The Industry Club

Why Adaptability and Aptitude Matter More Than Ever in 2026’s Job Market

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 12:37:07 GMT

Why aptitude, adaptability and real-world experimentation are becoming the recruitment currency in a market that’s moving faster than its job titles.

If 2025 has felt brutal on the jobs front, you’re not imagining it. Redundancies, restructures, and prolonged hiring freezes have reshaped the advertising and marketing landscape — and as we head into 2026, the pace of change shows no sign of slowing. Mergers are bedding in, AI is becoming business-as-usual rather than a novelty, and agencies are under sustained pressure to operate more efficiently with leaner teams.

In my role at The Industry Club, my work with candidates and agencies alike has highlighted how expectations have shifted in recent years. Alongside our recruitment work, The Industry School focuses on training and upskilling talent across the industry — and together that gives us a broad, market-level view: not just of the roles agencies are hiring for today, but how those roles are evolving, and where candidates who thrive tend to think and behave differently.

I recently shared my perspective with Little Black Book as part of their feature on how talent can prepare for the 2026 job market. My core message is simple but essential: the biggest mistake candidates make is assuming their role will stay the same while everything around it changes.

What I’m seeing — and what our data at The Industry Club reinforces — is that most agencies aren’t looking for pure “AI specialists”. In fact, our recent AI leadership survey showed that 65% of leaders expect to hire for aptitude over AI skills. The real differentiator isn’t technical mastery of tools; it’s how people think. Can they learn quickly? Apply judgment? Pressure-test ideas? Simplify complexity? Spot opportunities others miss?

The candidates progressing fastest aren’t waiting for formal training programmes. They’re experimenting in real life — automating admin, prototyping ideas, building lightweight content systems, or using AI beyond work to solve everyday problems. These habits demonstrate something far more valuable than credentials: the ability to navigate uncertainty.

That adaptability is also driving the emergence of new hybrid roles across creative, operational and client teams — from creative technologists and AI-enabled producers to automation leads and customer-success-style positions that didn’t exist in quite the same way even a year ago.

In an increasingly crowded freelance market, the same principle applies. Clarity beats volume. Knowing where your strengths genuinely lie, targeting obvious fits, and clearly articulating how you add value in a changing agency environment matters far more than trying to be everything to everyone.

My full comment appears in Little Black Book alongside insights from other industry talent experts. If you’re thinking seriously about how to position yourself for 2026, it’s well worth a read.

�� Read the LBB article here

Beyond the In-House vs Agency Debate

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:20:55 GMT

What Campaign's Power 100 marketers reveal about the future of internal teams, hybrid models and agency partnerships.

As more of the world’s most influential brands bring marketing capabilities in-house, the question is no longer whether to in-house, but how. Drawing on insights from Campaign’s Power 100 marketers, this article explores the very different ways brands are building internal teams — from creative and social to data, media and production — and the strategic reasons behind those choices.

What emerges is not a single blueprint, but a spectrum of hybrid models. While speed, control and data ownership continue to drive in-housing, external agencies remain critical partners for scale, specialism and fresh perspective. With contributions from senior marketers and recruiters — including The Industry Club’s Zoe Edwards — the piece captures an industry in transition, where in-house capability is evolving rapidly, and no two brand set-ups look quite the same.

Read the article here ��

Confidence Comes from a Lack of Knowledge

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 15:28:22 GMT

A lot of people don’t know what they don’t know. The confidence comes from a lack of knowledge sometimes.

When we set out to create The Future of Skills and Hiring in the Age of AI with our partners at Spark AI, our goal was to move beyond AI hype and get to the truth of what’s really happening inside agencies. How ready are teams? Where are the skills gaps? And what needs to change in how we hire and develop talent?

To launch the report, The Industry Club and Spark AI co-hosted an event bringing together senior leaders from across the industry. Melissa Smith, our founder, chaired a panel with:

Vix Jagger , head of creative innovation and AI, Droga5 London
Robin Garton , ECD, Sky Creative
Natalie Winford , chief solutions officer, Jellyfish
Charlotte Mulley , head of planning, MullenLowe UK
Laura Jackson , head of strategy, Not Actual Size

Across the discussion, one theme kept resurfacing – and it’s at the heart of the report.

The Confidence Paradox

Introducing the whitepaper at the event, I discussed a pattern that stood out clearly in the data: the more structure and strategy leaders have around AI, the more they can see how complex and fast-moving it really is. Those who are further along the journey tend to be more aware of what they don’t yet know.

By contrast, organisations still in the early, more experimental phase often underestimate the scale of the shift required.

Our benchmarking data backs that up. While 63% of leaders say their organisation is “AI ready” , more than a third are still using AI sporadically and without a clear strategy . The gap isn’t just technical; it’s about how AI is embedded into workflows, commercial thinking and creative practice.

In other words, confidence and genuine readiness are not the same thing .

What the Data Tells Us About Skills and Readiness

The report draws on responses from 149 senior leaders across independent agencies, networks and in-house teams. A few themes come through strongly:

Skills gaps aren’t primarily about coding. Leaders are more concerned with applying AI commercially: how to sell its value, integrate it into processes, and use it strategically and creatively.
Training is becoming a core competitive advantage. Around 68% of organisations plan to invest up to £15,000 in AI training this year , and more than half say they will prioritise upskilling existing teams over new hires.
Adaptability and curiosity are rising in value. With specific tools and platforms evolving so quickly, leaders are focusing less on narrow technical expertise and more on mindset, learning agility and the ability to navigate change.

Yet even as training budgets increase, the report shows that many teams are still in an “experimentation” phase – lots of testing and trying, but not always the structure needed to turn experiments into repeatable, scalable ways of working.

Beyond Hype: Structure Over “Magic Buttons”

One of the most grounded parts of the panel conversation was the reality check on AI hype.

Vix Jagger stressed that we must be honest with clients about what AI can and can’t do. There is no “magic button” – what the industry often sees on LinkedIn and in case studies is the polished 1%, not the messy, iterative work behind the scenes.

That’s exactly why structure matters. The whitepaper sets out four phases of AI readiness – from Experimentation through Adoption and Optimisation to Innovation . Many organisations have pockets of innovation, but they’re not yet joined up. As Robin Garton described at Sky Creative, different teams can sit at different stages at the same time; the challenge is in spreading best practice, not just incubating it.

The takeaway is clear: loose experimentation is a beginning, not an end state . To move beyond the hype, agencies need governance, shared standards and clear expectations for how AI is used across teams.

New Roles, New Pathways

The report and the panel both highlighted the emergence of new, hybrid roles.

Natalie Winford pointed to functions like AI transformation leads and customer success-style roles as increasingly important – people who understand both the tools and the client, and who can identify where AI-driven innovation really adds value over the course of a year, not just in isolated projects.

This raises a crucial question for leaders:
Do we redefine and stretch existing roles , or do we create entirely new ones ?

Our findings suggest that most organisations are currently trying to do both – upskilling current teams while also experimenting with specialist roles to anchor AI strategy and delivery.

What About Junior Talent?

One of the most sensitive areas is the impact of AI on junior roles.

Charlotte Mulley reflected on how many of the tasks she did early in her career – competitor analysis, surface-level insight gathering – are now prime candidates for automation. But that doesn’t mean we can afford to underinvest in junior talent. If we reduce entry-level hiring too aggressively, we risk losing the fresh perspectives and diversity of thought the industry depends on.

At Not Actual Size, Laura Jackson noted that younger team members are often the most vocal about the ethics and power dynamics around AI. That challenge from within is healthy; it helps organisations sharpen their own principles and focus on using AI to enhance creativity , not just squeeze efficiency.

The message here is twofold: we need to protect the pipeline of new talent , and we need to bring them into the AI conversation , not treat them as an afterthought.

Leadership, Margins and the Willingness to Change

Underpinning all of this is a very real commercial tension.

Our data shows 44% of agency leaders believe AI will improve margins and reduce costs , but they also recognise that thoughtful implementation demands time, focus and investment.

Coming off the back of a cost-of-living crisis and lingering post-Covid pressures, many agencies are understandably cautious about changing their operating models too quickly. But as several panellists noted, the bigger risk is standing still while the market moves on.

The organisations that will thrive in the age of AI are those willing to:

Be honest about where they really are on the readiness curve
Invest in structured training and clear roles
Redesign processes, not just layer new tools on top of old habits
Involve their people – at every level – in shaping what “good” looks like

Download the Full Skills & Hiring Benchmarking Report

If your organisation is grappling with these questions – skills, structure, talent, culture and commercial impact – our new state-of-the-industry whitepaper is designed to help.

Co-authored by The Industry Club and Spark AI , The Future of Skills and Hiring in the Age of AI sets out:

The four phases of AI readiness
Where UK agencies are today
The key skills and roles emerging across the industry
Practical considerations for hiring, upskilling and organisational design

�� Download the report here: The Future of Skills and Hiring in the Age of AI

The Priced to Win Project: A Strategic Tool or Financial Trap?

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 08:57:04 GMT

“Priced to win” (PTW) projects are common in agencies, offering a discount to secure new clients. While they can be a valuable tactic, they also carry risks if not managed carefully.

Sarah Vick & Jo Petroccia examine the pros & cons of this double-edged sword.

Every agency has been there. A promising prospect is on the table, but the budget is tight, competition is fierce, and the temptation to slash your fees "just this once" to win the work is overwhelming. Enter the "Priced to Win" (PTW) project – a common practice that can either open doors to lucrative long-term relationships or quietly erode your agency's profitability.

The reality is that PTW projects aren't inherently good or bad – they're a strategic tool that requires careful consideration and disciplined management. When handled properly, they can be smart investments in your agency's future. When managed poorly, they become a financial drain that undermines your bottom line while setting dangerous precedents with clients.

The Pros:

Winning new clients: A discounted first project can help get a foot in the door.
Portfolio value: High-profile or socially aligned projects can boost reputation.
Better use of capacity: Filling downtime with PTW projects can keep teams active and build case studies.
Strategic alignment: Supporting causes or sectors that reflect agency values.

The Cons:

Precedent risk: Clients may expect discounts to continue, eroding profitability.
Discount trap: Starting low can make it harder to raise rates later.
Hidden cost: Without assigning internal budget and tracking via a dedicated job code, the true cost of the work can be invisible.
Resource drain: They consume time and capacity that could otherwise be billable.

Making PTWs Work

The key is transparency. PTW projects must be included in forecasting to make time and cost visible. Agencies should establish clear boundaries and clearly communicate the value of any "free" work. In your annual budget, you'll have planned for marketing and new business, and PTW projects should be assigned a portion of that budget — for example, if a £100k project is priced at £80k to win, you allocate £20k from your marketing/new business pot. This ensures everyone is clear on the value of the work they are managing and helps avoid overdelivering. Regularly reviewing whether these projects still support long-term goals is also essential.

Handled with discipline, PTWs can be a smart investment. Managed poorly, it can quietly undermine financial health.

The difference between agencies that thrive and those that struggle often comes down to how well they understand and manage these financial dynamics.

If you're looking to strengthen your agency's financial foundation and learn practical strategies for managing everything from PTW projects to profitability analysis, our Understanding Agency Finance workshop provides the tools and frameworks you need to make informed financial decisions that support sustainable growth.

Why Training Matters — And What Happens After the Workshop Ends

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 15:10:49 GMT

When it comes to training, it’s what happens after the workshop that really matters.

At The Industry School, our workshops are designed to do more than just tick a box. We focus on practical, real-world training that empowers marketing and creative professionals to think differently, act confidently, and drive real change in their organisations.

One of the most popular topics we cover is scope creep — a costly challenge that affects every agency.

