Following our recent feature City Brand Leaders – Glasgow, we interviewed a select group of leaders from Glasgow’s top agencies to help focus on the Glasgow brand and consider their own agency vision.

Creativebrief Founder & Chairman Tom Holmes talks to Garry Hamilton, co-Owner and Business Development Director at Equator.

TH: Garry, what does the Glasgow brand stand for?

GH: To me Glasgow symbolises strength, industry, creativity and humour.

TH: What are your views on the new slogan “People Make Glasgow” and the city’s marketing to date?

GH: The one comment that visitors to Glasgow frequently make is how friendly and welcoming the people are and it therefore makes sense for the city to use that as a focus. Glasgow is working hard to promote itself as a hub of creativity, enterprise and culture and the new slogan works well in promoting different aspects of the city to different audiences.

TH: How do you think Glasgow should position itself?

GH: Glasgow is a sophisticated, edgy city with a vibrant cultural and business scene and it is really important that the marketing reflects that. The city has worked hard over previous decades to position itself as a cultural hub and I think we now need to put the same effort into promoting business. Glasgow needs to focus on the many local businesses that are now competing and expanding globally, and also encourage more inward investment.

TH: What impact do you think the Commonwealth Games will have on Glasgow?

GH: The games have already had a positive impact on the city in terms of regenerating some of the more deprived areas and many of the new sporting facilities are already up and running and open to the public. There is a lot of good feeling created by the London Olympics and Andy Murray’s recent Wimbledon win which has got people all over the country more interested in both watching and participating in sport.

The benefits to Glasgow businesses, other than suppliers, will be less tangible. However, anything that puts a focus on Glasgow and positions the city in a favourable light will have a positive impact on everyone who lives and works here. The games should also hopefully go some way to helping Glasgow shake off its unhealthy reputation.

TH: Why should clients from outside of Scotland consider sourcing work from Glasgow agencies?

GH: There is tremendous creative talent in Glasgow. However, I believe that in a digital age location should be irrelevant when choosing the right agency for your brand. In my experience, 99% of the time the decision is based on the quality of the agency’s offering, the calibre of its work and chemistry with the team.

Equator is a global agency with offices in Glasgow, New York and Kiev. We are often asked why we don’t have an office in London and the answer is simply that we don’t need one. We have more than 100 digital experts based at our Glasgow studio working on major national and international brands. We believe in a collaborative approach to all of our projects and that works best having all of our people based under one roof. 

TH: Are the city’s brand values reflected in your own agency culture?

GH: Yes, in fact our own marketing strategy has been based around showcasing the personalities that make our business a success for some time now. We feature our staff on our website and in our advertising and we encourage everyone in the business to blog on their area of expertise. We strongly believe at Equator that you are only as good as the people who work for you and luckily we have a fantastic team.

TH: What makes your own agency offer different?

GH: Equator is the BIG Numbers Agency. The BIG numbers that set us apart are the increased sales, revenues and customer engagement that clients can rely on when entrusting us with their brands. Return on investment is key to the agency’s success and it remains our focus on every project we embark on.

The secret to achieving those numbers is our strategic, integrated approach. We truly get under the skin of every brand we work with to properly understand the overall objective of every stakeholder. From that initial research we devise a tailored digital strategy to meet, and often exceed, those objectives.

The other secret of our success is our people. We have a team of more than 100 digital enthusiasts who are truly passionate about what they do and consistently deliver exceptional results as standard for our clients.

TH: What sort of clients do you want to attract?

GH: We work with many global brands and also smaller companies, all of whom have the same objective – to grow their business and increase their bottom line. We successfully help them do that by devising bespoke digital strategies. We particularly like working with clients who are open to new ideas and are looking for a truly innovative digital solution.

TH: What work makes you particularly proud and why?

GH: At Equator we believe in pushing the boundaries of digital design and delivering truly innovative, bespoke solutions for our clients. In recent years we have become one of the pioneers of responsive design and created one of the world’s first fully responsive websites for Macdonald Hotels. The website won several awards and was featured in the national press and several trade magazines. We now take a “mobile first” approach to every web development project and deliver responsive sites as standard for our clients.

TH: Which Glaswegian brands do you most admire?

GH: When it comes to marketing, Irn Bru has positioned itself brilliantly. Its cheeky irreverent brand personality is typically Glaswegian and it is generally very quick off the mark in putting its own playful stamp on current trends and events.

Equator’s very first client was the hugely successful Clyde Blowers, the Glasgow-based global engineering company. The CEO Jim McColl was willing to take a chance with us when we first launched 14 years ago and from that first account we have grown to become a top 20 digital agency. Jim McColl is a tremendous entrepreneur and someone who still inspires us.

TH: What business would you most like to win?

GH: Apple!

TH: Thanks Garry

Follow Creativebrief on Twitter or LinkedIn to discover need-to-know marketing trends and analysis.