This forum brings together digital and creative firms to explore shared challenges, identify strategic opportunities and establish a regular network for ongoing collaboration.
The discussion will be facilitated by James Wheale, Innovation and Growth Specialist at Innovate UK Business Growth, bringing sector‑specific expertise to guide the conversation.
What We’ll Discuss
– What challenges are you facing?
– What opportunities are emerging?
– What conversations would you like to have with peers, educators, investors and local authorities?
Why It Matters
This forum creates a dedicated space for sector specific collaboration. By strengthening local networks, businesses can share insights, identify opportunities and build resilience in a fast changing market.
What You’ll Gain
Understand the current digital and creative industry landscape
Ideas to help your business adapt, innovate and thrive in South Gloucestershire
Build relationships across the sector
Help shape future events and support
Who should attend:
Startups and SMEs working in digital, creative, quantum, fintech or creative tech industries, exclusively those based in South Gloucestershire. This includes founders, entrepreneurs, chief executives, managing directors, technology leaders, creative directors, business development managers and talent specialists.
This free event is exclusively for South Gloucestershire based businesses and has limited capacity. Early registration is encouraged.
Refreshments and light catering will be provided.
This event is funded and supported by South Gloucestershire Council, in partnership with Future Leap.
Like it or not, design influences our behaviour on a daily basis. And a lot of the time, it’s not very subtle.
Whether it’s to sell us a sandwich, join a gym, or update our wardrobe – our attention is a battleground from the moment we wake up to when we finally put our phones down and set off for sleep.
But among all the noise exists a softer approach.
In this webinar, Vix Hansard explains the importance of the visual nudge in an overwhelming world, and how sometimes the smallest design decisions can be the difference between us feeling isolated or included.
Bristol Creative Industries members can register here
This webinar is exclusively for BCI members. It’s one of many benefits you get by joining the community. Not a BCI member? Read more about the benefits and join here.
From strategists to client services, creatives to copywriters – anyone with a curiosity in how design can shape the way we behave should tune into this one.
Vix is creative director of Epoch, a global brand agency based on Queen Square in Bristol.
Deeply passionate about meaningful design, she’s the driving force behind Epoch’s ‘people first’ approach, making sure that everything that comes out of the studio has been crafted to make real connections and evoke real emotion.
With over 20 years in the industry, Vix has had her hand in everything from TVCs to CCIs, radio ads to TikTok stunts. She’s helped create brands from scratch and she’s worked on countless rebrands of some of the biggest household names in the world. And at the heart of it all is storytelling that stirs feeling.
> Connect with Vix on LinkedIn
> See Epoch’s BCI profile here
The online sessions take place every other Friday morning from 8.30-9am, and allow BCI members to share their knowledge with fellow members.
The webinars are a 15/20 minute presentation followed by a 10/15 minute Q&A. The sessions are a mix of expert tips and case studies – the perfect opportunity to learn something new before the week is out.
The webinars are exclusively for BCI members. They are one of many benefits you get by joining the community. Not a BCI member? Read more about the benefits and join here.
Please get in touch with Dan if you’re a BCI member and you’re interested in presenting on a future webinar.
In 2026, the secret to ad performance isn’t through targeting or bid optimisation, it’s with your creative assets. As Meta and other major platforms move toward “black-box” automation, creative diversity has become the single most important lever for driving ad efficiency and growth.
But why is the algorithm so hungry for variety and how can brands keep up without losing quality? In this webinar, Bexley Terell will explain the shift from audience targeting to creative-led growth.
Key takeaways:
Bristol Creative Industries members can register here
This webinar is exclusively for BCI members. It’s one of many benefits you get by joining the community. Not a BCI member? Read more about the benefits and join here.
Designed for anyone managing digital ad spend, this session explores the evolution of social platforms and why creative has become the key performance lever. This talk is essential for senior marketers, digital specialists, ecommerce professionals and creative leads.
Bexley Terrell is the creative strategy director at Bind Media, a B-Corp certified paid media agency where curiosity results in clarity & impact.
With expertise in paid social, UGC and audience research, Bexley ensures brands have truly engaging & impactful creative by putting the customer at the heart of their messaging. From increasing ROAS to scaling new customer acquisition, his hybrid approach combines data-driven insights with creative storytelling.
