By Jules Love, Co-Founder of Spark AI
I started work in the late 1990s with Andersen Consulting, just as the internet was beginning to seriously disrupt business. Amazon was founded in 1994 and Google in 1998. Back then, we were asking ourselves whether we were better off using Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer. Looking back, that was completely missing the point. The browser didn’t matter. What mattered was that the entire business model of how companies reached customers was being fundamentally rewritten.
Now, having worked with more than 50 agencies over the past 18 months through Spark AI, the company I co-founded, I’m watching the same thing happen again. Only this time, it’s moving faster.
That’s why I wrote Shift – AI for Agencies. Not because I had all the answers, but because after 18 months on the frontline of AI adoption with agencies, I certainly knew most of the questions.
Here are the 5 lessons agencies need to take on board:
When digital arrived, agencies had years to adapt. Broadband took 10 years to roll out. The iPhone didn’t appear until 2007, and the App Store didn’t open until 2008. Influencer marketing took a decade to become the juggernaut it is today. Agencies had two decades to experiment, learn, pivot, and rebuild their capabilities.
AI is different. More money is being poured into generative AI than any technology in human history. As a share of US GDP, it’s more than double what was spent on the Apollo moon missions in the 1960s. This level of investment means the rate of improvement we’ve seen since ChatGPT launched in late 2022 shows no sign of slowing down.
The models improve every few months. New capabilities arrive constantly. What seemed impossible last year is standard this year. And unlike the digital transition – which required new infrastructure and new devices – AI tools are immediately accessible to anyone with a laptop and a £20 monthly subscription.
But here’s what catches most agencies off guard: AI tools don’t work like the software you’re used to.
When you learned Photoshop or InDesign, you learned specific commands. Click this button, use this tool, apply this effect. The software did exactly what you told it to do, the same way, every time. Mastery meant knowing which buttons to press.
AI doesn’t work that way. The same prompt gives you different results each time. There are no buttons to press, just conversations to have. You don’t learn commands—you learn how to communicate intent, how to refine outputs, how to work iteratively with something that’s part tool, part collaborator.
This means agencies need to develop completely new capabilities. Not just “how to use ChatGPT” but how to prompt effectively, how to evaluate AI outputs, how to combine multiple AI tools into workflows, how to know when to use AI and when not to.
If AI was just about learning new tools, agencies would adapt fine. They’ve done it before. From desktop publishing to digital design to social media, the industry has consistently upskilled as new technology arrived.
But AI is different. It doesn’t just change your toolkit—it changes how creative work happens.
Think about the traditional creative process. You brief a team. They go away for days or weeks. They come back with three concepts. The client picks one. You refine it. You iterate. Eventually you have a finished brand or campaign that goes live.
Now imagine this: your strategist uses AI to analyse thousands of customer reviews in a few hours, identifying patterns that would have taken weeks to surface manually. Your creative team generates 20 concept directions in a day instead of three in a week. Your designers create 200 variations of each concept to test against different audiences. Your account team runs simulations of client presentations to anticipate objections before the meeting.
The work itself is different. It’s not about executing specific creative visions anymore—it’s about designing frameworks and parameters within which AI can generate brand-appropriate content. You become the architect of creative possibility rather than the executor of individual ideas.
This is where most agencies are missing the real story. AI doesn’t just make existing tasks faster. It redistributes where time gets spent and where value lives.
Junior creatives used to spend weeks creating multiple concept directions. Now they spend hours generating hundreds of options with AI. Their value shifts from execution to curation and refinement.
Your senior creatives used to spend days perfecting a single visual. Now they spend their time designing the guardrails and parameters that guide AI generation at scale.
Your strategists used to spend weeks doing desk research and analysis. Now they spend that time on higher-order thinking—interpreting patterns, making connections, developing insights that AI can’t.
And here’s the critical bit: the traditional pricing model begins to break.
When creating 100 variations doesn’t cost much more than creating one, how do you charge for that work? When a task that took three days now takes three hours, why would clients pay the same rate? When work that seems – even if only from the client’s perspective – increasingly automated, why pay agency rates at all?
