Charity Archives | Page 2 of 3 | Bristol Creative Industries

Branding is often associated with big commercial enterprises. Nike, Google, Amazon, Coca-Cola, are all instantly recognisable around the world – why? Because they’ve got good branding.

A strong brand identity helps to build trust and credibility through consistency and identifiability. That’s why it’s just as important for not-for-profits and charities.

What’s the benefit of brand marketing for charities?

A strong brand says, ‘we know who we are and what we’re doing.’ And this is as critical for building partnerships and raising funds as it is for boosting sales. That’s because investors and donors aren’t just looking for a cause to support, they’re looking for an organisation they can rely on. And good branding conveys the confidence and credibility they’re looking for.

It also manifests a sense of permanence. Good branding can make a charity or not-for-profit feel less like an organisation and more like an established institution. When it comes to attracting funding – this is crucial. Investors want to know that their resources are going towards building something long-lasting – a legacy for themselves and the organisations they support.

The same goes for potential partners and collaborators. They want to be sure they’re putting their faith in the right organisation. A strong brand can help bolster your reputation.

Finally, brand marketing does a lot of the work for you. Through consistent messaging and a discernible visual identity, you can build familiarity and trust with every ad, every post, every email, every piece of content. This means your marketing strategy can be proactive as opposed to reactive. Which means less time and money poured into short-term gains, and more resources spent on the cause you’re fighting for.‍

What do we love about brand marketing for charities?

Diving in values first

A brand should never be pulled out of thin air. No matter the sector, a brand is a representation of a company’s mission, purpose, values and vision. When it comes to branding for charities and not-for-profits though, it’s especially important to put values front and centre.

Nowadays, lots of businesses are taking a values-first approach to their marketing. It’s a trend that rose around the wave of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). Every business, big and small, wants to be seen as driven by their purpose.

Charities and not-for-profits are built around purpose – so this part is easy. It’s setting them apart from one another that becomes the challenge.

Stretching our storytelling skills

Storytelling is an integral part of brand marketing. And it’s something our head of video and motion graphics, Tim Price, loves most about working with charities and not-for-profits. Why?

That’s right. Just like the customer is always right, the beneficiary is always the hero of the story. We kept this in mind when we put together this video for OTR – a mental health social movement by and for young people living in Bristol and South Gloucestershire.

Making it human

Brands, like people, have distinct personalities. Characteristics that help make them relatable as well as unique. And a critical part of identifying these key traits is working closely and collaboratively with our clients.

This is how we approached the rebrand for Housing Matters, who came to us feeling a disconnect between their origins as CHAS (Catholic Housing Aid Society) were and the modern and dynamic organisation they’d become.

We took a similar approach when working with Runnymede, the UK’s leading race equality think tank. By working closely with the Runnymede team to refresh their brand and bring it up to date, we were able to refresh their colour palette to reflects Runnymede’s bold ambitions.

Getting creative

As 2020 was such an unusual and difficult year for everyone, rather than produce our usual Christmas video full of jolly japes, we decided instead to donate our services and resources to a local charity – Caring in Bristol.

They wanted to create something that celebrated Bristol culture – something edgy and full of life to reflect their brand identity and motivate people to donate in the run up to Christmas.

For this reason, we didn’t want to go down the typical charity ‘pulling at your heartstrings’ route. Instead, we went full force with a script and art direction that entertained (with plenty of nods to Bristol and all its wonderful quirks!), whilst delivering the cold hard stats about people experiencing homelessness.

With this video, and the promotion around it, we helped raise over £20,000 in under 2 weeks in the lead up to Christmas. The video also accounted for over 60% of the charity’s engagement for the whole month of December.

What should organisations expect from their branding?

A branding project doesn’t always mean an entirely new identity. Sometimes it’s all about a simple refresh or incorporating more consistency across your messaging. But when we take on a branding project, we ensure we are providing not just the building blocks (like a logo, and new colour palette) but the blueprint, the tools, and the training to boot.

A good example of this is the branding work we did with Effat; Saudi Arabia’s first independent university for women.

In the end, we provided a comprehensive brand book detailing all aspects of their brand including messaging, logo usage, typography, photography style and a refined colour palette which has been given a clear structure with a core palette, college colours, tertiary palette and special colours. Katie went on to say:

That’s all to say – your branding should be more than a marketing exercise. It should be a collaborative journey for all involved. And it should leave you with a manifestation of your organisation that is timeless, emotive and strong.

Need help building your brand?

