Since the start of the first lockdown in March 2020, the Maguires team has worked from home. 

What started as an enforced move has led to a successful and fulfilling new working arrangement. 

One of the unexpected results of this move is the ability for each member of the team to feel closer to their local community. Whether it’s lunches spent locally, taking the dog for a morning walk or doing the school run – we’re all better connected to where we live.

This connection led to a unique collaboration between our Creative Director Chris Hannah and his local community council in Cambuslang. 

After reading in the local press about plans to create a series of murals to brighten up neglected sites across the town, Chris was keen to offer his services free of charge, allowing the Community Council to invest their funds in ways.

Clare Williamson, vice-chair of Cambuslang Community Council and member of the Gateway Group said:

“Since we started doing community surveys in 2015, local residents have been telling us that they want a modern, vibrant, and welcoming environment for the town. Together with our streetscape project, the Gateway artwork is intended to demonstrate our civic pride, and a strong sense of belonging for local residents and businesses who live and work in the town. More importantly, we hope that the project will attract visitors and invite local people to the town centre to support local businesses to keep our town centre thriving for years to come.”

The first mural has been installed at the entrance to Cambuslang Station. Through a number of engagement sessions run by the Community Council, the most popular places and spaces in the town were identified, allowing Chris to develop a series of 12 original illustrations that would form a central part to mural design, now known as ‘The Station Wall’.

The project would also see the completion of two further murals, known as ‘The Sunflower Wall’ and ‘The Welcome Wall’. As these two murals required painting – rather than the printed vinyls boards at the Station Wall – Chris engaged the services of signwriters Artisan Artworks.

The idea for ‘The Sunflower Wall’ mural came from a simple act of kindness. During lockdown, five year old Hamish Shea grew a sunflower from seed and left it in a pot on the town’s main thoroughfare for everyone to enjoy. 

Local residents were so touched by the gesture that Cambuslang Community Council was inspired to create a mural and a permanent seating area with planters in the same spot.

The final mural – ‘The Welcome Wall’ – acts as a vibrant signpost for those entering the town, distinct in its own right, but utilising the same colour palette used across all three murals.

As well as receiving record levels of engagement for the Community Council on social media, the story of Hamish and the Cambuslang murals attracted local and national press coverage.

The Gateway Project is a partnership between Cambuslang Community Council, Cambuslang Rotary Club, Grow 73, Network Rail, Scotrail, National Lottery, Community Rail Partnership, local residents, Maguires Agency, SLC Rutherglen and Cambuslang Area Committee, SLC Ground Services, SLC Unpaid Work Team, SLC Youth Family Community Learning Service.

Currently under development on the site of the former British Home Stores on Union Street, Aberdeen Market is set to be a unique destination featuring international food and drink outlets, local traders, businesses and artisan workshops.

Having worked with Savills on marketing a number of high profile commercial properties on Glasgow’s renowned ‘Style Mile’, Maguires was approached to create a bold and modern identity for the development.

Taking inspiration from the triangular structures set within the unique roof canopy, coupled with the mix of modern materials present in the interior, we created a distinct logo marque and accompanying marketing brochure, as well as a number of striking window vinyls and adverting hoardings on Union Street.

Having been in place since 2015, the banners wrapped around the exterior of Celtic Park became a firm favourite with supporters and visitors to Celtic Park – known to Celtic fans the world over as ‘Paradise’. 

In 2022, with the league title secured, and a new manager playing an exciting brand of football, the club approached Maguires to create a fresh progressive design for the stadium.

After undertaking a period of creative development with the client, we proposed a modular graphic approach that still celebrated the Celtic story, but also reflected the club’s current position and culture.

Visually, this graphic approach would allow us to unify the look of the stadium by increasing the presence of green across all four stands – creating a ‘beacon of green’ that would further highlight the presence of the stadium across the city.

Visible from several miles away, the two larger goal-end stands would act as gateways to the stadium, with clear messaging welcoming fans to Celtic Park. Given pride of place in the centre of the design are two of the club’s most celebrated captains, representing the club’s European triumph in 1967 as well as their recent successes.

