Following our recent feature City Brand Leaders – Liverpool, we interviewed a select group of leaders from Liverpool’s top agencies to help focus on the Liverpool brand and consider their own agency vision.

Creativebrief Founder & Chairman Tom Holmes talks to Matthew Blanchard, Founder of The Lucid Agency.

TH: Matthew, what does the Liverpool brand stand for?

MB: Liverpool has well and truly weathered some tough and challenging times over the past few decades, something its people are rightly proud of and this, I think, is at the crux of the city’s brand. Preconceived ideas from the uninitiated revolve around football, the Beatles, and the indomitable ‘scouse’ stereotype of course, however just one visit to the city reveals how much more it has to offer.

The city has been given an amazing opportunity to shape a new identity; generous attention and funding from Europe and Grosvenor and the regeneration that has transformed the city centre and surrounding areas mean that Liverpool now more than ever has a chance to redefine what it stands for and build on what is a great history and culture.

The utmost respect still has to be paid to The Beatles and what they have done for the city, the same must be said for the globally renowned football clubs; these are brands that will be undoubtedly difficult to top. However, the regeneration of Liverpool, the melting pot it always has been and the modern cultural hub it is quickly becoming will need to soon become much more prominent in the branding of the city, its vibrancy and variety is something to be shouted about!

TH: How can a mayor influence the way the city markets itself?

MB: This is the subject hot on everyone’s lips at the moment in Liverpool… who is going to be Mayor? So right now having not seen how a mayor operates in a city I can’t really say. But I would like to think that a Mayor can help to centralize what the city has on offer and that he or she can listen to local business and cultural leaders to help clearly define what it is and isn’t that Liverpool would like to be known for both nationally and internationally.

They will hopefully form a select panel of individuals from across the board, that I personally would be happy to sit on. That would bring ideas and inspiration from the key sectors, for any city or business to market itself well all departments need to be clearly defined and they need to compliment each other and work together. United we stand, divided we fall.

Key to the future of the city now is enterprise and entrepreneurship and this is being pushed a lot in the City. But there can never be too much in my opinion, the big brands have all come to the city now and they have showed their support and given the Liverpool One Shopping area a strong retail space that any city would be proud of. In doing that though the rest of the City has lost a lot of shops and certain areas have started to slip. I would love to see more independent stores, restaurants, agencies and so on open up in these areas and see a mayor in total support of initiatives like this, helping young businesses to get the funding to do things properly.

When you travel to a different city, you do so to experience a different culture, to buy different things that you’ve never seen in your city, to see different art and to leave that city feeling as though you noticed it’s identity not that it felt exactly like the last one you visited. The danger of big brands and the corporate world is that they can homogenise areas and city centres and there is no reason to then visit them. I mean when you flick through a Wallpaper Guide you don’t look for the nearest Tesco in the city you are discovering or search out the part of the city where the shopping area for chain stores is located.

We’ve done the homogenisation bit, now we need to focus on the identity of the city, it’s independent businesses and what they can offer tourists and people from outside the city coming in. So that when those people leave the city they are talking about it, tweeting pictures of it, pinning images of it on Pinterest and Facebooking their friends that they need to go and see it for themselves. A city is just like any brand, for it to be a success people need to engage with it, they need to relate to it, they need to talk about it and they need to understand and love it. They are the brands that succeed and they too are the City’s that succeed too.

TH: If you were responsible for marketing Liverpool globally, what would you focus on?

MB: As a full service agency we would focus on Liverpool’s brand and it’s digital offering (website, apps, etc). I think Liverpool maybe needs to step away from the ‘Liver Birds’ emblem and maybe needs to reinvent itself a little.

I love the work that Landor did on Melbourne City in Australia’s rebrand. They created a device that morphs into each different identity that the City possesses. Maybe that is what Liverpool needs to do.

TH: How does being based in Liverpool influence your creative output?

