The Drum Network’s Q & A: AB…the ideas agency discuss agency evolution

H: Pete Astbury and Aylwyn Bowen, hence the AB from their surnames, set up the agency in Gandy Street as a graphic design agency providing local businesses with original and insightful graphic designs. They retired almost 10 years ago and it’s now run by three ex-London agency bods, Ed Burnand, Marcus Bennett and Henry Sanford.

How did you find yourself becoming an integrated communications agency; was this a natural evolution or was it always in the offing?

M: Understanding our client’s needs and evolution in the world around us is really important. Technology evolves and so new channels form, so these become a natural extension to our offering. We have three principles that we hold dear and helped form where we are today:

An ideas approach: Everything we do is built around the premise that in order to cut through the clutter, we need a compelling idea or story to engage our audience and sit up and take notice.

A can-do attitude: Whatever the challenge, we have talented individuals who are passionate in what they do and strive for the very best results whatever the environment or budget.

Always learning: We dig, we research, we read, because we’re curious about the world around us. We enjoy what we do.

Simple as that.

How has the team grown over time?

E: We are bigger and busier than ever. We are a team of 30, with experience across a wide range of disciplines, across a wide range of brands. Our recruitment policy has always been to hire great people to fit in our culture - bold, confident, always learning and always interested. Currently our main focus is on growing the digital marketing and content team to support the rest

Do you find it easy to retain talent? How do you approach agency culture?

H: Our culture is definitely behind our success. By developing an environment that encourages trust, delivering quality, always learning and having fun, we are able to retain a great team. Our social calendar, from taking part in the local Business games to kayaking to a night out, all support our efforts to build stronger relationships across the agency. By giving everyone a ‘Curiosity day’ every year, each member of the team can experience something unique outside of work - all we ask is that they share that experience with the rest of the team - this all adds to our unique culture.

What are your core objectives for the agency?

H: It’s all about creating compelling communications for our clients that are impossible to ignore.

E: Our clients should feel empowered, inspired and motivated. Our core objectives remain doing great work, having fun and making some money along the way.

M: Creating great work and instilling your clients with confidence. We also continue to develop our technology prowess, Big Data is a very exciting opportunity and forging strategic partnerships with experts thereby expanding our offering is exciting. We’ve committed ourselves to assisting a couple of Tech start-ups.

How do you approach new business?

H: Referral is the best way to access new business opportunities but this only fills part of the funnel. By constantly raising awareness of what we can provide and how it will help businesses achieve their business strategy we are able to create new opportunities. We are also finding respected organisations such as RAR and The Drum Network useful ways to raise our profile and generate new leads.

E: It’s a collective effort, being enthusiastic, always supporting each other. We pride ourselves on establishing trust with all our clients, so the majority of new business is through recommendations. More and more we’re also engaging with organisations like RAR and The Drum of course which has opened up new opportunities.

What is the most important thing to keep on top of when running your own agency?

H, E and M: The team and culture - by having the right team we can develop and evolve our culture. This helps to empower the team and keep them enthused to deliver quality communications that clients’ embrace.

What challenges have you faced and how do you intend to tackle them in the future?

H: We have to be selective with who we recruit - this narrows down the pool that we can select from. We only employ those that are brave enough to embrace agency life, that thrive on challenges and have the determination to go that extra mile for their peers and clients.

M: Global and UK economic uncertainty has been a constant concern, fortunately being an integrated communications agency working across multiple sectors helps buffer AB against the external forces and fluctuations a sector like Financial can endure. be confident and curious about the world.

Where do you see yourself in three years’ time?

H: Totally bald and if I haven't replaced Eddie Jones as England Manager, I see myself at AB with a job title that we haven't even thought of yet as the agency continues to evolve by providing new services with a fantastic team.

E and M: We’ve got a solid foundation and are entering an exciting phase of the AB project, so in three years I would expect a whole lot of opportunities to be realized. Can’t wait. Bring it on!