Following the success and popularity of the last one, I’m thrilled to be hosting a second online discussion between authors of some of the best books on new ways of working, the future of work and self-management. It’s going to be another awesome conversation! The theme for discussion will be: New ways of working sound great! Where do we start? Grab your free ticket here and join me in the ‘fishbowl’ on 4 Nov @18.00 with:
You’ll get the most out of the event if you attend with colleagues (including leaders) and schedule a catch up after the event to discuss what landed and what you might try / change. So do invite your team along, and definitely invite your boss! You can watch a recording of the first discussion below.
—
With COVID-19 meaning social distancing is the new norm, we’re seeing profound effects on our lives. Face-to-face meetings, gatherings and events aren’t possible, making this a difficult time for the general population and most industries. For many businesses, budgets are under increasing pressure as revenue streams are cut and operational and marketing methods undergo huge upheaval.
As a society, we’re worried about our health, our families’ health, our wellbeing and our job security. Now is not the time for brands to choose a hard-sell approach, or to appear to be ‘cashing in’ on – or even preying on – social insecurity, as audiences become less receptive and more critical of insincere marketing.
So how can businesses maintain those physical interactions that are so vital to customer engagement, and promote their services in as effective and relevant a way as possible?
One option for connecting with your customers is through hosting a digital event.
Digital events have become more prominent in the last few years, and offer a range of benefits:
Two of the primary forms of digital events are webcasts and webinars. The terms are often used interchangeably, but in fact, they both feature a distinctly different approach to hosting an online event.
If you want to engage with a larger audience, featuring tens or even hundreds of participants, a webcast is an ideal way to broadcast your message.
Webcasts are typically a one-way flow of information shared over the internet, delivered like a lecture or speech. In cases where there are a large number of participants, a webcast gives you the opportunity to deliver a valuable presentation with minimum disruption.
If you’re looking for a higher level of engagement with your audience, a webinar might be a better option. A webinar more closely resembles a meeting, often with fewer participants who are more involved in the content. In this two-way, interactive option, your audience can ask questions, and there’s more opportunity for you to drive direct interaction.
For the very highest level of engagement where creativity and collaboration is needed most, virtual workshops create an effective environment within the digital sphere. In ‘real-life’ face-to-face creative workshops, structure is often more fluid, but this can be difficult to achieve in an online environment. To successfully deliver a virtual workshop, you should have a clearly-defined process for organising and managing participation, and use easy-to-implement, highly intuitive technology, to smooth the delivery process.
If you’re looking to fully replicate an existing conference or event, then a virtual tradeshow could be well suited for you. Virtual tradeshows can be hosted indefinitely, taking place online with on-demand information. By using live chat options and providing customer support, your visitors can experience the same feeling of instant, responsive communication as they would in a face-to-face expo.
In a virtual tradeshow, you can host digital exhibition halls, booths and auditoriums, helping you to replicate the immersive experience of a real-life event. However, it’s worth noting that this type of event the longest lead time, and can be costly to set up.
In this blog, we look at the different types of digital events, how you can build your audience for your events, and provide some top tips for success.
Different events will attract different audience sizes and levels of engagement. Its success will often rely on the quality and number of participants in the audience you manage to attract.
Traditionally, digital events are split into two audience segments; your existing database contacts, and audiences built through new lead generation.
Unless you have a well-managed and maintained database of contacts, GDPR and other data legislation, such as CCPA, can restrict the opportunity for direct email invitations to your event. So you’ll need to check this, and consider alternative lead-generation tactics if this is the case.
Social media is a great tool for driving lead generation when used creatively, and can be supplemented through media partnerships or other paid media channels – for example, search engine advertising.
One of the greatest benefits of a webinar or a webcast is that either one can be held live or made available on-demand, depending on the platform you choose to host your event. By making an event recording available after it’s taken place, you can make connections with customers and prospects who can’t necessarily attend in real-time, or who may be researching the subject after the event has already taken place.
In fact, with any online session you’ll want to consider post-webinar activity – just as you would with a live event. Your digital session is just the beginning of potential engagement, and with strategic follow-up activity you can continue to nurture leads and maintain interest. Repackaged content following a webinar can be an ideal way to sustain the conversation with customers, as can additional ‘exclusive’ materials.
With a combination of session playback and additional content, your sessions gain additional longevity – and that means maximum impact for your brand.