The two small corner stands provided an opportunity to include a greater depth of detail. Here we created an array of graphic elements and iconography from Celtic’s past, highlighting the club’s culture, ethos, icons and achievements. From the famous quote from legendary Celtic manager Jock Stein, “Football without the fans is nothing” to the crisp vertical pinstripes first worn in the early 80s by legends including Danny McGrain and Paul McStay, each square within the design tells a story.

The banner designs also saw the introduction of an expanded colour palette. In addition to the classic green and white, we introduced a range of complementary greens, influenced by a number of iconic away strips. 

Finally, the evolution of the Celtic brand throughout its 134 year history is also reflected in the varied choice of font styles used – from the retro letter forms of ‘1888’ to the modern condensed fonts of the 21st century. 

Drone footage courtesy of HawkAye

Glasgow’s extensive retail offering includes three main shopping streets in the city centre – known as ‘The Style Mile’ – with Buchanan Street at its heart.

Ranked second in the UK retail hierarchy, behind only London’s Oxford Street in terms of CACI rating, Buchanan Street is home to an array of mainstream retailers and aspirational brands.

However, as high streets across the UK adapted to a post-pandemic world, operators Hines showcased a unique opportunity for premium retailers to take over rarely available commercial space in an iconic location at the top of the street.

Maguires were tasked with creating the sales credentials brochure for the opportunity and accompanying window vinyls across all units. We also commissioned original photography and a video walk-through to supplement the marketing offering.

Following a successful pitch, Maguires were appointed to produce a multi-channel creative campaign for leading independent school, St Aloysius’ College.

Our campaign was to focus on driving awareness of the school and increasing attendance at their upcoming open evening.

The school motto, Ad Majora Natus Sum – which translates as “I was born for greater things” – is the foundation upon which the school’s teaching philosophy is based. “Our young people not only have their academic potential ignited, but are also taught to look on the world with empathy, offering their talents and energies for the benefit of others”, states Headmaster Matthew Bartlett.

It’s clear that what makes St Aloysius’ College unique in a competitive sector is this ‘greater’ good, which became the heart of the campaign. We wanted to keep the existing ‘Great Things Happen in The Green Blazer’ as an overall brand strapline, but give this year’s campaign a more direct call-to-action, while remaining true to what makes the school special.

Our solution was to highlight that choosing to attend St Aloysius’ is ‘The Start of Something Great’, at whichever stage a pupil joins – from Kindergarten through to the Senior School. The use of the word ‘great’ gave us the ability to tie the campaign to the school’s traditions, while also promoting the many ‘great’ aspects of the school: the friendships, the opportunities, the facilities and, of course, the results.

The creative centred around an impactful collage style – bursting with activity, but with a singular ‘hero’ image at its core. This echoed the school’s ethos of “plac(ing) the formation of the whole person at the centre of all learning.”

All campaign photography was shot by Maguires, with the campaign film also being directed and edited by our in-house team. We developed the campaign creative across a multitude of assets, implementing them as part of a targeted online marketing strategy on Facebook and Instagram, with a bespoke canvas ad within Facebook that helped to streamline the sign-up process.

The campaign was highly successful, with a 52% increase on the previous year’s attendance figures.

Princes Square is an institution in Glasgow. A former merchant square, constructed from blonde sandstone in 1841, it was named ‘Scotland’s Favourite Building’ in 2016. It’s a shopping destination unlike any other in Scotland.

Nestled within Glasgow’s ‘Style Mile’ on Buchanan Street, it’s long been known for its luxury stores, lively restaurants and bars. Now, with the arrival of Everyman boutique cinema, it offers the perfect night out, all under one elegant roof.

Maguires were tasked with creating awareness of Princes Square as a great destination for a night out – and not solely a premier shopping destination.

We created the ‘After Hours by Princes Square’ campaign, showcasing the energy and vibrancy of a night out in Princes Square.

To keep the campaign look-and-feel representative of the Glasgow scene, we worked closely with Sassoons Hair Salon in Princes Square, who helped us source and style our real-life models – with many selected from the luxury boutiques within Princes Square itself.

The focus of the outdoor advertising campaign is primarily on individual models, giving four ‘hero’ posters – each shot in a different environment to highlight the full offering of a night out at Princes Square.