Whether you need advice or support with positioning, visual identity, a digital refresh, or all of the above, we’re here to help. Get in touch and book a free consultation today.

We LOVE big-budget TV ads like the John Lewis Christmas advert. They’ve really found the winning formula to maximise engagement and go viral.

In fact, we love it so much that we decided to give it a go ourselves. But instead of helping a big department store or supermarket grow its profits, we decided to help a charity grow its reach.

Love Squared is a Bristol-based charity who support young people and families with social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) needs.

They noticed a huge lack in services for young people and children who had aspirations but were missing out on reaching their potential because of SEMH needs, so they work to change this and provide the resources and support to those who need it.

With such a great cause, we knew we wanted to support them this year by donating our resources to create them a Christmas advert they can use to raise awareness and donations.

So were we. Here’s your guide to making a viral Christmas ad to rival the very best – whether you’re a charity, non-profit or B2B business.

Every year, audiences eagerly await high-production TV Christmas ads from John Lewis, M&S, Sainsbury’s, and a plethora of other consumer businesses. But this year, we’re seeing more and more clients take an interest in Christmas content and other seasonal campaigns – and for good reason.

As we all eagerly await this year’s marketing showdown, many businesses are thinking about their own festive advertising and how they can get a slice of the action.

The most popular Christmas ads really tug at the heartstrings. It’s the time of the year when people value togetherness, generosity and kindness the most, but it can also be a tough time for many. So, it’s important to capture the emotions of the festive seasons and make your audience feel seen and understood. Having said that, it should be hopeful and optimistic – after all, it is the most wonderful time of the year.

Our copy team put together a script that captured the emotion behind Love Squared’s amazing cause.

Focusing on issues of loneliness and mental health, we created a story that would speak to the challenges young people face, while reflecting the power of imagination – one of Love Squared’s primary values. We even got our best (only) David Attenborough impersonator in to do the voice-over.

From John Lewis to Sainsbury’s, all the best viral Christmas adverts embrace the cute-factor. And whether they take the form of animals, humans, dragons or monsters, the bigger the eyes, the more we seem to love them.

Our designers and animators created relatable characters with big eyes and even bigger dreams.

We wanted to introduce an imaginary friend that brings joy to a child’s life, presenting creativity, resilience and fun as an antidote to loneliness and boredom – and so, best friends Rita and Howie were born.

Emotive covers of popular songs are a staple of the annual Christmas-ad-off. Possibly the most successful among these are the John Lewis Christmas adverts that feature big stars covering even bigger ballads – from Lily Allen’s rendition of Keane’s Somewhere Only We Know to Gabrielle Aplin’s cover of Frankie Goes to Hollywood classic The Power of Love.

Our Love Squared Christmas ad features an acoustic track with an emotional hook: “when we’re together again” – which pairs perfectly with the beautifully animated scenes about loneliness and newfound friendship. Oosh! Right in the feels.

The trick to a truly amazing Christmas ad is to fully immerse your audience, perhaps even leaving them thinking: “How did they do it?” Whether that’s through impeccable animation or beautiful videography, or a mix of the two.

There really are no limits to what you can do with video and animation (other than budget, of course).

Our Video and Motion Graphics team did an amazing job of directing, producing and animating an impactful campaign video to support Love Squared.

Shout out to our A-list actors (A for ‘A member of our studio, marketing, HR and finance teams’) for some pretty impressive skills and even more expressive faces.

At P+S, we’re passionate about supporting amazing initiatives and organisations that offer support in our local community. Partnering with Love Squared for this video was a no-brainer.

Many B2B marketers mistakenly pour all their energy into lead generation, believing that B2B decision making is a head-over-heart endeavour, where common sense prevails. In reality, buying committees are equally as emotion-led as consumers, but with one key addition – risk.

It’s far more risky to introduce a lesser-known supplier/ partner to your business than it is to buy from an established one, so recognition and reputation are just as important for B2B brands – whose sales representatives are no longer in the room when these buying decision are made.

So, while we may not pour the same level of budget into TV and traditional media advertising, it’s still worth considering how B2B Christmas advertising can set you apart from the competition and make a memorable impression on prospective customers. Ultimately, you want them to remember your brand when they’re in market (just 5% of the time you spend plugging away at lead generation).

It’s the time of year to give back to those who need it most, that’s why we’re putting together a community foodbank.

The teams across mustard jobs are planning to rustle up as many long-life food, hygiene and sanitary products as possible. Last year’s foodbank donation was impressive, but this year we want to make it even bigger, that’s why we are enlisting the help of our local community.

So how can you get involved?

