Behind some of football's most talked-about campaigns is a creative team that understands the power of emotion. Since launching as Manchester City's in-house creative and production hub in 2021, City Studios has evolved into a full-service content powerhouse, producing everything from documentaries and social content to award-winning branded campaigns for global partners. Based at the City Football Academy in Manchester, the studio combines unrivalled access with a culture of experimentation, helping brands connect with audiences in meaningful ways.
In this interview, Lee Warner, Head of Branded Content at City Studios, shares how the team has expanded beyond football, why emotional storytelling sits at the heart of every project, and how a willingness to embrace emerging technologies and creative risks has fuelled the studio's rapid growth. He also reflects on the importance of staying curious, nurturing innovation and ensuring that human connection remains central to the future of creative work.
How was your company born and where are you based?
City Studios was officially launched in 2021, but it was born out of a much longer history of content creation within Manchester City and City Football Group. As the club grew its media and content output, it became clear there was an opportunity to bring everything together under one unified brand. City Studios was created as an in-house creative and production hub, encompassing everything from social and documentary to branded content. Alongside that, we began building out a dedicated commercial and branded content team to better service partners and sponsors. We’re based at the City Football Academy in Manchester, at the heart of Manchester City, which gives us a unique proximity to the club, its players and its wider ecosystem.
What was the biggest opportunity to the growth of your company?
The biggest opportunity was taking the learnings and experience we’ve acquired over the last five years working with some of the world’s biggest brands and biggest names in football, and bringing it to the wider market. We’ve spent years developing creative expertise which we have now extended as a unique offering to brands outside of our network. We work on non-football specific content too, with a broader mix of brands across different categories. At the same time, we’re continuing to grow the team, bringing in new talent and expanding our capabilities. It’s a really exciting moment where experience and team ambition are opening up a fantastic range of opportunities.
Can you explain your team’s creative process? What makes it unique?
Our starting point is always emotional connection. Whatever we’re creating, we ask whether it will make people feel something, whether that’s excitement, joy, tension or curiosity. That emotional response[MF1.1] is what drives engagement and ultimately builds a stronger connection with the audience, hopefully converting into believers and fans of the brand. When it comes to some of our big tentpole moments in the football calendar (contract extensions, big names leaving the club, trophy wins), building campaigns and emotive narratives around the news stories is absolutely critical to tap into the passion of our fanbase. Storytelling also forms an essential part of our strategic thinking.
How does your team remain inspired and motivated?
There’s a constant drive to improve and push boundaries. We’re always looking at what others are doing and asking how we can raise the bar, testing new content formats, visual styles, camera techniques and so on.
Working within a global brand like Manchester City also brings a huge amount of inspiration. There’s always something happening, whether that’s major tournaments or cultural moments that sit at the intersection of sport, entertainment and culture.
That combination of ambition, access and cultural relevance means there’s rarely a quiet moment, and that keeps the team motivated to increasingly create better and bolder work.
What is one tip that you would give to other agencies looking to grow?
Don’t be afraid to take chances and explore new spaces. Growth often comes from being willing to try something new before it’s fully proven.
As a business, we’ve consistently looked to be early in emerging areas, including long-form documentary, the Metaverse, new platforms, and immersive experiences. That mindset has helped us stay relevant and continue evolving. We were one of the first teams to do a drone fly through of our stadium, as well as one of the first to test out eye catching CGI content when it was still in its infancy. It’s about backing ideas, staying curious and being willing to move first.
What’s your one big hope for the future of the industry?
That creativity and human connection remain at the centre of everything.
As the industry continues to evolve with new technologies and platforms, the work that resonates most will still be the work that connects with people on a human level. Making audiences feel something will always be more powerful than simply delivering a message.
Can you share a defining moment in your company's journey that shaped its identity or direction?
Some of the most defining moments in our journey have been producing campaigns that focus on a global news story. Moments such as Erling Haaland’s contract extension and Pep Guardiola’s departure as manager are already of huge interest to fans, but we have never taken these moments for granted. Instead, we’ve built holistic campaigns around them, from hero videos to graphics, bold copy writing, content creator collaborations, emotive storytelling, our ability to create huge impact and talkability around these moments from both City and non-City fans has been huge for our development as a team.
How do you foster a culture of innovation and experimentation within your team?
There’s a strong culture across the wider business of pushing forward and trying new things. That mindset comes from the top and filters through every team.
Within City Studios, we try to give people the space to think freely and develop ideas without too many constraints at the start. The focus is on ambition first, and then we work through how to make ideas achievable.
People are encouraged to be bold, and that freedom to experiment is a big part of how we continue to innovate. Even something like a producer wanting to test out a new camera lens that will change the entire look of a video, we encourage testing and learning, it nearly always produces the best results and stops us from resting on our laurels.
How do you balance maintaining your company's unique creative voice while meeting the diverse needs of clients?
We approach every brief with the same creative philosophy, regardless of the client. Whether we’re working with a global consumer brand or a more technical partner, the focus remains on creating engaging, emotionally-driven content.
That consistency in approach allows our creative voice to come through across all types of content. It also means we can take a more complex or less obvious subject matter and make it feel dynamic and accessible.
What strategies do you employ to adapt to changes and trends in the industry while staying true to your company's values?
We’re constantly growing as the industry changes. From new platforms, technologies or audience behaviours, we look to embrace those shifts early and build capabilities around them.
At the same time, our core approach doesn’t change. We still prioritise storytelling, creativity and audience connection. That balance allows us to adapt quickly while staying consistent.
Can you share a memorable client success story that exemplifies your company's approach and impact?
One strong example is our ongoing work with Xylem. Over several years, we’ve helped evolve their content approach into something more engaging and impactful, building momentum season on season and creating long-term positive fan sentiment and behavioural change. We’ve done this through a multi-faceted campaign approach, including everything from social ads, reactive OOH, CGI, branded content, in-person fan activations and more, using the power of football to educate fans on the importance of saving water and being more environmentally conscious.