The Problem with Scope Creep

Scope creep can derail projects, overwhelm teams, and erode client trust. It often starts with a simple “Can you just…?” and ends with hours of unbilled work, blurred boundaries, and frustrated teams.

That’s why we developed our How Scope Creeps workshop — a session dedicated to helping agency leaders, project managers, account handlers, and creatives understand how scope creep happens, how to recognise it early, and how to push back constructively.

Real Feedback. Real Results.

But the real proof of impact? It’s what happens after the session.

Here’s what one agency founder told us, just one week after attending our Scope Creep workshop:

“It’s only been a week, and I’ve already applied what we learnt in two real situations: one led to an entirely new project, and the other was a classic ‘Can you just’ request – and this time, we charged for it.”

That’s immediate value. That’s behaviour change in action. And that’s exactly why our training works.

Why Our Workshops Make a Difference

We design our workshops around shared agency experience, practical tools, and actionable frameworks. Rather than theory-heavy lectures, we create space for honest conversations — the kind that help people shift their mindset and build the confidence to handle difficult client conversations.

Our scope creep training is particularly impactful because it tackles a problem many agencies struggle to define, let alone fix. Attendees walk away with:

A better understanding of how scope creep creeps in
Language to push back professionally — without damaging relationships
Renewed confidence in their own value

Book Your Place

Our next open workshop, How Scope Creeps , takes place online on 15th October 2025 . It’s perfect for anyone working in a creative, media, or marketing agency who wants to manage client expectations more effectively and protect project profitability.

Prefer something bespoke for your team? We also run private, in-house training sessions tailored to your agency’s specific challenges.

Learn more and book your place now .
Or email us at info@theindustryschool.co.uk to discuss in-house training options.

Cannes Lions 2025: Sun, Strategy and Standout Conversations

melissa@theindustryclub.co.uk (Melissa Smith) — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 16:23:24 GMT

Earlier this year, Melissa & Zoe swapped London’s heatwave for the sizzling creative energy of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity — and what a good 48 hours it was…

Last month, Managing Director, Melissa Smith and Strategy Consultant Zoe Edwards swapped London’s heatwave for the sizzling creative energy of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. With a glass of rosé never far from hand and the Mediterranean just a few steps away, Melissa and Zoe dived headfirst into a packed schedule of panels, meetups, and spontaneous seaside conversations with some of the sharpest minds in the industry.

Kicking Things Off in True Cannes Style

Touching down in Cannes, it was straight to the Gerety Awards BBQ, a brilliantly relaxed way to ease into the week. Huge thanks to Lucia Ongay and Joe Brooks for hosting such a buzzing event, and to Tantor Films for turning up the heat on the grill. We loved catching up with creative minds from Antiestático and The Gate— the ideas were already flowing, and the week had only just begun.

The Evolving Landscape of In-House Creativity

One of the standout moments from Day 2 was a panel on the future of in-house agencies, hosted by Matt Cooper of LBB.. The line-up included senior creative leads from Lyft, DoorDash, Amazon, and TikTok, all offering refreshingly honest insights on how their internal teams are adapting to stay fast, fearless, and genuinely innovative.

Here are a few takeaways that really stuck:

Clear swim lanes between agency and marketing are essential — no lane hogging!
Creative leadership matters — someone needs to champion the work, fiercely.
Performance is power — owning your social and performance content means you can prove what’s working.
One leader, no silos — clear direction drives better outcomes.
Solid ops and resource tools aren’t a ‘nice to have’ — they’re critical
Awards still matter — recognition keeps teams inspired and striving.

Leading with Impact: Women in Ad Tech

On Day 3, Zoe joined a brilliant panel aboard the Equativ yacht, where the focus for speakers Danielle Wachtler, Arshiya Nazir, Liane Nadeau, Amanda DeVito, MBA, Stephani Estes, and Dana Basile was on Women in Ad Tech — and more specifically, what it means to lead with impact. It didn’t disappoint.

A few standout themes from the discussion:

In a world where AI is catching up on IQ , it’s EQ that gives us the edge — and women are leading with it.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) should be non-negotiables.
Gender parity isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a proven business driver.
You don’t have to be at the top to lead by example .

There were laughs too. A story from Amanda DeVito — who once asked ChatGPT for advice and found herself imagining what a middle-aged white man might do — offered a wry but clever way to consider alternative perspectives. A good mental stretch for all of us.

One concern echoed across the female-led panels: the audiences were overwhelmingly female. If we’re serious about culture change, we need more men in the room — to listen, learn and support.

Thanks to Jackie Stevenson for the invite.

Rosé, Real Talk, and a View to Remember

A big shoutout to LBBonline – Little Black Book for hosting one of the best spots on the Croisette — a beachside haven where the conversation was as good as the wine. It’s always a highlight catching up with friends, clients, and future collaborators in such an inspiring setting.

We’re still processing the conversations, connections, and creative provocations from the week — but one thing is clear: the appetite for bold, brave in-house creativity is stronger than ever.

Want to chat about how we help build brilliant in-house teams, develop creative leaders, or design AI training for your agency?
Get in touch — we’d love to talk.

Contact The Industry Club →

How to Build a Truly Inclusive Production Crew

melissa@theindustryclub.co.uk (Melissa Smith) — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 10:34:36 GMT

While diverse casting is more visible than ever, true inclusion must extend behind the lens...

Earlier this year, our very own Leila Bartlam, head of global production and content production trainer at The Industry School, contributed an essay to Little Black Book’s feature article, ‘Why Inclusion in Production Is Vital to Craft’. The piece brings together perspectives from across the creative industry on why true representation matters—not just in front of the camera, but throughout the entire production process.

While Leila’s thoughts were summarised in the main article, we’re proud to share her full essay below, in which she explores the real work behind creating more inclusive production environments and why it’s so essential to creative excellence.

How to build a Truly inclusive Production Crew

While diverse casting is more visible than ever, true inclusion must extend behind the lens. On-set equity starts long before the cameras roll, with who gets hired and how they're supported. This includes not only crew, but the agency, production company and post-production team.

I’ve started to embed the Inclusion Kick-off meeting into the production life cycle.Unlike a typical pre-bid or PPM, this dedicated session brings together producers, agency teams, and clients to align on one goal: assembling a representative team and crew. Many aim for at least 50% of the crew and production team to come from underrepresented groups, including women, people of colour, LGBTQ+ professionals, disabled talent, older individuals, neurodivergent creatives, and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. However, I have recently heard my colleagues saying, ‘as many as possible. ’Top tip – combine your inclusivity meeting with a sustainability meetin g!

This app roach isn’t about box-ticking. It’s about widening the lens to bring in talent with diverse lived experiences, including individuals who may have faced historic barriers to entry but possess the skills to elevate the work.

And inclusion doesn’t stop once names are on a call sheet. On-set environments must also be accessible, psychologically safe, and flexible. That could mean ensuring the location is wheelchair-friendly, adjusting call times for chronically ill or neurodivergent crew, using plain-language briefings and visual schedules, or offering anonymous ways for crew to share feedback.

As shown in industry reports by the APA and Cannes Lions’ Inclusion Index, inclusion is no longer optional. It’s a marker of excellence and creativity. Because when crews truly reflect the world we live in, the stories they help tell are richer, braver, and more human.

—————

Leila has worked in production since 2000. In this time she has headed up film output at agencies including Iris Worldwide, Havas Worldwide London and adam&eve and held the MD role at edit facility Cut+Run. Leila’s work has won many awards, including Creative Circle, D&AD, British Arrows and Campaign Big.

Read the full article by LBB’s Aysun Bora: Why Inclusion in Production Is Vital to Craft

Image Credit: Amistad Cristiana on Unsplash

Resources Run Dry, Happy People Don’t...

jo@theindustryschool.co.uk (Jo Petroccia) — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 09:39:38 GMT

As part of LBB Online’s Off My Chest series, Jo Petroccia, resource and operations consultant and trainer at The Industry School discussed why resource management is a crucial discipline for every agency.

Jo Petroccia has over 20 years of agency experience in resource management and operational roles.

Tired of seeing resource management treated as nothing more than a game of human Tetris, Jo developed resource management training that helps businesses get the most value from their resource management planning.

Most recently, Jo co-created two new workshops: Understanding Agency Finance and How Scope Creeps.

LBB> In one sentence, what’s the issue on your mind right now?

Jo> We’ve got to stop thinking about people as ‘resources,’ they're so much more than that!

The term resource is default in agency language, especially around scheduling and staffing.

But people aren’t puzzle pieces we plug into empty slots.

Each person brings unique skills, goals, personalities, and ambitions – both personal and professional – that need to be considered. When we refer to people as resources, we unconsciously strip away their individuality and reduce them to units of output.

LBB> Why does it matter to you?

Jo> Because I see first-hand how this kind of thinking leads to ‘human tetris.’ Our job isn’t just to “fill the gaps” – it’s to align people with work that challenges and fulfils them. It’s about helping people thrive, not treating them like an endless resource that is limitless.

LBB> Why does it matter enough to the wider industry?

Jo> Because it’s unsustainable. When staff are treated as a ‘resource’, it leads to poor decision making, misalignment between people and the work they’re doing, it leads to churn, disengagement, and poorer outcomes for clients. People aren’t just a cost line on a spreadsheet – they are the agency.

LBB> Why does it remain an issue?

Jo> Partly because “resource” is so deeply embedded in our operational language. It's convenient and neutral, but it also creates distance from the human side of work..

LBB> What should we be doing about it?

Jo> We need to shift the mindset around resource management. Instead of asking “Who’s available?”, we should be asking “Who’s right for this?” That means understanding people’s strengths, aspirations, bandwidth, and even their learning goals.

The aim should be to balance agency needs with individual development, not simply fill slots.

LBB> And what are the first steps?

Jo> Start by acknowledging that words matter – language shapes culture.

Make time to understand the people on your team: their goals, their growth areas, and their limits.

Make resource management a crucial discipline in your agency – ensure everyone knows why it exists and the value it adds.

Talk to people. Listen. Then plan.

LBB> Any parting thoughts?

Jo> We’re stuck with the term “resource,” but that doesn’t mean we have to adopt the mindset that comes with it. Avoid the ‘human Tetris’ approach and make sure you put people at the heart of your resource planning.

This article was originally published on Little Black Book as part of their Off My Chest series, 15/07/2025

Image credit: airfocus on Unsplash

Gerety & The Industry Club Introduce In-house Agency Of The Year Award

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 09:30:09 GMT

Special prize to spotlight the world’s most creative In-House Agency.

The Industry Club Partners with Gerety to Celebrate In-House Creative Excellence

The Industry Club is proud to continue its partnership with the Gerety Awards in 2025, presenting the prestigious In-House Agency of the Year award. This collaboration underscores our shared commitment to recognising the outstanding creativity and innovation within in-house agencies, which are redefining the boundaries of advertising and brand storytelling.

As part of our dedication to supporting in-house teams, The Industry Club recently launched the first-ever UK In-House Talent & Salary Survey in collaboration with The In-House Agency Leaders Club (IHALC) and its members. This initiative has provided invaluable insights into the evolving role of in-house agencies and reinforced the importance of celebrating their creative excellence.

Spotlighting Exceptional Talent

The In-House Agency of the Year award will honor the highest-scoring agency based on points accumulated across all entries for shortlist, bronze, silver, gold, and grand prix categories. The scoring system is as follows:

Grand Prix: 12 points
Gold: 8 points
Silver: 4 points
Bronze: 2 points
Shortlist: 1 point

Melissa Smith, founder and managing director of The Industry Club, expressed her enthusiasm for this initiative:

“In-house agencies continue to push the boundaries of creativity while navigating the unique challenges of operating within a brand. The In-House Agency of the Year award is a well-deserved recognition of their innovation, impact, and growing influence in the industry. We are proud to partner with Gerety once again to shine a spotlight on the exceptional talent within these teams and celebrate their contributions to the creative landscape.”

