The Wave, Bristol

Fractional Brand Marketing support at the world’s
first commercially successful wavepool

What is The Wave?

The Wave is a ‘slice of the ocean’ in Bristol, UK that brings the joy of wave-riding and benefits of blue health to people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities – from a child stepping on a board for the first time, to a professional surfer training for the Olympics. The Wave is the brainchild of founder Nick Hounsfield, who wanted to provide naturally healthy spaces, where everyone could experience ‘blue health’ and the positive power of water and waves. The Wave is all about improving health and wellbeing through surfing and having a shed load of fun in the process.

At its heart is a 180m long surfing lake, powered by Wavegarden technology, that provides an unrivalled inland surf experience suitable for everyone, from beginner to seasoned professional. It’s designed to ensure it is fun for all, whatever the ability level. The Wavegarden Cove technology can generate up to 1,000 quality waves per hour, ranging from 50cm (1.7ft) to almost 2m (6.5ft) in height. Importantly, the whole surfing experience has been designed to ensure each surfer has the space, time and serenity to enjoy their surf at The Wave without ever needing to contend with the crowds.

Raw Elements Marketing supports The Wave in a fractional Brand Marketing leadership role, acting as both brand guardian and commercial growth partner. Operating at the intersection of brand, content and partnerships, we ensured The Wave’s physical and digital presence remained consistently aligned to its brand framework from campaign creative and social storytelling, to on-site execution and partner integration.

The role includes:

Brand Guardianship — ensuring all campaigns, on-site assets and partner integrations aligned with The Wave’s brand framework
Partnership Architect — sourcing, negotiating and delivering aligned brand collaborations
Content Strategist — shaping storytelling to drive audience growth and customer acquisition
Commercial Leader — contributing to revenue generation beyond core channels

The Value of Fractional Leadership

By embedding senior brand and commercial expertise without full-time overhead, Raw Elements Marketing has:

Protected long-term brand equity
Increased partnership revenue
Elevated The Wave’s cultural and commercial positioning

Delivering Partnership Impact

Stance

Objective:
Evolve an existing retail partnership into a deeper brand collaboration.

Results:
Secured a renewed and increased partnership moving beyond retail and onsite branding into:
- Integrated brand storytelling across social and events
- Creative on-site visibility
- The partnership shifted from transactional retail to cultural alignment and reinforced shared values of creativity, self-expression within the surf community.
Dryrobe

Objective:
Ensure a successful renewal of a multi layered partnership spanning surf operations, retail, events, and digital activations.

Result:
Delivered a partnership renewal including:
- Expanded retail presence
- Enhanced on-site brand visibility
- Integrated experiential activations
- Seamless integration to social content

Dryrobe are heavily embedded within The Wave’s surf operations team as well as the customer journey. The venue forms a perfect backdrop for Dryrobe to reinforce their pre and post surf brand positioning to drive both revenue and brand awareness value.
Red Bull

Objective:
Elevate event experiences and attract new audiences through high-impact cultural association and category exclusivity for the Red Bull brand.

Result:
Secured Red Bull support for live surf activations, including:
- Music, MC and live atmosphere integration
- Amplified social reach through brand crossover
- Enhanced brand perception among progression-led surfers
Red Bull’s involvement positioned The Wave within a broader performance and culture ecosystem — increasing relevance beyond core surf audiences.
Goodrays

Objective:
Secure new partnership aligned to Goodrays’ 'power of calm’ brand positioning that created product trial and experiential brand touchpoints.
Result:
- Integrated the brand into events and community moments.
- Created sampling and experiential ‘suprise and delight’ moments
- Delivered cross-channel visibility through owned content

Testimonial - The Wave & Dryrobe

Julian Topham, CEO of The Wave:
“This partnership is a powerful signal of the confidence that brands like Dryrobe® have in The Wave as we move into our new chapter of growth. We are incredibly proud of what we are achieving, and excited about the future as a successful, sustainable business making positive impact on people and the planet.”

Nick Rees, Global Partnerships Manager at Dryrobe:
“We all truly love The Wave! Surfing is a sport that is incredibly close to our hearts at Dryrobe. It’s where we started and it’s something we enjoy every day. We have worked together with The Wave from the very beginning – it’s the original surf park and remains a truly special place. Our partnership reflects shared values, from sustainability to social impact, and we’re proud to continue working together to support the UK surf community at every level.”