SPAR UK & NI has announced Mentor Digital’s appointment as their new digital agency partner. Following a competitive tender process Mentor was chosen as the winning bidder to design and develop the new SPAR UK & NI corporate websites, and to deliver ongoing creative, technical, and digital marketing solutions to help deliver on SPAR’s digital strategy.

SPAR is the world’s largest retail food chain and has around 2512 stores in the UK. Mentor Digital will partner with SPAR to: Build brand new websites for SPAR UK & Northern Ireland; to develop the digital application of the SPAR brand; and to provide SEO and digital marketing support.

Website technology is moving fast, and customers expect high quality, super-fast experiences across all devices. Keeping users engaged with retail brands online offerings and remaining cutting edge and relevant is an ongoing challenge. SPAR is in an excellent position having both ‘clicks and bricks’ through their stores and existing online presence, and Mentor Digital will work to provide modern web applications delivering on SPARs digital strategy that will focus on community and health and well-being.

Mentor’s MD Holland Risley said: “We are absolutely delighted to be adding SPAR to our client portfolio and it really feels like we are levelling up as an agency taking on clients of this calibre. I think this really reflects the high quality of the work that we have been producing in recent years. The design work is already looking really exciting, we are focusing on bringing depth and quality to the sites by using micro UX, emotive design and parallax effects and we are really looking forward to launching the new look SPAR websites later this year.”

SPAR shops are central to communities across the UK, and the new websites will support local communities by nurturing neighbourhoods, creating community hubs, and promoting health and wellbeing campaigns, as well as showcasing special offers and driving footfall to stores.

SPAR & Mentor Digital are carrying out an in-depth process of stakeholder engagement, design, and prototyping. Mentor Digital will create full mobile responsive prototypes as part of the project process to allow for the sites to be fully tested to ensure that all user journeys are intuitive and clear.

The new SPAR websites will be developed using the open-source Umbraco CMS platform, which provides highly secure, enterprise level, content management experiences with no ongoing licenses. Mentor Digital is an Umbraco Gold Partner and has implemented Umbraco CMS for many NHS Trusts and CCGs along with a wide range of B2B and B2C clients. The agency has won awards at the prestigious Umbraco awards in 2020 and 2021.

To see more examples of the work Mentor Digital produces you can visit the Mentor Digital website here. To find out more about SPAR click here.

We have been officially recognised as a ‘Great Place to Work’ by being awarded the sought-after certification. 

Great Place to Work’s mission is to “help organisations create exceptional, high performing workplaces where employees feel trusted and valued”. Through the Certification process, they capture valuable employee feedback and details about the practices that make workplaces unique.

As part of this employee feedback, we were absolutely thrilled to report a 90% overall trust index from our team.

Some of our favourite bits from our team’s ratings include:

But what do the team actually say about working at cxpartners?

Come on – we’re a team of research consultants! Of course we love quantitative data, but we’re obviously going to go and gather a little qual too…

Megan Simmons, UX Consultant: 

“cxp is a great place to work since we practice what we preach – it’s an empathy driven workplace”

Ollie Miller, Creative Director: 

“There are no egos at cxpartners. From my experience that’s very unique. It means you can be you. You can feel comfortable sharing your ideas with people who really value your thoughts and really listen.”

Lauren Howells, Marketing Manager: 

“We have such a supportive culture with space for everyone to have an opinion and speak up”

Chris Edge, Account Director

“It’s such a friendly and passionate team at cx, a diverse mix of skillsets working well together to really make a massive difference to our clients”

Nicola Pritchard, Senior User Researcher:  

“Flexibility, support, adult to adult relationships, everyone’s proper passion for their subject, feeling connected, feeling heard, having permission to bring my whole self to work without judgement, total kindness of all the people here. 

When I stop and think, that’s an amazing list!”

Henry Bacon, UX Consultant:

“I’ve only been here for about 6 weeks, but so far I’d say the people! Everyone’s super friendly and welcoming.”

Sharon Webster, UX Consultant: 

“What I love about working at cx is being empowered, having opportunities to develop my career, learn from awesome colleagues and that being people-centred is lived and breathed here. Oh and there’s some fun projects too!”

Mark Skinner, Principal UX Consultant: 

“I think the best thing is that we’re not expected to be robots – we can be ourselves, and when we need support, it’s there!”

Claire Barrett, Senior UX Consultant: 

“Today’s pod catch up demonstrated one (of the many!) reasons cx is a great place to work… a bunch of lovely human beings asking brilliant questions on subjects that matter and just generally having insightful chats!” 

Join us! 

Not only are we a Great Place to Work, but we also have some pretty great benefits too, including: 

We offer ‘remote-first’ working, with offices available in London and Bristol, and are currently recruiting for:

However, if you’re keen to join the team but your skillset doesn’t quite match the roles above – get in touch, we’d still love to hear from you.

The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) has unveiled a new document which highlights why the west is the go-to place for investment in the creative industries.

Launched by Metro Mayor Dan Norris, the ‘Cultural Plan‘ showcases the region’s art and cultural businesses alongside details of how WECA intends to support creativity across the West of England.

Culture, creativity and the West of England

“The West of England is an incredibly vibrant, diverse and creative region,” the plan says. “It includes the two thriving cities of Bristol and Bath along with divergent towns and communities.

“The region is recognised as a national and international cultural and tourist hot spot, with a vibrant mix of urban, rural and coastal areas providing an exceptionally diverse cultural ecology.

“But the West of England is also one of the country’s economic success stories. It is the most productive city region in England outside London, with a breadth of innovative businesses and a highly skilled workforce.

“With economic links to Wales, the Midlands, London and the South West, ensuring a strong economy recovery in the West of England will help to drive a wider national recovery.”

The plan outlines some of the incredible statistics which highlight the breadth of the creative industries in our region.

The sector has around 7,000 businesses which employ 50,000 people and contribute almost £2bn to the regional economy.

The West of England is home to the UK’s third largest TV sector with 445 production companies including Bristol Creative Industries members Aardman Animations, Troy TV, Woven Films and JonesMillbank.

