In a stroke of marketing genius, budget supermarket Iceland released its Christmas campaign online following reports it was banned from television due to breaching political advertising rules. Iceland made a deal with Greenpeace to use its animated short film featuring a baby orangutan wreaking havoc in a little girl’s bedroom. The story highlights the destruction of rainforests at the hands of palm oil producers, which has led to orangutans now being classified as critically endangered. During a time when so-called festive ad wars are taking place between retailers, Iceland chose to use the opportunity to highlight the removal of palm oil from all of its own-brand foods. It’s a ballsy move from Iceland during a time when the aim of the December advert game is to drive footfall and Christmas profits. However, Iceland is far from the only brand that’s listening to consumers and prioritising sustainability in its marketing efforts. Tesco In May this year, it was reported that the supermarket giant would be banning all non-recyclable plastic, which includes plastic film, polystyrene and water-soluble bio plastic, by 2019. Tesco’s chief product officer Jason Tarry stated: “We will work with our suppliers to redesign and reduce all packaging materials and, after consultation with our leading suppliers earlier this year, we will remove all packaging that is hard to recycle from our business by 2019.” Along with Sainsbury’s and Aldi, Tesco signed the UK plastics pact, pledging to eradicate single-use plastics from packaging, with any remaining plastic having to be completely recyclable by 2025. Carlsberg The Danish beer company is on a public mission to cut its carbon footprint, water waste, irresponsible drinking and workplace accidents by 2030. In an interview with Ethical Corporation, Carlsberg’s sustainability chief Simon Hoffmeyer Boas discussed a number of initiative’s including plans to continue reducing the environmental impact of aluminium, glass and cardboard. The brand’s innovations include the green fibre bottle, which will be the world’s first bio-based beer bottle, made from sustainably sourced wood-fibre that is 100% biodegradable. In more recent news, Carlsberg reported it would be replacing the traditional plastic rings that hold together cans with glue dots to save on plastic. Levi Levi has introduced its Wellthread® Collection made from 100% recyclable cotton, as part of a major project that seeks to promote conservation and incorporate sustainability into every stage of the development process. The collection is the first ever to feature Levi’s Water Read More

If you’ve been following our social feeds over the last couple of weeks, you might have noticed that the Henry Nicholas team had a fantastic time at this year’s Bath Digital Festival! We’ve rounded up our top 10 talks and workshops that still have us talking and debating in the office. 1. AI vs Human Creativity: Rob McGowan and Toby Brown from Edit Rob’s topical take on the divisive nature of AI and how technology can stir emotion had HN’s Dan Carne questioning the rise of the machines and technological bias. Follow Rob on Twitter @Herd6 or connect on LinkedIn. Follow Toby on Twitter @Tobybrown01 or connect on LinkedIn. 2. Grow Your Agency: Janusz Stabik from The GYDA Initiative HN principal consultant Tony Allen got stuck into Janusz’s insightful workshop, talking to other business owners about differentiation and growth in agency land. He came away inspired and armed with fresh ideas to help further our internal brand into the future. Follow Janusz on Twitter @januszstabik or connect on LinkedIn. 