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Stir Creativity 2025: A day to refresh, connect and be inspired

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Stir Creativity 2025: A day to refresh, connect and be inspired

26th June marked our first-ever Stir Creativity event: a day designed to help people step away from the everyday, shake up their thinking and reconnect with their creativity.

Hosted by Alive with Ideas and Creative Communicators Ltd, and co-curated with Darren Caveney of comms2point0, Stir Creativity brought together communications and marketing professionals from across the public, private and charity sectors.

The spectacular Bombay Sapphire Distillery in Hampshire provided the setting. We wanted something unique because an event about thinking differently deserved somewhere a little different too.

The spectacular Bombay Sapphire Distillery in Hampshire

The idea

We know how fast-paced, pressured and ever-changing the world of communications and marketing can be. When deadlines pile up and the day-to-day takes over, finding the time and space to think creatively can become difficult.

Stir Creativity was our invitation to press pause.

It was created as a thank you to the friends, clients and collaborators who had been part of our journey, but also as a chance to bring a brilliantly diverse group of people together. We wanted to create a day filled with fresh perspectives, meaningful conversations and the kind of inspiration that follows you back to work.

It was a celebration. A reset. And – we hoped – a spark for whatever came next.

Guests talking, laughing or taking part in an activity

A setting made for fresh thinking

Bombay Sapphire Distillery gave us the perfect backdrop.

Surrounded by striking architecture, botanical glasshouses and the Hampshire countryside, guests were transported a world away from the usual conference room. It was a place where history, craftsmanship and imagination came together – and where creativity felt completely at home.

Guests also went behind the scenes to explore the distillery and discover the creative process behind one of the UK’s most recognisable gin brands. It was a full sensory experience and a fitting reminder that brilliant ideas often begin with curiosity, experimentation and an unexpected combination of ingredients.

The glasshouses, botanical experience or distillery tour

Ideas worth stirring

At the heart of the day was a brilliant line-up of speakers, each bringing a very different perspective on creativity, storytelling and connection.

Writer, performer and podcaster Suchandrika Chakrabarti brought wit, warmth and sharp observations from her experiences across comedy, communications and journalism.

Dance leader and social innovator Zoie Golding MBE explored storytelling, bold ideas and the power of movement to create meaningful community impact, sharing the story behind The Big Movement and its work around men’s mental health.

Broadcaster turned podcast coach Zoe Hanson shared the power of finding your voice, telling your story and using audio to build more human connections.

Together, they reminded us that creativity does not belong to one discipline, role or type of person. It can be found in words, movement, sound, lived experience and the courage to try something new.

Guest speakers

Creativity in good company

Stir Creativity was never intended to be a day of simply sitting and listening.

Just as much inspiration came from the people in the room: communications and marketing professionals with different experiences, challenges and ideas to share. There was time to talk, make new connections, exchange stories and enjoy being part of a community that understood the pressures and possibilities of creative work.

Add in plenty of good food, refreshments and a beautiful setting, and the day had exactly the atmosphere we had hoped for: relaxed, generous, energising and full of ideas.

What the day stirred up

Our first Stir Creativity gave people permission to pause, look beyond their usual sources of inspiration and spend time with others who cared about making communications more creative and meaningful.

People left with fresh ideas, new connections and, hopefully, a little more creative energy than they had arrived with.

Thank you to everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to spend the day with us.

“I feel like they own and care for the project as much as we do! I would not use anyone else for my creative work and think Alive is ahead of the game.”

Jo Hobbs — Communications Manager

“Thanks for all your help. We are delighted with the campaign, both in terms of the creativity and messaging but also the thought taken over the rollout of the materials. All looks absolutely fabulous!”

Sarah Crowdy — Campaign and Media Officer Communications, South East Water

“We went to ‘Alive’ for ideas on how to run a specific employee program in Europe. Alan and his team were brilliant in coming up with fresh, creative and practical approaches. The team took charge and executed brilliantly. We are pleased with the progress made so far and hope to have the same level of partnership and commitment going forward.”

Sobha Varghese — Tata Consultancy Services

“Alive are unique in how much they deeply listen and invest in you and your ideas. I have not come across a company that listens as much as they do to ensure your needs are understood and met (actually - they always exceed my needs and expectations). Everyone I recommend Alive to has an equally brilliant experience. When you work with Alive, you are not only getting some genius creativity brought into your life, you are also hanging out with some of the best examples of human beings I’ve ever known.”

Steph Tranter, Hybrid Exec Coach & Psychologist — StephTranter.com

“We had the privilege to work with the Alive team. It was our first time to be involved in creating an animation for our patients within paediatrics. The team were approachable, friendly, creative and very accommodating. Your vision for what you want to create, is at all times acknowledged, appreciated and accommodated by the team. They worked effectively and with great passion towards our project and worked not only alongside health professionals but also our patients who really enjoyed the experience of working with the Alive team. It has given our team the confidence and inspiration to do further projects in the future. We highly recommend Alive and their exceptional team.”

