Bristol Archives | Page 14 of 39 | Bristol Creative Industries

A great way to ensure you’re optimising your website is by running A/B testing (sometimes called split testing) across variants. Before implementing significant updates, you might want to consider running an A/B test to justify your decision making. Netflix leads by example in this area. Unique to every user, they pool together data to produce a final homepage outcome based on behaviour and preferences. Todd Yellin, Vice President of Product at Netflix, confirms that the brand runs 250 A/B tests each year to test the different versions of the design. These tests also consider the ways in which users search for films and programs on the app (Wired, 2018). With a highly detailed level of tracking and various testing in place, Netflix’s success is entirely reliant upon data. Regularly implementing the variations from the results optimises the user experience.

Refresh your content regularly

It’s not uncommon for users to arrive at a website only to be deterred by complex language, over-stimulating features, or a lack of useful information. These websites tend to garner large drop off rates, with marketers left trying to figure out where they slipped up. This nearly always occurs when a website is built without a defined content strategy in place. Markets are ever-changing, and branded websites should reflect this. To stay top of mind, content needs to be relevant, useful, and findable. Marketers need to audit and refresh existing content on an ongoing basis, factoring in current trends and wider business objectives.

Prioritise SEO activity

SEO is often an afterthought when it comes to website builds. This is usually down to the fact that organic search rankings can take time to bear fruit in contrast to paid activity. But with 53.3% of all website traffic acquired through organic search, SEO should be a core consideration during, and after, a website build.Regular SEO activity can elevate your brand and take you to the top of search engines, surpassing your competition. The key to successful performance and conversion of your website is a content strategy that considers a user-friendly experience, with digestible information for both the user as well as search engines. (Search Engine Journal, 2022).

Whilst they are undoubtedly two separate entities, marketers should make sure their SEO and PPC strategies are aligned, and both have high prominence on their marketing agenda and budgets. On average, 5-10% of your revenue should be spent on SEO activity. (Search Engine Land, 2022).

Monitor technical performance

Top performing websites don’t just need to look good, they need to be functional too. Ongoing website maintenance is required to keep your website running. This can be achieved by making sure your website is safe and secure, and that links and tools aren’t broken. It may seem simple but often brands focus on the launch of a new website and forget to check in on performance once it’s live. Some CMS updates can be relatively straight forward, but you’ll benefit from an experienced digital team to manage, monitor and prevent or react to any technical issues your website may encounter.

As a fully integrated agency, we build sites that talk the talk and walk the walk – from design to optimisation. If you’re looking to take your website to the next level, drop us a line today – we’d love to have a chat.

What qualities should an app design company have? For every client, the response is different. It takes dedication, time, and talent to turn your concept into reality. Take into account the following advice to locate the ideal match for your objectives:

A reputable mobile app development company should have an extensive and detailed portfolio that showcases their expertise. You can evaluate a company’s design objectives and execution by looking at its previous projects. You can tell if they are compatible with the goals of your project by carefully analysing their portfolio.

Effective Communication

For any reputable app design company, effective communication techniques are crucial. They should be able to offer insightful commentary and feedback while you should be able to communicate your needs and expectations effectively. A successful partnership requires a relaxed atmosphere and frank communication. Without good communication, the enterprise can face serious difficulties.

References from Clients

In addition to a portfolio, references from clients can shed light on an agency’s work ethics and prior experiences. Examine their former clientele and gauge how satisfied they were with them. This study will help us comprehend the agency’s dependability and expertise.

Relevant Skills

Identify the goals that you want your app to achieve. While some companies offer a more thorough strategy that encompasses the full development process, others offer aesthetics and visual design as their primary areas of expertise. Select a company that shares your requirements and vision.

Define your expectations and the needs of the project in a clear brief. Even if a firm has experience working with difficult design briefs, your project may have special requirements. Make sure the organisation has the resources, expertise, and knowledge to meet your unique requirements.

