Sir Peter Bazalgette is one of the most influential figures in the UK’s creative industries.
As the former chairman of Endemol UK and creative director of Endemol Group Worldwide, he was responsible for some of the most successful and recognisable television shows of the past 25 years, including Big Brother, Ready Steady Cook, Ground Force and Changing Rooms.
Sir Peter, who was also chairman of Arts Council England and non-executive chairman of ITV, was recently appointed as the new chancellor of the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol).
In an interview with Dan Martin, he discusses his career, the support needed from the new government to grow the UK’s creative industries, how to improve the sector’s diversity, and why he has taken on the role of UWE Bristol’s new chancellor.
For an extra insight, read to the end to discover Sir Peter’s favourite TV show of all time!
Sir Peter Bazalgette officially took up his role as chancellor of UWE Bristol at the university’s graduation ceremonies in July, which were held for the first time at Bristol Beacon following a new partnership between the two organisations.
“Until 1955, there was only the BBC, and until 1982, there was only the BBC and ITV. Then there was Channel Four, and then Channel Five came along in the 90s. So even by the 1990s, there were very few channels. Sky Television and Virgin weren’t there at that point, but subscription TV came along when they arrived.
“Fast forward to recently and when I was chairing ITV, we launched ITV X and to be listed we had to negotiate with more than 30 platforms.
“In terms of production, that has changed a lot too. We used to just have public service media putting money into television production, but now we’ve got Netflix alone spending more than a billion in the UK, not to mention Apple, Amazon, Disney and so on.
“It’s changed massively, and people are consuming their TV when they want and how they want.”
“As much as documentaries are wonderful things, try to have a repeat series, whether it’s factual or fictional, but one that can be repeated and can come back again because that gives you certainty and turnover.
“You should also have a range of clients among both the streamers and the public service media.”
“None of us ever know the night before a show goes out for the first time whether it’s going to be a complete flop or a big hit.
“Big Brother had already become a massive phenomenon in Germany, Spain and Holland before it came to the UK, but not every format works in every country. For example, Survivor has never really taken off in the UK, but it has been a hit in America since the 1990s.
“When Big Brother launched, it was like trying to ride a bucking bronco. It got bigger and bigger. It was on the front page of every newspaper every day, and we had the press on our doorsteps.
“In most of the early Big Brother houses in other countries, the key talking points were two housemates getting amorous with each other. But true to form in Britain, we instead had a class struggle, with working class Craig defeating middle class Nick, who became known as Nasty Nick. Lots of people couldn’t believe we hadn’t set the whole thing up, but we had no idea any of that was going to happen, none at all.”
“It was massively controversial wherever it was broadcast. People thought it was exploitative and invasive, but actually it was interesting in that it had a transsexual woman, a gay man, someone who suffered from Tourette syndrome, and all sorts of extraordinary people who at the time were demonised. But they won because people saw their lovely character shining through, and so it did have a positive element.
“It was also an example of early fusion technology because it was on TV as an edited programme, it was on the internet, people watched it live, and you could vote on the telephone. It represented a convergence of media, and it was part of the process of the generation, who today on their mobile phones shoot and edit videos, becoming media literate. They used to watch the live transmission, and then watch the edited programme, before complaining we hadn’t put certain bits in, or we’d been unfair to certain characters.
“They then realised that the programme was an edited piece that was entirely subjective and what the director thought the story was. There was a big element of the viewer developing media literacy which was groundbreaking.”
“The creative industries, as they say on The X Factor, have been on a journey. We were the first country in the world in 1997 to define an industrial sector called the creative industries, but we then had to catch up because we didn’t have any data about our GVA, our employment etc. In time we had the Creative Industries Council, and we then established an advocacy body that is now called Creative UK, but in many ways, Britain is still playing catch up with the creative industries. With the new government, I hope that the journey and process will continue.
“The creative industries are 6% of the UK’s GVA, but we get 1% of public investment. Clearly that is not aligned with the creative industries as a priority sector for growth which we have been told is the case by both the former Conservative government and the Labour Party.
“Private investment is currently not good enough. The British Business Bank, which encourages investment in small and medium sized enterprises, is not really attuned to the way the creative industries run, the way small creative businesses work, and the criteria by which they have to be judged and invested in. We need to make progress on public and private investment.
