Experience

Ph.Creative 2020-Present

Executive Creative Director at one of the UK’s most creatively awarded employer branding and talent attraction agencies. We create campaigns and employer brands that people don't just like - they want to live in them. And clients and awards juries seem to like them too.

Since I joined as ECD we've grown from 50 to 100 people in just under 4 years. We've won creative accounts for brands as varied as Merlin Entertainment, Nike, Lloyds, Sainsbury's and Prudential amongst many others. I've built a 15 strong multi-disciplinary creative team including art directors, designers, copywriters, film makers, motion and CDs. And we we've won an armful of creative awards every year for numerous brands and projects across multiple awards systems.

Full Time Parent 2019-2020

We decided I would stop working entirely to be a full time parent and my wife would return to work. My eldest had less than two years until starting school. It was a now or never decision, but one of the best we’ve ever made. Our children have benefitted in so many ways and so has their mum to whom, coming from Sweden, this is an entirely normal path. Whilst having the time of my life I had to grow in understanding, perspective, patience, resilience and a million other things. It's an extremely different role versus going to work. But to any dad who’s fortunate enough to be able to make it happen, I'd thoroughly recommend it.

VCCP 2015-18

Creative director on seven accounts across social, crm, content, digital, retail, experiential, PR, TV, print, radio and internal comms. Working with eighteen creative teams.

Led the 2nd, 3rd and 4th biggest billing accounts at VCCP; ASDA, More Than and Saga. All three were given to me at times when they were unhappy and considering leaving. I successfully turned around all three, developing effective and creative campaigns, fostering better client relationships and happier agency teams.

Led re-launch of ASDA preparing 18 months of forward creative; including a valentines app enabling customers to send their loved one their actual heartbeat, set to music, wherever they were in the world; oversaw their most successful Easter campaign ever, selling out of eggs a week before Easter.

Led the complete re-launch of More Than with a new positioning, campaign and brand guidelines, putting it back into profit. Created the ‘Dog Olympics’, an event attended by thousands and watched by a quarter of a million on facebook live. Re-positioned their ‘black-box’ driving as gamification and created a popular computer-game version of the real life More Than product.

In a two-year project, led the complete overhaul of Saga (£2.6billion turnover business across numerous sectors) from paper to digital brand. Covered everything from website design, logo and line ‘keep doing’ to brand architecture, brand guidelines, all advertising and workshops on the re-brand to induct employees.

Ran Canon during a process of totally integrating the work of the seven agencies that had previously serviced the account, into one joined-up operation at VCCP. Led retail, social, content, digital, CRM, TV and print across domestic / EMEA with European partners. We created the most integrated account and team I have ever seen in any agency.

Led digital and content re-launch of O2 Business, it’s most successful campaign since it’s initial launch a decade earlier. Collaborated with the ASOS’ in-house creative team to develop strategy and creative. Ran the luxury car-maker account McLaren Automotive developing digital creative and branding.

BBC Creative (formerly Red Bee Media) 2012-15

Executive Creative Director BBC across digital, social media, content, TV, print, radio, brand design, and channel furniture. Responsibility for thirty-six creatives / seven creative directors.

During my tenure we won more creative awards than ever before in each consecutive year, including agency of the year, European agency of the year and client of the year for the BBC for the first time. Re-structured and rejuvenated creative department. Developed skills, strategic thinking and creative output with minimal hiring. Identified existing talent to get the best casting within the team. Encouraged the team to foster relationships with the marketing team to produce better, shared ownership work. Responsible for all creative on all BBC brands and content, defining and driving attribution to brands. Consistently led effective award winning work with budgets and timescales akin to social and content production rather than traditional agency production.

Oversaw BBC1 re-brand with the creation of first ever ‘reactive’ channel idents to better resonate with a younger audience. Built in-house team and processes to execute this. Developed a consistent look-and-feel template for BBC1 marketing across digital, social media, and print.

