Axicom’s EMEA president Isobel Coney said: “In today’s world, where every brand is now a tech business, standing still is not an option. Calculated Bravery empowers our clients to make informed, impactful decisions that drive growth by combining strategic thinking with fearless creativity.”The approach has already led to new business from Advanced Micro Devices, eBay […]
Axicom’s EMEA president Isobel Coney said: “In today’s world, where every brand is now a tech business, standing still is not an option. Calculated Bravery empowers our clients to make informed, impactful decisions that drive growth by combining strategic thinking with fearless creativity.”The approach has already led to new business from Advanced Micro Devices, eBay and Honor, and is exemplified in recent work such as the Honor Magic V3 launch, where Axicom used bold messaging and humour, micro-engraving the ‘world’s smallest apology’ to competitors on the hinge of the world’s thinnest foldable phone. The ‘Low Power Ballad’ campaign, featuring a remastered version of Cutting Crew’s ‘I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight,’ highlighted the frustrations of substandard technology.Rouse, most recently the creative director at MHP Group, has also produced award-winning work at Pitch Marketing Group, Don’t Cry Wolf and Hotwire. He has experience in technology, gaming and content production, and lectures on social media marketing and creativity at City, University of London, and University of the Arts, London.Anthony explained the new approach overcame the historical subjectivity of creativity in communications: “It’s an industry built on gut instinct, then you throw in creativity which everyone has an opinion about, so our approach is about injecting objectivity, through data, evaluation, and analysis of ideas, so we can say ‘if we do this, it will create this impact for you’.Anthony (pictured) has also made two new appointments to his team as Axicom rolls out the new approach across all its client work: creative director Tom Rouse and head of studio Sam Stocking.The new approach focuses on bringing data and analytics, strategy and creative together, as well as using proprietary AI tools – including audience analysis – and new creative methodologies to give B2B clients more confidence to go with big creative ideas and innovative communications strategies. Axicom is also investing in new training programs to embed ‘Calculated Bravery’ across the agency.Graeme Anthony, who joined Axicom four years ago from Frank as its first creative director, has been elevated to executive creative director and is now a member of the WPP firm’s executive leadership team, with a global remit to ensure creativity is central to Axicom’s consultancy.‘We’re fortunate that we have magnificent platforms built by WPP and Burson at our disposal, where we can test the rigour and vigour of an idea and plug in our prediction tools to show the impact on audiences. This gives clients the confidence that creative campaigns are a worthwhile investment. In an era where every company is now a tech brand and there’s so much chaos in the world, we can bring structure, transparency and guidance – it’s all about giving clients confidence to go with the big ideas.”“There is appetite from B2B clients to do more creative work, but there still seems to be a block to making big ideas happen – it’s scary, unfamiliar territory, it’s new to other stakeholders in the business, there’s an element of risk and uncertainty. But this is our superpower – we have a duty to guide clients, and part of that is helping them towards being braver.”LONDON — Technology and B2B agency Axicom has bolstered its creative team as part of significant investment in its global creative capabilities and a new approach it calls ‘Calculated Bravery’.Anthony told PRovoke Media that the ‘calculated bravery’ approach had come out of “a bit of frustration and a lot of learning”. He said: “We went through a phase of winning business off the back of great ideas, and then often nothing happened with those ideas. I started thinking about it from my FMCG background, where creativity is non-negotiable, and asking why it’s different in B2B.On how the focus on creativity fits in with how Axicom is evolving more broadly, Anthony said: “Creative here isn’t a department, it’s a mindset that we’re instilling across the agency. It’s not siloed or part of a disjointed chain of specialisms. Where we’ve found success is in bringing everything and everyone together from start to finish: we are joined up with data and analytics, and strategy – it’s a cauldron of original thinkers.“It’s about empowering everyone else to be creative, to get the best responses for clients. Data guides us, strategy grounds us and the creativity elevates us. If we get all that working, that’s the end product of ‘calculated bravery’ – delivering ideas that clients can’t say no to. We’re bringing expertise and experiences from different backgrounds, people who can see technology and B2B clients through different lenses. We’re challenging ourselves to rip up the rule book – with all our amazing tools, AI and data, how can we make it bigger and better than ever?”Stocking joins from Hanover, where he led creative, and has also worked at PrettyGreen and Exposure. He will lead Axicom’s European content studio, bringing experience in integrated campaigns across content formats including design, film, motion graphics, digital development, social assets, print, and photography.