A Global Celebration of Creativity

This year’s Gerety Awards jury features a record-breaking 245 judges from 50 countries, ensuring that entries are evaluated from diverse perspectives. The sole judging criteria remain originality of the idea and creativity in execution.

The standard deadline for entries is Friday, April 11th, although at the time of writing extensions are available, contact Gerety to find out more. We encourage all in-house agencies to submit their work and join us in celebrating their contributions to shaping the future of advertising.

Entries can be submitted at https://www.geretyawards.com

For more information on how The Industry Club is helping in-house agencies source and retain the best talent in the creative industry, and for an exclusive discount code on your Gerety Awards entry, get in touch by emailing melissa@theindustryclub.co.uk

In-housing Summit 2024

zoe@theindustryclub.co.uk (Zoe Edwards) — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 13:58:07 GMT

The key takeaways

We had the pleasure of attending Campaign's In-Housing Summit this week to hear from the more established in-house agencies includind Spec Savers. The Kitchen, What3Words, Shelter and Lego who covered numerous topics including business impact, creativity, organisational design, AI and long term success for in-housing.

Here are our key takeaways:

True Partnership: IHAs work in close alignment with marketing, prioritising the brand’s best interests. This approach fosters strong, collaborative relationships and creates long-term value.

Naming & Identity: Naming matters. Many IHAs avoid “agency” labels, opting instead for terms like “creative” or “studio,” or using brand-specific names, reinforcing their role as an integrated part of the company, not a separate entity.

Creativity & Innovation: IHAs aren’t just about being faster or cheaper. To build a culture of creativity and innovation, many encourage proactive idea generation, pushing creative boundaries beyond specific projects and supporting continuous growth.

Collaboration, Not Competition: Brands increasingly see external agencies as partners who complement IHA skills, working together to strengthen impact and build a cohesive brand ecosystem.

Agility & Speed: The fast pace of social and digital requires IHAs to respond quickly, often bringing cultural moments to life within hours which isn't possible for external agencies.

Efficiency & Results: From TUI’s multi-market content to Vodafone’s data-informed creative loops, IHAs consistently achieve high engagement and quality results, demonstrating strategic value.

Innovation & Adaptability: By adopting new technologies like Gen AI, IHAs scale production while maintaining brand consistency and regulatory compliance.

Talent & Development: To keep brands fresh and talent engaged, IHAs are creating training programs to build future pipelines and invest in creative development.

It's clear IHAs are proving their worth as strategic, creative, and adaptable partners, embedded within their brands.

With IHA Talent & Development in mind, The Industry Club and the In-House Agency Leaders Club have created the first In-House Talent & Salary Survey specifically for UK in-house agencies. You can download it here,

The Evolving Role of Strategists for In-House Agencies

zoe@theindustryclub.co.uk (Zoe Edwards) — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 11:52:21 GMT

Key Takeaways From Our Roundtable Discussion

In-house agencies (IHA) are becoming a standard part of many organisations, and with them comes a unique set of opportunities and challenges for strategists. At our recent roundtable, we explored these dynamics with eight In-House strategy leads at various sectors from Broadcast, Finance, and Travel to Food & Drink. Several key themes emerged:

Different IHA Models : In-house agencies vary widely, with some functioning as separate entities to marketing while others operate as extensions of the marketing team or as integrated pods. Strategists shared how these setups influence their roles, particularly when proving the value of strategy to internal stakeholders.

Proving the Value of Strategy : A common theme was the need to demonstrate the importance of strategy, especially when marketers are deeply entrenched in brand and commercial elements. Strategists often find themselves in educational roles, explaining what strategy is for and how it adds value. Whether it’s showing the emotional resonance of a brand or providing a creative brief that aligns with marketing goals, strategists are often called upon to prove their worth before being invited to take on larger, more upstream work.

Talent & Team Structure: While working in in-house teams can offer a better work-life balance, the flat structure of these environments can be perceived to limit career progression, especially for more junior team members. Several noted the lack of upward mobility and the need for broadening skill sets as a sideways form of career growth. Mentoring programs, like exchange programmes, are proving beneficial for helping strategists continue their development.

Knowledge and Growth: Without a CSO to mentor them, strategists often need to seek out creative allies or marketing experts within the organisation to test and strengthen their thinking. Sharing knowledge within the team or even leveraging external opportunities, like becoming an award judge, can help ensure that strategists keep their skills sharp and continue to grow in their roles whilst keeping a broader industry perspective than just the one brand or business they are in.

In-House vs. External Agencies: While some early adopters of IHA’s, are moving back to external agencies for cost-saving reasons, others, continue to rely solely on their in-house teams. Strategists noted that while in-house agencies are often cheaper and faster, external agencies still hold an allure due to their perceived creativity and flexibility.

Zoe Edwards is our Principal Consultant for Planning and Strategy role s.

Learn more about our In-house salary survey and how we work with in-house agencies here.

We are raising funds for the Alzheimer’s society.

Wed, 14 Aug 2024 07:30:39 GMT

We speak to Mandy, our Finance Manager on why we chose this charity

Mandy, tell us about your Mum Jean

My Mum was a Super Woman. She could do anything and everything. When she left school she got her dream job which was to become a nurse. It was all she had ever wanted to do. She loved being a nurse, helping and caring for others. Once she had children she decided to stay at home and raise us. Whilst rushing around looking after us she still wanted to do more. Mum threw herself into charity work, fundraising and volunteering to help children with special needs. She learnt new skills like speaking French, cooking, dressmaking. She was a great cook, and made the most amazing wedding cakes with edible flowers; she made clothes and even hats. She did embroidery and tapestry and insisted that the back of the work had to be as good as the front. Mum was a wonderful knitter and made the most exquisite shawls for babies. She made curtains and cushions. She literally did it all, until Alzheimer’s took it all away from her

How did you realise she had Alzheimer’s?

We had noticed gradual changes in Mum over a number of years. Small things but signs that she was losing ability to do them. One day she drove to her friend in a village nearby about 10 minutes drive. On the way back she couldn’t remember where to go and it took her 2 hours to find her way home. It started like that; just the odd moment of loss of memory and then everything was back to normal.

Was it difficult for Jean to accept her condition?

When Mum finally agreed to go for a memory test she was in denial. Her greatest excuse was that she was tired and so just a little confused. In reality she was terrified as she knew what was to come. The diagnosis came during lockdown. That was 4 years ago and we have lived together ever since. Alternating between our individual houses.

It must have been difficult to see her behaviours change?

During the first few months of us living together I noticed that she had become almost childish when chatting to her friends, then she got confused where things were, like the tea and coffee. I started putting reminders around the house but Mum hated them and took them down. She was embarrassed and didn’t want her friends to know. The saddest thing to see was the fear on her face when she realised that couldn’t remember things. She was so scared and lost, and it broke my heart to see her like that.

Was it difficult to manage these changes in Jean’s behaviour?

It was and is so hard to manage Mum's behaviour. Seeing her try to complete tasks but not being able to, then seeing her frustration. You then become the parent, reassuring them that it doesn't matter and praising them for how they have already helped in doing that task. I tried to give Mum some independence. So every day she would take the dogs out for a walk on her own. She had a regular route that she took and managed to continue her routine for the first year and half. Then one day somebody drove her and the dogs back home as she had got lost. That was the last time she went out on her own.

How has Jean’s condition deteriorated?

Now Mum has difficulty stringing sentences together. She gets lost halfway through a sentence then something catches her eye and then the conversation takes a totally different route. I used to be able to understand what she meant, but now it's almost impossible. All those skills she once had have vanished. There is no cooking, knitting, sewing; nothing. And this will only deteriorate further.

How is it for you, living with a loved one with dementia?

The last year and a half Mum has not been able to be left alone. I can’t just pop out. I can’t go out with my friends for dinner unless I have a babysitter. The cost for care is almost prohibitive so I often burden my sons with helping out; having to take days off work so that I can attend meetings or have a day off. A little moment of respite for me and that makes me extremely proud and grateful but also guilt ridden for making them carers too. Without them, I wouldn't have been able to cope with Mum. Mum now follows me around the house. If I get up to go somewhere in the house, she is right behind me. If I’m in another room working, she just pops in whether I’m on a zoom call or not, and just stares at me. It’s suffocating for me, but a need for reassurance for her. She needs to know that she is not alone, and that there is someone there to care for her.

Why is finding a cure for Alzheimer’s so important?

My Mum, the most amazing woman, so capable can no longer even make a cup of tea. The tables have turned. Mum was the one who cared for me, bathed me, cooked for me, washed and ironed my clothes, now I do all that for her. I lost my Mum a long time ago. The Mum that I knew. The Mum that loved, cherished and nurtured me. Alzheimer’s is a cruel disease. It destroys lives, not just those that have the illness but those who love and care for them.

Tell us about your fundraising efforts for Alzheimer’s Society?

We have raised money for the charity over the years since Jean was diagnosed, we also have other members of the team who’s parents have suffered with dementia. Melissa climbed Kilimanjaro a few years ago in aid of the charity.

This year, we are hoping to raise more money by the whole team taking part in the 10km Thames Path Challenge on September 14th. Our target is £2,000 but we hope to raise more. The money we raise will help fund vital research and support services for people affected by Alzheimer’s.

If you would like to support us, here is a link to our funding page:

https://www.justgiving.com/team/theindustryclub

CurEOsity series: The Rise of the Employee-Owned Creative Agency

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 08:35:45 GMT

CurEOsity - how has going EO helped Not Actual Size

As the most aligned way for the agency’s founder to exit the business, whilst preserving company values and culture, Not Actual Size become an employee-owned trust (EOT) in December 2020. Managing director, Siobhan Johnson, talks about coupling being an EOT with B Corp status, how EOTs keep evolving and the importance of balancing ownership and responsibility.

When and why did your company become employee-owned in the first place, and how did you make the decision?

Not Actual Size became an employee-owned trust (EOT) in December 2020. Our founder Dan Holliday wanted to exit the business and, after months of deliberation, we decided that an EOT made the most sense for us. Having looked at options from selling to management buyout, we felt becoming an EOT was the most aligned option to our company values. We really wanted to protect our culture and felt this wouldn't be possible in other options.

Has it changed your company culture and operations as a whole and if so, how?

Being an EOT hasn't changed the culture – namely because it was designed to protect and strengthen it. I would say that it has done that and that it has provided a really useful lens in key decision-making across operations and business planning.

Has it been positive for company recruitment?

It's definitely been positive, but we've also certified as a B Corp in the same time frame and both together are attractive when in recruitment discussions. I’d say that when I’m talking about our EO status in an interview, it really validates what we’re saying about our culture – it shows people you’re actually serious about being a good, caring company vs. just telling them you are.

As an EO company, how can employees contribute their ideas, participate in strategic planning, and have a say in company direction?

We're constantly reviewing and evolving this, when we became an EOT we agreed to a gradual shift to company decision making whilst we are 'buying' the business from the founder. So we've gradually introduced and tested new ways to engage employees. We have in place regular employee engagement surveys, open forum company meetings etc. We're working to a phased evolution whereby we gradually increase employee engagement from improved visibility to improved voice and are introducing new things all the time – we’ve just introduced anonymous feedback forms as we found it helps some team members to feel more confident in sharing questions. We can always do better, but I think our open approach means that we are evolving and transparent with our team on this evolution.

How do you encourage employees to think and act like owners, beyond just financial ownership, and is this a focus for you?

