We Make Stuff Happen

Photo by seabass creatives on Unsplash

Back when I was working in Student Union events, I’d invite one or two members of the volunteer tech team to shadow on the larger, professional concerts. One gig, a fairly shy female student who was shadowing asked me how I deal with being ‘the only girl’ in the room.

Looking around, I realised that in a room of 20+ people beavering away putting the gig together, we were indeed the only two women. I told her something about just getting stuck in, getting the job done, just ‘getting on with it’ and throwing yourself into the team–but in my head I knew what I really wanted to say was, “SHHHHH! Don’t mention that, they’ll notice we’re not boys.”

For a long time that was my approach: if you don’t make a big deal about being the only girl, they don’t need to make a thing about you being a girl. You’re just doing your job just like they’re doing their job. I’m a person who can do the job as well as the next person, and the fact that I’m a woman doesn’t need to be a thing. To further bury the issue, I made a point of being able to lift heavy things without help and avoided openly doing female-coded things like fussing about my appearance or getting emotional. I didn’t ask for special dispensations.

However, it’s hard to deny that sometimes, it is a thing. And sometimes, ingrained misogyny can make it a thing where it needn’t be.

When I was 15, I thought I might like to become a sound engineer. I applied to do work experience at a recording studio in Birmingham. I went down with my Dad to meet the owner and check it out. The owner (a guy) asked me if I really thought this was worth his while. “It’s tough being a sound engineer – there’s not that many positions out there - there’s maybe 2 or 3 studios in Birmingham,” he told me, “and not one of them has got a female sound engineer–no one’s going to be interested in hiring a girl as a sound engineer–that’s just the truth of it…I’m not sure there’s much point in you being here.”. It was at that point my dad sent me to sit in the sound booth, and though I couldn’t hear what was said, I could see through the glass that my Dad was busy tearing this idiot a new one (#godad).

Outright misogyny like that, at least in the present-day events industry, is rare, but that’s not to say misogyny and sexism in our industry is entirely non-existent. People will assume I have no upper body strength and stop me carrying even the lightest of objects, even after I’ve said I’m fine. People will automatically assume I know nothing about technical things. There’s one engineer (who will remain nameless), who no matter how much I try to explain that I do know stuff–will be awash with awe every time I do so much as plug in a microphone or coil a cable properly. One time a supplier, during a meeting to discuss hostile vehicle mitigations (terrorist attack prevention) for an event, started asking me if I had children, if I planned to have them, and how my husband feels about my traveling for work (and no, he didn’t ask this of my male colleague). The whole ‘working woman’ thing honestly seemed to perplex and confuse him. On the other end of the scale, one client (a woman herself) told me that ‘women are better at our job once they’ve had children’ (it’s great to know I’ll always be a bit rubbish unless I decide to pop sprogs). And some people, no matter how many times they’re told that I am the one who wrote the plan, have the plan, and am in charge of the plan, will defer to one of my male co-workers, assuming they are my senior. These are just a few examples of #everydaysexism that happens in our industry.

But you know what… none of the above is anything I’ve not been able to laugh at, or brush off, and mostly because when this kind of thing happens, team WMSH always have my back.

My (male) boss - when seeing people going to him, where they clearly should be going to me or one of my other female colleagues (who are actually running the project in question), doesn’t hesitate to direct them back, is fully aware of why it happens, and is fully dedicated to putting a stop to it. He’ll call someone out for being sexist sometimes before I’ve finished processing that that’s what’s happening and were thinking they were ‘just obnoxious’. My ordering of taxis on the company dime, when I don’t feel comfortable walking alone at night, has never been questioned. I’ve cried in front of co-workers, and have never been branded the ‘hysterical female’.

So my advice to women looking to get into the events industry is still to get on with the job if it’s the job you want to do. Get stuck in, get the job done, don’t worry about being a woman doing it. But equally, don’t worry about being seen as female. The industry has changed, even since I was a teenager. There’s no denying that female sound engineers and crew are still very few and far between (and the reasons for that need to be addressed, alongside the under representation of other marginalised genders), but here I am, planning two of the few outdoor events going ahead this June, alongside two other bad-ass female production managers from other companies, and working within a production company that is 60% female.

Surround yourself with people who’ll join you in laughing at those who might underestimate you because of your gender, and who will be your ally. You don’t have to be a man to work in events, and you’ve nothing to prove to anyone worth proving it to.

Alice Hunt

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

From Billie Eilish sharing posts and talking about environmental issues in interviews to Jaden Smith promoting water bottle company JustWater and his Homeless Vegan food van, being in-tune with environmental issues has never been trendier. Whether it is because of celebrities and important figures such as Greta Thunberg spreading the message and inspiring millions to adopt a new eco-friendly lifestyle, or the many hours we have had during lockdown to educate ourselves on what we are doing to the planet, something has shifted in the demand for products, for events and for our lifestyles to be more environmentally friendly than ever.

One big change is the drastic uptake in veganism and especially Veganuary. Veganuary is the movement that encourages people to try to go vegan for the whole of January, with the idea of hopefully staying vegan thereafter. The campaign launched in 2014, and has grown from around 3000 participants in 2014 to over 500,000 participants in 2021. Their mission statement is to create a ‘vegan world’ by supporting people and businesses alike to move to a plant-based diet as a way of protecting the environment, preventing animal suffering, and improving health. They claim that by encouraging 1 million people to go vegan for 31 days, they have saved 103,840 tonnes of C02 equivalent gases from being produced, saved 6.2 million litres of water, and the equivalent of 1645 tonnes of sewage from entering the waterways. Not to mention that 72% of people who tried it for the month of January in 2020 claim to have stuck with veganism.

Read more about Veganuary here.

For a number of years, events have started to consider how they can be more environmentally friendly. Many UK festivals now go ‘plastic free’, discouraging or banning use of single use plastics. Carbon-off-setting of events is also popular, with Finsbury Park (a festival in North London), having gone as far committing to plant one tree for every ticket purchased to off-set the carbon emissions that the event produced. They also used HVO, a renewable form of diesel, and solar panels to power the whole event. Read more about it here.

Here at WMSH, we’ve been working on sustainability campaigns since 2014 and are constantly looking for ways to go greener. Last year might’ve been a quieter period for us, but we still managed to plant 206 trees for carbon-offsetting, and have been using the down time to work on finding sustainable suppliers to add to our database, with the aim of being able to offer a sustainable option on everything we do by the end of the year. As part of that, we’re working with our print suppliers on closed-loop systems (so printed materials and branding can be returned and recycled), and looking at the materials we use and how to align with the four pillars of sustainability (reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle). Currently all our builds are, where possible, broken down to their core components to be reused or repurposed, with viable items donated to charities and good causes, and others recycled or sent for zero-to-landfill energy recovery.

Having more free time has allowed us to do more research and many of the team have started to implement certain things into our lives that we couldn’t find the time to do before. We asked the WMSH team what things they’d changed in their lives recently, with a view to living more eco-friendly lives.

Lewis (Intern)

Personally, after going vegan 2 years ago, I thought that was all I had to do and could do to for the environment, but during lockdown I wanted to find more ways to be environmentally friendly. One way I have achieved this is by shopping at a shop called “How It Should Be Done”, which allows you to bring your own containers to fill up with things such as cereal and washing up liquid from pumps to avoid single use plastics.

Stephen (Creative Designer)

I’ve ditched plastic bottles in the bathroom and instead opted for shampoo and conditioner bars along with soap bars. Also, in the bathroom I have swapped my toothbrush for a new bamboo one that stops single use plastics. To also stop using single use plastics I have stopped getting carrier bags in our fortnightly supermarket food delivery and I use the bags I have when I go to the corner shop every time instead of buying a new one. Cutting down on beef is another thing, I’d say I’ve cut down on it by 80%, and only have it on occasions now.  To save energy I have bought a new TV with A++ energy efficacy that also auto turns off, and I also use my car about 90% less than I was, and only make the rare trip when really needed.

Alice (Senior Event Producer)

I follow ‘The Sorry Girls’ on YouTube – they’re Canadian DIYers, who also have a passion for sustainability, and I’ve taken on some ideas from their channel. I've switched to re-usable cotton pads (they made their own from old towels, but I cheated and brought mine) and try and DIY various things from stuff I already have, to save buying new.

I've also taken to obtaining wood for my DIYs from the Glasgow Wood Recycling centre, not only is it generally cheaper than buying new, and means they aren’t cutting down more trees to sell it, the extra nicks give pieces a bit more character. I made my sister some shelves for Christmas from some reclaimed scaffolding boards.

I’ve also found a supplier that sells whisky barrels, straight from the distilleries, for a fraction of the price you’d buy them at a garden centre. It saves them going to waste, and I make a saving too! Also, my new favourite place to explore (when shops are open) is ‘Glasgow Architectural Salvage’ – they strip what they can from older buildings that are being taken down or repurposed, and sell it, to save them from the tip – there’s all sorts of treasures to be found there, from church pews to vintage lighting fixtures, door handles and stained glass windows. This again helps me to buy second hand instead of new.