At P+S, we’ve been hosting digital events for years, both for our own brand, and for our clients too. Our top tips for success include:
When it comes to digital events, our in-house team can take care of everything: from determining the strategy and execution of lead generation campaigns, to designing and copywriting your presentations and content. And it’s all tied together by our expert strategists, who’ll work with you to ensure we meet – and exceed – your expectations.
If you’d like to find out more about what type of digital event would best suit your business, and how we can help you deliver it, get in touch today, by emailing [email protected].
Bristol Creative Industries is the membership network uniting Bristol, Bath and the South West’s creative sector. We are the largest creative network in the South West with over 500 members and a robust following across all the main social media channels. Industries include, advertising, marketing, design, digital, PR, graphic, film, TV, video, radio, photography, IT, software, createch, publishing, events and games.
Guess what? We are also open to students and graduates looking for work experience placements, short term contracts and full time jobs. It’s the place to join if you are looking to build a digital portfolio, make contacts and find employment. And, for students and recent graduates, it’s totally free to join.
Bristol Creative Industries brings together a community of like-minded individuals and creative businesses to promote opportunities and support sector growth. Each member gets an online profile in the membership directory which is a great place to get to know local employers. We also have a jobs board and host training and speaker events to inform and inspire our network.
As a Student / Graduate member you will get your own profile in the directory so employers can get to know you too. Also pick up discounts on training workshops and speaker events, and a host of other perks like money off your coffee fix!
All in all, it’s a great place to get noticed by employers, discover what’s going on in the creative sector and hear the latest industry thinking at our training and speaker events.
Sounds exciting? Sign up here.
Get involved, get connected and your career will start to take off.
Photo Credit: Access Creative College
Twitter @Access_Creative | Facebook @accesscreativecollege | Instagram @accesscreativecollege
In the short video below, we share an example of a virtual underground station designed to replicate a real-world experience. As you will see, the possibilities are almost limitless. We can design a fully immersive virtual experience, unique to your brand.
Within the tour, multiple features are shown that allow your brand to communicate core messages and keep your attendees engaged throughout their virtual journey.
If you would like to explore the full tour, amongst other virtual experiences, please contact [email protected] to request an interactive demonstration.
–
We anticipate the future to be a hybrid model offering both physical in-person exhibits and events, as well as virtual versions. These dual online and in-person meetings require having a platform that can complement both.
Intelligent design is at the heart of everything we do. We balance strategy with creativity to create beautiful branded environments & communications. It simply means the thinking comes before the doing, every time.
The course objective is for you to enjoy your job more and to be an even better member of your team. You’ll learn collaboration and leadership skills, how to hold better meetings, and how to make better decisions faster. You’ll feel more comfortable giving feedback, know what’s getting in the way of being a great team that does awesome work, and have the mindset to help make change happen.
To do this we’ll borrow from the best sources. These include agile, self-management, organisational psychology, and the most progressive companies on the planet.
The course is led by me, Mark Eddleston. I’m a new ways of working consultant, coach, facilitator and founder of Reinventing Work. Since 2015 I’ve been practising new ways of working and synthesising the mountain of information that’s out there (you can learn more about me at the bottom of the page). New Ways of Working: Made Simpler is something of a greatest hits. We’ll fast forward to trusted, tried and tested patterns found in some of the world’s most progressive organisations.
On this course, you’ll be practising and learning all the way. You’ll get better at listening, teamwork, and self-organising. There will be pre-work ahead of each weekly meet on Zoom. You’ll have the chance to ask questions and to form a community on Slack. You’ll become familiar with Notion, where course content is shared, and with Focusmate which will help you to get through it. You’ll experience Mural and Liberating Structures. You’ll design experiments to be implemented in your own team. You’ll form partnerships with classmates who will help you, hold you accountable and be depending on you. Throughout, you’ll be experiencing some of the best collaborations tools and practices out there.
Throughout the course, you will learn structures that you can pop in your pocket, take back to work and use immediately.
Expect practical, interactive and participatory. Each week the format looks like this:
So it’s a weekly commitment of at least 5 hours per week, though some of this is during work time.
The five-week course begins on Monday, October 26 October. We meet every Monday at 18.00 – 20.00 BST, wrapping up on 23 November.
This course is for you if you are:
To secure your place double-check the eligibility criteria ☝️ then send me a note to confirm ([email protected]) and make your payment via PayPal. If you need to be invoiced I can generate one right away.
Please note that cohorts are limited to 12 places.