Inspired by the bright pastel hues of the colour-changing neon lights found throughout the entrance-ways of Princes Square, the art direction of the campaign featured a similar range of bold colours and neon backdrops to create a sophisticated nightlife look.

We also shot an accompanying promotional film to help bring the campaign to life on Princes Square’s social channels.

20 20 Opticians are part of the Duncan & Todd Group, one of the UK’s largest optical retailers. They have seven locations throughout Scotland, offering high-quality eye care, as well as award-winning lenses and frames.

The client was looking for a summer campaign that would promote their own-brand frames.

Maguires proposed a style of photography which would contrast the more lifestyle-based model campaigns often associated with high street opticians.

We also wanted the photography style to stand out as being from the 20 20 brand, as it was likely to be seen alongside promotional posters for various designer brands also available in store.

By using 20 20’s distinctive red and green colour palette across all of the posters, we created a striking series of hero posters.

To ensure a more authentic look, we didn’t use model agencies – instead sourcing models from the streets of Glasgow to complete six ‘hero’ posters.

The campaign was deployed throughout all seven stores nationwide, as well as online, in press and as a series of animated 6 sheets.

Quarriers is a leading social care charity that provides practical care and support for thousands of vulnerable children, adults and families across Scotland. They help thousands of people to lead happier, more fulfilling lives. By challenging inequality, Quarriers give vulnerable people more opportunities and, importantly, ensure that their voices are heard.

Maguires were originally appointed in 2018, following a successful pitch, to create a recruitment campaign for Quarriers. Having struggled to fill carer roles through traditional recruitment avenues, the client decided to use a creative advertising campaign to target people interested in a career in care directly.

We created the ‘Care to join us’ campaign. The simple message got right to the point, by identifying the crucial requirement of working for Quarriers – that you really care.

A strong call to action prompts anyone considering a career in caring to find out about available roles via the Quarriers jobs page.

Quarriers were keen to champion their staff in the campaign, so Maguires commissioned and art-directed the photography at Quarrier’s Village using real Quarriers employees. Multiple creative executions were then provided for a far-ranging campaign across outdoor, social, digital, press and radio.

Launching in August 2018, the campaign has resulted in triple the number of visits to the Quarriers site, with the suitability of applicants also increasing to a healthy 1 in 3 being taken on.

The original campaign led to 200 new hires (as of April 2019) and was awarded S1 Jobs ‘Recruitment Campaign of the Year’ 2018.

To build on the success of last year’s campaign, we proposed producing an accompanying film for 2019, to help bring to life the vital work of Quarriers carers.

Once again, the photography and film work was commissioned and directed by Maguires at Quarriers Village, using real Quarriers employees. By featuring the same carers in both the print and film campaign we helped give a wider visibility to the ‘stars’ of the campaign.

The campaign launched in August 2019 across outdoor, social, digital, press and radio.

Now recognised as Scotland’s Theme Park, M&D’s is unique in Scotland. There are over 70 rides and attractions throughout the park, including thrill rides, kids’ rides, 18 hole miniature golf, glow in the dark indoor bowling, a massive indoor complex, a gigantic soft play area, bars, restaurants and an indoor tropical rainforest.

Maguires were tasked with updating the marketing strategy and creative look and feel for the 2018 season, to appeal to a teenage audience.

We developed a series of playful images showcasing the variety and the excitement on offer at M&D’s, with the ‘hero’ of each image being ‘text speak’ associated with a fun visit to M&D’s.
The campaign ran across all print and digital communications, as well as a substantial outdoor campaign.

Following a successful pitch, Maguires were appointed by Stirling Council to create and launch a new brand and marketing campaign for the Stirling area.

The initial stages of the brand development saw us undertake an extensive three-month consultation process, where feedback was gathered from key stakeholders and residents. This process covered both city centre and rural areas, stretching from Crianlarich and Aberfoyle, to Dunblane, Bannockburn and Callander.

The result of this process saw the creation of the brand ‘Stirling: Alive with Scotland’ – illustrating that Stirling is a place where you can find all that is good about Scotland; its history, beauty, ingenuity as well as the wide-ranging opportunities it offers.

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