Copywriting Club - North

The north and everything in it includes a whole bunch of talented writers and creative thinkers making waves up the M1 from the Watford Gap. Introducing Copywriting Club – North.

Manchester - on a somewhat typical Thursday in late October – was the location for the inaugural Copywriting Club - North. Our hosts for the evening were Manchester agency Cube3. It was a packed debut for this new series of creative meet-ups, chin-wags and gatherings. We're thinking along the lines of a call to the banners of northern creativity.

So why are here? Well, if there is a light that never goes out when we think of creativity - and specifically copywriting - then that light seems permanently fixed on London. The Copywriting Club is here to challenge that hegemony and to assert the region’s own credentials as a creative hub. A place where output has the potential to be every bit as influential and every bit as impactful as that found inside the M25.

Here’s how the first evening of Copywriting Club – North panned out.

Kicking things off

Led by Cube3’s head of content and son of Staffordshire, Dan Nixon, we began with a lively spar around the concept of content. Specifically, the continuing battle to establish what content actually is and where that struggle leaves copywriting as a craft. Can we ever hope to find that holy land where we can all lean on a settled definition of the term?

As ever when it comes to such a contentious term, views from around the Club differed.

Content has always existed, we heard.

Perhaps previously, though, content was something that related to the work of subject specialists rather than resting now, as so much of content does, with creatives and copywriters.

The discussion moved on to the thorny issue of what clients' understanding of copy and copywriters is. Do clients consider copywriting skills as a selling point, attracting them to certain agencies? Or do clients think about copy as part of the creative and – that word again – content package?

More than words

The theme of copywriting as an underappreciated skill led to a common problem everyone could identify with: the old adage that, well, anyone can write, right?

The consensus here was a clear and definitive "no".

So what can copywriting do to protect itself from this perception? We heard from the floor how copywriting needs to do more to stand up for itself, to define itself in much the same way as disciplines such as planning or account handling have done so well.

How about championing not only the craft, but also the variety of writing skills copywriter possess?

We talked about the knowledge needed to execute projects for demanding clients offering complex briefs, such as health. And a reminder that a copywriter isn’t just an ad writer. Copywriting is a term that encapsulates a huge variety of skills. It's time the case for copywriting is made more strongly and visibly to the benefit of agencies, clients and the writers themselves.

The north / south divide

Of course Copywriting Club – North wouldn’t be living up to its name without a hearty to and fro about the state of the northern copywriting nation.

We had an interesting case study from the floor.

In much the same way as Austin, Texas has set itself up as a viable, thriving alternative to the creative powerhouses of New York, LA and San Francisco, is there potential for the north to develop along similar lines?

This led to more ideas about how to wrestle business from the south. Do brands – so comfy in the London “bubble” – really know about the huge reservoir of talent outside of the capital?

There is a real opportunity to show off the better fit potential offered by the numerous smaller agencies spread across the north. We talked about northern agencies as places where closer contact with clients is a key differentiator, where more care and love can be shown to the briefs businesses currently whisk off across to London without a moment’s thought.

Where to next?

The evening rounded off with education. Should copywriting be taught at higher education level?

Many students, it was felt, come to placements and interviews with great enthusiasm but not enough appreciation of the skills inherent to copywriting. Could this be fixed with dedicated courses on writing, rather than the current model which provides for singular modules? It was widely felt that we need to do more to equip the next generation of writers coming through.

With that it was time to wrap up and take on a few beers, which after coffee is probably the copywriter' preferred tipple.

Thanks go to Dan Nixon and the Cube3 team for their hospitality, stunning array of crisps and comfy sofa. It was a great start to a series that really caught fire and we’re already looking forward to the next meet-up.

In the meantime, we’ve got a LinkedIn group ready to roll. Join up and we’ll keep you posted on upcoming Clubs. We want to hear your news and views on anything copy and creative related. Work you love, work you hate, hints, tips and advice all collected together for us to mull over, chat about and share.

We also have loads of interesting articles, videos and of course our little book on copywriting hosted here so be sure to have a look through the page.

See you all soon.