South West focus

One thing that is, however, very apparent – even to the untrained eye – is that the media scene in the South West, and Bristol in particular, is fighting fit with a busy creative industry that is more than capable of holding its own against its rivals operating along the M4 in London.

Despite this, those operating in the sector identified two significant barriers to growth: it is hard to recruit senior staff and attract them to the area; and they were frustrated with the lack of city marketing. So, they decided to do something about it.

Bristol boasts the greatest concentration of creative and media businesses in the South West and this year the city launched its own Media directory, 0117, through Bristol Media. Fully backed by the City Council, the directory was launched to support and promote the companies operating out of the city to the rest of the world.

Of the companies based in Bristol, there are many who are already making waves. The city has several large to medium-sized companies and can also boast being home to regional offices of the BBC, Endemol and McCann Erickson – headed up by MD Fraser Bradshaw – alongside other large scale agencies such as digital agency E3 Media and Bray Leino. Bristol even has a multi Oscar winning company in Aardman Animations – few other UK cities are able to claim that.

Full service communications house McCann Erickson Bristol is one of the largest creative companies and is on the up having relocated, after 15 years, to plush new offices opposite its old space on the Bristol Waterfront. Bradshaw has also joined the board of Bristol Media while the agency has recently picked up marketing accounts for both AXA Direct and Bob Martin Petcare. With 45 employees, the agency is one of the city’s largest.

CONTROVERSY

However, Devon headquartered Bray Leino, is the South West’s biggest agency – adding further to its team when it acquired local rival, Rhythmm, in March of last year. The deal saw Steve Hall, Rhythmm’s managing director and creative director, become group executive creative director of Bray Leino while also taking on its 25 staff. The 30 year old Devon giant is the only top 20 UK agency that isn’t based in London, with some 350 colleagues, a £50m turnover and offices throughout the UK.

Bray Leino, however, also made headlines when its advert for Sugar Puffs caused controversy with claims by comedy duo The Mighty Boosh that it had copied their musical style ‘The Crimp’. Honey Monster wasn’t pleased by all accounts.

Another of the major events to take place in Bristol was the sale of digital creative agency Mason Zimbler to The Hart-Hanks Group earlier in 2008 which prompted the departure of its CEO Mark Mason just before the end of the year. Mason had steered the agency since co-founding it in 1997.

Digital is an ever-expanding part of the creative world, and it is no less important to the South West, with Bristol’s E3 launching six projects in November of last year alone, included an online campaign for AXA Insurance’s My Budget Day, a new e-commerce site for Base London, the website for E.ON’s FA Cup sponsorship and a micro-site promoting the third High School Musical.

Meanwhile, the newly rebranded digital agency 3Sixty overhauled Bristol International Airport’s site as well as an intranet site for the client.

Rival digital company Nameless won a tender with UK driving school BSM to overhaul and enhance its web presence along with business from sustainable transport charity Sustrans to design and develop a site called Bike Belles, which will launch alongside a new campaign for the company in March.

PR is also looking strong in the region with many firms operating in the area, including Cheltenham-based Factor 3, Glouchester’s Clear Communications, Absolute PR in Exeter, Swindon-based Vox PR and PR Dogs in Devon.

CIPR chairman Tom Bowden-Green says that while Bristol has a raft of successful agencies, such as Trimedia and Dangling Carrot PR, other surrounding areas are showing signs of PR greatness too.

“The winner of the CIPR’s Outstanding Young Communicator, Shelley Fletcher this year came from a small agency in Cornwall, which demonstrates that we have a depth of talent across the region. To build on this we’re really keen to blaze a trail in providing ways of developing skills and sharing knowledge.”

He continues: “We’ve just kicked-off a mentoring scheme to link undergraduates and PR practitioners, launched an in-house group and begun a forum for senior practitioners – a model that is being replicated around the county.”

Corixa is one of the West’s best established PR firms, headed up by Lis Anderson who is also chair of the CIPR in the West of England. Her agency has just launched a new division for clients targeting retail consumers over the age of 55, named Corixa Plus.

While Anderson is convinced that many companies in the South West are prospering despite the economic adversity, she is also ideally situated to see what is happening with the printed media in the region.

“Unfortunately there is concern and uncertainty in the region about ‘our’ media. It’s really important to have strong TV, radio and newspaper businesses operating across Bristol and the South West. It’s no secret that ITV news is under threat and that newspapers the Bristol Evening Post and Western Daily Press are facing challenging times,” explains Anderson.

IMPRESSIVE

In terms of design, Open – based in Bristol’s creative quarter The Paintworks, alongside E3 and digital design company Beef – is an agency able to demonstrate just how impressive the area’s design credentials are.

In the last few months, Open has delivered print and interactive communcations for bike retailer Specialized’s new flagship Concept Store in the city. It has also developed an online strategy for SITA Waste Management & Recycling Services while creating its website. Open was also responsible for delivering the ReTHINK education website alongside regional sites for SITA Cornwall and SITA Isle of Man and undertook the delivery of branding and integrated communications across global sport sponsorships for SAP, across Formula One, Tennis, Golf and Euro 2008.

Al Kennedy, managing director of Open, only moved the agency into the city two years ago and has clearly been won over by the creativity in the area.

“Clients are looking for integrity, more transparency and the ability to develop longer business relationships. I truly believe the South West has the perfect combination of dynamic collaborative agencies, positive attitude and collective confidence across all disciplines to deliver,” says Kennedy.

“This confidence coming from the creative sector will have a positive influence on the purchasing decisions made by larger corporate clients. This, mixed with the energy that already exists through the arts and music scene, can only drive more growth alongside the cultural tourism and lifestyle businesses that already exist here.”