Think about the agency’s project management methodology. While some companies may use freelance designers or divide up jobs among their team, others may offer a more personalised service with a single point of contact. Select a company whose procedures fit your criteria.

While selecting the ideal app design company may seem difficult, it is essential for the success of your project. To find the perfect fit, do extensive study and thoroughly consider your options.

It is impossible to exaggerate the value of expert site design. Visitors to websites today make an impression about them in under a second, and 38% of them will quit if they don’t find the page visually appealing. If you try to build your website on your own, it can turn up poorly and fail to hold your audience’s transitory attention. For this reason, hiring a web design expert has become crucial for business owners. Let’s look at the benefits of employing a web design company as a top priority.

Construct a Professional and Customised Website

A professional web design firm can construct a website that is especially suited to your company and its particular needs because they have years of experience in the field. While there’s a chance that your marketing staff has some web development experience, it’s doubtful that they have the same level of experience and industry knowledge as a dedicated web design specialist. A well-designed website is an essential marketing tool that supports your sales and marketing objectives throughout time.

Improve Marketing and SEO

A web design company is knowledgeable about how to build a website that not only complies with design standards but also performs exceptionally well in SEO. Your website can gain more customers and outperform rivals on different search engines, including Google, by improving search engine rankings. A web design agency can help you achieve your goals if you want to create leads from several nations or target various languages. For foreign companies looking to compete on a global basis, this is especially important.

Improve Website Loading Speed

According to research, 47% of visitors will abandon a page that takes longer than two seconds to load. Customers increasingly expect rapid results in the fast-paced digital environment. A skilled site designer is essential in this situation. Even if your website has many features and high-resolution photos, they can make sure it stays lightweight and quick. Amateur or inexperienced developers lack the knowledge necessary to successfully optimise loading speed.

Numerous web design firms offer continuous monthly maintenance and assistance, sparing you the trouble of managing website downtime and the potential loss of clients or sales. These services also maintain your website current with the newest design fads and SEO guidelines that search engines like Google are always implementing.

In conclusion, consulting a web design expert is essential to the achievement of your website. They are equipped with the knowledge and expertise required to develop a highly functional and aesthetically pleasing website that supports your company’s goals. Contact us right away if you’re looking for a web design company in the UK. We are excited to make your ideas a reality and support the growth of your company in the digital sphere.

The programme is aimed at Bristol-based young people aged 18-24 from an ethnic minority and/or from a low-income background who want to gain insight and experience in the creative industry.

The scheme sees many of the city’s most well-known creative companies offering six-month full time paid placements to applicants in roles covering advertising, marketing, design, animation and digital.

We held interviews last month (see image above) and we were so impressed by the talent and skills on display from the young people who applied. It was a very hard decision but we are delighted to announced the successful interns.

Watch the videos below for some insights from three of the agencies about why they are involved in the programme and the need to improve diversity in the creative industries.

Paula Newport, Aardman Animations

Nina Edmonds, Halo

Shani Hawthorne Williams, Newicon

Bristol-based digital marketing agency Noble Performs, has announced the return of its ‘Noble Deeds’ programme for South West charities and not-for-profits.

Launched in the city last year to mark the 10-year anniversary of its US predecessor run out of the company’s HQ in Nevada, once again the Noble Deeds initiative will provide one local charity with a package of digital performance marketing support.

With the prize fund increasing each year in line with Noble Performs’ own growth, this year the package of support will stand at £18,000, an increase of over 30% on last year’s inaugural programme.

Open to all Bristol and Bath based registered charities and not-for-profits who wish to enter themselves as potential recipients, the support package up for grabs includes upskilling of the existing marketing team ensuring a long-lasting impact for the winning organisation.

The first charity helped by Noble Deeds in 2022 was Heart of BS13, a south Bristol social enterprise which supports and promotes a healthy, thriving community for Hartcliffe and its surrounds.

