Brightec

Get to know our wonderful Product Manager, Jennifer C. 👋 We’ve been putting her in the hot seat with a few quick questions – head to the blog to learn more about the organised, thoughtful human behind the role. https://lnkd.in/eECXqspm Welcome to the team, Jen!

A great one to be part of 🍷 We loved working with the Virgin Wines team to bring this app to life. More to come!

Virgin Red 🤝 Marks and Spencer 🥹 Two HUGE brands. A genuinely fun partnership. But it’s also a great example of where loyalty is heading – more connected, more everyday, and built around the moments people already enjoy. We’ve been lucky enough to work across parts of the Virgin ecosystem, from Virgin Trains Ticketing to Virgin Wines – and you can really see how these connections start to build on each other – and, over time, shape habits. This is where it gets interesting for brands. It’s not just about building an app or adding rewards, but about finding a place in people’s everyday routines. Also… earning points on Percy Pigs AND a train ticket feels like a very dangerous game 😅 #VirginRed #MarksandSpencer

We’re so pleased to be featured in Digital Reference’s latest roundup of trusted UK app development partners. Being named alongside some of the industry’s strongest teams is always a good moment, and a nice reflection of the standards we hold ourselves to at Brightec. If you're exploring what the right app partner looks like, this is a solid place to start 👇

It’s National Pet Day tomorrow, so it felt like a good excuse to celebrate some of our favourite studio regulars - Cookie, Willow and Mango 🐾 😍 Quick walks around the block, some mid-afternoon squeaky toy fetch - they bring a lot more than just a break from work. There’s plenty of research showing that spending time with animals can reduce cortisol levels, and we don't need much convincing of that fact. They make the studio feel lighter, more playful, and are a good reminder to step away from the screen every now and then. Not officially on the payroll... but very much part of the Brightec team 🫶

It’s the Easter holidays, which means a lot of parents are suddenly spending more time in places like Waterstones. And if you’ve ever wandered into the kids’ section, you’ll know exactly what we mean 😍 It’s not just shelves of books. It’s little worlds. Characters, colours, corners you can disappear into for a while. Kids get completely pulled in 💫 But what’s interesting is how that carries through digitally as well. Because the app does a genuinely brilliant job of picking that up. It’s easy to navigate by age, interest, reading level (or whatever your child is suddenly obsessed with this week 😅). You can dip in, browse, save things for later, get a feel for what’s new. And get properly excited about new arrivals, including The Gruffalo’s Granny (which has already caused a fair bit of excitement in our team!). Making the whole thing feel just easy is what people remember. Read more about our journey with Waterstones here 👇 https://lnkd.in/eciQJmxm

App Store Optimisation isn’t a formula. And that’s exactly where most teams go wrong. When we started going deeper on ASO with clients, we expected consistency – apply best practice and get predictable results. The reality? What worked for one app barely moved the needle for another. We used the same tactics, but got very different outcomes. We have come to realise that ASO isn’t a checklist, it’s context. A few things we’ve had to rethink: • There’s no “one size fits all” • Keyword strategy is about priority, not just inclusion • Algorithms now reward clarity over keyword stuffing The biggest shift? Treating ASO as an ongoing discipline, not a one-off task. In our latest blog, James Allwright shares what we’ve learned (including what we got wrong!) here: https://lnkd.in/eZmJGHNG

There’s something about a quieter week that makes you notice the clutter a bit more. Not just on your desk, but across your digital workspace too – the tabs, the files, the apps quietly running in the background. If you’ve got a bit of breathing room this Easter, here are a few simple ways to reset things 👇 1️⃣ Uninstall Unused Programs All those apps you used to use but haven't touched in 6 years... take up valuable space, and processor speed if they're still running in the background – Uninstall retired software – Improve system performance – Review your notifications too, what's causing unhelpful noise? 2️⃣ Delete unnecessary files: You'll be surprised how much disk space is being used up by unnecessary files that are just sitting there redundant – Both Mac and Windows have great ways of showing where the big GBs are sitting on your drive – Delete things you no longer need or use – Some of our team empty their 'downloads' folder weekly, which prevents big build-up of GBs too 3️⃣ Organise Your Files and Folders: A messy filing system can cost time and efficiency. Job roles change, projects change, so take time to keep up your filing systems accordingly: – Create a logical, intuitive structure – Implement consistent naming conventions – Enhance file retrieval efficiency 4️⃣ Clean Up Your Desktop: – Reduce visual clutter – Boost focus and efficiency – Move frequently used shortcuts to the taskbar 5️⃣ Clear Your Browser Cache and History: If you're not doing this regularly, once a year is a good place to start. – Improve browser speed – Protect your online privacy – Regularly clear browsing data 6️⃣ Update Your Software: Not everyone has auto-update switched on. Check you're running the latest software to – Enhance security with latest patches – Improve performance with new features – Enable automatic updates where possible 7️⃣ Run a Malware Scan: – Protect against cyber threats – Ensure system integrity – We use ESET, and have a Security Tech Council to review this regularly 8️⃣ Manage Startup Programs: These have a funny way of creeping back in! Take a moment to check what's happening every time you boot up and stop unnecessary ones – Reduce boot times significantly – Improve overall system responsiveness – Disable unnecessary startup applications 9️⃣ Back Up Your Important Data: Not just in the workplace, but domestically, too – not one to put off if you are. – Prevent critical data loss – Utilise external drives or cloud storage 🔟 Physically Clean Your Tech: All those fingerprints on the screen and grubby marks. – Invest in a good natural cleaner and a microfibre cloth – Improve device longevity – Prevent overheating and performance issues Nothing groundbreaking, just small resets that make day-to-day work a bit smoother. If you’ve got your own go-to habits, we would love to hear them 🤗

It’s out in the world! 🍷 We’ve loved working with the wonderful team at Virgin Wines to bring their app to life. This is just the beginning, and we can’t wait to share more of the story.

We were genuinely delighted to find out this week that Brightec has been shortlisted for Best Team Culture and Best Agency to Work For (Small) at the UK Company Culture Awards 🎉 It’s one of those bits of news that makes you stop for a moment. Not because it feels unexpected, but because it’s quite hard to point to a single thing and say, that’s why. Culture here has never really been about a programme or an initiative. It’s more in the way things tend to unfold day to day. Someone going out of their way to help with something that isn’t technically theirs, just because it needs doing. Wins being noticed and celebrated loudly (over bacon and coffee on a Monday 🙌) People making the time for each other, just because it matters. It’s not something our team really think twice about. It’s just… normal. Andy Ferrett set that tone right at the start of Brightec. A belief that how we work together is as important as the work itself. And it’s something Joshua O'Riordan has carried forward in a very steady, very real way. Not through big statements, but in how he shows up and leads every day. Over time, those standards stick. They get passed on. They become part of the foundations rather than something you have to keep talking about. So this feels like a really special kind of recognition. One that reflects something that’s been built, and looked after, for a long time. Very proud of the team. Thanks so much, Don't Panic Events. See you on the night!