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This week sees the end of the Government’s ‘work from home’ mandate in England which has been in place since the start of the pandemic.  We know anecdotally that many businesses within the region’s creative industries have taken this opportunity to review their flexible working policies and we’re keen to understand what the future looks like for the South West’s creative community.

We’ve pulled together a handful of questions that will give us a top-line view of the new normal.  We’ll be more than happy to share the findings with BCI members who may like some guidance on shaping their future flexible working policies. Share your thoughts here.

Photo by Kevin Bhagat on Unsplash

Let’s face it….after almost 18 months of many of us being tied to our desks in our home offices feeling a little Zoomed out, we could all do with some fresh air and thinking space.

Our members’ lunches have long been a firm fixture in the BCI events calendar – the perfect opportunity for a small group of members to connect and exchange information about their businesses.  That said, these sessions are way more than just pitching; they offer a shared space for connecting with your peers to share successes and discuss challenges….and boy, there’s been a few of those in recent times!

As the world starts to open up once again, we’re keen to offer our members more creative ways of networking so we’re teaming up with Outside for a BCI Walk & Talk session on Friday 17th September.  Similar to our members’ lunches, we’ll gather a group of 12 people who are keen to don their walking boots and explore the beautiful countryside around Bristol and Bath.

Over the course of a 3 hour circular walk, you’ll get to spend 10-15 minutes chatting to each of your fellow walkers. No agenda as such, just clear open space for thinking, connecting, sharing experiences and exploring possibilities.  Chris Thurling (BCI’s Chair) and Alli Nicholas (BCI’s Membership Manager) will be joining the group too so it’s a great chance to chat to them about getting the most out of your BCI membership.

The starting point for our first Walk & Talk will be in the beautiful Mendips, just south of Bristol.  We’ll meet in the car park at Burrington Combe ready to leave at 9am. If this format proves popular, we’ll look to arrange future walks starting from different locations around the area.

This event is exclusively for BCI members. There’s no charge but you do need to register in advance here.

Bristol-based Gather Round is a growing family of unique, soulful, creative workspaces, purposefully designed for creatives by creatives. Its mission is to build remarkable co-working spaces where creative thinkers and doers can connect, collaborate and thrive. 

Founded by Fiasco Design owners, Ben Steers and Jason Smith, Gather Round’s flagship workspace, in the Cigar Factory, Southville, opened its doors to Bristol’s curious creative community in 2019 and it will be opening the doors to a second venue, in Brunswick Square, St. Pauls, in early September 2021.

Its members are creative industry professionals; designers, writers, filmmakers, publishers, photographers, brand strategists… A truly eclectic and talented bunch, and the diverse mix of businesses within its member community is valued as highly by members, as the beautifully designed workspaces themselves.

New Gather Round, Brunswick Square

Gather Round, Brunswick Square, breathes new life into 15-16 York Street, a unique, historic building in one of Bristol’s most vibrant neighbourhoods. From early September 2021, a supportive community of 80-90 creative professionals will take residence here; freelancers, self-employed and micro-businesses, from the surrounding areas of St Pauls, Montpelier, Easton, St. George, Kingsdown, etc.

The space will provide flexible areas with fixed and casual desks, a mix of small to medium-sized studios, private meeting rooms, hang-out areas, communal kitchen tables and quiet areas for thinking. It will also have a dedicated public event space with room for 50-60 person events. 

Gather Round offers private studio, resident and co-working membership options, with part-time flexible co-working costing £110 per month plus VAT, and full-time memberships from £195, plus VAT.

First month’s membership FREE

Knowing that signing up to a co-working space can feel like a big step, Gather Round are offering new members who join Brunswick Square before Monday 16th August, their first month free.

Community Support Commitment

Gather Round creates nurturing environments in which local creative businesses flourish and it is also committed to supporting its neighbouring communities in the following ways:

Founders Ben Steers and Jason Smith say, “By design, Gather Round provides an intimate, supportive creative environment. We know that a nurturing community makes all the difference to our members’ businesses and we’re delighted to be extending what we offer in Southville to residents of North Bristol. Our aim is to open the doors at Brunswick Square in September, with a ready-made creative community.”