This is something we're working on – I would say that with a growing and relatively young agency it is a tough concept to grasp. We're constantly evolving and taking on feedback, but we're also aware that some employees really don't want that 'ownership' responsibility, so we're working to understand the balance and create something that works for the majority. In a growing agency, it’s also a challenge to keep on top of who knows what, you might think you communicated something well and then realise it was 6 months ago and you’ve had 5 new people in that time. Communication is the key, and this is an area we’re focusing on at the moment – making sure we’re keeping the team in the loop and being clear and consistent in our communications.

Are there any challenges to being EO? How do you deal with these?

The biggest challenge is understanding what it actually means and tangibly demonstrating this. Everyone has a different perspective, and we need to make sure we understand and manage this – without losing sight of doing great work being at the heart of our company culture. As I’ve already mentioned, communication feels like a key part of success, we're almost 50 people now so bringing everyone on the journey is really important to our collective success.

What support and resources does your company provide to help employees understand and navigate their roles as owners effectively?

Over the past few years we've held various company meetings and presentations, we're in the process of doing values workshops with the full team and updating our company handbook. For us, the company values and the shared ownership are intrinsic – and this understanding needs to be nurtured over time. It's not an overnight process, nor does it need to be.

What would you say to other businesses considering going employee owned?

I'd say that at the heart of any business – not least an employee owned one – is people. And people are interesting, unique, and surprising. There's no one way to set it up and there's no one perspective, there's no right or wrong. It's tempting to think of being an EOT in simple forms, but it is a constant evolution and needs constant work, consideration and nuance in the thinking. I think employee-owned businesses are the future, but they're also doing something different – which means there isn't a paved path to follow. Exciting but also leads to some unknowns along the way!

With thanks to Siobhan Johnson, Managing Director, Not Actual Size

CurEOsity series: The Rise of the Employee-Owned Creative Agency

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 18:13:23 GMT

How has going Employee Owned helped Quiet Storm?

Four years into employee ownership (EO), head of operations and partner, Summer Rozenbroek, tells us how the move has led to better business performance, improved recruitment and retention, and further bolstered their already transparent culture.

When and why did your company become employee-owned in the first place, and how did you make the decision?

Quiet Storm went employee-owned in 2020. Trevor Robinson founded the company in 1995, our CEO Rania Robinson joined him to build up the company 13 years ago, and they transitioned the business to an employee ownership trust (EOT) four years ago. They made the decision to help retain our culture, our brilliant people and retain the practices and values that make our business a success, as well as honouring their legacy. They wanted to avoid a big sell leading to big changes at the agency.

Ultimately, giving our people more ownership leads to a better overall business performance as employees are more invested in client relationships. The success of our clients’ businesses means the success of ours and, therefore, rewards for our people.

An employee ownership (EO) means the people who built the business will take it over. With EO there’s still an exit strategy while retaining everything that’s been built up over the years.

Has it changed your company culture and operations as a whole and if so, how?

We already had a very transparent, inclusive culture – EO has empowered and bolstered that further. The groundwork of the strength of culture that had been built over 25 years was already there, so EO felt like a fit for Quiet Storm in so many ways.

Operationally, there’s a good EO structure in place, with an EOT board made up of representatives from management, the team and a Non Exec Director in place. The formalities are there, but the take out is employees have a more equitable say in how the agency’s run. A representative voice to vote for and deliver impact.

We have EO positions for fixed timeframes including an EO director – currently me – and one EO champion. We started with three of us in total, but when we had a change in team we found that two was actually enough for us. There are many ways in which you can structure an EO business and the model can be flexible to suit your business - we tweak our framework to suit our agency. I’ll step down as EO director this year after four years – it’s important to give others the opportunity to be voted in as well.

Has it been positive for company recruitment?

I’d say it’s had a hugely positive effect on recruitment, especially for younger people and those coming into the industry for the first time. Interviewees all comment on it having read about it on our website.

There’s a lot of talk about the next generation being more interested in equitable roles and we’ve really seen that here. It helps us attract and retain great talent because people can see that their energy and efforts within the business are going to yield a more equitable benefit, which results in more invested staff. It's still a relatively unknown structure, so not everyone understands all the details at first, but they understand enough to talk about it in interviews.

As an EO company, how can employees contribute their ideas, participate in strategic planning, and have a say in company direction?

We have monthly Voice sessions where people can contribute and raise suggestions, and monthly finance updates to support our transparency. There are more in-depth business and finance updates twice a year, as everyone has a vested interest in an EO company.

Everyone can also input into our strategic planning sessions – they can contribute ideas before the management board planning days, and every meeting is summarised afterwards to all staff. We also send summaries after formal EOT board meetings. So there’s a clear structure, but we also try and keep things fluid. People also feel comfortable to raise things individually, which also happens sometimes.

How do you encourage employees to think and act like owners, beyond just financial ownership, and is this a focus for you?

We do a lot of consultation through all aspects of the business, so employees have a voice in decision making. We’ve seen that giving people more ownership and influence leads to higher levels of engagement and commitment. Consultative practices and democratic votes have resulted in anything from improving our parental leave policy, to enhanced hybrid working systems, to wellbeing initiatives, to improving processes.

As well as having a clear framework, and it’s important to engage people, we do a lot of work to keep it inclusive.

Are there any challenges to being EO? How do you deal with these?

Probably the biggest challenge is realising that not everyone will get involved to the same level, even if the opportunity is there. Businesses are diverse and people want to contribute to a greater or lesser extent – and that’s fine. The principles are still clear. As a company, we ensure our culture is driven through everything and the overall picture works.

What support and resources does your company provide to help employees understand and navigate their roles as owners effectively?

We have an induction session dedicated to employee ownership and a pack for new starters for quick reference. We’ve also enrolled people on EO courses and events through the EOA who are a really helpful resource. People can contribute to company direction meetings and we provide summaries of sessions afterwards. The finance updates are regular and transparent and we do a lot of consultation through business decisions. And there are roles people can be voted into.

How has employee ownership contributed to the success and sustainability of your company?

EO has definitely contributed to talent retention in tough times. Our staff tenure is 6.3 years on average, which is much higher than industry norms. In a recent survey, 100% of our staff said that they would recommend us a great place to work, which is another good indicator of engagement. Our staff continue to feed back that the transparency, communication and consultative practices are appreciated, which in turn generates loyalty and retention.

It’s also helped with talent attraction in a difficult market. We attract some great candidates, and it helps with company buy in and investment, and that means people putting their hands up more for new projects and new business as there’s a vested interest in growing the business.

As for financial planning, it’s definitely more equitable. Staff dividends are prioritised even in harder times.

What would you say to other businesses considering going employee owned?

Absolutely consider it – it’s a great thing and it’s been positive for Quiet Storm. The structure is democratic and one of positive inclusion in a polarised economy. There are so many studies that talk about a more autonomous workforce being a happier one, and that point to more diverse, transparent workplaces making more profit.

Any closing thoughts?

Employee ownership is definitely something that will be increasingly important in the future. The younger generation and new workforce will want more flexibility and more say in their companies across all industries, and EO delivers that.

With thanks to Summer Rozenbroek
Head of Operations & Partner of Quiet Storm & Create Not Hate

The half-arsed resource request

jo@theindustryschool.co.uk (Jo Petroccia) — Sat, 01 Jun 2024 07:29:17 GMT

The HARR

If you’re a resource manager in a busy agency, you’ll probably be all too familiar with the half-arsed resource request. The half-arsed resource request (HARR) usually comes in the form of an email that reads something like: ‘Is there any design resource free next week?' with no other detail.

This is hugely frustrating for resource managers (and internally the response is ‘ffs, I’m not a mind reader’) but HARRs are bad news and point to more serious issues:

1. HARRs perpetuate the idea that resource management is little (or nothing) more than human Tetris. When this misconception becomes the norm, you fail to get the best out of the resource management function.

2. HARRs are lazy. People are busy, we get it, but half-arsed resource requests just waste time and create more work for everyone. The resource manager now has to pester for the real information needed– why, what, when, how much?

3. HARRs devalue the resource manager’s role and show a lack of understanding of the discipline from the HARRers. A resource manager is your ally, your secret weapon to good project health. Work with them, not against them.

4. HARRs are reactive, usually a knee jerk reaction to a client request. It’s a sure sign that project and resource planning is reactive, which in turn means your finance, recruitment and staff development planning is reactive and shortsighted. That makes things costly.

As well as finding the right resource manager for your business, you need to train others in your agency to collaborate with them and understand that it’s a crucial discipline that will add value and make their life easier. And then watch your bottom line increase by 10%.

Check out our resource management workshops including 'Effective Resource Management' which is great for your resource and ops team, and 'Resource Management - Winning Together' which is for the wider team. Make the most of your resource manager and resource management function.

Get in touch to find out more info@theindustryschool.co.uk

CurEOsity series: The Rise of the Employee-Owned Creative Agency

Wed, 29 May 2024 14:04:27 GMT

Empowering Success: Salad's Journey into Employee Ownership

Welcome to the CurEOsity series, where we explore the rise of employee ownership (EO) in the creative industry and its transformative power. In this series, we speak with creative agencies at different stages of EO maturity, revealing unique motivations, challenges, and successes, offering a comprehensive view of the EO landscape.

Empowering Success: Salad's Journey into employee ownership

With an eye on the future of Salad in the longer-term, and the desire to balance agency value and culture, the former owners made the decision to go employee-owned in 2021. What’s resulted is a deeper collaboration, the best ever financial performance, and Salad’s newest recruit feeling they had a role to play from day one. But, employee ownership is not for everyone. MD Bella Lewis-Smith and Harry Pocknell, strategy and creative director, tell us more.

When and why did your company become employee-owned in the first place, and how did you make the decision?

We became 100% employee-owned in April 2021. When Bella & Andy (ex-owners) considered the long-term future of the agency, they wanted to ensure both the sustainability of the business and the empowerment of the team. As options were weighed and they discovered more about employee ownership, they felt that an EOT was a perfect fit to realise the value in the business they’d built whilst maintaining the culture.

Has it changed your company culture and operations as a whole and if so, how?

At first, it felt like everything had changed, but also nothing had changed. Bella has maintained her position as MD, and two years after transitioning, Andy has stepped aside from his role as FD to a more custodial role of Chairman. From a board perspective, our Strategy & Creative Director Harry has now joined which has added some new context to the decision-making progress.

As an EOT we have also established a trust board, which is chaired by our independent trustee. Nicole, our Head of Delivery also sits on the trust board as our Employee rep, alongside Bella who represents the operational board.

Interactions between the two boards have been developing since the transition, often creating conversations we wouldn’t have had previously, mainly focussed on business planning and ensuring that decisions are discussed with the beneficiaries and the business in mind.

Culturally, changes have been made with the team coming together to discuss the business every quarter in Vision days, which has led to conversations about the future and we will continue to involve the wider team in planning and strategy.

Operationally, we have maintained our small team, and continue to work in a similar way but with more client-facing time for each of us, and an improved sense of teamwork and deep collaboration.

Has it been positive for company recruitment?

We have recruited since we transitioned, but only for a single role. Our developer Greg joined in early 2022.

He spoke about his experience of joining Salad in a recent blog article.

“Before joining Salad I had never heard of employee- ownership, but was intrigued right away. I could see I was joining a business with complete transparency and trust among the team. Everyone drives towards the same goal, being proactive and not hiding from responsibilities. For me, it was like a breath of fresh air and made me feel like I was on equal terms with everyone right from the start. Whilst I may have not been a beneficiary within my first year of the business, I never felt excluded from any of the decisions that were being made and still felt like I had a part to play.”

As we move into the new financial year, and look to fill a new role, we will discover how much employee ownership means to applicants.

