If you’re thinking of joining, or simply need a reminder on how to make the most of your membership, we’ve created this guide to highlight the benefits of joining our community of creative sector individuals and businesses in Bristol and the South West. So, read on for 9 reasons to join, or stay put…
Won a top award? Published a brilliant thought leadership piece about creativity or innovation? Launched a new showreel and want to get the news out there? We want to hear about it! Members can self-publish content on the Newsfeed as much and as often as they like, and if it’s really good, we might even share it with our 31.8k twitter followers, or publish it in our newsletter.
Our jobs board is the go-to platform for creative industry jobs in the region. Last year, over 750 creative sector jobs were advertised by our members, who can take advantage of unlimited advertising for absolutely no cost. If you need proof that it works, our member JonesMillbank recruited ALL of their team through adverts on the Jobs board!
You may have been to a Vision keynote event before where we invite a world-class speaker to Bristol to share knowledge and insight around current hot topics. Members receive preferential rates, saving anywhere between 30-60% of a non-member ticket. Plus, we’ve recently introduced an offer where freelancers can take advantage of Vision keynote tickets for £10. We provide a networking lunch before each talk, so it’s a great opportunity to get to know fellow creative industry professionals or catch up with old contacts over a buffet lunch. Visit the Events page for more.
Are you looking to promote your business? Partner with a local agency? Want to bag your next freelance gig? Our online member directory allows you to create an individual member profile with contact details and the ability to showcase your latest work. Make sure you keep your profile updated as we regularly point businesses to the directory who are looking for agencies and freelance resource.
If you’re hosting a local event, head over to the Events page, submit the form and we’ll publish your event in the calendar. Just make sure it’s relative to a creative sector audience and is within the South West and you’re good to go.
We work with local businesses to ensure members get the best deals possible for everything from free legal advice to restaurant discounts, coffee subscriptions to team away-days. Our mobile membership cards allow you to claim these exclusive deals and discounts, plus they are available for your whole team! Lunch at The Florist then? Check out the full list of member perks.
We’re firm believers in training and professional development. How else will you develop the skills of your team or attract and retain top talent? We bring the knowledge to our members through a series of intimate workshops and skills sessions, so you can benefit from high-quality training at a competitive price. Check out the latest workshops here.
If you remember the Bristol Media barometer – a valuable tool providing insight into the local creative sector – then good news. We’re teaming up with a partner to create a bespoke report to benchmark business performance, and explore the trends, insights, opportunities and threats facing creative agencies in Bristol & Bath. More info coming soon, so watch this space!
Last, but certainly not least. Collaboration is at the heart of what we do at Bristol Media. We believe that Bristol is one of the most creative and innovative cities out there and it’s achieved this status by organisations and individuals working together. We champion our members in the creative sector and encourage collaborations as much as possible, so keep us posted on your blossoming partnerships.
Collectively, we’re greater than the sum of our parts
Our mission is to put our region on the map as a world-leading centre of creativity and innovation, so that we inspire talented people to work here, attract customers and drive growth. Being localised to Bristol means we can be the eyes and ears on the ground, but we can’t do it without our members. So, if you’ve yet to become part of our community and would like to take advantage of the above, and more, join Bristol Creative Industries today.
With homelessness at crisis levels in the UK, Hurricane is proud to have partnered with Shelter on a successful Christmas fund-raising campaign.
The leading Bristol-based video agency was called on to develop a video campaign to support Shelter’s static digital marketing push. As part of the bespoke video strategy, both branded content and video ads were combined to encourage action. The stories of the films drew on compelling, personal narratives with an emotive story arc.
Back to a Good Place
‘Back to a Good Place’, keys into evocative, childhood memories of Christmas past. The content shares moving stories that demonstrate how Shelter helps people to get ‘the only thing they want this Christmas – a home’. The films were seeded via YouTube pre-rolls, programmatic ads, and paid social to drive direct donations to Shelter.
Watch Rhys’ story below:
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The campaign proved to be highly effective for Shelter; the video ad featuring Rhys has generated 1,452 donations and counting.
Brand content
As part of its broader video strategy, Hurricane also developed branded content. With a story that focuses on Shelter client, Missie Biellie Dee, who joins a choir to record a charity Christmas single for Shelter. Again, the film takes viewers on an emotional journey where the equilibrium is disrupted only to be resolved at the end by the charity.
Watch the film here:
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You can read more about this campaign on Hurricane’s blog.
