Discover how Something Familiar prioritises mental wellbeing in the workplace during Mental Health Awareness Week. From exciting activities like cold-water swimming and rock climbing to encouraging open conversations, they share their journey towards building a supportive and mentally healthy team.

How are you feeling? Really.

Wellbeing, and particularly mental wellbeing is something that’s come into focus since the pandemic. With people being much more aware of it, supported by things like Mental Health Awareness Week (this year May 15th to 21st), there are now far more conversations and articles about it than ever before. And most positively, there are lots of businesses putting energy into it.

We’re one of those businesses, and perhaps because Something Familiar was formed just before the pandemic, the wellbeing of everyone here has always been something we’ve tracked and worked on. It’s an ongoing focus for us, and we’ve consciously put lots of activities and measures into place to ensure that we can all maintain a healthy mental outlook.

In our previous post, Kris briefly talked about his interest in mental health, and his positive experience doing a mental health first aid course. In this post, we’ll take a look at some of the things we’ve been doing to help maintain our team’s mental wellbeing in the potentially stressful agency environment.

We’re fortunate in that the ‘young’ agency environment has always been a fairly relaxed one. So things that other businesses are introducing to help employees feel better about being in the office, are ideas that we’ve always embraced. Who hasn’t been in agency with a dog or three wandering about (ours is a Romanian rescue dog called Moon)? Been buzzed by someone on a skateboard? Or nodded along to the agency’s playlist?

More exciting than you think!

As great as those things are though, we’ve reached the stage where the approach needs to be considered and evaluated. Which admittedly, doesn’t sound like the most exciting thing in the world. But although it does demand initial focus, the benefits, the activities and the rewards of it all are certainly worth it.

We’re going to talk about some of the things we do, and how they all feed into the wellbeing of all of us here.

But before we do this, we’re sharing in case what we do inspires you to try similar things. This isn’t to highlight how amazing we are, but to show how fairly simple things work really well for us.  The idea is just to start having conversations about mental wellbeing and help to ‘normalise’ it in the workplace.

So what do we actually do?

There are two main strands to our approach. The first is the activities we do (often, but not always together), where the wellbeing element is below the surface. It’s all about bonding, or challenging ourselves and just having/sharing experiences.

So we have cold-water swimming, rock climbing and a running club, but we also have a trip each year (Bruges last year), plenty of casual socials, training and in the summer months we have shorter working hours so everyone has more time to do these kinds of things.

The whole team is encouraged to get out of its comfort zone so none of us feels in a rut. If someone loves hitting the half pipe on their BMX, or risking their vitals with Taekwondo, then we don’t want to get in their way. Literally or metaphorically. Why? Because that’s what makes them feel good.

Talking it out

The second strand is more formal (but not entirely, as you’ll see), but it wouldn’t work without the looser activities above. By ‘formal’, we simply mean that we’re addressing mental wellbeing directly. Everything here relies on people being comfortable enough to truthfully talk about how they’re feeling, and to open up to others. And that’s exactly why the activities we do are important – they build those bonds of friendship and trust that open the doors to the kind of conversations which could make somebody feel vulnerable in front of others.

These take many forms, and have evolved over the time we’ve been working on this. For example, for a long time we’d been having a beer of the month – just a simple sit-down beer once a month to talk about the projects we’d been working on. It then became more focused, with ‘thank yous’, encouraging the team to talk about people who’d made the work possible. It then evolved further to include feedback and to actively reflect on projects; the good, the bad and yes, the ugly too. It can be awkward of course, especially at first, but now everyone realises why we’re doing it.

We also make it a priority to ask people how they’re feeling, but with the aim of actually finding out! If someone asks, we need to answer truthfully, and out of 10! If someone’s feeling low, or angry, we want to know so we can leave them alone, make them a cup of tea, or give them whatever support they need.

This kind of thing doesn’t work unless people are willing to tell the truth, and we have a culture here in which everyone feels comfortable enough to do that. We all understand that it’s not prying, it’s looking out for each other. That’s actually one of the best things that can come out of this higher level of awareness: recognising the signs in others (and yourself) and not being afraid to flag them up.