Any time you save through AI efficiency will eventually be passed to clients. The market will force your hand. If you try to pocket those gains as margin, someone else will undercut you.
So the agencies that are getting ahead are redefining where value comes from. They’re moving from selling deliverables to selling ongoing creative capability. From project-based pricing to outcome-based models. From “time × rate = fee” to “impact × expertise = value.”
One agency director told us: “AI hasn’t made our work cheaper, but it has made it better. Now we’re exploring more territories, testing more ideas, and then refining them more.” The agencies succeeding aren’t trying to work faster at the same things. They’re doing fundamentally different work.
Many agencies come to us asking: “What’s the best AI tool for creating social content?” Or “What’s a great prompt for writing headlines?” Or “Should we use ChatGPT or Claude?”
They are treating AI like they treated Adobe Creative Suite, just another piece of software to master. Learn the tools, get certified, move on.
But that’s like asking in 1998 whether you should use Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer. The browser didn’t matter. What mattered was that the entire business model of how companies reached customers was being rewritten.
The agencies getting this right are asking completely different questions:
These aren’t questions about tools or prompts. They’re questions about business transformation.
Our research revealed something striking: about 20% of agencies were deliberately moving forwards with AI—building adoption programmes, implementing policies, training their teams. Meanwhile, 50% were stuck at the experimental stage, where AI use was down to individual initiative with little support to move beyond it. And 20% still aren’t really doing anything at all – just letting their teams do what they want.
Shift – AI for Agencies captures everything we’ve learned in the last 18 months about how to transform your agency with AI.
It’s built around what we call the AI Maturity Model—a four-stage framework from
The book walks you through:
I studied Applied Generative AI at MIT, then co-founded Spark AI to help agencies navigate this future. We were supported by Innovate UK to build our AI Accelerator programme, and Shift contains everything we’ve learned from the frontline of AI adoption. Many of the concepts in this book I teach as part of the ‘Advanced Diploma for AI in Business’ at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School.
The agencies that will thrive aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets or the most advanced technical resources—they’re the ones that understand they’re not just adopting new technology, they’re rebuilding what an agency is, what it does, and how it creates value.
Get the book
Order ‘Shift – AI for Agencies’ to transform your business for the AI era. To celebrate it’s launch on 4th November, BCI members will be able to buy the Kindle edition for 99p for the first 48 hours.
About Spark AI
Spark is an AI training, coaching and consultancy working with agencies and brands. We help leaders upskill their teams, build AI workflows and reconfigure their businesses. We have been supported by Innovate UK and teach our AI for Leaders programme at Oxford University’s Said Business School. 👉 https://www.wearespark.ai/
About the Author
Jules Love is a co-founder of Spark AI. He studied Applied Generative AI at MIT, regularly speaks about AI on the global stage, and is one of BIMA’s 100 for 2025.
Bristol-based creative agency saintnicks has been awarded Gold at the Digital Impact Awards, recognising its work with POSCA, part of Mitsubishi Pencil Co. The win came in the ‘Best Community Development’ category, celebrating the agency’s success in growing and nurturing an engaged creative community on social media.
The Digital Impact Awards highlight excellence in digital stakeholder engagement and the power of online brand communication. saintnicks’ campaign for POSCA focused on building authentic relationships with artists and makers across the UK, showcasing their creativity while amplifying the brand’s cultural relevance in the creative community.
Fraser Bradshaw, CEO at Saintnicks, said:
“We’re incredibly proud of this recognition. It celebrates not just great creative work, but the genuine connections built between brands and the people who love them. The POSCA community embodies everything we believe in – creativity, authenticity and engagement that lasts.”
The award-winning campaign brought together art, culture and community to celebrate creative expression and inspire participation. A full case study of the work can be viewed below.
If you’d like a chat about your challenges or request a complimentary social audit, drop them an email and say hello. You can find out more about their social media and content expertise here.
UK digital agency, Torchbox, delivers major website transformation focused on environmental responsibility and inclusive design
Bristol, UK – 14th October 2025 – Torchbox, the digital agency behind open source content management system Wagtail, has developed a new website for World Wildlife Fund-US that demonstrates how sustainable web development practices can work hand-in-hand with improved user experience.