Find out more about Gather Round’s latest creative co-working space and membership options, or contact Amie Thompson, Community Manager for Gather Round – [email protected] 

*Image: Gather Round members attend a ‘Campfire Talk’ at Gather Round, Cigar Factory, Southville

“We should definitely launch a podcast, more people than ever before are listening, and we’ve got budget to spend as we’re no longer running that big outdoor campaign”

This is the sort of conversation going on within brands and agencies in 2020 (well, at least we hope it is). It is a really exciting time to be launching a podcast, and so it’s really easy to go all in on imagining what podcast might sound like, who’s going to present it or how you’re going to get it produced. But before you’ve allocated your entire budget before you’ve even started, to get an idea of the costs it’s worth take a little step back and looking at the bigger picture.

We chat to a lot of brands about podcasts and hear some amazing ideas, but there’s a few vital podcast costs to consider that it’s easy for brands to overlook when you’re planning to nudge Joe Rogan down the charts. So, we thought we’d share them with you:

Artwork

Hands up who has ever (literally) judged a book by it’s cover? 🙋 Or, bought a bottle of red saying ‘i love that grape variety’, when really it was the colourful art or on-trend font that really swung it? 🙋 Then we can all appreciate the value of having podcast artwork that pops. With a patchwork of podcasts in any given podcast app, it’s worth ensuring that your artwork isn’t an afterthought or ends up being your company logo hastily pasted onto a background in Photoshop.

Hosting

Hosting is the means of getting your podcast out there to the world and the best and easiest way of doing this is with a good hosting provider. At its most basic you should expect your podcast to be distributed to every listening platform (the big three of course being Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts). But, for brands especially, getting insight into who is listening and how they’re listening via a great set of analytics, is the added value that your podcast needs.

Webpage or website

We know that most people listen to podcasts via a podcast app on their smartphones (around 65% according to Edison Research), but that doesn’t mean it’s not important to have somewhere online for people to listen. Having a dedicated podcast page on your existing site, or it it’s more relevant, a standalone site is important for a few reasons:

At its most basic, the site can be a list of all your episodes with an embedded audio player, which all the top hosting platforms provide for you. The more added content you can then add, the better.

Promotion

The hard work doesn’t end when you hit publish and put your podcast out there to the world, in a way it’s only just beginning. There are a lot of podcasts out there for listeners to choose from (we’ll be reaching one million active podcasts at some point soon), so they’re going to need a helping hand finding yours, no matter how great it is. We like to talk about how brands are going to promote their podcast and how it fits into a wider strategy right from the start, it’ll have an impact on your production and release schedule and maybe even the content too. There’s lots of things you can that don’t cost (apart from time), earned media such as creating engaging assets to share on social media and good old fashioned plugging on other podcasts, blogs or media. But increasingly important is assigning some budget to run podcast ads on other podcasts, a great way of attracting listeners who are already into the same podcasts as yours.

when we’re working with brands, we’re having these conversations from day one

Talent/guest fees

A well known host or having notable guests on your podcast can be a great draw for listeners, giving you a boost to your promotional efforts. Someone with presenting skill or experience sets a high bar in terms of professional quality as well as making for better script delivery and guest interviews. Ultimately however the decision, like many you’ll make, should be based on your audience, the sweet spot is finding someone who your listener will connect with and who has a natural curiosity and interest in the subject matter, even if they’re from a different walk of life (and often they’re the best ones). However, people don’t expect to work for free, so have a think about who might be a good fit, it goes without saying that the more well known they are, the higher the fee, but there’s no harm in aiming high!

There’s a lot to think about when creating a podcast from scratch that not only stands out from others but fits seamlessly into your wider content strategy. That’s why when we’re working with brands we’ll make sure that we’re having conversations about all of the points in this post from day one. Nothing should be an afterthought, and finding the right approach all depends on the objectives, the audience and the budget available, but knowing what’s required from the outset means that budget is spent in the most effective ways.

The leading homeopathy group in the UK, 4Homeopathy, is celebrating a successful campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of homeopathic practice. The engaging video campaign was created by independent brand consultancy Mr B & Friends and has seen over 13,500 people view the films within the first month of launch.

Founded in 2011, 4Homeopathy brings together ten of the UK’s largest homeopathic organisations to promote the positive impact of homeopathy. Through the website findahomeopath.org people can find a wealth of information about how homeopathy works, registered practitioners and training courses.

For Homeopathy Awareness Week (10-16th April), 4Homeopathy appointed Mr B & Friends to create a campaign to increase their profile and to encourage people to visit their website to find out more.

The agency designed a video-based campaign comprising a main film with testimonials from several people who have successfully used homeopathy, plus three shorts that focus on individual experiences. The video was designed to be a teaser – recounting personal experiences but only revealing the subject matter right at the end, in a bid to provoke interest and encourage further exploration of homeopathy. Built around the proposition that you can ‘Turn your life around in a moment’, the campaign shares the stories of people with a range of conditions who have had life-changing results from homeopathic treatment.