Many major TV shows have also been filmed in Bristol and Bath. They include Stephen Merchant’s The Outlaws and Netflix’s Bridgerton.

Several have been filmed The Bottle Yard studios which recently announced a £12m expansion.

Around 800 million people each month watch digital content produced in Bristol and Bath.

The West of England also has the UK’s most productive technology sector and a fast growing games industry with examples such as the chart topping Game Plague Inc created by Bristol agency Ndemic Creations.

Supporting the creative industries in the West of England

WECA says its vision is to “create a region which is an international exemplar of the power of culture to transform and enrich lives, places and businesses”. That vision has four areas of focus:

Cultural and creative skills

“The creativity of every child and young person in the region should be given space to flourish; and that emergent talent should be given every means to succeed,” the plan says.

WECA says it will ensure culture is included across the curriculum and “develop inclusive, ambitious and effective skills pipelines for culture in the region and beyond”.

Proposed initiatives include cultural sector school twinning, cultural curriculum exemplars and targeted cultural and creative careers support.

Bristol Creative Industries is also committed to diversity in the creative industries. When we revealed the new BCI board of directors last January, we said: “The diversity of Bristol’s creative industries is something we are immensely proud of, but we also recognised the need for our board to better reflect that diversity. We need individuals who can bring different perspectives and experiences and help us widen our reach across the city. That will help us to future proof the organisation and better support our members.”

Steps we have taken so far include launching The Talent Network which gives 17 to 21 year-olds the opportunity to network with creative employers in Bristol and Bath.

Creative freelancers, start-ups and SMEs

“We will prioritise recovery from the impact of Covid-19, but also focus on the need to thrive and prosper in the period ahead,” the plan says.

WECA’s proposed initiatives include a freelancer transition, an industry leading accelerator programme and a targeted inward investment campaign.

Bristol Creative Industries’ member directory is a brilliant showcase of the creative industries innovation in the region.

Placemaking

“Investment in culture drives productivity and employment and contributes to the regeneration of areas and revitalisation of our high streets. It helps to bring communities together – opening up new perspectives, encouraging participation in civic life,” the plan says.

WECA says it will “place culture at the centre of placemaking, community-making and regeneration strategies with proposed initiatives including a Cultural Infrastructure Toolkit and Charter, an immersive digital experience, working with partners to create a coherent and compelling narrative for the West of England and a “regional mega-event”.

Wellbeing

“Culture is an essential part of a life well lived. Arts and culturebased interventions offer new and surprising ways to promote the health and wellbeing of communities and to help them flourish and grow. Participation in culture is a fundamental human right, as outlined in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” the plan says.

WECA says it will “ensure that all residents and visitors can access culture and cultural activities for their own wellbeing, development, and enrichment” with proposed initiatives including an arts and homelessness civic plan, widening access to culture including targeting specific barriers for groups and communities, disabled access support and supporting libraries to deliver cultural experiences.

Metro mayor Dan Norris said:

“In the coming years I am determined we do much more than just survive, but to go on and really thrive – to build back even better and progress far further. I want to ensure more local people than ever before have the opportunities to achieve their full potential and make sure as many people as possible know about the amazing things we do here. Above all, I want to put our truly great West of England region even more firmly on the map for national and international success.”

We’re the membership network uniting Bristol and Bath’s creative industries behind a common cause, driven by the belief that we can achieve more collectively than alone. Join as a member and benefit from industry expertise, training, leads, curated news, kudos and more. 

Cultural Plan cover image credit: Artist Luke Jerram’s temporary installation, In Memoriam, on Weston-super-Mare beach, September 2021 © Mark Gray

GYDA Initiative is delighted to announce the acquisition of Very Good Digital and Digital Agency Coach. The acquisition, completed in January 2022, sees two of the UK’s most prominent business growth experts for digital agencies, Robert Craven and Janusz Stabik, join forces to create one of the leading business consultancies for the Agency sector.

Robert Craven says:

‘We are super-excited! Acquiring this business gives us more firepower to help a greater number of agency leaders. Janusz and his team of expert consultants bring even more breadth and depth to the GYDA Initiative team. 2022 will see us become the leading growth consultancy for digital agencies in the UK and Europe.’

Janusz Stabik says:

‘Having worked with Robert and the GYDA Initiative for three years on projects with Google Partners and consultancy clients, I am delighted that my business has been acquired by Robert, and to become Managing Partner for the GYDA Team. 2022 will be an awesome year for the GYDA Initiative and our clients!’

About the GYDA Initiative

Launched in 2013, the GYDA Initiative is a specialist growth consultancy working in the digital agency industry. The team of been-there-done-it digital agency experts, led by Robert Craven and Janusz Stabik, helps clients to run the agency they really want to run.

Already working across 23 countries, the Initiative is tasked with one goal… helping digital agency leaders to grow and run their agencies, and to do this smarter and faster. Build the company you want to run… run the agency you want to lead… lead the life you want to live.

About Robert Craven

Robert is known for his no-nonsense approach to business growth; he has worked with agencies and platforms from London to Dublin, from Singapore to New York. He is the author of Grow Your Digital Agency, and founder of the GYDA Initiative and GYDA Member Hub. His strategy and marketing consultancies, The Directors’ Centre and GYDA Initiative, help agency owners and directors to run the business they want to run, so they can live the life they want to live.

Robert writes from experience. His work with Google Partners over the last eight years has made him the go-to expert on growing digital agencies. Working with 150 of Europe’s leading digital agencies, he has identified the key characteristics of the ‘above-average’, and how to implement this in other agencies. GYDA Initiative supports you on your journey and provides the toolkit for becoming one of the above-average.

About Janusz Stabik

Janusz is a consultant, coach and digital strategist who helps agencies to deliver more value to their clients and shareholders. He works to define their vision, to grow high-performing teams, to execute projects better, and to sell more of the right kind of work. With over 15 years in the digital agency industry, he’s built, grown and exited his own agency, and now works exclusively with agencies in the creative sector.

As the lead coach for the UK and Europe Google Partners Elevator program, Janusz continues to guide and advise agency leaders on their growth journey.