Getting started…

There’s no denying, it can be a leap to go from saying ‘good morning’ to someone to asking them how they feel, how they really feel, and it can’t be done overnight. But it’s important that we’re all on that journey. For anyone looking to start the process, we created a Wellbeing Workshop for Miro which will give you a framework to talk about wellbeing, and help you to put a plan of action together with the rest of your team. It’s a good first step, and ignoring the fact that we created it, it’s a great starting point if you’re looking to develop your business’ wellbeing plan.

Another great source of info on wellbeing is mind.org.uk, which gave us a lot of insight when we were building the workshop.

…and keeping going

One thing to note is that the things we need to remain happily mindful change over time, so our support should continually evolve. What worked last year may not be as effective this year. We’re always looking to bring in new ideas to keep those conversations going, whether they are silly social events like a charity-shop tracksuit-a-thon (which we’re seriously considering, see below), to different ways to share the mental tools we’ve all developed, such as our workshop.


And that could be where you come in. We’ve mentioned getting out of our comfort zones, and we’re looking for something new this summer. We’ve shortlisted some ideas, and are committed to doing the one that gets the most votes. So just take a second to head to LinkedIn and click on the one you think we should be doing. Whichever one we end up doing, the experience will benefit us… even if it isn’t at the time! If you have an idea you think we should be considering, then please let us know and we’ll add it to the poll.

Personalization is the zenith of modern marketing, delivering us all better customer experiences, higher conversion rates and increased loyalty. Or is it?

It’s true that by leveraging data and technology, brands can create tailored experiences that make customers feel seen, heard and valued. However, as with any buzzword, there is a danger of overusing and misusing personalization, leading to consumer fatigue and even backlash.

This is why relevancy should be the primary focus of zero- and first-party data marketing, rather than generic personalization.

More than a name at the top of an email

Using personalization has been the most often pitched tactic at every customer relationship management (CRM) conference and pitch I’ve ever heard. But what do people mean by it? Is it personalized to repeat back to someone what they’ve already shared – even when no additional thought has been put into it? I’ve got loads of emails or letters addressed to ‘Mr.’ or saying things like ‘Hey R, don’t miss out on…’. My name is not even included, and, honestly, even if they had gotten it right, does a company I bought a hairbrush from two years ago need to be on a first-name basis with me?

To the average user, personalization has become synonymous with the ever-present third-party cookie, which feels like an invitation to follow me around the internet trying to sell me a sofa I idly glanced at on my lunch break. This blunt tool means people often respond negatively to the idea of personalized digital experiences. Being regularly encouraged to do something that one doesn’t want to do can be so jarring that it will stop people from letting a brand interact with them. This isn’t just part of my campaign to force a ‘reject all’ option on all cookie pop-ups. But seriously, stop making users untick 30 boxes.

Relevancy, on the other hand, is about ensuring a marketing message or experience is useful, valuable and meaningful to the consumer. It’s looking deeper into who customers really are – not just assessing a one-dimensional scrape of their data.

Relevancy is what is useful to the individual

Working in a world of data-led marketing is a privilege. People have given us their trust, but we have to earn the right to keep that trust and keep using that data.

Relevancy builds trust, loyalty and advocacy. When a brand shows that it understands the consumer’s context, intent and value proposition, it can create a positive emotional connection that goes beyond transactional relationships.

A great example to illustrate what I’m talking about here is film trailers. Film trailers shown in theaters sometimes only go as far as to suggest films in the same genre as the ones being shown in the theater at present. But maybe a film would interest a given consumer because of a specific actor – or maybe the consumer likes comedy more than big explosions. But trailers aren’t necessarily tailored to these nuances and preferences. A truly relevant film trailer would tell consumers why they should go see the movie, tell them what time it‘s on at the local theater and then give them an offer to use on the days they might regularly go.

My much wiser friend helped me understand this principle a few years ago by talking about the purchasing cycle of something like skin cream. A personalized journey would entail reacting to someone’s purchase by telling them all about what they’d bought, making recommendations based on what other people who bought that cream bought next and hitting them with friendly nudges to repurchase. It would probably be somewhat successful. But it’s not actually interested in who that customer is or why they bought the product. What if they were trying it for the first time? What if they bought it as a gift? That journey wouldn’t maximize or entice some of those consumers; in fact, it might put them off.

