BackCreative Talk with Chris Sherlock, Creative Director at Sherlock Creative
This month’s Creative Talk is with Chris Sherlock, Creative Director of Sherlock Creative, a full-service creative agency offering their clients complete brand solutions from end to end. Their tagline is ‘if you have an idea, we will make it happen’. We talk to Chris on how they bring creative ideas to life.
Sherlock Creative is a full-service agency – is there a particular discipline you like to focus on?
With the marketing landscape changing so quickly, constantly evolving and new mediums appearing all the time, we don’t really have a ‘particular’ discipline we focus on. We have clients who we develop packaging for and on the same day we are building full social campaigns for other clients or a complete rebrand. We respond to our clients varied needs with innovative solutions.
Is being media accredited a draw card for your clients?
Having an agency that buys the media and does the strategy and creative is a big play for our clients and it makes their life a lot easier. Our process of developing strategy, designing creative and buying media makes the process streamlined for our clients. We aim to make their lives easier by offering a full service.
Do you find your clients seek you for full rebrands, or is the work more project by project basis?
It really depends on the client. We have a great mix of clients that cover both full rebrands and also ongoing project work.
What does a typical day at Sherlock Creative look like?
If you ask my team, they would say ‘busy but great fun’. We start our day with an internal WIP to look at what needs to be done during the day. We then have the studio working on everything from rebrands, activations, new campaigns or conceptual work. It really does vary and the work we do with our clients ensures that no two days are the same. As the agency has grown, we have expanded our offering to meet our clients constantly evolving needs and that has made our work change day to day.
How do the ideas come to life at Sherlock Creative? Do you workshop with your clients and get them involved in the creative process?
Yes, we have regular WIP and workshops with our clients to help them understand the creative process and also get the most out of my team and their marketing departments. We also spend a lot of time presenting ideas to our clients, where we think it will benefit them and their brands.
What are the main technologies you work with and why do you prefer them?
We use very traditional tech for most of what we do with Adobe Suite and FileMaker Pro. We also use Jira for job tracking which is an amazing tool for both us and our clients.
How has technology changed your business?
It has helped us grow by being able to identify our clients’ customers more accurately. It has also allowed us to take real findings from our campaign and measure their success.
How would you describe the culture at Sherlock Creative?
I believe we have a great culture at the agency. I work very hard to find the right people to maintain the right culture. I believe that culture is everything at Sherlock Creative. If you ask me, I have the best team in the industry.
Keeping the team motivated – any tips and hints?
Always look for ways to help them grow professionally and personally. Look at their interests and how they can be incorporated into everyday life at Sherlock Creative. Make sure you involve them in how the agency is run and what clients we work with.
What do you think creates a happy workplace?
I try to keep a laid-back approach to what we do and not take it too seriously. It improves our attitudes and the work we do and especially our relationships with our clients. In this day and age you need to be flexible with your teams needs and understand the traditional 40 hour week has changed so much. Work needs to be what you do not where you do it.
What does the future hold for Sherlock Creative?
That’s a good question, only time will tell. But my plan is to keep growing and continue to focus on working with great clients and great brands. As more great people become part of the Sherlock Creative ‘Family’ (As we call ourselves) I see us becoming an idea hub for new and exciting ways to approach what we do.