Kate Gorringe, Creative Director at Mr B & Friends, says, “We wanted to share the stories of some of the individuals who have quite literally had their lives turned around because of a homeopathic approach. As homeopathy is based on working with the body’s natural healing abilities, we created a hand drawn animated illustration that reflected the thoughts and feelings of the contributors.”

Due to ongoing Covid restrictions the interviews were all recorded remotely, with equipment sent out to the homes of those featured. Combined with the bespoke graphics, the end result is an emotive and authentic campaign that takes the viewer on a journey from problem to resolution.

In addition to featuring on the website, the campaign has been distributed by the various member organisation and is being supported by advertising on Facebook and Instagram plus Google ads.

Mani Norland, Principal of The School of Homeopathy, says, “Homeopathy provides so many benefits to both people and animals through its patient-centred approach of individualised medicine. The remedies come from nature and work in line with nature. We’re on a mission to raise awareness of the profound difference homeopathy can make to a person’s health and wellbeing, we want to help people see the choices they have in healthcare, and this video campaign will help us take another huge step forward in achieving that.”

Quantock have recently welcomed Werner Zeelie to our line-up. Werner will head up our ongoing client activity, as well as our business development strategies.

Werner is an enthusiastic marketeer with over seventeen years of experience across multiple marketing channels in both the corporate and consumer sectors. He has successfully helped establish and grow leading global brands for clients such CBRE, Unilever, Reckitt, Coca-Cola, Levi’s and IHG.

Originally from South Africa, Werner arrived in the United Kingdom in 2006 to further his international career in marketing, only to find himself now settling in the beautiful Somerset countryside.

Werner comments, “Attracted to Quantock’s creative flair, long-standing heritage, and ever-expanding client base, joining the team was a no-brainer”.

Outside of work, Werner loves to spend time with his children and friends and go for the odd run to keep fit.

Welcome to the team, Werner!
Find out more here: https://bit.ly/33vZvox

Bower Films today re-launches as Octopus Films: https://octopus-films.co.uk. Founded eight years ago as a full-service video production company by Giles Edwards and Ellie Edwards, the re-brand reflects the company’s ethos and problem-solving abilities.

With clients such as BBC’s Countryfile Live, the British Council and Dyson, Octopus Films helps businesses connect emotionally with their audience through explainer videos, event documentation, TV adverts, testimonial videos and corporate films. Experienced in working across a range of industries, its clients span financial, IT, medical, charity and education sectors, both locally and nationally.

Octopus Films also prides itself on delivering real value to much smaller organisations whose goals are to communicate their offering effectively. These include the BCRM in Bristol, Nelson Hall and Medical Detection Dogs. Leading every project, creative producer Ellie Edwards has 14 years’ of broadcast and corporate experience, while [technical director] Giles has worked across both the corporate and TV industries for more than 30 years.

“We set out to refresh our name and logo to accurately reflect our company’s values – creativity, adaptability, agility and also, great problem-solving skills. The octopus was the perfect emblem – they are nimble, flexible creatures and famed for their smart approach,” comments Ellie Edwards.

“We love producing vibrant, engaging and unique video content for businesses that are keen to show their best side. We can always promise a personal service and our senior team leads the entire production process.”

Giles Edwards adds: “We believe in real stories well told. We draw on our years of documentary experience to get beneath the surface every time. By combining crafted, truthful films with refined editorial values, we tell stories that accurately reflect our clients’ lives and businesses.”

As its new name suggests, Octopus Films is highly adaptable and flexes the size of its team depending on the scale and budget of the task in hand. For larger projects it assembles a team of trusted, former BBC production staff and crew.

Pictured: Octopus Films on location in Bath filming with presenter Jamie Lowe.

The West of England has a strong legacy as a creative industries hub attracting major broadcasters, film companies and digital industries alike to our vibrant towns and cities. Like all industries, however, COVID-19 has hit creative companies hard and the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) has been here to support the creative industries as they work to get through the impact of the pandemic.

To support this, WECA has launched a new business support programme for businesses and individuals working in the creative industries, as part of its Regional Recovery Plan. The programme is aimed at small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) working in the creative industries, including creative freelancers, and is designed to build resilience and support change in response to COVID-19.

