Projects and Clients

David has helped many creative industries projects and clients to be even more successful.

His creative industries projects and clients include conference keynote speeches, training workshops and business advice projects with conference organisers, creative businesses and creative industries support organisations.

Read a selection of clients world-wide and what clients say about David’s work.

Keynote Speaker, Seminars and Lectures

Conference and events organisers around the world have commissioned David to give keynote speeches and presentations. Here are some examples:

David spoke at the United Nations in Geneva on the Creative Economy and Creative Entrepreneurship Worldwide. He was the keynote speaker at the Unlocking the Creative Economy event in South Africa. He was a keynote speaker at Festival Naranja, the ‘Orange Economy’ Creative Industries Conference in Colombia. At the Creative Business Summit Africa, in Kenya, David was the international keynote speaker. He was also the keynote speaker at the Saudi Arabia Ejadah Conference and Exhibition on the Creative Economy. David was also the keynote international speaker at the Digital Debate in Bogotá, Colombia and at the Korea Creative Economy Forum in Seoul. He was the keynote speaker at a conference of the Creative Industries Cluster of Vojvodina KVIK, Serbia. He spoke at the World Summit of Creative Industries in Russia, and at the Astana International Forum in Kazakhstan. He gave a keynote speech on creativity and business at Enterprise Week in Donegal, Ireland.

David was the keynote speaker at the Business Wisdom Summit in Ukraine and at EVCOMference 2015 in the UK. He also spoke at a Samsung Conference in Portugal and a Cultural Economy Conference in Chile. He was a guest speaker at the Shanghai Creative Industry Week and spoke alongside Google and Apple at the ‘Innovate or Stagnate’ conference at Manchester Business School. He addressed the Taiwan International Cultural and Creative Industries Forum in Taipei. In Saudi Arabia, he delivered a workshop on Leading Creative Cultures for the Madinah Institute of Leadership and Entrepreneurship (MILE).

He was the keynote speaker at an event organised by the Enterprise Centre for the Creative Arts (ECCA) at the University of the Arts, London. David was the guest speaker at an Impulse Night event for creative entrepreneurs and students at CMKBU in Utrecht, Netherlands. In Colombia he gave a presentation at the University of Bogotá and ran a workshop at SENA Tecnoparque. David gave a presentation at Innovation Center Kosovo (ICK) on Business Growth in the Creative and Digital Industries. He was a speaker at a creative industries conference in Sweden and at a cultural industries conference in Norway. He spoke about New Business Models in the Creative Industries in Valparaiso, Chile. He was one of the speakers at the Creative Clusters conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

A listed TED speaker, David has given TEDx talks at TEDx events in Italy, Morocco and Norway. He was guest speaker at the International Finals of the Creative Business Cup in Copenhagen. As a creative industries speaker he draws on his international experience as a specialist adviser for creative enterprises and cultural organisations.

Creative Business Workshops and Seminars

Training workshops devised and delivered by David include ‘Creative Advantage’, ‘Creative Focus’, ‘Creative Marketing’, ‘Creative Finance’, ‘Focusing Creativity’, ‘Designing Your Creative Business’ and a range of seminars, workshops and presentations on topics including Marketing, Pricing, Business Strategy and Development, Intellectual Property, Leadership, Business Growth Models and Marketing, Strategic Planning and Managing Change.

David designed and delivered a training workshop for culture professionals in Slovakia, in preparation for Trenčín Capital of Culture 2026.

Other examples include: “Doing Business in the Creative Industries” [PODIM, Slovenia]; “Marketing – from Strategy to the Sale (without selling out)” [Big Idea, New Zealand]; “Creative Entrepreneurship” [CASE, Malta]; “Creative Pricing” [Networks, Bosnia and Herzegovina]; “Designing Your Creative Business” [HUBBA, Thailand]; “How to Make Money while you Sleep: The Art of Generating Cash from Creativity” [Chamber of Commerce, Curaçao]; “Business Growth Strategies for Creative and Digital Businesses” [Donegal LEO, Ireland]; “The Numbers: Making it all add up, financial planning for creatives” [The Academy, UK]; “Creativity and Business: How to Succeed as a Creative Entrepreneur” [BCCF, Indonesia]; “Leading Creative Cultures” [MILE, Saudi Arabia]; and “Jumpstart your Business” [Creative England, UK]

Advising Creative Businesses on Growth

David was the lead consultant responsible for advising growing creative businesses on Merseyside through the ‘Creative Advantage’ project. Merseyside ACME focused support on businesses that were growing and creating jobs. As well as delivering training workshops, David provided tailored and intensive consultancy advice for selected growth enterprises.  High growth businesses in the creative industries have been helped by David during periods of change and growth. In Ireland, David has worked on the Generate Programme to help creative and digital businesses to grow and create jobs.

Creative Marketing Consultant

David is a qualified marketing consultant with experience of marketing in a wide range of businesses internationally. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (FCIM) in the UK, he has also been awarded the ‘Chartered Marketer’ designation in recognition of his status as a world-class marketing expert. He uses creative techniques to help businesses at a strategic and operational level to achieve their goals.

Design, Media and Technology Businesses

David Parrish specialises in helping design, media and technology businesses, within the ‘creative and digital’ industries internationally, a sector also referred to as the ‘creative industries’.

He advises companies at a strategic level on business growth, strategic marketing, and the management of change. He uses creative techniques from a diverse range of businesses in a variety of sectors to help clients achieve ambitious objectives. David’s projects and clients in the digital and creative industries become more successful with his advice and coaching.