As an EO company, how can employees contribute their ideas, participate in strategic planning, and have a say in company direction?

We have had numerous occasions where we have involved the whole team in planning and company direction since we transitioned. In fact, one of our first Vision days was centred around our proposition and the ways in which we deliver. Those first sessions have contributed to the creation of new business plans, a rejuvenated proposition and our intention to build the reputations of each of our team to help solidify our position as a small team of experts within the industry.

At each Vision day we reflect on the previous quarter and review our plans to reach financial freedom. In the coming sessions, we will continue to focus on the future, and ensure the employee voice makes a contribution to the strategic planning of our business well into the future .

How do you encourage employees to think and act like owners, beyond just financial ownership, and is this a focus for you?

We have always maintained financial transparency as a business, and that’s something we feel keeps everyone focused. It encourages the team to see the business not just as a series of projects, but as a web of relationships that need to be nurtured and grown, both internally and externally. We typically include many of our colleagues in new business conversations and proposal writing, because it’s their expertise that delivers the work.

Recently we’ve had discussions in our Employee Council talking about the kind of ownership culture we have, how it needs to be developed and, with some guidance from the board, the team are able to discover what ownership means to them, and to our business.

Are there any challenges to being EO? How do you deal with these?

Most EO businesses have challenges, and we’re no different. Early conversations around perks and benefits have challenged us to think about what ownership really means, and prompted conversations about costs and what our priorities should be.

We’ve been challenged to think about what role the Employee Council take, as it’s made up of the bulk of our team. In fact, early meetings focussed on operational matters, which excluded Bella, our MD, so we had to stop and think about what role we need the Council to take.

Ultimately, with a small team, transparent culture and a deep sense of collaboration, we know we can have reasonable conversations when challenges do crop up, and deal with them as a team.

What support and resources do your company provide to help employees understand and navigate their roles as owners effectively?

In terms of resources, we have taken advantage of the EOA’s courses, initially sending our Employee Director and Employee Rep on the “How to be an effective Trustee/Director” course. The course covered the roles and responsibilities of both roles, a succinct overview of how to read financial information, and revealed some of the challenges of governance within an EO organisation. We’ve also taken advantage of networking opportunities the EOA offers to get our team informed about their roles and learn from others.

In terms of support, we have had the benefit of a seasoned finance director who shares and explains financial information, highlighting the costs involved in running our business, and how we manage our accounts on a monthly basis.

There’s a distinct educational aspect in much of our internal communication. On an ongoing basis, our directors share information and encourage participation in planning and strategic activity.

Can you provide examples of how employee ownership has contributed to the success and sustainability of your company, especially during challenging economic periods or industry changes?

It’s no coincidence that since our transition to employee ownership, we’ve had three of our most financially successful years to date. Since the transition our EO status has created a real sense of ownership of the work, the process and the outcomes. We’re collaborating more closely and taking more responsibility as individuals. Transparency on finances has played a large part in this and through a clear understanding of the targets we’ve set to pay off the deferred consideration and making beneficiary payments, we’ve acted accordingly, delivering work more effectively and efficiently.

It’s hard to understate the cultural benefits of employee ownership on our sustainability and how all pulling in the same direction, we’ve managed to maintain excellent relationships, and we’ve made decisions to deliver differently than we might have done 5 years ago. Every team member is afforded client contact so that they’re working and communicating directly with clients which helps to expand their knowledge of customer issues and the problems we’re asked to solve.

Finally, we’ve been inspired to work more closely with other employee-owned businesses. We have extended our offer to help EOs develop culture and vision, align and engage their teams, and encourage them to embed employee ownership deeply into both internal and external communication and help them navigate the processes and pitfalls of well-managed EO. Not least with the team at The Industry Club!

What would you say to other businesses considering going employee-owned?

Employee ownership is not for everyone.

It takes a founder who sees the value of their team and the maintenance of the culture the organisation has formed to take the first step. It takes a team of dedicated employees, keen to learn about and understand the bigger picture, keen to have their voices heard and keen to participate in the development of a positive employee-owned culture.

But, as a means to protect culture and create sustainable, long-term business value for all participants, employee ownership is both a great way for founders to realise the value they’ve built, and teams to realise how valuable the part they play in the success of any business really is.

Anything else you’d like to add?

There’s a whole community of businesses who have been extremely gracious with their time, giving us the benefit of their individual experiences. Whether it’s founders, employee representatives or other knowledgeable EO consultants, the level of information shared across the community is a testament to the desire to make employee ownership a positive experience for everyone involved.

It’s a very people-positive community and we’re looking forward to continuing to build more relationships with like-minded businesses across the sector

With thanks to Bella and Harry at https://saladcreative.com for their contribution to this series.

Our Club/Your Club - Amanda Bronkhorst, CEO Just One Tree

Wed, 08 May 2024 09:30:39 GMT

Our interview with the inspirational environmentalist

Amanda, welcome to our club - The Industry Club. Can you share your favourite club with us?

The first club that springs to mind - it’s got to be The First Wives Club - the classic movie with Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn and Diane Keaton. Other than that I have a passion for horseriding and am currently into Rider Biomechanics and Légerette - the French school of classical dressage. Although I wouldn’t really call them clubs per se.

What was the inspiration behind founding JUST ONE Tree?

It was my daughter. I was on maternity leave back in 2019 when climate change hit the news headlines with a real bang. I remember the exact moment when I read an article which said we only have 10 years before we set off irreversible tipping points that will lead to the end of civilisation as we know it. After reading that, I couldn’t help but panic about my daughter's future. I just had to do something about it.

I then discovered how cheap it was to plant a tree and it got me thinking, ‘What if everyone knew it was just £1’? There are 10 million children in education in the UK, imagine if every parent planted a tree for each of their children. There are 5.9 million businesses. What if a tree was planted for every property sold, insurance policy or meal out? If we all joined together, we could be the ones driving change and having an incredible impact on the planet.

So I put a post out on Facebook… and thought if I plant 900 trees before I go back to Production in a year, and that’s where it ends, then that’s 900 more trees out there than if I hadn’t bothered. We ended up planting 3/4s of a million trees in that first year… so I kept going.

We love working with Producers as they are generally driven and adventurous, do you think your career in production gave you the gumption to start a non-profit initiative focused on reforestation?

Absolutely! As a Producer you tackle so much, you navigate tricky scenarios and relationships, you juggle many balls all at once and pull crazy jobs in on time and on budget. Producers are a determined bunch of people who sometimes have to make the impossible possible. We understand hard work, and long hours and have seen what we can achieve when a great crew of people work together as a team.

When the idea of JUST ONE Tree came along, I didn’t even think twice, I just went for it. I knew there was a bigger problem to solve than filming the next TV commercial. The drive and determination and all the other skillsets I learnt in production have stood me in good stead as I now navigate the world of reforestation and fighting climate change.

The Industry Club recently partnered with JUST ONE Tree to combat climate change by planting trees in various scenarios, such as signing new clients, working on new briefs, and successful placements. How do you envision this partnership contributing to the broader mission of JUST ONE Tree, and what outcomes are you hoping to achieve together?

We have 3 core pillars at JUST ONE Tree, restoring life on land, in the oceans and bringing environmental education into the classrooms. So even though we say you’re 'planting trees’ with us, it’s a much bigger story.

Firstly, we focus on growing forests, not just planting trees. To do that you have to have community involvement and provide sustainable incomes for the local community members. In this way, we’re helping to shift their dependence on income from the destruction of forests to one of restoration. We’re helping to lift people out of poverty whilst lifting their environment too. By working together, The Industry Club is having more than just an environmental impact, it's having a positive social impact too.

But that’s just one of our pillars to tackle climate change. By joining us you’re also helping to tackle the issues our oceans are facing. Through our kelp and mangrove projects, you’re helping to restore coastlines, boost marine biodiversity and nourish coral reefs.

Then of course there’s the education side. We believe educating the next generations is key to a sustainable future. Your support enables us to bring climate change education into the classrooms of 100,000s thousands of children around the world.

Following on from this, what are some practical steps other businesses or individuals looking to get involved with JUST ONE Tree can take to support your mission and contribute to global reforestation efforts?

One of the principles JUST ONE Tree was founded on was that it’s together that we can achieve so much more. We now have over 1100 businesses and schools who've joined with us to fight climate change. It's this collective impact that enables us to have such an incredible impact.

It’s easy to get involved, and you can integrate it into your business in whatever way works for you. The whole point is we make it simple and easy for everyone to fight climate change - JUST £1 plants 1 Tree. So whether you’re a small independent eco shop or a large multi-national organisation, all you need to do is get in touch.

If you have school-aged children or can help us spread the word about JUST ONE Tree Day, that would also be a great help. By taking part in JUST ONE Tree Day schools have now funded the planting of over 300,000 trees. The event has such a big impact, from restoring landscapes to easing climate anxiety in our young, and of course, it helps bring our free teaching resources into the classrooms.

Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for JUST ONE Tree in terms of growth, impact, and long-term sustainability? Are there any upcoming projects or initiatives that you're particularly excited about?

We have some really exciting projects that we’ve recently launched, from planting mangroves in Mexico to protect the last breeding ground of the Californian Gray Whale, to providing water security by restoring high-altitude forests in the Andes. And we have more in the pipeline which I can’t wait to get my teeth into.

We’re growing at a fantastic rate, but there’s still so much more we could do. We can only move as fast as the donations that come in. So the more we grow, the bigger impact we can have on the planet. That makes it all so exciting.

Having been out to Peru recently to visit one of our projects, the amount of work that needs to be done really hit home. I saw the enormous areas that have been deforested and the melting glaciers - it was heartbreaking. But I see it as a challenge. An opportunity to really turn this all around. By joining together we can create a more positive and greener world - and that to me, is super inspiring.

In the face of climate change, what role do you believe businesses in the creative and advertising industry can play in promoting sustainability and environmental conservation?

I actually see the creative and advertising industry as having a HUGE responsibility and part to play in all of this. Imagine if we change the narrative and only promote sustainable products and circular economy, instead of fossil fuels. In fact, that’s where we need to be, it's your job to get us there. Thankfully there are now over 1000 agencies that have signed the F List (saying they will no longer work with fossil fuel companies). It’s a great step, but we need to go bigger and move faster.

As women entrepreneurs, we often face unique challenges and opportunities in navigating the business landscape. Could you share some insights or advice based on your experiences leading JUST ONE Tree that you believe could resonate with other female leaders?

I think the main one for me (and most women) is imposter syndrome. Having been interviewed recently about ‘what it means to be strong’… it made me evaluate the last few years and I think that’s a big one. I can be very driven, but I still totally suffer from imposter syndrome. Now I’ve achieved so much through JUST ONE Tree, like becoming part of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and being nominated for Woman of the Year, whenever I feel nervous or worried going on stage to give a talk or walking into a room full of people. I stop and remind myself of what I’ve achieved and that I deserve to be here, that helps keep my imposter syndrome in check.

And I think that can be used for everyone. We’ve all conquered our own challenges, overcome our own difficulties, and have years of experience in our own fields. It’s remembering that we all deserve to be there.

How do you balance your role as CEO and Founder of JUST ONE Tree

I have to say, truth is it's really tricky. I also have a horse, so that makes it even more complicated. I do think it’s really important to step away from the desk to see the bigger picture. So I use mucking out the stable as a way to stop, reflect and come up with new ideas. In fact, I can often be seen having calls whilst pushing a wheelbarrow or practising my speeches whilst I groom Milo.

Then when I ride, as you have to be so focused, everything else just drifts away. That’s certainly my therapy.

After that, it’s back to work and squeezing as much in before school pick-up, and then often an hour or two at the end of the day once the little one is in bed.

