Multi-award-winning specialists in creating and delivering meaningful exhibitions, events and experiences - underpinned by our sustainable values.
We are a strategic and creatively led agency with production expertise, rather than being a production-led organisation. We are proud of our dedicated and talented team - a team of thinkers, strategists, designers and project managers who partner with our clients to envision, create and deliver the ultimate experiential event, exhibition or congress anywhere in the world.
Ignition is honoured to be the first events company ever to be awarded The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development (2020 - 2025)
Global reach
From our offices and warehouses in the UK and USA, and - together with our global partners in Asia and South America - we have the skills, teams, local knowledge and accreditations to deliver your project flawlessly, regardless of location.
In 2023, we designed and delivered 101 projects across 4 continents with a 100% success rate:
66
Live projects in the USA and Canada.
31
Live projects in Europe across 8 countries.
4
Live projects in Latin America, Asia, Australia and the Middle East.
Rest assured, you are in safe hands.
Our leadership
We have a high-performing senior team with accountability and decision-making responsibility, ensuring we are nimble, responsive and embracing change.
Our people come from diverse backgrounds and skillsets - from strategists, designers, marketers to project managers and client services specialists.
We’re able to deliver exceptional brand experiences across our multi-disciplined team by working in partnership with our clients to transform their vision into a reality and their objectives into a strategy.
Samantha Rowe
Chief Executive Officer
Phil Atherton
Chief Operating Officer
Sam Morris
Head of Operations
Hannah Preston
Account Director
Anton McCoy
Head of Technology
Chloe Marquand
Graphic Designer
Victoria Tang
Account Manager
Helen Mitchell
Chief Strategy Officer
Hannah Jardine
Sustainability & Development Director
Claire Yoxall
Project Director
Mark Blackshaw
Creative Director
Alice Tapson
3D Design Developer
Gabriele Pretto
Senior Design Developer
Brent Suleman
Creative Artwork
Guy Stewart
3D Designer
Lindie Kramers
Chief Marketing Officer
Bryn Isaac
Group Finance Director
Paul Girdler
Events Project Director
Mark Gore
Exhibit Project Director
Saskia Horne
Office Manager
Charlotte Johnson
Junior 3D Designer
Ben Laine-Toner
Digital Experience Lead
Maggie
Studio Security
Claire Menzies
Group Chairwoman
Jane Hopkins
Account Director
Katy Evans
Client Partnership Director
Tamara Lloyd
Senior Account and Content Manager
Alex Saxon
Digital Project Director
Tom Cleary
Assistant Management Accountant
Helena Moorhouse
Digital Marketing Manager
Achievements
Awards
Awards are a small indication of the effectiveness of our creativity, and the way we conduct ourselves. To win awards these days, you need more than just a beautiful aesthetic, you need tangible results too.
We are proud of our achievements, not just for our creative output, but also for being a great place to work and being kind to the environment in everything we do.
ESSA Sustainability Accreditation
Tier 5
Winner
ESSA AWARDS
Sustainability
Winner - Silver
Great British Entrepreneur Awards
Creative Entrepreneur of the Year - South West
Finalist - TBC
Great British Entrepreneur Awards
Creative Industries Businesswoman of the Year - South West
Finalist - TBC
Bristol Post
Most Influential Women in Bristol (Sam Rowe)
Winner
LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders
Sustainable Impact Award (Sam Rowe)
Finalist
Bristol Life Awards
Environmental
Winner
Portable Modular Awards
Best Island Exhibit 1,000 Square Feet
Finalist
MM&M Awards
Best Places to Work, Small Agency
Winner
Portable Modular Awards People’s Choice Award
Lafarge Holcim
Finalist
Business Leader Awards
Green Business of the Year
Finalist
Business Leader Awards
Business Leader of the Year
Finalist
The Queen’s Award for Enterprise
Sustainable Development
Winner
FINDIT - TOP 40 / EXHIBITOR Magazine
Creativity and Key Differentiators
Winner
Business Game Changer Magazine
UK Top Ten Women in Business (Sam Rowe)
Winner
IEMA Sustainability Impact Awards
Sustainable Organisation
Winner
IEMA Sustainability Impact Awards
Sustainable Leader
Highly Commended
EN Elite Awards
Best Employer
Winner
Bristol Life Awards
Creative
Winner
World Exhibition Stand Awards
Best Stand at a Healthcare Event
Winner - Gold
EN Elite Awards
Best Eco Supplier
Finalist
Business Leader Awards
Export & International Business of the Year
Finalist
Portable Modular Awards
Best International Design
Finalist
ACQ5 GLOBAL AWARDS 2020
UK Gamechanger of the Year (Lindie Kramers)
Winner
ACQ5 GLOBAL AWARDS 2020
UK Growth Company of the Year
Winner
Exhibitor Magazine’s Portable Modular Awards
Best International Design
Finalist
EN Elite Awards
Best Eco Supplier
Winner
EN Elite Awards
Best Employer
Winner
Great Place to Work Awards
UK’s Best Workplaces
Winner
EN Elite Awards
Best Design & Build Company (>£5m turnover)
Finalist
AEO Excellence Awards
Sustainability Award
Finalist
Business Leader Awards
Green Business of the Year
Finalist
Business Leader Awards
Employer of the Year
Finalist
Lloyds Bank National Business Awards
Employer of the Year
Finalist
Lloyds Bank National Business Awards
Exporter of the Year
Finalist
We are a certified women-owned SME and hold multiple industry memberships, including EDPA, ESSA, EON and APM.