MB: Liverpool is a beautiful city, it has some great buildings, beaches and generally quite a relaxed feel to it when you come back up from London. I think that relaxed feeling helps creative output and not forgetting that we have the only Tate outside of London, a trip to the Tate on a Sunday afternoon can give you that sometimes much needed injection of creative spirit. My close friend and a budding short film director in the City recently sent me the quote.. “Basic purpose of art; to make man feel less alone” that’s so true. Recently the Open Eye Gallery moved to the Mann Island development and I love what they are doing with that place too, so that’s now on the list when I’ve got a spare moment. 

I think we just need more of that kind of thing, galleries, more independent stores, agencies with a face in the city. When you visit places like Amsterdam, Berlin, Antwerp, London or Sydney you can look in and see what’s going on, I like that. More independent coffee shops, restaurants and bars too, the later maybe less so than the first few, because let’s face it one of the most inspiring things is seeing what other people are doing.

Liverpool is ultimately a cheap city to work in too, which certainly helps any creative business with it’s output as it keeps overheads low and ideas running high. Creative output is hugely about being free and if you are constrained and locked up in a room because it’s the only place you can afford to be, then your creative juices are going to run dry. So finally on that point I’d have to say Liverpool is a great city to live and work in for travel. It has a great short haul airport ‘John Lennon’ and a great long haul international airport just around the corner. London is 2hours on the train, a shorter commute than some of our clients have in to work within London. I like to get away and see other City’s and cultures as much as possible and living and being based as an agency in Liverpool has allowed me to do that. Most of our work in all honesty comes from outside the city, with the majority of it being in London. But there is nothing stopping us, I take weekly trips on the train to the Capital and we meet with clients from as far a field as New York and Sydney regularly.

TH: Why should clients consider sourcing work from Liverpool agencies?

MB: I think the first impression is always that if you source work from Liverpool agencies or agencies in the North that they will be cheaper and I think there is some truth in that. We definitely have lower over heads in terms of office space, that coupled with the lower cost of living means that employees of agencies are prepared to be paid a little less than if they have to live in the capital.

However I would like to think we have more than just price on offer. I think there a number of Liverpool agencies, us being one of them that can stand up to the task on any level of project that big London agencies can and that’s what matters to the client. Like I mentioned earlier, travel around the country is easy from Liverpool and London is only 2 hours away. Any agency based in a City like Liverpool should be prepared to travel and accommodate clients wherever they may be. We are now attracting work internationally in New York, Sydney as well as working with brands in France, New Zealand, Denmark to name a few.

I believe Liverpool agencies like ours are open minded and willing enough to do what it takes to get there and that our new portfolio and client list that we are due to release proves that.

So clients don’t be afraid to try a Liverpool agency, many of our clients have done just that and I think they have been pleased with the results so far.

TH: What makes your agency offer different?

MB: The agency began really with a firm base in the fashion world and has grown from there. Fashion has always been close to my heart and has always been something that I have tried to keep running through the agency from day one. We still work with some great brands in the fashion world like ‘London Fashion Weekend’ and the British Fashion Council. As well as some more cutting edge smaller brands like ‘Cassius’ an eyewear brand from New Zealand and ‘Waiting for The Sun’ from Paris. Charlotte Taylor is a ‘Young British Designer’ based in London that we have worked with and supported since day one and I love everything she does. It’s great to see young brands develop and succeed, that’s close to my heart. Not to mention a big fashion website we are working on that is top secret at the moment, that brings fashion retail brands together. So I would definitely say our fashion offering and knowledge is something that makes us different. Coupled with our love for tech and futures, which is definitely a unique offer as I’d say my feet lay firmly in both camps. A digital platform HAS to look pixel perfect, astonishing and beautiful, but it too has to function, serve information and perform as well as it looks too. So I think we are definitely an agency split firmly down the middle in bringing both design and technology together. I like form and function to be equally considered and so our team of developers are focused on delivering just that. What use is a great looking website, if you can’t find anything on it. But directly parallel to that, what use is an amazing app if it is not pixel perfect and isn’t beautiful to look at.