I think as a CEO and Founder, some time for yourself, and stepping away from the desk is really, really important. Mental Health and wellbeing is something I try to focus on for both myself and my team.

Could you share a success story or memorable moment from your journey with JUST ONE Tree that highlights the positive impact your organization has had on communities and the environment?

Ah, there are so many it’s hard to decide.

My recent trip to Peru is an obvious one, seeing first-hand the communities we’re helping and planting trees with them. We were planting at 4000m to help protect the lake up there which they’ve noticed dry up over the years - a concern for the communities as it’s both a source of water and food for them.

Another one would be that 11 out of the 14 schools in Gibraltar took part in the first-ever JUST ONE Tree Day in 2019. They voted to plant their trees in Madagascar. This led to us opening up our first of four plots on the island, with the aim of planting 500,000 trees in Ankilahila. 5 years on, the plot is now filled and it's incredible to see the before and after photos, seeing our trees growing into a beautiful forest and the impact we’re having on the landscape.

And lastly, the one that made me cry, was being sent a video from a school in Spain. The headteacher said 'I hope you don’t mind but we created a song and dance for JUST ONE Tree Day'. It was a video of the whole school lined up in the playground, singing ‘We’re better than Superman as we’re saving the world today.’ It made me realise that from my home in Barnet, I’m helping these children in a different country, teaching them the importance of caring for the planet and also planting trees to protect their future. That one really touched me.

Finally, what is your favourite tree?

My favourite is actually two silver birch trees in my parents' front garden. As kids, we used to use them as wickets to play cricket. Now every time we visit, my daughter stands between the trees and we take a photo so that we can see how she’s grown over the years. It’s wonderful to see them enjoyed by different generations of my family.

We want to work with businesses that want to improve their positive impact on the world by helping tackle its environmental and social issues. Businesses who are demonstrably committed to treading as lightly on the earth as possible, and working towards reducing humanity's negative impact on the natural world.

So we have partnered with Just One Tree who are as passionate about protecting the planet as we are. JUST ONE Tree is a non-profit initiative removing CO2 from the atmosphere and reversing biodiversity loss through global reforestation.

Can you ask about parental leave in an interview?

zoe@theindustryclub.co.uk (Zoe Edwards) — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 08:38:32 GMT

Zoe discusses a common question

"Should I enquire about the agency's parental leave policy during the interview, or would that be seen negatively? ��

This is a common question among candidates, and often, this level of detail isn't readily available as a listed company benefit but is instead buried within the company handbook for new starters. So, a big thank you Campaign UK for their latest agency survey and for publishing the results of what agencies currently offer for their paternity leave. This is the most in-depth piece of research on agency policies we've seen ��

Among the surveyed agencies, the top five most progressive parental leave policies include Oliver Agency offering a maximum of 52 weeks of maternity leave at full pay, followed by Goodstuff Communications with 39 weeks at full pay, and the7stars , Bountiful Cow , and Pablo London providing 28 weeks each. (Notice that media agencies seem to be leading the charge here). Some agencies, such as AMV BBDO , and Havas Havas CX helia , provide equal parental leave for both parents, each benefiting from six months of leave. ��

Conversely, the worst traits of parental leave policies are marked by limited offerings or no significant enhancements. For instance, some agencies offer only statutory leave or minimal enhancements. One small independent agency offers 13 weeks of fully paid maternity leave but lacks equivalent benefits for paternity leave due to financial constraints.

Additionally, only a handful of agencies, like AMV BBDO , offer meaningful support beyond paid leave, acknowledging the broader needs of parents, such as childcare assistance or counselling, during significant life changes. ��

Full details of policies from the 40 agencies that responded can be found here .

if you are interested in exploring Strategy jobs or senior client services jobs in London, please get in touch . As a specialist in strategy and planning recruitment I always have a number of Strategy jobs and Senior Client Services jobs across Advertising, Social, CRM, CX and Media Agencies in London and beyond.

Let's talk about strategy job interviews

zoe@theindustryclub.co.uk (Zoe Edwards) — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 08:20:57 GMT

Interview task or not?

Love them or loathe them, interview tasks are a great way to see how a strategist approaches problems.

However, a significant number of creative agencies I work with don't ask for a task stage. Instead, they are relying on rigorous interview questions to probe around skills and approaches - so it's super important to prepare thoroughly for what can seemingly be a nice "get-to-know-you chat"

With this in mind, here's a breakdown of some common interview questions you might encounter as a strategist, and how to prepare for them.

1. "Describe a campaign strategy that didn't go as planned and how you adapted." They're not just probing for failure here; they're interested in your resilience and problem-solving skills. Share a candid example and focus on the learning outcomes and the strategic pivot you executed.

2. "How do you balance creativity with data-driven decisions?" This is your moment to shine as a hybrid thinker. Discuss how you blend creative intuition with analytics to inform strategies that resonate on both an emotional and empirical level.

3. "Can you walk us through your process for understanding and segmenting target audiences?" Here, detail is your ally. Outline your approach to market research, and persona development, and how you translate these insights into actionable strategies.

Remember, it's not just what you say; it's how you say it.

Keep your responses concise, packed with value, and reflective of your strategic approach.

Don't forget to weave in those personal stories that showcase your unique approach and be clear about the value you added vs the broader agency team.

if you are interested in exploring Strategy jobs in London, please get in touch . As a specialist in strategy and planning recruitment I always have a number of Strategy jobs and Planning roles across Advertising, Production and Media Agencies in London and beyond.

Account-Based Marketing is now the cornerstone of B2B Marketing

lisa@theindustryclub.co.uk (Lisa Nostro) — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 12:46:39 GMT

2024 has seen some amazing advances

Just a decade ago, Account-Based Marketing (ABM) was a niche strategy. Now, it's a cornerstone of B2B marketing, and 2024 has seen some remarkable advances. ��

The integration of AI has been a game-changer. We're talking about predictive analytics that not only identify high-value targets but also anticipate their needs, crafting hyper-personalized campaigns that resonate on a deeper level. It's like having a crystal ball that actually works!

But it's not just about fancy tech. The human touch in ABM has evolved too. Sales and marketing alignment has reached new heights, with teams working in lockstep to ensure a seamless customer journey. It's like watching a well-rehearsed ballet – every move is perfectly timed, every step is in sync.

And let's talk about data quality. We've moved past the era of data overload to a more strategic data utilisation.The focus on actionable insights has led to cleaner databases, more accurate targeting, and, ultimately, campaigns that hit the bullseye. ��

The results? They speak for themselves. ABM is no longer just about lead generation; it's a holistic strategy that nurtures long-term relationships and drives sustainable growth. It's not just a trend; it's the new standard.

As we look to the future, the potential of ABM in the B2B realm is limitless. It's an exciting time to be in marketing, and I can't wait to see where we'll go from here.

I am lucky enough to work on a wide variety of roles for all of the major B2B agencies who specialise in ABM so get in touch to hear more about the amazing positions I am currently recruiting for.

Our Top 5 Tips to Conquering Virtual Interviews

lisa@theindustryclub.co.uk (Lisa Nostro) — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 15:06:57 GMT

Nailing that First Virtual Interview: Your Roadmap to Success

Interviews can be daunting, especially when they're conducted over platforms like Microsoft Teams. But fear not! With the right preparation, you can turn that virtual meeting into a job offer. Here's how:

1️⃣ Tech Check: Ensure your equipment is interview-ready. A staggering 82% of hiring managers report technical issues as a negative mark against candidates. Test your microphone, camera, and internet connection well before the interview. Remember, a clear picture and crisp audio can make a world of difference.

2️⃣ Setting the Scene: Find a quiet, well-lit space. According to a recent survey, 76% of interviewers say a distracting background can take the focus off your stellar qualities. Opt for a neutral background or a tidy room. Good lighting is key - face a window or use a lamp to illuminate your face without shadows.

3️⃣ Dress to Impress: Dress as if you're meeting in person. Statistics show that 65% of interviewers consider attire a strong indicator of the candidate's professionalism. Choose smart, business-appropriate clothing that makes you feel confident and ready to tackle any question.

4️⃣ Research and Rehearse: Dive into the company's ethos, values, and recent achievements. A LinkedIn study found that candidates who exhibit company knowledge are 58% more likely to make a lasting impression. Prepare answers to common interview questions and back them up with quantifiable achievements from your past roles.

5️⃣ Engage and Interact: Practice active listening and show enthusiasm. Engagement during a Teams interview can be challenging, but it's crucial. Use nods and verbal affirmations to show you're present and interested. Remember, 70% of communication is non-verbal, so let your body language speak volumes.

By following these steps, you're not just preparing for an interview; you're setting the stage for a standout performance that could lead to your next big opportunity. Go forth and conquer that Teams interview with confidence! ��✨

#InterviewPrep hashtag

#JobSearch hashtag

#CareerSuccess

Lisa Nostro is our Principal Consultant in B2B and Marketing Services

Meet Lisa/see her live roles

The Gerety Awards

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 12:05:04 GMT

Proud Sponsors of the Gerety Awards

At The Industry Club, we're not just in the business of recruitment and training; we're passionate about championing diversity, elevating creativity, and breaking barriers in the advertising world.

That's why we're thrilled to announce our sponsorship of the prestigious Gerety Awards, an event that shares our commitment to celebrating the best in advertising through the female lens.

For over a decade, we've been the creative communication sector's dedicated recruitment partner and training provider. Founded in 2011 by Melissa Smith, an industry veteran we've built an all-female team that brings together deep agency experience and unparalleled recruitment expertise. We're proud to be un-stereotypical recruiters, challenging norms and driving innovation every step of the way.

The Gerety Awards align perfectly with our values and mission. By honouring advertising that resonates with a female audience, the Gerety Awards not only sets a new standard for excellence but also challenges the status quo. Its diverse jury, comprised of women from various backgrounds and cultures, reflects our belief in the power of different perspectives and experiences in driving creativity and innovation.

With categories ranging from Grand Prix to Bronze, the awards highlight the incredible talent and ingenuity within the advertising industry. As sponsors, we're proud to support an event that celebrates diversity, elevates female voices, and redefines the boundaries of advertising excellence.

Join us in celebrating innovation, empowerment, and diversity at the Gerety Awards in September 2024.

Together, let's pave the way for a more inclusive and inspiring advertising industry.

https://www.geretyawards.com

We are now Employee Owned!

Sun, 17 Mar 2024 15:52:45 GMT

As we celebrate our 13th anniversary as the creative communication sector’s dedicated recruitment
partner and training provider, we’re thrilled to announce that we are now an employee-owned business!

We have transferred 100% of the shareholding to an Employee Ownership Trust, equitably benefitting all the staff now, and into the future. Managing Director, Melissa Smith, says “We made this decision primarily to protect the future of the business, ensuring that our culture and values remain in the hands of our team, and to provide opportunities for them and future employees to grow into confident owners and managers and spearhead the next chapter of The Industry Club’s life. “I’m tremendously proud of what we’ve achieved over the last 13 years, and I can see no better way to celebrate those achievements than by transferring the shareholding and championing the people who have contributed to our success so far.

”Employee Ownership Trusts are becoming an increasingly popular model for founders and business owners to exit their businesses. But they also offer a whole host of benefits to their employee-owners including greater productivity, more investment in R&D, and more attention to D,E&I.

Reasons for the transition
Typically, transitioning to an EOT is seen as a means to manage a smooth and structured succession for
business owners. “Working as we do, as a closely knit team of recruitment specialists with defined desks and
responsibilities, this decision doesn’t overly affect business as usual,” Melissa comments. “In fact, our
transition to employee ownership represents a real and very exciting opportunity to deepen our
collaborative approach.”

