ATTIK set up in London
A step up the ladder?
If the story of ATTIK’s humble beginnings are well-told – the agency did start life in a loft in Huddersfield – then the story of its last attempt to crack London is less well recounted. In 1995, buoyed by success forged in Leeds, the agency opened an additional office in the capital. But by 2001, due to “challenging times” economically, the London studio – and its Sydney office – closed and Leeds reverted to being the agency’s sole UK base as the business scaled back its operations.
Today a confident James Sommerville, the ATTIK co-founder at the helm in London, displays no fear that his agency may fail to cement itself in London again. The Drum caught up with him as he was setting up the London office and building its new team.
Why are you returning to London now?
London was our first serious attempt at expansion in 1996. We always knew it was the centre of gravity when it comes to design in the UK, Europe and back then, the whole world. After the challenging times of 2002-03, we decided to consolidate the business back to just Yorkshire to reduce the overhead, focus and, more than anything, knuckle down to some hard work. Fast forward five years and our progress from the ashes caught the eye of Dentsu execs in New York and Tokyo and subsequently we sold a very solid business model. Part of the strategy upon joining their network in 2007 was future expansion of ATTIK’s name and brand globally using their strength and expertise allowing us to focus on the creative product. So, London was the obvious first stop on this new journey and after last year we strategically felt the time was right to grow and to expand not contract.
Did you feel ATTIK had outgrown Leeds?
We moved from Huddersfield to Leeds because it had an airport and a Starbucks, but we were bigger than Leeds before we arrived (mentally). That may sound arrogant, but I believe our business model and aspirations was never about growing in the backyard of Leeds.
Will it be a wrench to move ATTIK away from Yorkshire after all these years?
The short answer is I’m not leaving the north, I’m invading the south. I know everyone gets hung up on geography. It’s funny. My experience over the last 25 years is that business has traditionally been very cyclical, rhythmic and geographically specific. People are naturally very proud of where they are from and I am no different. Historically, ATTIK has followed a geographical business model and flown the Huddersfield or Yorkshire flag across the world. “Where’s Huddersfield?” is a question I have answered more than any other question. I like answering it. The way I see it, to be a success, the model needs to keep pace. Sure we’ll always need an office and a place to sit, but I also believe the business of the future will be increasingly rootless, borderless and weightless. It has to be. We will all be defined as much by our ability to see opportunities as well as the ability to think up great ideas, provide advice and execute good work.
Will you do anything differently in London now compared to when you were there previously?
We will make every effort to re-write some old rules of how our industry works and how we have worked. Post-recession, we will see a new group of boutique creative shops launch, that will re-define the client experience by operating in this new, less traditional way. These ‘young gun’ business models will teach the old guard new ways so we will be different. We also respect that we are now part of the biggest advertising agency in the world, so naturally that has an effect on what we will do and what clients we work with. Japanese culture admires when people/nations “re-invent” themselves, so this new chapter enables ATTIK to retain what’s been great, yet not be scared to change and develop the business where required.
You’re recruiting in London. What sort of people are you looking for and what kind of team do you aim to put together?
In simple terms we are taking advantage of the change and are building a new team. It’s an Arsene Wenger approach to recruitment as I have been connecting with senior creatives from around the world, as well as the UK. The pool’s much bigger off the shores of the UK and strategically I feel it’s important to provide our clients this level of global thinking and creative input.
Will staff from Leeds be moving to London?
Some, not all.
Will the London office be the global HQ for ATTIK?
We are not really thinking in terms of this geographical centre and HQs. London is for sure a major financial and design centre and will be the centre of gravity for us in Europe. At the same time we have huge business in US with San Francisco as our studio supported by people in NYC. Our current client list takes us from LATAM to Asian markets (India and Japan notably) as well as back home in London.
Did you imagine ATTIK could become a global business when you were starting out in Huddersfield?
Yes. We always felt there was potential to export any British creative product. Ever since the Beatles, I have grown up seeing it happen in film, architecture, fashion and music and Simon (my founding partner) and I always felt why can’t graphic designers do this as well. What’s important to me really is the whole of the United Kingdom, not Leeds, Yorkshire or London. I think as a nation we look inward too much and I wait for the day when we collaborate and take on the world together again.
What are your ambitions for the company this year?
Recently I was told you don’t win a silver medal, you lose the gold. I liked that. For almost 25 years, it’s about winning – small steps at a time. We define winning in many different ways from financial success, to great clients, to attracting the best people or healthy collaboration. Definitely, as I have got older I recognise the importance of being respectful to the opposition and the reason why we all need to compete in a healthy way – it pushes you to win the gold(s).