Our creative and digital industries are facing a critical shortage of developer skills right now, particularly when it comes to Web3 developers, with Web3 developers only representing 1% of worldwide devs. Yet there’s so much potential for positive, disruptive change. Collectively we need to up-skill our teams to realise that huge potential.
But WTF is Web3 and why should we care?
Simpleweb is hosting a month-long virtual festival throughout October to help to demystify Web3 and see past the nonsense. The goal is to onboard the next generation of Web3 talent across the UK. Similar to a hackathon format, they’ll be helping agencies, developers and UX teams learn the fundamentals and begin their Web3 journey, using a range of Web3 tools and best choice blockchains.
Participants will learn about Web3 and its benefits to help build expertise and extend product & service offerings, and agencies can enter individuals or teams who will be able to work together and bring their collective knowledge back to share with others. They’ll also receive an NFT certificate of completion, as well as get the chance to win a number of prizes across different categories. It’s free to join, and could contribute to agencies’ CPD efforts as well as innovation endeavours.
Another opportunity for us to pull together to put Bristol on the map, supporting our creative and tech talent and building an even stronger community. Why wouldn’t you?
https://www.meetup.com/simpleweb/events/287735158/
Would you and your team benefit from learning about and committing to experimenting with new ways of working? If so, join my online course in July – BCI members receive a 10% discount 🤗
In a nutshell, we’ll focus on the common challenges and tensions felt by teams (the perfect inspiration for your experiments); what Harvard, MIT and Google research tells us about great teams; healthy meeting structures; helpful mindsets; power; encouraging a culture of feedback; and techniques for better decision-making.
I love delivering this course. The first seven have been full houses, the feedback has been fantastic, and I can’t wait to go again!
100% of participants “feel more comfortable experimenting with new ways of working” & “would recommend the course to colleagues” 💯
The course objectives are 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 facilitate meetings that don’t feel like a chore, and how to make better decisions by quickly seeking and integrating the wisdom of the group. You’ll learn how to give ‘brain-friendly’ feedback, recognise what’s getting in the way of being a great team (tensions), and understand the mindset and power dynamics that help or hinder change.
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. There’s more detail below in the ‘Course overview’ section of the course page, including who’s been attending, eligibility, and course feedback scores.
– By far one of the most useful, practical, engaging, interesting courses I’ve been on. Hats off to you, super well thought out, from a practical, mental and emotional perspective.
– The experimenting methodology gives me the opportunity to not only “take a course” but actually practising in the “real world”.
– The benefits to the business have been tangible and resulted in me thinking about work in a very different way.
– I loved having another colleague on the course and would totally recommend others try to do the same… I loved the organisation of the course, it all felt incredibly “slick.” … I loved Marks humble approach, he listened to us all intently and was patient with us when we needed more time on certain things.
– The experiments each week really helped me grow my comfort towards experimenting further. They gave me the perspective of how much needs to be a done, and an eye for what might be ‘bite-size’.
– I loved Marks generosity, he clearly spends a lot of time preparing and introduced me to very cool tools that we are now using in the organisation.
– The depth of experience and further research Mark has done to curate bite sized resource for us to cover weekly, in a number of mediums, was incredibly satisfying to absorb and kept me engaged over the 5 weeks.
– As a facilitator, you do add quite a bit of magic sauce to holding the space, and your curation of materials is unbeatable.
Your New Ways of Working journey will be more impactful if you have colleagues along for the ride, so you are advised (and incentivised) to bring one or two along.
To secure your place please double-check the eligibility criteria on the course page then send a note to confirm ([email protected]) and that’s it, you’re enrolled!
Rita will talk about how she has found brand thinking not just fundamental to successful businesses of all shapes, sizes and stages, but also how you can apply it to yourself to ensure that you are as valued and influential as you can be. She will:
Tickets are priced at £50+VAT for BCI members and £75+VAT for non-members which includes a buffet lunch so there’ll be plenty of opportunity to catch up with old friends and make some new connections too.
If you’d like to join the BCI network, read all about becoming a BCI member here.
As a high-profile business leader, acclaimed brand guru and sustainability champion, Rita is able to inspire organisations of all kinds to find new ways to succeed in an uncertain world.
She has been called ‘Brand guru’ by the Financial Times and ‘The doyenne of branding’ by Campaign magazine. Retail Week commented that she is ‘A fabulous ambassador for business’. Alongside her board chairing and non-executive roles, Rita is a writer, keynote speaker, conference chair & practitioner on all aspects of brands, branding and business leadership.
Her career has included being a Vice Chair and Strategy Director at Saatchi & Saatchi, as London CEO and Chair at the global brand consultancy Interbrand and as co-founder of BrandCap. She is now a portfolio chair and non-executive director on the board of businesses including John Lewis Partnership, Nationwide Building Society and Ascential plc. Previous boards have included ASOS, Dixons Retail plc, Emap, Bupa and Populus Group. Her non-profit boards have included WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature), the UK Sustainable Development Commission and Green Alliance. She was recently appointed Chair at Forum for the Future, the leading international sustainability organisation. In the 2014 New Year’s Honours List, Rita was awarded a CBE for services to the creative industries.
Rita is a regular columnist and media commentator, as well as author of ‘The Future of Brands’ and two editions of The Economist book ‘Brands and Branding’. Her new book on leadership ‘Love your imposter’ was launched by Kogan Page in September 2020.