“We also need to make progress on research and development tax credit definitions. The UK has a narrow definition of R&D, which is different to the one in other countries in Europe which includes the creative industries so creative businesses can claim tax credits for the innovation that they carry out.
“We need a more flexible apprenticeship scheme because small companies find it difficult to use the apprenticeship levy.”
“The creative industries are naturally and organically arranged into clusters. When I made a proposal for public investment in clusters in 2017, which was enacted in 2018 in the creative industries sector deal, it was going with the flow of where clusters typically are. For example, there’s the fantastic screen cluster in Bristol, an advertising cluster in Manchester, fashion in Leeds and games in Dundee. All of those things were happening organically and I suggested that we got behind it.
“The investment was £56m in nine creative clusters and each of them had an anchor partner of a university which could feed the value of applied research into local SMEs. It was fantastically successful over five years. It was matched by about £260m from industry and other sources. It’s a very good example of how you use small amounts of public money to generate growth and investment. It connected applied research with more than 2,500 SMEs, and created lots of new jobs, products and services.
“We found it incredibly difficult to get clusters two funded, despite the extraordinary success story which underlines my point about public investment not being aligned with the national policy to grow the creative industries.
“In the end, we did get it funded, but it still depends on UK Research and Innovation honouring the commitment in the next Spending Review, which has to be agreed by the new government.
“That’s another example of how Britain has not caught up with the creative sector, and isn’t backing it in the way that we are organised.”
“We need to do a lot better in this area. If we claim that the creative industries is not just an economic powerhouse, but a social and cultural powerhouse, and that what we produce, our music, theatre, films, TV, books and so on, touches the pulse of the nation, then it has to represent the whole nation and all of the communities. It can only do that if all of them find easy career pathways.
“One of the key things to do is defining better career pathways, which was set out in the former government’s creative industries sector vision last year. When I work with Speakers for Schools, the charity set up by Robert Peston, and speak to first year sixth form students, I ask them ‘what’s your favourite music?’, ‘what’s your favourite fashion?, ‘what’s your favourite film?, ‘what’s your favourite TV show?, ‘what games do you play?’. It always leads to a big discussion about who has the best taste.
“I then ask them to tell me about the jobs that all of those products represent and there’s dead silence. As an industry, we have not defined the career pathways properly. If we do, we’ll have a much more diverse sector.
“We also need much better outreach. When I was deputy chair of the National Film and Television School, we greatly increased the money we put into finding people of talent from all communities, such as having bursary funds dedicated to Black and Asian people. These are the sorts of things you can do to make a difference, but we have a way to go.”
🤝 This morning at #UWEGraduation Sir Peter Bazalgette was presented as the new chancellor of UWE Bristol – succeeding Sir Ian Carruthers OBE who has performed the role with distinction for the past 13 years 👏
Welcome, Sir Peter! pic.twitter.com/K6DSUZ5D5u
— UWE Bristol (@UWEBristol) July 18, 2024
“The role higher and further education plays in training, inspiring and producing the next generation of talent in the creative sector is critical.
“The particular thing that interested me about UWE is that the creative industries is one of the key areas in which they specialise.
“Activities that impress me about UWE include The Foundry which encourages collaboration, new ideas and development of technical knowledge. I also like the fact that they have a student ventures centre which encourages graduates to set up businesses, I like the university enterprise zone, and I like that more than 50% of graduates tend to work in the surrounding area after they’ve graduated. This is a very good statistic, and shows the contribution that UWE is making to Bristol and its surroundings.
“Finally, as a TV producer and chair of the Arts Council, I visited the city many times and I love what Bristol has already and its potential for growth.”
“Antiques Roadshow. I can’t get enough of it!
“I love the combination of the personal histories and regional histories that are linked to an object. You learn so much about history, and individual stories of brilliant heroism. There’s also the arts and culture, the wonderful locations they visit and the element of greed when it’s revealed what the item is worth. It’s the perfect TV show. I wish I’d invented it myself.”
Nine Tree Studios in Bristol celebrated their opening earlier this month with an event that saw over 150 attendees from across the creative sector.
The 10,000sq ft facility includes two soundstages for film and photography plus a podcast suite, office space, green rooms and a fully-equipped kitchen studio.