This work for Shelter is one of Hurricane’s many video marketing campaigns for not-for-profits and UN organisations, including UN Women, IUCN, Earthwatch and UNEP. Explore the agency’s portfolio here.
We are living in a visual world. It’s been estimated that each of us see thousands of images every day, the vast majority of them adverts.
But that’s nothing to the number of images uploaded to the internet every day – that has been estimated at 3.2m. Every single day.
Creating imagery and video that is genuinely engaging without generating huge costs to the individual or brand is now big business, and one company is emerging as the market leader: Splento.
Operating in over 263 cities in the world, Splento offers a unique blend of easy access to photographers and easy access for photographers through an app, 48 hour maximum turnaround (with editing), facial recognition, and customer service that goes far beyond what most companies would consider expected. Living in a visual world is changing the priorities of industries, and Splento is delivering that solution.
But take a peek behind the curtain and you’ll discover, as we did, that Splento does things a little differently. The CEO, Roman, actually walks the walk, living out the challenges he gives himself in his blogs. The company frequently writes unique code for clients when requests come in, to ensure the best experience.
It’s why we love working with Roman, and the Splento team. Whether it’s hosting Movember raises or running marathons dressed as a camera (no, really), Splento are telling a new story with a camera.
Find out more about Splento here. Find out how we’re working with them here.
Combining insights from experts and newly-employed young people with 1:1 advice, this Bristol Media session helps you plot you pathway into the booming creative industry.
The creative & tech (CreaTech) industries offer a great career in an expanding market, with Bristol as a key centre in the UK. But which opportunities are right for you? What experience, interests, ambitions and qualifications do you need to land your first role? And what’s it like in the first years?
This session brings together local industry experts – Nick Dean and his team from ADLIB, Lis Anderson from AMBITIOUS PR, Sue Soni from BBC Bristol, and Neil Sims from Oakwood Media Group, along with some of their new employees – to provide an insight into the growth areas, people skills and employment potential across the whole range of local industry, from graphic artists to CRM Campaign Managers.
We’ll de-mystify the roles advertised on Bristol Media’s South West Creative Jobs website (what is a “middleweight back-end developer?”), highlight the opportunities to aim for, and what your pathway might look like.
After each insight talk, there will be the opportunity for some 1:1 advice from the team at Adlib specific to your ambitions, whether they are in PR, creative production, or creative technology and on how to work as a freelancer from ScreenSkills.
So, whether you want to work in the industry, train or advise young people on careers, or have skills you want to transfer, this session is for you!
This session is free and open to all ages, although we particularly encourage people aged between 16-25 to sign up. Please register via eventbrite.
At OggaDoon, we know and recognise the importance of trees. Here are some of the reasons why:
1. On average, one tree produces nearly 260 pounds of oxygen each year. Two mature trees can provide enough oxygen for a family of four.
2. A tree can absorb as much as 48 pounds of carbon dioxide per year and can sequester 1 ton of carbon dioxide by the time it reaches 40 years old.
3. They provide the basic materials for food and shelter.
4. Forest bathing also provides a balance for wellbeing and mental and emotional health.
Environmental protection is part of our OggaDoon culture DNA, so it was a no brainer to reward the hard-working, exceptional team at the helm through participating in Bristol’s One Tree Per Employee (OTPE) scheme – and we have had a truly magnificent year. Part of Forest of Avon Trust’s programme, OTPE aims to plant 250,000 trees in the city by 2030. Bristol is already known for its green spaces and has the highest parkland coverage per capita in any UK city. Trees have a fundamental yet simple role in cutting emissions, minimising pollution and providing visual joy; they are also relatively cheap to purchase (a ready made sapling is around £1.50) should you wish to go it alone.
Commenting on this, Caroline said:
“It’s arguably the best gift for all employers to give to their teams. Everyone gets something from it and it avoids controversy over beliefs, tastes, inequity, unwanted stuff – everything. But the beauty is that you can make a gift all year round – for birthdays, team achievements, personal endeavours, good day at the office – which you can enjoy all year round.”
To find out how you can get involved, visit Forest of Avon Trust.
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BBC Digital Cities will be returning to Bristol for 2020, with a week-long series of events for the creative industries.
Starting on Saturday 25th January 2020, there will be a full and varied schedule across the week, offering insights and free digital skills training.
See the full schedule on the Digital Cities Bristol homepage.
Partners include BBC Writersroom, BBC Academy and BBC Young Reporter plus digital arts and creative conference, Hello Culture Remix, will be making its debut in the city.