JD (Co-founder)

I’ve made a couple of small changes: replaced cotton pads with reusable ones; started getting toilet roll and tissues from Who Gives A Crap? who make the paper with bamboo, use plastic-free (and super cool) packaging and donate profits to sanitation projects; started getting veg boxes from local farm surplus that would otherwise go to waste; also finally got a travel mug for taking on walks that, if anything, keeps my tea way too hot.

The sustainability in fashion projects we’ve worked on also inspired me to focus on buying clothes that are second-hand or made from recycled materials. Was a bit dubious about recycled polyester but it’s actually super soft and recycled wool is incredibly cosy. Re-fashion, Beyond Retro, and Oxfam’s online shop are great for picking up vintage stuff.

Lorna (Senior Creative Producer)

I am going veggie so I have started to cut meat out of my diet, although I seem to be failing when it comes to takeaways. Tips I would suggest would be to avoid takeaways (lol) and try to research what fruit and vegetables are in season. I am not a huge fan of meat substitutes so I plan on researching what fruits and vegetables are in season and finding nice recipes to make with them. I think this is a much more healthy and interesting way to eat when you’ve given up meat.

I do eventually plan to go vegan when I can let go of cheese and chocolate, I’m not there yet! 

Megan (Senior Creative Producer)

Like many people, we started a vegetable patch in the first lockdown, growing tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, beans, cabbage, kale, courgette, peas, potatoes etc.  Have just started to dig it over again for planting this year, and the kids have got well into grow your own, which has made them eat more.

I’ve also had a massive clear out of toiletries and beauty products, which I seem to hoard, and have been trying to use everything up before buying anything new…let’s just say we’re only halfway through so far!

I’ve also only driven to the doctors surgery twice (which is about 5 mins away) since March 2020, so doing pretty well on reducing emissions so far! 

  If you’ve got a green campaign or event you’d like some help with, get in touch.

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

At the start of every year, nearly everyone eagerly runs to set up new year’s resolutions, whether it’s to cut back on meat or start running more. Some people will not set them, as maybe they think they are setting themselves up to fail, but perhaps a better way to look at new year’s resolutions would simply be – ‘what are your personal goals right now?’…and what better time to reset, and reassess these goals, than with the resetting of the calendar?

But the question is, 3 months into the year…have the WMSH team stuck to their resolutions (official or otherwise)? If not, why not? Also, if they haven’t stuck to them…are they going to restart this month? There is still 10 months left of the year, so why not?! So I asked the WMSH team if they had any new year’s resolutions, and how they were going…

Alice

Around new year, I did start thinking about ways to re-ignite my fitness regime. Pre-Covid I played netball twice a week, as part of a local league, and got into working out for the purpose of improving my game play - getting those killer intercepts by generally being harder, better, faster, stronger (as Daft Punk would say). But I grew to really enjoy working out for itself. I find it great for my mental health, and regularly working out at home has been one of my main hobbies since Covid hit, and Netball has been off.

I did however, before Christmas, start struggling with the lack of direction my workouts had. Once it became clear netball wasn't going to start again anytime soon, I was just kind of fumbling about, and starting to lack the motivation to work out as often as I was, despite always feeling better when I did do it. So since new year’s - I decided to pick a workout plan, and commit to it. My new goal 'Become Captain Marvel' (aka - get strong/toned/pumped). My new trainer - Jeff Cavaliere of YouTube's 'Athlean X'. It gives me a plan to stick to, he tells me what to do at each workout session, and how to progress. Aside from my lofty and somewhat vague desire to be as strong as a superhero, right now I'm focusing on a few simple, more specific goals - workout 3 times a week, every week, work towards being able to do a pull up, and work towards being able to do 30 press ups in a row. So far I've managed to stick to my 3 times a week goal...which should set me up to meet the other ones over the next few months.

I would say my one tip for keeping new year’s resolutions or working towards personal goals - to paraphrase Tim Michin - "be 'micro-ambitious'...focus on the "passionate-dedication to the pursuit of short-term goals". Now you might rightly ask, is being able to do a pull up going to change my life? Honestly - probably not. My ultimate, underlying goal is to ‘stay fit and stay sane’…but that has no parameters to work towards. It’s not very motivating. It's the short term goal, that motivates me along the track towards the overarching goal - stay fit, stay sane...and become Captain Marvel.

Lewis

My new years resoloutions were quite simple I think and were things such as, drink more water which will help me look after my skin and also things such as eating healthier. Most of my resolutions fit well together and to make me eat healthier I also said I wanted to start to learn how to cook, so I am not eating takeaways all the time or just frozen food. On top of this I want to run half a marathon by the end of the year, which means I have to start running to work up to it.

I would say I have done relatively well with sticking to my resolutions, as I have been cooking most nights and also drinking lots of fluids to keep me hydrated but I did not run in January, so I am going to start this month to make sure I don’t break my new year’s resolution of running half a marathon. I have only ordered 3 takeaways in the last 4 weeks, which is a lot better than what I was doing last year so I would also say I have done pretty well with keeping that resolution so hopefully I can stick to that for the rest of the year. One month down and ten more to go!

JD

I don’t make resolutions but I do spend the period between Boxing Day and NYE engaging in ‘romjul’, which is a Norwegian concept based on enjoying the slower pace of life and embracing the cosiness of the longer nights, reflecting on the year that’s been and thinking about intentions for the year to come. I use this to remind myself of things like ‘yoga helps me be less stressed’, ‘get out in nature when you can, it makes you feel better’ rather than setting qualitative goals, otherwise meeting objectives during my leisure time starts to be a source of anxiety. This year I decided to spend more time reading philosophy. A lot of mental health advice is rooted in stoicism and I’ve found it full of surprisingly practical advice for, among other things, living through a pandemic (Derren Brown’s Happy is a fantastic starting place and Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations is also more accessible than you think it would be, if you go into it reading it as if it’s his blog rather than a classic philosophy tome). Slow start on that owing to a lot of too-tempting fiction. I also decided to devote more time to writing. So far (thanks to lockdown and not much else to do) I’ve written 90,000 words which feels a bit over-achievey and if I keep that pace up I’ll definitely wear out my laptop keys.

Forest app is great for helping diminish the power of distractions like doomscrolling. You set a timer and grow trees when you put your phone down, and I make patterns with my forests to help me stay motivated. You can also donate real trees when you rack up enough focussed time, I’m about to get my first one.

Megan

I never make them for fear of disappointment if I break them.  Overriding focus of the year though is just to be happy and healthy.

Lorna

My New Year’s resolution was to get back into yoga. I think are all a bit stiffer than normal after a year of living and working from our houses. So far, I have stuck to this resolution and do feel a lot better for it!

Some tips I would give for keeping up this resolution, and others, is to not be too hard on yourself, especially this year. If I have a day where I really don’t feel like pulling the yoga mat out, I jump on to the sofa and chill out instead, then try again the next day! For me, keeping a routine with my yoga resolution has made me keep it up. I use YouTube yoga videos to help me, a tip I have here is to find a yoga instructor on there that you like, some of them can be rather annoying which is not encouraging!

If the devil finds work for idle hands, we can only assume from this summer’s Instagram posts that the devil must love sourdough. And the country’s new army of amateur bakers weren’t the only ones using having more time on their hands to good advantage—lots of people looked to learning new things as a distraction.

But first things first - if the only thing you ‘achieved’ this summer was making it through each day, don’t give yourself a single moment of grief. By doing just that, you’ve already done great. However, as time has wound on and those of us working in events swapped fields and packed schedules for staying in, some of the WMSH team have been enjoying learning new skills or taking on new hobbies. We’ve found that focusing on things you enjoy, be that a new challenge, doing something physical, or spending time making your micro-universe nicer, comfier or more tasty, can be great for your mental health.

Check out what we’ve been up to below:

JD

I decided not to let my lack of actual garden stop me attempting to grow some of my own food. I ordered some tumbling tomato seedlings online, and repotted them along with spinach and kale seeds into hanging baskets so they could bask in the sunshine from the SW facing window that basically turns the lounge into a greenhouse from May to October. Moving them into the shower for a drench became part of the daily routine and within a month, they’d started to fruit (and are still going). To accompany them, I started growing micro salad in a seed sprouter, which made my weekend at-home brunches much more Instagram-worthy. 

As a side note - hanging tomatoes make an excellent Zoom background. So many people commented how good they looked and I like to think a bit of greenery brightened those meetings a little.

