Mad Brave at MadeBrave

By Alixandra Rutnik on Mar 24, 2022

A look inside the Scottish creative agency founded on authenticity


It all started with one courageous act ten years ago– MadeBrave’s CEO and founder, Andrew Dobbie had 1000 £ in the bank and a newborn baby and thought, “why not launch a creative agency too?” What most people would consider an act of insanity, Andrew viewed as an act of pure bravery. Andrew is MadeBrave, after all.


MadeBrave’s neon-lit headquarters are located in Glasgow, Scotland. They are only 10 minutes from the city center, which apparently looks something like Brooklyn did 15 years ago. MadeBrave has two additional smaller, but growing offices in Edinburgh, Scotland, and London, England.

The Glasgow space is in a legacy building that was built when The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow took place in 2014. It is open concept equipped with event space, and a boozy bar, which is perfect for their Friday Happy Hours as a team.

In case you need to work on your upper body strength, they also have a chin up bar for the occasional employee chin-up competition. And when you need a quiet meeting space, they have individual sound-proof-booths too.

The tiny little city of Glasgow has influenced much larger, much more familiar locations. “Glasgow is a mini New York City,” explains Office Manager, Barbara Sharp. “Glasgow’s grid pattern is literally what New York is based on.”

Aside from the structural similarities, Glasgow and New York City also share a liveliness. “Scotland as a country is overflowing and brimming with culture, spark, energy, and talent– it is the most not boring country in the world,” Mark Cullen, Head of Strategy adds.

Project Manager, Lamour Nash just moved from London to Glasgow because she fell in love with the Scottish culture, people, and scenery. “The warmth from people in Scotland and Glasgow is like glue that allows you to be more creative and have more confidence,” Claire Scullion, Head of PR comments.

New to MadeBrave’s London team, Art Director, Naresh Subhash adds, “it’s a misconception that everything happens in London. I think creativity can exist in any city, and an agency can thrive in any city.”

Naresh made the switch from a large, non-diverse London agency to MadeBrave (he even took a pay cut!) because as a company, they prioritize mental health, diversity, and supporting each other. “It is so important to see people like you across the screen and see people who believe in what you do, and to work with people who lift up your authentic selves– that is why I made the decision to go to MadeBrave,” Naresh explains.

"It is so important to see people like you across the screen and see people who believe in what you do, and to work with people who lift up your authentic selves– that is why I made the decision to go to MadeBrave."

As far as creative agencies go, MadeBrave’s culture is top-notch. They are all about collaborating and working together as a team. Andrew even turned his individual office into a meeting room so he could work alongside his staff.

MadeBrave’s mission is to encourage their clients to be a little bit braver at every turn, and they strive to inspire with creativity, not just sell ads. At their core, “MadeBrave is about creativity, innovation, and pushing boundaries with clients,” Campaign Manager, Heather Robertson emphasizes.

MadeBrave is known for having burrito lunches on the ping-pong table (which really aggravates the hardcore ping-pong players), making the annual Christmas film (a company passion project), and throwing the most epic themed parties (like Back to the Future). As much as they love playing ping-pong, they love a good game of Mario Kart too.

This past Christmas, they hired a giant for their Christmas film, so at their Christmas party, of course, they had giant props– a giant ice cream cone, so large, that they had to lift it through the window because it couldn’t fit up the stairs.

And, for their 7th Birthday Party, they had a colorful ball pit. And for their 10th Birthday Party– well that theme still remains a secret and will be a big surprise. It will be something true to MadeBrave– unexpected and grand.

At MadeBrave they prioritize a work-life balance, family, and mental health. They love to be around each other and work together as a team. “The office Andrew has built is so interactive– it encourages community and communication,” Barbara adds. And they have had rapid growth amidst a pandemic. A year ago they were at 40 people across their three offices and today they are at 63 and actively recruiting. “Arms and legs grow arms and legs at MadeBrave,” Ben Neilson, Brand and Marketing Designer comments.

"Arms and legs grow arms and legs at MadeBrave."

Andrew has created an authentic space and culture where employees feel valued, because of his transparency, honesty, and humanity. He is the CEO, but he is real and that is why MadeBrave is so vibrant. He laughs over memes with his team and knows how to have fun. “I have to remind myself that he is the CEO,” Claire says.

Andrew sincerely believes that “creativity is in everyone.” Ideas come from all over. “The creatives are encouraged to think strategically and the thinkers are encouraged to think creatively,” Heather says. “He really knows when to pull on people’s talent and skill.”

And Andrew can’t stop thinking up new ideas. Naresh points out, “he is the King of Hustle.” Mark continues, “it’s a fast agency– you start to surf the pace and enjoy it.”

But MadeBrave is not only about work and winning awards– it’s another place to call home. “It’s about the work and how much we love doing the work, and how much we work well with each other,” Heather explains.

In the past 10 years, MadeBrave has successfully put Scotland on the map. Everyone is excited about the evolution of the agency over the next 10 years. MadeBrave has fully embraced the hybrid work model, and it is definitely working for them over in Scotland. “We are growing up, but keeping the heritage of being young, creative, and playful,” Ben says.

The pandemic was a true testament to their strong and passionate culture.“COVID was the ultimate culture test for a company. If there was any culture worth anything it had to survive that year. Not only did MadeBrave produce some of our best ever work during that time, but also we doubled in size,” Mark states. At this rate, MadeBrave is bound to go global– MadeBrave New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami are not far behind. “We haven’t even gotten started,” Claire concludes.

"COVID was the ultimate culture test for a company. If there was any culture worth anything it had to survive that year. Not only did MadeBrave produce some of our best ever work during that time, but also we doubled in size."

MADEBRAVE.COM


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