AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS

 
Honorary Doctorate from Staffordshire University Hons. D Univ
 
The Happy List 2021- Covid Heroes – The Independent
 
Top 100 Changemakers 2021 – The Big Issue
 
Winner – Economic Development Australia Awards – Best Promotional & Marketing Campaign – for ‘Extraordinary, Everyday Barossa’
 
Winner of APSE Award  – Best Community & Neighbourhood Initiative for Valley of Lights
 
Winner – Calderdale Community Spirit Awards 2019 – Outstanding Personal Achievement
 
Winner of the ‘Inspire Award’ for Inspirational People of Calderdale
 
Winner of The Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM) Action Award for best marketing and branding strategy to increase vitality and viability into town and city centres.  
 
Winner of The Government’s Yorkshire & Humber Making a Difference Award
For Outstanding Response to The Economic Downturn

INITIATIVES:

Totally Locally.  Valley of Lights.  Watermark Fund.  Totally Socially. 

Chris has worked with many many towns on projects to help build resilient local economies, including creating specialist markets, social spaces, pop up shops, events, effective working groups and just getting people to go and do stuff for where they live.

SOME TALKS:

Barossa, South Australia Nov. 2022 – A series of 24 workshops & presentations to councils, regional development groups, winemakers, community groups, main streets & town groups. The topics were various but all drew on Chris’ experience in campaigns that have social impact, branding for place, high street regeneration and harnessing community-led energy. Commisioned by Regional Development Australia.

Cumbria University – Creating strong Local Economies by Collaboration.

Place Leaders Association Asia Pacific Adelaide, South Australia Presenting on Community-led town centre & main street regeneration.

NABMA (National Association of British Markets) Annual Conference  – Birmingham How to create markets that have a positive impact on local economies

Locality Annual Conference, Cardiff ‘How to save your High Street – Let people get on with it!’

Totally Socially – Scarborough  (‘Without the Aid of a Net!) -“ a workshop on big ideas, engaging communities, Totally Locally, Town regeneration, and anything the audience asked for on the day. Crazy but fun! Followed by getting people to tackle a real problem.

Planning Institute of Australia, Adelaide, Australia (How to Engage Communities through brand)

Main Street Australia Conference – Melbourne, Australia ‘Transforming towns and main streets’

Adelaide Festival of Ideas – Energising Town Economies  – No permission needed’

TownStock Halifax UK – Totally Locally Town Kit launch

Digital High Street Conference – Halifax ( How to Engage Communities)

Calderdale College – (All About The Brand- how branding can change an organisation).

Town Talks including:
UK , Chorley, Manchester, Grimsby, Leek, Scarborough, Crickhowell, Haye on Wye, Stone, Hebden Bridge, Helebsburgh, Margate, Harrogate,

Australia – Main Street Australia-Melbourne, Geelong Council, Gawler Council, Light Council, Nooriupta, The Barns of Freiling, Anguston, Kapunda Barossa Farmers Market, Fleuria Peninsula, and loads more.

France – Villaine de Juhel

PRESS & MEDIA

BBC Breakfast TV – Fiver Fest national campaign

BBC 1 National News – Interviewed on Amazon setting up High Street Stores

BBC Breakfast TV – Digitising High Streets to help during COVID

BBC 1 – News – Vibrant High Streets

BBC Radio 4 World at One – High Street Regeneration

ITV News – Digitising High Streets to help during COVID

Daily Express (Britain’s best High Street)

How to Save Our Town CentresJulian Dobson

BBC1, ITV, The Guardian, BBC Radio Leeds for Valley of Lights (including Live broadcast)

Yorkshire Post – Totally Locally  – Yorkshire’s Home Grown revolution.

Yorkshire Post Magazine  – The revival of Halifax

Yorkshire Post – The Shops that have won their own Store Wars

Publications:

Totally Locally – The Economics of Being Nice – buy here>>

One More Hill – a book on Cycling culture in the South Pennines, which you can read about here.

GOOD TO KNOW YOU

The Good Company is Chris Sands – Branding Person, Place Maker, Marketeer, Designer, Social Entrepreneur, International Speaker, Photographer, Writer & Obsessive Cyclist.

Why the name The Good Company? Because over the years, he’s worked with some incredibly talented people -photographers, copywriters, web & tech people, illustrators and more, all who have become good friends, 

So there is a big pool of great people on tap for any project, all who are at the top of their game, are full on professionals and, just as important, are lovely people. It makes a project go very smoothly, and makes it good for everyone. You will be in Good Company.

Chris Sands is a branding consultant, who, in his 20+ year career, has worked with everything from arts organisations to local government, the music business to regional parks, from big corporate organisations to community-led projects. He’s perhaps best known for starting Totally Locally, a free, open source marketing kit for towns to help keep the independent high streets of the UK (and now the world!) alive and thriving. Totally Locally has been taken up by over 100 towns in the UK and many across the world have joined in from Australia & New Zealand to France, Ireland, Italy and more. Many towns reported huge changes in the shopping habits and businesses collaborating; creating strong local economies.

In 2015 Chris received an Honorary Doctorate from Staffordshire University for his work helping in the grass-roots led regeneration of towns across the world. Chris has spoken at many events and conferences, including in Australia, France & New Zealand, where he often speaks on local distinctiveness, engaging communities, branding & ‘just doing it!’.

He has become a regular visitor to Australia, being commissioned to work with organisations such as Regional Development Associations, Councils, Main street Groups, volunteer groups and NGOs.

He’s happiest in the outdoors, on his mountain bike or walking.

(photos by Sarah Mason)

GOOD WORKS

Everybody Arts and The Everybody School of Art Re-Brand

Complete rebrand including name change, brand strategy, designs, copywriting, workshops and working with Sir Quentin

THE ECONOMICS OF BEING NICE

My book about how the Totally Locally campaign I developed grew from small beginnings in

Ripon – Working with Businesses to build a Sustainable Local Economy

We are thrilled to be working with Ripon businesses & traders on bringing cohesion and

Temperance Tea – Packaging Design

Temperance is a tea importer, beautiful cafe & general store based in Halifax. Owner Joe

A Presentation on Totally Locally in Australia Nov 2022

Initial presentation to 50 council representatives, community leaders and business owners for South Australia by

South Pennines Place Branding

A complete place brand for the UK's first self-designated landscape. Including campaign material, displays, branding,

The Sandstone Ridge – Place Branding

Branding a landscape to take the area towards Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty status. Work

Hebdenbridge.org

Hebden Bridge is Special. But it has never had a visitor facing website. I created