Stephen

During lockdown I learned how to use 3D projection mapping, with Mad Mapper and Wayne Sables’ excellent online Vimeo course. The introductory lessons were great, and included insightful interviews with professionals from creative industries. As with most things, the real learning came with practice; but after only a few hours I managed to project 10 different video streams simultaneously onto a complex icosahedral 3D sculpture, using a projector, a laptop, and a demo version of Mad Mapper. This technique has been used in art installations, live music and stage performances, outdoor exhibitions and video game demonstrations, and I look forward to finding more and more places to use it.

Alice

I love doing something physical, knowing it will likely take me all day. The garden has been one big and on-going project this year, something that would normally be left untouched while I’m away on-site throughout the summer. However, through watching many YouTube videos, countless calls to my mum, many plant deaths, and lots of back-breaking work, I’ve cultivated my garden to a point where it’s unrecognisable from where it was. I’ve laid turf for the first time, pruned back trees and bushes that I would previously have had no idea what to do with. I’ve built a rockery, a compost heap, and after learning that there are different types of rakes, with entirely different purposes (who knew?!), I’ve brought myself a new one for raking leaves this autumn, which I’m way too excited about.

As well as gardening - while I’ve always been a bit of a DIY-er - I upped my game this summer by refurbing the kitchen. I even created a Gant chart when I was struggling to figure out the order things needed to happen in, and used a white board to track ‘to do’, ‘to buy’ and ‘snags’, just like I would when managing a festival build site. The refurbing is still ongoing, but so far has included laying flooring and fitting skirting for the first time, and finally conquering my fear of sawing things. I’m still not very good, I can’t cut straight to save my life…but things get cut. One piece of sawing led to another, and I ended up making multiple coffee tables for my new garden oasis, and a footstool to go with the 2nd hand chairs I upcycled. I learned what a ‘pocket screw’ was, which was a bit of a game changer, but I haven’t totally perfected it yet.

Youtuber’s The Sorry Girls , and instagrammer Angela Rose have been major sources of inspiration. Also, my father-in-law, Bob, who’s a DIY expert. He’s always available to give advice, offer encouragement, or send me tools.

 I’ve also spent a little time trying to improve my 3D modelling skills – while I’m a wiz at doing 2D site plans - my 3D constructions don’t always look polished. I took an online tutorial on virtual room dressing and lighting effects for Vectorworks. For practice, I made a room, I put a person figure in it, and set about trying different lighting / finishing options. It’s hard to explain how I got there, but one thing led to another, and I ended up 3D modelling something akin to a bloody murder scene in a movie. Lesson learned – what you, when you’ve not left the house for several days, think is funny…may freak your team out when you show them.

Photo by Nathan Lemon on Unsplash

You’d be forgiven for thinking a pandemic can only result in a Scrooge-like approach to Christmas, with the whole thing—along with associated marketing activities—cancelled. While brand ambassadors might not be able to mingle with shoppers offering mince pie samples and train stations might look slightly more ghostly than usual, there are still opportunities for brands and agencies to connect with consumers, so long as they’re prepared to be a bit more inventive.

Here are our top 5 ideas for marketing activity in the time of Covid, suitable for any budget, whether you’ve a Cratchet-size purse or a post-conversion Scrooge one:

Mailers

In-home experiences will be a key part of connecting with consumers this year and there are plenty of ways to create an unboxing that’s filled with surprise and delight. Whether you want a beautiful box made with eco-friendly cardboard and ink, packaged tasting note ingredients to take consumers on a product journey, or an easy way to guide customers to a tie-in online experience like webinar or live chat with a chef or mixologist, we can help you put together something that’ll garner social media coverage and PR. We can even create bespoke scents based on product ingredients for a truly immersive brand experience without leaving home, like we did last Christmas for this Papa John’s and Crisis Christmas Dinner Pizza-scented wrapping paper:

 Direct to consumer VR & AR

One way to elevate the engagement level on your in-home experience is to harness the power of VR and AR. We can create either 3D print or cardboard holders that turn people’s phones into VR/AR goggles, and create the 360-degree content for you, or work with existing brand assets that you already have.

 Projection Mapping

If you want a way to make a big splash loaded with visual, Instagram-friendly appeal that’s also naturally socially distant, projection mapping could be for you. This technology can be used to turn objects, sculptures, or buildings into a projection surface which is then brought to life digitally, to tell stories or display messaging.

We’ve recently brought this in-house thanks to our design team upskilling during lockdown, and will be offering cost-effective packages through autumn and winter for hotels and other locations, charities, and brands.

Here’s one we did last Christmas to graffiti a listed building without upsetting the owner:

 Virtual Events

There’s no denying that a lot of people are missing the sense of connection that comes from a shared experience. While theatre and gigs in person might be on hold for now, digital events can help fill the gap. We’ve teamed up with companies who usually work with the likes of Dua Lipa and the Rolling Stones to put together a very cost effective, Covid-secure package, including a scalable space, digital ticketing, and bespoke production for any brands or charities who might want to sponsor or host online music or spoken word events. One call and you can access everything from venue booking to production and AV, branding, and set build, with H&S and Covid-Secure measures as standard.

 Illuminations & Trails

Dark nights are an invitation to use light, and illuminated experiences will be big news this year for families particularly. Bespoke outdoor installations and trails can be created with local themes or even reflect social change that’s happened this year, and are a good option for venues with outdoor space or civic bodies wanting to provide entertainment that can be delivered alongside social distancing.

Here’s one we created for Ashford last year, to help regenerate their night-time economy:

While this Christmas might not be the one we were expecting, with the right approach, we think we can help you come up with an idea that’ll inspire that Tiny Tim, “God bless us, everyone” feeling.

JD Bracknell

Photo by David Matos on Unsplash

In any usual year, as many as one in four people will experience a mental health issue—we’re still waiting to see the full impact on mental health of a year like 2020, but a recent survey by Mind found that more than half of adults and two thirds of young people said their mental health had worsened during lockdown, with a rise in disordered eating behaviours, alcohol and substance misuse, self-harming, and loneliness. Multiple campaigns from government and charities have focused on the value of talking about mental health and sharing our problems, but if you’ve never sought support before, it’s not always obvious quite who to talk to or what to do if someone opens up to you.

That’s where Mental Health First Aid comes in. The scheme started in Australia and is now worldwide, aiming for one in ten people to be trained, in order to bring it in line with the number of people able to provide physical first aid in their communities and the workplace. The key tenets of the programme are to raise awareness of mental health and promote wellbeing, increase early detection of mental health issues, eliminate stigma, prevent suicide, and promote support and recovery.

Over the summer, I qualified as a Mental Health First Aider to gain skills that might help support our team and the wider events community through what has been a really tough time. The four-day intensive course (delivered online) covers topics including depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, psychosis, and substance misuse, as well as how to intervene in crisis situations involving suicidal thoughts and behaviours, self-harm, panic attacks, and help people who’ve been through traumatic events, are experiencing severe psychotic states or the effects of substance abuse. Like physical first aid, the focus is on how to intervene, assess the situation, offer immediate support, and signpost someone to appropriate professional help and support.

Having the confidence to talk openly and non-judgementally to colleagues, friends and family, or even strangers about their mental health could rarely be more relevant than it is right now. A shift in routine, stress about finances and loss of work, along with worries about the future, our health and that of those we care about, means more people than ever are at risk of experiencing mental ill health, whether that’s developing or the worsening of a diagnosable mental health condition like depression, anxiety, or eating disorder or not.

There’s a strong case for making this a workplace wellbeing issue. 1 in 6 adults of working age at any given time are experiencing symptoms of mental ill health (things like sleep disturbance or fatigue) and a further 1 in 6 have diagnosable mental health conditions. The total cost of mental ill health in England in 2009/10 was £105.2billion, with 91million working days lost in the UK, costing £30billion a year, while presentism (attending work while unwell) accounts for £15.1 billion in losses. And crucially, 75% of people with mental illness receive no treatment at all and only 3% of adults attend therapy.

The human cost of all of this is considerable. Suicide is the most common cause of death in men aged 20-49 and according to WHO stats, of the 20 leading causes of disability worldwide, 5 are mental health issues, with depression being the single leading cause. And there’s far more to depression than just feeling a bit sad or blue. In a Global Burden of Disease study in 2013, severe depression was found to have a similar impact on a person’s life to severe heroin dependence or untreated spinal cord injury. Similarly, severe anxiety has an impact akin to severe stroke or end-stage kidney disease, and schizophrenia is the disability with the highest impact on a person’s life; it exceeds all physical illnesses in life impact.

Despite its far-reaching, debilitating impact, the Mind coronavirus impact survey found that 1 in 3 people didn’t access mental health support because they didn’t think they deserved it. Having a qualified Mental Health First Aider in every workplace or industry community could have a big impact, tackling this by providing a first port of call, normalising talking about mental health and reducing stigma, and supporting people in getting help.

