Being a Creative in Norwich

“Norwich is a great place to be a creative, business owner, or entrepreneur. We are a city filled with talent, creativity, and ambition.

Despite this, I’m pleased to say that Norwich is not a competitive city – our focus is collaboration.”

Robert Jones, founder of Brandland, has written this blog reflecting on the successful January event ‘Create in Norwich’ organised by Brandland and supported by us- Work in Norwich.

We have fostered a thriving creative community, and we love seeing people come together at Brandland events like Create in Norwich.

Brandland

At Create in Norwich, we saw the great relationships that have been built across the city, as well as new ones being made. There is also a strong and supportive start-up economy in Norwich, making it an excellent place for new and rising talent.

 

‘Norwich’s calming way of life’

Recently, we have seen a significant influx of agencies and freelancers, particularly from London into the city. I imagine this is, at least in part, due to Norwich’s calming way of life and the opportunity to cultivate a healthy work-life balance.

It has been fantastic to see Norwich featured in the national news, most recently for the upcoming Channel 4 documentary on the major improvements to Norwich Castle. Hopefully the increasing coverage of Norwich will increase the number of creatives drawn to the city.

I have also noticed a growing confidence and readiness among the people in Norwich to shout about our work (shouting in a polite, Norwich kind of way).

This is something I love to see, and I cannot wait to see more of.

So what can be improved in Norwich?

We are fortunate in Norwich to have a growing creative industry, strong social connections, and increased recognition of our work.

However, there is still more we can do.

While we are a collaborative city, we need more opportunities for creatives to actively team up to meet market demands.

As echoed in our Create in Norwich event, regular coffee meetups and chats are great, but we are missing out on the potential for real community collaboration. I hope this can be improved, in part, by more regular networking opportunities in the city.

Raising Norwich’s profile, particularly with the government, is crucial…

It’s also crucial for SMEs in Norwich to gain a deeper understanding of the power of branding. Once this knowledge is more widespread, we’ll see more realistic budgets being set, empowering entrepreneurs, business owners, and creatives across the city.

One key theme that emerged during the event was the need to retain students from local universities, such as the University of East Anglia and Norwich University of the Arts, after graduation. One way to achieve this could be through a region-wide work experience program. Keeping talent in the local area is essential, and we should be actively seeking ways to make this happen.

The most important next step is to talk about the work happening in Norwich on the national stage. Raising Norwich’s profile, particularly with the government, is crucial for securing the investment that could elevate our creative scene to the next level.

Brandland’s current research project with BOP Consulting aims to map the branding sector within Norwich, fully quantifying the economic impact of its creative industries.

With these findings, we intend to raise the profile of branding in Norwich and Norfolk, attracting investment and further talent to the region.

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