Footasylum makes Driven appointment
Footasylum has tasked Wilmslow-based Driven to develop a brand and communications strategy, after appointing the agency without a pitch.
Footasylum was founded in Wilmslow in late 2005 by brothers David and Steve Makin. David Makin co-founded JD Sports in 1981, alongside John Wardle, but the pair sold their stake three years ago for £100million. Steve Makin was the JD Group's buying director at the time.
Footasylum now has 12 high street stores throughout the UK, as well as a strong online business, and has outlined major growth plans for the future. Driven has been tasked with building "a strategy that brings the brand to life in a way that supports its unique positioning”.
Nick Brookes, partner at Driven, said: “Footasylum is a great young business, owned and lead by a really experienced, future facing team. The fit for us was pretty obvious. They already have a great brand culture that permeates throughout the whole business. To get an opportunity to work with them to exploit this further was just too good an opportunity to miss”.
The win coincides with Driven’s long-awaited arrival of its fourth founding partner, Graham Drury (pictured), who has been on gardening leave from TBWA\Manchester since late February. Drury joins Brookes, Chris Lear and Neil Griffiths as an equal partner in the agency.
Commenting on his landing in Wilmslow, Drury said: “It’s great to be in. The place is already incredibly busy, so it’s been a case of hitting the ground running, which is just the way I like it”.
As well as Drury, Driven has also made its first staff hire in the form of designer, Cathryn Ellis (also pictured), who arrives from Walsh Simmons. Chris Lear said: “Cathryn’s a real star of the future. She has the potential to bring far more to the agency than just her design skills. She gets brands, understands strategy and works well with clients. We know she’ll add a lot of value to driven in terms of it creating ideas that sell”.