One of my biggest take aways from the course was that people can, and do, recover from even very serious mental health issues, and hope is central to that recovery. As we look towards the winter, one way you can support those around you is to sign up to train in Mental Health First Aid, so the next time you see a poster or tweet about the value of talking, you have something to say and all the listening skills you need to make a real difference.

JD Bracknell

If you want to learn more about Mental Health First Aid or work in events and need support, visit Stress Matters. Mind also have a range of support services updated for coronavirus as do CALM.

Sources:

NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care 2009

MIND report: https://www.mind.org.uk/media-a/5929/the-mental-health-emergency_a4_final.pdf

Stevenson D, Farmer P Thriving at Work: a review of mental health and employers, 2017

Mental Health First Aid Course Manual

I am…Alice Hunt, aged 32, Senior Event Producer at We Make Stuff Happen.

I work on…all sorts of events, ranging from family music festivals, to private functions, cultural events, experiential (experience-based) promotional activations for films, and large public events, like the Regent Street Christmas Lights Switch On and Regent Street Summer Streets. I live in Glasgow, but I work remotely for We Make Stuff Happen who are based in Brighton. My work takes me all over the UK on a regular basis, but has also taken me further afield, to Berlin, Ibiza and New York.

This year…We were about to produce the St Patricks Festival in Birmingham, the third largest St Patrick’s Day celebration in the world, attended by approximately 70,000 people, for which I was the Production Manager. I flew down for the final days of prep, only for me to take a call at the airport when I landed, that we had to cancel. This was back when the government were still telling us there was ‘little risk’ to the public from Covid-19, when it came to attending events. I believed them, and had held out hope that the event might still happen. But instead I spent the day cancelling bookings from over 30+ contractors and freelance staff, flew back to Glasgow, and I’ve not had an event to work on since. It’s been 6 months.

I hope…that events will begin to happen again next summer, and safe and economically viable ways can be found to facilitate that. I hope next summer is full of events. It would be cathartic, full of celebration, full of families and friends getting together, and our industry would be re-born, and back doing what it does best.

But I worry…that the industry, that I’ve worked to be a part of since I was 16, will collapse. I’m one of the lucky ones. I’m a salaried employee, for a company in a strong financial position who were able to furlough me. But I honestly don’t know how long they’ll be able to keep paying me when furlough ends. The new scheme is not fit for our industry, when we can’t go back to work. Every day when I look at my facebook feed, I see people who do the same job as me, who work on the same events I work on, being made redundant, or crying out for help, because they’ve slipped through the net of what little help there has been available for freelancers in particular. Contractors we use, who provide PA and Lighting for the biggest bands around, are talking about closing up shop if they haven’t done so already. These people I know - performers, DJ’s, club promoters, gig promoters, sound and lighting technicians, site electricians, fabricators, prop builders, carpenters and crew…we’ve put everything into building our careers. We put everything into what we do. The outdoor events industry alone had 141.5 million visitors in 2018, spending onsite and offsite generated around £39.5 billion, which contributes £30.4 billion in GVA. We did that. But now we are just…‘not-viable’.

I am…Lucy Bainton, 46, Creative Producer at We Make Stuff Happen.

I work on…anything and everything creative from small pop ups events, interactive events, experiential displays, promotional props - you name it we can do it.

This year…has had a devastating effect on the events industry. The nature of Covid, paired with the poor governmental leadership and complete lack of insight has brought the entire events industry to a grinding halt, effecting the lives of so many talented people.

I hope…that the government have the foresight to understand the importance of this industry to the economy, to support it, keep it alive, until it is able to get back on its feet.

But I worry…that if action isn’t taken then the world would be stripped of creativity, it would have a catastrophic impact not only on the economy, but on the self employed and the freelancers who depend on it.

I am... JD, Co-founder of We Make Stuff Happen.

I work on... overseeing the 50 or so events we produce a year. We’re a relatively small company, but we provided entertainment for around 1.5million people in 2019. 

This year... has been a real challenge. Watching not just your own diary clear but that of all your industry friends is not something I ever expected to have to deal with. It’s also been an opportunity to reflect on what I value as a person and who we are as a company, and to think about how to take everything we’ve learned from this forward.

I hope... the industry will emerge from the dumpster fire that has been 2020 like a phoenix from the flames.

But I worry... for the many freelancers, sole traders, and micro-businesses that are part of the events industry eco-system and are currently struggling, and the young people who finished school or graduated university this year and would’ve spent the summer gaining valuable work experience at festivals and events. Events is one of the few industries that values people for what they can do rather than their background or connections; it’s a key industry for both creating social mobility and offering opportunities to people from disadvantaged demographics. You can enter the industry as a box pusher with few formal qualifications and rise through the ranks to positions of real responsibility, gaining skills while in employment—it’s an industry that genuinely rewards hard work, where people freely share their expertise with younger workers to allow them to advance, and where teamwork isn’t a buzzword but a way of life. As an industry, we have to stand together and do what we can to support each other, and make sure the crews, technicians, creatives, and production managers of the future aren’t lost to other industries. Our skills and community are valuable. Whether it’s public events, festivals, theatre, art exhibitions, live music, or fashion shows, we create the moments that make life worth living.

It’s not business as usual right now, it’s business unusual.

At WMSH, we’re used to unusual requests requiring non-standard responses, and surmount technical and logistical challenges all the time. So if you’re a business or charity that has an idea for how to help people but needs support to execute it, a marketing team with a brand who wants to repurpose but doesn’t know quite how, or an events team who wants to explore taking things digital, we can help.

You can access a broad knowledge base, including expertise in idea generation, logistics and planning, visual communication, technical solutions, and H&S with one call or email.

We love working with like-minded people—if you want to do something to help, we want to help you do it.

Photo by Mikayla Mallek on Unsplash

Moving from a busy office environment to your sofa with only your cats for company can be a tricky thing, even without the current pressures we’re all experiencing.

Alice from our team—a veteran home-worker—put together some top tips to help the rest of the team out as we all moved to home-working, and we thought we’d share them with everyone else too, because as the philosopher Shaun from Shaun of the Dead once said, the only thing that will redeem humanity is co-operation.

1.    Sweat-pants are your friend

When I first started working from home, at first I felt like I still needed to get properly dressed, put on my make up and do my hair, to feel ‘ready to work’. The make-up was the first thing to go, and gradually I realised that it was entirely pointless to sit in my own house, in fashionable yet tight jeans, which weren’t super comfortable to sit in all day. Sweat-pants are your friend, but I suggest these are still different to your PJs, else you feel like you haven’t really gotten up.

Bra-wearers, this is also unnecessary—but just remember to put one on when you do leave the house (been caught out on that one a few times….). I also keep a hoodie nearby, should I need to interact with the postman.

I’ve found that making sure I have a wash / shower before I start working (as oppose to after work) helps me be more alert, but other than that – be comfy – and don’t use video calling. It’s no more useful than just a call-call, and everyone’s just distracted with how they look on the camera. (Unless of course everyone wants to do a ‘introducing the pets ’ Skype call–totally up for that….)

2.    Don’t answer anything before coffee

I require 2 x coffees to be fully awake, but at least 1 x coffee to make me just vaguely human. Most people don’t realise how much they wake-up on the morning commute, but that little bit of head space, to have my coffee and get out of bed, unbothered, gives me time to become the reasonable and understanding person colleagues know and love. I’ve on occasion sent out responses to messages pre-coffee, that were intended to be ‘quippy’, but have just landed as ‘narky’, so just don’t do it anymore.

Just cos you’re working from home doesn’t mean you’re always at work. Try not to check your messages until you’re actually at your desk and ready to work. If you have seen that someone has asked you something / is waiting on a response from you, unless it’s truly urgent….wait till you’re ready to respond. Picture it like your colleagues waiting until they’ve actually made it into the office, got settled, made a drink etc.

3.    Have a ‘work area’

Even if you’re not lucky enough to have a spare room, I highly recommend creating a work ‘space’ wherever you can, which you can shut the door on – be it literally or figuratively. If you need to use the kitchen table – pack up your work stuff into a box at the end of each day. Don’t try and work from the sofa. You need a desk, with a proper chair, where you go to work, and which you can turn your back on at the end of the day. It helps to demark your ‘work day’ from ‘relaxing at home’, enables you to relax properly when you’re done, and to not get distracted when you’re trying to work.

4.    It’s good to talk

If you want an immediate response to something – pick up the phone. If you work next to someone in the office, and you want their immediate response to something, you’d ask it out loud. When I first started working from home, I felt like I had to email everything, and my calls or texts were bothersome. This led to lots of frustration as I sat waiting for a response which didn’t always come as fast as I’d like (not everyone is sat looking at their inbox – just waiting for you to email them).

Obviously there’s a line – just like you wouldn’t bother anyone in the office with a constant stream of questions while they try and work, don’t ring constantly, and

it’s important to give it a rest out-side of office hours and avoid calls etc. that you can see in the shared diary or times people might be busy—but generally, just pick up the phone if you want to know something straight away from any of the team, or at least Skype / WhatsApp it so you can at least see if they’ve seen your message yet.