I came across new ways of working in New Zealand in 2015 after spending a decade in traditional workplaces. It was the first time I found consistent fulfilment in work. This experience was with a law firm and community organisation that features on the distinguished Corporate Rebels ‘bucket list’. Once you taste this way of working it is impossible to go back. I’ve since been a member of staff in two organisations that have departed from traditional management structures, so have plenty of lived experience.
I’m also co-founder of Reinventing Work, a decentralised global movement for people interested in more human-centred, purposeful and self-organised ways of working. So far we’ve gathered in 25 cities across five continents, including in Bristol (where it began) London, Berlin, Melbourne, Montreal and New York. I have delivered online content to hundreds, spoken about new ways of working at The University of Oxford, and facilitated at Meaning Fringe Conference. I’ve also appeared on the wonderful Leadermorphosis podcast and the University of the West of England’s MSc Occupational Psychology programme discussing the future of work.
You can check out my website (including testimonials) here: https://www.marco.work
The iconic ‘Cheers Drive’ sign, one of nine light installations which featured in this year’s inaugural Bristol Light Festival has been permanently installed at the city’s bus station in Marlborough Street as a symbol of gratitude to the many thousands of frontline workers.
The neon sign was installed late last night and will be officially switched on by tomorrow Friday 21 August as a permanent feature for visitors and Bristol residents to enjoy.
As organisers focus on their plans to bring the Bristol Light Festival back to the city next February, they are asking Bristolians to nominate their preferred local phrase to be turned into a light display. The Overheard in Bristol installation which this year featured the ‘Cheers Drive’ saying will light up a new well-known Bristol phrase for 2021. With a wealth of ‘Brizzle’ phrases to choose from ‘gert lush’ and ‘alright me luvver’ to ‘where’s it to?’, people can nominate a phrase for next year by tweeting @bristol_light their ideas.
Supported by Bristol City Centre BID (Business Improvement District) alongside Bristol-based creative directors Katherine Jewkes and Vashti Waite, this year’s highly popular event was the first in a three-year series planned for the city.
Expressions of interest are also now open for artists keen to be involved in the 2021 event. The creative team are keen to hear from artists and makers of any discipline, interested in working with light as a creative medium in Bristol City Centre.
Vicky Lee, Bristol City Centre BID’s lead for the Festival added: “We’re excited to be giving Cheers Drive a permanent home in our city and it’s fitting that it is going to be displayed in a location which every day welcomes residents, workers and visitors alike into the heart of the Bristol.
“It’s great that so many people are already returning as we continue to work with local businesses and organisations to safely reopen the city following lockdown, as part of the Bristol Together initiative.”
James Freeman, Managing Director, First West of England commented:
“As we get the region moving safely again this new eye-catching addition to the city’s bus station from the Bristol Light Festival is right on cue. The ‘Cheers Drive’ sign gives us a highly visual, creative way to show our gratitude to the thousands of keyworkers – including our First staff – in true Bristol fashion now and for years to come.”
Katherine Jewkes, co-creative director for the Bristol Light Festival:
“The last few months have been difficult for everyone, but as always Bristol has come together with its own sense of community spirit and care, which we think is summed up in this artwork. We’re glad to see it reinstalled in the city centre as a gift to everyone who has kept the city going through such uncertain and turbulent times.
We are moving forward with plans to stage Bristol Light Festival again in 2021, bringing light and joy to the city centre at a traditionally dark time of year. We are currently open for expressions of interest from any kind of creative talent in the city who have an idea they would like to make happen, or an installation which has never been seen in Bristol before, we’d love to hear from you.”
In addition to the giant ‘Cheers Drive’ sign as part of the Overheard in Bristol installation which was originally located by Watershed, the 2020 event included eight other installations for the city to enjoy, such as the transformation of Castle Bridge by Tine Bech with Pink Enchantment, immersing those who walked across it in an ethereal pink light. While Queen Square hosted Wave-Field Variation Q, eight, giant illuminated see saws by Lateral Office and CS Design with Soundscape by Mitchell Akiyams, and Neighbours, which saw four Bristol-based Graffiti artists and illustrators to show us what they think the neighbours are up to next door to Banky’s famous Well-Hung Lover on Park Street. Neighbours is a celebration of Bristol’s residents and how we interact with each other as a diverse community.