We’re making this donation as easy as possible for anyone who is interested in taking part. Just pop to the mustard jobs office with your donations, we’ll list the address details at the bottom of this page. Then, we’ll put it in one of our collection box for safe keeping, until we do the big drop off at the foodbank. We’ll get everything delivered to the foodbank by our mustard team, so there is no stress for you or your team.

Recommended items:

We have a great relationship with the St Nicholas of Tolentino Foodbank and they’ve let us know what they need the most.

It’s time to step up and support those who find themselves in crisis this winter. If you’d like to donate, please deliver your donations to:

If you have any questions or queries, feel free to reach out to the team on [email protected] | 0117 929 6060

Bristol Academy of Voice Acting (BRAVA) today announces their support of the world premiere of Shakespeare’s Women; a new play by playwright Lorien Haynes – performed at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Shakespeare’s Globe, London, on 7 January, 2024. BRAVA has pledged its financial support.

The piece is set in modern-day London and shines a light on ten of Shakespeare’s female characters who meet in a domestic abuse recovery group. Centuries have passed, yet nothing has changed and while they eat biscuits and talk they reveal their darkest secrets. Funny, hard-hitting and prescient, the play allows the women to survive their men and their narratives and finds out what they would have to say today.

All profits from the event will be donated by the producers to Refuge, the largest domestic abuse organisation in the UK.

“Lorien is passionate about amplifying women’s voices – particularly those not easily heard or silenced. At BRAVA, we align with this and are keen to support women’s stories that go untold. It’s a privilege to help bring this performance to life. We are proud to support Refuge in this way and to add our voice to raising awareness and funds for this hugely important cause.”

“It’s fantastic to team up with BRAVA, who are kindly helping us bring this new piece to its first audience. The themes that come up in the play are shocking, yet common. One in four women experience domestic abuse and one in three sexual violence in their lifetime. Our aim is to raise awareness and funds for Refuge, who work tirelessly 24/7 to support those who experience domestic abuse.”

BRAVA offers personalised training in the art and business of voiceover and is aimed at professionals who are interested in adding voice acting to their skillset.

All profits will be donated to Refuge. Refuge is the largest specialist domestic abuse organisation in the UK. On any given day Refuge services support thousands of survivors, helping them overcome the physical, emotional, financial and logistical impacts of abuse and rebuild their lives — free from fear.

Founded by experienced voice actor and communications consultant, Melissa Thom, BRAVA brings together acting and voice experts from the UK & US to deliver best in class training and advice about the industry.

Training is offered as personalised sessions and cover a wide range of topics, including Getting Started in VO, Corporate, Commercial and Narration, Characters, Audiobooks, Performance Techniques, Home Studio, Marketing, Vocal Health, Acting, VO & Shakespeare, Voice, Presence, Impact, Presentation Skills and more.

These Mad Hybrids (running from February to May 2024) is an exhibition of sculpture and paintings by John Hoyland, but also featuring work by other contemporary sculptors. Hoyland was one of the country’s leading abstract painters of the post-war period, but the ceramic sculptures which he made in 1994 – which he called These Mad Hybrids – have received little attention to date so we are very pleased to be able to bring them to the RWA, alongside sculpture by Caroline Achaintre, Phyllida Barlow, Nick Cave, Andrew Sabin, curated by Olivia Bax.

Costs for sponsorship range from £4,000 for non-exclusive sponsorship to £7,000 for an exclusive sponsorship.

In return, we offer a range of benefits and exposure to our audiences, which include an event in the galleries and, of course, logo and mentions in all our exhibition print and online, including our website, e-newsletters and social media posts to our wide audiences.

Sponsorship of the RWA is very much a collaborative process; we can tailor packages to make sure the sponsorship works for your company and your marketing and business development objectives.

Get in touch if you’d like to know more and have a chat over coffee and cake, and a walkround of the current 170 Annual Exhibition in our galleries ([email protected])

We’re excited to share that we will be supporting Caring in Bristol, as part of Studio Every‘s pledge of two weeks to two charities this year.

Caring in Bristol work in imaginative and creative ways with people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, with the public and community partners to bring about lasting change in Bristol and beyond.

We will be working with Caring in Bristol to explore ways that they can expand their corporate partnerships to create even more sustainable income for the future.

We look forward to contributing to the future strategy of this incredible charity, to help prevent homelessness.

Emmaus Bristol, which helps people out of homelessness and poverty, has been declared this year’s winner of a place on the coveted ‘Noble Deeds’ programme. Supporting charities and not-for-profits in the South West to carry out their essential activities, Emmaus Bristol will receive an £18,000 package of digital marketing support over the course of six months through the programme.