3. New Frontiers in Digital Creativity: Kate Gorringe from Mr B and Friends We thought Kate’s insight into the creative industry from pre-Mac days through to the present day was fascinating. Tony commented: “I didn’t quite appreciate the impact that graphic design software had when Macs first arrived in the studio, with crafting roles like the Typesetter losing their place in the market almost overnight.” Kate proved that traditional creative and digital can still have a symbiotic relationship, as demonstrated by Mr B and Friends’ work for GB Basketball as well as Ikea’s Toy Box Project. Follow Kate on Twitter @kate_gorringe or connect on LinkedIn. 4. New Frontiers in Digital Creativity: Jamie Elull from Supple Studio Jamie’s journey from design student to setting up the highly respected design and branding agency Supple Studio was a fascinating insight into the depth of a creative mind. Follow Jamie on Twitter @jamie_ellul or connect on LinkedIn. 5. New Frontiers in Digital Creativity: Ben Steers from Fiasco Design Ben showed that passion projects are the way forward, showcasing Fiasco Design’s ingenious interactive map of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi which helped to win the agency a lucrative new client in Mexico. Follow Ben on Twitter @BenSteers or connect on LinkedIn. 6. New Frontiers in Digital Creativity: Ed Robin from Mytton Williams Ed showed some great examples of how a creative agency can take a corporate brand and make it stand out including how Mytton Williams helped law firm Rawlison Butler reinforce their reputation with existing clients and educate their target audience in the quality of their approach. Follow Mytton Williams on Twitter @myttonwilliams or connect with Ed on LinkedIn. 7. New Frontiers in Digital Creativity: Nick Ellis from Halo Nick told the story of Coke’s rebrand mishap (discussed in last week’s blog), and the great work Halo has been doing for Live Nation. Follow Nick on Twitter @Nickhalo01 or connect on LinkedIn. 8. Designing a Better World: Merle Hall and Craig Whiteman from Kinneir Dufort, Simon Miller from 3Keel, Matt Golding from Rubber Republic Our consultant Sam Kacher was blown away by Matt Golding’s approach to declining work from companies that he doesn’t morally agree with. Matt spoke at length about how to say no through asking questions, scoping out the ultimate purpose of the project and the company’s moral standing to maintain integrity. Follow Matt on Twitter @mattgolding or connect on LinkedIn. Follow Kinneir Dufort on Twitter @KinneirDufort or connect on LinkedIn with Merle Hall and Craig Whiteman. Follow 3Keel on Twitter @3KeelLLP or connect with Simon Miller on LinkedIn. 9. Cultures not Vultures: Ash Phillips from Yena, Bryony Farmer from Precious Stars, George Hart from Tobooka, Alicia Teagle from Socially Responsible Recruitment HN consultant Emma Whitting enjoyed this thought-provoking talk that gave insight into company culture and empowering people to think for themselves. Tobooka’s George stated: “Deliver flexibility and people will over-deliver for you.” Follow Ash on Twitter @TheAshPhillips or connect on LinkedIn. Follow Bryony on Twitter @preciousstarsYT or connect on LinkedIn. Follow George on Twitter @GeSiHart or connect on LinkedIn. Follow Alicia Teagle on Twitter @AliciaTeagleSR2 or connect on LinkedIn.​ 10. The Secrets of Social Media: Paul Wickers from Huggg, Bruno Forte and Patricia Powell from Swoon Gelato Our Consultant Mark Trist was especially impressed to hear from Huggg and Swoon about their experiences of starting up and building a business, and the crucial role that social media and content engagement made to their success. Follow Huggg on Twitter @huggg_uk or connect with Paul on LinkedIn. Follow Swoon Gelato on Twitter @SwoonGelato or connect with Bruno on LinkedIn. It was another fantastic year at the Bath Digital Festival, and we can’t wait to return next year for more interesting and exciting insights.