Leadership and Management

David advises businesses on leadership and management matters, through his consultancy practice and training workshops. He specialises in helping design businesses, media enterprises and technology companies within the creative and digital industries. He has direct experience of leadership and management as well as experience of advising numerous companies as a consultant and trainer. David is a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management (FInstLM).

Economic Regeneration and Job Creation

The creative, cultural and digital sector of the economy has the potential for economic growth and job creation. David works with economic development and regeneration agencies to create jobs in the creative and digital sector. He works with government agencies and NGOs to help high-growth creative and digital businesses to develop and create jobs. As a management consultant he has been commissioned to advise those creative businesses with the greatest potential for sustainable growth and job creation.

The ‘Generate’ Programme to create jobs in Ireland

David has worked with the Local Enterprise Office in Donegal, Republic of Ireland, to help creative and digital businesses to grow and create jobs through the Generate programme.

The ‘Creative Growth Initiative’ Project

David has worked with Liverpool Vision to help creative and digital businesses in the city to grow. As a specialist creative industries management consultant he has provided relevant and timely advice to creative enterprises in Liverpool. He was also centrally involved in the highly successful Liverpool Creative Growth Initiative project. David was engaged as a business adviser through Merseyside ACME and played a major role in helping over 200 creative enterprises to grow.

The ‘Focusing Creativity’ Project

This project has helped hundreds of creative entrepreneurs in Derbyshire to develop their businesses even more successfully. David played a central role in designing and delivering training workshops on business development, marketing and business strategy. This creative industries training project was initiated by Derbyshire County Council.

Leadership Training and Seminars

He was invited to make a presentation on the subject of ‘Leading Creative People’ at the conference of the Marketing and Advertising Global Network (MAGNET), held in Munich. He has also designed and delivered workshops on Leadership and management for executives in the creative sector and other industries.

Writing Books and other Publications

David writes books, guides and other publications relating to business in the creative industries. His book ‘T-Shirts and Suits: A Guide to the Business of Creativity’ was first published in the UK and has subsequently been published in translations in 14 countries around the world. He also wrote ‘Chase One Rabbit: Strategic Marketing for Business Success. 63 Tips, Techniques and Tales for Creative Entrepreneurs’, which is published in English, Spanish and French. David’s ‘Creative, Cultural and Digital Industries Guide’ was published by Business Link West Midlands in the UK and he has written a range of other publications on creative entrepreneurship.

Writing Articles for Magazines and Online Publishers

David is often commissioned to write articles for others, including magazine publishers and online publications. He was commissioned to write a chapter in a book on creative business published in the Netherlands. He wrote regular pieces for Creative Times and has written opinion pieces and articles for Ethos Magazine.

Marketing workshops, seminars and lectures

As well as being a constant issue for the creative businesses David advises on a one-to-one basis, he has also spoken on marketing to creative design entrepreneurs for the ‘Flying Start’ project, to participants on the New Entrepreneurship Scholarship, for the Greenhouse project, and at Tvibit in Tromsø, Norway. Many projects and clients have benefited from David’s marketing expertise.

Leading and Managing Change

A two-day training workshop for senior manager on ‘Leading and Managing Change’ was originally designed in partnership with the Australian National University and delivered in Turkey. A similar workshop for creative and other businesses was run in Singapore and Thailand.

Creative Industries Study Tours of the UK

David has organised and led study tours in the United Kingdom for overseas delegations wanting to learn more about the creative industries in England, Scotland and Wales. For example for Enterprise Estonia, who visited Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cardiff and London. Another tour was organised for the Estonian Artists’ Association who visited Salford, Manchester and Liverpool.

Clients

Clients are creative businesses, cultural organizations, and the agencies which support them, including local authorities, government departments, specialist creative industries development organisations and other projects. See selection of clients in the creative industry world-wide.

Summary

David works in the creative industries sector, helping creative businesses and cultural enterprises, specialising in marketing, organisational development, strategic business planning, and leading change. His projects and clients are world-wide.

Business development projects, consultancy assignments, training workshops, seminars, lectures, business advice surgeries and other creative industries services can be tailored to the specific needs of businesses, organisations and creative industries support agencies.

As an experienced and expert creative industries business adviser, management consultant, trainer, coach and mentor, David provides professional creative industries business advice to creative businesses in the following sub-sectors of the creative and digital industries:
advertising and public relations, architecture, product design, designer fashion, film and video, music, publishing, software and computer games, web design and e-commerce, television and radio, visual arts, crafts and the performing arts.

David’s professional qualifications help him to achieve greater success for his projects and clients.

David Parrish. Digital Economy Speaker

David with British Council colleagues in Azerbaijan

Cultural leaders and creative entrepreneurs at the Culture & Creativity EU-Eastern Partnership Programme Strategic Planning workshop

Creative Industries in Donegal, Ireland

International business speaker

David's British Council Creative Economy unit workshop for creative entrepreneurs in Harare, Zimbabwe
David’s British Council Creative Economy unit workshop for creative entrepreneurs in Harare, Zimbabwe
David Parrish with workshop participants in Hanoi, Vietnam
David Parrish with workshop participants in Hanoi, Vietnam
projects and clients
British Council creative entrepreneurs in Lithuania with David
Workshop participants in Brazil
Workshop participants in Brazil
Workshop participants in Singapore with David
Workshop participants in Singapore with David
United Nations Creative Economy presentation
At the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland

 


Detailed information about David’s work, credentials, projects and clients, etc can be downloaded from the Information page.