But there are no plans for an immediate exit. In time, Melissa will step away from the role of MD, but for
the time being, she’ll stay in post to run the business and its training arm, The Industry School.

What we’ve done so far
Since the official documents were signed we’ve invested time to get together and discuss plans moving forward.
“We really have engaged with the task ahead of us. We’ve invested time and effort into understanding and
defining who we are as a team, looking at our culture and our values, determining how we make this
succession plan as successful as we can,” says Smith.

Mandy Daniel, our Finance Manager, says of the process, “It’s been eye-opening to see how
employee-owned trusts run, and the work we’ve done has made us really think about who we are, where
we want to be and the tools we’ll need along the way. But more than that, it’s made us realise what a great
team we are, and I feel very lucky to be a part of that, and I’m excited for the future.”

Zoe Edwards, an ex-Publicis business director, who has run our strategy & senior client services desk for
the last 7 years, echoed some of Mandy’s comments, “we’ve had a chance to start to imagine the exciting
future ahead of us as an employee-owned business, as well as a chance to reinforce what makes us
different as a recruiter in the creative industry.”

Future plans
For the time being, it will continue to be business as usual, whilst in the background we’ll be making plans
for Melissa’s succession and forming a leadership team to help shape accountability and responsibility
moving forward “I’m not ready to go quite yet, I will be in the business for at least another five years,” says Melissa, “there’s a lot of work to do. It’s tough out there at the moment, and it’s an increasingly competitive market. Thankfully we know which direction we’re travelling in, I have confidence in our team, and believe that our collective ownership gives us the best possible platform to get to where we need to as a business, and to deliver for our clients of both The Industry Club
and The Industry School.”

Training: the cost/value trade-off

melissa@theindustryclub.co.uk (Melissa Smith) — Sun, 17 Mar 2024 11:02:00 GMT

"When I train now, I am not training to be strong or handsome – just better than I was yesterday"

Jean-Claude Van Damme said "When I train now, I am not training to be strong or handsome – just better than I was yesterday’ OK, so the Muscles from Brussels probably wasn’t addressing a room full of agency execs when he said this, but there’s definitely something in that quote for businesses serious about improvement.

Training budgets are at best hard to come by, at worst non-existent. More often than not they’re top of the list in cost-cutting exercises – even in businesses that start off with the best intentions.

But deprioritising training will not make your business strong. Nor is it a good look as far as your staff are concerned.

The better approach is to weigh up the long-term value training adds to your business against the short term budgeted cost. The former is invariably greater than the latter, so rest assured you’ll be quids in.

What does value look like?

For your employees, it means improved morale, new and enhanced skills and a newfound confidence. Need proof? Check out our recent feedback:

When asked ‘What did you gain today?’ this reply from one of our workshop attendees was simple: ‘Confidence – I’m going back to the agency feeling empowered.’

And that’s not all. Back at their desks, their mood is infectious, meaning the value of their training rubs off people who weren’t there. They work more efficiently and inspire others around them to do the same.

In and around the office this means improved processes and a better motivated workforce. Training and employer desirability go hand in hand.

On the bottom line, training increases output and reduces recruitment costs. Replacing people who leave is disruptive to your projects and client relations, while recruiting instead of training and promoting from within limits people’s opportunities. Save money and invest in your people through training and development instead.

It’s about planning and wider commercial awareness, too

In an industry that changes as rapidly as ours it’s easy to stagnate when the immediate priority is to get the work done and billed. That’s why our resource management workshop focuses on forward planning and aligning recruitment and training needs to your new business pipeline. Or as one delegate put it:

‘The course gave me a greater understanding of resource management as a strategic role and the positive difference [it makes] to the agency’s bottom line.’

So, training is as much about future proofing your agency and boosting profits as it is about developing specific skills.

It’s about being better tomorrow than you are today.

Get in touch with Jo@theindustryschool.co.uk for more information on in-house and online training for your team.

Agency producer or a production company producer?

Sun, 17 Mar 2024 10:31:30 GMT

Who does what?

A producer at an agency and a producer at a production company both have the same job title – so they both do the same job, right?

Wrong

True, there are similarities, but important differences, too. So to help you understand why you’ll need both, here’s our brief guide to who does what.

The agency producer

The agency producer is involved from concept creation all the way through to on air.

They’re responsible for creative development, budgeting, negotiating with the production company, music and artist contracts, post production and getting copy to stations.

At the shoot itself, the agency producer’s main role is to make sure the client is completely happy and that every shot is as discussed and agreed at the pre-production meeting (PPM).

As well as the client, the agency producer works closely with all relevant internal contacts such as creatives, editors, account managers, project managers and business directors. They have a multitude of relationships to manage, so don’t have the time to handle the time-consuming aspects of organising a shoot (although they do need to understand exactly how a shoot is put together).They don’t, for example, have time to check the availability of lights for a shoot day or chase the props man about the props. They can’t be worrying about whether the grip has followed health and safety guidance or whether the generator is working, hence…

The production company producer

The production company producer usually gets involved at the budgeting phase and stands down at the editing stage. They’re mostly occupied with the shoot, which is why they’re often referred to as the shoot producer.

The production company producer budgets for – and organises – the shoot. This involves hiring crew, creating a set, getting location permits and a whole range of other pre-shoot formalities. On shoot day, they often manage 50 crew members or more.

After shoot day, the production company producer’s final task is to submit the director’s cut to the agency producer.

To sum it up

The production company producer works for the agency producer and agency producer works for the agency’s creative director and client. Put another way, the agency producer holds the budget and the idea much like the executive producer of a movie. They need someone to execute the idea and the production company producer fulfils that role.

Find out more

Book onto our Content Production workshop or get in touch for more information.

Online film brief in?

Sun, 17 Mar 2024 10:21:07 GMT

Brands want to get new ideas and messages in front of online audiences as often as possible.

They’re demanding more online branded content, in less time and for less money than ever before.

No surprise then that things can sometimes get a tad fraught at the agencies tasked with delivering this content.

Too often, for example, great ideas are cast aside because there’s not enough time or money. For the people who come up with and drive these ideas, the inevitable compromise is stressful and deflating.

Queue your Producer

Avoid all that by getting your producer involved in the project from the word go. The minute the brief comes in, alert your head of film. As soon as there are ideas in the mix, be sure to have your producer in all the creative reviews and relevant meetings. If they can’t make it in person, have your project manager or account manager update them as soon as possible afterwards. It needn’t take long – a desk drive-by or a succinct email will do the trick.

Your fully-appraised producer is now in a position to help shape the brief and evolve the idea.

They can talk to creatives about how to bring an idea to life and suggest all sorts of tweaks. They can tell you what type of animation, if any, will work or whether you need an A-list director or an A-list cast. If the idea is all about the music, the producer can start researching composers and artists. They’ll tell you if the idea will work for Instagram AND cinema. The list goes on.

And whatever creative direction you follow, your producer can keep your project managers and account managers informed as to how much time and money each idea is likely to need. They’ll talk you through any changes that may be necessary to make an idea deliverable for the time and money you have available.

The Results?

Finally, your producer can provide constant feedback about the project and help you keep it on track.

So, having a producer involved from the start will help you maximise your creativity and put great work in front of your client, however tight the timeframe, without the deflating, stress-inducing compromises.

Find out more

Meet and talk to our Industry expert, Leila Bartram who runs our Content Production Workshop 3 times a year online or in person in-house on demand.

The high price of cutting costs on resource management

jo@theindustryschool.co.uk (Jo Petroccia) — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 10:53:05 GMT

The danger is two-fold

In the typical agency business model, billable services are optimised to maximise revenues, while the cost of non-billable roles are kept to a minimum.

So far so sensible, but what happens when you cut those costs too aggressively?

Resource management is not a billable role. No agency I’m aware of adds a fee to its invoices for making its projects run smoothly, ensuring the right people are involved at the right time and making the project profitable for the agency. It’s not the done thing and nor should it be.

But savvy agencies know that if they were to take the resource manager out of the equation, they’d lose a lot more than they’d save. Some find out the hard way, either by making the role redundant or by giving the resource management remit to people in other, equally important roles, thus diluting their effectiveness across not one, but two vital disciplines.

Seeing resource management in purely cost terms is to miss the point and, more importantly, miss out on the contribution it can make to your bottom line. The cost of getting it wrong – or not doing it at all – is far higher than paying the going rate to do it, and do it well.

The danger is two-fold.

Firstly, a resource management vacuum is an invitation for chaos to reign as the lack of coordination across the agency’s various functions puts a strain on individuals, departments and ultimately, project health and profitability. Secondly, without a firm commitment to resource management and a vision for its role in the agency, you could find yourself in an endless and highly expensive mishiring process involving freelancers, recruitment agencies and induction programmes.

Avoid the temptation to tack the role onto somebody else’s job description. Too often, I’ve witnessed what others have referred to as ‘horse trading’ where managers use the resource management remit simply to satisfy their immediate client and/or project-based needs. While understandable, this rarely serves the agency’s wider interests.

By contrast, an agency-wide view and commitment to best practice resource management can add up to 10 per cent – and often more – to your bottom line.

How? The answer to this question will vary from agency to agency, but here are three pretty much universal ways resource managers earn their keep across our sector.

They spot problems before they hurt the business.

The resource manager’s wide overview covers finance, project health, account management, human resources and more. They’ll soon spot if a team is overservicing a client, needs more creative resource or if a retainer needs to be reviewed. In agencies that operate without a resource manager, issues like these are picked up so far down the line as to be fatal, either to a client relationship or the financial viability of a project.

They ensure the right people perform the right tasks.

Because they work across the whole organisation and not just for one team or department, the resource manager knows the skills, experience and current workload of everyone at any given time. So, when a project needs a senior developer or a creative team to step in, the proactive resource manager has already prepared the groundwork. As well as making the project run efficiently, this also means:

They help your agency retain great people

Good people like to stay busy doing what they do best. And while achieving the project-based objective above, resource managers make this individual-based objective possible too. This is good for staff retention and helps to minimise avoidable recruitment costs enormously.

Make the resource manager a crucial role in your agency. Far from costing you money, it’ll make the core roles you bill for even more valuable.

I provide resource management consultancy which is so vital to successful business transformation. I am a straight talker, helping businesses get the very most from their resources by focusing on their wider business goals. Finance, new business development, project management, recruitment and HR all fall within the scope of my consultancy expertise. For more than 20 years, I've held senior roles in production, resource management and operations. Today, as a resource management consultant, I help businesses enact change that brings immediate improvements in efficiency, enhances culture and delivers fast return on investment. I also run a number of workshops in the to improve skills in Resource Management, Scoping and agency commercials and finance planning.

Get in touch with Jo@theindustryschool.co.uk for more information.

The 7 steps to a great candidate journey

lisa@theindustryclub.co.uk (Lisa Nostro) — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 14:58:43 GMT

Lisa our B2B Consultant shares her 7 steps

In today's employment landscape, recruitment processes are evolving rapidly, with a greater focus on the candidate's experience throughout the hiring process. The 'candidate journey' encapsulates the various stages a job seeker passes through, from learning about a company to potentially joining its workforce. This journey has always been important so I hope you find the below tips useful.

Understanding the Candidate Journey
The candidate journey comprises seven key stages: discovery, interest, resume submission, screening, interview, hiring, and onboarding. Each stage is critical in cultivating a candidate's perception and relationship with the employer.

Why the Candidate Journey Matters
The candidate journey doesn't only affect job seekers; it has a profound impact on the employer's branding and overall hiring success. Statistics reveal that a positive recruitment experience can lead to candidates being more likely to accept job offers, engage with the company, and even recommend the organisation to others.

