences. Video holds within it a great opportunity to communicate a strong message to a diverse range of audiences – trade, channel, consumer, internal and press. Consider all of these and therefore how to plan the delivery of your film effectively 6) Make every second count – the digital age has presented us with a new frontier in media buying, shifting the emphasis towards more engaging creative and its ability to maintain consensual viewing – unlike television, online your brand film can be stopped with the click of a mouse, best to keep it short and sweet than risk a negative response for taking too long to get your point across.

]]> 20 Wainani Dombrowski Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:00:00 BST We've moved!
The building, spanning over three floors, marks the starts of a new era for the agency, supporting an ambitious growth plan that is already very much on its way. So feel free to pop in to have a look around, have a cup of tea and see what we're about! The DogHouse
17 Percy Street
London
W1T 1DU

]]> 19 Ben Young Sat, 19 Jul 2008 11:00:00 BST