What is this Dorset Creative Census and how does it relate to me?

Were you aware that there are over 300 creative agencies operating across Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole?  Don’t worry if you didn’t know that, as not a many people do.  But we think more people should know.  That is why we’re carrying out the census and that is why your contribution is important.

There are many award-winning businesses based here and even more quietly producing effective solutions for their clients.  Advertising, digital and design agencies; PR, events and filmmakers; illustrators, games developers and social media specialists – they’re all based here in Dorset but not enough people know about them.

The more we all know, the more we can all talk authoritatively about the state if our local industry and the more other people will sit up and take notice.   That’s what this census is trying to achieve.

Twelve months ago, in the dim and distant past that was January 2012, the first survey of creative agencies across the county was launched.  It was a simple, uncomplicated affair – just six questions emailed to 150 businesses – the results of which were interpreted by a talented group of final year undergraduate graphic designers and a wonderful infographic was produced.

This image caught the eye of the universities and the local authorities, as well as national institutions such as: Design Council, Creative England, Skillset, Design Business Association, Institute of Practioners in Advertising, creativebrief, the Recommended Agency Register and others too.  No other town or city in the UK is doing anything like this.

But it only featured 100 companies and so it only told part of the story.

This year we want to feature as many businesses as possible and we want to tell a fuller story.

As a community if we want to see our sector grow, if we want to attract and keep great talent and we want the businesses based here recognized further afield, then we have to start telling people about it.  And we can’t start telling people about it, until we know what it is.  That is where the census comes in and that is why any and all contributions are important.

Using the data that we’re gathering, the intention is to once again produce a useful graphical representation of the creative economy sector across Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole.  We’ll be able to show the age, sector, size and location of a wide variety of service providers.  This will include advertising and marketing agencies, PR and social media consultants, videographers, film makers and web designers, etc and it’s important that this information be as comprehensive and complete as possible.

The finished article will then be freely distributed and we will ensure that it ends up in the hands of as many of the most relevant and influential people in the area as possible.  This will include:
- Prominent business people in the area;
- The Chief Executives and Economic Development Officers of the Local Authorities;
- The Universities;
- Local press and business publications; and
- The Chambers of Commerce and business networking groups;
- As well as national organisations such as Creative England, Design Council IPA, DBA, etc…

Hopefully you can understand how useful this could be and how important it is that yours and as many businesses like yours are featured.  So please, if you can, take the time to give me your contribution – it really shouldn’t take you any longer than 2 minutes.

Just click here to be taken to the survey and I promise to treat anything you provide with the utmost discretion.