Working in partnership with the Noble team, Georgina Perry, chief executive of Heart of BS13, speaks about the impact the Deeds programme has had on helping the social enterprise and its initiatives thrive.

“We have so many great streams to our work which generate valuable revenue, from event space to bouquets and wedding packages from our sustainable flower farm, to frozen ready meals to support our community freezer. It was just hard to know where to start when it came to getting the word out and invariably these days that means doing it online and via social media. There is always so much to do and time is limited across a small team, so having the Noble guys come in and work with us to focus in on where our efforts could be best spent has made a real step change.

“We’re reaching people we never would have before through our website and understand how our social media and online presence can be optimised to achieve this. Our comms manager and I have both massively benefitted from this newfound knowledge and learning these skills. It’s given us a real confidence boost and is already helping us in other areas of the business. The Noble team were great fun to work with too!”

Helping clients such as Adobe, Rolls Royce, Yosemite and Kerv with their international digital presence, Noble’s Nevada Deeds programme now donates over $200,000 to charitable causes each year. The Noble Bristol team hopes to replicate this as its UK footprint grows, helping more charities and not for profits in the local community each year.

Noble’s UK managing director, Kate Sikora, explains; “Bristol has welcomed us with open arms since we opened our first UK office here in 2018, it’s such a vibrant, collaborative environment to live and work in. We’ve always felt a real sense of community here which really gelled with the ‘Be Better Every day’ mantra Noble Nevada was built on. Another thing we wanted to bring across the pond was of course the Noble Deeds programme, after launching last year it’s really exciting to be bringing it back for 2023. Not to mention being able to increase the amount of support on offer.

“So many charities and not for profits are struggling with the rising cost of living so sadly still need help to keep going and doing the vital work they do. Working with Heart of BS13 our Deeds winners last year was a stark reminder of this, but with such a driven, hard-working group of people at the core we’re confident they’ll continue to do amazing things. We’ve loved working with them, being able to get out and about and work with grassroots local community organisations is enriching in so many ways for our team, while making a difference at the same time.”

To enter, registered charities or not-for-profits must be Bristol or Bath based and complete a simple application form, which will be live on the Noble Performs website from May 18^th to May 31^st. The entries will be judged by a panel made up of an internal committee of the UK Noble team, with the winner selected by mid-July.

The Bristol-based charity that wins a place on the programme will secure a package of digital marketing support and skills training tailored to suit its specific needs, however this could include; SEO, PPC, Analytics and Paid Social. The package of support is anticipated to run from September 2023 to February 2024.

We are delighted to announce the 14 young people from across the city who have been selected as the initial cohort for the Bristol Creative Industries Internship Programme, in partnership with Babbasa and 14 creative businesses from the BCI membership community.

Launched earlier this year, the programme is aimed at young people aged 18-24 from underrepresented backgrounds wanting to gain more insight and real experience in the creative industries.

Two of the biggest challenges facing the sector are a long-term skills shortage and a lack of workforce diversity. This programme has been designed specifically to tackle those issues.

The BCI-commissoned A Creative Force to Be Reckoned With report found that increasing diversity and inclusion is a significant priority for six in 10 (59%) creative firms in Bristol, but almost half (48%) said they want help finding diverse talent from underrepresented groups.

As part of the Bristol Creative Industries Internship Programme, many of the city’s most well-known creative companies have offered six-month full time paid placements to applicants in roles covering advertising, marketing, design, animation and digital.

Sara Foley, senior designer at Mr B & Friends, commented on her agency’s reason for participating in the programme:

Over the past few months, applicants met participating agencies for an informal interview and meet & greet session at The Watershed, where they had the chance to chat directly with the participating agencies to learn more about the businesses and remit of the available roles.

Rob Pellow, executive technical Director at Armadillo, commented on the recruitment process:

The successful applicants will now work for six months, during which time they will undergo two placements at two different agencies, both lasting three months each.