Boomsatsuma will once again be opening up its doors for the “Ask Me Anything” event and Bristol Media’s “How to Get Your Dream Job” will be taking place at the BBC on Whiteladies Road. We the Curious will be running a number of special showings on the Thursday and The Watershed’s Pervasive Media Studio will be hosting a special lunchtime session on the Friday with the BBC’s Makerbox.
On Thursday 30th at The Watershed, there is a fantastic day of events packed full of opportunities for storytellers on all digital platforms – called Screen Futures; If you are looking for funding for your latest film venture, want to know more about writing for social media, animation or commissioning opportunities in audio, are a black film maker wanting to know about opportunities in the city or have a story to tell at TedX in Bristol, then this day is for you. Featuring amongst others Into Film, ScreenSkills, Cables & Camera’s, BBC Writersroom, BFINetwork, New Creatives, Bectu & TedX Bristol, there will be opportunities to find out about schemes, burseries, funding and commissioning opportunities, as well as recent arrivals to the city – Channel 4 who will be talking about their latest apprenticeships and trainee schemes.
Not to be missed out – tech and digital creators will be able to attend UWE’s Global Game Jam & Bristol City Council’s Hackathon over the two weekends, both returning again after successful events last year.
Follow #digicities and @BBCAcademy on Twitter for updates. This page and the Digital Cities homepage are updated regularly so keep checking back for the latest information.
For Information:
Booking open now.
Membership has remained strong with over 560 individuals and organisations from the South-West creative community. We’ve seen many of our members grow and flourish, plus several forming new partnerships and collaborations which we’re delighted to see. We’re excited to welcome new members in 2020 and to continue to grow membership.
Our events are an opportunity for members of the creative community to come together to meet their peers, network and learn from some of the most influential figures in industry.
We’ve hosted a number of world class speakers as part of our Vision Keynote series: We’ve dreamed the impossibility of indifference with Pentagram’s Harry Pearce, got under the skin of why leadership is so difficult with the legendary leadership guru Margaret Heffernan, and discovered how to be joyful at work with Twitter’s EMEA Vice President Bruce Daisley (in partnership with our friends at BIMA).
In November we brought back our famous Portfolio Review Night, this time connecting 15 freelance animators, copywriters, designers, photographers, filmmakers and even a voice over artist, with 15 creative directors from member agencies. It was an exhilarating (and exhausting!) evening at Origin Workspace, with lots of business cards exchanged and a couple of potential contracts, too.
The members lunch remains a firm favourite in the calendar. This year we’ve hosted 9 member lunches where we’ve had the pleasure of meeting over 250 people from member organisations. New for 2019 was the introduction of 3-minute elevator pitches and it’s been brilliant to hear what our members are up to. The pitches have been as entertaining as they have been informative and watching those lightbulb moments when members realise they can collaborate with each other is incredibly rewarding!
It’s important to us to facilitate growth and opportunities in the community, to inspire talented people to work here and encourage business growth. Our member organisations have posted over 670 job roles via South West Creative Jobs, from planners to developers, camera operators to designers, interns to directors, the jobs board remains the go-to site if you’re looking to advertise or secure a creative industry role.
Our workshops have proved to be another effective method to support and upskill local professionals. In January we kicked off with Blair Enns and his critically acclaimed workshop: ‘Mastering the Value Conversation’. An inspiring and practical session where we saw Blair share his expert pricing knowledge with 26 individuals from local businesses.
Throughout the rest of the year we’ve worked with some lovely businesses to hold training and workshops on a variety of subjects, including Copyright in Productions, CV & LinkedIn for Freelancers, how to Supercharge your Instagram, plus How to get the Big Idea with Patrick Collister. Watch out for more of these next year!
We took our second young person to Austin for SXSW as part of the Ben Martin Apprentice Award (BMAA). On returning, our BMAA winner Marissa Lewis-Peart, had the incredible opportunity of 15 paid work placements in local agencies, gaining a wealth of experience in various disciplines within the industry.
The competition to find our SXSW 2020 winner is underway with the successful candidate due to be announced very soon. In the summer of 2020, we plan to repeat the paid placements not only for the winner but also four of the runners up. If your firm would like to get involved, please contact [email protected]
We also bid farewell to our very own Content Apprentice, Izzy Bryant. Izzy has been a fantastic addition to the team, spearheading the Featured Member series where we’ve met some incredible businesses and individuals to find out more about what they do. One of our favourite moments from this series was a quote in response to the question ‘Describe Bristol in 3 words’, to which came the reply “Doing Things Differently”. We felt this perfectly summarised the local ecosystem and the uniquely collaborative nature we’re so proud of in Bristol.