Even the consumers for whom such a campaign was mostly spot-on aren’t getting any sense of real relevance; people are much savvier now. They understand that a digital transaction of any kind has implications beyond the purchase. One of my favorite tweets of the last few years saw a user poking fun at Amazon for re-targeting them for something they surely don‘t need more of – like an air conditioning unit.

What does this mean in real terms? It means looking at more of the inputs a customer provides through their behavior. What are they browsing? What does their purchase history look like beyond the last action they took? When are they likely to purchase (either in a day or as a frequency)?

But – and here’s an option that‘s too often overlooked – a brand can ask its customers specific questions. And – get this – they will probably tell you. People love being excited about the things they like. And they want more of them. And they like being seen as experts.

It’d be lazy not to (if the right tech is on hand)

Advances in marketing technology mean it’s easier than ever before to apply these extra dimensions to a brand‘s communication approach. Tools like Braze make it easy to use data-driven, multi-channel insights to create messages that are relevant and timely, leading to higher levels of engagement and better customer experiences. With the ability to track customer behavior in real-time, across web, app, email and more, businesses can quickly identify trends and patterns that can be used to create personalized messaging.

Providing personalized experiences to customers has become essential for building brand loyalty and driving growth. However, many businesses struggle to deliver relevancy in their CRM efforts, which can lead to disengaged customers and lost revenue. Ultimately, customers won’t feel like their privacy is invaded if a brand is providing real value – and that happens through relevancy.

The article was first published on The Drum, 15 May 2023

Written by Rob Pellow, Executive Technical Director

Ocean Spray tasked us with creating a disruptive campaign that would boost brand relevance with a broader target audience. We wanted to stand out and try something different!

Our research showed that while the brand had high prompted awareness, it suffered from low purchase consideration. To change this, we decided to take a surprising and unexpected approach by creating a weird and wonderful attention-seeking campaign that breaks away from what people typically associate with Ocean Spray.

Our perspective was that we’re all a bit bored of social media beauty influencers pushing all kinds of products and routines on us.  We felt that Ocean Spray buyers would certainly relate to this.

FOR GOODNESS SAKE, JUST DRINK IT!

Why bother with all that craziness when you can just drink Ocean Spray?  That’s the message we’re sending out in a completely different way.  We enlisted the skills of a brilliant actor to help create a series of influencer-style films that demonstrate to people that they don’t need all that nonsense to stay healthy. Just drink the juice!

We believe that the campaign connects with consumers on an emotional level by featuring a relatable character trying her best at being an influencer, tapping into the desire many people have to be a social media star.

To optimise our reach and engagement, we decided to push the creative on TikTok and Instagram where algorithms will help to amplify the campaign’s reach and make it more likely to be seen by a wider audience.

Overall, we think this campaign is a winner. It’s creative, interesting, and emotionally resonates with viewers. It’s not your normal ad, but that’s what makes it unique. So grab a glass of Ocean Spray and let’s get disruptive!

Credits
Actor: Marina Bye
Director: Ben Mallaby
Production: Dan Hirons
Creative: Jon Knight / Charlotte Davidge / Steve Allsopp
Account Management: Katie Cutts

Originally posted to: www.carnsight.com

Luckily, the “d” word isn’t something we hear a lot. But if it’s something you’re feeling after a PR push, whether it’s one you’ve done in house or worked on with a PR consultancy, it’s really important to look at why it missed the mark. If you’re disappointed in your PR results, and campaigns are leaving you underwhelmed, here’s why that might be, and how it can be avoided in future.

What were your expectations?

You shouldn’t ever be eagerly anticipating coverage in The Economist if your story was only ever destined for a local news portal. That’s not to be disparaging – both publications have their place and both are important in reaching certain audiences. The point is, you should be given an indication of where coverage is possible (and where it isn’t) before the pitch. This conversation can even start when you first start discussing the PR campaign.

