Independent Creative Advisor to CMOs and founders.
Refined creative judgement. Right where you want it.
I help CMOs and founders make sharper creative decisions at critical inflection points - a rebrand, a big campaign, a resource rethink, or a high-value special project.
Increasingly, those special projects sit at the intersection of creativity, technology and business transformation - from defining how a brand can build trust in the age of A.I., to designing a better in-house creative process with the most appropriate platforms, to ensuring a new brand proposition has the depth to drive GEO success.
AI can make creativity faster, broader and more efficient. But without judgement, it can just as easily make it lazier, flatter and less distinctive. I help my clients get the benefits without losing the quality.
I’ve moved between client-side and agency-side, global brands and startups, B2B and B2C - across branding, advertising, film, digital, social, partnerships, PR, experiential and culture. This breadth gives me something that matters more than ever: refined creative judgement.
Today, I work mainly across technology & engineering, sport & wellness, and lifestyle & entertainment.
I’m an independent consultant, with an incredible network, so there are no layers, no big-agency machinery and no unnecessary overheads. Just commercially sharp creative support, exactly when and where it’s useful.
How I help.
Creative Counsel
I work as a trusted partner for leaders who want senior creative input - without having to bring in an agency or ‘go public’ every time something important comes up.
Sometimes the most useful thing I provide is creative clarity and confidence. My clients often say how helpful it is to have someone independent to quietly talk to about their creative challenges.
Helpful when:
A CMO is stretched. A founder needs a sounding board. Something creatively complex is moving quickly. Senior stakeholders need an external expert to guide them on a creative journey.
Creative Direction
In a Creative Director role I lead and lift the creative quality of business-critical creative projects like proposition development, rebranding, launches, campaigns and pitches.
I can work directly with an internal team, lead an incumbent agency, or bring a ‘Hot Team’ of specialists together around a creative challenge. My branding agency, 17days, sometimes helps here.
Helpful when:
The value proposition that underpins everything needs sharpening up. A new brand needs building from scratch. A CMO needs world class creative ideas without agency complexity and cost.
Creative Operations
I help businesses improve how creativity actually happens - from integrating AI thoughtfully into a creative process to energising creative culture to connecting clients with other specialists from my network.
My impact isn’t simply greater efficiency. It is a creative operation that understands how to bring people and technology together to produce better work, more consistently.
Helpful when:
The quality of creativity is not where it needs to be. Creative teams are reluctant to use AI and need help exploring it’s value. Specialist capabilities are needed, but without adding permanent headcount.
Commercial Creativity in action.
The UK’s greatest A.I. success story needed someone to lead their rebrand ahead of a $1.5billon funding round.
I was introduced to Wayve’s CMO by Firstminute Capital - Brent Hoberman’s investment company, for which I had just completed a rebrand. I brought in design agency, Crush, and led a complete rebrand, including website design and build, content production and the development of an internal values system.
Rebrand Creative Direction.
Wayve - Autonomous Driving.
F-Secure - Cybersecurity.
Creative Counsel , Multiple Project Creative Direction.
The Finland-based global cybersecurity company gets my senior creative input across a wide range of projects.
I maintain a close consultative relationship with the CMO, bringing creative guidance and direction to ‘special projects’ such as a creative perspective on ‘trust in the age of A.I.’, brand identities for new products, and campaign concepts for F-Secure partners in the U.S. including Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T.
Creative Direction.
The health club needed senior creative firepower to define the value proposition, identity and launch of it’s new luxury tier.
I worked in the CD role with New Brand Futures to win the work and develop the vision for what a contemporary, premium health and wellness club should look like, feel like and offer. We then introduced the client to a wider network of specialists to deliver the launch.
Aily - Decision Intelligence.
Multiple Project Creative Direction, Creative Operations.
The enterprise Decision Intelligence startup wanted to sharpen its value proposition, brand and campaigns, post $80m series B.
I work closely with communications specialist, Louise Everett, in an Exec Creative Director role. We interface directly with Aily CEO, Bianca Anghelina, bringing flare and rigour to how Aily ‘shows up’ in the enterprise A.I. marketplace. We’re also guiding how Aily’s in-house teams use A.I. to drive creative production efficiency.
Accenture - Technology Division.
