Getting creative!

The Client

The Creative Industries Federation C.Report

The Creative Industries Federation is the national organisation for the UK’s creative industries, cultural education and arts. The creative industries are vitally important to the UK economy, generating £91 billion annually. The ambition behind the Federation (founded in 2015) was to give political clout to a sector that has been the fastest-growing part of the UK economy over the last decade but had never punched its weight with government.

Editing Edge were asked to produce the copy for its annual report, the C.Report. This was a major project culminating in a 64-page report.

www.creativeindustriesfederation.com

The Problem

The creative industries are the fastest-growing part of the UK economy and key to driving growth in a post-Brexit Britain. The sector created three times more jobs than the economy as a whole between 2011 and 2015. It returns four times the gross value added of the automotive industry, six times as much as life sciences and nearly 10 times that of aerospace.

The Federation’s annual report needed to reflect the strategic importance of this industry – ranging from architecture to ballet to video games – whilst illustrating the activities and influence of its members over the last year.

Previous editions of the report had been written in dense officialese with multiple footnotes and long columns of copy. My task was to strip dull government-style language from the background material I was given, rewrite in a vibrant style and bring it to life.

The Answer

My approach was to inject a large dose of “creativity” into the report. After all, this is the Creative Industries.

I identified wads of dry stats that could be transformed into funky graphics and worked hand in hand with a very talented graphic design team at the Federation. I injected fun, highlighted human stories and used prominent quote snippets to dress up the pages.

The Result

I edited the report to great acclaim and it was launched at a fabulous party at the Natural History Museum with the Secretary of State for Business and the Secretary of State for Culture.

By creating an annual report that is much easier to read and looks exciting, I helped shine a spotlight on this vital sector.

Thank you so much for your brilliant work re C.Report. It looks utterly groovy and has been unanimously hailed in the office. You are a star. Everyone LOVES the Report. Gilad our designer has just said how concise and brilliantly written the Report is this year. Thanks so much for delivering it all so perfectly! Just how I wanted it. I am really delighted with everything you have done for us.

Rosie Millard OBE, Deputy CEO, Creative Industries Federation

The new C.Report has just landed on my desk. It’s looks fabulous. A huge thanks for all your work, and stepping in so effortlessly and assiduously. I’m most grateful.

John Kampfner, CEO, Creative Industries Federation

Annual reports are your chance to tell the world about the fantastic work you do and the impact you make. Invest wisely in creating copy that makes your report unique and engaging.

Get in touch with us at Editing Edge to bring your annual report to life.