The BPA celebrates new direction to push it into the future
Birmingham’s oldest creative networking group, the BPA has this Spring announced its fresh steps into the future.
The group, which has been running for approaching 80 years has today revealed its new leadership team and is driven to appeal to the next generation of talent within the city.
The BPA has been synonymous with bringing together the media, advertising and creative industries from across the city, and has now looked to bring a younger and broader cross section of the marketing society from the diverse make-up of Birmingham.
Steve Price, the interim co-chair of the BPA said that while keeping many of its well-loved events such as Christmas and Summer socials very much at the heart of what they do, in the future, things need to look very different from this year.
“It’s simple things like the way we talk. We have moved away from the management group being referred to a ‘Council’ changing up to ‘Leadership Team’. Small changes like this will lead to bigger changes that are needed to help us to not just survive but thrive.
“Especially in recent years since the pandemic, there has absolutely been a need for change, as networking is very different now. People don’t just want to come along after work to have a drink as many of us now work from home, either for most or part of the week.
“We shall still be socially driven as a group, but we are being more inclusive of people that aren’t always in the office or aren’t always in the centre of Birmingham as they used to be. We are trying harder to get people out with events that are worth something and people’s time, money and effort,” he said.
Mr Price added: “We are looking to go beyond networking. But of course our popular Christmas lunch which is one of our most successful events within our calendar will be staying, and our last one was testament to how much people within our industry really want that. But we are now looking to mix old friends with new blood, which is why our leadership team is now consisting of a much younger crowd with a lot of new ideas and assets that we absolutely crave.”
The BPA will still remain the same, however Mr Price said those initials could stand for many things.
“We often get called out that the name ‘Birmingham Publicity Association’ sounds quite old hat, which I can’t argue with. But those initials, BPA, do carry some weight and mean something good to many people. What the BPA really stands for bringing people in media, marketing and advertising together in a social setting, championing the city of Birmingham, and supporting deserving local charities. So in future, we’ll be referring to ourselves as The BPA exclusively.
“The events we put on will enable people to make valuable real life connections - a social network where people new to the industry know that they can come along, make the links and meet the people they need to in order to progress their career. We are going to be more relevant than ever before in the city, and our new leadership team will be charging forward in demonstrating that,” he added.
The calendar of events will be released in the coming months by the new, fresh faced leadership team, and more will be revealed after the AGM in May.
The BPA has existed since the 1930s, supporting the media and creative industries in the region, while raising money for key charities that its members wish to support. Its members include global organisations to sole traders, graduate trainees right up to CEOs and MDs, media owners and agencies, advertising and marketing agencies, digital agencies, PR agencies and freelancers.
The group’s chosen charity for the next year continues to be Winston’s Wish, a charity which supports children and young people after the death of someone close to them.
Membership starts from only £40 for individual membership and £100 for corporate membership.