> Connect with Bexley on LinkedIn
> See Bind Media’s BCI profile here
The online sessions take place every other Friday morning from 8.30-9am, and allow BCI members to share their knowledge with fellow members.
The webinars are a 15/20 minute presentation followed by a 10/15 minute Q&A. The sessions are a mix of expert tips and case studies – the perfect opportunity to learn something new before the week is out.
The webinars are exclusively for BCI members. They are one of many benefits you get by joining the community. Not a BCI member? Read more about the benefits and join here.
Please get in touch with Dan if you’re a BCI member and you’re interested in presenting on a future webinar.
Join us for an insightful panel discussion and Q&A with the team at Bristol Creative Industries member ITV News West Country.
Hosted by Dan Martin, we’ll discuss the changing face of news consumption, regional journalism, life in broadcasting and what the creative sector can learn for their own businesses.
Alex Lovell, Presenter – Alex is a prominent British television presenter, currently a main anchor for ITV News West Country. She joined the network in January 2024, following an 18-year tenure as the lead female presenter for BBC Points West.
Sabet Choudhury, Presenter – Sabet is an award-winning journalist and main presenter for ITV News West Country, a role he began in October 2022. Prior to joining ITV, he spent 17 years at the BBC. In 2025, he received the Sir Ambrose Fleming Memorial Award from the Royal Television Society for his outstanding contribution to regional broadcasting.
Charlie Powell, Weather presenter – Charlie is a qualified meteorologist and weather presenter for ITV News West Country. He joined the team in June 2018, transitioning from a ten-year career behind the scenes at the Met Office.
Nimesh Joshi, Head of News – Nimesh is the Head of News for ITV News West Country. Appointed to the role in early 2024, he oversees the editorial strategy for the region after previously holding leadership positions as Programme and Digital Editor for both ITV Central and ITV Channel Television.
Dan Martin, Panel host – Dan is a freelance business journalist with over 20 years of experience. He works with Bristol Creative Industries as content manager and event host.
> BCI member tickets are priced at £20 + VAT.
> Non-member tickets are £45 + VAT.
Join us from midday for lunch and refreshments kindly provided by RWK Goodman.
Not a BCI member? Read more about the benefits and join here.
The event includes an introduction to a brand new book ‘Marketing and Psychology: Understanding Customer Behaviour with the ABC Approach’ by Dr Tom Bowden-Green and Luan Wise, plus talks from industry voices Daryl Fielding and Steve Manser.
This exclusive in-person event at Bristol Business School (UWE Frenchay) is hosted by Bristol Creative Industries and the Applied Marketing Research Group (AMRG). The event is relevant for those interested in the practical application of psychology in marketing, whether you are a creative consultant, in-house marketer, student, or just have an inquisitive mind!
Where: Bristol Business School, UWE Bristol, Coldharbour Lane, Frenchay, BS16 1QY
This event is free to attend, but registration is required. Reserve your place here!
There is parking available at the venue but this must be reserved in advance. Please enter your car registration on the booking form.
> Dr Tom Bowden-Green
After starting his career in college marketing with Sony Music, Tom spent 11 years in PR agency roles before moving into academia in 2013. In his most senior role, he was an Associate Director at Grayling for several years. He completed a PhD at the University of Bath, examining the behaviour of customers in online environments, and he is now a Senior Lecturer teaching and researching marketing and psychology at Bristol Business School (UWE Bristol). Tom has been a Bristol Creative Industries Board Director since 2024.
> Luan Wise
Luan is a seasoned industry practitioner with 25 years of agency, client-side, and consultancy experience. She is a chartered marketer, fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (FCIM) and is currently pursuing a PhD by Portfolio at the University of Lancashire, focusing on B2B marketing and technology adoption.
Luan is a LinkedIn Learning Course Instructor, Meta Lead Trainer, and delivers training for professional bodies and organisations across the world. Her 2024 TEDx talk focused on the role of social media as a force for good. Marketing and Psychology: Understanding Customer Behaviour with the ABC Approach’ is Luan’s sixth book.
