THE STORY SO FAR
It's amazing to think I've been doing this for nearly 20 years.
I started off in TV as the world's oldest runner, writing sketches for Simon Pegg and trying to develop shows for Channel 4 and BBC2.
Then I started an agency, Skive, and grew it for a decade.
I went to make nifty things at B-Reel.
I followed my heart and my stomach to Razorfish and worked on McDonald's.
I went out of my comfort zone working on Barclays at StartJG.
And I had a blast helping grow digital agency Waste.
I've built and managed teams of creatives, designers, animators and developers. I've sat at board level and pitched at global level. I've handled internal and external agency comms, nurtured culture, grown social channels, mentored juniors and been the foreman on judging panels.
And I've made mistakes. A bunch of them. Bad calls, bad hires, bad choices. That's part and parcel of being a creative director. And learning from those things make you a better one.
Waste | Apr 2016 - Nov 2019
Successfully grew the agency from 20 to 70+ Wasters including a creative department of 14. Expanded the service offering and oversaw all work for key clients Supercell, Centrica, and Camelot, as well as Ubisoft, Nintendo, Badoo and new business wins intu and Rank Group. Helped evolve the Maximum Digital, Minimum Nonsense brand promise, as well as the culture and internal and external comms. Ate a lot of Haribo.
StartJG | Creative Director | 2015
I was brought in to Start to look after its biggest client, Barclays, overseeing internal and customer-facing brand experience and communications across all channels – from ATM screens to moving image, print and lift vinyls to new product launches.
Razorfish | Creative Director | Apr 2013 - Jun 2014
Ooversaw leading accounts such as McDonald's, Argos and Lloyds, and helped convert new business opportunities. I won a global pitch for Acer working alongside both Asia-Pacific and the International CEO Michael Karg. I lead a pitch for ManUtd.com, creating a new global vision across the digital touchpoints of the world’s largest football club.
Freelance | Creative Director | 2012 - 2014
Successful pitches for Holler and Havas, and twice lead global pitches for Blast Radius – once for Carlsberg, developing an 18 month integrated campaign to evolve and land the new brand positioning, with creative including apps, social, experiential, installation, on-site and on-pack; the second time for Mini Babybel, consolidating its social and digital presence and generating engaging interactive experiences.
B-Reel | Creative Director | 2012
Developed award-winning campaigns for Sony Xperia - a fusion of digital installation, live online event and product demo for Iris - and Barclaycard Voice Your Support, which turned Twitter messages into vinyl records, for Dare. I also won pitches for Samsung and the IHG Group.
Skive | Co-founder & Creative Partner | 2001 - 2011
Ah, Skive. Over ten years, with no prior industry experience, I helped grow it from 5 to 70 people, with clients that included Reebok, Nestlé, Coty, Carlsberg, Microsoft, Vauxhall, BP, L’Oreal and Shell.
In that time I filmed Thierry Henry, Andrei Schevchenko, and Ryan Giggs, La Senza models and British Army soldiers, won awards for Revolution, BIMA, NMA, IMAA, D&AD, FITC, LIA, AME, RAD, CIPD and Midas, drove tanks, created what seems like a gazillian banners, interactive games that had 125 million plays from 22 million unique users, rich brand experiences with average dwell times of over 10 minutes. In short, the full spectrum of digital content reflecting its evolution from 2001.
Skive showreel from the days of microsites, interactive games and Flash.
"Louis is an absolute pleasure to work with, and brings spectacular insights and forethought to any project that he is a part of."
Ryan Lighton, Community Manager - Supercell
"I’ve worked with Louis during my time both at The National Lottery and intu Shopping Centres, and that isn’t a coincidence.
Louis’ abundant creativity matched with his clear strategic head is a winning combination for any client, and it’s led to award-winning campaigns and game-changing content.
An absolute pleasure to work with both as a strategic partner and as an individual."
Charles Stanton, Head of Digital Marketing - intu
"I had the pleasure of working with Louis on perhaps the biggest creative challenge of my life - British Army Start Thinking Solider. Louis become a key member of the Army team, where he challenged, debated & constantly pushed us all to deliver better work.
We gained perhaps one of the most strategic & creative experts that I have had the joy to work with. If you are looking for a true partner, one that immerses himself in your business & then keeps pushing you to do better - then look no further than Louis. I am constantly looking at opportunities for when we can work together again."
Melissa Hopkins, Head of Account Management, Publicis
"Louis is an excellent creative director, who takes the time to really understand the business of his clients before providing a range of highly creative ideas.
He's at the leading edge of digital creativity, is reliable and easy to get on with, and can help your business achieve industry firsts. He provided great work for the Nestlé Kit Kat brand."