Creative director Angela Carrington is expanding the Newcastle agency she founded 17 years ago, adding new people, studio space and services as The Bigger Picture Agency moves further into creative consultancy.
Carrington founded the photography, video and audio production business in 2009, with The Bigger Picture Agency later incorporating as a limited company in 2014.
Now based at The Biscuit Factory in Newcastle, the agency is growing both its team and its physical footprint as clients increasingly bring it into projects before production begins.
Charlotte Beeckmans has been promoted to senior creative, while Anna Petty has joined the business full-time as studio manager, taking responsibility for studio operations and post-production.
Creative strategist Katherine Wildman is also working with the agency on a freelance basis to strengthen its consultancy offer, alongside a wider network of freelance filmmakers from across the North East.
The Bigger Picture Agency has also taken additional space at The Biscuit Factory, creating a dedicated studio for photography, video, podcast production and other creative projects.
For Carrington, the expansion reflects a change in the role the agency is being asked to play for its clients.
“We are developing the business around what our clients need from us, and that is much more than simply producing videos or photographs.
“We are increasingly being brought into projects at the planning stage, where clients and marketing agencies want our advice on what visual and audio content they should be creating, how it should look and what will work best for their audience.
“That is a really exciting development for us because it means we are able to bring our creative expertise into the process from the very beginning.
“We are often being brought in to establish new styles, many at the rebrand or brand-refresh stage of a company.”
That move towards longer-term creative involvement has also led Carrington and her team to introduce Constant Content, a new annual service designed to give businesses a regular supply of professional photography, video and audio material.
Rather than operating as a standard monthly content package, each programme is built around the individual company, its audience and what it needs to communicate during the year.
Angela added: “Constant Content is about taking away the pressure of constantly having to think, ‘What content do we need next?’
“We work with the client to understand their business, their objectives and their audience, and then develop a bespoke programme of creative content around them.
“It is not simply about turning up and shooting.
“It is about understanding what the business needs and using our expertise to create the right visual and audio content to support it.”
The service has already secured its first clients, while marketing agencies are also exploring how it could be used for the businesses they work with.
It forms part of Carrington’s wider plan to position The Bigger Picture Agency as a creative production and consultancy specialist rather than expand into full-service marketing.
Angela added: “We are not becoming a marketing agency.
“Our expertise is very specifically in creative production and consultancy; photography, video, animation, live-stream and audio.
“What we are doing is helping businesses and marketing teams make better decisions about the creative content they need and then delivering it.
“That combination of consultancy and production is where I see a huge opportunity for the business.”
The Bigger Picture Agency works with organisations across the UK and is now entering its second year as a corporate partner of Experience North East England.
After 17 years of building the company, Carrington sees the latest expansion as the beginning of its next stage rather than simply an increase in headcount or studio capacity.
Angela added: “The Bigger Picture Agency has been around for 17 years, and I am incredibly excited about where we are going next.
“We have a fantastic team, more creative space, new services and a clear idea of where we can add value for our clients.
“It feels like a new chapter for the business and I genuinely believe the best is yet to come.”
