Bristol-based creative agency saintnicks has been awarded Gold at the Digital Impact Awards, recognising its work with POSCA, part of Mitsubishi Pencil Co. The win came in the ‘Best Community Development’ category, celebrating the agency’s success in growing and nurturing an engaged creative community on social media.
The Digital Impact Awards highlight excellence in digital stakeholder engagement and the power of online brand communication. saintnicks’ campaign for POSCA focused on building authentic relationships with artists and makers across the UK, showcasing their creativity while amplifying the brand’s cultural relevance in the creative community.
Fraser Bradshaw, CEO at Saintnicks, said:
“We’re incredibly proud of this recognition. It celebrates not just great creative work, but the genuine connections built between brands and the people who love them. The POSCA community embodies everything we believe in – creativity, authenticity and engagement that lasts.”
The award-winning campaign brought together art, culture and community to celebrate creative expression and inspire participation. A full case study of the work can be viewed below.
If you’d like a chat about your challenges or request a complimentary social audit, drop them an email and say hello. You can find out more about their social media and content expertise here.
We’re delighted to announce our third Skills Bootcamp in Virtual Production!
Starting Wednesday 17th December 2025, these fully funded courses offer an incredible opportunity to gain cutting-edge skills that are transforming the future of film and media production.
We are offering two specialist courses:
• Virtual Production with Unreal Engine
• Virtual Production with Sony VENICE 2
These bootcamps are free to learners, funded by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority (WEMCA) and led by the University of Bristol in partnership with MARS Academy (MARS Volume), Gritty Talent, and accredited trainers in Unreal Engine and Sony VENICE 2.
Virtual production is revolutionising the screen sector by blending live action, visual effects, and real-time 3D environments into a seamless creative process.
Applications close at midnight on Wednesday 12th November 2025, please share with your wider audience.
UK digital agency, Torchbox, delivers major website transformation focused on environmental responsibility and inclusive design
Bristol, UK – 14th October 2025 – Torchbox, the digital agency behind open source content management system Wagtail, has developed a new website for World Wildlife Fund-US that demonstrates how sustainable web development practices can work hand-in-hand with improved user experience.
The project helps one of the United States’ leading conservation organisations share its critical conservation message with its nearly 10 million annual users by rebuilding its digital platform.
“Working with a conservation organisation like WWF-US meant sustainability couldn’t just be a talking point, it had to be built into every technical decision,” said Gabi Mamon, Client Partner, Torchbox. “We’ve created a platform that performs better whilst reducing its environmental impact through thoughtful technical choices at every level.”
The new platform runs on Cloudflare’s renewable energy infrastructure and employs modern web development practices, including optimised image formats, efficient content delivery networks using caching to serve all content. These improvements deliver faster page loads whilst reducing the data transfer required for the site’s 30 million annual pageviews.
Accessibility features are integrated throughout the platform, including enhanced keyboard navigation, improved colour contrast, proper semantic markup, and screen reader compatibility. The rebuild also involved thoughtfully reorganising 6,000 pages of conservation content to create clearer user journeys.
“Our website is where millions of people come to learn about global conservation and how it helps both people and nature thrive,” said WWF-US Vice President of Digital Projects Diane Querey. “It’s important that it welcomes users in a way that highlights the important role nature plays in all our lives while conveying the urgency and importance of our mission.”
The project required tight deadline management, with Torchbox working closely with WWF-US’s internal team to migrate and reorganise content whilst building new functionality.
For WWF-US, the new platform provides a foundation for long-term digital growth. The successful delivery demonstrates Torchbox’s capability to meet the complex requirements of large international charities working under demanding timescales.
Visit the new site at https://www.worldwildlife.org/
Integrated brand agency saintnicks has taken home two honours at the UK Social Media Awards 2025, reinforcing its position among the country’s leading independent creative agencies.
Competing against ten national and global network agencies and household names including Waitrose, TUI, Specsavers and Currys, saintnicks claimed Gold for “Best Long-Term Strategic Use of Social Media” for its partnership with Ascot Racecourse, and added Silver for “Best Integrated Campaign” for Royal Ascot.
The UK Social Media Awards celebrate excellence in creativity, innovation and impact across the industry. These latest wins mark saintnicks’ fourth major award of 2025, recognising the agency’s ability to deliver standout results for high-profile clients against world-class competition.
“This recognition reflects the strength of our team and the quality of work we deliver,” said Fraser Bradshaw, CEO of saintnicks. “It’s great to see our efforts acknowledged and to have our clients’ trust reaffirmed through results like this.”
The win reflects saintnicks’ continued success in delivering social media strategies and campaigns that break through the noise. The agency’s award-winning work for Royal Ascot can be seen here.