The project helps one of the United States’ leading conservation organisations share its critical conservation message with its nearly 10 million annual users by rebuilding its digital platform.
“Working with a conservation organisation like WWF-US meant sustainability couldn’t just be a talking point, it had to be built into every technical decision,” said Gabi Mamon, Client Partner, Torchbox. “We’ve created a platform that performs better whilst reducing its environmental impact through thoughtful technical choices at every level.”
The new platform runs on Cloudflare’s renewable energy infrastructure and employs modern web development practices, including optimised image formats, efficient content delivery networks using caching to serve all content. These improvements deliver faster page loads whilst reducing the data transfer required for the site’s 30 million annual pageviews.
Accessibility features are integrated throughout the platform, including enhanced keyboard navigation, improved colour contrast, proper semantic markup, and screen reader compatibility. The rebuild also involved thoughtfully reorganising 6,000 pages of conservation content to create clearer user journeys.
“Our website is where millions of people come to learn about global conservation and how it helps both people and nature thrive,” said WWF-US Vice President of Digital Projects Diane Querey. “It’s important that it welcomes users in a way that highlights the important role nature plays in all our lives while conveying the urgency and importance of our mission.”
The project required tight deadline management, with Torchbox working closely with WWF-US’s internal team to migrate and reorganise content whilst building new functionality.
For WWF-US, the new platform provides a foundation for long-term digital growth. The successful delivery demonstrates Torchbox’s capability to meet the complex requirements of large international charities working under demanding timescales.
Visit the new site at https://www.worldwildlife.org/
Every autumn, the air shifts. Shadows stretch, lights glow earlier, and people start hungering for something beyond routine. They want meaning, magic, and connection…a story they can step into.
That’s why seasonal immersive events aren’t just popular; they’re unstoppable. Each year, they grow bigger, bolder, more ambitious, because they speak to something universal, our need to feel part of something shared, fleeting, and extraordinary.
And the truth is, the spaces that haven’t embraced that yet are already behind.
This isn’t about pumpkins and fairy lights. It’s about transformation and turning your existing space into a living, breathing story that people can feel in their bones.
The public appetite for immersive experiences has exploded. Seasonal events are selling out months in advance, driving new audiences, and dominating social feeds. People aren’t just attending, they’re participating. They’re hungry for connection, emotion, and atmosphere and they’re willing to travel and spend for it.
And here’s the thing: the places that already have character, story, or natural atmosphere, the ones sitting dark for half the year, are the ones that often might be the perfect venue.
Seasonal immersive programming can turn a quiet month into a sell-out. It can reframe how a space is seen, pull in new audiences, and create stories that live far beyond the season itself and build brand new audiences.
So the question isn’t should you do a seasonal immersive event. It’s why aren’t you already doing one?
Immersive design is no longer just for purpose-built attractions. It’s the future of how people experience the world around them. Every space has the potential to hold story.
Seasonal events give you a perfect excuse to unlock that, to reveal another layer of your space and make people fall in love with it all over again.
It’s not about building something new. It’s about seeing what you already have differently.
The right lighting design can make the familiar feel mythic. A single scent cue can shift memory. A piece of sound can transport a visitor before they even realise what’s happening.
This is where transformation starts, not with scale, but with imagination.
Emotion is built in.
Halloween and Christmas already carry universal feelings: fear, joy, nostalgia, hope. Immersive storytelling amplifies them.
They drive visibility. They’re PR gold, visual content magnets, and community anchors.
They make financial sense, one strong seasonal programme can sustain engagement through your quieter months.
These events are not side projects, they are cultural touchpoints, powerful, repeatable frameworks that keep audiences coming back year after year.
They create loyalty, seasonal traditions make people return.
“We do this every year” is the strongest possible brand statement there is.
Right now, the market is wide open. Audiences are ready. The appetite is proven. Technology and design tools are accessible. The question is who will seize the moment. and who will let it pass?
Spaces that act now will set the benchmark. Those that wait will be catching up.
