Institute of Practitioners in Advertising chair for England & Wales James Ray had some encouraging words for businesses and creatives outside London in his speech this evening (May 21) to the IPA Members’ Reception at Manchester’s Bonded Warehouse, promising more connection, visibility for creatives and inspiration for those in the industry outside the London bubble, with a special nod to Manchester – courtesy of his Spotify playlist.
The new chair, himself a refreshingly non-London face, albeit decidedly non-Northern, as chair of Bristol agency Armadillo and former IPA city head for Bristol, Wales and the West, was also joined on stage by Sue Benson, founder & CEO of The Behaviours Agency and IPA City Head for Manchester for a conversation with Dave Moutrey OBE, director of culture and creative industries for Manchester City Council, for a conversation focussing on the importance of the creative industries to Manchester, and the UK as a whole.
Ray told the audience: “I’d like to contend that, out of London, we have some specific opportunities…that my agenda will seek to support. It’s about channelling the creativity mission, with a distinct twist, to help our member agencies around the UK make what’s already a superpower an even more super one.
“First, in lockstep with my fellow chairs at City Heads, we’ll be taking opportunities for the IPA to sponsor connecting, learning and drawing inspiration from our wider creative industry communities…
“We’re privileged to live and work within amazing centres of creative excellence. That’s one of the reasons I love working in Bristol: connections with adjacent creative businesses including the likes of Aardman, through partnership with the Bristol Creative Industries trade body has always been a huge benefit…
“Second, we’ll be reflecting Karen [Martin, BBH CEO and new IPA president]’s move to bring creatives on to the main IPA Council, with events or meet-ups that bring creativity and the voices of creatives to the fore…
“Third. And for this – just like my Spotify “On Repeat” playlist – Manchester you have been the inspiration. The Manchester Showcase of your outstanding creative work orchestrated by Sue Benson is a great example of how sharing great work helps raise all ships. Together with our City Heads, I’ll be looking at how we can widen this approach to collating and cascading to celebrate and inspire fellow member agencies.
Ray then went on to give specific examples of events and opportunities the non-London crowd can look forward to under his chairmanship: “For those that aren’t familiar, Advertising Unlocked is the largest industry-wide ‘open day’ where the advertising industry welcomes the next generation of talent from local schools and colleges. Participating agencies will be revealing how campaigns are made, what it’s like to work in advertising and giving students the opportunity to work on a brief…
“This year’s Advertising Unlocked Day is the 12th November. 77 agencies have signed up, 30 of which are outside London. The deadline to sign up has passed, but but if you are super keen to take part, please do have a quiet word and we can see what can be arranged. The more school children we can inform, inspire and engage with, the stronger our talent pipeline and the more enriched our industry will be.
“On training, the IPA Creative Essentials Certificate is in development under Karen now, with the intention of launching it in a year’s time, in late spring of 2026. In the meantime, there is a selection of courses available to help members create great work for clients. The Advanced Application of AI In Advertising has been a popular addition to the IPA programme recently; it is running virtually at the beginning of next month and will be repeated later this year. Creative Brief Writing Essentials is an online course running at the beginning of October.
“Brilliant Creative Brainstorming works best face to face and is happening at the IPA at the end of September, but it can also be run around the UK where there’s demand. And a couple of other courses will be piloted: one on commercial creativity, and the other on inspiring, nurturing, evaluating and protecting creative work.”
He finished up by promising to champion, celebrate and support world-beating creativity, advertising and marketing around the UK, adding: “To draw all that to a conclusion, I wanted to highlight one particular stat from Karen’s address: the creative sector contributes a vital £40 billion to the UK economy and supports 4 million jobs across the country. And 60% of those are outside of London. So that’s us!”