Looking ahead, saintnicks will be continuing to push boundaries in social and content, with fresh ambitions for 2026 and beyond.
If you’d like a chat about your challenges or request a complimentary social audit, drop them an email and say hello. You can find out more about our social media and content expertise here.
Season 3 of High Notes, the podcast about the business and art of voice, will drop from Monday 27th October for eight weeks. It will see host Melissa Thom talking to leading figures across business, culture, and communication.
Guests include world-leading speechwriter Simon Lancaster, voice coach Dr. Rockford Sansom, writer and historian Jane Duffus, BAFTA’s Colin Burgess, PR legend Lynne Franks, and broadcaster Janey Lee Grace.
Together, they explore how voice shapes influence, leadership, and true connection at work: how to stay composed under pressure, engage an audience and speak with authority.
The full line up of episodes and release dates are as follows:
27/10/2025 – Simon Lancaster: speechwriter to business and political leaders, on the Language of Leadership and the hidden patterns that make communication persuasive.
03/11/2025 – Jane Duffus: writer and historian, on Women, Wit & the Power of Speech and how women’s voices have shaped and continue to shape public life.
10/11/2025 – Colin Burgess: BAFTA’s Executive Director of Operations, on the Resilient Voice, building legacy, and nurturing new creative voices in film, games and television.
17/11/2025 – Tricia Duffy: leadership coach, on Creative Confidence and finding your voice in times of change and uncertainty.
24/11/2025 – Dr. Rockford Sansom: voice coach to executives worldwide, on Influence & Impact, and how leaders can speak with presence in the boardroom.
01/12/2025 – Janey Lee Grace: BBC broadcasting legend and coach, on Executive Presence, clarity, sobriety and having the courage to speak up.
08/12/2025 – Lynne Franks: author, entrepreneur, communications strategist and fashion pioneer on Leading with Wisdom, and using voice as a force for visibility, purpose, and change.
15/12/2025 – Margaret Heffernan: business thinker, writer and voted one of the “Top 100 Media Executives” by The Hollywood Reporter on Voice, Creativity and Embracing Uncertainty, and why leadership today demands adaptability.
High Notes’ host, Melissa Thom is a speech and communication coach and acclaimed voice actor with decades of experience voicing projects including Grand Theft Auto V for Rockstar Games, Elder Scrolls for Zenimax, LL COOL J, Google, Amazon, Nike and many more.
Melissa is also the Founder and CEO of BRAVA, and has trained thousands of people in communication and voice from the UK and beyond – from rappers and reverends to ad creatives and countesses.
Melissa Thom said: “This season of High Notes is focused on how professionals can use their voice for impactful communication in the workplace and beyond. Our guests bring a wealth of experience from different sectors and creative disciplines – we hope our listeners will both be entertained and come away with actionable tips to supercharge communication confidence.”
High Notes season 3 can be found at brava.uk.com/podcast and all major podcast platforms, from October 27th, 2025.
saintnicks has been shortlisted in two categories at The Lovie Awards 2025, recognising the agency’s standout work in Digital, Content, and Social Media. The nominations come off the back of a flurry of other nominations, including four at the UK Social Media Awards, two at the Sports Business Awards, and one at the Digital Impact Awards.
The Lovie Awards recognise European Internet excellence in the fields of culture, technology & business. In addition to traditional judging, each category has a People’s Lovie Award, voted on by the public.
You can support saintnicks by clicking the links below and placing your vote ahead of the deadline on Thursday October 16th:
Email Newsletter – LIV Golf
Events & Livestreams in Social Media – Ascot Racecourse
Regarding the nominations, Callum Joynes, Head of Content at saintnicks, said:
“We’re over the moon to be recognised at The Lovie Awards this year. It’s a celebration of the creativity, ambition and craft that our team pours into every project for our clients at LIV Golf and Ascot Racecourse, and we’re proud to see that work shine on a European stage.”
In short:
We find ourselves talking about Earned Visibility a lot at the moment, and for good reason. The new world of AI search is as seismic a shift for marketing, brands, and consumer discoverability as moving into the age of the internet was. For those who haven’t been keeping up, Earned Visibility is our approach to discoverability in the new world of AI.
But what is the difference between Earned Visibility and earned media?
The world has changed. At the time of writing, 62% of Brits are now using AI-enhanced search to find information over traditional search engines, and this trend is not slowing down.
Gone are the days of customers looking for a brand via traditional search and being presented with ten blue links. Gone are the days of customers reading multiple sources to get an answer.
Now, whether someone is looking for a complex understanding of a personal health issue or where to find the best holiday deals, instead of scouring multiple sites and running multiple searches, people are increasingly turning to AI-powered search.
The result? If your brand is not included in the answers that AI tools are showing users, then your brand is basically invisible.
