Commoners #002
Helping common people become more common in the creative industries
Hello Common friends,
We’ve got a new newsletter for you all where we tell you about all the things we’ve been writing, reading, watching and celebrating. Future newsletters will also tell you about Common People news. There is plenty of exciting stuff happening behind the scenes but we can’t share any spoilers just yet. Until then…
We’ve been writing
We had plenty to say over the last few weeks.
Simon Akers asked how can you effectively market to everyone, if you yourselves, are not everyone? MediaCat: The new luxury of social mobility in advertising
In response to the cost of living crisis, Kim Ferguson wrote a piece called Creatively Fucked which highlights the cost of being creative.
Speaking of the cost of living, Lis Thompson wrote a blog for the IPA about the things adland can do to support those from working-class households: Cost of living and class - a view from Common People
With The Bank of England predicting that the UK will enter a recession in late 2022 Kim, Jed and Katie shared their lessons learnt from graduating during the financial crash to encourage creatives to continue to creatively create creative (bonus points for any readers that can spot the book reference).
We’ve been reading
7 things you can do now to democratise marketing by Charlotte Rogers offers 6 recommendations to open marketing up to talent from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
Warning that London risks becoming ‘exclusive enclave of elites’ in which Lee Elliot Major, Professor of Social Mobility at the University of Exeter warns that London’s position as a city of opportunity hangs in the balance.
The cost of living crisis could make or break the UK’s class system - A great piece where Olive Pometsey shares her thoughts on how the cost of living crisis will divide or unite us.
Yesterday was #ClassPayGap day, an annual day of frustration, that helps raise awareness about the fact that working class people are paid thousands of pounds less than their middle class counterparts.
We’ve been celebrating
The Social Mobility Foundation were recently awarded two silver awards at the UK Creative Festival for their Class Polish Campaign. When you’ve set the bar so high with your first campaign, it's always hard to follow it up, but their new campaign Stay Down is sheer perfection.
We also loved Shelters new campaign that mocked the government for its cost of living ‘hacks’ after their research found that one in seven households had their rent increased last month.
In other news, The Social Mobility Awards took place in Mid-October. The full list of winners can be found here: winners 2022.
We're being cultured with
Elle - The Line Of Beauty in which Jessica Andrews talks about how she began to understand her own look as stereotypically working-class when she went to King’s College London.
Edward Enninful’s memoir, A Visible Man, was published in September. Enninful is a Black, gay and working class immigrant who has been the editor-in-chief of British Vogue since 2017.
Am I Being Unreasonable? Daisy May Cooper’s new comedy thriller on BBC one is a great show to watch for a bit of escapism. Cooper and her writing partner spoke to the Radio Times and explained how they were spurred on to create the sort of working class characters that don’t commonly exist on TV.
Government stuff (with no mention of Johnson, Truss or Sunak)
Late October was a rather quiet time for UK politics. We’re being sarcastic of course. With all the Torie drama you’ll be forgiven for missing the latest Social Mobility Commission Business Plan 2022 to 2023: A fresh approach to social mobility which was published on 21st October.
Lots of talk about ‘getting the whole sector thinking differently and collecting and using data differently.’ Would love to know what you all think. They have plans to launch a monthly newsletter, enhance their social media presence and develop a series of podcasts aimed at sparking debate on social mobility, raising awareness of their approach and highlighting emerging research.
In late September, The Social Mobility Commission also published new guidance titled The building blocks: an employer’s guide to improving social mobility in the workplace. This toolkit provides simple guidance for businesses and organisations to take the first steps needed to kick start their social mobility strategy.
News from our friends
After just 24 hours since opening, NABS received an overwhelming response to their new Cost of Living Grant. They’re having to temporarily pause applications while they respond to enquiries and process Grants for those who are eligible. If you need support managing your finances in the meantime, NABS are encouraging people to book onto their Talk later this month with financial guru and money saving expert Kia Commodore or visit their Advice Line page for additional resources for managing money.
The Social Mobility Foundation’s latest Unheard Voices research, found that the cost-of-living crisis is creating a two-tier university experience with less well-off students having to do more paid employment to cover their costs.
Creative Equals are looking for a talented and driven Partnerships Account Manager to join their growing team within their global inclusion consultancy.
Common People Merchandise
Last but not least, our Common People online store is live again where you can purchase a Common People t-shirt or sweatshirt. If you want one, move fast, the store won’t be open for long.
Helping Common People
The easiest way to help is to share this with some Common People Like YOU. Whether they’re an industry leader, or someone wanting to break into the industry, we can help. Point them in our direction.
If you’ve got jobs or opportunities that you’d like to share, send them our way.
If you see anything interesting that you think us Commoners would like, send that too.
If you’d like to offer up yourself as a mentor or find a mentor, reply to this email and we can help.
If you’d like to support Common People by helping out, then we’re always looking for people to join the group that puts a lot of this sort of stuff together.
And never forget, we’re Common People, and proudly a different class.
See you again, take care, and stay in touch,
Your fellow Commoners
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