If they’re busy they won’t answer and will call back when they’re free. No stress.

5.    The Pomodoro Method

I find this particularly helpful in times where we’re quiet, or I’m not feeling particularly motivated. I’m someone who works really well when I’m managing a big list of ‘urgent’ things to do, but less well with many things that ‘need to happen at some point’. The Pomodoro Method is a time-management technique.

The fundamentals of it are about focusing on a specific task for 25min – then taking a 5min break (or 2 x 25min slots, and a 10min break, whatever works for you). It can be tempting to look at the to-do list and never really get started on a single item properly, or procrastinate away from a task. By telling yourself you need to focus for ‘just 25min’ on brainstorming / writing a brief / whatever it is… it isn’t so daunting, and that helps me to focus and get stuff done.

I’ve also found it helps stop me from getting screen-related head-aches (from looking at a computer screen for too long). I never realised until I began working from home, how even on a ‘desk-day’, in a more typical office environment, much of your time is spent speaking to people, moving about, looking at stuff.

On the breaks I move away from the computer for 5min, put a load of laundry on or make a cuppa, or just sit in the living room and talk to the ferrets.

I use this online timer - https://tomato-timer.com/

6.    WhatsApp has a desk-top app

There are plenty of communication tools you might use for work, but for a quick and easy solution when you don’t require a secure solution, WhatsApp has a desk-top app, and it’s super-handy.

It means I can text to people’s phones, but use my keyboard to type, so I don’t need to switch between my laptop and my mobile. It’s really easy to copy photos and screen grabs into messages, sending links is easy, adding people into a quick group chat is easy….basically it’s awesome. Skype does the same thing, but I find it less mobile, since the phone app is pretty rubbish and also fewer people have it.

My husband and his colleagues use Facebook messenger. As far as I’m concerned this is archaic, they may as well chisel messages to each other on stone-tablets and strap them to donkeys….also not everyone I want to communicate with also wants to be my Facebook friend, and see daily updates on my pets.

7.    Exercise

Even just the process of walking to/from work, is exercise that you’re not getting when you’re working from home. At the risk of sounding like a fitness influencer, a morning work-out can be invigorating – it makes me feel like I’ve already ‘achieved’ something before starting the working day, and gets my head in a good space. As I jog I’ve generally thought about the stuff I want to get done in the day. It relieves my anxieties, and on a practical note, it releases tension you get in your neck muscles, that you get from sitting at a desk all day (that can cause headaches).

There’s lots of bloggers on YouTube with at-home workouts which is where I got started. I’m a gym bunny but given the current situation am experimenting with jogging in the park. It’s gone alright so far. Without the impending threat of falling off of the treadmill to keep me on-pace, I suck… but it felt really nice when I did it yesterday. Current advice is going outside to parks etc for a walk or a run is ok and even recommended, so long as you keep your distance from people (approx. 2m).

We hope this helps.

PS. There’s nothing you can do about cats appearing unexpectedly on video calls. Just embrace it.

Alice Hunt

 Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash

The 21st March will mark Twitter’s 14th birthday.  The social media giant was created in March 2006 in San Francisco, California, and in the years since, Twitter has amassed over 300 million monthly active users and was dubbed the SMS of the internet, due to its short character limit- 140 characters, which was increased to 280 characters in 2017.

Today, Twitter is just one of many social media platforms available.  Alternative networks include Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, Snapchat, TikTok and many others, and each can be linked to an identifiable consumer base, or reason for use.  Whichever is your preferred network, it’s obvious that social media has drastically changed the face of the brand activation.

When creating a campaign idea, particularly one that involves an element of experiential marketing, the interplay of social media, and how this might be woven into the campaign is now front and centre.  This is likely due to the identification of the many benefits that its involvement can have on a campaign.

For example, in the days before social media, PRs had to rely on a well-written, and thoroughly sold-in press release in order to spread awareness of a campaign or message.  Consequently, brands were at the mercy of the rate of news that day, and whether the particular journalist was interested in covering the story.  Fast-forward to today, and the likes of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook have completely altered the coverage potential of a single event or activation. 

Many people use social media as a sort of social diary, which will inform them of interesting events and happenings that are occurring in their area.  Brands are able to utilise the different platforms as a news sharing tool to make people aware that an event is coming up, in-turn increasing footfall.  Similarly, social media can act as another form of media for generating coverage during and post-event. Live event posting can help to give a snapshot of the event or activation, thus increasing interest in it, and post-event round ups can help to reinforce the brand message, hopefully increasing purchase and brand loyalty. 

With the rise in social media use, individuals themselves have become the media channels.  Live sharing allows a user to generate their own content, and automatically share it with followers, and as a consequence, the role of the participant in an event has changed.  Brands must now view each and every person in attendance as a potential journalist or influencer, which has placed control back in the individual’s hands, and has meant that brands must work harder to deliver experiences to satisfy. Similarly, social media can work to benefit the individual by giving them content to post, and by allowing them to act as a sort of influencer to their followers through posting about where they have been and what they experienced.  

With many channels now offering methods of advertising happenings, the role of paid media has also changed through social networks.  The ability to target adverts via particular social channels, and more specifically within those individual channels, means that it is possible to connect with a target demographic, in order to try to increase attendance by people that will be useful to a brand.

Event pages have proved to be exceptionally useful to event planners and PRs, in that they offer an insight into the number of people, and particular demographics or people that might attend an activation.  Prior warning such as this can help event planners to cater for the correct number of people, look into additional days if it is over-subscribed, and to target specific demographics if there appears to be one that is under-represented. 

Perhaps one of the most useful things about social media is its instantaneous nature. Smart brands will make sure to ‘listen’ to channels during and following an activation, as it can be a very beneficial way of gaining insight into the activation from the people that matter most. Its instantaneous nature means that should feedback suggest any issues are apparent, they can be ironed out during the event, or for the following day, ensuring the greatest level of positive feedback possible. 

What’s clear is that the world of social media has changed the possibilities of brand experience, both in a way that can benefit the individual and brand itself. Smart brands will ensure that their social media plan is front of mind when creating campaign ideas, in order to reap maximum benefit from its use.

Megan John

Photo by Charles Etoroma on Unsplash

All eyes will be on London come the 14th February as London Fashion Week opens its doors.  

As you may know, we worked with Oxfam last Summer on a project called Secondhand September, which aimed to highlight to the British public the issues around buying fast-fashion, and the effect that this is having on natural resources and the environment.  The project aimed to encourage festival goers to pledge to refrain from buying anything new in September, only reusing or recycling old clothes from home or Oxfam stores for example, and it’s given us the sustainable bug. 

The result of working so closely with Oxfam to understand the scale of the problem is a greater appreciation of those that are trying to make a difference. That is why this year, we have a keen eye trained on those designers showing at Fashion Week who are not only pushing the boundaries of design, but doing so with sustainability in mind. Here are a few to look out for.

Patrick McDowell

Story goes that when McDowell was 13 years old, he asked his mother for a new schoolbag, she wouldn’t buy him one, so he took an old pair of jeans, cut them up and made a bag from them.  This didn’t go unnoticed by his art teacher, who set him off on a personal project making a new bag each week from remnants.  Thus, a fashion designer was born, and one who had his roots in upcycling too. 

The young designer really came to the fore last year, when he showed his second collection at Helsinki Fashion Week, entitled ‘Firefighting Aunties’.  The entire collection was made through upcycling deadstock, which he acquired through his internship at Burberry. McDowell even went so far as to ask Christopher Kane if he could use the remnants and discarded fabrics from the design house in a bid to create a circular model of design.  The collection was inspired by the women in his family, who he says are constantly fighting fires, and featured upcycled firefighting helmets, dressed in unsalable Swarovski crystals as part of another partnership.

He has since been nominated for Stella McCartney ‘Today for Tomorrow Award’, which champions the next generation of young activists fighting climate change. McDowell goes as far as to say that sustainability is “modern day luxury…to wear something and know that it hasn’t caused problems to the planet.”

McDowell will continue to avoid wholesale and works on just one stand-alone collection each year.  This year’s collection is based on his Catholic childhood and will continue to work with brand partners to source materials and try to close the loop on the industry.

Matty Bovan

This year will be Matty Bovan’s third standalone show at Fashion Week and has been awarded show support from the British Fashion Council and NEWGEN.

As always, we can be sure to expect a vast array of colour, texture and pattern in Bovan’s upcoming show.  It is also likely that he will have sought some inspiration from yet more political turmoil, which has resulted since the Brexit referendum and Bovan’s first season on the scene. 

