When did you join LBi and what encouraged you to?
I joined LBi two years ago, with my writer Abi Ellis. Why? We'd have been stupid not to. We love every medium, but LBi's devotion to digital made us weak at the knees. And still does. It has all the ingredients of our ideal agency. A client list to die for, a mad mixture of uber techno geeks and crazy assed creative types, all inside a huge brewery on the middle of Brick Lane. It had to be.
As concisely as possible, tell me what you do.
I enforce simplicity. Simple as that.
How did you get started in the industry?
Mine is a fairly common story. I did an HND in advertising at Doncaster College in the early 90's then hit the placement trail. This was at the back end of a big recession and I'd come across other young creative teams that had been running round London with their books for two or three years. After months of sitting in agency corridors scrounging briefs I was all but ready to give up and do a regular gig. Fortunately, I was thrown a life line (cheers Chalky). I like to think that I was about one week away from having a real job.
What do you think you'd be doing if you weren't in the industry?
Transforming a run down Mallorcan farmhouse into my dream home.
What's your current favourite piece of creative work?
I'm chuffed with how our recent Grolsch project turned out. Since tablet has turned up I feel a real return to the good old days of print design principles.
What do you love about your job?
Seeing great work go live still gives me a buzz.
My first ever ad was a poster for Tennents Lager.
It was on three billboards, side by side, down
Edinburgh's Leith Walk. I almost choked on my pint.
If you could give one piece of advice to someone starting out, what would it be?
Keep on knocking and eventually someone will open the door.
If you could choose your own super power what would it be?
Time Travel.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
I always wanted to be an Australian Motorcycle Police officer after being sent a recruitment leaflet by my Auntie. The cover featured an antipodean bobbie hacking across a deserted beach on a motocross bike, I remember staring at it and thinking 'That's a job?'
What was your worst job and what did you learn from it?
I found myself on my hands and knees cleaning the underside of a dish washer during a busy Saturday shift at the Doncaster branch of Pizza Hut. I think they were trying to teach the showy southerner a lesson. In the end I pulled off my apron and threw it at the duty manager. It's the only time I've literally thrown the towel in, and it felt awesome.
You have already worked with some amazing brands, who would you like to work with next?
To produce great work for a brand you have to fully immerse yourself in that world. At the moment immersed in a world of corns, bunions and cracked heels. So maybe it'd be nice to do some work for a tourism account.
What's your favourite app or website?
If I was being totally honest I'd say MadSkillzBMX by Turbozilla. If I was answering an industry interview I'd say Bike Baron.
Pinterest or Twitter?
Scrapbooks
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LBi is a global marketing and technology agency, expert at blending strategic, creative, media and technical expertise to build business value. We help companies of all shapes and sizes decide what’s next for their business - and then we take them there. We define and execute transformational digital strategies for clients including BT, Coca-Cola, E.ON, Lloyds TSB, Play.com, SAB Miller and Virgin Atlantic. Across our 30 offices in 17 countries, there are more than 2,000 digital specialists collaborating withbrands to enrich people’s lives via service design, branded content, mobile, CRM and social media. We also set the pace in digital display, search, affiliate marketing, usability and analytics. There are many things that make LBi unique, but if we had to choose one it would be our ability to bring together diverse teams of experts to suit any brief. We call this blending, and it’s the reason why all types of organisations – from famous global businesses to disruptive start-ups – choose LBi to help make their brands desirable wherever, whenever and however people choose to engage with them.
