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Ben Lofthouse
Partner & Creative Director at Scratch Creative LDN.
Professional Background
Ben Lofthouse is a highly skilled professional well-known for his commercially minded approach to event management and operations. With a career that spans over eight years in event operations and five years of experience in event production, Ben has established himself as a leader in the field, executing projects that significantly enhance consumer experiences and client satisfaction while maintaining profitability.
His impressive portfolio highlights a profound ability to manage complex projects with budgets exceeding £6 million, as well as overseeing large teams of over 2,000 during major events. Ben's experience encompasses a diverse range of large-scale national and international events, demonstrating his versatility and expertise in the industry. Notable events he has managed include the renowned Creamfields, Wireless, All Points East, V Festival, and many more. This breadth of experience has honed his skills in planning and executing projects to the highest standards, ensuring that every detail is attended to and client expectations are not just met but surpassed.
In addition to his operational expertise, Ben has also served as the Partner and Creative Director at Scratch Creative LDN, where he contributes innovative ideas and strategic insights into the creative direction of projects. His former roles as an Account/Project Manager at GL Events UK and Project Manager for Major Events at Showsec have further strengthened his project management skills and provided him with the experience needed to handle high-pressure environments and deliver exceptional results.
Education and Achievements
Ben began his educational journey studying Business Studies and Law at Bilborough College, where he laid the groundwork for his understanding of the commercial landscape and the legal frameworks that support event operations. This solid educational foundation has enabled him to approach challenges with a comprehensive perspective, recognizing the legal and business implications that can influence project outcomes.
Throughout his career, Ben has been involved in the planning and execution of numerous prestigious events, such as the London Live 2012 – a significant milestone event that showcased the capital during the Olympic Games, and the Tour de France, one of the largest and most recognized cycling events in the world. His participation in other significant events, including the MTV EMA, Brit Awards, and MOBO Awards, further emphasizes his capability to work on high-profile projects that attract large audiences and media attention.
In event production, he played a pivotal role in the Glasgow European Championships 2018, overseeing multifaceted aspects of the event from start to finish. His commitment to excellence remains a hallmark of his career as he continues to build solid relationships with clients while delivering projects that challenge the ordinary and exceed expectations.
Achievements
- Managed Complex Projects: Successfully managed budgets exceeding £6 million in various high-profile events, showcasing a strong ability to handle substantial financial responsibility.
- Led Large Teams: Demonstrated leadership by managing teams with up to 2,000 individuals on a single day, ensuring effective coordination and execution of event activities.
- Diverse Event Experience: Gained extensive knowledge and expertise in event operations and production, having worked on a variety of significant national and international events which have showcased the best in entertainment, sports, and culture.
- Creative Leadership: As Partner & Creative Director at Scratch Creative LDN, contributed to innovative project concepts and strategic execution, driving consumer engagement and satisfaction.
- Solid Relationships with Clients: Developed and maintained robust relationships with clients over the years, demonstrating a commitment to customer service and excellence in project delivery.
Ben Lofthouse continues to push the boundaries within the event management sector, utilizing his experience, creativity, and strategic thinking to lead projects that not only deliver outstanding results but also enrich the overall experience for consumers and clients alike.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.