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

Creativebrief Founder & Chairman Tom Holmes talks to Gary Boon, Managing Director of Shout Digital

TH: Gary, what does the Newcastle brand stand for?

GB: Newcastle historically is a city based on hard work and achievement beyond means and expectation. I believe this is as true today as it was in the past when Newcastle heralded itself firmly at the forefront of UK engineering and heavy industry. We are built on hard work, ingenuity and exploration of ideas whilst having a warm and likeable personality, I think this is what the Newcastle brand stands for and why we set ourselves apart from other major cities.

TH: How do you think Newcastle should position itself?

GB: I think Newcastle should position itself exactly as it is doing so today. One of the finest University cities in the UK, representing a rich culture and excellent value for money for any potential investment. People here have a London work ethic but are often unfairly overlooked in the national picture, after all London is only a few hours away on the train.

TH: Are the city’s brand values reflected in your own agency culture?

GB: Absolutely, at Shout we encourage our team to collaborate and bring their own enthusiasm and personality to their work. We’re proud of our Northern roots and are more than happy to play them to our advantage.

TH: Does being based in NE influence your creative output? If so, how?

GB: I’m not sure if being based in the North East influences our creative output but I am certain that the North East spirit and pride comes across in our work and approach.

TH: What makes your agency offer different?

GB: Like many other agencies we have a team of very talented individuals who have lots of impressive skills but we feel we are different as we care for our clients as if they were part of our own team and the culture that has developed at Shout is a result of that approach.

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

GB: There are a lot of agencies out there but the Newcastle scene has some very special companies that are shaking up the larger cities and bigger nationals.

TH: What sort of clients do you particularly want to attract?

GB: We’re looking to form all sorts of lasting relationships with our clients and are more than happy delivering to a small local charity as well as to large FTSE 100 organisations. Our delivery process may be different but the essence of our work and ideas are the same.

TH: What work have you done recently makes you really proud?

GB: The team here at Shout produce work which makes me really proud on a daily basis, from great mobile apps right through to bespoke web projects. Being an agency means we need pride in all our work to keep up the enthusiasm and make sure we are all delivering the best for our clients. Recently we had some half year figures on an SEO campaign that we are delivering and the client reported a 100% uplift in profits since we took on the account. It scenarios like that which make all the hard work worthwhile.

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

GB: The BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead put Tyne and Wear on the map as a creative hub for the region 10 years ago when it opened and it has developed a great national brand in its field. It’s really nice to see something start out of the North East’s redundant past to grow into something new and well respected locally and nationally.

TH: What business would you most like to win?

GB: We love winning business that makes us think and work that we can get our teeth stuck into but we are more than happy as long as we can work closely with the client to solve a specific problem which gives us a chance to prove what we can do.

TH: Thanks Gary.

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