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Love Creative sets sights on Shanghai while also working with Syco

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By The Drum Team, Editorial

June 30, 2011 | 4 min read

Love Creative has said that it is aiming to launch a Shanghai office within the next six months in the wake of winning a string of accounts from clients including Diageo and Syco, the Simon Cowell backed business.

The agency recently launched Johnny Walker House, effectively a whisky embassy, in Shanghai for Diageo and has since gone on to win a number of other projects from the global drinks company.

Said creative partner Dave Palmer; "One of our former clients moved to take on Diageo in China, and gave us opportunity to pitch for Johnny Walker House, alongside Singapore-based Asylum. We were the outsiders.

"At that stage we knew very little about whisky. But I think this positive naivety helped, as we were able to come up with a fresh approach and beat some of the biggest agencies in the field."

Since then, according to Palmer, the business has built up considerable whisky expertise, which coupled with its aims of creating 'disruptive brand focused solutions' has landed the agency four or five other global Diageo projects, "which I cannot talk about at the moment."

The agency's buoyant mood is in sharp contrast to how it was positioned around two years ago, when it found itself in crisis when then MD Alistair Sim had to step down following a court conviction.

"That was probably the lowest point of my career," said Palmer, "But the agency was not in great financial shape. We had around 40 low margin high maintenance accounts. I think we were within three months of running out of money."

The agency's woes were compounded when one it's major accounts Umbro was bought by Nike. It looked like business was gone for good. However, Nike came across an old Love presentation the agency had made suggesting how the Umbro brand could be developed.

On the strength of that Love got Umbro back, and in addition has found itself working for Nike too. It was the start of a transformation that saw Love's key account list fall from around 40 to just a half dozen or so. But now the brands are the likes of Playstation, Umbro, Nike and Diageo Global.

And the agency has just landed two new account to that list, Syco - the Simon Cowell joint venture - and Pengda, a new Chinese retail brand.

Palmer, would not be drawn on any of the Syco details. But he is keen to talk about the new Chinese venture.

"It is huge," he said, "They have taken on the top team from Nike in China and there aim is to create a youth orientated branded chain of shopping centres. They will have a multi-brand format on the ground floor, but a mono-brand format on the upper floors. They will be about the retail experience and will initially role out in the North of China, but should go nationwide, which in China is a massive undertaking."

According to Palmer this is why "we are under real client pressure to open a base in China, and we have appointed Deloittes to guide as through the process. It involves getting something like 13 different certificates and permission from two mayors."

Palmer estimates the new office will initially have a staff of three or four. "But I think it will do a lot to reposition Love," he said, "Just having our principle offices in Shanghai and Manchester will change perceptions."

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