Creative Counsel. Creative Direction.
Former Technology Lead, Zahra Bahrololoumi, invited me to help create and evolve the division’s event program, over three years.
Zahra wanted to create a technology event that would draw Accenture, their partners and customers together around cutting edge debate and solutions. I created and led ‘Kaleidoscope’ - a live event that drove millions in pipeline, and became an annual feature on the tech ecosystem calendar. Zahra is now CEO of Salesforce UK&I.
Virgin Active - Health Club.
Creative Counsel.
The health club needed senior creative firepower to define the value proposition, identity and launch of it’s new luxury tier.
I worked in the CD role with New Brand Futures to win the work and develop the vision for what a contemporary, premium health and wellness club should look like, feel like and offer. We then introduced the client to a wider network of specialists to deliver the launch.
Acid Running - Apparel.
Creative Counsel.
I am a strategic investor in this London-based running apparel brand and give ongoing creative counsel to the founder.
Acid has an incredibly strong brand proposition, leaning into the mental challenge and reward of running. I am a sounding board and network connector for the founder. We meet regularly, discuss where the brand is going at a macro level, and what moves to make at a more micro level as the business expands its marketing activity, D2C sales and global wholesale.
FLOWBIO - Hydration Tech.
Creative Counsel. Creative Direction.
I led the proposition development and full rebrand for FLOWBIO as it moved into it’s next growth phase, post-investment round.
I worked closely with the founder, tightening the value proposition and bringing more impact to the intellectual property at the heart of the brand. Central to this was the establishment of FLOWBIO’s ‘Advanced Hydration Intelligence’ data engine - something that future investors could buy into as a long term value stream, beyond sport.
Snack Media - Sports Media.
Creative Counsel.
The CEO of one the world’s largest sports content platforms retained me for creative guidance across the two years before sale.
I led the rebrand and gave close counsel to the CEO as the business evolved in the build up to sale. This was highly strategic and commercially motivated work as a kind of ‘brand guardian’ ensuring the business continually reinforced its distinctive proposition in the market, whilst demonstrating versatility and growth.
Always at the leading edge of creativity.
Rather than become an uber-specialist in one craft or channel, I’ve let my curiosity lead me and my breadth of experience carry me forward.
From the early days when ‘Integrated Marketing Communications’ was a new thing, to the rise of experiential marketing, the impact of social media, the avalanche of ‘content’, and now, the pandora’s box of A.I. - I’ve always put myself in the middle of change, played with it and made it my business to understand where the real value lies.
June 2020-Present
Independent Creative Advisor
Creative Office of Josh Robinson
Senior creative guidance for CMOs and founders. Google, Amazon Ads, F-Secure, Virgin Active, F1, Aily.
June 2020-Present
Founder & Creative Director
17days (Brand Consultancy)
Brand development for startups and SMEs including Wayve, FLOWBIO, Muuvr, Amigo, Inspired, Corvera.
October 2013 - May 2020
Creative Director, Sport & Brand Exp.
ENGINE Group (Integrated)
Partner - Accenture, Google, Under Armour, Bose, Vitality, Mitsubishi, Jägermeister, IOC.
June 2011 - September 2013
Director of Creative & Integration
Sports Revolution (Mediatech)
Leading the evolution of StadiumLive with Cisco, and campaigns for Heineken, BP, UEFA and more.
February 2010 - June 2011
Co-Founder & Creative Director
Robinson Pincus (Social Media)
Established the first ever sponsorship x social media agency - MacDonalds, UEFA, WWE and more.
September 2009 - February 2010
Director
Brandnew (Design and Internal Comms)
Brought in to redefine the agency’s proposition.
May 2006 - August 2009
Head of Strategy & Creative
Experience Worldwide (Integrated)
Leading Omnicom’s European experiential and partnerships - SAP, Heineken, Grey Goose and more.
April 2001 - May 2006
Creative Director
The Works (Partnerships & Events)
First Creative Director role leading work for Coca-Cola portfolio, Canon, Sun Microsystems, WWF and more.
January 1999 - December 2000
Head of Sports Marketing M.E.
Oakley Inc. (Eyewear)
First ever ‘proper job’, based in Dubai, establishing Oakley’s sports marketing operation for the Middle East. What a ride!