#CompanySpotlight on former BBC in-house agency Red Bee Creative

Charlie Mawer, Executive Creative Director at Red Bee, discusses the journey of Red Bee Creative.

How was your company born and where are you based?

We’re an agency born in TV and we’re based in Broadcast Centre, White City. Red Bee Creative actually began life inside the BBC as the in-house creative and design team – and then in 2005 we became an independent global creative agency.

What was the biggest challenge to the growth of your company?

When we became an independent agency we needed to prove that we operated with a commercial understanding, rather than with a public service mindset from within the BBC.

It was a challenge that I’m delighted to say we successfully overcame! It was also a really exciting time as we were able to demonstrate our capability for understanding diverse needs of audiences all over the world.

Which was the first huge success that you can remember?

A huge success, and one I’m still so proud of, has got to be the creation of the channel ‘Dave’ from UKTV G2, which won an IPA Effectiveness Gold. Our rebrand redrew the notion of what a TV channel could be and became a signature piece of work.

Other clients would come to us asking us to ‘do a Dave’ for them. It is rare to have a project deliver such a clear case for creative effectiveness. Our rebrand delivered an extra £25million of revenue in the first year for the brand– with absolutely no change in content or offer.

What’s the biggest opportunity for you and your company in the next year?

There has undoubtedly been headcount pressure from a lot of clients in the TV and streaming world. But this has its benefits, too, as it creates opportunities for us to be the trusted, retained partner for creative, strategic and design services.

We have great relationships on both the East and West coasts of the U.S. which enable us to talk with C-suite decision makers of global streaming brands. We are in a people business after all.

Can you explain your team’s creative process? What makes it unique?

A client brilliantly described Red Bee Creative as being ‘like a Swiss Army knife with the creative tool for any challenge’. I like that we can blend our skills and have our Designers, 3D Animators, Directors, and Copywriters all working on the same projects – each offering their skill to the end result.

We are proudly rooted in strategy and smart creative thinking. We always want to build brighter brands. We use the word ‘bright’ deliberately; we want our solutions to be smart and to stand out.

And with all the sparkle of working in the entertainment industry. We’re also unique in that our senior leaders remain incredibly hands-on and involved in projects. We write on briefs and do the design work, as well as draw out the best from our teams – it’s the best of both worlds.

How does your team remain inspired and motivated?

The greatest motivator for any creative team is variety of challenge. At Red Bee Creative, we provide that by the range of countries, briefs and client sizes we work with.

From social purpose initiatives like Twinning, and book publishers like Harper Collins, through to major networks like NBCUniversal, Telemundo and Warner Bros. Discovery, there is always something fresh for the team to be thinking about which I think is something people love the most.

How has COVID-19 affected your company?

We’ve been lucky that it’s mostly been in a beneficial way, particularly with international clients. Distance became irrelevant and we were able to prove our ability and go toe-to-toe with more local agencies. Like so many others, we also enjoy the flexibility of hybrid working. It’s a balance, of course.

We’re still really mindful of the need to retain the team culture and cohesion, as well as bring younger people through the ranks. We’re all together at least two days a week in the office, and we host lots of little team get-togethers. It’s really important to us to hold onto what makes Red Bee Creative such a great place to work.

Which agencies do you gain inspiration from? Do you have any heroes in the industry?

I learned a huge amount in the early stages of my career from Martin Lambie-Nairn. We didn’t always agree, but it was a fantastic schooling.

A Creative Director I hugely admire, and was lucky to meet at a Promax event in Australia, was Chris Spencer, Chris was responsible for the launch of so many incredible HBO campaigns for shows like the Sopranos and I have huge respect for his work.

There are also clients whose work you can’t help but admire over the years, like John Landgraf at FX. In my opinion, they do the best work in our industry in America every year.

What is one tip that you would give to other agencies looking to grow?

Thought leadership is really important. Lots of agencies might offer similar services but don’t necessarily offer original thought leadership. I don’t mean Instagrammable platitudes – I mean genuine, original, moving-the-industry-forward thinking.

How do you go about finding new clients/business? (Pitching, work with retainers, etc.)

Personal connections trump anything else. But we also love the random connections that bring us new work – like the phone call that came out of the blue from the fashion brand asking to speak to the team that ‘made Dave.’ It took us into a whole new sector and we loved it.

What’s your one big hope for the future of the industry?

That we continue to prove that human thinking will always trump AI! I don’t believe, for example, that AI would be capable of creating or understanding the joy and delight of watching hippos swim in a circle for a BBC One ident.

Do you have any websites, books or resources that you would recommend?

Shout out to Richard Holman’s fabulous book, ‘Creative Demons and How to Slay Them’ – a one-time colleague and brilliant writer on the creative process.