The Henry Nicholas team are fresh off the back of this year’s Bath Digital Festival and can’t wait to share some of our favourite learnings and insights from the event. One of the sessions we enjoyed was New Frontiers in Digital Creativity featuring designers from leading creative studios who were offering advice on how to craft killer digital experiences. One of the speakers, Nick Ellis from Halo, talked about how Coca-Cola changing their name and recipe in the 1980s negatively impacted their brand, stating: “A brand is what you and your consumers agree it is.” This got us thinking more about the Coca-Cola debacle and some other branding disasters that have stood out in recent decades… ‘New Coke’: When market research goes wrong In April 1985, Coca-Cola announced it would discontinue its original Coke in favour of a new product that many coined as ‘New Coke’. The company had lost market share in the late 1970s and early 1980s and had evidence that taste was a key factor in this. As a result, a massive piece of market research was conducted in the US with almost 200,000 blind product tests conducted. The results revealed that over half preferred New Coke over the original and huge rival Pepsi. Trusting the research, original Coke was withdrawn and replaced with New Coke, which proved to be a colossal mistake. Why? The market research was deeply flawed due to the assumption that taste was the sole factor when consumers purchased Coca-Cola. The taste-testers weren’t informed that it was an either/or scenario and were never asked whether they would be happy to forego the original formula for the new recipe. Perhaps most importantly, Coca-Cola didn’t realise the emotional investment people had made with the original Coke brand and how angry they would be when it was taken away. Had Coca-Cola trusted their gut instinct, rather than insisting on using insights to inform their creative direction, the New Coke misstep would have been avoided, and the company would have saved millions. Gap’s $100 million logo disaster In 2010, Gap decided the time had come to replace its 20-year-old logo consisting of iconic lettering encased in a dark blue square with something more ‘modern’. What Gap failed to do was announce the rebrand, instead introducing the new logo seemingly overnight. The new look featured the word Gap in a bold Helvetica font with the iconic blue square now fading from light to dark in the top corner. The company was mocked for the change and was forced to reveal the new look was a result of a first-stage crowdsourcing design process. Just six days later, the old logo was reinstated with the rebrand flop said to have cost the company $100 million. Yorkie Bars ‘Not for Girls’ Sometimes brands make decisions that don’t ruffle too many feathers at the time, but unfortunately see them rearing their ugly head again many years later. When Yorkie launched its £3 million ‘Not for Girls’ advertising campaign back in 2002, it was considered controversial to some but Nestle’s marketing director at the time Andrew Harrison stated: “Yorkie feels that this is an important element of men's happiness and is starting the reclaiming process of making a particular chocolate just for men." While there were petitions to boycott the bar, the campaign continued for a further decade before the slogan was dropped in 2011. However, so successful was the campaign that it remains etched into our memories, causing Yorkie’s name to still get dragged into the conversation whenever a brand is highlighted for sexism. An example occurred earlier this month when Kleenex announced their tissues would be renamed ‘Extra Large’ instead of ‘Mansize’ in fear of causing offence. Users on social media were quick to name-check Yorkie as the epitome of sexist branding, proving that, in the internet age, nothing is ever forgotten. Cardiff City Bluebirds become Red Dragons Some new football club owners don’t wish to rock the boat in fear of upsetting loyal fans. However, this didn’t seem to be an issue for Vincent Tan. When he took over Cardiff City in 2010, Tan implemented a dramatic change to the club’s identity, changing its logo from blue to red and replacing its famous mascot. Cardiff City was synonymous for blue kits and a blue logo, before the club’s beloved Bluebird was replaced a Welsh Red Dragon. To make things even more confusing for fans, Tan allowed the team to keep their original Bluebirds nickname and even kept a small bird at the bottom of the new red logo. Former skipper Mark Hudson, the first Bluebird to score in Cardiff City’s controversial red kit stated that the change “pulled the heart and soul out of the club”. Indeed, the rebrand proved fractious for supporters and, following a relegation, Tan relented, and the club’s logo and kit returned to its original blue. Stay tuned to the Henry Nicholas blog over the coming weeks to find out more about what got us talking and debating from the Bath Digital Festival. We’re already looking forward to next year’s event!

