In celebration of Brothers Day, we sat down with Intelligency’s Co-Founders and Directors, Sean and Liam, to talk about building a business together, not just as colleagues, but as siblings too. From their beginnings to their future ambitions, here’s what they had to say.

What was the process of beginning to work with each other?

Sean recalls: “Liam was working at the Telegraph at the time, and I was still working by myself. We got our heads together and thought that we could work together to build our social media vetting technology.”

Liam adds: “I had been working in London, but we’d always wanted to do something together, and the social media vetting was such a good idea, we thought, why not! Now we’ve grown and grown into Digital Intelligence, and I couldn’t be happier!”

What is the thing you’re most proud of in terms of your achievements as both brothers and Company Directors?

Without hesitation, Sean points to resilience: “I think surviving and working all the way through COVID, where other agencies and small companies were shutting down or having to go on furlough. We managed to grow the business and do so remotely with our clients. It was incredibly hard and challenging, but meant that the company survived and grew into what it is today.”

Liam echoes the sentiment, highlighting consistency: “That we’ve grown year on year! It’s such a difficult period for businesses, and the fact that we’ve been successful and are delivering exceptional results to our clients is something we are both so proud of!”

Working with family can be complicated. What challenges have you faced as siblings in business?

Sean laughs : “Other than an intense rivalry on the office ping pong table, mixing family and work can always be dangerous as it’s hard not to talk about work at family functions and let work life slip too easily into personal life. We’ve always done well to protect against this and try to keep the two separate.”

Liam agrees: “You have to be able to communicate effectively and considerately, as well as ensure you can separate work from personal life. We’ve been really lucky that we’ve been able to merge our great personal relationship positively into running a business!”

What is something you each want to achieve within the business in the next 5 years?

Sean’s focused on expanding their impact: “I’d love to expand our team further and grow our digital intelligence business further. We’re great at helping clients solve issues with clients, and our digital audits and reporting technology are often transformational for clients. I’d love to see us do more of this work.”

Whilst Liam keeps it simple but powerful: “Same as the last 5 years, grow the company and staff whilst creating a culture where people enjoy coming to work every day!”

And finally, if you could summarise working with your brother in just 3-5 words, what would they be?

“Best business partner ever.” Whilst Liam said, “A brilliant brother & business partner!”

What is the trend?

OpenAI has recently rolled out a new version of ChatGPT with significantly enhanced AI capabilities, particularly in image generation. This upgrade has sparked a viral trend where users upload their personal images and prompt the AI to “animate this like Studio Ghibli.”

What’s caused this prompt on ChatGPT’s latest version to trend?

Users quickly flooded X (formerly Twitter) with their AI-generated Studio Ghibli-style images, showcasing everything from personal photos to iconic movie scenes and internet memes. The accessibility and improved quality of ChatGPT’s image-generation tools have encouraged widespread participation.

Beyond Studio Ghibli, users have experimented with other animation styles, including The Simpsons and South Park, further fuelling the trend.

What works so well about the trend?

Studio Ghibli has a devoted following, with millions of fans appreciating its distinctive animation style. The Japanese studio is renowned for its hand-drawn artistry, whimsical storytelling, and deep emotional resonance. The ability of ChatGPT to closely replicate this aesthetic has driven its widespread appeal.

Several factors contribute to the trend’s success:

• Ease of Use – OpenAI’s generative features are free and accessible to all users, making it easy for anyone to create AI-generated art in various styles.
• Engagement & Virality – The instantly recognizable Studio Ghibli aesthetic has encouraged users to share their results online, prompting others to try it for themselves and contribute to the trend.

Does this raise issues around copyright?

This trend touches on an ongoing debate about AI-generated art and intellectual property. Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki has long been critical of AI in animation, famously stating, “I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself.” His ethos prioritizes authenticity and meticulous craftsmanship, which contrasts sharply with AI-generated imitations.

While AI-generated art does not technically infringe on copyright, it raises ethical concerns about replicating the hard work of illustrators without their consent. The trend serves as a reminder of the growing challenges surrounding AI and artistic originality.

How are brands and accounts using the trend?

While independent creators have embraced the trend, brands have been slower to adopt it. A few exceptions include major brands like Airbus, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who changed his X profile picture to an AI-generated Studio Ghibli-style version of himself.

As AI art generation continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how brands, artists, and audiences navigate the balance between creativity, authenticity, and ethical considerations.

Women in Marketing

Women have made significant headway in marketing, a once male-dominated industry. In a 2022 study by Statista, it demonstrated a shift with a strong figure of 58% of marketers being female, and 42% made up of men (UK).