DR ELENI ATHANASAKOS, Lead Paediatric Clinical Scientist — NHS Barts Health

“‘The short animation developed in co-production with clinicians and young people is outstanding! Informative, developmentally appropriate, vitally fun and engaging. We are really grateful for the expertise of the Alive with Ideas team for their innovative approach in building children’s health literacy.'”

Kath Evans — Director of Children’s Nursing at Barts Health

“Our mission was to update our brand visuals to better reflect our innovative and forward-thinking organisation. After receiving numerous pitches from different branding agencies, Alive stood out with their clear passion and understanding of our identity and goals. We thoroughly enjoyed working with the Alive Team to create an engaging new brand that we are immensely proud of.”

Lianne Springer — Communications and Engagement Lead

“Alive wowed us during the pitch process and they didn’t stop wowing us throughout the whole project. Every person we worked with at Alive were so friendly, knowledgeable and clearly passionate about what they do. They have worked with us to really understand what we do and have created a new brand and website that really stands out from our competitors. Thank you!”

Louise Burnard, Head of Marketing and Communications UK — Be | Shaping the Future

“I think the team have done such a brilliant job, particularly with responding to our requests. It's one of the best mental health videos I've ever seen. Very proud to be associated with your exemplary work. Thank you so much.”

Dr Anna Batho — Clinical Psychologist – Critical Care, UCLH

“We have worked with Alan, Caroline and the wider Alive With Ideas team for many years. In that time, they have provided a dedicated service that is second to none. We appreciate their attention to detail and creative approach to bringing our brand, communications and stories to life. And would recommend them to anyone looking for creative communications support.”

Georgia Beech — Internal Communications Specialist, Ocado Group

“This is brilliant. I wanted to give my heartfelt thanks to all of the team who worked on this. You all understood exactly what we wanted to communicate and why, and then managed to do it in a way that was far better than anything I could have imagined. I’m a bit choked up to be honest!”

Sarah Wright, Head of Communications and Campaigns — NEA

“Each time I work with the team, I am always stunned at the effort and creativity that goes into each detail and am always eager for the end result. The team is extremely accommodating and always provide a fresh approach to our projects that elevates our communications materials!”

Alana Khaytin, Communications Specialist — Braskem America

“What I really appreciate about Alive is that they work with us as partners, and care as much about getting it right for our patients as we do.”

Sara Langston, Patient Engagement & Marketing Manager — italk

“The (Alive) team were able to creatively pull together and document (in just over 2minutes) everything our service has achieved over the last few months, from thousands of prescriptions deliveries to hundreds of phone calls made to the vulnerable. The final product was so powerful and reflective of what our service has and continues to achieve. It couldn’t have been better received within the service – thanks Alive for once again helping us to communicate our vision!’”

Emma Wright — South Yorkshire & Rescue

“We worked with the team at Alive to create our staff recognition video.
At a time like this, its never been more important to share the amazing work that our staff have done and continue to do on a daily basis under very difficult circumstances. We wanted to shout about this and recognise that when the time came, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue stepped up to the plate. We didn’t want an ordinary thank you post on social media or a basic email sent out internally, we wanted something special. Enter Alive. ”

Emma Wright — South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue

“Our company is fun, we have great brands, but most importantly we’re all about our people – and I wanted an agency who would understand that and help us bring it to life through our website and other comms. Straight away I felt that Alive ‘got’ us and provided the creative inspiration exactly where we needed it, as well as the technical expertise to deliver a well-functioning website.”

Keren McCarron, Head of Corporate Affairs & Communications — KP Snacks

“Boom!
Thank you so much. Incredible work done at incredible speed by incredible people.
Outstanding work as ever and what a turnaround. As for the concepts – wow. These are that good it would be an insult to describe them as just good. It’s a joke, quite frankly. This is exactly the Alive effect I was after. Right now I feel like I am living in an Alive With Ideas wonderland. Thank you!”

Jack Grasby, Campaigns Manager — SYFR

“If you are looking to improve creativity and build teamwork, I highly recommend a session like this for your team. No matter where you are in your creativity journey, a workshop like this can give your team a boost of energy and ideas to invigorate their creative thinking.”

Amy Lilja, IC Manager — Hennepin Healthcare

“Alive were there to help when we were working every hour to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. They gave us the creativity, ideas and support we needed to deliver campaigns which empowered our residents in the most difficult time most of us have ever seen, personally and professionally. The team understood what we needed, worked closely with us and delivered fast without any compromise on quality. Working with Alive has been a joy in the darkest of times and I have no doubt will have helped to save lives. Thanks team x”

Julie Odams, Assistant Director of Communications & Customers — Derbyshire County Council

“We got 'Alive' involved to help us shift mindsets across our organisation and they delivered! Using simple, clear and creative ideas the team have delivered us a campaign which has seen a dramatic increase in idea sharing and development. They’ve also played a significant role in creating a culture of shared success. I wouldn’t hesitate to work with again, in fact, we already are!”

Gavin Buckle — B&Q
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