Janusz joins GYDA Initiative as Managing Partner. Running a team of over ten consultants, Janusz will take the business into 2022 with a real sense of purpose, resulting in our clients’ greater success.

To find out more, visit:

www.GYDAinitiative.com

+44 (0)1225 851 044

Work is underway on the expansion of The Bottle Yard Studios into a neighbouring South Bristol industrial site, which is undergoing a £12m redevelopment backed by West of England Combined Authority investment that will add three new stages to the Studios’ portfolio.

Planned for completion this Summer, the expansion will increase the number of stages on offer at The Bottle Yard Studios from eight to 11 and is intended to maintain and grow film and TV production in Bristol and the West of England.

Titles recently filmed at the facility, the largest of its kind in the region, include upcoming BBC/Amazon psychological thriller Chloe (premiering Sunday 6 February), series one and two of Stephen Merchant’s BBC/Amazon series The Outlaws and BBC One legal drama Showtrial.

New sound stages for the Bottle Yard Studios site

Global construction specialists ISG have been contracted by Bristol City Council to convert the industrial property at Hawkfield Business Park, less than half a mile from the main Bottle Yard site, into three new sound stages. Measuring 20,000 sq ft, 16,000 sq ft and 7,000 sq ft, the filming spaces will be accompanied by ancillary spaces including production offices, prop stores, costume/makeup areas and break out areas, amounting to approximately 82,000 sq ft (7,600m²) of converted floor space in total.

Operations at The Bottle Yard’s main site have also been boosted by a further £1.6m investment by Bristol City Council in renewal and repair works that will make the Studios’ existing buildings fit for purpose for the facility’s 10-year business plan.

Overall, the investment in the current site and new studio provision at Hawkfield Business Park is expected to create 135 jobs during the refurbishment with a further 863 jobs created over the next 10 years through an accompanying Workforce Development Programme focused on high-end TV skills and targeting development of new talent in South Bristol.

The Bottle Yard Studios expansion - Studio 9

Dan Norris, mayor of the West of England, said:

“I’m incredibly proud of the investment that the West of England Combined Authority I lead is making here. It’s a fantastic space and the progress in getting it ready is remarkable. The expansion of The Bottle Yard studios sends a strong message that our amazing creative sector here in the West of England is thriving. So many talented people are helping put our region on the national and international map as a go-to location for the film and TV industry. Three new stages will mean even more of our favourite shows like The Outlaws, Poldark and Showtrial can be filmed here. This vote of confidence in the West of England will create a thousand high skilled jobs and should help us to attract even more production companies. I look forward to watching lots of new shows hit our screens, and I’ll enjoy them even more knowing they are made in the West of England.”

Marvin Rees, mayor of Bristol, said:

“It is great to see the expansion work starting at The Bottle Yard Studios. Our £1.6m investment in the current site, coupled with the additional capacity at the Hawkfield site, once developed, will bring confidence to the city’s film and TV production sector and harness growth as the demand for on-screen content grows worldwide. The expansion will also create jobs, skills and training opportunities, support the local supply chain and be a major boost to our wider regeneration plans for south Bristol, bringing growth and opportunity into the area.”

Laura Aviles, senior film manager for Bristol City Council which is responsible for The Bottle Yard Studios & Bristol Film Office, said:

“This expansion is big news for Bristol’s film and TV sector. Upping The Bottle Yard’s stage count from eight to 11 at a time when space for filming is at a premium, means we can welcome more of the productions we know are keen to film in Bristol, a city that saw a 225% increase in filming in the first quarter of the current financial year. We’re making sure Bristol seizes the opportunities presented by the UK production boom with both hands, so that local crew, companies and new generations of talent can reap the benefits in employment, business and skills development.”

The Bottle Yard Studios expansion - Studio 10

Richard Skone, regional director for ISG, said:

“This highly significant creative arts scheme for Bristol is yet another example of smart and efficient procurement practice – fast-tracking the project to site through the use of the high-performing Southern Construction Framework (SCF). The sustainable Bottle Yard Studios development will prove transformative to the capacity and capability of the region’s media sector and, during the construction phase, will prioritise positive social value outcomes for local residents and the wider community. As the UK continues to benefit from a renaissance in investment in the creative arts sector, ISG brings significant expertise to this high-profile and ambitious project.”

Technical specifications for the new stages have been designed to a premium quality, with sound insulation between stages meeting cinema facility standards, impressive internal noise ratings (NR25 db) and reverberation levels of below 2 seconds. Stages will be clear span build spaces with maximum heights of 34ft, providing productions with adaptable studio accommodation of scale, ideal for meeting the needs of large-scale productions filming in and around Bristol.

The importance of sustainability

Sustainability has been placed at the centre of the design and build process of the expansion site. Energy supply for the converted buildings will be supported by a large photovoltaic (PV) array, improved insulation and a sophisticated building management system designed to enable energy conservation. Transport around the Studios’ expanded footprint will be carbon neutral, with electric vehicle (EV) points and ample cycling provision supporting low carbon movement.

The expansion programme will also bring added benefits to local people through a series of training, skills and employability activities, apprenticeship opportunities and community project support co-ordinated by ISG as part of their contract.

Piers Tincknell, co-founder of WordPress and WooCommerce specialists Atomic Smash, is one of Bristol Creative Industries’ longest standing members. He joined in 2010 when his business was him and his co-founder David Darke. The company is now a team of 17. 

Dan Martin spoke to Piers about his business journey and how BCI has played a key role in his success.

How did you get started?

“My business partner David and I graduated from university with a digital arts degree. We had an assignment to come up with a hypothetical business that we might be able to run. Our idea was a podcasting network. We found that we worked really well together and when we graduated, we decided to set up our own actual business. We gave it three months. If we didn’t get any work or ran out of money, we’d get a proper job!

“We moved to Bristol but had no clients. We rented some desk space in Spike Island and immediately picked up work from other business people there. We were the only people in the space doing any form of web service so it was a rich source of collaboration. We did logo design, built websites, video editing, sound editing and 3D modelling. We did anything digital that people wanted us to do. We really got stuck in!