Emmaus Bristol provides a home and support to up to thirty formerly homeless men and women (known as companions), who also receive training and work experience by helping to run the charity’s shops and its other social enterprises. Enabling them to build the confidence and skills they need to secure future employment.

Funding its vital work, the charity also has three shops across the city and its surrounds, selling pre-loved furniture, clothes and household items. Including its Stokes Croft base which also houses a large warehouse and yard for sorting goods to sell or recycle.

Started in North America twenty years-ago by its sister company, this is the second year Bristol-based digital performance marketing agency Noble Performs has run its Noble Deeds pro bono initiative. The programme, which commits to putting a percentage of annual turnover to dedicated CSR activities, has increased this year’s prize fund by over 30% on its 2022 launch amount.

Entry to become a Noble Deeds Programme recipient opens in May each year with the winning not-for-profit announced ahead of the programme start in September, which runs through to February.

Creating a high level of interest this year once again from the local charity sector, Emmaus Bristol was selected due to the long-term impact it has on the community when it comes to supporting people out of poverty and homelessness.

Lorenzo Campbell, Noble Performs and chair of UK Deeds committee explains; “We love what Emmaus is doing in terms of how it equips people with the skills and experiences they need to build life beyond being a companion. In turn, creating a continuous pathway for those facing homelessness and poverty to get back on their feet and create a way forward for themselves. The way Noble Deeds works itself is not dissimilar, our aim is to help charities maximise the impact of their work through digital channels during the six-month programme, while at the same time giving them the skills they need to continue doing so in the long term.

“There is so much potential here with Emmaus Bristol having several elements to what it does – however, knowing where to focus and what activities will have the maximum impact is not easy. That’s where we come in, helping the in-house marketing team to get that clarity and to build an effective digital marketing programme that will give them maximum return on their efforts.”

With numerous worthwhile entrants to this years’ programme, given the cost-of-living crisis and the increased numbers of families and individuals facing homelessness and financial hardship, Emmaus became a clear winner due to its work in this area.

Talking about how the programme will help Emmaus in its current objectives, Stacey McDevitt, Regional Communications Manager, said: “We are delighted to be working with the Noble team to look at how we can shape our digital marketing efforts further to boost donations and create new revenue streams. As well as our shops and upcycling operations, we also have our online sales team, house clearance service and two new eco-pods for tourists, all raising vital funds for the accommodation and support we offer to help people rebuild their lives.

“This all needs to be communicated to the right audiences by a small in-house team and we hope the Noble programme can help us improve the way we do this. Like many charities right now, being able to fund our activities and do everything we need to do can be a challenge. Being able to identify and reach the right people who might be able to support us through digital channels is an essential part of this. We’re looking forward to drawing on Noble’s expertise here so we can be really targeted and make sure our efforts create the maximum impact. There are so many people who need our help right now in such difficult times financially so the more we can do to support them the better.”

Savvy art buyers get the chance to snap up bargain artworks and join in the fun as the RWA’s Secret Postcard Auction returns.

Following the huge success of the 2022 Secret Postcard Auction, the event will run online from 28 October to 9 November, with a physical display of the artworks on show at the RWA from 4-9 November.

An unmissable event in the RWA annual calendar, and a major fundraiser for us as an independent charity, the Secret Postcard Auction offers you the opportunity to make the winning bid on original artworks by famous, or soon-to-be-famous, artists!

As the name suggests, all the artworks are postcard size – albeit a large postcard, at approximately 14 x 19cm cm (5½” x 7½”). The postcards can be viewed, and bids can be placed on our 32 Auction site. It’s great fun and bidding can get fierce but there’s plenty of opportunity to grab a wonderful original work of art for as little as £40!

This year, as well as being online, you’ll have the opportunity to get a closer look at the postcards while they’re on display in the Youngwood Room at the RWA from 4 – 9 November.

Last year’s postcards included works by Sir Frank Bowling RA, Eileen Cooper RA, Maggie Hambling, David Remfry RA to name just a few. This year’s entries have started to roll in and we can already confirm contributions from Jeremy Deller, Anne Desmet RA, Simon Drew, Gilbert and George RA, Kurt Jackson RWA, Andrew Lanyon, Sir Richard Long RA RWA, Mali Morris RA, Cathie Pilkington RA and Bob & Roberta Smith RA, with many more to be revealed.

All of the contributing artists are named, but the identity of who did which artwork is anonymous until the auction has closed.