Matty Bovan has always spoken about the need for craft and the handmade in connection with fashion.  He anticipates the time when people will be able to readily use technology to personalise garments from home but maintains the need for the handmade in all aspects of fashion to stop consumption from spiralling out of control.  Rather than use foraged materials, it appears that Bovan’s commitment to sustainability is more along the levels of consumption that one needs. 

Melanie Pothron

Melania Pothron embodies feminine style, turning out designs in pastel hues, with flounces and frills.  After studying fashion in France, Pothron started making delicate folk blouses and posting them to Instagram, where she got noticed.  She makes monthly batches of the designs and they sell out within minutes.

Every top that Pothron turns out is handmade with her partner in France.  She adopts a ‘slow fashion’ approach to design, in which she aims to give the most work to the most women possible, aims to use discarded fabric from couture houses, and in which she aims to teach young designers how a different approach to fashion can benefit the environment and industry. 

Pothron’s brand Aurore Van Milhem will not be showing at Fashion Week—although expect to see a spike in Instagram posts and traffic around that time—however she is definitely too good to be left off of the list. 

Mara Hoffman

In 2016, Mara Hoffman made a huge overhaul of her label, and turned it into a sustainable, eco-conscious brand.  She is not a new designer, but is new to design in this approach, and her commitment to creating something sustainable in the fashion industry has inspired many designers the world over. 

Many of the fabrics that Hoffman uses are natural and recycled, and she also reduced the size of her last collection, in a bid to reduce waste and her footprint.

With huge leaps being made in eco-friendly fabric and technology, Hoffman is surely one to watch out for this year.

The Textile Review

If any of you have read this and feel inspired to start on the road to fashion design, look no further than The Textile Review for your fabrics.  Again, this is not one we will see on the catwalk, however who knows, some of the fabric seen on the catwalk may have been sourced through this venture. 

The founder Katie Briggs is committed to reusing, recycling and repurposing fabric. She has set up The Textile Review as a one stop shop for event planners, designers and set designers, which offers reclaimed fabrics as an alternative to buying new as a way to reduce the carbon footprint involved in fabric creation.

This is one that we will definitely be investigating for all of our event needs.

Megan John

For international Women’s Day, we asked some of the team about their experiences working at WMSH.

1.     Tell us about your role at WMSH.

Megan: As Senior Creative Producer, I am fortunate enough to work across experiential campaigns, stunts, events and festivals, from pitch stage right through to delivery and management.  Part of my role includes idea generation in response to creative briefs from clients.  Ideas then must be articulated through visualisations, which either myself or the design team will undertake, budgets, which show a greater level of detail on build and materials, and written content on how the idea aims to benefit the client. My role then involves producing successful projects, which can include sourcing and liaising with build and materials suppliers and venues, logistics, working with the design team to create any assets that may be required and so on. 

Lorna: I am an Event Producer at We Make Stuff Happen. There are many different aspects to my role, which I like. I work on the creative and production process ahead of events and can be found on site at some of the live events. I also work closely with all of our clients leading up to jobs, as well as meeting potential clients.

Lucy: I have recently joined WMSH as a Creative Producer.  The role involves taking briefs from clients, creative brainstorming with the WMSH team,  budgeting and supplying costs for every aspect of the project, and liaising with the workshop to ensure production runs smoothly to bring the ideas to life.

JD: I’m Co-founder, which as job titles go is gloriously undefined. Day-to-day, I oversee the creative on most of our projects, drawing on my background in advertising to ensure whatever we’re proposing has the client’s message at its heart, and sign off every budget that goes out the door. I’m a big picture thinker who hates stagnating, so I’m also very focused on strategy and where we’re going as a company. I oversee our business development team, spend a lot of time analysing how we work and seeing where and how we can do better, seeking out new opportunities, and making plans for WMSH’s future.

Alice: I'm a Senior Event Producer at WMSH. I work with clients to budget and plan their events, from conception, right up to the day of the event, where I'll then be onsite as the Production Manager or Event Manager, putting the plans into action and problem solving anything that arises. I split my time between working remotely from home in Glasgow, and travelling for client meetings and events, mostly to London and the Midlands, but have also worked on WMSH events in New York, Ibiza and Berlin.

2.     What do you most enjoy about working at WMSH?

Megan: I love that every day in the office is different. You might be looking at how to make a water-tight umbrella from an old tent one day, and then a giant sculpture made from plastic waste the next.  Every time the email pings with a new brief, it is impossible to guess what we might be asked to achieve. I’d say my favourite aspect of the job is generating ideas in response to client briefs.  We will often be given an idea of what the stunt or campaign needs to deliver, in terms of generation PR coverage, or simply getting people through the door, and I enjoy working within the parameters to come up with something that will give the client bang for their buck.

JD: Building a community of likeminded people and getting a chance to create the change I want to see in the world. Growing up, my life was very unstable and I lived in an area where there were few opportunities and high economic and cultural poverty. That taught me that work (or the lack of it) can cause stress, distress, and hardship on both an individual and a wider social scale. Because of that, I see it as a responsibility to create good quality jobs and secure interesting work for us all, and to offer opportunities to people who might not otherwise have access to them. One of the founding principles of WMSH is that the team can do more together than any of us could alone, and seeing that in action every day is a fantastic privilege.

Lucy: What I love most about this role, having come from a similar background, is the complete diversity in projects that we get to be involved in. The creative scope is endless and allows you to really use your creativity and imagination. 

Alice: No day is like another. There's always something different happening and new conundrums to solve. I don't think I could do a job that was the same every day. Every project is different and even the events we work on annually always come with new challenges and developments. WMSH is growing, so I'm always learning, and constantly getting the opportunity to take on bigger and more complex projects. I love getting to know our clients, figuring out how they work, what they need, and how we can do the best job for them. People don't always know exactly what they want, or what they need, and I enjoy taking their vision, and trying to create that for them. Occasionally I've had the pleasure of getting the WMSH office number diverted to my mobile, and that's always a fun day. It's a constant stream of bizarre calls...."We want to create a giant egg, that gets up and walks around". I love taking something like that and breaking it down...."ok, no problem....when you say giant, is that as big as a person, as big as a van, or as big as a house...?"

Lorna: What I most enjoy about working at WMSH is that no two days are the same. We get endless amounts of weird and wonderful requests which keep us excited for a run down every time the phone rings with a new brief.  

3.     Any dream clients or projects that you’d love to work with or on? 

Lucy: I love detail and colour, the application of textures and multiple fabrications.  The more bonkers the better.  Some of the creations at festivals are among the most jaw- dropping and innovative.  I would love to be involved in a creative installation for ‘Burning Man’ or to work with Morag Myerscough & Luke Morgan on their fun and colourful and interactive creations. 

Lorna: My background is in hospitality and I am very passionate about food and drink, so I would love to work with some more big brands or festivals that are in this field. 

JD: We’re very lucky in that dream projects come in all the time. I always love working with causes, whether it’s an organisation campaigning for Living Wage, sustainability, human rights or something for Pride. I enjoy the challenge of delivering something inspiring that might not have a massive budget, and there’s nothing more gratifying than seeing the general public interact positively with something that has a real message to it. It’s always good to have a reminder that most people are kind, generous of spirit, and open to change.

Alice: Glastonbury. WMSH did do a project at Glastonbury with Oxfam, which unfortunately I wasn't involved in, but as someone who loves to work on festivals, getting to see behind the scenes of the biggest festival there is, is an ambition. I've heard that it's organised like many mini-festivals, all knitted together, and it would be awesome if WMSH ever got to run one of those. Also, it's an ambition of mine to work with Nickelback. Shoot me down if you must, I know it's silly, and they say never meet your idols, but my career goal has always been that one day our trajectories will meet, and I'll get to work on a Nickelback show. I got to work with Theory of a Deadman once ("Nickelback-lite" for those who don't know them). They invited me onto their tour bus for drinks after the show, and I'll never forgive the polite English girl inside of me who (before I knew what she was saying) said "oh no, thank you, but I must be heading home". I want to work on a Dolly Parton show too - she's so talented, and seems like such a professional, it would be amazing to see her set up up close.

Megan: I have always loved and admired Guinness as brand, from its mad, conceptual advertising campaigns to the weird and wonderful experiential activities that it undertakes. I would love to receive a good chunky brief from them to create something totally new and inspiring. We recently worked with Oxfam on a summer-long campaign around creating awareness around clothing wastage in the UK, and ultimately asking people to pledge support to make better choices in the future.  The project turned into a bit of a dream brief, which involved huge amounts of creativity from the team, and an array of beautifully made campaign materials as a result.  

4.     Tell us something about yourself outside of work. 

Megan: I have a very busy household with two boys, Herbie (4) and Bon (2), we are soon to be joined by a third who is yet to be named. To add to the chaos, we have three dogs, which have been described as akin to small horses in size, Bully, Buddy and Florence.  Phew.

