About us
Watershed is a ‘small giant’, known in the South West for our expertise, energy and forward-thinking approach. We offer London-level service at realistic prices. Our down-to-earth approach and personal service mean that our clients don’t feel as though they’re working with a typical public relations agency.
We began more than ten years ago as a traditional public relations company specialising in media relations and brand building. We won many awards and worked with clients as varied as St John’s College, Oxford, WHSmith PLC and Arts Council England.
In recent years, we have led the way in West Dorset for digital practices and evolved into a digital communications agency, with PR as one aspect of our work. We build websites, run social media campaigns, make videos, take photographs and write stories. Our Facebook page, Bridport Notice, has more than 14,000 ‘likes’ and regularly reaches in excess of 100,000 people in the area and beyond. We have vast experience in running marketing campaigns for businesses and organisations across Dorset, Devon and Somerset.
Who we are
Stephen Banks
Director
Stephen builds websites, takes photographs, films video, supplies graphic design services and provides technical support to our clients.
He joined Watershed in 2011 in his first full-time job after leaving university. Stephen provides the wide range of digital services which make Watershed’s campaigns happen. He films and edits videos, designs leaflets, takes photographs for print and online use and fixes clients’ website issues. He is also a ‘digital native’, with highly successful social media profiles, and can be found all over the web.
Originally from Liverpool, Stephen attended the Liverpool Blue Coat school before attaining a high 2:1 BA (Hons) degree in Graphic Design at the University of Wales, Newport. Since moving to Dorset, his Twitter account @dorsetscouser, website and Facebook page have built a large following. Much of this attention was sparked by his time-lapse video project ‘Bridport by Night’, which has had over 30,000 views to date on YouTube, and broadened into ‘Dorset by Night‘, commissioned by the Spirit of Bridport group for the Cultural Olympiad in 2012.
His photographs of Dorset’s night skies have been widely featured in national newspapers and shortlisted for international photography competitions. He featured in the ITV series Harbour Lives in the summer of 2014, The One Show in October 2015, and has produced four calendars of Dorset night sky images, with the majority selling through his personal website and DorsetScouser Photography Facebook page, which has in excess of 35,000 fans.
More recently, he has set up a YouTube channel with his partner and Watershed Account Executive Claire Patten, aptly entitled Stephen and Claire. Filming and editing for this YouTube channel has introduced Stephen and Claire to new skills, such as iPhone filming, location research and HDR video which he is now applying to his work at Watershed.
Anne King
Account Executive
Anne has a wealth of experience in public relations, corporate communications and journalism.
She headed the public relations team at Dorset Police where she coordinated media relations, developed communications strategies for major incidents and operations, organised events and delivered media training to police officers and support staff.
Anne has worked as a freelance consultant with both the private and public sector specialising in communicating complex ideas simply and effectively.
An NCTJ-qualified journalist, she has worked as assistant editor at the Daily Echo in Southampton, women’s editor at The News, Portsmouth and deputy news editor for the Press Association in London.
She lived in southwest France for ten years, renovating an old railway station and returned to her West Dorset roots to run the editorial department of the Bridport and Lyme Regis News before joining the Watershed team.
She manages social media feeds and campaigns for clients as well as copywriting for print and digital media, media liaison and promotion, reputation management and PR campaigns.
She likes walking on the Jurassic Coast and loves living in West Dorset.
Claire Patten
Video Specialist
Claire joined Watershed in 2020, providing support for the business’s growing video workload. Her expertise with photography and creative eye have proved invaluable, helping Watershed reach new heights in nimble YouTube filmmaking.
Claire studied Marine and Natural History Photography at Falmouth University and enjoys diving on the Jurassic Coast. She is also Stephen’s partner, and they often spend their free time making films for their YouTube channel, Stephen and Claire – 2 Zany Brits.