Backed by Bristol-based commercial production company JonesMillbank, the studios have been designed to support both small-scale and broadcast-level productions.
“This has been a long road, but it was amazing to see so many new and old faces, all coming together to support and celebrate our launch.” said Russell Jones, Co-Founder of Nine Tree Studios.
Located in Brislington (BS4), the studios are perched near the centre of Bristol allowing them to service productions mixing studio and on-location filming, aided by its 8,900sq ft secure yard for trucks and trailers.
The studios are now Bristol’s largest independent studio, joining a raft of creative spaces throughout the city including neighbouring virtual production stage Distortion Studios and the established Bottle Yard Studios.
“Like restaurants on a high street, the more there are, the better they are, the more their reputation builds. We’re proud of everything Bristol has to offer and stands for, and the more facilities, talent, crew and creative companies that are based here only goes to benefit the region as a whole” Russell continued.
Nine Tree Studios features:
For more information and bookings please visit www.ninetreestudios.co.uk, call 0117 3706 372, or email [email protected].
Attention all creative canines and artistic aficionados! The much-anticipated Gromit Unleashed 2025 is on the horizon, and this is your final call to submit your portfolio. This is a unique paid opportunity to be part of an iconic public arts trail while supporting Bristol Children’s Hospital. Head to The Grand Appeal website to register your interest.
Gromit Unleashed
Gromit Unleashed is created by The Grand Appeal, the Bristol Children’s Hospital Charity, in partnership with Aardman Animations. Since its inception, Gromit Unleashed has raised millions for Bristol Children’s Hospital and St Michael’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and you could help The Grand Appeal raise more.
Nick Park’s Academy Award®-winning character, Gromit, first took to the streets way back in 2013. Now, over 500 sculptures, four trails, and 10 years later, Gromit Unleashed has inspired a legion of fans across the globe.
With the release of the new Wallace & Gromit film, Vengeance Most Fowl, this Winter, Gromit Unleashed is sure to be a hotly anticipated event.
Why participate?
Gromit Unleashed 2025 promises to be a tail-wagging triumph and will include sculptures designed by local artists, celebrities, and major brands.
Participating is not just about showcasing your talent. It’s about being part of an award-winning event that makes a difference to the lives of sick children and their families. Your design could even be one of the standout sculptures that draw visitors from all over the world.
How to apply
Register your interest as an artist on The Grand Appeal website. The Grand Appeal’s design team will be reviewing artists’ applications over the coming months.
Join Gromit Unleashed 2025 and let your creativity off the leash while helping Bristol’s bravest children. For more details, head to grandappeal.org.uk. Let’s make Gromit Unleashed 2025 the most pawsome trail yet!
Bristol creative agency SIM7 has taken home a prestigious ‘Búho’ award for Brand Strategy at Spain’s Educafestival. The agency was recognised for its work creating the Real Leadership brand campaign for IESE Business School.
The Búhos (Owls) are awarded to the best global creative campaigns in the education sector, welcoming entries from Europe, Latin America and the USA. They are part of Spain’s Educafestival, an annual event (20 June 2024) held in the Centro CaixaForum de Madrid.
Simeon de la Torre, owner and creative director of SIM7 says, “As an agency that works with higher and business education clients around the world, winning a Búho is a huge honour for us. And we did it by creating something really different with a big dollop of humour and heart.
“The Real Leadership campaign for IESE has been a huge strategic branding exercise that brought together all our skills in messaging, design and positioning. It spawned a slightly insane video featuring unicorns and gorillas that has been watched over two million times, a hit podcast, billboard ads in Germany and Spain, and more.”
The Real Leadership brand campaign was conceived as an antidote to the clichéd ‘business speak’ creative that has dominated the sector in recent years. By using an authentic narrative and tapping into the genuine concerns and motivations of business leaders, it resonated with IESE’s
core audiences and has delivered substantial results in the form of awareness, enquiries and admissions.
Oriol Gil, IESE’s Brand & Content – Senior Manager (pictured, above) says: “The world of MBA and executive education is changing fast, with a more nuanced audience profile and expectations. SIM7 created a major campaign for us that pushed the boundaries of our brand guidelines and created a completely new strategy. The Real Leadership campaign features an honest, authentic and human approach that playfully mocks the outdated ‘hustle’ culture.”
