DISQUS

simonhowes (Simon Howes) · 40 years ago

Added my five cent to BiNS creative director post http://is.gd/9W4y City is so poorly marketed.

podnosh (Nick Booth) · 40 years ago

@jonhickman nah "that's not good enough for Birmingham". http://tinyurl.com/62sbow

Sharl (Robert Sharl) · 40 years ago

@bounder Not especially controversial, but pretty much spot on. It needs to be said, and it's worth re-tweeting here: http://is.gd/9W4y

Chris Unitt · 1 year ago

I absolutely agree. In fact I think I might adopt "that’s not good enough for Birmingham" as a mantra.

Julia Gilbert · 1 year ago

For the 'second city' it seems to me like Birmingham has a very 'small town' attitude.

We should be competing with London, Manchester and the UK's other big (and yes 'cool') cities. At the moment, we can't really complain if the best of our young talent feels they have to move out of the city to mix with their contemporaries and really challenge themselves.

With Artsfest, for example, I get the impression that anyone can take part if only they ask. Sure, there should be a place where everyone gets to have a go, but not in the events we're pushing nationally. They must only contain the absolute cream of what Birmingham has to offer, as well as bringing in the best from elsewhere to inspire us. By pushing the real talent, everyone else has something to aspire to, we can really raise the bar and not just settle for what we've got.

We must set our sights much, much higher than we currently are.

Shona · 1 year ago

Here, here, Jon.

Stef · 1 year ago

Yes.

Joanna Geary · 1 year ago

Thank you for writing this.

Pete Ashton · 1 year ago

Thanks for the articulation of what I think many have been trying to say but keep getting caught up in nonsense. Spot on.

The key part for me is: "And maybe the attitude would filter through the city."

Paul Groves · 1 year ago

Good stuff.

It always strikes me that Birmingham is trying too hard to justify itself alongside London, Manchester et al. Why?

Birmingham should have the self-confidence to get on do whatever it thinks is right and the reaction of other people in other cities is largely irrelevant. Yes, it would be good to attract people from all over the UK to see just how far Birmingham has come and what it is capable of doing, but the "Look at us! Look at us!" pleading gets in the way of making sure the city is the best it can be. I used to think Birmingham had this self-confidence, but it seems to have slipped away badly over the last 5 years or so. Attracting people to Birmingham is important, but being the best the city can be is essential.

The irony is, of course, that the creative people in and around the city who do make things happen every day of every week have this self-confidence to get on with it and make a big impact locally, nationally and internationally in abundance. Alas, their voice is rarely (if ever) heard and the so the scenario we are left with is the one you describe.

Jayne Howarth · 1 year ago

Your sentiments are echoed around the city - I'm pleased you've come out and said in public what everyone whispers. It's about time the decision makers in Birmingham (UK, not Alabama, obviously) grew up and thought about how the city can progress over the next 20, 50 years, and not be constantly worried about whether or not Manchester is taking over as the second city.
The answer to that, of course, is in many ways it is because it has had the foresight to think about what will work for its city and strike out as an innovator, not follower.
Birmingham needs to be more pro active (the comments about websites etc are just a tiny bit of it) and have the confidence to shout about what it is brilliant at and not be apologetic about what it was 20 years ago.
There are so many creative people and talented innovators in the city who are not being used to their full capacity. Hopefully the council will get its head out of the sand and use them if they want to the city to have an international reputation as a place to go and see the best in creative talent, the innovations and the support it gives to organisations. God forbid, there should even be a "joined up approach" (apologies for such an ugly phrase): too often things are done in isolation. Critical mass is key.
Great, piece, Jon.

Jack Kirby · 1 year ago

Right on Jon. I have no idea from the title what 'Creative City Awards' means. Awards have their place, but they have to be meaningful and relevant outside their immediate sphere if people are to take them seriously. It might be better to encourage and support creative businesses to enter relevant national awards.

The Birmingham brand is still not strong enough.

Simon Howes · 1 year ago

BCC contract a company to deliver marketing projects - Marketing Birmingham. They are based at Millennium Point, and every time I have had contact with them I have walked away shaking my head.

Worst contact I had was ta the NEC.

The Manchester marketing team had they own space, videos, posters, plenty of swag to give away, and the staff were full of knowledge about their city. I had a good chat with them, and I learnt a lot about their city, and what I could do if I was to visit for a couple of days.

However, when I went to the Marketing Birmingham stand, it was the total opposite. They couldn't think of good things to do in Birmingham. The answers were "Errr... Umm... [pause for 3 seconds with a blank stare while they think] You can go shopping!". Not the answer I wanted. I felt totally embarrassed being near to these people because I'm from the West Midlands too.

I never know why the council wont terminate Marketing Birmingham's contract. If I was a tourist I don't want to know about conference facilities, which seems to be the only thing they are good at shouting about.

Jon Bounds · 1 year ago

@simon It isn't imediately obvious, but Marketing Birmingham are only charged with the responsibility of promoting Birmingham to people outside the city. Sometimes their campaigns are cringeworthy, but the conference figures suggest that they know that section of the Market at least. A creative lead might change that and attempt to get some coherance with how the city presents itself. To be honest, I don't really care what people from outside Brum hear - it's a much bigger problem that events in Birmingham seem to be attended only by the same people over and over again and that they don't seem to be able to widen that.

Like Paul says it's time we stoping looking at other places and just got on with doing good stuff.

Nicky Getgood · 1 year ago

Jon, this post is fantastic. We need to raise the standards and expectations for Birmingham. Applauding the success of stuff that falls short of these just lets our city down

lisa · 1 year ago

Well said Jon, its incredibly frustrating to watch from a distance and feel helpless when BCC gets it so wrong time and time again, it negates all the good work so many of us do. Its time that we stop making stuff happen in spite of the city but have some genuine investment and support. Imagine what Supersonic could achieve if we got some support from the council - we currently get nothing from them, even have to pay to get Gibb Street shut down. Learn from those that do it well and have a track record.