Women have made significant contributions to marketing over the last century, with some female leaders championing for equality within the industry.

As of 2024, the gender pay gap still exists, with a 7% pay inequality from a woman’s wage to their male counterparts. Signalling that despite it now being a female-dominated industry, men in the field are still valued more with a higher figure salary. This is likely due to the roles by women being typically ‘lower’ in the marketing pecking order, with a larger volume of men working in seniority roles, i.e. CEO’s, CFO’s, department leaders and so forth.

Historic female figures in marketing

The first female copywriter – Helen Lansdowne Resor

Helen Lansdowne Resor was the first female copywriter, working at J. Walter Thompson Co before rapidly progressing through their ranks becoming their first female Vice President. Reason spearheaded campaigns like her first “A Skin You Love to Touch” for Woodbury’s facial soap.

It’s known that Resor was able to run such successful campaigns because she was able to think like the buyers of the products she was selling. Her “A Skin You Love to Touch” campaign was of its time. She spoke to the women in the household through the campaign, acknowledging women were most likely to be the one making the purchasing choices at the time. This approach earned her the titles she came to bestow, demonstrating that women were more than capable of major success within marketing.

The first female CEO – Mary Wells Lawrence

Mary Wells Lawrence is an impressive woman, being the first woman CEO to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The feat came following a long career in advertising under companies such as Jack Tinker & Partners and Doyle Dane Bernbach, in roles such as copy chief, and senior partner.

Lawrence was the first woman to achieve CEO status on the New York Stock Exchange list, a huge feat for her as a pioneer of the time, in a completely male-dominated industry.

The first woman in marketing to found her own advertising company – Mathilde C. Weil

In 1882, America saw its first female-led ad agency, M.C. Weil Agency brought to life by Mathilde C. Weil, a German immigrant who recognised and capitalised on the growing necessity for ad space, her actions forging the path for many women in marketing.

What makes Weils story even more impressive, is she did all of this 80 years before all women in the US were given voting rights. Putting into perspective just how hard she would have had to work in order to gain the recognition she so rightly deserves.

The first art director – Nedda McGrath

A pioneer for female leadership, Nedda McGrath was the first female art director within advertising. McGrath’s career at Blackman Agency (1926) was one to marvel at. She stated in her excerpt from the Ad History Book “I was discouraged by everyone from making the attempt and had to work perhaps harder than a man.” Her words are a true testament to the hard work put in by women to be recognised as valued members of the workforce.

We’d be interested to know which woman in marketing you find inspiring!

On Friday, the 12th, Intelligency had the pleasure of welcoming a specialist trainer into the office for an in-depth session on producing high-quality content for social media. The training provided hands-on experience, covering everything from selecting the right equipment to understanding the technical aspects that can make or break content quality.

In today’s digital landscape, staying ahead of trends and mastering the art of content creation is essential. At Intelligency, we continuously seek opportunities to expand our knowledge and refine our skills, ensuring that both our in-house and client projects benefit from the best practices in social media marketing. This session was another step towards that goal—helping us to better understand the nuances of video and photo production to create compelling, high-impact content.

Key learnings

Whilst I won’t give away all of the secrets shared by the expert trainer Cameron, I can say that the session reinforced and enhanced my understanding of several crucial elements of content creation, including:

• Content planning
• Kit selection (specifically tailored to the business’s needs)
• Familiarisation with kit
• Learning about camera settings
• The shooting process
• The editing process

Here are 5 new things I took away from the course:

📸 Understanding resolution and compression – Social platforms like Instagram are unable to process high-resolution content, i.e. videos shot in 4K. As a result, content can be compressed, lessening the overall quality of the content.

📸 Balancing settings -Shutter speed, aperture and ISO all interplay with each other. There is no one-size-fits-all with photography and videography; it’s about achieving the balance between each setting to capture the desired shot.  

📸 The Power of the First 3 Seconds – The first 3 seconds of video content are critical to hooking the viewer, so make every second count. Aim to grab the viewers’ attention and keep them invested in order for them to stick around for the content that follows those first few seconds.

📸The media quality toggle – Instagram, one of many apps, allows you to upload higher-quality content by utilising its media quality toggle. This will tell Instagram to upload the content at its highest resolution, rather than automatically compressing it.

📸Lense correction in editing – Lens correction ensures that regardless of what make and model of the camera a video or image is shot on, the quality will remain consistent despite what lens it has been captured with.  This is because each lens will have its own unique distortions, which can create inconsistencies if shooting across multiple cameras.