Alice: I go to a lot of gigs, and buy a lot of CDs. I play on a netball team, The Glasgow Flames, currently in Division 3 of the local league. I'm also on the committee for the club, helping build our ranks and develop the club.  I am married to Graeme, a doctor of Engineering at the University of Glasgow. We live with 2 ferrets and 2 pole cats (who I love) and a terrapin/angry rock (who I do not). While I've not played as much in the last 5 years or so, I also play the guitar and sing. My favourite musical achievements were getting played on Radio 1 with a song I wrote, playing to a thousand people at the St Andrews grad ball, and at the St Andrews Rock Music Society Reunion Ball, standing on a table, and belting out Don't Stop Believing to a pumped up crowd, while wearing high heels and gothic fairy wings. That was a lot of fun.

Lorna: When I am not in WMSH HQ or on site with a hi vis on, I can be found eating out in the evening with friends or my boyfriend, Will. I spend most of my weekend days going for long walks around Brighton with my dog, Reuben, binging on Netflix series or swimming.

Lucy: I am kept very busy by my two kids Noah and Lottie who love to hear about all the different projects I get to work on.  Bikram yoga keeps me sane and allows me to dream of being in a hotter climate.  I try to get to music and comedy gigs as often as I can. 

Photo by Kate Kalvach on Unsplash

The 1st to the 8th of February marks National Storytelling Week across the UK.  All over the country, children and adults will be encouraged to take up the somewhat lost art of storytelling at school, home, and at specially curated events. 

The Society for Storytelling website makes clear that this week is about the oral tradition of storytelling—that is, gathering a group of people to listen to a tale from memory, as opposed to reading.  It is very much a collective activity and about a shared experience, compared to the solitude of reading. 

This made us think about how experiential marketing can be seen as a form of storytelling and can be an excellent way for a brand or organisation to convey a lot of information and emotional content to a prospective consumer. 

Here at We Make Stuff Happen, we are often asked to come up with ideas for ways to engage the public on the street, and our starting place is always: who is the activity aiming to reach and what key messages need to be conveyed? From here, we are able to begin fleshing out some ideas for stunts, immersive experiences, and so forth, which allow the brand to reveal itself to the public, much as a story does, hitting upon key pieces of information in a planned order.

The very nature of experiential marketing means that it is possible to pack a lot in. Not only will it offer the public a chance to sample a particular brand or product, but it gives them access to an array of information on the brand through a series of emotional connections. In short, experiential marketing can be a great way to convey the ‘personality’ of a brand to a potential customer, and it has been found that forging this almost personal bond can lead to a sense of brand loyalty and later purchase. 

Let’s take an example of a piece of activity that we did for the Fairtrade Foundation last year.  As part of its efforts to raise awareness on Fairtrade Fortnight, the Fairtrade Foundation and Glimpse came to us with the idea to create a pop-up Chocolate Speakeasy, which aimed to tell the story of its cocoa growers to a target audience—young ABC 1 consumers. The speakeasy was to be located in East London, and accessed via pressing a secret button, located on a shelf next to the Fairtrade chocolate in a mock-newsagent.  Upon pressing the button, the wall swung round to reveal a speakeasy-type bar, which served Fairtrade hot chocolate. 

After entering the space, participants were encouraged to the bar to purchase a drink- the price of a cup of chocolate was the equivalent of a cocoa growers’ wage through the Foundation.  The room was dressed with images of the Foundation’s cocoa growers, the newsagent named after one of them, Rosine, with items from their lives revealing more about what it’s like to be a female cocoa grower. As guests relaxed into the experience, more and more information on the Fairtrade Foundation, its work, and the individual growers themselves was revealed, telling the story of the #shedeserves campaign.

The activation was a huge success, with exponential growth throughout the week that it was open.  Participants in the experience said that they felt a greater connection with the work that the Fairtrade Foundation does, and many even suggested that they would buy Fairtrade where possible next time.  It seems that the activity, through its storytelling, formed a sort of personal relationship with its participants, and one that will hopefully convert to loyal brand fans and enthusiastic supporters for Living Wage campaigns. 

So, this National Storytelling Week, get yourself onto the Society for Storytelling’s website to find an event near you, and grab a piece of that magic shared experience.   Even better, take every opportunity to encounter any experiential activity that you come across: you never know what you might learn.

Megan John

Photo by Kobby Mendez on Unsplash

Been to the pub this week? If so, guaranteed one of your drinking buddies will have uttered the words, “I can’t, I’m doing Dry January”.

In an effort to make ourselves healthier, save money, and redeem ourselves for over indulging over the festive period, many of us turn to Dry January: the month in which you may not consume a single drop of alcohol. 

Bad news for alcohol brands, but great news if you are one of the bright young things to have set up an alcohol-free beverage business recently.  In fact, abstaining from alcohol seems to be on the rise in general.  In an article published in the Morning Advertiser, Laura Willoughby, co-founder of Club Soda reported “Drinking rates among British adults are at their lowest for 18 years, and a quarter of 16-24-year olds drink no alcohol.” 

According to the report, low or no alcoholic beer sales are up 58% on the previous year, and this goes for both in and out of home purchasing.  Many are reportedly not cutting out booze entirely, but using the low or no alcohol brands, plus the ever growing, and extremely enticing soft drinks brands, as a way of cutting back and promoting health.

Gone are the days when a half a lemonade would do. These drinkers, particularly those embarking on Dry January, want a bit of excitement and flavour, and the current soft drinks market does not disappoint.  Here are some of our favourites.

Ugly

We have raved about Ugly before, and in the past year these guys have gone from strength to strength. The brand has recently launched in America, and they are continuing to diversify by adding new flavours to the range, introducing new can sizes, and even an energy drink alternative that won’t turn your insides nuclear. 

Ugly takes a no holds barred approach to its marketing.  You won’t find any false claims or gimmicks here, just fact. Simple and pure flavoured sparkling water, currently available in the UK in Lemon & Lime, Triple Berry, Tropical and Peach flavour.

Nix and Kix

Nix and Kix started out as a desire to create a specifically adult soft drink. They aimed to give those that were ‘not drinking’ something fun and exciting, as an alternative to the sugar-laden fizz that we have become accustomed to. 

The brand’s USP, if you can call it that, is that they add cayenne to their mixes. There are a number of reasons that they give for this, firstly chillies have energy and metabolism boosting properties, which can increase endorphins and promote a happy feeling. Sounds great. Secondly, the chilli content means that they are able to use way less sugar than they might have done, plus the kick adds a really interesting flavour to their concoctions.  The drinks contain no refined sugars, they’re natural and they’re low in calories, plus they are surprisingly delicious.

Available in Watermelon & Hibiscus, Mango & Ginger, Blood Orange & Turmeric, Cucumber & Mint. 

Seedlip

For those that miss the true drinking experience, Seedlip might be your bag. They produce the world’s first distilled non-alcoholic spirit. Intriguing. 

The brand currently produces three flavours of spirit, ‘Spice 94’ a rich and aromatic blends of spices, barks and peels, ‘Garden 108’ a bright herbal blends of peas and garden herbs, and ‘Grove 42’ a complex and zesty blend of citrus and fragrant spice. 

Founder Ben began creating the blends after stumbling across notebooks by physician John French, containing recipes for non-alcoholic blends, designed to solve a variety of medical problems.  This experimentation led to several more years of trialling and blending many different heritage ingredients from Ben’s farming background, finally resulting in the first blend, ‘Spice 94’ in 2015.  The first batch of 1000 bottles sold out in three weeks when they debuted in Selfridges, and so there must be something in it.

This is a decidedly grown-up drink.  Forget sweet stickiness, this is all about tasting and discovering hidden flavours and aromas, much like the experience had with alcoholic beverages such as wine and gin.  Hurrah.

Double Dutch

Double Dutch is the brainchild of two sisters, Raissa and Joyce, who were slightly disillusioned with the state of the mixer market.  While leaps and bounds were being made in the spirit world, the Swedish sisters felt that their pairing—the mixers—were being slightly ignored.

The duo have a unique approach to creating their products, in that they first chat to mixologists, to understand what might enhance a particular spirit, and then go on to create flavour blends from there. Their mission is to give the consumer bang for their buck across two elements of any cocktail, the spirit and the mixer. 

You might need to take the spirit out of the equation for Dry January or pair with something like Seedlip to make your own creations, or they can be enjoyed alone. Choose from Cucumber and Watermelon, Pomegranate and Basil or Cranberry and Ginger Tonic Water among many.

Megan John

By Megan John

A few years ago, I was given a piece of advice by an up and coming artist. He said, “do a doodle a day.” No matter where you are going, always carry a small sketchbook, and wherever you are be it the train, bus, waiting at the doctor’s, use the time to get a quick sketch in.  Just hear me out, this could be your new year’s resolution for 2020, and is likely to result a lot more than just improved drawing skills.