SIM7’s Búho award was judged by a panel that included celebrated Spanish film director Daniel Sánchez Arevalo, as well as creative leaders from Google, Coca-Cola and Clear Channel. The Real Leadership campaign was scored for:
• Educational value and content
• Developed strategy
• Idea and execution
• Obtained results
Says SIM7’s Simeon de la Torre, “We knew from the start that this had to be a campaign with cut-through, and that pure creativity wasn’t enough. It had to be built on the foundations of solid strategy and an understanding of the sector. This is what our team does best and it’s superb to see all our hard work recognised. On a personal level, it’s been great working on something that my Spanish father can be proud of and talk to his family in Spain about – he’s always been a bit clueless about what I do for a living!”
Notes
SIM7 is a Bristol-based creative agency that works with clients around the world in sectors including education, property, technology and more: sim7creative.co.uk
Founded in 2017, the agency uses language to empower design and drives growth by creating brands, campaigns and strategy. SIM7 currently employs six people, has increased its turnover significantly in the past 12 months and is set to build its international client base even further in 2024/25.
IESE Business School is ranked #2 in the world (Financial Times).
For interviews, quotes and further images contact: Simeon de la Torre, [email protected]
For more information on the awards, visit educafestival.org/2024-edicion (Spanish language)
What were you up to 20 years ago?
20 years ago to the day, and almost to the minute as I write, I was presenting my last show on Bristol University’s student radio station. ‘Burst FM’ was then still in its infancy, broadcasting from a converted water closet (yes, really) on the 5th floor of the students’ union building. Tight budgets and plumbing costs meant one of the toilet pans was still in-situ and, freshers being freshers, each new presenter thought they were the first and only one to try it out, live on-air. As it happened, the flush usually did still work, and I have many tapes to prove it…
Burst was a huge part of my university life and I have it to thank for all that’s followed. I’d been intent on a career in radio since developing an unlikely adolescent love of Radio 2. While at school, I began writing material for Terry Wogan‘s breakfast show and sending it in by letter or fax. This continued throughout my time at Bristol University, when my various characters and noms de plume had a daily spot on Wake Up to Wogan at 8.50am. Luckily for my cred, most of my fellow students were either still asleep or ensconced in lectures so they knew little of it.
Very few students knew about Burst, which was mostly an online-only stream at a time when that was a huge limitation to consumption! It’s hard to believe now, but live streaming was of little use to anybody in 2004; smartphones and tablets were still emerging and listening online required effort. Burst’s listening figures were often in single digits at any one time, doubling or trebling at the flick of a switch downstairs in the Union’s Cafe Zuma, where they selectively pumped out Burst to their customers. We occasionally received calls on-air, usually wrong numbers rather than from listeners, but most of the interaction came via that much missed old friend of the millennial… MSN.
The real value of Burst was for those who got involved. A tiny audience was actually a gift while we were all making our mistakes and misjudgements on-air. I had a go at absolutely everything, even running the station for a year. By the time of my final Burst show, I was already working full-time in radio. I’d had two offers from the BBC and accepted one that meant, sadly, I had to leave Bristol the moment my studies were complete. Nobody knew at the time (at either end) but some of my later shows for Burst actually came down the line from a BBC studio far away!
But, 20 years ago today, I returned to that converted blue and orange bog once more for my very last show on Burst. Following “Bye Bye Baby” from The Bay City Rollers (horrendously predictable) and a few choked words, I played out with an old weepy called “Me And The Elephant”, a song about memories we’ll never forget. Very graciously indeed, the song’s singer had also agreed to appear in person on my show. His name?
Terry Wogan.
Today, Burst is a thriving student station which is never far from winning its next award. 2024’s students are lucky enough to learn their craft in a smart studio, albeit no longer with en-suite comedy… and, of course, everybody listens online. Whether it’s the start of a long career, or a brief flirtation with something a little bit different, I bet they’ll look back with a big smile. 20 years on and some 4,500 radio shows down the line, I certainly do.
Graduate exhibition showcases Bristol’s emerging talent at the Royal Photographic Society.
Bristol Film School at boomsatsuma proudly announces the opening of ‘Blossom Season’, its 2024 Graduate Photography Showcase at the prestigious Royal Photographic Society (RPS) in Bristol, this Saturday. The exhibition showcases exceptional work from the first graduating cohort of BA (Hons) Documentary Photography and Print.