Why third-party training is invaluable

At Intelligency, we firmly believe that ongoing education and professional development are key to staying ahead in an ever-evolving digital landscape. Investing in expert-led training isn’t just about refining our technical skills—it’s about ensuring our team has the knowledge and confidence to deliver exceptional work for our clients.

“Bringing in external experts allows us to gain fresh perspectives, access the latest industry insights, and refine our approach with cutting-edge techniques. Not only does this enhance the quality of our work, but it also supports the career growth of our team. We want our staff to feel empowered, upskilled, and equipped to take on new challenges—because when they grow, so does our business.”

– Sean Walsh, Director, Intelligency

By learning from specialists in their field, we are able to integrate best practices into our strategies, ensuring that our content remains engaging, impactful, and ahead of the curve. This commitment to continuous learning benefits not only our internal team but also the clients we work with, as we bring a more informed and innovative approach to every project.

If you’re looking to refine your approach to content creation, investing in professional training can be a game-changer. Have you ever attended a similar session?

What’s the trend?

Beyoncé made headlines this week—not just for winning a Grammy, but for her stunned reaction after being announced as the 2025 winner for Best Country Album. The unexpected expression on her face quickly went viral, becoming the internet’s latest meme. Now, hordes of people are using it to poke fun at moments of shock, disbelief, or classic “oopsie daisy” blunders.

Why is the trend gaining popularity?

We think it goes without saying that Beyonce is a pop culture powerhouse. Almost everything she does garners attention, and in this case, her candid reaction instantly caught the eye of fans and internet users alike. As with many viral moments, the internet wasted little to no time reclaiming and repurposing to add humour to everyday situations.

Why does the trend work so well?

The Beyonce meme has skyrocketed in popularity for a couple of reasons, most notably because it:

Allows brands to show personality- Brands are able to express their creativity and inject humour whilst still making the content relevant to their brand.

Keeping relevant- Jumping on viral trends like this one helps brands show relevance and awareness of pop culture by jumping on the trend.

Driving engagement– This style of content is likely to drive engagement and draw attention due to its instant recognisability and ability to spark conversation amongst internet users.

How are brands using the trend?

This trend has taken off in the marketing world, with many brands and content creators putting their own spin on Beyoncé’s reaction. Some creative examples include:

Travel Sisters – This travel brand used the meme to humorously acknowledge the frustration of baggage loss, showing their audience that they truly understand their pain.

Pretty Little Marketer – This marketing-focused brand tapped into the trend by poking fun at common industry mistakes, making it highly relatable for fellow marketers. These examples highlight the power of viral memes in marketing. By pairing a well-known image with a witty, brand-relevant caption, businesses can resonate with audiences, spark engagement, and boost their online presence

Online safety has many facets to consider, but the crux of it is that we have to protect ourselves and our sensitive information on the internet. There are many dangers on the internet, and it can be hard to anticipate every last potential risk. That’s why in this guide we outline all the risks, as well as how you can protect yourself, your website and your customers.

What are some of the risks online?

There’s a broad scope of potential risks with being online, particularly around the loss of sensitive information. Understanding what the risks are and how they are posed to us, can help us anticipate and prevent any unsafe situations from occurring. Some of these risks include:

• Malware or ransomware
• Scamming
• Hacking
• Phishing
• Data breaches
• Copyright infringement
• Insufficient patch management
• Outdated software for websites

Each issue poses its own threat to a business, and all can quite quickly destroy one too, so prevention is critical. Here’s a visualisation of each impact associated with the potential risks:

The risks for an individual can be damning, any loss whether its financial, reputationally or private data. However, this can be worsened, if it’s a business customer who is the victim of an online attack.  Not only does it immediately demonstrate an insecurity (online) from a website, but it suggests they aren’t reliable or able to protect their customers. This can harm the rapport of the customer, and the reputation of the business.

How can you stay safe online?

Staying safe online can be made super simple, by implementing the following strategies from the inception of an account being created. Beginning the process with caution and prevention in mind can really help to negate any of the potential risks in the future.

Password protection and 2-factor authentication

This may be one of the most obvious ways to protect yourself, but utilising password protection is an essential part of safeguarding your online accounts. When creating passwords avoid the obvious like first names, last names and birthdays. Look to create unique combinations for each account you have.

An example of what makes a password strong is the combined use of upper- and lower-case letters, symbols and numbers. Using a combination of all these different characters will reduce the likelihood of cybercriminals like hackers, from accessing your passwords and hacking your accounts.