In response to this tectonic shift, we have been spending a lot of time and effort working with data scientists, experts, and a variety of platforms to get ahead of things and understand exactly what brands need to do today and tomorrow to be discovered by consumers. We call this Earned Visibility.
Basically, it’s a new way of approaching the world of marketing.
The bad news? If you’re not embracing Earned Visibility and you’re not being recommended in AI answers, then your consumers won’t be finding you.
The good news? One of the upshots of this fundamental shift is that doing the right things to be included in the AI answer closely aligns with brand and marketing best practices in general. Marketing is no longer about tactical silos – it’s coalescing around the future of discoverability. This is Earned Visibility.
If you’re interested, you can find out more about this as well as discover your exact EV score here.
Whilst it may sound fairly similar, there is a huge difference between the meaning of earned media and Earned Visibility. Earned media is a term that refers to brand mentions, social media mentions, customer reviews or media coverage in channels that a brand does not own. Not to be confused with paid media or owned media!
For example, if your brand has carried out a proactive press engagement campaign that has resulted in your brand being included in The Times, The Guardian, or others, this is earned media.
Earned media has, and continues to have, inherent value. Customers are more likely to trust content that is presented to them by a known news or media title than content presented directly by a brand.
Think about it: is your opinion more likely to be swayed by an article presented by British Airways saying “we’re the best airline in the world,” or by an article on the BBC website saying BA has just been voted the best airline in the world?
Whilst earned media has a crucial role to play in the new world of AI discoverability, it is fundamentally different to Earned Visibility itself.
In short, yes! The framework of Earned Visibility includes a range of factors that any forward-thinking brand should be embracing when it comes to getting in front of customers and influencing consumer behaviour.
AI tools absolutely use media coverage as an indicator for brand quality and trust. What’s more, media coverage continues to be incredibly important in terms of influence and consumer behaviour.
In essence, earned media should be a key part of an Earned Visibility strategy.
Both are important, but you should start with Earned Visibility.
Earned visibility is an entirely new way of approaching the world of marketing. A considered Earned Visibility strategy, when implemented properly, will mean that you are doing everything you should be to get your brand included in AI answers – but also everything you should be doing more broadly in terms of reaching and engaging with your customers across the wider marketing mix.
The key here is that activity should no longer be approached in tactical silos, but seen as part of a wider whole.
A great first step is to understand how you are currently performing in terms of your brand’s Earned Visibility score. You can find your own Earned Visibility score here.
Contact the Yours Sincerely team to begin building your Earned Visibility strategy.
In my role and a fellow member of Bristol Creative Industries, I often sit down with founders of small creative agencies. They grow their teams from two people around the kitchen table to a buzzing studio of 40. Business is good, clients are happy — but there is a nagging worry about staff turnover.
“I feel like we’ve got a great culture”, “We pay fairly, we’re flexible about working hours, but people still leave for bigger companies. I can’t compete with their salaries — but maybe I’m missing a trick with benefits?”
That’s where an employee benefits audit comes in.
What exactly is an employee benefits audit?
In simple terms, it’s a review of the perks and support you give your team. It looks at the obvious things — pensions, healthcare, life insurance — but also at the less visible, day-to-day benefits: training budgets, wellbeing support, cycle-to-work schemes, flexible working, and even perks like free coffee or social events.
The goal isn’t to overhaul everything. Instead, it’s to answer three key questions:
Why does it matter?
Last month was a crying example for a BCI Member. When we ran their audit, we found they was paying for a health cash plan that most of her staff didn’t know existed — and those who did weren’t claiming. At the same time, their team wanted something much simpler: access to mental health support and more training opportunities.
By reallocating spend, they ended up with a package that cost her less but delivered more. Staff engagement has improved, and they noticed fewer people scanning job ads for “what else is out there.”
For SME/Mid-sized organisations, the stakes are high. Recruitment is expensive. Losing a key person can disrupt client work. The right benefits package won’t stop every resignation, but it can tip the balance between someone staying or leaving.
Isn’t an audit complicated?
Not at all. It’s not a mountain of paperwork or a six-month consultancy project. For Bristol Creative Industries members, it’s simple and free:
That’s it. No jargon. No disruption to your business.
Why now?
The world of work has shifted. What employees expect from their employer in 2025 isn’t the same as it was even three years ago. Hybrid working, mental health, flexibility, and personal development now matter as much — sometimes more — than traditional “perks.”
An audit helps you see whether your benefits reflect that reality. It’s not about spending more, but about spending smarter.
The takeaway
For the BCI Member I mentioned earlier, the audit was a turning point. They didn’t need a bigger budget — just a clearer view of what worked and what didn’t. The result? A happier team, better retention, and money saved.
Your people are your biggest investment. A benefits audit is a small step that makes sure that investment is paying off — for them, and for you.