The programme will provide a mix of professional skills training, creative skills training, inspirational talks, networking events, mentoring and opportunities for future employment.

Bristol Creative Industries Internship Programme interns

The businesses and Bristol Creative Industries members participating in the programme are:

The full list of interns and the companies they are working their first placement at:

Read more information about the Bristol Creative Industries Internship Programme and full biographies for the interns here.

Quotes from other participating agencies:

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.

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]

Built in the community, focused on the future.

Spaceworks is a platform for makers, creators and businesses of all shapes and sizes. They have been on a mission to bring community driven work spaces to Bristol since 1985 and needed a rebrand and website to match.

Accountants, artists, engineers and more, Spaceworks has been housing, helping and supporting some of Bristol’s brightest brands. They know that when it comes to office rental, businesses need affordable spaces with the right support in place to help them grow.

The new identity by Rhombus nods to the past while looking forward, inspired by the diverse community of businesses who call Spaceworks their home.

The brand balances play with trust and accessibility, uniting makers, creators and businesses across Bristol.

The visual identity was built around the new logo, evolved from their geographical footprint in Bristol. The wider identity system uses more abstract evolutions of the logo to portray the businesses of all shapes and sizes that make up Spaceworks.

The colourway is an evolution of the green they launched with in 1985, as a nod to their rock-solid history. The typeface (aptly titled Founders Grotesk from Klim Type Foundry) is a sans serif with plenty of character, inspired by some of the buildings they have transformed over the years – grade 2, big hangars, small nooks and stained-glass windows.

Rhombus developed a verbal identity underpinned by three core pillars to express the brand: Supportive, Passionate and Dynamic. The output included a set of key messages to announce the new brand to Bristol and beyond, as well as writing tips to help the Spaceworks team communicate with consistency and flair.

In order to bring Spaceworks into the digital world, Rhombus developed a motion language that encapsulated the brand’s warmth, approachability and character, inspired by collaboration. Bounce. Grow. Support!

Spaceworks are the same today as they were when they started – committed to providing affordable, supportive spaces for diverse businesses in local communities: Easton, Barton Hill, St Phillips, Stokes Croft, St Jude’s and Bishopston.

Their new custom website is testament to this commitment, delivered in partnership with Papaya Studio – making it easier than ever to access workspaces and business support.

“Rhombus Studio created our new branding and website and we are delighted with the results. It was a thorough and carefully planned process and aside from creating some amazing visual assets, they took the time to understand our business and aspirations and created something that represents us very well.” – Spaceworks

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 AstraZeneca, LettUs Grow, No7 Company, FluoretiQ, 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.

Keep the user journey front of mind

Analyse and improve based on the data

A/B testing

Refresh your content regularly

Prioritise SEO activity

Monitor technical performance

Effective Communication

References from Clients

Relevant Skills

Construct a Professional and Customised Website

Improve Marketing and SEO

Improve Website Loading Speed

Paula Newport, Aardman Animations

Nina Edmonds, Halo

Shani Hawthorne Williams, Newicon

Bristol Creative Industries Internship Programme interns

Quotes from other participating agencies:

How are you feeling? Really.

More exciting than you think!

So what do we actually do?

Talking it out

Getting started…

…and keeping going

Built in the community, focused on the future.

Keep the user journey front of mind

Analyse and improve based on the data

A/B testing

Refresh your content regularly

Prioritise SEO activity

Monitor technical performance

Effective Communication

References from Clients

Relevant Skills

Construct a Professional and Customised Website

Improve Marketing and SEO

Improve Website Loading Speed

Paula Newport, Aardman Animations

Nina Edmonds, Halo

Shani Hawthorne Williams, Newicon

Bristol Creative Industries Internship Programme interns

Quotes from other participating agencies:

How are you feeling? Really.

More exciting than you think!

So what do we actually do?

Talking it out

Getting started…

…and keeping going

Built in the community, focused on the future.

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