Join award-winning paid media agency Launch, alongside Google and Microsoft, at an event designed to inform, educate and reassure businesses that a cookieless future doesn’t mean the end of in-depth insights.
The two breakfast events will be held on 11th May at the Engine Shed in Bristol, and 19th May at the Hotel du Vin in Exeter (8:30 – 10:30am). They will provide a vital opportunity for South West businesses to understand the changes to data capture, as consumers are given more control of their online presence, with potential financial fines for non-compliance.
Jaye Cowle, Managing Director at Launch, says: “This is an extremely important workshop for business owners and marketers. Google and Microsoft will be in the room presenting on the changes that have happened, and how to adjust your marketing as a result. It is imperative that marketing departments understand how to responsibly track and engage with your customers in the future.”
In addition to representatives from Google and Microsoft, there will be presentations from Launch’s Data Strategist Michael Patten, and Noisy Little Monkey’s Technical Director Jon Payne. They will cover some alternative routes businesses can take as user permission and data visibility in digital marketing become increasingly important and sensitive topics.
Places are limited, so register your attendance in either Bristol or Exeter today.
We’re thrilled to be welcoming back Steve Chapman for our first face to face Keynote in over 2 years!
9 wonky projects interspersed with thoughts on creativity and the human condition (featuring a bingo machine)
Pioneering therapist Laura Perls once said that every patient needs their own new form of therapy. Steve thinks the same is true of creativity.
In this unusual talk Steve aims to give no answers, no tools and no formula in order to invite the audience to do the important work and consider what are their own unique creative philosophies and practices that allow their creative spirit to flourish. The bingo machine will decide what stories Steve tells so this is a talk that can never be done more than once so it will be a unique, entertaining and enlightening experience.
Steve’s talk will be held on Thursday 24th March at Origin Workspace, 40 Berkeley Square (BS8 1HP) and will begin at 1pm, with networking from 12.30pm.
About Steve
Steve Chapman (aka stevexoh) is an artist, writer and speaker interested in creativity and the human condition. He has spoken around the world on the subject of human creativity and worked with a plethora of individuals and companies to help them nurture their innate creative spirit.
As an artist, Steve has sold his work across 5 continents, exhibited alongside the likes of David Shrigley and Pablo Picasso and held two successful solo exhibitions in the UK in 2021. He is at his best when he is not quite sure what he is doing.
Website: www.canscorpionssmoke.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/stevexoh
Twitter: www.twitter.com/stevexoh
Tickets
Tickets are priced at £30+VAT for BCI members and £45+VAT for non-members. Please click here to book your place!
Ever feel like normal marketing advice doesn’t apply to you because you’re marketing something that’s not very… sexy?
It’s easy when you’re selling very technical products to feel like a lot of standard marketing advice doesn’t really fit your remit.
If this sounds familiar, you should come along to the Business as Unusual Webinar this month with the fantastic Andi Jarvis. He’s going to teach us how to write copy that converts the personas that you’re targeting.
Like every Business as Unusual, you’ll have a chance to ask any questions you’ve got for Andi in the Q&A at the end.
Date: 17th February 2022
Time: 3pm – 4pm
Location: Zoom
Register here: mnky.bz/bau
First event: 10th February 1.30pm – 2.15pm
Bristol-based web design and development agency, Unfold has just launched a brand-new events series, Below the Fold. The series centres successful business people, giving them a platform to share learnings from their journeys. Hosted by Unfold’s founder, Harry Cobbold, these events aim to educate and inform attendees with insider knowledge and tips for success.
What it takes to get your business acquired
The first episode in the series will see Gapsquare’s Zara Nanu taking the guest seat, with Harry interviewing her on Gapsquare’s recent acquisition and what it takes to build and acquirable business.
You can catch the event on 10th February 2022 from 1.30pm – 2.15pm. All events in the series will be held virtually via Zoom for the foreseeable future. If you can’t make the date, you can register in any case and you will be sent the session recording following the event.
Register for the event here.
We all know the power data and reporting can have in forming campaigns, convincing clients and understanding customers.
So with the new Google Analytics update, it’s crucial to get your head around this completely new model – especially if you’re going to get the most out of your data.
Learn from Jill Quick of The Colouring Department, an analytics consultant who has been working in digital marketing for a very long time!
We’ll cover:
Like all Buisness as Unusual webinars you’ll also get a chance to ask any questions about analytics or GA4 that you’re stuck on.
Date: 20th January 2022
Time: 3pm – 4pm
Location: Zoom
Get access to an entire hour of free advice on analytics and reporting at this month’s Business as Unusual webinar.
Register here: mnky.bz/bau
The new ‘Intro to Game Art’ short course will give you an insight into the world of game art, exploring the range of roles and essential skills needed to get you started when exploring a potential future career in game art. There is a host of exciting modules that your tutor will guide you through, including:
Planning and producing work to a design brief.
Working in the games industry
Concept art for computer games
Modelling for computer games
This new and exciting programme is designed to equip individuals (aged 19+) with the technical skills, knowledge and understanding needed to produce digital content across several platforms, ensuring you can use social media most effectively for your small business, sports team or trade.
This course will provide a great opportunity for you to develop media production techniques, such as camera operating (on mobile devices, DSLR cameras and broadcast cameras), video editing, graphics and motion graphics to produce content for Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and more. There is a host of exciting modules that your tutor will guide you through, including:
Planning your Project
Camera Production Techniques
Sound Recording Techniques
Editing Techniques
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