“A few years in we met someone who suggested we build our websites on WordPress as it was up and coming. We tried a few content management systems and decided WordPress was the one to use after a business adviser said that we needed to settle on a niche to be successful. It was also then that we hired our first employee.

How did you find your first employee and what is your advice to other small business owners for taking on their first member of staff?

“We posted a job ad on the Bristol Creative Industries job board. We received some applications and made a choice from those we interviewed. That person is still with us today.

“When you’re running a small business, it’s easy to hire the wrong person. Either you’re not going to pay enough money so you get somebody who’s too hard to manage and you need to upskill them so you can’t spend time on the high value work or you end up with somebody who’s not the right cultural fit.

“My advice around is to not panic hire. Don’t wait until you desperately need somebody to start the process of finding the right person. The longer the interview process and the more time you get to spend with somebody, the more likely you’re going to gel and find the right person. It will feel like a gamble because it’s a new fixed overhead, but if you need to think if the business is going in the right direction and you are going to have enough money in, say, six months time, let’s start the process as soon as possible.

“Doing it through Bristol Creative Industries is good too because you can keep recruitment costs down and I think it’s a more natural way of hiring. I totally see the room for recruiters when you’re a scale-up, but when you’re in your early stages and you’re all about building a good relationship with somebody, then doing it yourself can be so much better.”

You mentioned the right cultural fit being important for new employees. Did you set your business culture from the start?

“We never overtly set out our culture, but the culture we’ve ended up with is definitely a reflection of me and David as we are closely aligned. Our values are the same and that has been amplified into the business.

“Part of our company culture is learning and self development. We weren’t afraid to take on lots of different tasks at the beginning as we just wanted to learn and get stuck in. That has stuck with us and it’s something we encourage everyone in the business to do. Working in technology, you can’t sit still. You need to keep learning. That’s something we got from our university course. There was some software we studied in our first year that was obsolete by the final year!

“As your business grows, it’s really hard to hold onto your culture. I think at the beginning you just attract people who are similar to you. As you are working so closely together, often in the same room, you have to be really aligned to move forwards. When there’s 20 of you, it’s easy for everyone’s values to not quite align but you muddle through. Once you get to a certain size, the business owner needs to be much more overt about communicating their values internally and that messaging needs to be consistent.”

Why did you decide to join Bristol Creative Industries?

“We got lots of advice from other people at the start of our business journey. The top three tips were get some business insurance, find a mentor and join Bristol Creative Industries to meet new people.

“I’ve met loads of people through Bristol Creative Industries. In the early days, it was a way to get talking to a new contact if we were both members of BCI. It’s a great icebreaker. I’ve also been to lots of networking events over the years and attended programmes and other training.

“At the start when we didn’t have much money, membership was more of a commitment but we still saw the value in it. We enjoyed being able to connect with other business owners and realised Bristol Creative Industries was the best way to do that. As we’ve got bigger and we’ve become more self propelling, we want to give back. The money you give to BCI is about building Bristol as a community and promoting Bristol. We like that BCI is investing in the creative industries. It is so important for us so we want to do as much as we can to help promote it.”

Piers Tincknell, Atomic Smash

What key challenges have you had to deal with?

“I think it’s more competitive than ever in the digital agency space. That’s a really big challenge.

“Talent is another one. It’s great that Bristol is growing in popularity and there are lots of big technology companies coming here, but they are hoovering up lots of good developers and designers. As a small business, we can’t compete on salary so we try and compete on other things that are important to people.

“It’s nice having such a great spread of clients because people often come to work for us to be able to get access to those clients. [Atomic Smash’s clients including Spike Island, Bristol Ideas and Bristol Pride]. That wasn’t an intentional, strategic thinking thing, it was just just a natural thing that happened.

“We also communicate the flexibility that we offer and let people know that if they come and work for us, their destiny is in their own hands. We encourage self-starters and if they’ve got ideas, they can run with them. If people are motivated and they want to take on a side project or they want to get a bit more involved in a particular area, they can.

“We also understand that employees are humans with complex lives. We’re flexible around things like taking 30 minutes in the middle of the afternoon to do the school run. My business partner and I have just got down to four days a week. I’ve got a son now so I’m balancing working and parenting. That is open to everyone. Our working week is a shorter than many other businesses as we contract people for 35 hours a week. If they want to condense it into four days, they are more than welcome to do so.”

What are your thoughts on Bristol as a place to run a creative business?

“The best thing is the collaboration. That has enabled us to grow. We’ve done projects where we’ve worked directly with another agency. They’ve done some design work, and then we’ve done the implementation or vice versa. That has been of been one of the keys to our success.

“Bristol does collaboration really well, which is shown by the amount of people I’ve met through Bristol Creative Industries.

“The Bristol business culture is laid back. That’s great but it does mean that businesses are not always as good as those in other cities at self-promotion. If you look at it from the outside, it can seem like Bristol is not as hungry as cities like Manchester and London.”

What are top tips for business success?

“If we had set the business up in 2010 in our bedrooms and not in a workspace, there’s no way we would have met the people who gave us work at the start. Try and set up your new business in a hub or a workspace where there’s other people on the same journey and you’ve got mentors and advisers on hand.

“Find the best people if you’re going to take on staff. If they cost you a bit more, then it’s definitely worth it, and once they’re on board, look after them.

“Finally, I say enjoy the journey! It’s pretty up and down and it doesn’t end, so you’ve got to enjoy it as you go.”

Fancy joining Piers Tincknell as a Bristol Creative Industries member? Benefit from industry expertise, training, leads, curated news, kudos and more. Sign up here.

Your company’s growth depends on your ability to sell and get new customers through the door quickly.  But many of us recoil from the thought, let alone action, of selling, networking and prospecting for new business. 

Louisa Clarke, partner at The Caffeine Partnership and co-author of Catalyst: Using Personal Chemistry to Convert Contacts Into Contracts, joined us for a keynote event to demystify the science and art of business development and to provide practical advice on how to catalyse relationships that will win you new clients. Bristol Creative Industries editor Dan Martin summarises her brilliant tips.