Exhibition details:
Dates: June 15 – June 30, 2024
Location: Royal Photographic Society, 337 Paintworks, Arnos Vale, Bristol BS4 3AR
Opening Hours: Thursday to Sunday 10am – 5pm
Private View and Reception: June 15th, 3pm – 7pm (please contact us for tickets)
The showcase features innovative photography on a diverse range of subjects – from sports to fashion – and demonstrates the high level of creative and technical skills developed on the course. The unique degree, run by award winning photographers, emphasises our students’ hands-on experience and industry engagement but with a strong focus on the ‘art of photography’.
Sam Fordham, Head of Photography at the Bristol Film School, says:
“It’s a privilege to see our students’ hard work and dedication culminate in this outstanding exhibition. Their ability to tell powerful stories through photography is a testament to their talent and the supportive, dynamic environment we strive to create on our photography degree.”
From Sunday 16th June, the exhibition is open to the public, offering an excellent opportunity for artists, industry professionals, and the local community to engage with the next generation of photographers. Admission is free and many of the exhibited works will be available for purchase.
Interested in Photography? Come to boomsatsuma’s open day at the Royal Photographic Society on Saturday 15th June from 1130. Talk to award-winning photography team and get a sneak preview of the exhibition.
Check out the new Photography and Print Degree .
Image Credits: Amber Mylius-King (article body -first image), Matthew Roderick (article body – second image)
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As a devoted son of radio, first lured to podcasting by the similarities, I’ve come to love spotting the differences.
The Podcast Show, last week, was a rare chance to do that on an industry-wide scale and I was among many from Bristol and the South West who flocked. This was the UK’s biggest coming together of what can sometimes feel like quite a fragmented fraternity, at least for the independent creator. The hours spent in my home studio writing, recording and editing are among the happiest of my freelance endeavours, but they are also quite isolating.
The people of podcasting have much in common with radio types, not least as so many straddle both worlds, yet the vibe en-masse is strangely different. The great Terry Wogan once described radio as “the home of the introverted egomaniac” and I relate to that entirely from my time in the industry. We’re the people you’ll always find in the kitchen at parties, quietly watching, tweeting and probably adding you on LinkedIn without making eye contact. Yet The Podcast Show was deafeningly loud at all times, people with much to say to each other. The atmosphere was strikingly friendly, welcoming and explosively sociable, perhaps in defiance of all the time we spend alone. For relative newbies like me at least, there was a sense of shared demystification, of everyone helping each other to make best sense of this wonderful craft that has landed from outer audio space…
Actually, as Bristol’s podcasters will know, so much is already understood. The podcast world is a canny fusion of marketing, PR and audio. Consequently, the industry is relentlessly driven by intelligent market research and targeted strategy, strikingly more so than the public service broadcast world I’ve inhabited for 20 years. This manifests itself as an absolute obsession with audiences, and rightly so: “Who we can serve, why and how…”, rather than “What we’d like to do…”. If you and I have ever worked together, or if we’ve had a coaching workshop together in recent months, you’ll understand why this makes me sing.
I lapped up the session ‘From Grey to Gold’ with Andy Goldsmith (from Adelicious) and Kat Farmer (from #gotthepodcast), which explained why canny podcasters should consider the over 55s. It has baffled me and angered many besides to see this growing audience abandoned by public service broadcasters, who really should be ramping up their commitment to an ageing population. We heard in the session that, not only is the older market growing in size, the over 55s hold 70% of the UK’s wealth; so it is perhaps even more perplexing that so few have seen the commercial potential of engaging them through audio. Known in the marketing world as “the blind spot”, this audience is targeted by only 3% of advertising briefs, typically health-related products, care homes and funeral plans. How crass! Among the marketing orgs represented by the speakers, 90% of briefs are targeted at 18-44 year olds, a decade adrift from those who will be spending 63p in every pound over the next ten years.
