Creative Directors from leading agencies gathered at Aviva Studios, home of Factory International, last week. The event was a platform to discuss the growing trend of brands embracing risk and culture, and immersive experiences to engage audiences…
The roundtable, part of Aviva Studiosโ Insight Events series, took place alongside Marina Abramoviฤโs Balkan Erotic Epic, a backdrop that sparked debate about how bold creative thinking drives innovation.
Brands are embracing risk and culture for more memorable experiences
Participants from Fever, SEEN Presents, fresh, Meanwhile, and Tecna explored how brands are moving beyond polished campaigns, embracing imperfection, risk, and cultural storytelling to make experiences memorable.
The event also shone a light on Aviva Studiosโ growing role as a home for creative collaboration, a space where the boundaries between art, experience, and commercial events are being reimagined, and where events are flourishing in this environment.ย Since launching, the venue has hosted leading brands from Adidas to Amazon, MTV to Netflix, creating memorable and visually spectacular events, working in partnership with creative departments.
Robert Dunsmore, Creative Director and Consultant, reflected on how inspiration strikes in unexpected ways, โInspiration is hot and cold. Sometimes itโs seeing things around you all the time, a gallery, a window display, and sometimes it hits when youโre in the middle of a project, walking around, letting your subconscious take over. A creative brief can be a cure and an infection. Itโs about finding the truth that a brand recognises.โ
Louise Paxton, Art Director, fresh, highlighted the importance of creating lasting memories, โI want people to remember it. Sometimes inspiration comes from watching people, not a piece of work, just observing how they behave and react.โ
James Cross, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Meanwhile, spoke to the value of combining ideas creatively, โCreativity is taking existing concepts and mashing them together to make something new. Itโs about pure ideas and creating a valuable exchange for someoneโs time. If you maintain artistic integrity, it gets talked about, it becomes famous, and it works for the brand.โ
Paul-John Titterton, Multi Media Designer, Seen Presents, also shared, โBrands want to be culturally relevant. Itโs about creating a story that connects, even if theyโre not naturally linked, and reaching the audience where they are, sometimes before they even know theyโre looking for you.โ
Brands need bold thinking, embracing risks and culture to create more memorable experiences
The discussion also touched on the bravery brands need to break rules and embrace experimentation. Robert Andersen, Creative Services Director, Tecna, added, โSome of the best creative ideas end up on the cutting floor because people arenโt brave enough to run with them. The brands that thrive are the ones that say yes and take a chance.โ
Ruth Halliday, Senior Event Sales Manager at Aviva Studios, commented. โThese conversations are about more than just inspiration; theyโre about how events are using art and culture to connect to communities. This isn’t just for Manchester, but also around the world. By bringing together the creative leaders behind some of the UKโs most exciting work, weโre exploring how art and culture can genuinely shape the next generation of live experiences.โ
Aviva Studios will continue to bring together professionals from across the events industry as part of its Insight Event series, as the venue looks to both learn from and inspire new ways of creating high-quality, imaginative corporate events.
About Factory International
Factory International is a global arts organisation based in Manchester โ the creative force behind Aviva Studios, a major new cultural space built for cross-disciplinary work, and the biennial Manchester International Festival (MIF).
Factory International commissions and presents bold, original work across music, theatre, dance, visual arts and digital โ created in Manchester and shared with the world. It supports artists at every stage of their career and enables large-scale, experimental projects that wouldnโt happen elsewhere.
About Aviva Studios
Aviva Studios is the landmark year-round home of Factory International. Built for invention, inclusion and collaboration, it is the first venue of its kind in the North โ a world-class space designed to support bold, cross-form artworks and events on an unprecedented scale.
With its flexible architecture, Aviva Studios can host everything from immersive installations and large-scale theatre to late-night music and festivals. It is a space where global artists meet local communities โ and where new ideas take centre stage.