We offer a broad spectrum of services that includes web, mobile, brand & creative, marketing and consultancy as well as occasionally getting involved in very special cases with interiors. Not one of those offerings isn’t carefully considered before we step into it and take it on, working in partnership where we see needed to ensure that the client gets expert advice, service and skills in anything that we offer. If I am not 100% confident that we cannot deliver, we won’t take it on. That’s policy.

TH: What local brands do you most admire and why?  

MB: Christopher Shannon, not strictly local brand as he’s based in London, but he is a Liverpool lad and is doing great things as an emerging designer in the fashion scene both in the capital and globally. I love the Leaf brand too and what they’ve done for the city as a whole bringing something new to Liverpool that it needed.

Domingo Rodriguez is a fashion designer, who I have worked with on fashion projects at the agency. He graduated at LJMU and received a scholarship to LCF in London, where he is now based. He’s produced collections for ASOS and worked alongside some big names in the fashion world. He is still very young and I know he and his brand have what it takes to make it.

I hugely respect the work of John Hargreaves and what he’s done with the Matalan brand over the past 30 years.

Harking back to the past growing up, the independent fashion department store Wade Smith was a real source of inspiration in a small city, the Wade Smith family did great things giving back to the community in terms of regeneration in the early stages of Liverpool’s development; after selling up to Arcadia, the brand faded which was a real loss to the Liverpudlian entrepreneurial spirit. I know the Wade Smith family are still doing things in the city with fashion and I would love to see more of that.

Obviously, I have to mention Unilever who I have great respect for as an international heavyweight, especially since they were given a face by branding experts Wolf Ollins.

One to definitely look out for in the future is ‘Camp & Furnace’ having visited them last week for a guided tour of what they have to offer. Anyone who is interested in the arts, fashion, music, food, drink, Liverpool and I would think the UK’s first ‘Caravan Hotel’ you really must keep your finger on the pulse with what this place is doing.

Circus and Chibuku are great brands for our city’s music offering and Rich McGuiness has always had his finger firmly on the pulse there. With brands like Shipping Forecast bringing something new and unique to the city.

Form is a brand we built from the ground up with its owner/director Jamie and I not only love what they do because they are a client, but because of their keen eye for great commercial furniture brands. Something that my other half might say I am mildly obsessed or a geek about. Just recently they became the dealer for Arper a fantastic account to have on board. So any agency or brand reading this should check out their website by-form.net/ if they are looking for something spectacular for their work space.

Liverpool Biennial have done some seriously amazing things in the city and I massively respect what they have done for the city. I look forward to what they have up their sleeve for the future; let’s hope they keep getting the amount of funding they need to do it.

Utility the furniture store has been around for a long time now and I think it’s great to see an indie brand like this, whose brand selection and buying is spot on. I just wish there was room for more stores like this.

TH: Which local marketers have inspired you?

MB: Form - Form is a great brand and a brand that we have been with since the very beginning. As I mentioned earlier furniture is a subject close to my heart as it is for many other people in the industry and so it is inspiring from that point of view. But it has also been inspiring to see Form develop through the hard work and dedication that Jamie the owner/director of Form has put in.

Skin Solutions - Another client and young successful company we work for ‘Skin Solutions’ has done really well in retail cosmetics over the past 5 years as a small start up, which now sells products like Xen-Tan exclusively into some the highest profile department stores like Selfridges and Harvey Nichols. Natalie Roache the MD there is a driven, focused, young entrepreneur, who’s clear focus inspires me.

Apposing - Dave the MD of Apposing is a good friend and a business associate too. We have worked in partnership on a few projects and pitches and do join forces when we feel the fit is right for us and the client too. I have again watched him grow as a person and in business since we met some 4 or so years ago. We met when he was raising sponsorship to run the NY marathon for his dad who was at the time battling with Cancer and he ran the marathon in clothing that I donated to him from the fashion label side of the business that I was running at the time ‘Guilt Edged’. Dave has grown that business through his dad’s battle with cancer and unfortunately death, and through some other very challenging times and his journey has inspired me no end… Certainly one to watch out for in Liverpool.