2-factor authentication is a protective process offered by some software companies, such as Google. 2-factor authentication works by validating a user, this is usually through generating a one-time code or using a second factor of authentication such as a personal question for them to answer.

Tip: Utilise a password manager if you’re forgetful or pick 3 words to use in your passwords!

Protection of private information

A good rule of thumb around internet safety, is protecting any sensitive information about yourself, here are some instances of sensitive information:

• Address
• Full name
• Bank details
• Workplace or school address
• National insurance number
• Emails and passwords

Avoid clicking unfamiliar links.

Whether it’s via email or online, clicking links without forethought can put individuals at greater risk of phishing, being impacted by malware, or having private data stolen. A good way to be sure the link you’re clicking on is safe, is by checking it is provided by a verified and recognised account or source.

More so, avoid clicking on pop-ups that appear on websites, these include ads. On non-secure sites, these pop-ups can contain viruses/ malware that can hack into your system and take information or money.

For instance, avoid using websites without a lock symbol beside the URL. It looks like this:

Back-up your data

For those with a website or important data on their devices, backing up content is a critical tact-tic to adopt. You can back up to external devices for an additional layer of security, or onto a cloud-based system. This means you still have access to your data in the event it is stolen or compromised.

Ensure your website has the latest software updates

Updating a site all the time isn’t necessary, however, ensuring the site is compatible with its server host, that its security measures are in full force, and that the site elements are all functioning as intended.

This process is known as patch management, implementing updates to both the system and software used for a site. Updating not only ensures security and functionality, it also makes sure that the website is in compliance with current regulations.

Obtaining a Data Protection Legislation Registration

In the UK, all businesses must legally be registered for Data Protection, this ensures compliance with data security and protection. The act, established in 1998 outlines how personal data is collected, handled and stored, whilst empowering individuals by giving them entitlement to know what data people have on them.

If you’re interested in shielding your brand and mitigating online threats, we could be the right consultancy for you! At Intelligency we are adept at eliminating online threats, simply contact us to find out how we can do that for you!

What is the trend?

The ‘Tap, hold and load in 4k’ trend has taken X (formerly Twitter) by storm. The sporting community has adopted the trend, with sports fans sharing 4k resolution images of their favourite shots of athletes. However, the trend has quickly been adopted by other brands, having seen success in the trend garnering engagement.

The trend nods to the feature integrated by Twitter in 2020, which allows users to download images in a 4k resolution. The trend highlights users’ ability to access high-quality visual assets by simply holding down an image.

Why is this trend gaining popularity?

The trend allows brands, creators and influencers to share visual content with their audience, in super high quality. The popularity of sharing these high-quality assets encourages audiences to interact and engage with content.

The ease of use has propelled the trend, making it super simple for audiences to take a closer look and explore their curiosities.

Why does the trend work so well?

The trend uses the load in the 4k feature to give brands’ social media strategies a creative and competitive edge.

The success of the trend lies in its ability to:

• Demonstrate brand personality: Brands are able to provide insight, showcase their creativity and tell compelling stories through any imagery.
• Having a competitive edge: Trend participation not only signals to the audience an awareness of the current social culture, but it also has brands vying for attention.
• Garnering attention: Attaining engagement is made that much easier when a trend grips the audience, more so, the trend actively encourages the audience to download the imagery, pushing for enhanced experiences between audiences and visual content.

What are some examples of the trend being done?

Brands like the FIFA World Cup, Blue Origin (Jeff Bezos’ engineering company) and Fortnite have all been quick to hop on the trend, sharing their best high-resolution imagery. This has allowed brands to quickly attain engagement over captivating photography.

The future of the ‘Tap, hold and load in 4k’ trend

As the way social media and the way we use it continues to evolve, trends like this one highlight the increasing importance of visual content production. As platforms continue to invest in features that enhance the user experience. Brands opting to embrace relevant trends in their marketing strategy will continue to thrive.

Wikipedia is an online encyclopaedia of information which was founded in 2001, with the aim of supplementing content on Nupedia. Nupedia pre-dated Wikipedia and was also an encyclopaedia which was available from 2000-2003. Wikimedia Foundation, a nonprofit organisation hosts Wikipedia.

How does Wikipedia work?

The site works on an open-source basis, allowing any individual to contribute and edit a Wikipedia page. This open-source basis has often come under scrutiny as non-factual information has been known to be displayed.

The software used to create Wikipedia is Wiki, a content management system which makes it super simple to create, edit and publish content onto Wikipedia.

Wikipedia pages can be edited by any spectator by simply locating the ‘Edit’ button in the top right-hand corner of the web page. To edit, click the edit button and begin to type out your adjustment. To publish the content, you’ll need to press ‘Publish changes.’