Discounted copies of the book can be purchased from the Routledge website, using the code MAPBOOK2026
> Steve Manser
Steve has always been interested in why people behave in certain ways. In other words, being very nosey about what people are buying and why. Affectionately dubbing his interest ‘CSI Marketing’, he quickly discovered it was actually a mix of behavioural science, profiling, psychology and sociology.
After starting out being paid to play with LEGO, Steve spent over 15 years in advertising and marketing agencies working across many large brands as part of creative and client services teams.
He also tiptoed his way around the risk and compliance-heavy world of financial services marketing whilst at SunLife, the forward-thinking over 50s brand, for three years. Then, just after the start of the global pandemic, he joined the team at The Original Wooden Duck Company (DCUK) – keen to help take the brand to the next level. Over the last five years, Steve has helped DCUK become a leading emotional gifting brand, thanks to a focused strategy of context-based marketing and behavioural psychology activities.
> Daryl Fielding
Daryl’s work currently focusses on boards and brands. Her career spans four decades in charities, major corporates, media and advertising agencies, reaching C-suite level roles in companies including Ogilvy, Mondelez and Vodafone. 8 years ago, she co-founded a social-mobility charity, recently moving from CEO to join their board. She now has a portfolio of roles, comprising commercial and charity boards, one as Chair and is scratching an entrepreneurial itch by launching a training business called OXYS.
Recent highlights include publishing The Brand Book, which has become a touchstone for the marketing industry. Also, she was proud to appear in Channel 4’s documentary, Madwomen. She was chosen because of her leadership of Dove’s iconic “Campaign for Real Beauty”, a claim to fame which has landed her in The Museum of Brands. A sought-after keynote speaker, she enjoys spreading the word about brand building and leadership.
Her last full time corporate roles were Managing Directorships at Vodafone UK and Mondelez Eu, responsible for brand strategy and marketing. Her current board mix includes First Give, The Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants, Academy of Ancient Music and The Marketing Academy Foundation. She recently concluded six years on the board of The British Heart Foundation.
Across all these roles, she is most frequently described as “refreshing”, mostly in a good way.
In this webinar, we’ll explore comms tactics across the customer journey that’ll help convert and retain your leads in 2026.
The path to purchase is evolving. In a world where there is information overload and growing consumer scepticism, your brand needs to be the clear and obvious solution to your audience’s problem.
In this webinar, our panel will delve deeper into the key themes from our recent guide, exploring effective comms strategies for visibility and lead generation.
The session will cover:
– The role of PR in AI search visibility: how traditional media can improve your appearance in AI search engines.
– How to understand your audience and build relationships: strategies for identifying and nurturing leads through the journey.
– Delivering the right message at the right time: how to build relevant and timely communications for conversion.
Our experts will also be on hand to answer your questions, and we can shape the webinar around these so please share ahead of time by emailing [email protected] or adding them in the Eventbrite box when you sign up
Join us for an evening of chitchat about social media, content, and community building.
We’ll have a couple of talks, as well as time at the beginning for pizza, soft drinks, chatting & networking.
Plus the usual favourites Latest News, Social Sin Bin, Stuff We Like and The Tools of Engagement.
What does Meta’s Andromeda update mean? Meta’s advertising algorithm now demands a huge amount of highly diverse Ad creative. In this short talk, the team at Bind Media will explain why this “creative diversity” is now essential for advertising performance, how AI is being used to drive it and how an understanding of behavioural science can help you achieve it.
The power of a human-first newsletter
Anna-Louise Mead shares her top tips for creating a more engaging newsletters for your subscribers.
Creative businesses across Bristol are feeling the squeeze. Budgets are tightening, client expectations are rising, and retaining great people has never been harder. Yet many agencies and studios are unknowingly spending money on employee benefits their teams barely use.
In this practical session, Andrew Woolnough will show how a simple benefits audit can help creative organisations save money, improve wellbeing support, and strengthen their employer brand — without increasing costs.
You’ll learn:
Andrew will also share real examples from creative SMEs who have reshaped their benefits for today’s market and seen engagement rise as a result.
Bristol Creative Industries members can register here
This webinar is exclusively for BCI members. It’s one of many benefits you get by joining the community. Not a BCI member? Read more about the benefits and join here.
This webinar is designed for:
Andrew is an employee benefits, wellbeing and engagement specialist and is passionate about building highly motivated and productive teams in both start-ups and larger organisations.