No one has a crystal ball, and you could get very lucky or less so. But a good PR agency should have targets in mind when they’re crafting content, and they should be able to share and agree those with you.

Art not science

Building on the point above, PR is an art, not a science. We’ve had BBC filming lined up only for the news to throw us completely off track and for a crew to abandon a shoot to cover a breaking story. Likewise, we’ve had small stories being picked up nationally because they happened to hit the spot and be just what an editor was looking for at that moment.

This is the world of PR! Ensure any PR team you’re working with keeps you abreast of what’s happening at each stage. They can’t control some of it, but they can and should give you as much information as they know at each stage.

Did you understand the journey?

We work with a range of clients who have never done PR before, or have had limited experience. That’s fine, and we can take most of it off their hands. But we do explain what we’re doing at each stage, what’s needed and how long things are likely to take.

If you were expecting something to land that didn’t – did you get given the full picture? Did you understand what was happening, and when? You don’t need to be a PR expert but some knowledge of the process helps to put things in context, in our experience.

Coverage is never guaranteed

We’ve talked about why we never guaranteed coverage in a dedicated piece, but in essence, no one can truly guarantee coverage in a publication, unless that’s a paid-for spot, such as an advertorial.

If you’ve been guaranteed coverage that doesn’t appear, it’s definitely worth asking more about it, and how (and why) it was guaranteed in the first place.

This mindset shift is a helpful step away from feeling disappointed in your PR results, and big a step towards getting it right next time.

Are you targeting the right audience?

If coverage appeared but didn’t hit the right audience – are you sure it was designed to target them in the first place? Some publications are great to appear in from a profile point of view. But some are more likely to hit your objectives than others. Ensure you’re always clear who’s being targeted and why that’s the right target audience for your objectives. Start with the end – what do you want those people reading the coverage to do? And then work back from that.

For us, it’s paramount that everyone understands what’s achievable, what could make the news (and where) and that no one is underwhelmed. We do put a lot of groundwork into explaining what we’re doing, we are responsive, honest and transparent and we partner with clients. That’s what gets the best results for everyone.

Bristol-based web design and branding agency, Squarebird, have modernised the online presence of GLOBIS University, a leading business school in Japan, to better appeal to international audiences.

Combining Functionality with Creativity.

With practicality, entrepreneurship, and a strong global network at the core of the GLOBIS offering, it was crucial that the new website reflected these strengths alongside the wider benefits of joining University. Following a period of extensive market and user research by the GLOBIS team, Squarebird was briefed, and the discovery phase of the project began, starting with functionality, sitemap, and user journeys before moving onto the creatives.

The new English-speaking GLOBIS website needed to align with the global brand and Japanese-speaking site, yet still have its own identity. To encapsulate this, the team designed a number of brand exploration style tiles to ensure all stakeholders were aligned on the overall look and feel before moving on to the more functional desktop and mobile page designs.

Driving Impact Through Leadership.

With designs approved, the website development began. The Squarebird team worked closely with GLOBIS stakeholders to ensure the functionality matched their requirements, feeding courses, faculty members, events and more throughout the site to provide users with a constant stream of information and networking opportunities. Bespoke landing pages were an incredibly imperative element in this project given GLOBIS’ extensive marketing campaigns, and a flexible template enables GLOBIS to be able to create bespoke pages for future campaigns, with tracking established to record performance.

‘’The design brief was to include current brand styles and functionality but with a modern edge. The Squarebird design team had to adhere to GLOBIS’ brand colours and graphic shapes but incorporate new typography, photography, iconography and new forward-thinking UI. Working closely with GLOBIS throughout the design stage, the project team were able to produce a new website design that delivered the creative brief and more.’’ Alec Herrington, Design Lead at Squarebird

We’re extremely proud of our work with GLOBIS University. For me, the success of a website development project that involves international collaboration is not just measured by the end product, but by two teams working seamlessly in unison towards a shared objective from different corners of the world.

A large part of the project was to ensure we empowered the GLOBIS team with the ability to effortlessly update and manage their website, ensuring the project’s long-term success and value. I feel we achieved this, and more, building a website filled with client-centric functionality. 