There is also a grant fund for creative freelancers that will give self-employed people the opportunity to become more resilient by developing their own creative product, practice or service, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Grants for creative businesses will fund creative projects that support recovery and resilience, employ freelance creatives, engage local communities and advance diversity and inclusion.

The business support programme has been designed in consultation with members of the creative and cultural sector. The programme also fits with WECA’s ambitions to establish a West of England Cultural Compact, an initiative jointly funded with Arts Council England. This will involve the creation of a new strategic cultural partnership which will lead on the development of a Cultural Strategy and new activities to help increase investment across the creative and cultural sectors in the region.

WECA recently announced a £11.8m investment to boost creative jobs with the expansion of Bottle Yard Studios, which plays host to a wide range of productions, including drama, children’s TV, feature films, gameshows and commercials. Bottle Yard’s growth will also help to support other businesses across the region which rely on film and TV production opportunities.

WECA’s Creative Scale-Up programme

Almost 60 companies from a range of creative industries across the region have also benefitted from WECA’s Creative Scale-Up programme. This two-year pilot helps creative businesses access finance and peer mentoring through an intensive six-month minimum sustainable growth support programme. WECA has opened applications for the fourth cohort of the programme

Here’s a snapshot of some of the businesses that have benefitted from the programme:

Since joining the Creative Scale Up programme in January 2020, Bristol-based independent development studio and games consultancy Auroch Digital has secured a new publishing deal and taken on 15 new members of staff.

“The Creative Scale Up programme, particularly the mentoring process, was great – we were able to pick mentors targeting specific needs we have. We got direct support with business questions as they arose and that helped us deal with them and move forward.

“As a result, we’ve been able to advance some key areas of the company. We’ve landed one big publishing deal for a new IP game and are circling a second big project, and that mentoring advice has been part of the mix of positives getting us there. Information provided by the Creative Scale Up team also led us to a UWE Digital Innovation Fund grant.” Dr Tomas Rawlings, chief executive, Auroch Digital

Noiser, which specialises in history and drama storytelling with immersive sound design, used the WECA Creative Scale Up £2,000 business grant to develop a sales team and define a clear strategy to drive sales.

“For Noiser, we are not looking for generic business support; I liked how the scheme’s supervisors made us aware that we could find our own mentors and they were able to help connect us with pertinent professionals they were in touch with. This was crucially important.”

Noiser

Stornaway.io accessed grant funding to re-invest in the creative development of the business.

Having identified a gap in the market for a collaborative web application that lets media producers write, test and publish interactive films easily and affordably without coding, the team was, understandably, wary about how to effectively promote and launch a new product in lockdown.

To showcase the product’s capabilities, Stornaway.io used grant funding to commission and produce a short film called “A Little Hungover”, which would premiere as part of the Immersive Encounters Festival. In order to help futureproof the business, the team at Stornaway.io also made great use of the peer mentoring aspects of the Creative Scale Up programme.

“Launching this new product in the middle of lockdown, the Creative Scale-Up peer mentoring programme was an invaluable community of practice. It was fantastic to meet and develop connections with the leaders of such a wide range of creative businesses in the South West. We have developed a number of ongoing relationships with our peers which we hope will continue to be mutually beneficial.” Kate Dimbleby, co-founder, Stornaway.io

Creative scale-up support includes a £6,000 grant to spend on mentoring support, a dedicated Peer Support Network and sector specific business development training. Businesses are also supported to consider their future finance options and are supported to learn about investment and engage with investors.

Creative businesses wanting to find out more about the new business support programme, grant funds and the Creative Scale Up programme should visit WECA’s Growth Hub page.

The West of England Business Support Guide can also help you navigate the range of support available via the combined authority’s dedicated business support service, the Growth Hub, which provides tailored one-to-one advice and access to finance, support and expert guidance.

The UK’s creative industries have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, but there are also many examples of innovation and successful pivots.

The sector is vital to the UK economy and as Britain looks to recover, the government has set out its vision in the ‘Build Back Better’ strategy.

But how do the creative industries feature in the plans?

Gail Caig is a freelance consultant currently working as an advisor to the Creative Industries Council. She also joined the Bristol Creative Industries board earlier this year. Speaking to Dan Martin, Gail highlights the key measures for the creative businesses and freelancers in the government’s 2021 Budget and wider recovery plans.

How have the creative industries been affected by the pandemic?

“Many businesses in the creative industries have been incredibly hard hit by COVID-19 but that experience has not been not universal. Elements of the creative industries that depend on footfall and live experience have suffered a great deal, but some parts of the sector, like games companies for example, have been thriving and attracting new audiences.

