PLATF9RM began in 2016 as Brighton’s most beautiful shared workspace for businesses and freelancers. Its membership has since exploded – and its competition has ramped up, too. It’s now spread across two locations in Brighton and Hove, and hosts an exciting line up of events each month for its members and the wider community. It also has its very own café-bar which is open to the public in the day.

I’ve been working closely with the PLATF9RM team for the last five years on its verbal brand, team culture, community strategy and audience engagement. For two years I produced PLATF9RM’s branded content and wrote monthly articles covering everything from antidotes to bad news to environmental responsibility, to be shared via the blog and social media channels. I’ve also helped to shape the strategy for three of PLATF9RM’s annual Kickass Women events.

Brand refresh

I’ve been developing a new brand strategy for PLATF9RM in close consultation with the team. Surveys, 1-1 interviews and team workshops have led to a happy new positioning focused around the community.

Now we’re working on a community strategy which will ensure that members feel that they belong and are engaged in appropriate ways as they progress from newbies to 9ers.

Collective intelligence

Based on seven integrated design principles, the World Café methodology is a simple, effective, and flexible format for hosting large group dialogue. It’s based on the belief that we’re wiser together, and that the future can be shaped through conversations that matter. It’s a great way of gathering deep collective intelligence and generating new ideas.

I’ve been using the World Café method of workshopping with the team, and its proving really successful. Ultimately, the team sets the tone at a coworking space - and having the team so involved in co-creating the strategy has meant that they’re fully committed to bringing it to life day-to-day. The change has been palpable, and I’m getting some great anecdotal feedback on the growing strength of the brand and community from people I talk to at events across the city.