10: more than a number
10 is the magic number. We’re kicking off a series of articles today shamelessly themed around the number 10. Why? Glad you asked. Sit down and I’ll tell you.
Many many years ago when I was 28 a small group of people (a small group of small people, come to think of it) walked out through the glass doors of their old place of employ and into a world crying out for their particular way of looking at the world.
Weighed down by as much computer equipment and hidden stationery as they could carry, the group became known as Head First. And so it was that the company which would be talked about and praised the world over, was born. The rest is history.
Isn’t it?
Ok, for those of you who haven’t seen the light we’ve cleverly hidden under a mound of old DVD cases all these years, here’s a little update on 10 years creating advertising and design for some of the most successful video games ever.
Over the years Head First have worked on projects from every publisher, large and small. Some of them have now vanished and some have grown into huge concerns representing the thrust of the mainstream publishing model. Whilst these models are currently changing, shifting over slightly to make more room for the bedroom coder once again, the publishing giants continue to hold the names dearest to our hearts. Or our thumbs.
Head First has played a pivotal role in this process whether it has been by creating through the line advertising for Resident Evil, designing the packaging for the Shaun The Sheep games or bringing together all the box and docs you eagerly unwrap after buying Call of Duty.
It’s a varied and interesting role in an industry that affects all other forms of entertainment, directly or indirectly.
When we occasionally lift our heads and peer into the pages of The Drum, Campaign and other publications devoted to chronicling the moves of those working alongside us in advertising and design, we are amused to read of agencies being awarded contracts to develop a small website for organisation X or a brand identity for product Y. Amused not because of the quality of the work that is produced, it’s mostly beautiful stuff that comes from Britain’s agencies. No, we are amused simply because it’s considered news. Head First produce this kind of thing regularly as part of the breakneck pace of life promoting video games.
In 10 years, Head First have focussed on creating the strategic view that underpins our approach to design and advertising. We’ve grown considerably since those early days (some of us more than others Carl) but even back then we understood the importance of being more than game aware.
For 10 years we have actively developed a world view to appreciate the many, complex influences affecting the lives of our audience. Our work reflects these influences and acknowledges the other decisions consumers face when making that choice of whether to buy or not to buy.
Our research into the more mainstream needs of the gamer, preceeded the Nintendo Wii by some years and we discovered a real thirst for an approach that is appropriate and relevant to life, not just to video games.
It’s this approach (or so we are told) that has generated interest from outside video games. Other markets have woken to the need to cross-pollinate their marketing strategies with our talents as the world around us becomes ever smaller but ever more exciting.
Tomorrow we’ll be looking at 10 years of our favourite stuff: stuff like games, films and even the changes in our lives. Because the one thing we’ve learnt over 10 years is that everything matters, everything is relevant to the work.
