“First of all move me, surprise me, rend my heart;

make me tremble, weep, shudder; outrage me;

delight my eyes afterwards if you can.”

Denis Diderot 1713 - 1784

​

A truth by an art critic and philosopher centuries ago. Still relevant today. This the purpose of good creative. This my creative journey, making creative the best it can possibly be to move an audience to react.

The journey:

Cartoon Network - Creative Director UK. 1998-2002:

Set up and manged a diverse, award-winning team of creatives who lead the CN brand to be a global icon in the kids market. Created the in-house creative agency side of the ‘beyond’ spot advertising for Turner, winning Media Week awards for the ideas & executions en route, combining creative relevance while increasing Turner’s commercial abilities

​

Nickelodeon - Senior Creative Director UK. 2002 – 2006:

Inherited a tired team of creatives who felt stuck on the treadmill. Re-invigorated them and re-branded all channels on-air, off-air & digital – Nick, Nick Toons, Nick Jr. Gave each channel a distinct identity that allowed for specific audience targeting and programme support. It worked – BAFTA’s for Nick - Kid’s Channel of year & a nomination for Nick Jr. Promax’s galore for the creative team.

​

Disney - VP Marketing & Creative EMEA. 2006 – 2008:

By taking Disney global franchises and making them connect and become relevant for European audiences I extended Disney’s global entetainment footprint even further – increasing revenue streams. And by developing local content it allowed Disney to create globally relevant content from local sources making the region become even more relevant within the Disney businss model.

​

Viacom International - VP Brand and Creative. 2008 – 2010:

Tasked with making the Nickelodeon brand - look, feel, see - work in markets outside of the US and UK so it has relvance to non-english speaking markets and allow for increased revenue streams beyond content sales. Launched channels in Asia and India as stand-alones and JV’s.

​

Adult Swim - Creative Director & Head of Brand. 2010 – 2011:
I had to take the original ‘frat-boy’ animation channel, which was content light, and make it relevant

to an EMEA audience. I turned it into the first digital only channel in the TimeWarner portfolio.

​

Sky & Now TV - Creative Director - Brand and Product. 2011- 2016:

In the ever changing and developing machine of Sky, I was tasked with creating relevant content and driving communications across all platforms for Sky products ( broadband, mobile, insurance, boxes etc...), initiatives (CSR), brand ( vans, uniforms, shops) and show launches, on both Sky & Sky Sports. I used every aspect I had learnt to date on my creative journey. It culminated in Sky’s most successful product launch ever.

Launch of Sky Q – 360 campaign. ATL, BTL. Promotions/film, ads, animation, print, on-air, off-air, OOH, digital, social, gaming, packaging, experiential, retail.

I was then charged with the re-brand of the Company and campus which then lead to moving into Now TV. (OTT system)

Here, as well as content launches, I was charged with launching Now TV’s Triple play offer - box, broadband & content – no contract. It turned Now TV into a major content and utility propsotion that has become a vast revenue gernerator in the Sky armoury. I also re-branded the Now TV platform and cleaned up the visual identity and overall proposition, making it a unique competitor in the pay/non- pay TV landscape.

I was also charged with a secondary Creative director role working inside ‘the agencies’ on behalf of Now TV & Sky – Engine, FCB, Table 19, Kittkat Norr - so that their work was more tailored to Now TV and subsequently Sky’s communication needs.

​

Dyson - Creative Head. 2017-2018:

Utilisng data and unpicking some key elements, I launched brand new products into global markets using numerous communication platforms. I connected different audiences to products they didn’t know they wanted, by using data that allowed us to go beyond the expected. Result - the most successful vacuum launch ever by Dyson in China.

​

Freelance - Creative Director/Copywriter/Brand Strategy/Content creator. Jan – Oct 2019:

Could I still walk the walk? Yes. NBCUniversal 11:11 (AR & VR) – creative launch for VR and AR experience, development of on-air marketing campaign. OYO – Copywriting for ad campaigns- on air/off-air. Squint-Opera – Branding Strategy, copywriting. Business In the Community – Creative strategy, script, direction of and delivery of final film.

​

Vidmob – Creative Director EMEA. Oct 2019 – July 2022

Time to get more social. I developed industry-leading social content & ads for Fortune 500 brands across all digital media platforms including – Tik Tok, Meta, YT & some experential that drove the brands marketing bottom lines.

I developed new models for providing creative ideas that kept pace with the demands of the industry by developing a network of multi-skilled freelancers, who undertook briefs remotely and used the Adobe platform to create solutions to briefs.

​

trivago – Global Creative Director. July 2022 – current

It’s about bringing the brand and so the company out of its pandemic stupor...it’s an on-going and brutal journey in an extraordinarily competitive marketplace, but there are green shoots of recovery. And it’s down to the creative team. Our tenacity, our re-brand, our data understanding and our increasing use of AI and overall creative expertise is starting to drive numbers up and this is starting to bear financial fruit.

​

So why do I want to take on a new role? I want to build something, not just good, but brilliant. To make and be involved with creative, and a team, that makes a difference

​

​