CV

Me in a nutshell

Experienced managing small teams, large creative departments and everything in-between, my leadership style leans more towards the more organised (although the state of my desk might suggest otherwise).

Keen to be involved at all points throughout the process, I can often be found working alongside account handling and traffic to ensure projects are planned properly from the start. This collegiate style means I can encourage people to share their thoughts earlier and more freely, pushing the possibilities of a brief and frequently resulting in more exciting and effective work.

I use this open style with creatives too, encouraging them to use me as a sounding board when they’re stuck, or even just to test the waters for curveball ideas. In my last agency, I created drop-in brain-storming sessions to help push ideas for the Skittles social work, which resulted in a smoother way of working and even one of the Huffington Posts top 10 posts of the year.

But that's not to say I'm one of those 'sit in the office and oversee without picking up a pen' types. While i love creating a clear path for ideas, I also love coming up with them too. And with my rather diverse background, I'm just as happy coming up with headlines and layouts as I am thinking about experiential ideas and packaging designs.

Always on the hunt for ways to help people develop, I created the ‘Spotted’ Shopper Marketing initiative, a monthly competition that got people actively looking for and sharing examples of great work. I also set up various other initiatives to encourage learning and creative development within the agency, including the Skittles ‘Book of Awesome’ project, Creative Breakfasts with visiting speakers, Lunch & Learns and Employee of the Month.

I’m also pretty handy at review time. Normally a period people love to gripe about, I set up a bi-annual review system that significantly reduced the time and cost involved to conduct reviews. The new system also encouraged people to look to the future, and gave them a sense of measurable career progression without the need to spend hours filling in forms.

And as for the more serious stuff, I’ve worked into multiple company owners, presenting and implementing new creative team structures, helping to create new agency positionings, and have co-written the subsequent agency sell-in presentations and tools. I’ve even introduced several cost-saving ideas when it comes to hiring too, saving my last agency over £35k in the first year alone.

Creative Director at Pilgrim, London
June 2016 - Present
Clients: Lanson Champagne, Pipers Crisp, The National Gallery, Mateus, and a few other things I’m not allowed to tell you about.

Creative Director at Mesh Marketing, London
2008 - 2016
Clients: Absolut, Air Wick, Beefeater, Budweiser, CCE, Corona, Cubanisto, Dettol, Extra Gum, Gaviscon, Halifax, Lanson, Lurpak, Mars, M&Ms, Malteasers, Skittles, Snickers, Sony Mobile, Starburst, Wadworth Pubs, Wall’s, Warburtons.

 Key projects:
·       Led winning pitches for Mars, Wrigley, Lurpak, Reckitt Benckiser and Budweiser
·       Creatively led the entire Wall’s account, including multiple shopper, retail and branding projects
·       Led Skittles’ first global digital experiential campaign, and created the Skittles Book of Awesome (helping train junior creatives on ideas, design and project management)
·       Wrote the pitch winning deck for Nurofen, which also secured multiple other RB accounts

Freelance Creative, Vancouver
2007 - 2008
Clients: ASK and Zizzi Restaurants, Disney, Galaxy, The Personnel Department.

Key projects:
·       Wrote and designed the handbook for The Personnel Department at The Change Agency
·       Creatively led the Galaxy ‘Sex and the City’ campaign for Mesh

Senior Conceptual Writer/Deputy Group Head at Iris, London
2006 - 2007
Clients: Adidas, Boots, Department of Health, Lego, Polar Watches, Philips Electronics, Sony Ericsson, Southern Comfort.

Key projects:
·       Wrote the Agency Recruitment campaign that resulted in over 1,600 applications for 40 positions
·       Co-created the Sony Ericsson Night Tennis campaign
·       Creatively led the Lego Citv sponsorship brief, delivering 10 x 10 sec idents in 48 hours

Senior Conceptual Writer at Publicis Dialog, London
2003 - 2006
Clients: BFGoodrich Tyres, The Children’s Society, Cockburn’s, Courvoisier, Malibu, Teachers.