Seasonal immersive events are no longer a luxury; they’re the smartest creative and commercial move you can make.
The best seasonal immersive events don’t rely on gimmicks or budget. They rely on intention.
They have a clear emotional journey.
They use their environment as part of the story.
They surprise people, not just entertain them.
They end on a note that lingers.
Audiences don’t remember everything they saw. They remember how it made them feel.
And that feeling, if designed well it can shape how they see your space forever!
At Immersive Ideas, we don’t do cookie-cutter Christmas lights or predictable Halloween thrills. We design experiences that transform space into story. Our work blends psychology, design, and emotion to create worlds that connect deeply, memorable, meaningful, and made for your audience.
Wondering if your space has potential? This is the moment to unlock it.
Even if you’re only exploring what might be possible, let’s start the conversation and see where it leads?
Worried about timeframe? Budget? Don’t be. Already this year our clients are testing the waters, preparing the ground work now for going big next year.
Let’s have a chat, reach out at [email protected]
Together, we can shape the kind of seasonal experience people will still be talking about long after the lights go down!
saintnicks has been shortlisted in two categories at The Lovie Awards 2025, recognising the agency’s standout work in Digital, Content, and Social Media. The nominations come off the back of a flurry of other nominations, including four at the UK Social Media Awards, two at the Sports Business Awards, and one at the Digital Impact Awards.
The Lovie Awards recognise European Internet excellence in the fields of culture, technology & business. In addition to traditional judging, each category has a People’s Lovie Award, voted on by the public.
You can support saintnicks by clicking the links below and placing your vote ahead of the deadline on Thursday October 16th:
Email Newsletter – LIV Golf
Events & Livestreams in Social Media – Ascot Racecourse
Regarding the nominations, Callum Joynes, Head of Content at saintnicks, said:
“We’re over the moon to be recognised at The Lovie Awards this year. It’s a celebration of the creativity, ambition and craft that our team pours into every project for our clients at LIV Golf and Ascot Racecourse, and we’re proud to see that work shine on a European stage.”
When you think of branding, chances are your mind jumps to the sexy stuff – ads, taglines, packaging, maybe even a catchy jingle. And yes, all of that matters. But the brands that people remember, the ones they talk about, trust, and come back to? Those brands are built on something much more human: connection.
At Epoch, we believe branding is about more than just looking good, it’s about meaning something. And meaning something starts with relationships. Not just between a brand and its audience, but also between us and our clients.
In a lot of agencies, Client Services are seen primarily as project managers. Scheduling meetings, tracking budgets, delivering and re-delivering timelines. And while we do all that and do it well, a great Account Manager is about so much more than just managing meetings and margins. Client Services at its heart is about building bonds. It’s about being a partner who listens, challenges, supports and truly gets it. Someone who cares just as much about the why as they do about the what.
When brands get too caught up in numbers, impressions and deliverables, they can forget that they’re speaking to real humans, with complex feelings, challenges and lives that don’t revolve around a product.
It’s not that deep, I hear you say. And sure, fizzy drinks don’t save lives, but they are a part of people’s lives. Sometimes a key part, proven by my very real Diet Coke addiction. They can represent celebration, nostalgia, identity, joy or just that small shoulder dropping moment of your day. Brands that become a part of people’s lives, earn the right to shape culture. That kind of cultural weight isn’t built by accident, it comes from an intentional effort to understand people deeply, and to not dismiss the importance of their small moments. And we believe that kind of effort starts not with a campaign, but with a conversation.
That’s why our Client Services teams make a point of showing up. Literally. Even though we’re based in a single office in Bristol, we travel the world to spend time with our clients in person. It’s something we get a lot of feedback on, and it means a lot to us. Because while emails and Teams calls are great for keeping the wheels turning, nothing beats the energy of being in the same room. The off-hand remarks that spark an idea. The shared laughter over dinner. The moments that remind us that we’re not just client and agency, we’re people with a shared passion working together to make something great.
And here’s the thing: how we show up for our clients is directly shaped by how we show up for each other. We’re big believers that internal culture drives external impact. When your team is built on trust, respect and openness, it shows. It shows in the friendships it creates, in the way we collaborate, the way we push creative boundaries, and the way we navigate challenges together.