Bidding opens for the public on 28 October and will close at 10pm on 9 November 2023.

Since its re-opening last year, the RWA has welcomed more visitors to its building than at any time in its history and brought life-enhancing creativity to people who’ve never had that opportunity before, but we can only continue to do this with your help.

As an independent charity with less than 1% of costs covered from the public purse each year, we rely on our fundraising efforts to keep the doors open and run our outreach programme, engaging people in some of Bristol’s most under-represented communities. The money raised by the Secret Postcard Auction is a vital contributor to our finances. Last year we were blown away by the support, as donations reached over £70,000, while bidders still walked away with incredible bargains.

Keep an eye on the RWA website for details, and GOOD LUCK with your bidding!

The RWA (Royal West of England Academy) is delighted to announce the return of its renowned Annual Open Exhibition for the 170th year, running for an extended period, from 9 September 2023 to 14 January 2024.

This dynamic and varied exhibition features painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture, and mixed media submissions and is a showcase of some of the most exciting artists from across the country and beyond.

Amongst this year’s selection panel were invited artist Charmaine Watkins; President of the RWA Fiona Robinson; artist and Rabley Gallery director Meryl Ainslie, and Academicians Dallas Collins VPRWA, Lucy Austin RWA, Angel Lizon RWA and Karl Singporewala RWA. They assessed every artwork on its own merits, anonymously, before being able to bring down the 4000+ entries to just over 400. No mean task when the standard of work submitted was so high!

Alison Bevan, RWA Director, says: “This year above all others, we have been quite overwhelmed by the variety and standard of artworks submitted by every kind of artist, from long-established veterans to fresh new talent just finding its artistic voice. No matter what kind of art you enjoy, we can promise every visitor will find lots to love!”

The Annual Open reflects the RWA’s ongoing commitment to championing world-class art in the region and creating opportunities for new and emerging talent. It includes in excess of £10,000 in prize money, including the £5000 Academy Prize and a £4000 Other Art Prize.

All the original artwork on display is for sale not only in the galleries, but also online, with prices starting at less than you’d pay for a furniture-shop print. Buying art helps support both the artists and the RWA, which is a completely independent charity (1070163) delivering life-enhancing creative opportunities for young people and adults across Bristol.

Tickets to the Annual Open Exhibtion are £8.90 (concessions available), or for just £15 you can buy an RWA Art Pass, which allows unlimited access to all our ticketed exhibitions as many times as you like for a whole year. https://www.rwa.org.uk

Redeemer City to City is an international non-profit organisation with a heart for urban renewal – seeking to recruit, train and resource leaders to start new churches and strengthen existing ones.

Studio Floc were invited to create the identity and event collateral for Redeemer’s ‘Hub Weekend’; a high-profile fundraising weekend based in New York City.

Campaign idea
Taking place at the 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, the driving idea behind the event’s campaign was one of connection, with delegates travelling from all over the world to join for the weekend. Studio Floc used the idea of connecting people and creating paths to new places as the core concept. This was rolled out across an extensive design suite of event collateral which was used in the lead up and throughout the weekend.

Never ending connection
At the heart of the event’s design concept was a vast illustration, created in-house to capture the breadth and vitality of life in New York City, the home of Redeemer City to City. Subtle details in the cityscape worked to honour other global partner cities. The mural, formed from continuous line drawings, was then, paired with type and colour, used both in sections and as a whole piece across the event assets.

Colour and typography
Supporting the illustration-heavy campaign was a subtle, yet extensive typographic system that was driven by the elegant serif, Chronicle Text (Hoefler & Co). Alongside the typography, a stripped back colour palette of navy and alabaster were used as the foundation for every design.

At the event
As part of the event, Studio Floc recreated the core illustration and hand drew a 17ft x 9ft mural in the atrium of the 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, as a visual centrepiece to the event. Other designed collateral at the event included; table numbers, name cards, place cards, menus, bespoke fabric napkins, tote bags, information booklets and cards, signage, wayfinding, video creation and much more.

The Hub Weekend was a great success in raising money for the continuation of Redeemer’s work in cities worldwide. Studio Floc are already working on the event design for the next Hub Weekend in 2024 and look forward to further collaboration with Redeemer City to City in the future.

“Studio Floc are my go-to designers for event collateral. They are creative, sensitive, timely, very fun to work with, and brilliant at bringing my often-incomplete vision to a finished, effective, beautifully designed product. I’ve already recommended them to others and will continue to do so.”

Susan Thorson
Manager, Communications
Redeemer City to City