The reason cited for the vacuum (and I believe this to be true in radio, too) is that older people are not seen by the industry as a sexy audience to serve. Kat Farmer described an “echo chamber of young people in marketing talking to themselves…” and “…everyone imagining that anyone over 55 is like their nan”. We urgently need to get beyond that. I recently launched The Bus Inspectors podcast which is already thriving with older audiences. It takes a really niche subject to the mainstream – a grading scheme for the UK’s transport museums – and hopefully brings it to life with human interest stories that will light up those with curiosity. And, as I know from my work in BBC radio over the years, the over 55s are endlessly curious.
Having chosen to make The Bus Inspectors as a narrative podcast – that is, a crafted documentary rather than ‘chat show’ style – it was with some trepidation that I attended Miranda Sawyer’s session ‘Is Narrative Podcasting Dead?’. I have such respect for Miranda that, had the answer been ‘Yes, it’s dead’, I probably would think long and hard about my future. Fortunately, it was a complex but conclusive ‘No, it’s thriving… but it’s an art form… and narratives are more expensive to make… so you have to work much harder to pitch them’. This totally chimes. For many brands simply wanting ‘a podcast’, a freestyle chat is much quicker and cheaper to produce, so it’s no wonder narrative podcasts remain the exception. It’s also no wonder they really stand out and have a lasting value beyond most.
Other stand out messages came from Harry Morton, the Somerset-based CEO and founder of Lower Street Media, who talked about the importance of understanding, as a starting point, how your podcast fits into a wider landscape and ecosystem; and Fiona Fraser ‘The Podcast Expert’ whose simple message will actually be a profound revelation to many: “Your podcast is not for everyone”.
This is an industry which truly respects its audiences and is ever thoughtful about who will listen and how to reach them. No wonder it’s thriving.
Boomsatsuma is transforming Creative Industries education with the launch of Bristol Film School and Bristol Creative Technology Centre.
For the last three years, boomsatsuma has been delivering cutting-edge, industry aligned film, photography and games degrees. The next step in the region’s leading creative training providers’ evolution sees Bristol Film School become home to filmmaking and photography degrees, with Bristol Creative Technology Centre (BCTC) housing Bristol Games Studio, alongside the entrepreneurial Venture Studio.
CEO and Founder Mark Curtis says:
“Boomsatsuma has developed a reputation for changing lives. Through our innovative courses we are helping to nurture and develop highly skilled, talented young people, whether that’s at college or degree level. Our new structure focuses on preparing students for successful careers. We are committed to ensuring Bristol remains a powerhouse of creativity and we want the Film School and BCTC to become cornerstones of the city’s successful Creative Industries sector.”
Bristol Film School
Bristol Film School has ambitious plans. Dr. Susan McMillan, Executive Dean, explains why this dynamic rebranding is important for the company, the city and its students:
“The new name, Bristol Film School, says ‘what’s in the tin’ making it clearer to those who don’t know us what we do, how we do it and where. Bristol is globally renowned for its film and television production, and we are trailblazers in shaping new talent to ensure its success, working alongside our wonderful industry partners.”
Bristol-based director of Netflix hit The Crown, Philippa Lowthorpe, three-times BAFTA Award winner, sums up the mood from industry:
“Changing the name really positions boomsatsuma where it should be – as a leader in film and TV in the South West and nationally. Bristol needs its own Film School. It’s incredible we don’t have one. This is fabulous news.”
Bristol Creative Technology Centre
BCTC builds on boomsatsuma’s growing connections with the region’s creative technology sector and its’ ambition to combine degree level learning with the delivery of entrepreneurial, commercially viable projects for partners.
A key development has been the foundation of an in-house incubator, Venture Studio. Led by Richard Blows, Head of BCTC, a team of Game Art graduates and students have been engaged as freelance developers to recreate the world’s first historically accurate digital reconstruction of Hadrian’s Wall for Microsoft Flight Simulator, in partnership with Time Machine Designs.
BCTC Production Manager Mark Fisher comments:
“I had the opportunity to work on the Hadrian’s Wall project through being a boomsatsuma Game Art graduate. I started at boomsatsuma as a college student on the Games, VR and VFX course. Once I finished that I moved onto the Game Art degree and as soon I finished that I was able to start on the Hadrian’s Wall project. Being able to go straight into a job was an amazing feeling and it has been an amazing experience from start to finish.”
To find out more about boomsatsuma degrees and the opportunities available through Bristol Film School or BCTC, come along to our next Open Day on 15th June.