The GLOBIS team were a pleasure to work with, and we look forward to future projects with the organisation.” Nick Bird, Managing Partner at Squarebird

An Ecosystem of People, Capital and Knowledge.

The new website provides a present, informative, and visually engaging website that embodies the GLOBIS difference and presents their offering to talented international prospective students, giving them an insight into what life could look like at the GLOBIS business school.

“Before partnering with Squarebird, our University’s website faced challenges like limited organic traffic, outdated design, and unintuitive user experience. After evaluating over 20 agencies worldwide, we chose Squarebird for their expertise in design, development, SEO strategy, and excellent communication style. The outcome of our 9-month collaboration was a revamped website with enhanced UX/UI, compelling brand messaging, fresh visuals, and improved information architecture. The new site has attracted positive feedback from stakeholders and successfully showcases our brand values and personality. We’re proud of the results and highly recommend Squarebird’s high-quality services to others seeking an impactful web transformation.” Cristiana Celli, Digital Marketing Specialist at GLOBIS University

View the full case study here

B2B and corporate PR and communications specialists, AMBITIOUS PR is celebrating the second year of achieving 50% year-on-year revenue growth.

Now, the agency is setting its sights on £1.65million revenue in 2023, securing its position as one of the largest independent PR agencies in the South West.

The agency’s expansion over the last year came from new retained clients including Acorn Property Group, Albert Goodman, BGF, Lifetime, Neighbourly and Truespeed. Growth also came from the agency’s existing client base expanding their remit.

To drive forward further development, AMBITIOUS is investing in marketing technology to deepen the insight they can provide to clients through data and analysis.

The agency will also be launching a dedicated digital PR offering and an end-to-end content strategy, creation, and marketing service.

Based on client demand for international PR support, AMBITIOUS has joined the IPRN (International Public Relations Network) – the international network for independent agencies. This will provide clients with access to a global network of PR agencies as well as driving new business and international knowledge transfer.

In the last year, AMBITIOUS owners Lis Anderson and Sarah Woodhouse have promoted four team members and have now created four new positions which will represent a 22 per cent growth in headcount, taking the agency to a 22-strong team.

Sandra Hodgson has been promoted to Finance Director, Joe Wright to Strategy Lead, Katy Barney to ESGLead and Joanne Wilson to Office Manager.

AMBITIOUS is now hiring for an associate director, senior PR consultant, PR executive, and bookkeeper. Working with UWE Bristol and The Strive Internship Programme, the agency is also committed to a comprehensive internship programme to support entry level talent.

The agency, which has experienced no staff attrition in the past three years, has invested in a competitive benefits package designed in consultation with employees and created to be industry leading.

Lis Anderson, Founder & Director, AMBITIOUS said: “Our growth has been fuelled by investing back in the business – investing in our employees through personal coaching and development, through our competitive salary and benefits package, through new hires, new software and new technology to constantly develop and move our business forward.”

Sarah Woodhouse, Director, AMBITIOUS said “Many of our recent new business wins have come from large companies based in the South West or companies with a regional office here, procuring the national, regional and sector PR and communications support they need on their doorstep.”

AMBITIOUS focuses on b2b and corporate PR in core sectors including technology, ESG, property and placemaking, professional services, financial services, education and skills, healthcare, and the public sector.

Core services include strategic planning and communications, media relations, digital PR, press office management, thought leadership campaigns, issues and crisis management, stakeholder mapping and engagement, employer brand communications and media training. Content services include content strategy, creation, and marketing.

Female-founded, owned, and run, AMBITIOUS celebrated its first decade in business in 2022.

Interested in working for or with AMBITIOUS? Please email Sarah or Lis at [email protected]

Siri Thomas is a project manager at Armadillo. Previously, Siri’s focus was TV journalism where she produced, wrote and reported for ITV News. She then pivoted to a marketing career at ethical travel company Canopy & Stars before moving to Armadillo to work on the McDonald’s account. Siri now manages some of our biggest campaigns, including the recent launch of Winning Sips – a new Monopoly-style promotion.

In her spare time, Siri enjoys all things second hand and thrifting. At weekends you’ll find her searching out the newest charity shops, vintage pop ups and coffee shops, or at a car boot sale somewhere in the South West. She loves clothes, interiors, music, the sea, and visiting European cities. 