Each month, we’ll be catching up with a member of our team to find out more about who they are and what they do at Henry Nicholas. We’re kicking things off with a chat with our superstar consultant Emma Whitting… Emma, is there such a thing as a typical day at Henry Nicholas? No! Every day is different. You could be working on a client brief, talking through roles with candidates, arranging interviews, and visiting clients all of the way through to managing job offers, which involves dealing with the associated paperwork and arranging start dates. You can try to plan your day but everything can change depending on the needs of our clients and candidates, so you’ve got to be ready to adapt, think on your feet and multitask. What type of roles do you recruit for? A lot of agency roles spanning comms, creative, PR and branding. I recruit a broad range of levels from junior account executives, to creative and development all of the way up to senior management and board level roles. I also recruit for in-house roles for well-known brands in retail, travel, finance and the not-for-profit sector, including everything from marketing managers to data and insight specialists. What makes a successful recruitment consultant? Excellent people skills are essential. You’ve got to be able to get stuck in from day one and start building relationships. At Henry Nicholas, consultants must have a genuine passion for our specialist sectors as we spend a lot of time immersing ourselves in our clients’ brands, culture and values in order to speak credibly about their business and roles to candidates. What are today’s candidates looking for from an employer? Salary remains an important factor, but progression is also key. Candidates are looking for evidence of long-term progression opportunities within ambitious companies that continue to grow. The right cultural fit is critical too; candidates want to know more about the team, their personalities, working style and social scene before they get put forward for a role. How about employers? There are skills shortages in certain sectors and therefore a much smaller candidate pool. As a result, retention of staff is crucial, with employers offering competitive salaries and extra benefits to entice the right talent. How would you sum up the culture at Henry Nicholas? We’re like a big family. We support one another, work hard and have fun. There’s a lot of trust put in each member of staff, so it doesn’t feel like there’s a hierarchy as all senior team members are hands-on and offer us help and support. What advice would you give to someone thinking about a career in recruitment? You’ve got to immerse yourself from day one. Get embedded in a specialist industry or sectors and learn as much as possible, so that you can become an authority for both clients and candidates. Recruiters have to be resilient too as things won’t always go your way, so the ability to overcome challenges and obstacles is essential. If you’re passionate about recruitment and want to join Emma on the Henry Nicholas team, send over your details today!

You don’t need us to tell you that there are now more ways than ever to find, consume and share content, whether that’s via social media channels, smart TVs, podcasts, or voice platforms like Alexa and Siri. Such an abundance of choice means there’s increasing pressure on brands to effectively communicate with their customers across all possible touch points while still keeping an ear to the ground to anticipate emerging platforms that could provide fresh opportunities. Using insights from industry insiders, we look at the most significant trends that creative and digital leaders need to think about as we edge closer to 2019. Surprise! The young folks are online Research into the UK’s content consumption habits by Adobe, revealed that millennials spend an average of 8.5 hours a day reading, watching, creating and engaging with content on their smart devices. To put this into perspective, the UK average is currently 6.9 hours. However, millennials have got nothing on their younger counterparts, with Generation Z spending 10.6 hours engaging with online content every day. Despite considerable choice when it comes to devices, most content is still consumed mostly via smartphones, with Millennials spending an average of 5.2 hours a day consuming content on their phones, compared to 5.9 hours for Gen Z. Influencers are here to stay (for now) Today’s content consumers are more cautious and sceptical, thanks to the rise of fake news prompting questions around authenticity and the quality of any content that comes from people outside of trusted networks. Adobe’s research revealed that 58% of those surveyed would share content from friends and family, compared to only 29% for a famous YouTuber or the 26% for a well-known brand. It’s this trust that makes influencers so valuable, with users (particularly