Community Archives - Black & Ginger

Category: Community

GoodMarket’s XL event drives 4000 visitors

Targeted campaign drives over 4000 visitors to GoodMarket’s Double XL event.

Building on the momentum from the successful GoodMarket XL event in October 2023, B&G collaborated with GoodMarket to plan their next major event.

Challenges and Strategies

The team faced several challenges, notably introducing a ticket fee for the first time and engaging the public for a post-Easter event. To tackle these, the focus was on creating a spring-themed campaign. This involved extensive R&D to maintain the theme of “inflated delight,” resulting in a new, bespoke graphic design for the two-day event.

Creative Approach

A bright pink bubble gum design was chosen for its fun, lighthearted, yet confident and bold appeal. This new visual identity resonated with the ethos of GoodMarket and was quickly embraced by all 240 traders.

Marketing and Engagement

The predominantly digital-led campaign achieved significant reach on social media. Additionally, the support from event retailers, who were provided with brand and marketing packs, amplified the campaign’s effectiveness.

Event Success

Despite initial reservations, the event was a resounding success, attracting over 4500 visitors to the Exhibition Center Liverpool. The 30,000 sqft space was buzzing with energy and the vibrant spirit of a creative community.

Visit: GoodMarket

Reflecting on a recent visit to Germany’s capital and creative hub – experiencing the city’s unorthodox approach to placebrand.

Upon arriving at Berlin’s Schoenefeld airport, I wasn’t greeted with a particular welcome or ‘energy’ I’ve come to experience in other European cities. There wasn’t a lot to it – a generic look, a few forgettable shops… odd for a capital city revered for it’s culture – we didn’t stick around too long. Schoenefeld is the secondary, smaller airport in the city, so I can’t speak for it’s primary airport.

A short walk to the station and we were on the train to our destination, Friedrichshain. We jumped off and then it started to happen. A city covered wall to wall in graffiti, street art, tags and messages. There was an instant sense of identity here which spread across the entire city. We could easily go into a debate at this point about whether graffiti constitutes art or if it’s just mindless vandalism, but for the me the sheer amount of the stuff made my experience in the city visually stimulating – I really felt like I was somewhere rather than anywhere.

When I looked into the governments current stance on graffiti, I was surprised to find that, just like most cities, it is still very much illegal and punishable by heavy fines. It was the fact that they obviously don’t try to clean or cover it up which I found interesting. This is a city where the people have persevered through harsh times, once physically and ideologically divided by a concrete wall, which I think plays a really important role in the cities identity today… Berlin is free – when the wall fell there was obviously a strong desire for radical expressionism, something which seems to still linger in the city’s culture today. The fact that the government doesn’t try to completely mute this I think makes for a really raw and fascinating sense of place.

I’m aware of the Be Berlin brand, but I didn’t once see it plastered over the city, even in the more touristic areas. The official website stated “3.4 million men and women in Berlin who make the city so unmistakable and play an active part in shaping the city’s transformations”. Berlin doesn’t need to force it’s place brand – the people make the city what it is. It’s real, it’s raw, it’s honest.

Why Amsterdam may be the new creative capital of Europe

As Black & Ginger grows into Europe we look at what makes Amsterdam a great place for the creative industries

So what are the crucial ingredients that are making this dutch city simmer with excitement and explode as a leading digital hub?

Inherently born from wealth from its trade port roots, you don’t have to look far to understand where the city’s rich culture has trickled through the veins of its canals into the DNA of its people.

Yes we all know Amsterdam as being free thinking, but what Amsterdam does well is the idea of ‘citizens’. This place is designed for people and where people come first, and this creates a unique environment for ideas and radical thinking.

From Rembrandt to Van Gogh this is a city who’s creative past informs its future.

“The dutch are so used to constraints of building up and along narrow roads, creativity is a way to break these restraints and express their true selves.”

From the huge tech giants to the latest tech start ups, Amsterdam provides not only an infrastructure but also a way of life that promotes creativity and freedom of thought, unbound by an agenda. No matter where you’re from there is a unified understanding that citizens come first. Give people the power to live their best lives and history will write itself.

Keep your eyes peeled as B&G goes Dutch.

Laughin’ Exhibition

An exhibition designed to make you smile.

We believe creativity can put a smile on everyones face, which is why we curated an exhibition that celebrates both humour and creativity whilst making a positive impact, collaborating with local mental health charity The Open Door Centre.

We invited local, national and international artists, designers and photographers to flex their creative muscles, with the simple brief to produce artwork that tickles the mind and leaves us Laughin. This gathered an overwhelming response of people wanting to contribute their time and creativity and help support the cause.

We wanted to help spread positivity throughout our community.

To distribute the work on a global platform we compiled the artwork into an exhibition brochure which shipped around the world with proceeds going to The Open Door Centre. Further collaborating with our artists allowing them to host their own Laughin exhibition within their city helping to spread positivity to a wider audience.

“Collaborating with the team at Black & Ginger has been a real pleasure and we can’t wait to unveil the Laughin’ exhibition to the public. The premise behind the exhibition is simple; to make people smile. Every piece of artwork featured is truly uplifting and we are looking forward to raising as many smiles and laughs”.

Open Door Centre