Key projects:
·       BTL brand guardian for Courvoisier, directed on-location shoots and wrote all advertising, trade and DM copy
·       Won an ISP Award for Malibu Student Campaign
·       Creatively led the BFGoodrich retailer loyalty campaign, including the creation of an interactive 20 minute film
 

Conceptual Writer at Marketing Drive Worldwide, London
2002 - 2003
Clients: BVHE (Disney), Chrysler Jeep, Kenco, London Zoo, Total.

Freelance Conceptual Writer, London
2001 - 2002
Clients: Babbington House, Dove Beauty, Lotto, Sainsbury’s, Woolworths, Xbox.

Copywriter at Barnes Vereker, London
2000 - 2001
Clients: Easynet, Erotica Events, Inter-Alliance, Stock Academy, uSwitch.

Structural Designer at various agencies, London and Boston USA
1996 - 2000
Clients: Avery Dennison, Ballantine’s, Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Cross Pens, Magnum, Orange Julius, Portico Hotels,
Ravel Shoes, Viennetta.

Awards
MAA ‘Best Social Campaign’ for Hubba Bubba ‘That’s Original’
IVCA ‘Best Brand Communication’ for Skittles ‘Build the Rainbow’
Drinks Business 'Consumer Campaign of the Year’ for Lanson Wimbledon
IPM ‘Best Sponsorship Activation’ for Budweiser ‘Rise As One’
MAA ‘Agency of the Year’

Recent Pitch Wins
2016 Hofmeister Helles Lager (integrated/shopper/experiential), 2016 Pipers Crisp Co (integrated/social/sponsorship), 2016 Mars Confectionery (integrated/shopper), 2016 Florette (integrated/shopper), 2016 Extra Gum (integrated/shopper), 2016 CCE pitch (integrated/shopper), 2016 Lanson (design/advertising), 2016 Wall’s (experiential), 2015 Snickers (integrated/shopper), 2015 Lurpak (shopper).

Skills:
Copywriting, Conceptualising, Art Direction, Creative Direction, Packaging, Retail Design, occasional mac monkey.

Disciplines:
Advertising (Print & TV); Branding Design; Creative Team Management; Digital & Social Media; Exhibition Design; Experiential; Naming; NPD Concepting: Packaging/Structural Design; Pitch Planning, Writing & Presenting; Shopper Marketing; Radio; Sales Promotion; Shopper Marketing; Strategy & Positioning.

Sector/Brand Experience:
Alcohol: Absolut, Budweiser, Corona, Courvoisier, Cockburn’s, Cubanisto, Harvey’s, Hofmeister, Lanson, Malibu, Teacher’s, Tia Maria, Tia Lusso, Whyte & MacKay
Automotive: BFGoodrich, Chrysler Jeep, Michelin
Charity: The Children’s Society, Comic Relief, The National Gallery
Confectionery: Extra Gum, 5 Gum, Galaxy, Hubba Bubba, M&Ms, Maltesers, Mars, Seabrooks, Skittles, Snickers, Starburst, Twix, Wall’s (Brand, Magnum, Viennetta)
Electronics: Philips, Polar, Sony Electronics, Sony Ericsson/Mobile
Entertainment: Disney (BVHE), Erotica, Lego, London Zoo, Lotto
Financial: Halifax, JM Finn, Lloyds, Morgan McKinley, Signifo, Stock Academy
Household (Food): Actimel, Activia, Chiquita, Cow & Gate, Lurpak, Tetley, Warburtons
Household (Product): Charmin, Dettol, Durex, Finish, Optrex, Piriteze, Vanish
Retail: Adidas, Argos, ASDA, ASK, Boots, Brewers Fayre, Corney & Barrow, Halifax, McArthur Glen, Pizza Express, Sony Ericsson, Tesco, Total, Wadworth, Wall’s, Zizzi
Soft Drinks: Coke, Capri Sun, diet Coke
Utilities: Alternative Networks, Thames Water, uSwitch