Tell us a bit about you Colin...
I'm a 6ft 3" one-time professional surfer and ex Abercrombie & Fitch model stuck in the body of a 5ft 10" balding Brightonian. Creative Director at VCCP, father of two beautiful daughters and husband to a very patient women I managed to unwittingly hypnotise into thinking I was the aforementioned person above, many years ago.
What do you get up to at VCCP?
I try to make sure no one ends up where they were expecting to end up. Going somewhere unexpected forces everyone on a journey and that's the exciting part. The day this job becomes remotely predictable is time to move on or leave the industry.
What would you be doing if you weren't at VCCP?
Looking for another job.
What do you love most about working at VCCP?
The people. It's a cliche but it's all about the people and the culture they create. An agency's nothing more than a rented building without its people.
What campaign do you wish you'd worked on?
There's so many. Natural confectionary company's 'bring on the trumpets' I love for it's brutal simplicity and irreverence - how on earth they sold that one in escapes me. Anything unconventional from Droga5 and everything Barton F Graf put out.
Which brand would you love to work with?
Russell Brand
What's the best advice you've ever received?
- The answer's in the brand
- Always trust your gut
- Just do it
What was your worst job and what did you learn from it?
Potato peeler in a chippy when I was 13. I did one shift then persuaded a mate to take over from me, effectively subletting the job to him and taking a slice of the earnings. He did three shifts before cottoning on to my ruse. What I learned from that was I could be quite persuasive.
What do you see to be the most notable change in the industry in recent years?
I fell into digital about 14 years ago and at that time, everything digital was new to everyone. It was the midst of the dot com boom and we were making the rules up as we went along. The biggest change is that clients now seem to be the most savvy people in the room. They have the unenviable task of managing multiple agencies all working in a myriad of channels and disciplines. Clients have to be marketing gurus, product development geniuses, community managers, app store negotiators, innovators, sages, soothsayers and entrepreneurs. I wouldnt want to be a client.
What do you think will be the next big thing?
Home fabrication will be enormous. Something that gives individuals that much convenience and freedom, effectively makes us masters of our own universe. Makerbot's scanner now removes the need for a 3D file of the thing you're 3D printing so you can simple scan something, press print and off you go. Create a clone in two clicks. This space is evolving a frightening pace and before long we'll all have a fabricator in our homes just as we do a microwave. And Ikea will be nothing more than an online store selling templates.
