August 25, 2015

We Celebrate Her: Cat Turner & Bridey Lipscombe, Founders of Cult LDN

Bridey Lipscombe and Cat Turner founded and currently run, London-based digital communications agency, Cult LDN.

The three-year-old agency has won prestigious awards, including a CLIO Grand Prix Award for the Marc Jacobs Daisy Tweet Shop in 2014. Cult LDN has also been a finalist for agency of the year and won various awards for multiple international campaigns.

Cat and Bridey have secured clients and run projects around the world in North America, Asia and across Europe. Clients include; Coty Inc., Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Chloé, BBC Worldwide, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Sally Hansen, Barbour, Jurlique and The Restaurant Group to name but a few.

Before launching Cult LDN, Cat headed up the Liberal Democrats social strategy for the 2010 election. Bridey co-founded Social Media Agency of the Year 2012. Cat, mother of a one-year-old, and Bridey have been named Digital Mavericks in Marketing Magazine’s top ten women in digital 2015.

Tell us about Cult LDN and what you do

Cult LDN is a digital communications agency that specialises in using social media in an innovative way. We have clients around the world in a number of different industries such as beauty, fashion, retail and hospitality.

On a day to day basis we both run all aspects of the business from creative and strategy through to financial and resourcing. We are now a team of over 30, but are still very hands on across all clients and working with each team member; that’s really important to us.

We founded the agency nearly three years ago – our third birthday is this November!

Why did you decide to set up Cult LDN?

Bridey and I had been working together at another agency for about a year. We saw so much potential for the business but were held back in so many ways. I guess you could say we were very ambitious but had never considered setting out on our own. It was an epiphany moment, and it allowed us to shape a business from scratch which we’ve found challenging yes, but also hugely rewarding and empowering.

What is it like working as business partners? (What are some of the challenges and benefits?)

We are thoroughly lucky to have one another as partners in crime (business!) We are very different people, with different approaches but have a shared vision, so it is great to work together and complement each other’s skills.

Communication is key. This can sometimes be the biggest challenge as we grow as we are both very busy, but we always find time to align and recalibrate so we can move forward together.

There are very few female founders of digital businesses. Have you had any difficulty in being taken seriously by your clients and peers within the industry? Or what have been the challenges?

Of course, there have been many times when we’ve been underestimated. But we flip this to our advantage, enabling us to impress both peers and clients with our ability. This kind of strategic thinking is what all entrepreneurs share, and it is that drive that we look for in the people we hire.I actually know a lot of women working in digital, it as a sector that provides opportunity for both women and men in all areas. As a relatively young industry there is a tendency to see a more even spread of successful people which is a big part of the attraction for us.

The challenges of being women in business mainly come from broad trends in expectation of what women’s capabilities are. We tend to be pretty gender-blind ourselves and aim to overcome any preconceptions pretty rapidly.

How did you find your first couple of clients? (How did you sell and pitch your ideas as a new venture?)

We started the business with one client. And we were hugely fortunate to turn this into three pretty quickly. And from this to five and so on. In the early days we took on work we barely made a profit on and sometimes even made a loss as we knew we had to have case studies to show our worth. We got our heads down and through sheer determination made this happen.We were very clear on our vision for the business and how we wanted to work for our clients.

You have worked with major celebrities and brands like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Chloé. How did you win these contracts and what was it like working with them?

The big name, large-scale clients are always is the ones people ask about first however, really we treat them the same as our smaller clients.They all require the same elements; creative strategy, professionalism and brave ideas.We have to admit though; when Katy Perry herself is impressed with your work it certainly makes the sleepless nights all the more worth it!Winning these opportunities has really been a combination of good fortune (luck) and hard work. We really see the value in word of mouth recommendations and like to think the quality of our work speaks for itself.

What has been your most favourite campaign?

Our longest and dearest client, the family-owned supermarket chain Booths, has been with us from day one. We have run the #BoothsCheers campaign with Booths 32 times over the past 3 years and it has organically trended on Twitter every time. This has to be one of our favourite campaigns.Aside from this, the Marc Jacobs Tweet Shop, #ChloeShadesOfRose Instagram Window and Davidoff #LoveTheOcean campaigns have been huge highlights. Alongside this we’ve been able to work with some companies we really admire such as Ecotricity, BBC Worldwide and The Global Poverty Project.

How do you motivate your team to be creative and innovative?

We have fantastic, driven and extremely smart people who make up the Cult LDN family.We are constantly learning and educating one another. Just as fast as we learn, our sector evolves so this is a daily part of our job.You can’t force creativity, but it can sometimes come from the most surprising places. So we ensure that we seek ideas from every person in the office and get everyone involved in brainstorms.

How do you balance running a business and managing your staff with raising a family or maintaining your personal life?

This is one thing that Bridey and I are still perfecting. It’s certainly one area that needs the greatest improvement!In short, it isn’t easy at all, and is a real art. We invest a huge amount of our time in the business which really impacts our personal lives respectively.Last year I became a mummy to a little boy, Leo. He’s now 15 months old and running around… He’s my #1 client and keeps me on my toes.

Who has helped you along the way in growing your business?

We have had incredible support from a number of people, especially our families and partners.We also have a team of business advisors and mentors who have helped us through the growth of the business.

What advice would you give to a young woman who wants to start a business in the digital sector?

Do it. Don’t be shy. This sector is ripe with opportunity.

Stay focused and committed to your vision.

Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions all the time. Two heads are far better than one and the digital sector is a really great one for knowledge sharing and innovation through collaboration.

What is next for Cult?

We are focused on organic growth and developing our work environment and culture. Two key goals for Cult over the next six months!

Cat will be one of our panelists at our next event with Go Think Big at Wayra on Wednesday 29th September. To book your ticket click here

Visit their website for more info: http://cultldn.com/