Millennials and Gen Z) trusting their content, compared to what a brand would put out. Additionally, according to Google Trends, the search term “influencer marketing” has risen by 400% over the last two years, further signalling that brands are likely to continue collaborating with influencers and micro-influencers into 2019. Digestible content Research conducted by Microsoft revealed that our attention span has fallen to just 8-seconds, (12-seconds in 2000), which is actually one second less than a goldfish. It’s for this reason that presenting your content as digestible snippets that are easy to share, rather than long-form articles, white papers, eBooks etc., will drive the future of content sharing. Brad Harrison, VP of marketing at global manufacturing organisation ECOS said in an article for Inc: "As consumers continue to be more forensic in their efforts to discern the best products for them, readily available and easily digestible content will continue to be an important part of the marketing mix. For marketers, this means more short-form content and better search and mobile strategies.” Quality is king Adobe research also revealed that consumers pointed to poorly written (49%), irrelevant (44%) and poorly designed (35%) content are their biggest bugbears, with 71% stating they wouldn’t buy from a brand that put out this kind of content. President of digital marketing agency Waypost Marketing, Doug Fowler, commented to Inc: “Your content should be all about quality, not quantity. And as search engines continue to display content based on a searcher's intent rather than a string of keywords, creating content clusters centred around targeted topics is going to be the best way to spend your time." John Watton, senior marketing director for Adobe EMEA, adds: “Whether it’s across social, online, blogs, or email communications, branded content has to be well-designed, optimised for the device, and offer a genuine experience that goes beyond selling products. Brands that succeed will drive customer acquisition and loyalty; those that don’t will see customers swipe their screen in search for content that offers them a better experience.” Video content is a must AI-powered video creation platform, Wibbitz, released findings from its latest study, which analysed how and where consumers are motivated to consume video. Out of the 1,000 respondents, 65% engaged with videos by sharing, commenting, or liking, with 10% engaging with nearly every video they watch. Over 40% of Millennial and Gen X respondents stated Facebook was their preferred platform for video content, with Snapchat coming in second for Millennials, and Instagram the runner-up for Gen X. In addition, 38% preferred short-form video under one minute in length, further emphasising the importance for businesses to create shorter and more engaging videos. Head of industry for US-based digital marketing agency Add3 Brian Rauschenbach said to Inc: “Video is here to stay, and you won’t be able to compete without it. Facebook and other ad platforms are showing preferences on organic and paid placements because the engagement rates are higher with video content. Hire a video agency, tell your story, and let consumers fall in love with your brand.” Stay tuned to the Henry Nicholas blog for the latest news and insights into our specialist sectors. If you want to connect with the very best talent in marketing & PR, data & insight, digital, technology and creative, get in touch with our expert team today to discuss your requirements. ​

The team at Henry Nicholas is thrilled to be attending this year’s Bath Digital Festival that takes place from the 17th to the 22nd October, and features events across the city. Overseen by Bath Digital Festival CIC, the festival brings people and technology together, enabling attendees to explore Bath’s thriving digital scene and allowing us to get hands-on with some of the most exciting and innovative projects out there. Now in its sixth year, the festival promises to be bigger and better than ever with more than 2,500 expected to descend into the city that The Financial Times ranked as one of the top 10 tech hubs of tomorrow. Its 2017 event saw collaborations with tech experts from both local companies and international corporations such as Google, Apple, Tesla and Natwest, with Dyson stealing the show thanks to an exclusive showcase of its latest projects, including the 360 Eye™ robot vacuum. Speaking of the festival’s importance, its director Jim Morrison told us: “Bath Digital Festival is about opening people's imagination and helping them to discover the incredible opportunities that today's digital revolution brings. Each year we work really hard to build a balanced festival - balanced between our three key audiences - techies, professionals and individuals; balanced between event types - cerebral talks, practical workshops and educational seminars, and