“We have seen a huge amount of innovation and entrepreneurial activity in the sector. In their response to the difficulties during the pandemic, many organisations have looked at new ways to engage audiences, they have embraced technology like AR and VR and have done their storytelling in a different way. Innovation is a huge positive that has come out of all this but I think it’s less clear how you can viably get ongoing revenue from the new innovation. Venues, theatres etc have been very successful in reaching audiences and finding new ways to share content, but that’s no replacement for a live audience and many of the traditional business models.

“There has been support from the government. The £1.5bn Cultural Recovery Fund was a huge vote of kind of confidence and belief in the sector by the government. It hasn’t been a panacea and it hasn’t protected every element of the sector, but it is a very substantial investment which recognises how important the government sees the UK’s cultural and creative infrastructure.

“On the negative side, the pandemic has highlighted the vulnerability of freelancers which make up a third of creative industry workers. They can’t access the furlough scheme in most instances, and a big section of freelancers, particularly new entrants to the creative industries, can’t access the Self-employment Income Support Scheme. I think there’s a real concern in the industry that the new generation of talent could be irretrievably lost.

“That has been a real priority for organisations like the Creative Industries Federation. They’ve been lobbying the government about the need to recognise the freelance workforce.”

What are the key measures and announcements from the government that creative industry businesses need to be aware of?

“In the Budget itself, and a series of documents published alongside it, the government is demonstrating that it recognises the importance of the creative industries and its capacity to bring communities together and regenerate. That’s really good news for the sector because it means that government policy going forward should be shaped in a way that will help and support the creative industries. That’s not a given. It’s a situation that has evolved and developed over the last 20 years when the creative industries were first recognised by the government as a specific, important and valuable sector.

“In the government’s Build Back Better strategy, the creative industries are featured throughout. In his forward, chancellor Rishi Sunak says: ‘We have an international reputation for science and world-class universities. And we have strengths across many sectors, from financial services to creative industries.'”

Research and development (R&D) tax credits

“The government announced in the Budget a consultation on the definition of R&D tax credits. The creative industries are innovative because they are constantly reinventing their products and services and they do a huge amount of R&D. But because a lot of that R&D doesn’t happen in a traditional industrial way, it’s not recognised as R&D. That has a business level implication because R&D tax credits as they’re currently structured are not accessible to the creative industries. The sector has been lobbying for a long time to get the R&D that happens within the sector recognised. This new consultation references the creative industries which is very positive.”

Creative industries COVID-19 funding

“The £1.57bn Cultural Recovery Fund has been extended by £300m.

“The government also put in place previously the Film and TV Production Restart Scheme that has supported productions in carrying on despite COVID. The scheme has been extended.”

Apprenticeships

“There has been an ongoing problem with apprenticeships in the creative industries. The vast majority are micro businesses with a very small number of employees. They don’t have the capacity to take on an individual for a long period of time and provide training. Many are project-based such as TV production companies. When they have big periods of activity they’ve got work to offer but they can’t guarantee 12 months.

“Also for micro businesses, the admin involved in taking people on is a really significant burden. Making apprenticeships work across many tiny businesses is a very different proposition to one big car plant. The apprenticeship scheme was set up with things like a big car plant in mind. However, big employers in the creative industries have been paying the Apprenticeship Levy, but not benefitting from it. That’s been an ongoing challenge for the sector and the Budget recognised that.

“There’s a £7m fund to be introduced from July this year to help employers access the apprenticeship scheme. It will also look at making the apprenticeship system more flexible so that it works better for creative industry businesses. The Budget document that talks about the new fund specifically references the creative industries.

“The government has also launched a consultation on flexi-job apprenticeship schemes which could help the creative industries.”

Community Renewal Fund

“The government has committed to setting up its own domestic replacement for when European funding ends in the UK as a result of Brexit. Between the EU funding stopping and the new UK scheme starting, they’ve launched the Community Renewal Fund.

“It’s £220m for programmes for 2021. The bids of up to £500,000 get submitted to the government via a combined authority or a local authority. The deadline for bids to be sent to the government is 18 June.

“There are two kinds of government funding – revenue and capital. Revenue funding can be spent on people, business support programmes, skills development, training, community arts practitioners, events etc. Capital funding is for building things like roundabouts, railways etc.

“For the creative industries seeking support and skills development, revenue funding is very important. There are examples of big cultural infrastructure but generally, that’s much harder for the sector to access. What the sector really needs and wants to access is revenue funding. The Community Renewal Fund is really important for that.”