We are proud to have achieved a number of globally recognised ISO standards, most notably being one of the first companies in the world to be certified with the ISO 20121 - Sustainable Event Management standard.
We are also certified with ISO 14001 - Environmental Management and ISO 9001 - Quality Management. We are also a Certified B Corporation and have signed the SME Climate Hub pledge, in support of the United Nations’ Race to Zero campaign.
We are proud to have set a science-based target, positioning us as leaders in the low-carbon transition. The Science Based Targets initiative is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
To us, sustainability is a way of life.
Accreditations
Memberships
Careers
We are proud to be one of the UK’s Best Places to Work, and in the USA we’ve been awarded MM&M 2019 Best Places to Work, Small Agency. We offer our clients flexibility; after all, we work in the exhibition, event and experience industry. We offer our employees the same.
We are always looking for outstanding creative talent to join our 3D, 2D and experiential studios in both Bristol and Indianapolis.
Our Vision
“To build a different kind of company that balances people and planet with profit and delivers great work for our clients.”
Our Mission
“To leave a positive legacy to staff, clients and the environment.”
Our Values
E - Entrepreneurial Spirit
Being entrepreneurial is a mindset. Entrepreneurs think and act differently. We expect the unexpected and we like to be surprised. For us, to be entrepreneurial means to be able to share ideas freely and fearlessly - even acknowledging so-called failures as learning and growing experiences. We encourage and expect entrepreneurial thinking at all levels of our team and seek to collaborate internally and externally to pinpoint the most exciting new future opportunities.
P - Personable Approach
We believe in being humble. No hierarchies. No egos. No tantrums. In business, we believe that people buy people and we advocate human-to-human communication and values at all times. Our clients always say we’re great to work with and that we go the extra mile. We also care deeply about making the world a better place. Internally, we take great care of our team and invest in finding new team-members that share our beliefs. We’ve been named as one of the UK’s ‘Best Places to Work’.
I - Intelligent Thinking
Thinking comes before doing. Whether it’s the design of a 3D environment, the flawless planning and delivery of an event or the creation of an unforgettable brand experience, we start by cross-fertilising ideas from our different disciplines and personal networks. We balance strategy with creativity and commerciality. The end result is projects of the highest aesthetic quality that function brilliantly and are delivered with exceptional levels of service, measured to ensure expectations are always met or exceeded.
C - Collaborative Working
The best source of project knowledge is our clients themselves. We also understand it’s not always easy for clients to articulate exactly what they require from their design partner. We have the tools to discover what is relevant and necessary to know from our clients and we combine this with our own research, knowledge and insights. We share findings and facilitate further brainstorms and that way we always nail the brief. The best minds need to work together towards the same goal.
“It’s a no-brainer that a happy company is not only more productive but creates a better experience for clients too. Investment in people always makes impeccable – and sustainable – business sense.”
Part of Istoria Group
We are proud to be part of a creative group with a distinct difference.
Being part of the Istoria Group allows clients access to a raft of specialist talent - from exhibitions, events and experiences (that’s us); to hospitality and retail design (Phoenix Wharf); and purposeful digital experiences (Tiny Spark).
There are shared processes, systems and rate cards throughout the group, giving our clients the choice to work solely with Ignition or to liaise across the group via a single point of contact for all creative and design needs. We let our clients decide.
Get in touch
Let’s get talking, to start creating.
Whatever your presence, we deliver commercially successful and cost-conscious results whilst creating real visual impact.