The Bristol City Centre BID (Business Improvement District) has continued to deliver many initiatives throughout the pandemic to ensure the city and its businesses can safely reopen. These projects include additional overnight security, street cleansing and disinfecting high-contact locations in the city centre to help minimize the spread of Covid-19 and most recently the city-wide marketing campaign, Bristol Together to support local businesses as they safely reopen in partnership with Visit Bristol and Broadmead BID.
For more information about the Bristol Light Festival and Bristol City Centre BID please visit https://bristolcitycentrebid.co.uk/ and follow the Bristol City Centre BID on Twitter @BrisCentreBID #Bristollight.
Tuesday 8 September 2020, 11:00-12:00
The demand for greater choice, flexibility and meaning was challenging leaders to think differently about their approach to talent and the workplace even before the pandemic hit. Recent experiences have just deepened these desires and been a catalyst for broader change in how agencies work, behave and operate – as businesses, and communities of people.
What comes next for the world of work is not a ‘return’ to anything. It’s a transition to a new era and every business needs to raise their game when it comes to how they lead, the culture they create and how they support and leverage their best talent. Get the balance right and it will be a win-win for your business and the people you want to stay and draw.
Based on detailed research and hands-on experience in recent months, we will explain how agencies need to respond to these new expectations. We’ll share our knowledge and experience and explain how you can manage change in a way that sets your business up for success.
This event is for Bristol Media members only and aimed at all agency founders and leaders seeking valuable insights to help shape a positive and progressive working culture for their agency.
This is the third event in the Future Positive series. The next session on 7th October will cover how to create and manage business value. More details to follow on this.
Places are limited to allow for a more personal and productive discussion. To reserve your space, register here
Whilst this is a free event, we’d be grateful if members would consider making a donation.
Although some of our members have been unaffected by COVID-19, we recognise for others this is still challenging business climate so we want to do what we can to support. As many will know, Bristol Media operates as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company and revenue comes solely from membership fees and events. We receive no other funding or financial support. We’re hopeful that the donation approach will allow all members to continue accessing our events whatever their financial situation whilst also allowing us to replace some of the revenue we’ve lost over recent months. All our speakers give their time and expertise voluntarily. Thank you for your continued backing and we hope that you’ll be able to support this approach and look forward to being able to deliver a series of worthwhile events that our members enjoy and importantly find beneficial to their businesses.
We’re the business consultancy to add clarity, colour and confidence to your ambition.
We add our collective knowledge and specialist expertise to help you realise your full potential and value.
The Future Positive series will be run by the Tonic senior team, who will draw on their experience leading and guiding some of the best agencies through challenging times.
To find out more about Tonic, click here.
Change is something we are good at working with in brand experience.
As a brand experience company specialising in working with leading media and advertising agencies. We help them deliver experiential campaigns for the diverse range of clients they work for. So being geared up for change is something we are good at. One week the team could be working at a music festival. The next at a thrilling sporting spectacle. We’ve even inflated a giant cow with a butt plug on the River Thames, for a PR stunt to convey the benefits of eating less meat to the environment! For us, no two days and no campaign are the same. This develops a culture where we are up for a challenge and always prepared for the unexpected. However the last few months were definitely unexpected, as we shut our doors stayed home and hunkered down much like the rest of the country.
But now the lockdown is gradually lifting and we’re excited to re-open the doors. We know we are set to work in potentially a very different world, so it seems a good time for us to make some changes. The new production studio made ready just before lockdown, means we can now respond even more rapidly to client’s requirements. Responsiveness and speed of delivery is going to be even more important in the foreseeable. With the new studio we are now able to develop a brand experience from concept to completion, in weeks or even days. Not only can we be faster, but we are also ready to incorporate new social distancing guidelines into event builds and sampling activation so that safety comes first.
A more sustainable approach to experiential marketing and event production.
A new production process allows us to implement a ‘greener’ way of working and by embedding sustainability policies from conception. By sourcing the most environmentally materials possible, putting an emphasis on minimal waste and recycling and re-purposing, we can help our clients deliver brand experience campaigns that minimise their environmental impact.
The merging of the digital and physical worlds is accelerating even faster. Which is something we can help our clients embrace. Though we also believe human interaction has been hugely missed and people’s desire to come together again will be bigger than before. As will the experiential industry we love.
Brand experience with a power like no other medium to empower brands with emotion is here to stay. We are here to help our clients do it, better, safer and greener.
After a sell-out keynote in January, we’re thrilled that Rory Sutherland will be joining us online on Thursday 9th July (12.30-1.30pm) to share his thoughts on the future of work, in particular creative work, in this new and very changed world.