We are delighted to announce that new directors have been appointed to the Bristol Creative Industries board.
The five individuals will deliver additional strength and depth to the board which will hugely benefit Bristol Creative Industries, our members and the wider creative sector in the south west.
They bring a host of skills and experience including digital marketing, film production, CRM, data analysis, website marketing and creative industry education.
As we said in our new year message at the start of 2024, driving value for Bristol Creative Industries members is our top priority, and we remain committed to creating opportunities for our community to learn, connect and grow their businesses.
To continue with this mission, we have key focuses that the new board directors will help us deliver thanks to their excellent expertise and contacts. They will contribute directly to:
Our priorities also include the BCI Talent Programme which supports the next generation of diverse talent in the creative industries and is currently open for sponsorship opportunities.
The appointment of the five new board directors follows Lis Anderson and Heather Wright becoming co-chairs of BCI.
Heather Wright, co-chair of Bristol Creative Industries, said:
“We are delighted to welcome these uniquely talented, inspirational and hardworking industry leaders who have stepped up for BCI and for our sector. They will strengthen our team and make it possible for us to achieve our ambitions for members.”
Joining Lis Anderson, Heather Wright, Gail Caig, Marissa Lewis-Peart, Julian Davis and Steven Coombe on the Bristol Creative Industries board are:
Adam Millbank brings over 16 years of commercial film production experience, serving as a founding director of B Corp registered companies JonesMillbank and Nine Tree Studios.
With his roots in documentary filmmaking, Adam has honed a talent for uncovering the essence of stories, establishing profound connections with his subjects. While he remains a practitioner, he also dedicates significant time to nurturing relationships with agencies and brands, earning him a reputation as a trusted partner in the industry.
Adam now collaborates with globally recognised brands, leveraging his expertise to drive innovative projects.
He maintains a keen interest in the intersection of education and creativity, aiming to foster greater connectivity within the Bristol creative industries around film and video and create a space for collaboration through Nine Tree Studios.
Tom Harber is an experienced creative agency leader specialising in digital experiences and creative technology solutions.
Tom has held leadership positions in industry leading creative agencies across both the UK and Australia that have be recognised at prestigious awards including Cannes Lions, BIMA and The Effies. Tom eventually landed back in the South West to head up creative technology studio, Aer Studios.
Proudly B Corp Certified, Tom and his team have been ranked in the top 100 best workplaces in the UK and have recently been appointed to the BBC UX Design roster as the only agency representing the South West region.
Tom’s passion is in creating meaningful digital experiences that have a positive impact on people and planet. He believes that bringing the creative and technology sectors closer together can have a huge benefit to the South West.
Tom Bowden-Green‘s experience combines senior consultancy (10+ years) and academic leadership (10+ years), designing and delivering training to support business development and career growth in marketing. His current focus is on bringing together regional and academic expertise to support business growth within the creative industries.
Tom studied his PhD at the Digital Behaviour Lab at University of Bath School of Management. His research and teaching now focuses on applying psychology to creative processes.
His recent work at Bristol Business School includes investigating behaviour change with Bristol City Council, researching the Bristol brand with Visit West, and understanding the effectiveness of social media advertising.
Tom created and led the MSc Digital Marketing at UWE Bristol and led several successful Digital Marketing Bootcamps. He co-hosts the The Digital Behaviour Podcast.
David Darke is the co-founder and operations director of Atomic Smash, a website performance agency based in Bristol, specialising in optimising WordPress, WooCommerce and Shopify.
Since its inception in 2010, Atomic Smash has prided itself on a caring team culture, emphasising continuous learning, creativity, and problem-solving. In this role, he has been recognised for kindness in leadership by being nominated as a Kindness Leadership Leading Light.
David’s approach to business reflects a deep understanding of the web’s potential to transform how companies and individuals communicate and conduct business.
Kate Sikora is the co-founder and managing partner of Noble Performs, a digital performance marketing agency based in Bristol renowned for helping organisations achieve remarkable results.
Highly commended as the IOD Director of the Year 2023 and serving as a Taan European Governor, Kate is committed to driving excellence and innovation in the digital marketing landscape.
Beyond her professional endeavours, Kate finds joy in family life, practicing yoga, and exploring new culinary creations in the kitchen.