Lifestyle

o Place of birth: Cornwall

o Hometown: A little fishing village on the South Coast of Cornwall

o Staycation: Camping in Cornwall or Glamping in Wales

o Vacation: I’m a sucker for a European city break – Bordeaux or Berlin are up there. Or snowboarding in the Alps

o Pet: Kooper the Tortoise

o Place of work: Armadillo in Bristol

o Place of workout: Jiu Jitsu in Bristol

o Side project: Reselling vintage homeware

o Mode of transport: (much to my dismay and despite having a car) Bus

o Bonus travel essential: SPF everyday

Culture

o Artist: Studio Lenca

o Musician: Current: Little Simz. OG: Prince. Always: Aretha Franklin

o Film director: Richard Curtis

o Photographer: My aunty – Sarah Falugo

o Film: About Time

o Series: Peaky Blinders

o Commercial: One that will always stand out is the Skoda Fabia cake advert – the concept and music are perfect

o Music video: Prince – Kiss

o Board game: I’m more of a tabletop gamer than video gamer – my current fave board game is Wingspan but I’m also a sucker for Monopoly Deal (iykyk)

o Book: SO HARD to answer – I’m a bit of a bibliophile so I have to list my top 5: A Little Life (still recovering) – Educated (wow) – Seven Husbands of Evelyn Huge (so fun) – The Nightingale (so emotional and powerful) –  Time Travellers Wife (love it)

o Podcast: You’re Wrong About

o Newspaper (off or online): The Washington Post

o Magazine: The World of Interiors

o Bonus culture essential: I’ve actually presented my own podcast episode for ‘A Life More Wild’ where I chat to George Clarke about utopian towns and secret projects

Food and Drink

o Breakfast: Eggs, avo and comte on toast

o Restaurant: Bulrush in Bristol

o Cheap bite: McDonald’s

o Working lunch: Usually leftovers or if not – a burrito from St Nicks Markets

o Favourite dish: Sushi

o Signature dish: Goats cheese and sweet potato lasagne

o Snack: Hot cross buns

o Bar: Cotto in Bristol – great 0% options and my best friend is often working so I get a good chin wag

o Booze: I’m a sober gal so no booze

o Not booze: Clear Head 0% beer or a 0% Aperol Spritz

o Bonus food: Pain au chocolat

o Bonus beverage: Elderflower cordial and fizzy water

Kit

o Phone: iPhone

o Computer: Macbook

o TV: No idea but it’s just a big one that my boyfriend had

o Headphones: Sony over the ears or Airpods

o Camera: iPhone or a 35mm Pentax from my photographer aunt

o Soundsystem: My boyfriend is an avid vinyl DJ so I’m spoilt for choice in this department

o Pen / pencil: Not fussy

o Where you document an idea: I write down everything and have kept a diary since I was eight

o Casual clothing: Every day is a day to dress up in my view – I am an avid second-hand shopper so all of my outfits are pre loved

o Smart clothing: I’m a sucker for a good pink suit

o Footwear: Either my Salomons, Wallabees or velvet Mary Janes

o Watch: Some £8 charity shop one

o Collection: I collect jugs – ideally vintage and am obsessed with car boot sales

o App: Vinted and Duolingo

o Website: eBay

o Favourite social media feed: TikTok

o Work programme: Google everything

o Digital work tool: Smartsheet

o Analogue work tool: My Project Management notepad

o Morning grooming / makeup essential: Le Labo perfume and SPF

o Bonus kit essential: I am never more than a metre away from a lip balm and hand cream

 

Article originally published on Little Black Book on 21/04/23

Independent brand consultancy, Mr B & Friends, has continued its run of recruitment with four new people in the Client Services team. The new additions will enable the team to be better structured for the continuing growth of the agency with more breadth across client accounts.

Maiara Fernandes has joined as Senior Account Manager. Maiara started her career working for a BTL agency in Brazil before moving to the UK. For the last six years she’s worked at an integrated agency, primarily on public sector accounts across a wide range of campaigns from internal comms to social activity. Maiara will be teaming up with Senior Account Director, Andy Kaye. Outside of work she’s kept busy by her bouncy Springer puppy and enjoying the great outdoors.