👉 BCI members can access a free audit via myself. It takes less time than your morning coffee run, but it could make a real difference to your business.
Bristol-based period care brand Grace & Green has launched a new TV campaign highlighting the lack of workplace period products in their spot, ‘Caught Short’.
Collaborating with JonesMillbank, Bristol-based B-Corp video production company, the ad was created after Grace & Green was named as Sky’s Local Heroes winner for the South West, securing funded media support through the Sky Zero Footprint Fund.
“This campaign is about making sure every employee can manage their periods at work without stress or stigma, and placing Grace & Green as the go-to period brand for businesses that care about their employees,” said Fran Lucraft, Founder and CEO of Grace & Green.
“Access to period products should be a right, not a privilege. We are so excited to see our brand on the small screen! Being a Bristol-based business, it’s incredible to see our work recognised locally and shared nationally.”
Abbie Howes, rostered director at JonesMillbank, added: “Getting caught short at work is a stress far too many women have endured, so it was really important to get that relatability across – whilst using light humour to highlight how ridiculous it is that it’s still not the norm for workplaces to supply period products.”
“Understandably if you’ve never been in the situation yourself it may never have crossed your mind, so we didn’t want this to feel judgmental or lecturing, but rather an issue that’s very easy to fix.”
The campaign is running across the Sky network throughout September alongside digital. For more information visit www.graceandgreen.co and www.jonesmillbank.com.
***
JonesMillbank are a full-service production company based at Nine Tree Studios, their 10,000sq ft film studio.
Producing branded content, TV ads and social content their clients include local, global and household brands such as Dyson, University of Bristol, DHL, Oxfam, Pukka and the NHS.
jonesmillbank.com
01173706372
[email protected]
Bristol-based Burleigh Design, founded in 1895, set for a brand new era as directors eye growth following changes at the top of this 130-year-old firm
A new leadership team has taken charge at Bristol’s oldest commercial graphic design agency.
The Bristol-based Burleigh Design agency is set for a new era following co-owner Greg Corrigan’s retirement with Jonathon Galvin-Wright joining forces with co-owner director Fraser Ebbs at the helm.
They have pledged to take the Leigh Court Business Centre-headquartered business forward by building on Burleigh Design’s rich heritage which stretches back to 1895 when it was first established as a family firm of designers and printers based in Park Row.
Corrigan’s move away from the business signals a new beginning for Burleigh Design because he had been a fifth-generation member of the same family to have formed part of the senior team.
That tradition is now set to change as a new management team take the reins with Galvin-Wright coming into the business as a director alongside Ebbs who has led Burleigh Design since 2012 when it merged with his Portishead Press enterprise.
Galvin-Wright said: “I’m proud to have joined Fraser in a leadership role as a director of Burleigh Design which is one of those brilliant, historic businesses which make the Bristol business community so special.
“Burleigh Design’s status as the oldest design agency in town and to have been continuously serving local businesses since 1895, says a lot about the way we like to do business which is based on trust and great relationships.
“Burleigh Design has the richest of histories so there’s a lot to live up to but I’m relishing my new role and really looking forward to working with Fraser to make sure the business keeps going from strength to strength.”
The new management team have promised to stick to the principles that have ensured Burleigh Design has stood test of time.
“In a way we’re going back to the future because we will follow the traditions that have ensured Burleigh Design has thrived over the years.” Ebbs added.
“Everything we do will continue to be based around clients, evolving our own design services around their business needs, and our business-led design philosophy will ensure our design is both commercially fit for purpose and benefits the bottom line.”
The two Burleigh Design Directors have recently conducted a re-brand and are now set to extend the scope of its work.
Galvin-Wright says, “We like to see ourselves as a bunch of ‘business creatives’ and our senior and experienced team will always look at brand and design challenges from a business perspective first and foremost.
“We have earned a stellar reputation for our ability to fulfil hard-working design needs across brand, graphic design, content and marketing activation in industrial, commercial, corporate and manufacturing markets and that won’t change, although we have also always worked within the charity and edication sectors too.”
Bidding farewell to the company, Corrigan said: “Burleigh Design could not be in better hands and both Fraser and Jonnie’s expertise and experience will make sure the business prospers so these are exciting times which will be full of new opportunities.
“Burleigh Design has a proud place in the South West business community which is a real hotbed of entrepreneurial talent and I’m looking forward to watching from afar in retirement as the new era takes shape and Burleigh grows.”
Burleigh Design clients include air conditioning manufacturers Daikin, engineering conglomerate Avon Group, Smith Brothers Stores – the largest air-conditioning merchants in the country – as well as charities and professional services companies including Penny Brohn and Cushman & Wakefield.
For further information visit the Burleigh Design website: https://burleighcreate.co.uk
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