BIMA Digital Day: why we keep going back to school

true head back to school

With Dave, Nick, Saskia and Minty representing the Strategy, Creative, Client Services and Operations teams respectively, we packed our lunchboxes and headed back to school to facilitate teams as they got stuck into a real client challenge.  

This year, we focussed on a brief from the RSPCA. They asked for technology-enabled ideas to raise awareness of their Farm Assurance scheme, which enforces minimum welfare standards to member farms who want to feature the ‘RSPCA Assured’ logo on their products.
The teams delivered some strong ideas. We heard about an RSPCA-approved filter on supermarket ecommerce sites, a social media campaign targeting gym bros as they shopped for protein, and a QR-code opening a hologram showing the lifecycle of a chicken.

We hope the teams got a lot from the day, but why do we keep going back? Here are three reasons we love BIMA Digital Day and other agencies should, too. 

1.    Connect with your area.

We are proud to have members of the true team from all over the world - China, Canada, Turkey, Doncaster – but Bristol is our home. As a company, we depend on the city and its people in all kinds of ways, so its great to be able to contribute something back so directly. But it’s not just because we have a deep-seated sense of selfless duty. Our industry relies on our ability to find and recruit young talent and this is a great scheme for building connections with the agency folk of the future.

2.    Feel like rock stars.

Agency life isn’t always straightforward. When you’re dealing with tense budget negotiations, a tricky third round of creative feedback or a high-pressure pitch at short notice, it can be easy to forget: we actually have incredibly cool jobs. 

At Digital Day you realise most teenagers have a pretty limited view of the job market: they know what their parents do and perhaps those of a couple of family friends. So, it's refreshing to see their reactions when they learn that yes, you can actually earn a living making videos, building websites, working with influencers, designing beautiful brands and playing with all kinds of emerging technology. It’s a lovely reminder to take ourselves a little less seriously and enjoy the process a little more. 

3.    Hear the freshest of takes.

Our industry – particularly the planning and strategy scene – fetishes the ability to ‘think laterally’. We pride ourselves on our power to join dots, spot insights and reframe problems in interesting and creative ways.   
Well, Adland, we’ve got nothing on a set of precocious 13-year-olds. Given a bit of time and a nudge in the right direction, young people untainted by corporate brainstorms or professional expectations can come up something genuinely interesting. Each of our groups had the kernel of a special idea, and it was a privilege to help them shape it and tell their story. 

So, thanks again to BIMA Digital Day, the teachers and young people at Gordano School. See you again next year.