Former Epiphany Search creative director launches content studio

A FORMER creative director at Epiphany Search has launched a digital content studio and publishing house, which is currently working with Matalan, HGF, Nicole Fahri, the Leeds 2023 Capital of Culture bid and tech-based start-up Verticly.

HeadOfffice, founded by Gaz Battersby, will focus on developing its own in-house digital publications, as well as providing creative services to its brand partners.

Mr Battersby said the venture will adopt an “audience-first approach” to content, using its publishing arm to reach and engage individuals in target niches, and its creative service to help brands find and connect emotionally with their audiences. Its first publication is due to launch early 2017.

The venture is made up of a small, multi-skilled team of designers, developers and writers in its Leeds-based studio.

Mr Battersby said: “Branded content fails because it lacks the authenticity to truly connect with an audience. With HeadOfffice, we want to help our partners find a voice that is credible, trustworthy and human. Content marketing needs to be truly audience focused, and we want to fight against the current landscape where specialist agencies piggyback on the practice and ignore humans in place of algorithms. It is time for the tail to stop wagging the dog.

“We’ve all worked in large agencies before, and believe the traditional agency model – the bureaucracy and politics, the hierarchy and job titles – is detrimental to the creative process, meaning the work produced benefits the agency’s own bloated structure as opposed to the client and its audience.

“We’ve created a modern, connected studio of individuals who can perform a variety of different tasks, and are motivated to create meaningful, different experiences to engage individuals. We want HeadOfffice to have an open door policy, with desks available for like-minded freelancers to work alongside us, sharing thoughts and ideas in a collaborative workspace.”

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