Led the creation of first ever ‘brand’ and line, “Everyone’s got a seat”, for BBC Sport to use across all sport assets and media in the face of increased competition. Created the first ever social and content launch campaign for the World Cup, achieving more viewers than any previous launch.

Oversaw evolution of a brand for BBC3 through appointment to view campaigns, readying it for migration online. Led Children In Needs most successful fundraiser recruitment campaign ever with lower media spend than previous campaigns.

Led a year-long ‘whodunit’ campaign across digital, social, TV and outdoor for Eastenders, putting it back on the No.1 spot after three years at No.3. Re-launched The Voice attracting record viewing figures despite it being it’s 3rd series. Oversaw a series of award-winning idents for BBC2 designed to address its ‘stuffy’ image.

Other brands: iplayer, Sport Relief, BBC Apps, BBC1, BBC2, BBC3, BBC Music, Radio1, Radio2, Radio3, Radio4, CBBC, CBeebies, BBC Licencing, BBC Drama, BBC Comedy, Internal Comms, Premier Inn Hub

AMV BBDO 2008-12

Board member, creative director and creative across TV, print, radio, digital, social.

Won creative and effectiveness awards with the ‘It Has to Be Heinz’ campaign, which went on to run for a few years, and the EDF Energy ‘Feel Better Energy’ yellow robot campaign, which is still running today. Created the Galaxy ‘Audrey Hepburn’ global campaign, which knocked Cadburys Dairy Milk sales off of the top spot for the first time ever, along with award winning work for the V&A Museum of Childhood. Produced the first high profile campaign warning about carbon emissions, for Act on CO2, which became the most complained about campaign of the year.

Other clients: Snickers, Mars Planets, National Lottery, Mercedes Benz, Smart Car, V&A Museum of Childhood, Sainsburys, AVIVA, Guinness, Eurostar, Metropolitan Police, Gillette, Maltesers, Pedigree, Walkers, Twix, Nicorette, BT Sport, Blackberry, Pizza Hut, Wrigleys, Digital UK.

Farm Communications (Folded into FCB Inferno) 2008-08

Senior Creative across TV, print, radio, retail, digital.

Created long-standing campaigns for Youngs; ‘We Know Our Stuff’ and NFU Mutual; ‘We Do Right By You’. Made lasminute.coms biggest-ever online film ‘Unexpected Performance’.

Other clients: Goodfellas, Visit Britain, Confused.com, Government Anti-Smoking, London Dungeon

4Creative 2005-2008

Creative across TV, print, radio, digital.

Created the award winning ‘Film 4 is now Free’, More4 ‘Russian Bear’ and More4 ‘Ghosts’ campaigns. Devoloped a love of working in a more collaborative, integrated environment and working closer with clients whilst producing lots more work. Other clients: E4, Channel 4, 4Radio, 4Music, Channel 4 News, 4Podcasts, Jamie, Freeview, Eurostar,

Whilst working at 4Creative It was agreed that I could also take on separate external advertising projects from time to time. These included Mazda (EMEA), Perfetti Confectionary (EMEA) and TKMaxx (domestic).

TBWA 1999-2005

Creative across TV, print, radio, digital, experiential.

Created award winning and high profile work for Playstation, Absolut, McCain, Labour, Nissan and News Corp

Other clients: 3, Nat West, Adidas, Holsten Pils Lager, John Smiths Bitter, Thomas Cook, Abbey International Bank, Cadbury, Eurostar, Haagen Dazs, JMC Holidays, Cunard, Strongbow, Muller, FCUK

Whilst at TBWA I was also seconded for five months to TBWA G1 Paris and TBWA Chiat Day Los Angeles to work exclusively across the Nissan portfolio.

McCann 1999

Creative across TV, print, radio.

Made my first campaign, using ‘Q’ from the Bond films, his gadget was a Reach electric tooth-brush. Other clients: Mastercard, Shredded Wheat, Glenfiddich, Bacardi, Acuvue, Johnson & Johnson