Creativebrief Founder & Chairman Tom Holmes talks to Nick Brookes, Managing Partner of Driven.
Nick Brookes, Driven
Nick has over 25 years experience working in the communications industry. The majority of which has been spent working in some of the world’s biggest agency networks.
First at J.Walter Thompson, followed by McCann Erickson and more recently TBWA, where he was both Managing Director and Head of Planning in Manchester.
Nick has built up a formidable bank of experience in both launching and relaunching brands both in the UK and across Europe. Working with clients as big and as broad as Akzo Nobel Industries, Pernod Ricard, ghd, Cussons and the COI.
Nick is also something of a prolific writer on the subject of communications effectiveness, with his tally of IPA Effectiveness Awards running into double figures.
As both Managing Partner and Strategic Planning Partner, one of Nick’s responsibilities is to ensure that the principles of driven thinking live and breathe throughout everything the agency does.
TH: What does the Manchester brand stand for?
NB: Genuinely, off the top of my head, it would have to be something that captures its heritage, attitude and creativity. Let’s go for “Industrious Imagination”.
TH: Are the city’s brand values reflected in your own agency culture?
NB: It’s not a question I’ve ever really considered before and certainly isn’t something that we’ve consciously tried to mirror. But now you come to mention it, I can see the similarities. At driven we talk about approaching everything we do with a Restless Ambition coupled with a Clever Simplicity. I can see how both of these could be found in Manchester’s dna. So maybe our nature could have played a subconscious role in how we’ve nurtured our culture.
TH: Does being based in Manchester influence your creative output? If so, how?
NB: I don’t think so. Manchester identifies where we are, it doesn’t really define our output. Our client’s brands cross many different consumer groups, channels, cultures and countries. So it’s “where they are” that defines our output, not where we are.
TH: What makes your agency offer different?
NB: I think the fact that the agency is run and owned by a group of people whose careers have been spent working on big brands, in some of the world’s biggest agency networks is reassuring.
I think the fact that these people work directly on all our clients could be incredibly compelling for anyone who wants proper senior input on their accounts on an ongoing basis, rather than the odd occasional meeting.
TH: Why should clients consider sourcing work from Manchester agencies?
NB: Given the talent pool, combined with a relentless work ethic, I‘m not sure why you wouldn’t really.
TH: What sort of clients do you particularly want to attract?
NB: Good ones.
I know that sounds like a platitude, but it is true.
For us, it’s not just about the brand or its size; it’s as much to do with the people we will be working with.
Good clients are good people. Good people get better work. Better work gets better results. Life’s too short to do bad things.
Nick Brookes, Driven
TH: What work have you done recently makes you really proud?
NB: That’s a bit like asking which one of your children do you love the most! There is pride in everything we do. There has to be.
TH: What local brands do you most admire and why?
NB: The Bottle Stop (independent off license) near where I live.
Never fails to prove that quality and character can still win over size and conformity.
Always puts a smile on my face.
TH: What business would you most like to win?
NB: The good ones.
TH: Thanks Nick!
Looks like you need to create a Creativebrief account to perform this action.
Create account Sign inLooks like you need to create a Creativebrief account to perform this action.
Create account Sign in