We all know the cheesy theories and tactics that many so-called experts share when talking about business development. For Louisa, all that management speak makes prospecting for new business sound “academic and joyless”, when it’s actually simply about people and human relationships. 

Louisa’s book relates business development to a catalyst, a process to make a chemical reaction happen more quickly, without changing the catalyst itself. 

She believes the job of business development “is to be a person whose enthusiasm and energy causes others to be more friendly, enthusiastic and energetic in response”. 

When two people share a special connection, they develop a rapport. The person then develops an impulse to feel a need to see that person again. “Business development is about catalysing relationships, creating connections between human beings that change fortunes,” Louisa explained. 

The importance of networking

“Business development is really just about staying in touch with people and being helpful in a conscious, methodical way”, Louisa said.

To find those people in the first place is where networking comes in.

But the thought of networking, selling and prospecting for new business fills many people with dread. They feel “entrapped and pressurised”, Louisa said, and even if they do form new contacts, “they struggle to turn them into something more commercial because how do you go from contract to contract without losing your soul?”

The danger is you fall into the trap of becoming a professional networker, Louisa warned. We all know at least one of them. The person who makes it all about them, who when talking to you scans the room for someone more interesting, who never follows up and who never says thankyou if you help them.” 

So how can you avoid being one of those people and become an effective networker? Here are Louisa’s tips. 

You need to show up

If you have that fear of networking, you have to get over it because you have to get out there. The first step is showing up. 

You need to be wherever your potential clients are, be it conferences, events, trade show dinners or even the queue at an airport. 

Louisa challenged attendees to force themselves to say ‘yes’ to every invitation they get in a month and force themselves to show up. 

Overcome the fear of rejection

Most people have a fear of rejection which, Louisa said, stops us from making the first move so we stick with what and who we know. 

But think about the first time you met your best friend, your life partner, your long standing client; all the best relationships start with someone being brave enough to make the first move and someone else reacting positively to the person who had that courage.”

Louisa continued: “When we ask about someone’s journey or the weather or what someone’s work is, what we’re really saying is ‘I’m friendly. Are you friendly?’, Or ‘can I get on with you?’ But it’s too weird to actually say that. So ‘what do you do?’ remains our stock phrase. 

“And it’s not what we say in reply that matters, but how we say it. We introduce ourselves so many times in the world of work, no wonder we can often sound bored about it. But the person opposite is hearing this for the first time. Make it interesting for them to hear.”

When someone asks you ‘what do you do?’, think about how you can answer it in an interesting way. Louisa gave the examples of the team at the Caffeine Partnership who say “we help impatient leaders grow their businesses and brands fast” and an executive coach who describes her work as “holding the mirror in front of clients until they start to really see themselves”. 

Stop selling, start helping

Louisa said that many people forget the golden rule: “Networking is about acting with the aim of advancing someone else’s agenda, not your own.”

She added: “The currency of effective networking is not personal or corporate greed, but generosity. When you are networking, there’s zero pressure on you to make a sale or close a deal. In fact, if you rush to sell and close the deal too soon in the relationship, you’ll find it counterproductive. Networking is about getting to know people and being helpful to them so that when they need you, you are there.”

Louisa shared an example: “I met a stranger at a dinner. We bonded over both being working mums and the conversation turned to a project she was struggling with. It was in the area of employee engagement which is one of our specialties. My radar was on and it sounded like something we could help with. 

“I then deployed one of my favourite new business questions: ‘Would it be helpful if….?’. ‘Would it be helpful if I sent you some examples of similar projects we’ve done?’, ‘sent you a book on the subject that my colleague wrote?’, ‘took a look at your brief and suggested how we could help?’ I didn’t try to sell, I just tried to help.”

Meet fellow creatives at the BCI Walk & Talk outdoor networking event on 4 March. Book now.

Cast your net wide

In these uncertain times, investing heavily in just a handful of key relationships is the wrong approach, Louisa said. Instead, cast your net as wide as possible. 

Louisa related a story of someone she met at an event where a colleague was delivering a speech. The woman said she knew the ‘Alan Sugar of Barbados’ and thought The Caffeine Partnership could help him. It sounded too good to be true but three months later, she got back in touch to set up a meeting. It led to a six month project that netted almost $1m in fees and four trips to Barbados.

That example shows you should never close the door on someone who wants to work with you, however far-fetched the opportunity may seem. You never know where it might lead, even to a beach in the tropics.

Take the pressure off

Talking to strangers when there’s no deal to be done or meeting to secure is much easier. That’s why you should take the pressure off yourself when prospecting for new business. If someone tells you what they do and you jump straight in with a sales pitch, you’ll come across as self interested, obvious that you’re after something and that you have selfish motives. 

“Treat every new acquaintance as a chance to practice your ability to build rapport rapidly,” Louisa said. “Don’t sell but help. What is it that you do that could be helpful to that person? Invest the effort in practising not because you’re manipulative, but because you’re in the business of making contacts and might be potentially of use to them. 

“The more contacts you make, the better you’ll become at making them. The more people will want your help and the easier it will be to get even more people to see you as a useful contact.”

Be a diligent farmer

Louisa said the best model for business developers to adopt is diligent farmers. 

“They work consistently, they never slack, they shepherd their flock and steer them from danger. They invest care and attention on each and every one of their charges. Their interests are best served by serving others’ interests brilliantly and when the time comes, they reap the benefits. 

“The simple secret to their success is that they create a relationship with their prospects that builds cumulatively over time, that by the time the potential buyer becomes an actual buyer, it’s a foregone conclusion that they will buy from the diligent farmer.”

Like farming, business is a long game. Too often, people only turn the new business tap on when the need for new revenue is urgent. “But if you are a diligent farmer, you will have a constant stream of potential clients who are not just in the market to buy now but are predisposed to buy from you because they’ve been looked after by you.”

Be consistent

“One of the secrets of high performance is consistency,” Louisa said. “All top performers, whether they’re comedians, Olympians, artists or CEOs, are more consistent than the rest of us. They show up to do the work whether they feel like it or not, they don’t procrastinate and they don’t make excuses. They just do it.”

This can be explained by what has become known as The Seinfeld Strategy.