That culture of care makes us better agency partners. We’re not just ticking boxes or hitting deadlines – we’re invested. In the relationship, in the work, in the long-term success of both our clients and our brands. That means sometimes having difficult conversations. It means knowing when to ask more questions, when to push, and when to pause. And it means both celebrating the wins, and addressing the challenges, big and small, because we genuinely care.
So yes, Client Services is about getting things done. But it’s also about how we do it. With empathy. With clarity. With curiosity. It’s a role that sits at the intersection of strategy, creativity and commerciality. Always striving to make the chaotic and complex, clearer and easier to digest. Constantly translating between client and studio, between vision and execution, between the impossible and possible.
When it’s done well, Client Services becomes a quiet superpower, a force that holds everything together and elevates everyone’s work. It’s not about being the loudest in the room, but the one who makes sure everyone in the room is heard.
Because at the end of the day, we’re not just helping our clients build brands. We’re helping them build brands that build bonds. And in a world of easy disposability, those bonds are what truly last.
In a world that feels increasingly complex, unpredictable, and emotionally distant, the businesses that thrive will be those that act with clarity, courage, and creativity.
At Six, we believe progress starts with people. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce two senior appointments that reflect our ongoing evolution – and our commitment to helping clients meet the future head-on.
Jeremy Hayward joins as Advisor to the Board, bringing with him the invaluable perspective of a client-side leader who has successfully navigated through the waves of digital transformation.
Marcus Iles has been appointed as Strategy Partner within our Leadership Team. His brief is to help reconcile the natural tension between hard business logic and the emotion that drives real human connection.
These appointments come at a pivotal moment for Six, as the agency consolidates its leadership to build on momentum and sharpen its focus for the future.
While John Argent remains CEO, we’re proud to announce that Ruth Clarke has stepped into the Managing Partner role, and Sally Gillo as Growth Partner. These roles signify the next phase of Six’s evolution, leading with both purpose and performance.
These leadership changes also coincide with three new client wins, further cementing our offering to equip and enable businesses to grow, change, and drive ESG initiatives. Six believes that in an age dominated by algorithms and AI, the most powerful differentiator remains the human touch.
What this means for us
Our vision is simple: a world where businesses work for humans, not the other way around. We specialise in translating dry, logic-led strategies into compelling, inspiring connections, believing that inspired people inspire others.
That’s how we help businesses:
For the good of people, planet, and performance.
Bristol-based period care brand Grace & Green has launched a new TV campaign highlighting the lack of workplace period products in their spot, ‘Caught Short’.
Collaborating with JonesMillbank, Bristol-based B-Corp video production company, the ad was created after Grace & Green was named as Sky’s Local Heroes winner for the South West, securing funded media support through the Sky Zero Footprint Fund.
“This campaign is about making sure every employee can manage their periods at work without stress or stigma, and placing Grace & Green as the go-to period brand for businesses that care about their employees,” said Fran Lucraft, Founder and CEO of Grace & Green.
“Access to period products should be a right, not a privilege. We are so excited to see our brand on the small screen! Being a Bristol-based business, it’s incredible to see our work recognised locally and shared nationally.”
Abbie Howes, rostered director at JonesMillbank, added: “Getting caught short at work is a stress far too many women have endured, so it was really important to get that relatability across – whilst using light humour to highlight how ridiculous it is that it’s still not the norm for workplaces to supply period products.”
“Understandably if you’ve never been in the situation yourself it may never have crossed your mind, so we didn’t want this to feel judgmental or lecturing, but rather an issue that’s very easy to fix.”
The campaign is running across the Sky network throughout September alongside digital. For more information visit www.graceandgreen.co and www.jonesmillbank.com.
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JonesMillbank are a full-service production company based at Nine Tree Studios, their 10,000sq ft film studio.