Hannah Reed has also joined as a Senior Account Manager, working alongside Senior Account Director, Joe Baptiste, for clients including The LEGO Group and Principality Building Society. Hannah has wide ranging experience from integrated comms to in-store to employer branding for global FMCG brands, including Wilkinson Sword, Ocean Spray and Spontex. As well as enjoying the pace of agency life, Hannah competes in Motorsport events on circuits around the UK, clocking up two championship titles among her achievements.

New Account Manager, Emmy Mitchell, joins us from ForrestBrown, where she worked in the marketing and then partnerships teams. With a host of transferrable skills, the team will benefit from Emmy’s client-side experience, as well as her understanding of the psychology of advertising. Emmy will work closely with Andy and Maiara on accounts including IHG and Plaidis. Away from work, Emmy has been making the most of post-Covid travel with trips to Thailand, Porto and Vietnam. With a passion for fitness, Emmy has already signed up to take on the Mighty Macmillan Hike with the Mr B & Friends team later this year.

Last but not least, Sunniegh Baker has joined as Senior Account Executive. Sunniegh impressed us while she was working client side and, when her role there came to an end, she was snapped up to work at the agency. She’s skilled at collaborating and keeping people organised, and is keen to be more involved in the process of ideation. Sunniegh will be working with Account Director, Liv Cox. With bags of positivity and a flair for fashion, Sunniegh has already slotted into the team perfectly.

Managing Partner, Ellie Wilson, says, “To enable us to deliver our company vision, which is centred around being the most valuable creative partner to our clients around the world, restructuring and strengthening our Client Services team was a key strategic move. I’m delighted to welcome these four bright and ambitious individuals to our Client Services team, their appointments will ensure that we continue to build and nurture strong partnerships with our clients whilst also delivering against our ambitious growth plans.”

Istoria Group has today revealed the winner of its inaugural Micro Business Incubator Hub CompetitionSelf Agency, which was founded by Devon Lowndes with the aim of improving the lives of neurodivergent people in the Bristol area.

The idea behind the competition, launched in March 2023 on International Women’s Day, was to find a women-led micro business in the Bristol region to support by offering free office space over a six-month period at Istoria Group’s Paintworks offices; mentoring from the creative business group’s leadership team in business, financial management, PR and marketing, along with a raft of creative services, including a brand review by the group’s design agency Phoenix Wharf and a website build by its digital transformation experts Tiny Spark.

The competition was also supported by local organisations Babbasa and Black South West Network, ensuring news of the competition would reach groups who have traditionally been under-represented in business, whether because of class, gender, ethnicity, age or a participation-limiting condition.

We received a fantastic set of entries’, Sam Rowe, CEO of Istoria Group commented ‘and were inspired by the number of amazing women out there fighting for social progress and to diminish inequality. We picked four finalists, all of whom were highly deserving, but in the end it was Devon Lowndes who stood out because of the clarity of her vision, her commitment and ambition. I am quite sure that as well as helping Devon move forward, we will also learn a great deal ourselves in the process, with that knowledge also going on to benefit our agencies and our work across the board.’

‘I’m absolutely thrilled to have won’ Devon Lowndes commented, ‘especially having met the other great finalists at the announcement ceremony! For me, one of the best things about Istoria Group’s Incubator Hub programme is how accessible it was to apply for as a person with ADHD. I could tell at once it was a friendly and accessible organisation with a really open outlook. I know it’ll be an environment that offers trust and flexibility, as well as creative and business expertise. I can’t wait to be part of it!’

The competition was judged by:

Cecilia Thirlway, Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Bristol   

Matt Rogers, Head of Development at Babbasa      

Istoria Group CEO Sam Rowe and Istoria Group Chief Marketing Officer Lindie Kramers.