It’s the story of a young American comedian at the start of his career who met global superstar comedian Jerry Seinfeld. He asked him for advice on how he could improve. Seinfeld replied that the way to be a better comic is to create better jokes. The way to create better jokes is to write every day. He asked the young comedian to get a big wall planner with a year on one page. With a big red pen, write a big red cross over the day. After a few days you’ll have a chain. Keep going and the chain grows longer every day. You’ll like seeing the chain especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job is to not break the chain.

“Notice that nothing was said about results,” Louisa said. “Nothing was said about the quality of the work. All that matters is not breaking the chain.” Consistency and developing a behaviour is the key to success.

According to a study by UCL published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, it takes 66 days for new behaviour to become automatic. 

“In that spirit, start your prospecting activity with a 60 day plan,” Louisa advised. “This is less about filling in an activity for every single day but more about keeping yourself accountable for a set period. New business prospecting isn’t something you can turn off and on like a switch. It should be a constant stream of day to day activity.”

Network with fellow Bristol Creative Industries members at the BCI Walk & Talk outdoor event on 4 March. Don your walking boots and meet fellow creatives while enjoying the beautiful countryside around Bristol. Register here

First event: 10th February 1.30pm – 2.15pm

Bristol-based web design and development agency, Unfold has just launched a brand-new events series, Below the Fold. The series centres successful business people, giving them a platform to share learnings from their journeys. Hosted by Unfold’s founder, Harry Cobbold, these events aim to educate and inform attendees with insider knowledge and tips for success.

What it takes to get your business acquired

The first episode in the series will see Gapsquare’s Zara Nanu taking the guest seat, with Harry interviewing her on Gapsquare’s recent acquisition and what it takes to build and acquirable business.

You can catch the event on 10th February 2022 from 1.30pm – 2.15pm. All events in the series will be held virtually via Zoom for the foreseeable future. If you can’t make the date, you can register in any case and you will be sent the session recording following the event.

Register for the event here.

When it comes to freelancers & business, I’ve spent a good amount of time with both the hiring manager and the freelancer hat on.

I’m a former Marketing Manager, now a full-time creative freelancer and I know first-hand the positive impact a good freelancer can have on a growing business. But, I’ve also seen it go tits-up more times than I can count.

Building a business is a constant balancing act, particularly in the early days or during big growth periods, a good freelancer or two to help you ‘fake it until you make it’ can make the world of difference to your business.

This is why I’ve pulled together three tips to make your next freelancing mission a success.

1. Scout, Interview & Hire Them As If They’re An Employee

Hiring a freelancer can sometimes feel like a commitment-free relationship, like a friends-with-benefits setup where either party could drop one another at any point, with no hard feelings or consequences to anyone’s feelings.

And while that’s technically true ,  viewing a freelancer as a disposable resource for your business usually will just mean the relationship is destined to fail. In my experience, the most successful freelance positions I’ve been involved in were subject to a proper recruitment process from the outset.

With the exception of the much-loathed cover letter and CV, I’ve always found that having a proper (& maybe less formal) interview or introductory call, followed by a trial and a two-way conversation about rates, availability and expectations will set you up for success.

This ‘hiring’ process is a great way to weed out anyone who isn’t serious about you and your business. Taking the time to properly vet your candidates means you’ve got a better chance of the freelancer, and the work they do, being a success.

Tip: Don’t treat the trial like an exam or an opportunity to scrutinise every inch of their work. Instead take note of the way they work, the tone of voice, their turnaround time and the way they communicate with you. These factors are going to be far more important to the long-term success of the relationship, rather than a minor typo you’ve spotted in paragraph four.

2. Processes, Procedures & Accountability

Rule number one of expanding your team, be it with a freelancer, an actual employee or your very first assistant, is to document your processes and procedures first. And by first, I mean before you even put the job ad out.

Having all the responsibilities, the systems, the tools and the desired outcomes of the position you want your freelancer to fill will help you a) find the right person, as you’ll know exactly what you’re looking for and b) onboard and train them once you do find them.

Take a little extra time to put together a reference bible of processes and procedures that you can arm your new freelancer with. This will mean that from the moment they’re hired, they’ll be able to understand exactly what it is you want from them, when you want it and how you’d like them to deliver it.

3. Let Them Get On With It

If you’ve done your due diligence throughout steps one and two, then you should have no qualms about leaving your freelancer to get on with the job. Chances are, you’ve hired a freelancer to complete tasks that you either a) don’t have the capacity for, or b) don’t have the skills or expertise required. Either way, you’ve hired them for a jolly good reason and the best thing you can now do is let them do what they do best.

In a day and age when we’re all now more than comfortable working remotely and have been forced to trust our employees and team members, trusting your freelancer should feel no different. And if you’ve built an accountability tracker into your processes and systems, then you can easily check in with their work there and make sure they’re on track.

Remember that a good freelancer will generally charge more per hour than an employee on your payroll. So, to get the biggest bang for your buck, keep them focused on (and charging for) their specialist work only rather than any administrative tasks or calls.

Over To You

Now you’re in the know it’s time to implement these guidelines next time you’re working with a freelancer.

Jemma Adams - I’m a brand strategist, website designer and digital marketer serving unique and passionate businesses and entrepreneurs in the food, drink and design space tinybrand.co

As we approach a new year, Bristol Creative Industries editor Dan Martin looks back at 2021.

It has been another very challenging year for business. We started 2021 with the pandemic continuing to take hold and we sadly end it with COVID-19 still very much dominating the headlines.

As restrictions eased over the summer and we saw a welcome return to in-person meetings and events, we were hopeful of a return to business as usual in 2022. However, Omicron looks set to have put paid to that with new restrictions very much on the cards in the new year, if not sooner.

But if there’s one thing we know about creative industries businesses in our region, it’s your resilience and creativity!

We’ve seen so much innovation over the past 12 months and we are delighted to see increases across all our membership categories as businesses looked to the network to boost knowledge and form new collaborations.

Our total membership is up 50% over the year with business membership seeing a 26% increase. In addition, individual membership has risen 20% and our student membership has grown by 123%.