Producing branded content, TV ads and social content their clients include local, global and household brands such as Dyson, University of Bristol, DHL, Oxfam, Pukka and the NHS.
jonesmillbank.com
01173706372
[email protected]
McCann’s latest campaign for Admiral Insurance, “Lost and Hound,” taps into the human truths at the heart of the industry, redefining Admiral’s approach to insurance marketing. In a sector dominated by price comparison website, the campaign uses brand-focused storytelling to engage with customers who value genuine care and long-term relationships from their insurance provider.
The campaign builds on Admiral’s new brand promise, “Always Looking Out For You” and marks Admiral’s most ambitious creative departure in over a decade. By targeting customers seeking ‘multi-value’ insurance providers, the campaign highlights Admiral’s unwavering commitment to customer care with “Lost and Hound” shifting the brand away from traditional product and price-driven messaging to spotlight Admiral’s core values of trust, care, and helpfulness.
To get to the heart of what matters most to customers, the spot explores the heartfelt backstory of ‘The Admiral,’ her iconic hat, and her sidekick, Alfie. Set in the fictional town of Admouth, with the familiar voice of Stephen Mangan as narrator, the campaign delivers a warm, and emotionally resonant storytelling experience that taps into the insight that while insurance often represents significant life milestones, the category is frequently associated with frustration and confusion.
Katie Dulake, Head of Brand at Admiral, said: “This campaign represents a pivotal moment for Admiral as we shift our focus to what truly matters to our customers – trust, care, and being there for them when it counts. ‘Lost and Hound’ really encapsulates our brand promise of ‘Always Looking Out For You’ and highlights the emotional connection we aim to build with our customers.”
Zane Radcliffe, ECD at McCann Bristol, said: “Our goal was to create a campaign that resonates deeply with customers by focusing on the human side of insurance. We uncovered the emotional significance of insurance in people’s lives and used that insight to craft a story that feels authentic, warm, and relatable.”
The comprehensive campaign runs until end of October across TV, BVOD, outdoor, radio, digital, and social platforms. Creative assets include 30-second and 10-second TVCs, 30-second radio spots, which feature Sally Phillips as ‘The Admiral’, and three distinctive OOH executions.
The Royal Navy needed recruits. But the old playbook wasn’t working on Gen Z.
The Royal Navy’s success depends on recruiting thousands of 16–24-year-olds each year. But Gen Z’s changing expectations and behaviours were making that target more elusive than ever. Digital-first, aesthetically driven and authenticity-focused, this generation demanded an experience that a bloated and unfocused website couldn’t deliver.
The mission was clear: engineer a user-centred experience that inspired the next generation to get onboard. Alongside the client, we mapped a watertight site strategy based on doing fewer things better.
Success starts with understanding your audience. From our deep audience research, we knew half of Gen Z valued content they can’t get anywhere else. They’re less driven by patriotism than previous generations. They need to see themselves in the action.
Working closely with experts at the Navy, we defined benefits that few others could offer, such as on-the-job qualifications, seeing new horizons, and world-class equipment. Through rapid prototyping and continuous testing, we put these in front of potential recruits to shape the experience around their needs and expectations.
A digital brand refresh required bold decisions, including using a monochrome logo, a new font sharing angular characteristics with modern ships, and colours drawn from real-world naval touchpoints such as radar screens.
Content was also reimagined for Gen Z, including Stories – a new, bite-sized mobile-first format providing an outlet for unvarnished, real-life insights. It answers Gen Z’s most human concerns like ‘What’s a typical day like?’ and ‘Will I fit in?’
A new technical architecture delivered flexibility, scalability and military-grade security. The process involved migrating to Sitecore Managed Cloud – possible because of our experience with strict security requirements. Complete with headless content delivery and composable page composition, the Royal Navy can now meet short-term goals and long-term ambitions. And as Gen Z’s needs evolve, we can reshape the experience to match.
The impact? Immediate. The new experience naturally filtered candidates, increasing qualified applications while reducing ineligible ones. Industry validation followed, with 11 awards including a Webby, a Lovie and the Digital Impact Awards Grand Prix.
This wasn’t just a website redesign. It was a new blueprint for digital-first recruitment. By putting authentic experience at the heart of every decision, we created a five-star experience connecting with a new generation – on their terms.
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