Our City – our annual film competition in collaboration with the Mayor and local partners – has seen a record number of entries this year. As well as the cash prize of £1000, the young finalists have their film screened on Millennium Square, are offered industry work experience and a marketing workshop with Destination Bristol. The judges have been so impressed with the quality and creativity of the entries once again and are now finalising this year’s winner.
We have continued to fly the flag for Bristol within both the Creative Industries Council cluster group and the Creative Industries Federation (CIF) UK Advisory Council. CIF and Creative England (CE) have announced a merger in Spring 2020, and have published a joint Creative Industries Manifesto, which our board director, Paul Appleby, was involved in drafting. This will combine the London-based lobbying power of CIF with the national coverage of England of CE.
Next year, we’re seeing in our 15th year and we’ve got lots in store for the creative community in Bristol, Bath and the region.
It’s been quite a year but there is so much to look forward to in 2020, including a very exciting announcement! Thank you so much to all our loyal members and partners who continue to support us to deliver the great work.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year, from all of us at Bristol Media.
You can stay up to date with news and announcements by signing up to our newsletter here.
Deliveroo’s advert got banned. Do you remember?
The answer for most people is ‘probably not’ – because although it was only two short weeks ago, the hubbub around the election has dominated the news and the story quickly got pushed off the BBC Most Read List (no doubt to Deliveroo’s relief).
It’s worth a read though, because it’s a useful reminder of the way the Advertising Standards Agency looks at the fundamental meaning of adverts, not just the bit in small white writing at the bottom.
Let’s look at the facts: Deliveroo ran an advert which featured a happy family gathered round one of its trademark delivery boxes. A woman dives into the box, foraging for takeaways. Out of the box came a smorgasbord of food from well-known restaurants: KFC, Wagamama, Pizza Express and Burger King.
Now, if you’ve ever used Deliveroo, you’ll spot the immediate problem here. You can’t order all of those things in one delivery. You would have to order each one separately, pay delivery charge on each and they might not all arrive at the same time. But that wasn’t the impression the advert gave, even if it did say ‘separate orders must be made for each restaurant’.
Viewers saw this and weren’t happy – the advert attracted 300 complaints to the ASA who upheld them. It said that the overall impression of the advert was fundamentally misleading about the nature of Deliveroo’s service.
Deliveroo offered to add further, more prominent clarification on top of the existing small print, but the ASA decided that wasn’t enough given the advert portrayed a situation which could never happen in real life using Deliveroo’s service.
Is this the death of small print? No. Clarification is still useful and my advice to clients is usually to include it where a nuance needs more explanation than is provided by the creative.
But what you can’t do is provide clarification which runs contrary to the overall narrative of an advert. It should explain, not contradict the fundamental meaning of your advert.
And although you might think “this is TV, things are different there”, actually the ASA can apply the same logic to social media posts or print advertising and often does. As a marketer, communicator and advertiser, this story is therefore a useful reminder of your responsibilities when it comes to advising clients and creating campaigns.
It’s also a useful reminder that innocent mistakes do happen, even in large advertising campaigns for big brands. I don’t believe Deliveroo had any intention of misleading the viewing public and I’m sure they’ll be thinking about the lessons learnt from this too.
On that note, I’ll leave the last word to their spokeswoman: “For the record, you can’t actually dive into your Deliveroo bag, however hungry you are.”
Annalisa Checchi is a media and technology lawyer at top 100 law firm Foot Anstey. You can get in touch with her via email: [email protected]
In this session, you will get an overview of some of the ‘golden rules’ of marketing, the evidence behind them, and why they’re not restrictive but launchpads for great creativity. It turns out that marketing isn’t always complicated, just hard.
The talk will be followed by a 30-minute Q&A so come prepared with your questions. Book here
The session takes place from 3 – 4.30pm on Tuesday 21st January at Zone, The Brewhouse, Bristol. Tickets are £20+VAT for Bristol Media members and £30+VAT for non-members.
Nick has spent the last 12 years helping brands navigate the choppy waters of creating effective marketing with a rigorous evidence-based approach. He’s won numerous awards including the coveted DMA Grand Prix, judges on several awards panels and has been published in leading journals such as Admap.
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