Chris Thurling, chair of Bristol Creative Industries, said: “Despite the immense challenges of the pandemic, the year at Bristol Creative Industries has included many positives.

“The situation has encouraged more businesses to see the value of connecting, networking and collaborating. It’s great to see an increase in our membership, our events remaining very popular and the growth of many member businesses. At times throughout the year, our jobs board has featured more jobs than ever before!

“The prognosis for the creative industries in the region is a healthy one. In many ways, lockdown has liberated the creative industries from the south east. Many have realised that to build a successful business, you don’t need to be in the centre of London.

“People still want to be near a strong ecosystem and Bristol and Bath have got the combination of factors needed to be competing as alternative locations for creatives.”

Diversity on the agenda

The year kicked off with a big announcement as we revealed the new BCI board of directors. They are Julz Davis, Marissa Lewis-Peart, Heather Wright, Gail Caig and Dr. Susan McMillan.

As we said in January: “The diversity of Bristol’s creative industries is something we are immensely proud of, but we also recognised the need for our board to better reflect that diversity. We need individuals who can bring different perspectives and experiences and help us widen our reach across the city. That will help us to future proof the organisation and better support our members.

“We are extremely grateful to the stellar line-up of individuals who have joined our board. With their incredible expertise, they will help us build stronger connections with creative businesses, government organisations and individuals in all corners of the city.”

Talent and diversity remained a strong theme throughout the year and a focus of our efforts to support our members.

It’s a subject we discussed with Heather Wright, the BCI board director who spent 22 years at Aardman, during an in-depth interview in July.

She said: “You get a better quality of idea when you have lots of different windows on the world in front of you. Everybody comes with a different window and a different viewpoint. The more ideas you have in the room from different places the better.

“That’s the problem with the Westminster bubble; they talk to people like themselves all the time. The only way to break out of the bubble is to go further and have a greater diversity of ideas. That comes from a greater diversity of people including ethnic diversity as well as age, people who are less able bodied etc. It’s all about having people with something different to bring which is not the usual employing people in your image which is often the worst thing you can do.”

In September, we launched The Talent Network which gives 17 to 21 year-olds the opportunity to network with creative employers in Bristol and Bath.

The first event allowed young people to find out what skills creative employers are looking for – now and in the future – and to ask the questions they’ve always wanted to ask such as ‘how do I get a job in TV?’, ‘What skills should I focus on?’ and ‘How can I turn gaming into a career?’.

Chris Thurling, BCI chair, said: “A common challenge for our members is the struggle to hire a workforce with the right skills. There are, however, lots of young people with the skills needed but they don’t know the pathways in.

“BCI is there to do the things agencies can’t do on their own and by adding our unique capabilities, we can help tackle the challenge of connecting talent to businesses. We have already started with initiatives like the Talent Network but it is just the start of many things to come.”

Bristol Creative Industries events in 2021

We had a busy events programme this year including our monthly virtual members’ lunches where we love catching up with lots of you.

We’ve also had many workshops and keynote events. Big thanks to all the experts for sharing their expertise.

January:

BCI board member Marissa Lewis-Peart led a student networking event and Kit Altin led an online workshop on writing the perfect creative brief.

February:

David C. Baker, described by the New York Times as “the expert’s expert”, joined us from the US for a brilliant keynote event covering how creative businesses can write the perfect positioning statement. We’ve summarised his tips here.

March:

Social media expert Drew Benvie told us all about the app that everyone was talking about, Clubhouse. Read a summary of his tips here.

Digital agency mentor Janusz Stabik began a series of three workshops explaining the strategy needed to run an efficient and effective agency. Read Janusz’s blog post on how to attract better quality agency clients in three easy steps and download his free strategic growth planner for digital agencies.

Lawyer Rebecca Steer from Steer & Co delivered a Brexit and Covid-19 legal update. Find the latest legal news and advice on Rebecca’s blog.

Katie Scotland began a series of four workshops to help attendees use their strengths to feel more confident, have more impact, build better relationships & create more inspiring ways of working with others.

April:

Paul Feldwick worked at the legendary creative agency Boase Massimi Pollitt for over 30 years. His latest book, Why Does the Pedlar Sing?, examines what creativity really means in advertising. He joined us to share some of his insights. Read a summary here.

May:

The team at Tonic Creative Business Partners shared perspectives on what makes great content.

June:

Kit Altin returned for a workshop on how to be more persuasive, and Tom Evans, co-founder of strategy, design and communication agency BEHAVIOUR, shared advice on presenting creative work.

August:

We held our first in-person event for many months as a group of BCI members joined us to discuss funding for creative businesses. Attendees said it would be useful if we could provide regular updates on the finance schemes that are available for creative companies in the south west and beyond. As a response, we published this post and we’re keeping it updated.

September:

We ran a networking event with a difference as a group of members donned their walking boots to explore the beautiful Mendips. The feedback was very positive and we are planning to run another Walk & Talk event with Outside next spring.

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Andy Nairn, who has been named the UK’s number one brand strategist for the past three years, joined us for a fascinating and entertaining event. In his new book, he explains how the history of marketing and advertising is full of brands that stumbled across great ideas by accident or turned misfortunes into huge successes. During the event, Andy highlighted examples and outlined the lessons for creative companies. We summarised his insights here.

Consultant Mette Davis-Garratt and Morag Ofili from Kiltered began a brilliant five-part series to help people make sense of what diversity and inclusion means for their business, why it matters, and how to turn the conversation into action.

October:

With the aim of giving 17 to 21 year-olds the opportunity to network with creative employers in Bristol, we launched a new collaborative initiative called The Talent Network. We teamed up with education provider boomsatsuma for the first event and gave young people the chance to find out what skills creative employers are looking for and to ask the questions they’ve always wanted to ask.

If you’re a creative industries employer and would like to get involved in The Talent Network, please contact alli@bristolcreativeindustries.com.

Anne Thistleton, who has spent over 20 years as a marketing practitioner in the field of mind science, joined us from South Africa for an online event where she shared fascinating insights about how understanding the way the human mind works can help creatives build more effective campaigns. Here’s a summary of her brilliant advice.