 

The four finalist companies and initiatives were:

Better Together (Online Safety)

Better Together’s Founder Angela Loveridge helps parents keep children safe online by signposting them towards practical tools, techniques and resources, facilitating safe spaces for those awkward safety conversations and coaching parents so they are empowered to respond, not react, in a way that will keep channels of communication open and permit constructive conversations. Angela’s innovation is to recognise that people have very different parenting styles, meaning safety guidelines need to be approached without judgment and aligned with the unique needs of their child or children.
https://btogether.org.uk/

Bristol Achieve

Bristol Achieve, founded by Hetty Brown, recognises that one of the biggest problems facing British schools is the gap between rich and poor and its subsequent effects on educational attainment and social mobility. This action-based business aims to increase the educational attainment and life opportunities of young adults with academic potential, so that they thrive in whichever life path they choose. Hetty and her team’s innovation is to promote peer mentoring and focus on essential life skills, as well as encouraging reading for pleasure, proven to improve academic achievement.
https://bristolachieve.com/

Sassy Sisters Studio

Nicoleta Moldovan and Begumhan Girgin of Sassy Sisters Studio have founded a new creative agency offering graphic design services, advertising and marketing, motion graphics, packaging design, publications and typographic design. They are two hardworking women/mothers with diverse creative backgrounds, who switched careers, went back to university, and completed their education in order to follow their vision. At their studio, they produce meaningful designs for businesses, charities, and non-profits while prioritising sustainability and women’s empowerment.
http://www.sassysistersstudio.com/

Self Agency

Self Agency was founded by Devon Lowndes to improve the lives of neurodivergent people in the Bristol area. The CIC-registered (Community Interest Company) agency offers organisational neurodiversity cultural development and neurodivergent community building. Devon is on a mission to educate people about neurodiversity and to further her vision of everyone embracing every mind equally and realising the positive impact an all-inclusive environment can have on individuals, communities and businesses. Devon advises organisations on best practice and is working with Bristol City Council as their sole neurodiversity champion. Her vision is to make Bristol THE neurodiversity city in the UK.
https://www.self-agency.org/

World-renowned, Bristol-based product development consultancy Kinneir Dufort are proud to be running the Ethnic Diversity Excellence Programme (EDE) for a third year running.

To tackle the visible lack of diversity within the UK design industry, Kinneir Dufort’s EDE Programme offers an opportunity for three students from minority ethnic and heritage communities entering their third year of university to take part in a funded 8-week internship. 

Supported by an industry-wide EDE Council, with distinguished council members of minoritised ethnic backgrounds from AstraZenecaLettUs GrowNo7 CompanyFluoretiQ, Unilever and Reckitt, the programme offers three students in their final year an immersive opportunity to learn and develop within an industry environment. The successful applicants will also take part in school outreach programmes to help increase awareness of the design sector to help boost diversity in future generations of designers.

Along with 8 weeks of hands-on experience, mentoring and advice, the individuals will receive a £2,000 sponsorship along with £1,000 travel and accommodation expenses. This opportunity is open to all universities in the UK.

The driving force behind the programme, Sunny Panesar, Head of Portfolio Management at KD, is driven by the lack of ethnic diversity in the product development industry, and the need for change. Sunny says: “Having often been the only person of colour in the room throughout my career, the lack of ethnic diversity is striking, if we’re truly going to design a better world, we need to reflect the people we’re designing for.

“I understand how important it is for ethnic minority students to have this opportunity, firstly to make them aware of this incredible industry as a career option and then to help them overcome complex systemic barriers holding them back when trying to break into industry. Our goal is to level-up and give minoritised ethnic students an equal playing field. We want to offer interns a high-quality experience which is immersive and potentially life-changing; they will learn and develop within an exciting and unique environment with external mentoring from industry experts.

“The last two years have been a resounding success for KD, we have taken on full-time employees from the scheme and have a seen a vast improvement in all areas of diversity throughout the team. This year, we’re excited to launch the programme again and encourage students from around the UK to watch our webinar and submit their applications.”

Kinneir Dufort believe that they, and the wider innovation, design and product development industry need to do more to mirror the diversity of who we are designing for within the UK, and beyond.

Learn more about the application criteria, how to apply and the deadline here. If you would still like to learn more and see if this programme is for you, you can watch our recorded live Q&A with our EDE Council.