Alternatively, readers can create a note on the article’s talk page in order for someone else to make the amendment to the content. Equally, any vandalism should be reported to the Wikipedia email address.

The pros and cons of using Wikipedia as a resource

Pros

• The website is really easy to use, navigating across pages is made super simple, often with content being hyperlinked throughout. This makes it a particularly great building block for beginning research.
• Wikipedia is a free resource, with the option to be able to donate. Its accessibility makes it an ideal tool for gathering basic information.

Cons

• The downside to Wikipedia with it being open-source is that the information isn’t backed by scholars. This means that often non-factual content or vandalism is present in content.
• Whilst it is frequently updated, there is no structure or process to how or who updates a page. This lack of protocol for updating content means that some content on the website will be irrelevant, or outdated.

Facts about Wikipedia

Wikipedia has established itself as a valuable research tool, with a steady influx of over 4.2 billion visitors per month in 2024. Companies such as SemRush claimed Wikipedia was the fourth most visited website of 204, whilst Similarweb stated it was seventh.

Though the data on Wikipiedia’s founding year is spotty, by 2005 it was the most favoured research site. 2005 was also a big year for Wikipedia, as it hosted the first-ever Wikimania conference, which celebrates any free knowledge projects organised by the Wikimedia Foundation.

Wikipedia has content in over 300 languages and over 6.9 million articles in January 2025 alone making it the world’s biggest encyclopaedia.

Generation Clickbait

Generation clickbait was a discussion hosted by Grayling, covering the crisis in communications and how to respond to it.

The key point from the discussion was the necessity to prepare and plan for worst-case scenarios. Preparation can help mitigate the scale of the problem, preventing escalation from occurring.

1. Preparing for any problems allows potential risks to be identified and understood. Understanding the risks then allows for a business to outline how they would respond to various scenarios.
2. When in a crisis, its essential that the facts are collected so the situation can be accurately assessed. Assuming can do more harm than good, by understanding the problem, considered action can be taken.
3. Apply best practices and be authentic, and avoid lying as it will only worsen the situation. Dishonesty can severely harm the trust between a customer and a brand.
4. Focusing on the positive outcomes from a crisis is a great way to learn from the experience. Being a brand that is reliable and responsible is what customers expect from a brand.
5. Being agile is beneficial. Adapting to the crisis can be a great way for brands to demonstrate they have listened to and understood their audience. Being able to adapt to a potentially evolving crisis, allow the audience to see the brand is self-aware and is taking measures to change the way they handle a situation.

Unlocking human potential with AI

AI has both risk and benefits as Tailored Thinking presented in their online event. In this discussion, Tailored Thinking covered how AI can be the heart, head and hands of a business when harnessed properly.

The head aspect of a business covers the cognitive demands that a task might have, as well as the decision-making that is put into that.

Productivity and measurability are in the hands of the business and are usually the work that requires physical actions to achieve an outcome.

The heart of the business is the meaning of the work, the energy that is spent on it and the engagement an individual has with their task.

Here are three fantastic tips given by the speakers at the event:

• Create principles around the use of AI. For example, being transparent about utilising AI, being accountable and using it to help with a job, not to do the job for you.
• Test where AI can help within your business, whether it’s looking at CVs to reduce hours spent on recruitment, or getting it to summarise key points from notes taken in a meeting.
• Experiment with AI to see how it can help with your day-to-day tasks. Look for low-risk tasks which could benefit from the use of AI.

As we soak in the last month of summer, the Intelligency team has got stuck into another excellent summer party. On Thursday the team celebrated their summer together with a trip over to Manchester for a day of fun!

Challenge Point

Starting the day with some healthy competition, we hopped on over to Manchester’s Challenge Point. At Challenge Point, we were immersed ourselves into the playful world of game shows. Enjoying everything from a round of supermarket sweep where we all raced to find and scan items.  And other games like a Mission Impossible-style laser room which we all attempted to weave and duck our way through, just to reach the next level. We all rolled our sleeves up and let our competitive sides show.

Our team aptly named ‘There will be Blood’ gave our most valiant efforts before losing to another team. Though we may have lost, we certainly weren’t defeated.

Lunch & Drinks

The team then strolled on over to Mackie Mayor to enjoy some tasty food and drink in each other’s company.  Chowing down on everything from Truffle burgers to Tacos, before making our way to the Northern Quarter.

The team winded down the day in the sun, reflecting on the brilliant time we had all had whilst toasting with a Guinness or two at another fantastic summer party.