Just 5 minutes is enough, and in fact the lack of time can produce some interesting results.  It seems that in knowing that you don’t have long to get something down on paper can result in a freedom that you may not experience when settling down to create something more accurately.  Sketches tend to be freer, more expressive and can often tap into a subconscious when it comes to subject matter. 

Often you will end up drawing what you see, often with extras; perhaps a man sat on a bench, with a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man peeking over his shoulder or may be a dog tied to a lamppost clicking his heels and singing in the rain. Whatever it is, neither the subject matter nor the quality of the sketch matter, what does is that you are using that creative portion of your brain.

Esteban Gast, author of ‘Building your Creativity’ believes that creativity is not an innate skill but can be a learned practice.  He says that with a little belief in oneself, it is possible to think more creatively, but you must train yourself to do so. 

An exercise such as a doodle a day will not only improve one’s drawing skills, but also your ability to seek out interesting subject matter.  Improved practical skills are of obvious benefit to anyone working in art or design, however it is the additional benefits which are of most interest to me.  After doodling every day for a period of time, you will notice an increase in observance, for example the way that you notice pairings of colours, or lines made by the way a person sits. You might also notice an increase in the ability to form more abstract ideas on a given subject, which is likely to prove extremely useful in any creative sphere, including when building experiential campaigns. 

The long and short of it is that a doodle a day can do no harm, only good.  Results will vary from person to person, but if you are looking to increase your creativity in any area, it’s a great and accessible way of accessing and training that creative portion of your brain.  If you’re after a new year’s resolution for 2020, try a 5-minute doodle a day and let us know how you get on.

Megan John

Photo by Sergei Solo on Unsplash

We all know the feeling of taking down the Christmas lights and confronting the bleak, bland landscape of your actual lounge, but at the same time, when it’s cold and grey, leaving the house isn’t that appealing either. So to help you through the first few months of the year, we put together a list of exhibitions and events that make putting your big coat on and braving the outdoors worth it:

Lightopia Festival 22nd Jan-1st Mar 2020, Chiswick House Gardens

Using 1 million lightbulbs and 2,000 lanterns, Lightopia will transform Chiswick Gardens into ‘a world like no other’.  Guests will be immersed in a lighting spectacular including interactive lighting designs, 3d projection mapping, live music and performance artists and street food across the sprawling house and gardens.  This year’s festival is based around wildlife with a safari area complete with giant animals.  A great way to brighten up the year’s dullest month. 

Winter Lights at Canary Wharf 16th-25th January 2020

Another light- themed event to brighten the January blues comes in the form of Canary Wharf’s Winter Lights.  Installations from international artists will be on show for a week and will feature such works as ‘Bit.Fall’ by Julius Popp and ‘Mi-e dor de tine’, which can be seen from the DLR.  Visitors will also be able to grab a bite to eat at Winter Lights Bites, where a variety of vintage food trucks will be serving up tasty cuisine from across the globe.

Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh, Until 3rd May 2020, Saatchi Gallery, Chelsea

These quiet months are a great time to catch up on culture, and what better way to spend a Saturday than viewing some of the world’s most extraordinary historical artefacts.  Over 150 gold and gleaming objects have been brought together in an exhibition showing the discoveries of Howard Carter one hundred years ago.  This is apparently the last time that you might see such objects in the UK, before they are returned home to Egypt. Well worth getting out of bed for.

Mary Quant, Until 16th Feb, V&A, South Kensington

We have previously posted about this wonderful show at the V&A, which examines not only Quant’s designs and life, but the impact that they had on popular culture and fashion as we know it.  Grab the last chance to see the exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Dora Maar, Until 15th March 2020, Tate Modern, Bankside

The surreal works of Dora Maar are on view at the Tate Modern in a retrospective of this often-overlooked artist.  

Maar’s work was often overshadowed by her relationship with Pablo Picasso, but as this exhibition shows, her work was in fact wide and varied. She produced a lot of material in her 90 years and included in that are series of fashion and street photography, which notice small details and nuances, almost as if the subjects have been caught off guard.

The Courtyard at Goods Way, 17th February, King’s Cross

From the creators of Flat Iron Square, headed up by Mumford & Son’s Ben Lovett, comes this latest foodie venture.  The Courtyard is an all-day food hall, which will house a variety of food and drink stalls and will be open 7 days a week to satisfy shoppers or those in need of a bite on the go.  The market hall will stand alongside a new music venue called Lafayette and a late-night New Orleans inspired bar called Sweetwater.

The Invitation, Secret Address from 28th January 2020

Secret Theatre Projects presents the latest of its ventures after a critically acclaimed sell-out in Hong Kong.  The Invitation revolves around a series of masked balls, secrets and hidden clubs.  

After purchasing your ticket, the experience will begin, as the address will be supplied, and you will receive the password that will allow you access to the world of secrets.  Reviews say to expect an element of danger and expect to be caught up in that danger yourself.  One for thrill-seekers perhaps.

Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds: The Immersive Experience, From 10th December 2019, 56 Leadenhall Street

War of the Worlds fans are invited to experience the story in a never before seen way, in an experience which includes immersive theatre, virtual reality, augmented reality, holograms and cutting-edge technology.  The experience is designed to allow participants to feel part of the action from the 1898 Martian invasion.

Back in 2012, we spent several days up cherry pickers cladding a street in East London with just under 10,000 items of clothing.  A bench, dog, tree and even a car were created – all in the name of Shwopping. 

Shwopping is a concept dreamt up by M&S and Oxfam, which aimed to reduce the number of items of clothing sent to landfill by reusing, recycling or reselling. People were invited to give a new lease of life to unwanted items of clothing by Shwopping them in store at M&S. Good quality items were resold in Oxfam stores, others were upcycled and made good, and poor-quality items were broken into fibres and turned into car seat covers and other items. 

We Make Stuff Happen was instrumental in launching the concept of Shwopping to the nation. We gave a street in East London a make-over, covering it in 9,503 items of clothing, which equated to just 5 minutes’ worth of clothing wastage in the UK. Last week, the Holmes Report announced that the launch of Shwopping had made it onto the top 15 campaigns of the decade. They are now asking for votes to discover the nation’s favourite. If you feel so inclined, you can vote here.

This announcement got us thinking—7 years on, what is it that has led this campaign to have such relevance that it stood the test of time?

Surprise and delight

Due to the location at Truman Brewery being a popular destination with tourists and Londoners as well as a thoroughfare to Brick Lane, we had to create a three-day build schedule which would retain safe pedestrian access throughout the day and evening. This meant tag-teams of riggers working round the clock to get the build finished, so many of the large panels on the largest building went up overnight. Each morning, commuters awoke to another completed section, building intrigue and interest in what exactly was happening. 

Social media influence

From the very start of the build, we were seeing posts asking, “What’s going on at Truman Brewery?” popping up on Facebook and Twitter.  The steady progress coupled with a lack of branding created an air of mystery as to who was behind it, leading to growth in online conversation, so much so that by 4pm on launch day, the pop-up had received 395,000 impressions on social media. Not bad going. 

The stunt and accompanying Shwop Lab, which hosted upcycling workshops, debates, and events in association with the London College of Fashion, remained open for a further 2 weeks following the launch date.  This made sure that the level of conversation between public, brand, influencers, and celebrities continued for a significant period of time and reached the maximum number of people. 

Scale

The Shwopping launch was, as far as launches go, fairly large in terms of both scale and impact—and indeed the scale was one of the reasons it created such an impression on people.  We’re often asked how we managed to hang the clothing up so high, and just how they were staying on the building.  The combination of large multi-storey buildings and smaller elements such as the bench and tree came together to create a visual feast, which as you will see from the launch images, resulted in an impactful spectacle that was impossible to simply walk past. 

Originality

PR stunts and pop-up campaigns are common across the capital, however few are seen as truly pioneering.  The Shwopping concept on paper was frankly out there, however its execution, combined with the programme of events, and the stellar PR and social campaign resulted in something the public could really get on board with. In fact, M&S recorded a total of 86,000 items Shwopped following the launch, and 53.5% people said that they planned to Shwop in the future. 

Visual Storytelling

When asked to come up with stunt ideas for our clients, we always try to keep in front of mind the story that the stunt must tell.  One of the most successful aspects of the Shwopping launch was its ability to convey a message quickly and efficiently. 

Brand Ambassadors lined the main thoroughfare through Truman Brewery so that when passers-by asked, “What’s this all about?” they were able to explain: the number of items you see on the walls equates to just 5 minutes’ worth of clothing wastage in the UK.  The scale of the issue was perfectly illustrated by the stunt.

The overall visual was an arresting visual image that many reported made them feel embarrassed, shocked, and worried—when you see the scale of an issue laid out before you, it makes an impact, hence the campaign’s longevity.

Since Shwopping, We Make Stuff Happen has undertaken many other visually impactful projects. Our experience can help you come up with an idea that will do its job and stand the test of time, so get in touch.