even balanced between the different aspects of digital technology - its ability to inspire creativity, help people collaborate for positive social change, and inspire young minds.” We spoke to our team to find out what part of the 2018 festival they’re most looking forward to: Tony Allen, Principal Consultant: “I want to catch the AI vs Human Creativity talk delivered by Rob McGowan and Toby Brown from leading data science, technology, CRM and media agency Edit. The event explores where AI meets human creativity and asks whether AI can ever truly be considered autonomously creative.” AI vs Human Creativity, Tuesday 23rd October 2018, 10:15am - 11:15am Dan Carne, Principal Consultant: “How Digital is Changing the Way We Discover Brands sounds especially interesting. Hosted by Jake Xu, co-founder and director of Bath-based creative agency Ready, it examines how digital technology has fundamentally changed how businesses communicate with people and how there are now more opportunities for brands to introduce themselves to new customers.” How Digital is Changing the Way We Discover Brands, Wednesday 24th October 2018, 11:30am - 12:30pm Mark Trist, Senior Consultant: “I want to get to the Designing a Better World panel discussion hosted by Merle Hall, CEO of user-centred innovation and product development consultancy Kinneir Dufort which explores how technology and digital advancements are helping design a better, more sustainable world.” Designing a Better World, Wednesday 24th October 2018, 10am - 11am Emma Whitting, Consultant: “Hosted by the Young Entrepreneur Networking Association (YENA), the Cultures not Vultures event is right up my street. It looks at the importance of corporate culture when it comes to defining your personality, and communicating your values, beliefs and traditions.” Cultures not Vultures, Wednesday 24th October 2018, 1:30pm - 2:30pm The whole team will also be gearing up for the LEGO Robot Club’s Robot Wars. Beer, Pizza and LEGO Robots; what’s not to love?! Are you attending this year’s Bath Digital Festival? If so, we’d love to meet you there. Connect with our team here or on our social media channels using the event hashtag #BDF2018.

John Lewis recently broke the television and melted hearts with its latest advert screened during a break in the Great British Bake Off, with viewers rushing to Twitter to react. One said: “An hour behind everyone on catchup but WOW! Paid more attention to the advert than I have been to #GBBO”, while another stated: “John Lewis are pretty much peaking on the ad front right now…what on earth are they gonna do for Christmas?!” The school concert-themed advert is the work of adam&eveDDB and celebrated the department store’s new partnership with Waitrose. And it seems the London-based advertising agency is on somewhat of a roll with its nostalgic Halifax advert featuring original scenes from the 1984 classic cult movie Ghostbusters gracing our screens. The Henry Nicholas team is also digging BBH London’s outing for Audi, which sees its new Q8 model make a grand entrance to Verdi, played by the 100-strong Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra. To celebrate the ad’s premiere, a live 16-piece orchestra and 40-strong choir took to BFI Southbank in London, with the stunt live streamed via Periscope and Twitter. Additionally, we’re impressed with Virgin Atlantic’s new advert, brought to us from AMV BBDO, featuring a visually stunning and otherworldly experience that passengers experience above the clouds. The ad launched at the same time as a new Virgin Holidays campaign (also from AMV BBDO) which shares similar colourful and surreal imagery that we can’t get enough of. While we’re no strangers to adverts for the Virgin brand, this month saw Nestlé’s AERO bar launch its first TV campaign in six years. Branding experts J. Walter Thompson London showed the bar’s chocolate bubbles being created using brass band music. What makes this advert especially impressive is that it didn’t use special effects and instead captured all of the bubbling chocolate on camera, requiring months of testing and fine-tuning. This was a deliberate move from Nestlé to show the care that goes into making every AERO bar. Rumours are already swirling around this year’s batch of Christmas adverts, with Elton John set to make an appearance for the aforementioned John Lewis in what’s claimed to be an emotional journey through his life, and we certainly can’t wait to see what some our favourite agencies and brands produce together. After much discussion, we’re rooting for the return of ALDI’s Kevin the Carrot (pun intended). Are you as passionate about advertising and branding as we are? Do you have what it takes to place the brightest stars in marketing into the most prestigious and ambitious businesses? If so, we want to hear from you! Find out more about becoming part of the Henry Nicholas team today.

