Live & Breathe is an independent and progressive agency of 75 people based in the UK with global reach that believe collaboration is everything. It’s where they get their name from – by living & breathing their clients’ business needs for over thirty years.
To learn more about the company, we spoke to Managing Director, Nick Gray.
How was your company born and where are you based?
We were two separate companies originally that started 35 and 25 years ago, both with significant retail expertise but offering different services. We then came together, giving us a strong discipline offer but with a retail sector specialism.
But we really came of age four years ago, when we refocussed and created a plan to work towards. We now have offices in Leeds, London and Amsterdam – and have had the best three-year trading period since we started.
What was the biggest challenge to the growth of your company?
Self-belief - we were too self-deprecating for a long time. It wasn’t until we shook that off (not to the point of arrogance) that we started pitching for and winning high profile and high value clients against agencies that we previously would have feared.
The second thing was that cash flow was causing us to only make short term decisions. These two things go hand in hand, so when we started making longer term decisions married with bigger, better wins it helped us realise our true growth potential.
Which was the first huge success that you can remember?
Not all the team would agree with this, but for a long time we had one client that was large and profitable. So much so, that it hid the weaknesses elsewhere. It was after they went out of business that it forced us to scrutinise the whole business, draw a line under where we were and start again.
I remember clearly saying at a board meeting that losing that client was a ‘blessing in disguise’. And it was. After that, our work improved, we attracted better talent and we won some global accounts
What’s the biggest opportunity for you and your company in the next year?
We have the best balance of people we have ever had, and we are hungry for big new pitches and client partners. Added to this, we are seeing that independent micro-networks like ours are the antidote to the unwieldy, impersonal, and inefficient networks that are saturating the market.
Can you explain your team’s creative process? What makes it unique?
I suspect our process is similar to other agencies’. But I think what makes us unique is that we have all worked together for so long. We have grown up together. I’ve been here 24 years – half my life! So, we know each other inside out. It sounds daft but we can almost read each other’s minds.
We know and accept what we are good and bad at, or when we need some outside help, and we have enough humility to continuously learn. I love it when we are pitching. I think it’s when we’re at our best.
When we are on form, I think we can beat any agency to any work. Finally, despite winning many big clients in recent years, we will remain true to ourselves and will constantly adapt to changing environments - much like any living and breathing thing.
One intermediary recently described us as the oldest and most exciting start-up agency. We love that.
How does your team remain inspired and motivated?
We’re constantly bringing in new talent, and we often hire laterally. This of course includes diversity, but also people from different industries. We try and push ourselves into new directions and learn from our experiences.
There’s no room for egos at Live & Breathe, which fosters an open and flat structure and opportunity for anyone to implement their own new ways of doing things. We also have loads of regular stimulating workshops from outside companies.
How has COVID-19 affected your company?
The timing was perfect for us. We were planning quite a lot of change, and the lockdowns accelerated it. We also found that we were so much more efficient, happier as individuals and winning more work.
We now offer total flexibility, so some people are in all the time, some hybrid and some hardly ever. This has enabled us to recruit globally and now we have great talent working from all over the world.
Which agencies do you gain inspiration from? Do you have any heroes in the industry?
I love what Leo Burnett has done over the last few years. Michael Scantlebury, Founder of Impero, for being uncompromising both creatively and commercially – two vital traits to have at an agency, but rarely in the same person. It’s a cliché but James Murphy too, for the same reasons. - even the name NCA is genius.
What is one tip that you would give to other agencies looking to grow?
Never fall out of love with new business, and never take existing business for granted.
How do you go about finding new clients/business? (Pitching, work with retainers, etc.)
A mixture of things, from highly considered and targeted campaigns through to constant ducking and diving – both of which generally provide pitch opportunities. But ideally, we prefer to win without pitching, by being known as good at what we do and a great partner agency to do it with.
What’s your one big hope for the future of the industry?
Increased trust and improved client/agency relationships, for mutual good. Without this, it is just a marketplace and a race to the bottom, which adversely affects the work.
Do you have any websites, books or resources that you would recommend?
The win without pitching manifesto – Blair Enns
Creativity inc. – Ed Catmull
Shoe Dog – Phil Knight
