BackCreative Talk with headmark
This month we talk with Laura Mylius, Creative Director at headmark – an independent full-service creative agency, working across every facet of branding, marketing and advertising. We find out what makes them stand out and what they have planned for 2019.
Tell us about headmark, and how you present yourself to the market?
We are a full-service creative agency, and we thrive on rising to any challenge presented to us. We live and breathe all of our brands, no matter whether they’re big or small. Essentially, we often work on marketing and branding projects – but let’s face it, marketing without art is boring – so we always inject creativity into everything that we do. By being honest and putting heart into our work, we believe we’re a genuine team that stands out from the crowd.
What’s the main difference between headmark and a large global agency?
We take the time to understand the client and the actual underlying issues that they may have. Every client matters to us, whether they’re a small business finding their feet, or a huge international organisation. Our team is small, dedicated and genuinely passionate about everything that we do. There’s a lot of space to bounce ideas around because of our size, and there are no unnecessary hoops to jump through to be allowed to fully engage in our creative process.
What creative philosophy do you stand by?
It’s important to us here at headmark that we’re setting clear goals for ourselves, which helps our creativity to manifest in a way that’s best for our clients. As such, we hold four values close to us, which by now are intrinsically woven into our fabric. These four values are: simplicity, accountability, a sense of urgency and being “on the mark”. They’re pretty self-explanatory, but following them keeps us focused and working to the best of our abilities!
Who have been your biggest creative inspirations?
Creativity can be drawn from daily life in an abundance of different ways. Each and every day, the people I work with, meet and talk to influence me most professionally. Throughout my life, I have taken inspiration from the people closest to me; each offering their own unique traits that are entirely individual to them.
What characteristics do you look for when hiring creative talent, either freelance or permanent?
Culture fit is so important these days – it sounds such a cliché, but it’s true. We’re like a family here, and so first and foremost, we want to make sure that any new hires will fit in. With that in mind, we’re looking beyond the obvious, which is of course, talent. If someone is a good communicator, approachable and a good listener, we’re interested. I personally look for someone who can take direction, but also deliver their own creative spark.
Is it imperative for headmark that you hire creatives with prior agency experience?
This depends on which department we are hiring for. If someone can demonstrate that their head is in the game (and they have all the other attributes we’re looking for), we might consider them if their experience is otherwise suitable. However, within the studio I find it to be imperative for the candidate to have had agency experience. Being able to juggle many jobs at a time is literally our bread and butter and so we need to know that someone is going to be able to cope.
Where do you see the future of the creative industry heading?
Without a doubt, to digital. We currently work on both traditional and digital projects, but we’re seeing more and more emphasis on the online side of things. To be more precise, the future of digital lies in video, and so we’re making a conscious effort to incorporate this in clients’ strategies where relevant and possible.