It’s the end of the summer holidays, and most businesses are back to full strength, which means now’s the perfect time to embark on your recruitment drive. Or is it? In an age of industry-wide talent shortages, a question mark remains over whether recruiting during a time when your competitors are at their most active actually makes sense. Research conducted by Executives Online revealed that while the number of roles advertised in December is 35% lower than average, the number of applicants remains approximately the same. In addition, the second-lowest month for job openings is August, meaning that during these periods applicants have fewer roles to choose from and apply for, therefore reducing the competition for talent significantly. While it’s too late to take advantage of the summer, the Christmas holidays are around the corner, and here are some more reasons why this could be the ideal time of year for your business to secure talent. Fight the freeze It’s extremely common for businesses to freeze all recruitment during August and December, with some agencies closing down completely over the Christmas period. Aside from the reason of having a depleted HR team, businesses are more inclined to wait until the springtime to hire when budgets have been finalised, in turn eliminating your top competition in the race for talent. Pip competitors to the post Holiday seasons can lead to recruitment processes slowing to a glacial pace, with final decisions delayed until key decision-makers return from annual leave. This means that, even if a major competitor does continue recruiting all year round, you may still be able to secure the best candidates providing you can make decisions faster. Engage your audience Holidays provide a time to relax, gain perspective and take stock of your career. Smart employers can take advantage of this and proactively propose new and exciting career opportunities to those who are reconsidering their future. Additionally, due to the financial outlay that a holiday season can bring, individuals can decide it’s time to look for a job that pays more money. So, if your organisation offers excellent salaries, it’s worth highlighting them in any job adverts you run over the holidays. Get social An approaching holiday season sometimes sees a dip in workplace productivity as employees wind down and get ready for a break. As a result, social media usage during office hours can increase. Bad news for employers in regards to productivity, but a golden opportunity for you to engage with potential employees, whether that’s by sending an InMail to introduce yourself or using sponsored posts to promote your latest vacancies. Recruitment intelligence While holidays can provide the ideal opportunity for you to capitalise on recruiting fresh talent, you may simply be unable to put strategies into practice due to a depleted workforce. That’s where a recruitment partner can help. By working with a professional recruiter, businesses have access to a dedicated team of experts who consistently work for you all year round to find the right people at the right time. If you want to be connected with the very best talent in marketing & PR, data & insight, digital, technology and creative, find out more about what Henry Nicholas can do for your business or get in touch with our expert team today to discuss your requirements.

When it comes to the diversity challenges facing marketing and creative agencies, social diversity doesn’t receive the same attention as that of gender and ethnicity. However, in the face of industry talent shortages, and concern that entry-level marketers are increasingly favouring in-house positions with giants such as Google and Facebook, overlooking this issue is not only a mistake but a missed opportunity for agencies. Research continues to tell us that diverse teams perform better, particularly when it comes to creativity and providing a broader audience perspective, in turn increasing the chances of an agency’s output resonating with a broad range of customers. A study carried out by Goldsmiths and the London School of Economics found that people from a working-class background should account for 35% of the creative workforce (when compared with the average for other industries). However, only 18% of the total workforce comes from a working-class background. What’s going wrong? Unlike the promotion of gender and ethnic equality, it’s much more difficult to identify whether unconscious bias has been displayed when it comes to a candidate’s social background. And, as agency workers have traditionally been primarily judged on ability, rather than accent, postcode or education, it’s hard to believe such a bias would exist. According to the aforementioned study, the problem starts at a much earlier stage. Schools, particularly those in working-class areas, are failing to acknowledge the creative sector as a potential career option for pupils. What makes this especially head-scratching is that the creative industry forms a vital part of the government’s vision for a future economy. What’s being done about it? The Marketing Academy Foundation was launched in 2016 with the aim of addressing this social under-representation. The charity funds marketing apprenticeships for people from disadvantaged backgrounds and increases awareness of marketing as an option among people who wouldn’t be likely to consider it. Its CEO Daryl Fielding stated plans to