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.