What are the steps to consider in this journey?

Step 1: Discover y
To ensure that the right candidates discover job opportunities, companies must strategically build and maintain a strong employer brand.

Step 2: Interest
A compelling job description that resonates with the ideal candidate is crucial in this phase. It is not simply about listing the responsibilities and requirements but also about presenting an employer value proposition that attracts top talent.

Step 3: Resume Submission
An overly complex application process is a common obstacle that leads to high drop-off rates.

Step 4: Screening
Developing a systematic approach for CV screening saves time and increases efficiency. Employers should keep candidates informed about their status in the recruitment process as this transparency fosters trust. Providing constructive feedback, even to those not shortlisted, can leave a positive impression and potentially engage them for future opportunities.

Step 5: Interviewing
Interviews should be designed to respect the candidate's time and efforts and create a dialogue where both parties assess suitability.

Step 6: Hiring
Selecting the right candidate goes beyond matching skills and experience with job requirements; it also involves alignment with company culture. Job offers should be competitive and reflect the candidate's potential value to the organisation. A positive experience up to this point can significantly influence the candidate's acceptance of the job offer.

Step 7: Onboarding
Finally, the onboarding process should not be underestimated. A smooth transition for new employees promotes job satisfaction and retention. Best practices include clear communication, a structured induction program, and supportive training. Moreover, effective onboarding can boost hiring ROI and minimise turnover in the critical early stages of employment.

Lisa Nostro is our Principal Consultant in B2B and Marketing Services

You can learn more about Lisa and view her live jobs here.

Employee rights update

melissa@theindustryclub.co.uk (Melissa Smith) — Sun, 25 Feb 2024 07:38:33 GMT

New laws come into effect in April 2024

There was good news at the end of last year regarding new laws that come into effect from April 2024 meaning employees have many new rights and protections including:

��The right to request flexible working from day one
��Carer's leave
��Extended redundancy protections for new parents

Under the new parental leave regulations, the period protected from redundancy for those on maternity leave will include the entire pregnancy, as well as 18 months from the first day of the estimated week of childbirth (although the employee can change this to the exact date of birth if they inform their employer prior to the end of their maternity leave).

Adoptive parents will be protected from redundancy from 18 months from placement for adoption, and for shared parental leave the protected period will be 18 months from birth, provided the parent has taken at least six consecutive weeks of shared parental leave.

Under the carer's leave regulations, employees who are unpaid carers for a relative or friend will receive up to five days' unpaid leave from work each year.

Employees will need to give their employer notice of at least twice the length of time that needs to be taken off work, and they do not need to do so in writing.

Those taking carer's leave will also be protected from dismissal or detriment as a result of having taken the leave.

We are so pleased to see these have been passed as law to give employees with families and carers a fair playing field in their careers.

The Super Bowl Ads 2024

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 08:09:39 GMT

Breaking Traditions: Gen Z and Millennial Women Transform Super Bowl

I always really enjoy viewing and hearing about all of the adverts and marketing around the Super Bowl. For me it always makes me smile as it falls a week after I had my son 8 years ago and my partner walked up and down the lounge all night with the new baby. We always giggle every year about that night (him more than me luckily....)

I found this piece in Adweek really interesting..

Women have always watched the Super Bowl, with Nielsen reporting that in 2018, women made up nearly half of Super Bowl viewers—surpassing the combined female viewership of the Oscars, Grammys and Emmys.

https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/gen-z-millennial-women-transform-super-bowl-advertising/?trk=public_post_embed_feed-article-content

#10 years at TIC

melissa@theindustryclub.co.uk (Melissa Smith) — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 18:27:09 GMT

Celebrating a special workiversary

This week we are celebrating a special work anniversary here at The Industry Club! ��

Our Prinicipal Consultant in Account Management, Nicky Irving has been with us for an impressive 10 years and

we couldn't be more grateful for her dedication and hard work plus her brilliant sense of fun and humour.

From the early days of moving into recruitment from agency account management, Nicky's infectious energy and fun-loving spirit have brightened up the office for a decade, and her commitment to excellence has set a high standard for all of us to follow.

Her innovative ideas (especially for a good team outing) and steadfast determination have contributed to the growth and success of The Industry Club and her willingness to go above and beyond for her colleagues, clients and candidates alike sets her apart as a truly great human.

We are truly fortunate to have Nicky as part of our team ��

Here's to many more years of laughter, hard work, and success together!

#WorkAnniversary #CompanyCulture #TeamAppreciation ��

Top 5 SEO Best Practices

Sun, 24 Jul 2022 15:35:54 GMT

When it comes to SEO, there isn't a magic formula to instantly send your site off to the #1 search result on Google.
But there are some basic principles you should follow for a wonderful starting point.

Here are the top 5 SEO practices to start with:

#1 Write for people, not for search engines
Always write original, interesting, high quality site content that's error free and relevant to your site.

Search engines like Google can easily detect content that is duplicated from elsewhere online, that contains grammatical errors, or that is stuffed with keywords.

#2 Add a blog to your site and use rich media
To engage your site visitors and blog readers, create posts that include non-textual media like photos, videos, or original visualizations (infographics). Having that extra content (especially if it's captivating) will increase the time users spend on your site as well as the likelihood they will share your site with their own community.

#3 Offer a positive user experience throughout your site
Google will know if you're using your site to aggressively advertise your service, or if you're being too pushy. Always aim to offer site visitors a pleasant experience on your site. That means clear content, support when needed, and always an option to go back.

#4 Create a network of internal links (but don't overdo it)

Add links between different pages of your site and your blog, but try to follow a process that feels organic rather than heavy linking meant just for search engine crawlers. Link between pages that make sense, for example, on your services page, link a certain industry specific term, and link it to a blog post you wrote about it, that gives more information on that term.

#5 Always check your site's Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals are a standard site performance standard initially created by Google. The report shows site owners how their site pages perform 'for real,' how long it takes for site visitors to load site pages, and it offers ways to fix issues, if there are any.

Why SEO Loves Branding

Wed, 29 Jun 2022 13:34:11 GMT

Here are the top 5 SEO practices to start with:

#1 Write for people, not for search engines
Always write original, interesting, high quality site content that's error free and relevant to your site.

Search engines like Google can easily detect content that is duplicated from elsewhere online, that contains grammatical errors, or that is stuffed with keywords.

#4 Create a network of internal links (but don't overdo it)

#5 Always check your site's Core Web Vitals

So What's SEO, Anyway?

wow@shazamme.com (Default Author) — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 13:34:11 GMT

Here are the top 5 SEO practices to start with:

#1 Write for people, not for search engines
Always write original, interesting, high quality site content that's error free and relevant to your site.

Search engines like Google can easily detect content that is duplicated from elsewhere online, that contains grammatical errors, or that is stuffed with keywords.

#4 Create a network of internal links (but don't overdo it)

Add links between different pages of your site and your blog. Try to follow a process that's organic rather than heavy linking meant for search engine crawlers. Link between pages that make sense, for example, on your services page, link a certain industry-specific term to a blog post that gives more information on that term.

#5 Always check your site's Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals are a site performance standard initially created by Google. The report shows site owners how their site pages perform 'for real,' how long it takes for site visitors to load site pages, and it offers ways to fix issues, if there are any.

SEO & Influencers

wow@shazamme.com (Default Author) — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 13:34:11 GMT

Here are the top 5 SEO practices to start with:

#1 Write for people, not for search engines
Always write original, interesting, high quality site content that's error free and relevant to your site.

Search engines like Google can easily detect content that is duplicated from elsewhere online, that contains grammatical errors, or that is stuffed with keywords.

#4 Create a network of internal links (but don't overdo it)

#5 Always check your site's Core Web Vitals

The Industry Club

Why Adaptability and Aptitude Matter More Than Ever in 2026’s Job Market

Why aptitude, adaptability and real-world experimentation are becoming the recruitment currency in a market that’s moving faster than its job titles.

Beyond the In-House vs Agency Debate

What Campaign's Power 100 marketers reveal about the future of internal teams, hybrid models and agency partnerships.

Confidence Comes from a Lack of Knowledge

A lot of people don’t know what they don’t know. The confidence comes from a lack of knowledge sometimes.

The Confidence Paradox

What the Data Tells Us About Skills and Readiness

Beyond Hype: Structure Over “Magic Buttons”

New Roles, New Pathways

What About Junior Talent?

Leadership, Margins and the Willingness to Change

Download the Full Skills & Hiring Benchmarking Report

The Priced to Win Project: A Strategic Tool or Financial Trap?

“Priced to win” (PTW) projects are common in agencies, offering a discount to secure new clients. While they can be a valuable tactic, they also carry risks if not managed carefully.

Sarah Vick & Jo Petroccia examine the pros & cons of this double-edged sword.

The Pros:

The Cons:

Making PTWs Work

Why Training Matters — And What Happens After the Workshop Ends

When it comes to training, it’s what happens after the workshop that really matters.

The Problem with Scope Creep

Real Feedback. Real Results.

Why Our Workshops Make a Difference

Book Your Place

Cannes Lions 2025: Sun, Strategy and Standout Conversations

Earlier this year, Melissa & Zoe swapped London’s heatwave for the sizzling creative energy of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity — and what a good 48 hours it was…

Kicking Things Off in True Cannes Style

The Evolving Landscape of In-House Creativity

Leading with Impact: Women in Ad Tech

Rosé, Real Talk, and a View to Remember

How to Build a Truly Inclusive Production Crew

While diverse casting is more visible than ever, true inclusion must extend behind the lens...

How to build a Truly inclusive Production Crew

Resources Run Dry, Happy People Don’t...

As part of LBB Online’s Off My Chest series, Jo Petroccia, resource and operations consultant and trainer at The Industry School discussed why resource management is a crucial discipline for every agency.

LBB> In one sentence, what’s the issue on your mind right now?

LBB> Why does it matter to you?

LBB> Why does it matter enough to the wider industry?

LBB> Why does it remain an issue?

LBB> What should we be doing about it?

LBB> And what are the first steps?

LBB> Any parting thoughts?

Gerety & The Industry Club Introduce In-house Agency Of The Year Award

Special prize to spotlight the world’s most creative In-House Agency.

In-housing Summit 2024

The Evolving Role of Strategists for In-House Agencies

Key Takeaways From Our Roundtable Discussion

We are raising funds for the Alzheimer’s society.

CurEOsity series: The Rise of the Employee-Owned Creative Agency

CurEOsity - how has going EO helped Not Actual Size

CurEOsity series: The Rise of the Employee-Owned Creative Agency

How has going Employee Owned helped Quiet Storm?

The half-arsed resource request

The HARR

CurEOsity series: The Rise of the Employee-Owned Creative Agency

Empowering Success: Salad's Journey into Employee Ownership

Our Club/Your Club - Amanda Bronkhorst, CEO Just One Tree

Our interview with the inspirational environmentalist ﻿

Can you ask about parental leave in an interview?

Zoe discusses a common question

Let's talk about strategy job interviews

Interview task or not?

Account-Based Marketing is now the cornerstone of B2B Marketing

2024 has seen some amazing advances

Our Top 5 Tips to Conquering Virtual Interviews

Nailing that First Virtual Interview: Your Roadmap to Success

The Gerety Awards

Proud Sponsors of the Gerety Awards

We are now Employee Owned!

Training: the cost/value trade-off

"When I train now, I am not training to be strong or handsome – just better than I was yesterday"

Agency producer or a production company producer?

Who does what?

Online film brief in?

The high price of cutting costs on resource management

The danger is two-fold

The 7 steps to a great candidate journey

Lisa our B2B Consultant shares her 7 steps

Our interview with the inspirational environmentalist