place 100 apprentices by May 2022, with brands such as Virgin Atlantic, BT and Facebook already signed up. In addition to apprenticeships, the foundation works to raise awareness among school-age children from working-class areas about marketing as a career choice. Creative agency Atomic London last year announced its ‘Canvey not Cannes’ initiative which saw its executives visiting schools in a working-class area of the Essex town to talk about what they do in advertising and how pupils can pursue a position in this field. Not only that, but the agency’s inaugural event featured guests speakers from Google and MPC to provide added inspiration for jobs in creative tech and visual effects. This initiative from Atomic London shows how agencies can get involved in the wider marketing community to help tackle the lack of social diversity in the industry. As well as outreach into schools and communities in working-class areas, here are some other ways that agencies can embrace socioeconomic diversity. - Paid apprenticeships and work experience. If you don’t already pay for trainee talent then, sorry, but you’re contributing to the lack of social diversity. Think outside of the box when it comes to payment too. For example, if your agency is based in central London perhaps offer accommodation for work experience assignments to attract people from outside of the city. - Treat work experience placements like job positions. Agency owner’s and client’s children take up a disproportionate amount of positions in a lot of agencies. Instead of nepotistic appointments, put a real recruitment process in place where you look through CVs and interview people, appointing them based on merit. - Data. Start addressing any potential issues by collecting data on the backgrounds of your employees. This will allow you to set targets for future recruitment. -Shift your focus. Instead of insisting everyone has to be degree-educated, create placements and apprenticeships that are focused on on-the-job training. If you’re looking to attract the right balance of talent for your agency, or you’re ready to take the next step in your career, Henry Nicholas can help.

Last month, research from totaljobs stated that half of British workers would be willing to relocate within the UK for a job. The study, which polled 6,500 job seekers, also revealed the top 10 best cities for work in the UK. While London topped the list thanks to its position as a global financial, business and cultural hub, smaller cities across the UK have been gaining dominance as work hotspots. At Henry Nicholas, there’s been a recent surge in candidates approaching our team looking to move from large cities like London and Manchester to explore the options available to them in Bristol (home of our head office). Indeed, Bristol appears in the top 10 best cities to work in according to the findings from totaljobs, as does Edinburgh, York, and Brighton and Hove; the latter containing just under a third of the population of the UK’s second largest city of Birmingham (which limped in at number 6 on the list). You can view the full top 10 list here. Why are candidates opting for smaller cities? Some of the more obvious reasons include the cost of living, work/life balance, travel, fierce competition for roles etc. However, the answer is more nuanced and involves a number of unique factors relating to each of the cities in question. Bristol, for example, emerged from Tech City‘s Tech Nation 2017 report as Europe’s future digital capital thanks to its variety of tech employers from startups to multinationals, a range of technology jobs and generous salaries. And we’re probably not too far away from Salford appearing as a top 10 city thanks to the relocation of the BBC sparking a flurry of media startups and business growth, as well as a reinvigorated focus on media-related qualifications within its university. How can employers capitalise? The totaljobs study found that 80% of professionals would be encouraged to relocate if an employer were to offer the right incentives. In light of industry-wide talent shortages, it’s clear that employers need to pay attention to offering the right benefits and assistance to ease and encourage the process of relocation. Key areas of focus include: Salary. 86% of respondents in the survey stated that a higher salary would be a key incentive and the reasons why are obvious. Relocation equals upheaval for the employee and potentially their family, and there’s also the small matter of property deposits and moving costs. Career development. Moving to a new location is a major decision and employees want to know that their commitment is acknowledged and rewarded in the long term. 28% stated that a promotion would be a strong incentive to relocate, either that or a clear and achievable path to future development. Support with the move. Whether it’s paid time off, help with relocation costs or assistance in finding temporary accommodation, employers can help to make the relocation process stress-free and easy, boosting the morale of the worker and helping them to hit the ground running in their new role. If you’re looking to make your next career move and are considering relocating to a new city, the Henry Nicholas team is on-hand to help. Alternatively, we can provide advice and guidance for employers when putting together a winning relocation package to attract the right candidates, wherever they might be.