Storytelling Systems

Studies in psychology show that stories deeply influence our attitudes, behaviour and the decisions we make. That’s why businesses are focusing their content efforts on story. But the sad truth is, whilst most people agree that stories make for better content, few people actually have a strategy for creating stories. That’s where the heroic work of David Sloly comes to the rescue. David’s strategies for creating authentic business stories are not only memorable but they are actionable too. Learn the skills to create powerful communications for your business with master business storyteller David Sloly.

If you are in the business of communications then this talk is not to be missed. Designers, content creators, business owners – it’s time for you to see first hand how applying a simple narrative structure to your work will influence the attitudes, behaviour and the decisions people make. David will share some case studies of how brands have tapped into the power of story to create groundbreaking work, and you will learn the simple strategy they use to find and create those stories. Apply the power of story to your communications and see how your videos, website, designs, business pitches, social media and much more can become compelling content. Whether it’s finding and telling your own authentic business story or the ones that matter to your clients, join David Sloly and learn how to apply the power of story.

David studied journalism with the BBC, where he learnt the art of finding and telling other people’s stories. He has won numerous awards for his work including a Gold Sony Academy Award, a MOBO, and being voted one of the top 5 most influential radio programmes by Guardian newspaper readers. In 2001, David moved into advertising and marketing, working at an international agency across global brands including Microsoft, Google, 3M and Dell, again picking up major industry awards including winning the UK Technology Marketing Campaign of the Year, B2B Agency of the Year and being voted most innovative agency of the year by Microsoft. In 2014, David joined forces with Harvey Steed and together they formed Harvey David, a marketing communications agency that creates marketing content for global brands. David is an author and has spoken at SXSW, TEDx, Microsoft Campus and many more – never using slides.

Join David for an inspiring start to your day! 

Legal Issues for Design Agencies

Contracts, NDAs and intellectual property may not exactly set your pulse racing, but they are the lifeblood for any design business. If you want to run a profitable agency – and avoid some costly mistakes – you need to make sure you understand the basics and don’t get caught out.

Jessica Bent, partner at Royds Withy King Solicitors and an expert in legal issues for creative industries, will guide us though the all-important dos and don’ts. As well as running this workshop, Jessica is offering each participant a free 30-minute phone or face-to-face consultation following the workshop. It’s a must-attend session for anyone employing freelancers, long-term contractors or just wanting to get their house in order.

Join Jessica for an inspiring start to your day! 

From Good to Great Client Agency Partnerships

Alongside great creative work, solid and healthy client relationships are essential to building a sustainable and prosperous design business and, let’s face it, enjoying your job too! 

But are you spending enough time outside of the day to day project commitments thinking about the health, direction and potential of your client relationships? Often the day to day pressure of attending various meetings and juggling multiple deadlines, can mean that we take our eye off the ball here and this can mean the difference between building a good and a great client agency partnership.

During this session we’ll discuss the difference between being a supplier of design services and being a true partner to your clients. I’ll share my experiences of having been in both of these camps at one stage or another (SPOILER: one of these was distinctly more soul destroying and less fruitful than the other), and I’ll share my top 5 tips for nurturing real relationships with clients to help maximise their potential.

This session is for junior account handlers, junior planners, designers, or students who want to sharpen their account handling and relationship building skills.

Hannah Bartholomew is an Account Director at Taxi Studio and has spent the last 10 years of her career managing relationships with clients of all shapes and sizes from small start ups to Global giants; Nestle and Coca-Cola. Hannah is a big believer in the power of real client relationships; a principal at the very heart of Taxi Studio.

Research and Development Tax Relief

If you’re in the business of innovating through product or digital design, then you could be entitled to Research and Development (R&D) financial claims. In this session you’ll learn about the type of projects that qualify for this tax relief, what expenditure can be claimed, how to make a claim, a typical claim process, and common misconceptions and pitfalls.

John Davis is a Senior Tax Manager at Bishop Fleming accountants. Bishop Fleming has submitted successful claims for R&D relief in excess of £120m over the past five years. They have considerable knowledge and expertise in the R&D market and understand how to use the rules to maximise the claim. It is often surprising what expenditure claims can be made for. Business costs that would otherwise simply be written off could actually be increased for tax relief purposes, resulting in a substantially reduced corporation tax bill, or even a tax repayment to help fund further development.

If that doesn’t tempt you, John is also offering each participant a free 30-minute phone consultation following the workshop.

Join John for an inspiring start to your day!

Strategy for Small Businesses with Chris Thurling

We all bemoan those clients who give us briefs with no clear strategy underpinning them; but how good are we at taking our own advice? With some notable exceptions, not very. In fact, from a client perspective, the lack of clear strategy means it’s hard to tell one agency apart from another. The net result being that too many conversations with clients are about price rather than value. And too much new business energy is wasted on unfocused activities with minimal chance of success.

In this session you will learn the five key strategic questions every agency should be able to answer and how to begin finding out whether your strategy is good – or flawed. It’s aimed at decision makers in design agencies.

Chris Thurling is an experienced strategist, coach, mentor and digital marketer. He founded web design agency 3Sixty in 1995 and was MD for 17 years. Since 2012 he has been working with design and digital agencies, helping them develop and implement winning strategies. Chris is a Director of Bristol Media.

Join Chris for an inspiring start to your day!