If the old world was about efficiency, the new world is about variety and resilience.
If the old world was about ordaining specific rules, the new world is about finding recurring patterns.
So if the old world was about specialists, the new world will need generalists.
And if the old world was about logic, the new world will be about magic.
And if the old world was linear and mechanical, the new world can be curvy and psychological.
Creative people – people who, in the words of Herbert Simon “design and see possibilities” should enjoy something of a renaissance in this new world. But no one will hand over power willingly.
Booking is via Eventbrite – click here to book your place. We will send the Zoom link nearer the time.
This is a free event for Bristol Media members although we’d be grateful if members would consider making a donation. There is a charge of £20+VAT for non-members.
Whilst some of our members have been unaffected by COVID-19, we recognise for others this is still challenging business climate so we want to do what we can to support. As many will know, Bristol Media operates as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company and revenue comes solely from membership fees and events. We receive no other funding or financial support. We’re hopeful that the donation approach will allow all members to continue accessing our events whatever their financial situation whilst also allowing us to replace some of the revenue we’ve lost over recent months. All our speakers give their time and expertise voluntarily. Thank you for your continued backing and we hope that you’ll be able to support this approach and look forward to being able to deliver a series of worthwhile events that our members enjoy and importantly find beneficial to their businesses.
Rory is the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy, an attractively vague job title which has allowed him to co-found a behavioural science practice within the agency.
He works with a consulting practice of psychology graduates who look for ‘unseen opportunities’ in consumer behaviour – these are the very small contextual changes which can have enormous effects on the decisions people make. It is a hugely valuable activity – but, alas, not particularly lucrative. This is because clients generally do not have budgets for solving problems they have not noticed.
Before founding Ogilvy Change, Rory was a copywriter and creative director at Ogilvy for over 20 years, having joined as a graduate trainee in 1988. He has variously been President of the IPA, Chair of the Judges for the Direct Jury at Cannes, and has spoken at TED Global. He writes regular columns for the Spectator, Market Leader and Impact, and also occasional pieces for Wired. He is the author of two books: The Wiki Man, available on Amazon at prices between £1.96 and £2,345.54, depending on whether the algorithm is having a bad day, and Alchemy, The Surprising Power of Ideas that don’t make Sense, published in the UK and US in March 2019.
Wednesday 8 July 2020, 11:00-12:00
The future is not what it used to be. And that’s a positive thing.
For the agency world it’s time to move to a better model – shifting away from just ‘doing’ to genuinely making a difference. Solving significant challenges for clients, attracting and empowering a diversity of top talent, and building a sustainable business that’s valued and valuable.
So, how can you create this positive future for your agency? What are the new standards? What do you need to think about or rethink about when it comes to your approach? And how should you go about making it happen?
Join us on Wednesday 8th July, 11am-12noon, as the Tonic team tackle these questions head on, share perspectives on new expectations, and provide a framework for future success.
This is the first event in the Future Positive series. Upcoming sessions will cover more on how to earn and grow client commitment, how to inspire and empower your talent and how to create and manage business value. More details to follow on these.
This session is available to Bristol Media members only and aimed at agency founders and senior leaders.
Places are limited to allow for a more personal and productive discussion. In the interests of fairness, places are also limited to one attendee per agency. To reserve your space, register here.
This is a free event, although we’d be grateful if members would consider making a donation.
Whilst some of our members have been unaffected by COVID-19, we recognise for others this is still challenging business climate so we want to do what we can to support. As many will know, Bristol Media operates as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company and revenue comes solely from membership fees and events. We receive no other funding or financial support. We’re hopeful that the donation approach will allow all members to continue accessing our events whatever their financial situation whilst also allowing us to replace some of the revenue we’ve lost over recent months. All our speakers give their time and expertise voluntarily. Thank you for your continued backing and we hope that you’ll be able to support this approach and look forward to being able to deliver a series of worthwhile events that our members enjoy and importantly find beneficial to their businesses.
We’re the business consultancy to add clarity, colour and confidence to your ambition.
We add our collective knowledge and specialist expertise to help you realise your full potential and value.
The Future Positive series will be run by the Tonic senior team, who will draw on their experience leading and guiding some of the best agencies in the world through uncertain times.
To find out more about Tonic, click here.
You need to load content from reCAPTCHA to submit the form. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More Information