He is again a focused and talented individual, who has a firm grasp of where he is going. I like that in people and it inspires me to do the same, sometimes there is so much to do or that you want to do it is easy to lose focus of what you are doing. You have to work to constantly re-align that direction and focus and make sure you are going in the right direction and that all you are doing is too channelled in that direction.

Press Glue - Jonathan Farber is the founder and brains behind ‘Press Glue’, a publishing platform aimed at educational establishments that draws parallels with ‘Wordpress’. I met Jonathan relatively recently, but in the short time I have known him I have enjoyed spending time with him as a client, but also someone who has a passion for both design and technology and is again totally focused. We recently started working with him and his team and I am excited to unveil what we have been working on with them in the coming months. He is a keen ‘TED’ talk watcher and is always full of ideas and directions he wants to take things in. We watched a great ‘TED’ talk last time we were together at their brand new offices in ‘Knutsford’ near Manchester, about businesses approach and whether they work from the inside (ideas, why they are doing what they do and passion) or from the outside (what they are doing it for, end goals and purely financially driven results). It was clear that we both saw the world through the same eyes from that meeting; I think when you partner up with your clients that is the key.

Ubiquity PR - Not a client, but someone I have known in the City since I began the business and someone that I think is a glue for the city is Joel Jelen. He runs a PR Agency called ‘Ubiquity’ and they work a lot in the food and drink arena. He’s someone who moved to Liverpool from London and he loves it here, we’ve talked a lot about that fact over the years too.

Family - I think finally I’d have to say my own family; especially my mother and father have inspired me as local marketers since an early age. Mum has served 30+ years as an Interior Designer and had a very successful career; she now works in the agency full time and is an inspiration to me every day. My father a colourful character, who has been involved in a huge variety of businesses, ventures and ideas since I can remember gave me a broad and eye opening outlook on life and business. So I would have to say they stand as the biggest and longest standing inspiration to me. My brother and business partner too is a daily inspiration to me, he is a sharp minded individual. We are a good team.

TH: What business would you most like to win?

MB: This is a really interesting question and one I had to stop and think about because there are so many great brands and businesses out there we would love to work with.

I think it’s very much a matter of reviewing the brief and really thinking whether we have something to offer that client that is going to wow them and their audience. If we feel we can do that, then I wouldn’t say there is a particular client we would like to win work from.

We work mostly in the following areas:

• Events
• The Arts (this is a new area for us and one that we are keen to work more in, having recently worked on the fairly high profile launch of ‘Art 13’, 
• Retail
• Fashion
• Cosmetics
• Home and Office Furnishings

That said, I recently saw a briefing notice that British Land put out for a project in Leeds for a new shopping Centre they have built. The brief requires experience in fashion and retail. Something I would be very interested in the agency working on.

The Kooples a Parisian brand I have been tracking and following from their early days in Paris, alongside Cult brand ‘Surface to Air’ that I have long coveted the work of have recently opened a store in the City. Again great to see and a brand like this entering the city. It says a lot that they would put that much faith and investment into the city, it is a big risk for any brand to do that and it shows they believe in the city. I would love to work with them on their technology offer, I have so many ideas for a brand like that and what we could do with them.

Ultimate project though I think would have to be in web/mobile, designing, building and doing the UI/UX for a big gallery. I have always admired the work of London agency ‘The Bureau of Visual Affairs’ and the work they have done on websites like ‘The National Gallery’. I think that’s what we would love to get our teeth into. I love design that is useful and serves a purpose, design that improves the users experience and in something like the design of a gallery website it can be the most challenging environment to do that in.

TH: Thanks Matthew!

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