Simon Needham On The Spot

Simon Needham, 37, San Francisco-based group creative director of Attik, co-founded the company with James Sommerville after graduating from the Batley School of Art and Design in 1986. They first ran the design shop out of an attic in northern England with 1,000 British pounds from a Prince's Trust grant. The shop moved into advertising focusing on youth culture and now has offices in New York, California and the U.K. Attik was named creative agency for Scion, Toyota Motor Sales' youth-targeted vehicle, in 2002 and does project work for clients such as Adobe and Eurekster.Q: A lot of your clients target young people. Was this a conscious choice?A: Me, personally, I've always had a big interest in music and the record industry. I think a lot of designers as well, when they are young, aspire to be doing record covers. I think our niche, with the young designers we employ, and the advertising guys we employ, they are all that sort of type. What specifically sets your Scion work apart from similar products aimed at that target? The tagline, "What moves you." It engaged consumers within a unique brand experience that is actually reflective of them—from the very start. We've essentially taken great pains to ensure our designs and executions have always pushed the envelope in look, feel, sound and interactivity. Scion owners are fanatical about their vehicles, and our ads and materials have helped bring them to this point. Is viral marketing becoming so mainstream that it's becoming ineffective? It's definitely becoming more mainstream; there's no doubt. You've only got to look at the brands that are trying it. Even brands within the car industry. I definitely think that with Scion, we are leading in marketing to young people: not just in the media we use, not just in the viral, not just in the guerrilla; it's what the messages are, and the visual language that you use. You have got to know what product, but also where to put it, to be relevant. Still, relative to the rest of marketing, you're still talking about a minute percentage of media being spent on the viral/guerrilla area. In 2004, you and Sommerville were honored for your contributions to British design. What was it like to meet the Queen?Our business was started with the Prince's Trust. She is very interested about her son, so we talked to her about Prince Charles, whom we've met five times, at least. ... Her ears perked up, and we ended up talking to her for 10 or 15 minutes. All the ladies in waiting and whatnot were saying, "We've really got to move on." It was a great experience—you can't meet anybody much bigger than the Queen of England.Name the last ad that made you think, "I wish I had done that."IPod has done a great job, and obviously, they've got a fantastic product. I've always enjoyed watching HP. … I wish I had been the creative director on either HP or Apple. And Diesel. What's the smartest business decision you've ever made?[Starting design book series] Noise, and publishing [design] books, which gives our creatives in-house the opportunity to make some noise. There are no restrictions—whatever you do, even if it's rude, if it's un-P.C., whatever, if we feel it's relevant, and it works, under that design umbrella, go for it. It's also established Attik as one of the leading design companies in the world. And it also helps, from our perspective, on recruitment. And what's the dumbest?Way back in time, we didn't hire a proofreader. We were consistently printing projects that had, you know, 50,000 brochures, and there would be spelling mistakes in there. And guess who had to pay for them printing again? Name one person you're dying to work with.Steve Jobs. … The thinking behind what [he] does is really inspirational. Give me three words to describe yourself.Passionate, entrepreneurial … How about three words that describe how others perceive you?Short attention span.What is your biggest fear in life?Losing clients! You know, my biggest fear is going back to where I started. We've literally come from the gutter, and to get to where we are … which is the main reason we push forward so hard. We don't enjoy our own success. That's one of my biggest problems, I never stop and smell the roses.What do you consider the greatest accomplishment of your life so far?I would say [2-year-old son] Freddie Jay is that, but it wasn't hard to do. Basically, my life has been all about the business. So I would say taking the business from literally zero to an international company. Biggest pet peeve?I've got thousands. I'd say my biggest peeve is traveling: airports ... going through customs, getting your laptop out ... having to get undressed! What's on your nightstand? Water, my mobile phone, books, my watch, the joystick to the Xbox.What was the last CD/music you bought? An album by Athlete. Do you know Keane? If you like Keane, Stereophonics, Coldplay, you will like Athlete.What do you do when you're not working?I box.

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Simon Needham On The Spot

Celeste Ward

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Celeste Ward