Introducing: Studio Certain x VideoSmart
VideoSmart is very excited to finally announce our acquisition of the fellow London-based, creative agency ‘Certain’. Here to work both independently and enhance our current client offering in the creative and digital space – we can’t wait to see what we get up to whilst collaborating in our wonderful Hend House offices in the coming months. So, watch this space.
From brand identity, insight and strategy to digital design and content creation - Certain are experts at it all and much more. Since inception 5 years ago they have worked cross-industry with a variety of businesses ranging from global brands like Nike to local independent institutions. Just check out their website to see some of their great work.
Certain is made up of a team of industry-leading talent, between them having over 100 collective years in the creative sector. On this note, we get to know a bit more about the talent behind the work, who have kindly answered a few questions for us:
Meet the Team:
Starting off with some industry questions to get to know the creative minds behind the content - what do you enjoy about the work you do?
Phil Dean – Director of Creative Services: “I love the diversity of the clients we deal with and how you go down the rabbit hole and get fully immersed in the most randomly enjoyable way. There is no other way to do it either, you have to fully engage with a business to do great work for them and grow the account.”
Paul Irwin – Design Director: “The spectrum of sectors and types of projects we get to work on.”
Beth Skilton – Account Director: “I love that every day is different, you’ll be working on different sectors, different touchpoints and different brands. Yet our job is to get under the skin of each of those and inherently understand them to make strong strategic and on-point creative recommendations.”
It can be hard to make an impact in this constantly shifting industry, what is the one piece of advice you would give someone starting out?
Phil: “Work hard. Work VERY hard. Put yourself in the frame for things, get involved. Put your hand up for everything and learn as much as you can. A can-do attitude is everything in our world.”
Ellen Teale - Designer: “You don’t need to do everything by yourself to prove you are good at what you do. The people around you most likely have years of experience and knowledge, so utilise it! They will be more than willing to help you learn, better yet it’s a great way to build working relationships.”
Chris Wright – Multichannel Designer: “I would say imposter syndrome and anxiety is a big thing at the start of your design career and you always feel there are people that are better than you. You are good enough and just to keep going and believe in yourself.”
There’s a lot of misconceptions about this business - if you could teach everyone one thing about your industry, what would it be?
Beth: “It’s always on, constantly evolving and you have to keep your finger on the pulse, which is really exciting!”
Ellen Teale - Designer: “A lot of people think that being in the creative industry means you are always creating things and making cool stuff but being a designer there is actually a lot of problem solving and lateral thinking.”
Chris Wright – Multichannel Designer: “I would say designers are more often than not perfectionists and we've already tried something a hundred different ways before you've even got to see any first iterations of designs.”
Certain has worked on a number of different things over the years, but what has been the coolest project?
Paul: “The Pursuit of Perfection book https://www.wearecertain.com/work/pursuit-of-perfection” (A book they wrote, designed, and produced for themselves as their own pursuit of perfection.)
Beth: “Probably concepting and launching a multi-sensory tasting experience for Chivas Regal. Very involved and long nights but totally worth it. Seeing the toolkit get adopted globally was incredibly rewarding.”
Ellen: “I really enjoyed working on Celebrity Cruises social media. We got to go on a cruise to make the launch of their new ship so that was pretty cool!”
Business questions over – if you could snap your fingers and become an expert in anything, what would it be?
Phil: “Patience.”
Chris: “I've always loved animation and drawing cartoons, but my passion is gaming - so 3D character design.”
Paul: “French.”
Beth: “I’d love to be able to sight-read music better or to become fluent in another language, probably French.”
Ellen: “Being able to speak multiple languages. How cool would it be to just be able to slip into the native language wherever you go in the world?” (there’s a bit of a theme here…)
So, what do you enjoy doing when you are not working?
Phil: “I love getting out and about in London with my sketchbook (or any other city for that matter).” (And he’s not too shabby at it either – check out Phil’s Instagram.)
Paul: “Theatre, movies and running.”
Beth: “People say I’m the busiest person they know… so here goes! I have three horses and have ridden and competed in Eventing my whole life. I love keeping fit and do HIT, yoga, running, weightlifting and Zumba weekly. I am a lead singer in a covers band so love performing, as well as playing piano and guitar. I love being on the water and in the ocean so am a keen surfer and stand-up paddleboard-er. Oh, and Latin and Ballroom dancing… sometimes I spend time with my husband and dog too!”
Chris: “I'm a huge gamer I’m eagerly awaiting resident Evil 8 and I also love baking cakes which is like my job but in cake form!”
Part of your job is keeping an ear to the ground on the latest culture and trends, so what is your must-listen podcast or must-read book?
Phil: “Podcast – S-Town. Proof that fact is definitely more unbelievable than fiction, this story of small-town America stays with you for a very long time. Book – Homeland by Fernando Aramburu. This story of the impact of unresolved violence in the Basque country on two families is a stunning achievement.”
Paul: “Podcast – Off Camera with Sam Jones. Book – To kill a mockingbird.”
Ellen: “My must-listen podcast is “The Dropout” it’s a series about the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes, the youngest self-made billionaire. It's shocking, revealing and a deep dive into a scam artist at the highest level.”
2020 has certainly been challenging for all, but what has been your biggest challenge?
Phil: “Moving to London and building my own agency from scratch, with a great team of people. I have won awards over the years and whilst it’s nice to get the recognition, it’s seeing amazing creative work going out of the door for our clients that really makes me smile.”
Paul: “24hr 3 Peaks Challenge.”
Chris: “I'm completely self-taught in design, I stupidly did geography at Uni so I’ve had to fight and scrap every day of my career to learn grow and develop as a designer.”
Go on, what is a guilty pleasure of yours?
Beth: “I feel no guilt about any of my pleasures and will openly admit them all! – Disney films, musical theatre, Strictly… don’t judge me too harshly!”
Ellen: “Trash TV including Keeping Up With The Kardashians and Below Deck. I’m totally shameless about enjoying this, I find it a great way to switch off.”
Chris: “I currently have quite a big addiction to buying limited-edition screen-printed posters for films, television shows, and comics...”
To conclude…
Despite a challenging year faced by all during 2020, we are thrilled to be continuing down our path of growth both at VideoSmart and MBA Group with the introduction of Certain to the family as of 2021.
At all these agencies, we love what we do and believe that this synergy between creativity, data and technology will speak for itself throughout our work in the future. Whether that be personalised video, brand development and everything in-between; we can’t wait to show you what we can do through this enhanced offering.
For communications strategy and delivery, contact us today at hello@videosmart.com. Or to find out more about what Certain can do for your business, contact them info@studiocertain.com.
In fact, just drop either of us a message – we’re only a stone’s throw away now after all.