Bristol Creative Industries members in 2021

One of the benefits of Bristol Creative Industries membership is publishing your own content on our website. We love reading your news!

Here are some members highlights from 2021:

BCI members have won plenty of awards this year including Unfold, Mr B & Friends and Launch.

Other reasons to celebrate included Atomic Smash becoming a WordPress VIP Silver Agency Partner, the opening of Gather Round’s second co-working space in Bristol and Gravitywell being named among the top app developers in Bristol.

Congratulations to you all!

We’ve seen some fabulous innovation by BCI members for great causes in 2021. Here are some examples:

We love behind the scenes peeks at our members’ businesses and this post is one of our favourites. It’s the story of how digital designer Mayumi Kurosawa has overcome incredible odds to get to where she is today – a much-loved member of the Proctor + Stevenson team.

Bristol is home to some of the best arts organisations in the UK and we were delighted to welcome two of them – art gallery Royal West of England Academy and concert hall St George’s Bristol – as members in 2021.

BCI members have also shared some brilliant business advice in 2021. Here are the 20 most popular posts.

You can read all the news, advice and updates from BCI members here.

The Bristol and Bath creative economy in 2021

TV and film production

Looking at wider happenings for the creative industries in Bristol and Bath, 2021 has been a huge year for film and TV production in the region.

In a very popular article, The Guardian said: “TV crews are falling over each other to film drama in ‘Bristolywood'”, with a 225% rise in production on pre-pandemic levels. There were four major drama productions under way in Bristol in 2019/20. That grew to 13 during the first quarter of 2020/21 and since January this year, 15 high-end TV dramas have been filmed in the city.

Among the high profile shows calling Bristol their home are The Outlaws, the comedy thriller from local boy Stephen Merchant, and BBC legal drama Showtrial.

Forget James Bond, here’s the red carpet event of the year. Premiere of my new show The Outlaws last night – and proud to hold it in my hometown of Bristol. #theoutlaws pic.twitter.com/YCmlFWhF3d

— Stephen Merchant (@StephenMerchant) October 5, 2021

Bath has also been popular with production companies including being transformed into a winter wonderland in the middle of autumn for the new Willy Wonka movie with Timothée Chalamet.

Animation is a big deal in the region too, thanks to the likes of Bristol Creative Industries member Aardman, which has recently launched Robin Robin on Netflix.

Speaking of Netflix, the streaming giant organised a special event in Bath’s Assembly Rooms in November to celebrate the success of its productions made in the South West. The location for the event is featured in global hit Bridgerton.

As the film below shows, the UK economy has been boosted by over £132m over the last two years as a result of Netflix productions created in the South West of England.

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In other broadcast events this year, Channel 4, which opened a creative base in Bristol in 2020, delivered its evening news programme from Bristol Beacon on 10 September. It was part of the Black to Front project, a day of programming featuring Black presenters, actors, writers and experts, contributors, and programme-makers. The one hour news broadcast featured a wide-ranging discussion on contested heritage, Black Lives Matter and Bristol mayor Marvin Rees on what has happened since the toppling of the Edward Colston statue.

Publishing its “blueprint for the future”, the BBC said it will expand its BBC Studios base in Bristol. BCI chair Chris Thurling said: “Spreading investment more evenly across the UK is the right thing to do, and I welcome the BBC’s explicit commitment to Bristol.”

Education

The creative industries education sector continued to grow in 2021 with the breadth of courses on offer to the next generation demonstrated by this guide we published in October to further and higher education in Bristol and Bath.

BCI member bootsatsuma has done some great things this year including an innovative street poster exhibition showcasing the work of some of its brilliant students.

Access Creative College resurrected Bristol’s iconic Bierkeller as an events and education space. The venue previously welcomed some of the biggest names in music to its stage, including Nirvana, The Stone Roses and Arctic Monkeys.

Arts and culture

Despite what has been another hugely challenging year for the arts, you could still get your cultural fix in Bristol and Bath with artists and others adapting to the need for safe and outdoor events.

Street art festival Upfest was cancelled again but more than 75 murals were created on the walls of south Bristol for locals and visitors to explore during their own personal walking tours.

Bristol artist Luke Jerram, who has achieved international success, brought his stunning In Memoriam installation to the city’s College Green in October. It was created from over 100 flags, made from NHS hospital bed sheets as a memorial to losses during the COVID-19 pandemic and in tribute to the NHS, health and social care staff and volunteers who have given so much to so many.

Luke Jerram’s spectacular Museum of the Moon, a suspended model of the moon measuring seven metres in diameter, went on show in Bristol Cathedral in August and is displayed in Bath Abbey until Christmas Eve.

As the COP26 conference took place in October, an art piece was installed in Pulteney Weir in Bath to highlight the climate change emergency. Sinking House is a red 5.5m by 3.5m house semi-submerged in the water.

The brilliant Love Bristol campaign continued with the painting of socially distanced hearts which were perfect for sitting with your household or group of six to enjoy takeaways from nearby businesses in the spring sunshine.

The festive edition of the campaign is Christmas Adventures, a trail of illuminated lyrics from classic Christmas songs.

Royal West of England Academy launched a multi-million pound renovation project with pop-up exhibitions in other venues around the city so people can still enjoy the art.

Looking forward to 2022

We end the year with uncertainty. As a new variant of coronavirus takes hold, it’s possible we will see in the new year with more restrictions. It may not be a full lockdown but we’re likely to return to Zoom calls, takeaway eating and quieter streets.

There is much to look forward to though. We have been so impressed by the continued resilience and innovation of our region’s creative businesses in 2021 which stands us in good stead for the future.

BCI is here to support and we urge you to take part in our super important survey so we can shape our future support and advocate to the government what the region’s creative economy needs.

As we wish you all a fabulous Christmas and brilliant new year, we’ll close with the words of Alli, our membership manager, from her interview in September:

“We help members to learn, grow, and connect. It’s through connecting that people learn and grow. We are a community of people who have a common interest of working in or being interested in the creative industries in Bristol and the surrounding area. We’re the central hub that brings everyone together.”