Last Year, The Paintworks was also the venue for The West of England Design Forum’s first ever members exhibition of work, highlighting work done by more than 40 of the West’s most creative agencies across many mediums – attracting over 600 people.

Elsewhere, Taunton-based Impact Design & Marketing helped the John Smith’s Tadcaster Brewery mark its 250th anniversary by creating the brand ‘Finest Hour’, a limited edition fine ale specially brewed to commemorate 90 glorious years of the RAF.

Sticking to the aviation theme, Dirty Design, celebrating its fifth anniversary last year, undertook a large scale task in creating communications materials for Bristol International Airport, while also creating an illustrated recruitment campaign for the client.

Meanwhile, Duttons Design completed its MBO last year by MD Felicity Kelly – who previously ran two agencies in London before moving to the south west. With speculation growing that clients may look outside London in order to save on their budgets with lower prices, but the same quality of work, Kelly believes that the area is in an ideal location to benefit: “There’s definitely a better sense of perspective. We seem to get through the same amount of work but without the late nights and stress that I got used to in London. Everyone seems to have a life outside work.”

The city and the surrounding area certainly has some exceptional creative talent but those companies are also having to batten down the hatches as they look to make it through the tough times with as few scars as possible.

Bournemouth’s Thinking Juice is one company that is planning to grow despite the economic conditions and is already having a busy time of it in 2009.

Gellan Watt, MD and creative director at Thinking Juice is positive for the industry, despite admitting that many big agencies in the area ‘are taking knocks’. So while others are just aiming to hold firm, Watt plans on growing his business further.

“Yes it’s important to get your house in order, manage your money and get the best out of your people, but big ideas will always be the most important factor,” explains Watt.

“That’s why we’re growing. We have our business in good order and we are using the current market as an opportunity to expand our offering and will be investing in digital, studio and client services to ensure that we’re robust enough to handle the toughest briefs and move at a pace that would scare most agencies to death.”

Cheltenham-based Sperm Creative has also had a busy few months in terms of new business, having been appointed by meat company Oxsprings Farm to help launch the UK equivalent of Parma ham and create a “cult status” around the company’s range of products. It has also recently been working with charity GUA Africa.

Another Cheltenham group, TDA is also having a busy period, having been appointed by Help the Aged to develop an online donor acquisition strategy for its ethical gift website Cows ‘n’ Things, as well as being awarded a £3m brief by ex-serviceman’s charity St Dunstan’s to aid the recruitment of a larger, more age-diverse base of regular supporters. It was also appointed by The National Trust to revitalise its legacy fundraising activity and has devised a high-impact national press campaign for Norwich Union Equity Release.

Indeed, Simon Veale, managing director of Marketing Matters, a Poole-based agency, claims that most of the companies operating in the South West will be able to sustain themselves through the troubled times ahead. The 30-strong agency has recently created the website for Sunseekers International – the luxury yacht manufacturer. If that’s not a kick in the face of the recession, what is?

INCUBATION

It would seem, however, that a debt is owed in the area to Bray Leino. Well, certainly it is at the new media and marketing hub known as Incubation North Devon, which is made up of several boutique agencies and freelancers, many of whom mastered their trade in the Devon agency’s creative womb before setting off on their own.

Incubation North Devon, located at Caddsdown complex in Bideford is home to many companies working across separate disciplines such as Copy Monkey (copywriting), Tiger Plum (design), Bluesoup (advertising) and Kameleon CMS (web design). Being in the one location means that, if necessary, the companies can integrate and introduce new work to one another when the opportunity should arise.

Martin Dorey, director of Copy Monkey explains: “There’s a good vibe here. By working together yet still remaining autonomous we can offer a vast pool of experience and know-how that can only benefit all our clients. Everything we need to deliver good, creative advertising and marketing is here onsite, so we hope it will help us to persuade all our clients to stick to their guns and keep advertising despite the economic gloom.”

The South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) has invested around £7m in new infrastructure and development within the creative industries. One of these is the investment in the Watershed Media Centre which saw the SWRDA set up an endowment fund called Bristol Plus. Over the next 100 years this will aim to invest about £40m into the creative industries in the region.

Jon Morgan, MD of digital agency Hyperlaunch, highlights one of the area’s key problems over the years: “One of the few drawbacks of running an agency in Bristol is the length of time it takes to hire senior personnel.”

This is something that the SWRDA has considered, and at the end of last year it commissioned Rubber Republic to create a viral campaign to target potential creative employees to come and work in the area. ‘The Harvest’ was used to show potential clients and workforce that the area was ‘Where Creatives Grow Best’ and has, at the time of writing, received over 140,000 viewings.

Chris Garcia, head of the creative industries for the SWRDA, believes that Plymouth is an area which will lead the way in retaining talent being produced by the higher education institutions based there.

“Now they seem to be retaining more of the talent in the region. In terms of performance and the economy, generally in the South West people will look to stay in the region a lot more which will help with the economy in that part of the country,” he states.

Garcia also highlights Plymouth as ‘a real hub’ and pinpoints media centre Two Four, where ITV Westcountry will become a new tenant, and “a beacon of strength” for the South West.

Caroline Rawlinson, co-founder of Gloucestershire marketing consultancy Vivid, sums up the area: “The industry in the South West is in good shape to weather the economic challenges ahead as long as it continues to do what it does best – stay close to its clients and provide a host of benefits over and above the tactical delivery of campaigns. That means listening carefully to what clients are saying about their businesses and not being afraid of being bold in their recommendations.”