Levelling Up Fund

“This is capital funding. The scheme is for bids of up to £20m and it runs over a series of years. The deadline for funding in 2021 is 18 June.

“It has three priorities – transport, regeneration and cultural investment. That’s really important for the creative industries as it’s a direct name check in a big capital programme. It talks about ‘maintaining, regenerating or creatively repurposing galleries, visitor attractions, heritage assets, as well as creating new community-owned spaces to support the arts and serve as cultural spaces.'”

Why do you think networks like Bristol Creative Industries are important for future growth of the creative industries?

“Networks and intermediaries are absolutely crucial in the effective running of creative clusters. Creative industries come together and group in clusters because they are a collection of interdependent small organisations that have specialisms. For example, one of the specialisms in Bristol and Bath is television. To make that clustering and networking work effectively, organisations like Bristol Creative Industries are absolutely fundamental. That’s why I wanted to be a BCI board member!”

Top image credit: HM Treasury.

The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) is launching a new business support programme for businesses and individuals working in the creative industries, as part of its Regional Recovery Plan.

The programme is aimed at small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) working in the creative industries, including creative freelancers, that require support as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The sector specific business support programme is designed to build resilience and support change in response to Covid-19. It will offer support for individuals and management teams to reformulate operating and financial models and business plans through mentoring, peer networks and training and workshops.

There will also be grants for creative projects that support recovery and resilience. A grant fund for creative freelancers will give self-employed people the opportunity to become more resilient by developing their own creative product, practice or service, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. A grant fund for creative businesses will fund creative projects that support recovery and resilience, employ freelance creatives, engage local communities and advance diversity and inclusion.

Grants will range from £1,000 to £3,000 for freelancers and £5,000 to £10,000 for businesses.

Regional Mayor Tim Bowles said: “Our cultural and creative industries really are the soul of the West of England and are an important contributor to our wider economy. As we secure our recovery from the impact of Covid-19, this much-needed support will help ensure that our creative businesses can continue to provide exciting and engaging jobs, attract new commercial opportunities and help ensure the West of England remains an exciting and vibrant place to live and work.”

The business support programme has been designed in consultation with members of the creative and cultural sector, with a focus on recovery from the pandemic and the priorities of inclusivity, diversity and community engagement.

The programme also fits with WECA’s ambitions to establish a West of England Cultural Compact, an initiative jointly funded with Arts Council England. This will involve the creation of a new strategic cultural partnership which will lead on the development of a Cultural Strategy and new activities to help increase investment across the creative and cultural sectors in region.

Professor Sue Rigby, Vice-Chancellor of Bath Spa University, West of England LEP board member and interim chair of the Cultural Compact, said: “Culture is part of our DNA in the West of England, and so many of us value it and earn our livings from it.  The pandemic has highlighted our need for culture as a key part of our recovery, and the Cultural Compact will help us to bring this about as a region.

WECA will also be running the fourth cohort of its successful Creative Scale Up programme, which is already providing almost 60 creative businesses with online peer and mentoring support to help them respond to the impact of Covid-19.

Since joining the programme in January 2020, Bristol-based independent development studio and games consultancy Auroch Digital has secured a new publishing deal and taken on 15 new members of staff.

Dr Tomas Rawlings (pictured), Chief Executive of Auroch Digital, said: “The Creative Scale Up programme, particularly the mentoring process, was great – we were able to pick mentors targeting specific needs we have. We got direct support with business questions as they arose and that helped us deal with them and move forward.

“As a result, we’ve been able to advance some key areas of the company. We’ve landed one big publishing deal for a new IP game and are circling a second big project, and that mentoring advice has been part of the mix of positives getting us there. Information provided by the Creative Scale Up team also led us to a UWE Digital Innovation Fund grant.”

Creative businesses wanting to find out more about the new business support programme, grant funds and the Creative Scale Up scheme should visit WECA’s Growth Hub page.

The Culture and Creative Industry Business Support Programme and grant funds are a key part of the West of England Recovery Taskforce’s regional action plan to protect and secure jobs, creating opportunities for all residents to share in the recovery. As part of this, WECA’s Together West of England campaign is connecting businesses with the support and guidance they need to adapt, build resilience and prepare for the future, as well as helping residents to access new skills, training and employment opportunities.

Through the West of England Growth Hub businesses of any size in the West of England can access free information and guidance on a variety of issues including workforce planning, HR advice and guidance, employability support, training and skills development and coaching.