Social Enterprise Spotlight – BOLD
In our latest Social Enterprise Spotlight is John Ayscough and BOLD – a social enterprise creative agency based in Edinburgh. Get in touch with John on 01506 862227 / john@bold-marketing.co.uk and check out www.bold-marketing.co.uk. Connect with them on Twitter too.
Every few weeks we focus on a randomly selected social enterprise member for intense marketing support and promotion. BOLD will feature in all e-bulletins, on our website homepage and on all our social media, alongside other support, reaching thousands of people across Scotland and beyond.
What’s your social and/or environmental mission? BOLD’s mission is help our clients increase their social impact, whatever that may be by creating beautiful, appropriate and accessible design across all mediums. In addition, we work with disadvantaged young people who have an interest in the creative industries. We are currently incubating two film makers, providing office space & equipment, strategic marketing expertise and branding.
How do you do it? BOLD works collaboratively with our clients to help them make real social impact throughout Scotland. We give our clients the confidence to push the boundaries of design and marketing – our role is to help to make this happen. Through collaboration we believe the end result is more powerful whatever you are trying to communicate.
What’s your personal motivation for being a social entrepreneur? Having worked with some of Scotland’s largest design and Ad agencies servicing luxury brands such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Glenmorangie, where social impact is of no consequence and the need for the third sector to compete better with the private sector, are the two fundamental motives.
What are your current projects? We are currently working on a number of brand reviews including a major rebrand for the Edinburgh based ‘homeless’ charity, the Cyrenians. This a complex project organising more than 15 separate services and enterprises beneath the main corporate brand. The project includes the new brand identity, brand architecture, website and printed material and an Edinburgh wide advertising campaign to launch the new brand later this year.
What exciting things do you have coming up? We have a significant number of ‘above the line’ ad campaigns this year including Hanover Scotland, Dundee Carers Centre and Buy The Good Stuff. As a creative agency, seeing the work we do on the streets is hugely satisfying. A lot of the branding work we do is very visible, the Grassmarket Centre, Punjabi Junction, Hanover Scotland; each project comes alive when our work is done.
Who do you want to work with more? BOLD has a strategy for growth, providing more opportunities to third sector organisations in Scotland. We want to see more social entrepreneurs growing the economy here in Scotland and providing the consumer with an ethical choice. We will work with the emerging and the established and help them reach out to their customers.
What’s your biggest challenge? Marketing and branding has traditionally been seen by the third sector as a dark art used by the private sector to make us buy things we don’t want. But good brand-led marketing is about making things happen. BOLD is one of the only social enterprises in Scotland which delivers high quality branding and marketing to the third sector and we have found that powerful messages, well told, can make a huge difference. Rather than selling cans of fizzy drink, the people we have worked with have seen an increase in disadvantaged clients who didn’t know the services existed, an increase in trading income, and stronger partnerships through better reputation. In times of competition for funding, contracts and money, great brand led marketing will be more and more vital in our sector in the next few years.
What top tip would you give to other social enterprises? Make sure your brand is optimised to communicate correctly with your customers and make as much money as you can!