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Taking over the USA: Richard Jefferson of Keltie Cochrane speaks to bdaily

When a colleague suggested we interview Keltie Cochrane for this international business feature, I questioned why an advertising, marketing and design agency would be suitable.

However on closer inspection of their website I was amazed at the vast array of national and international brands they have worked with – Aquascutum, Hasbro and Philips, so decided to give them a call.

“We’re not really a traditional export agency,” Richard Jefferson, one of the managing directors explains. ““But we were just lucky to get noticed in the US and grew from there.”

Ian Keltie and Jason Cochrane set up the business around 4 years ago, with Richard joining them 2 years later. The international side of the business developed when Ian’s work was noticed by an American tourist who saw one of his designs on the front cover of the London edition of ‘Time Out’ magazine.

“We then had some work commissioned in the States, and really started to get noticed,” Richard recounts. “We were then approached by a guy who offered to represent us in America, and we soon found ourselves getting more and more work from abroad, both through his efforts and our own.”

The turning point for the company was when the team were asked to design the cover artwork for a series of Star Wars novels, entitled ‘Fate of the Jedi’. This provided the team with fantastic publicity, and soon after the team began making trips out to America to generate further business.

“We were lucky enough to hit the market at the right time, and we’ve had a fantastic response to our unique, vibrant style of illustration,” says Richard.

The move into the transatlantic market has been a relatively smooth one for Keltie Cochrane, but it is clear that Richard, Ian and Jason put great effort into ensuring their pitch was perfect.

“I’d recommend that anyone looking to begin trading abroad thoroughly research their chosen marketplace and make sure they have a unique offering,” Richard explains.

“When we go out, we market ourselves as illustrators, rather than as an advertising and marketing agency, which really appeals to prospective customers. Equally, the fact that we’re British also gives us serious kudos with our American clients!.”

While no one from Keltie Cochrane has been out to America this year, Richard is keen to maintain the relationships they have established during previous visits to ensure they retain their strong US client base, which has grown to include global giants ESPN and the Wall Street Journal.

“They appreciate that we are willing to that little bit further to have a meeting, and while we can’t always be there in person, we are available pretty much all the time over the phone,” Richard continues.

“For example, this afternoon I’m presenting some work to Random House New York over Skype.”

Creating a relationship beyond the boardroom is important at Keltie Cochrane, and Richard is keen to portray the team and a “friendly easy going bunch”.

“One of my colleagues regularly sends out Newcastle United shirts to clients, and we’ve even managed to encourage some into watching Premier League games – we’re basically creating a Newcastle United supporters club in the USA,” he explains.

“This also gives us lots to talk about with our clients, which in turn helps up to build and maintain good relationships.”

In the next year Richard hopes to return to the US, and is considering the possibility of going to pitch in Canada. I’m surprised to discover how little time they spend on these trips considering the evident success of the country.

“We try to blitz different areas of the country in a week – its pretty hard going as often we have 9 or 10 meetings over 5 days, but it’s great fun.

“Our US clients are an absolute joy to work for, and in the future we’d love to set up a studio in California – the US really has been the land of opportunity for us.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .