By: Ollie Tunmore
Last week Jo, Xenia and I attended a casual networking and discussion-lead event in the heart of the sunny lanes in Brighton. Hosted by Wired Sussex, a networking membership lead organisation based in Brighton, the event saw attendees from all fields of work – film, branding, PR, marketing and many more.
After a breakfast, coffee and networking session to start, we moved into a quirky little presentation room where we were introduced to the morning’s discussion by Virginie of Wired Sussex. After a brief overview, we were then introduced to Luke and Jan of Pixeldot – a Lewes based and international branding agency. The pair brought inspiration, insight and humour to a Thursday morning – and provided much food-for-thought. One of their most stand-out quotes for me personally was to “not try to appeal to everyone. You should know who YOU want to work with, how you want to do it.” They also stressed the importance of a company brand having emotion and personal relevance, because of the obvious reason – that people want to relate to people. The more relatable and approachable a brand is, the more successful it is likely to become.
Next up, Vicki Hughes of FUGU PR gave a thought-provoking and informative talk on the importance of authenticity within a brand. Vicki stated, “PR is all about building a reputation. It’s important to think about what actually makes a brand.” She continued: “A brand must be authentic, reliable, and respectable”. Vicki was full of useful facts such as listing that the UK’s number one trusted brand is John Lewis, for its reliability and honest brand values. In the US, Disney is their number one.
Magenta is currently working on our new brand and company values, which have recently been decided as ‘Curious, playful, loyal and individual’ – but, more on that to come…
Upon asking the panel what they felt the importance of brand values was – I received thorough and educational responses. Luke of Pixeldot stated “That values are great – but they must be relevant. They must be part of the company culture, so much so that they live and breathe what they preach”. Vicki Hughes concluded that “Business is about more than just profit and results. It’s about having a positive impact on the people you work with” which I felt was an endearing and encouraging way to finish an entertaining and productive session at Wired Sussex.
Magenta’s own, Cathy Hayward, will be on the panel of speakers at a Wired Sussex event later in the year in November, so keep your eyes peeled for that. More info coming soon! To see what other events are coming up, see the event calendar here! http://www.wiredsussex.com/event-calendar/