He has previously worked for Aon, Willis Towers Watson and Equiniti, running global benefits, payroll and fintech organisations and is currently undertaking freelance assignments under his own brand, Un:fade.
> See Andrew’s BCI profile
> Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn
The online sessions take place every other Friday morning from 8.30-9am, and allow BCI members to share their knowledge with fellow members.
The webinars are a 15/20 minute presentation followed by a 10/15 minute Q&A. The sessions are a mix of expert tips and case studies – the perfect opportunity to learn something new before the week is out.
The webinars are exclusively for BCI members. They are one of many benefits you get by joining the community. Not a BCI member? Read more about the benefits and join here.
Please get in touch with Dan if you’re a BCI member and you’re interested in presenting on a future webinar.
Carbon reporting for digital agencies – An actionable crash course
Carbon reporting is becoming part of agency life, not because agencies are ‘big emitters’, but because you feed into the carbon reporting requirements that your bigger clients need to meet.
Increasingly, agencies are being asked for carbon information in pre-qualification, tenders, supplier onboarding assessments like EcoVadis, and sustainability certifications like B Corp.
In this practical session, Seedling co-founder Aimée Tennant will cover:
• What carbon footprinting actually involves (in plain English)
• The typical agency carbon footprint, and how to reduce it
• How to communicate your impact credibly
• Where it becomes commercially relevant – from client requests to B Corp requirements to public sector tenders
You’ll leave with simple next steps to get started quickly, plus a few comms do’s/don’ts to help you avoid accidental greenwashing, and respond to client questions with more confidence.
Bristol Creative Industries members can register here
This webinar is exclusively for BCI members. It’s one of many benefits you get by joining the community. Not a BCI member? Read more about the benefits and join here.
This webinar is for digital agencies (agency ops/finance/bid managers) who are:
• Getting more climate questions in pitches and renewals
• Working towards (or maintaining) B Corp
• Bidding into public sector work where carbon reporting is increasingly expected
Aimée Tennant is the co-founder of Seedling, a Bath-based carbon accounting platform that helps growing businesses measure, reduce and report emissions in a way that’s clear, credible, and manageable. She regularly works with teams to build GHG-Protocol-aligned footprints and practical reduction plans, and shares plain-English guidance on carbon reporting and climate comms.
> Connect Aimée with on LinkedIn
> See Seedling’s BCI profile here
The online sessions take place every other Friday morning from 8.30-9am, and allow BCI members to share their knowledge with fellow members.
The webinars are a 15/20 minute presentation followed by a 10/15 minute Q&A. The sessions are a mix of expert tips and case studies – the perfect opportunity to learn something new before the week is out.
The webinars are exclusively for BCI members. They are one of many benefits you get by joining the community. Not a BCI member? Read more about the benefits and join here.
Please get in touch with Dan if you’re a BCI member and you’re interested in presenting on a future webinar.
A 60-minute workshop for agency founders who want stronger margins and smarter pricing. If you run a marketing, PR, digital, or creative agency, chances are pricing has been on your mind.
You’re busy, your team is stretched, and yet margins aren’t where they should be. And deep down, you know your pricing hasn’t kept pace with your costs, your positioning, or the value you deliver. This workshop shows you how to take pricing seriously, understand the real cost of delivery, and build a more confident, profitable pricing approach.
What you’ll learn:
– The 5 pricing mistakes that quietly destroy agency margins
– Why outdated pricing is costing you more than you think
– The cost factors you must understand before setting your rates
– How to move beyond guesswork and build a pricing model that makes sense
– The simple framework we use with clients to build confident, profitable pricing.
What you’ll leave with:
– Clear insight into why your margins feel tight
– A better understanding of what your pricing should be
– Identified areas where you’re leaking profit
– Practical steps to improve pricing and financial clarity
– A deeper understanding of what proper financial leadership looks like in an agency
Who it’s for: Founders and leaders of marketing, digital, PR, creative and comms agencies who want to improve profitability, strengthen financial control and build a commercially mature business.
This is a straightforward, practical session – no fluff, no jargon – designed specifically for agency founders.
Can’t attend live? Register anyway – all registrants will receive the full recording, even if they can’t join on the day.
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