What can David do?
Need someone who can write? Build brands on social? A leader and manager who is fluent in internet culture? Call off the search, diva - you’ve found your perfect candidate. I’ve got over a decade of experience in multimedia storytelling and brand building for companies like TikTok, Starbucks, Soho House, Netflix, and British GQ.
You should hire me if you want an expert in building a strong social strategy, evolving your brand’s tone of voice, pushing into vertical video or if you need copy from the micro to the macro. In short: hire me to make your advertising, social or publication more intersectional, bold and funny.
Below are some of my career’s highlights. Want to look into my strategic work for Audi, Starbucks, first direct and other brands in-depth? Get in touch to discuss.
David’s deep understanding of cultural trends, niche communities, and the broader cultural landscape has made him an exceptionally effective marketer. His ability to connect with and engage our target audience is unparalleled, but what sets David apart is his collaborative spirit. - Jade Monange, Head of Social EMEA at TikTok
TikTok
I was in charge of evolving TikTok’s own UK social media channels, making them as relatable, funny and inclusive as their own user base, and building trust with cynical audiences. Over this time we smashed targets, were the dominant driver of follower growth across EMEA, worked with international parties both within TikTok and without, and created high-impact social media campaigns and activations with Netflix, the Oliviers, and both Team GB and Paralympics GB for the 2024 Olympics.
first direct
First direct have always been a warm, inclusive and down-to-earth voice. When I came on, they were looking to introduce a new skunk mascot and push into younger audiences to diversify their clientele. With the help of a bank of meme-referencing skunk gifs, wry copywriting and skunk-on-the-street interviews, we made our client very happy with a very difficult ask: making the very intricate world of banking feel relatable and fresh.
Starbucks
Starbucks in EMEA is built up of fractured franchises we had to unify. With a dedicated team of designers, creatives and copywriters we created Always On content that worked across 2.5 continents and built trust with each region. The good news: where regions shared our work, it consistently blew their previous work out of the water. I also devised social campaigns for international product launches and helped run their product-focused campaigns, and eventually they brought me on to run their reactive and community management for the UK as well. My proudest achievement was regularly challenging what Starbucks thought they could be: I pushed their aesthetic to include 16-bit graphics and anime references, and pushed their tone of voice to allow for moments of surrealism and comedy within their warm tone.
British GQ
As News and Features Editor I profiled celebrities, wrote lengthy features, commissioned articles, ran photoshoots, directed and produced video productions, co-edited our first Black History Month issue and edited our first Pride issue. I was brought on to make a legacy brand as weird, queer and young as I was. Anyone I worked with would tell you I succeeded and then some.