Fashion faux pas, friendly banter and Mr Simon Dover… it’s a funny business

Simon Dover - A very 'hands-on' style employer....
it's just exactly what his hand’s on that you have to worry about.

Steven Barnes, Production

I was first introduced to Simon back in '89 on work experience (when all this was fields). To be honest, at first I didn't quite know what to think. Funny? Yes. Welcoming? Yes. Good at his Job? Yes. Big 80's Moustache? Absolutely.  

But was he a mate I could have a great laugh with or was he my boss? The answer was both. I think that's what makes Simon so unique. I am always impressed how that 'friendly' approach forged many long-term client relationships, making dealing with clients easy as they feel relaxed and often become friends (well most of them!).

Darryl Akerman, Design Director

First impressions: "This man is a little bit strange"
And now: "Idealogy's best oddity!"

Shelley Crouch, Designer

When I first had the pleasure of meeting Mr Dover he was clearly a big presence (no pun intended) in the then Selling Ideas. He knew his stuff in business terms but brought in clients not just through the skill of the team but through his personable nature and attitude - we were fun to work with.

Little did I know that 11 years later he'd be one of the few people that I could randomly email about 'meeting me at a Harvester' and he would know exactly what I meant, replying 'only if the horseradish is freshly made'. Unique!

Paul Skinner, Digital Media Developer

 “Brown shoes with black trousers… do YOU think they go?” said Simon Dover  “Er not really my taste but fine if YOU like them.” said the interviewee passing him on a tour of the building.

That interviewee was me and little did I know that was my ‘impressive’ opening line to my new MD!

Rarely do you work for someone who believes in such an open door policy – in fact there are no doors and there is always an encouraging word when things get tough. An obsessive wordsmith, with good old fashioned typographic values Mr D is the person behind most of the words here at Idealogy. He knows a lot of things about a lot of stuff and what he doesn’t know – he’ll find out.

Under his guidance and amazing networking skills, the company has grown from strength to strength. And I’m still here… 6 years on, so maybe he values my wardrobe advice after all. Or maybe it’s my lemon drizzle cake!

Anna Ecuyer, Client Services Manager

A role model networker, who is passionate about pleasing customers.

James Surridge, Director, Demand Strategy

It's been so long since I first met Simon  and the only way I can actually remember what he used to look like before the worries of running a small business aged him, is by looking in the 20th anniversary book!! Not pretty.

Still, from start to finish Simon has been one of the most interesting, intelligent and different bosses I have worked for. Covering a wide range of disciplines cannot be easy and managing a group of 'creatives' can only make it harder. Through the ups and down of a growing business, from recessions to redundancies, boom time to bloody hell time he has always been there making decisions and steering the company in the general direction it should be going, and he must be doing something right as we're still here 20 years on.

I can't really fault much about my boss, not just because he'll read this but because being at this company has shaped my career path into something I still hold a great interest in -  and not many companies can do that for their staff - and that's one of the biggest benefits of a company like this, run the way it is. Well done Simon, shame you support the Saints! :o)

Simon Johnson, Digital Media Director

First impression: Entertaining, slightly mad, scary moustache
And now: Entertaining, slightly more mad, generous, starbucks/ bacon bap lover, copywriter extraordinaire. 

Charlotte Blake, Finance Manager

I met Simon 16 months ago on my first day at Idealogy. With his bold as brass demeanour tone he turned to me and said, "Hi Dan, do you like Santana?" In a fairly blunt manner I replied, "No I don't." and rattled off some artists I did like. I had killed that conversation dead and he moved on. As soon as Simon had gone I turned and said, "What does Simon do at Idealogy?" the reply… "He's the boss".

Every time Simon walked into the room there was a humourous verbal outburst and I soon realised how random and interesting life was going to be in my new job.

One thing’s for sure, he knows his onions and will go out of his way to help anyone. As Captain of this ship he’s obviously doing something right. May our working relationship stay on an even keel!

Here's a quick limerick that for me sums him up…

I met a wordsmith called Simon Dover
Turn to him when in wordy bother,
Asked, "Can you help me?"
He'll say "Sit on my knee"
Blink and he's sent the copy over. 

Dan Soutan, Designer

First impressions: "Really, he's the boss? /lol"
Lasting impressions: "It's your turn to get the Friday ferry beers in" - Simon. D
"WTF again?" - Richard.S

Richard Spinks, Developer

Simon is good at:
•    Getting stuck in to a project, warts an' all
•    Writing copy that's fresh, relevant and interesting to read
•    Motivating those around him to strive for better
•    Asking the questions every body else forgets
•    Inspiring trust in our clients
Simon is bad at:
•    Sitting on the fence – he just tells it how it is,
•    Resisting the urge for a bacon roll and a Starbucks
•    Choosing good music to replace Jeremy Vine's radio show
•    Giving up because it looks a bit tricky
•    Sensible office nights-out 

Nick Hart, Account Manager

Spring 1995. Oasis release Some Might Say. Take That were Back For Good and Bruce Willis was dying hard... again. The partnership I was working for went belly up and Take That swiftly followed suit.

I was 21, looking for a new job and soon an opportunity arose. An interview with one Mr. Simon Dover. The date was set and the venue… his house!

I was greeted by his lovely family, all in the middle of watching a Prince concert. Bravely I ignored the tittering and all 5’ 4” of me shimmied, in my black suit and purple shirt, through to their kitchen where a table had been arranged to have the interview. I say arranged, Simon had moved the condiments out of the way and used his cuff to give the table the once over. He introduced himself and gave me the rundown of Selling Ideas (as it was then). My first impressions were of a well-mannered chap with the sort of facial hair that would have given Bruce Grobbelaar ‘tache envy. A sort of Benny Hill - Inspector Clouseau hybrid if you will.

As I turned the pages of my portfolio, I heard a sound that can only be described as a fox choking on a custard slice! “Sorry about that” exclaimed Simon “That’s my son Tom. He’s not feeling great at the moment”. I continued in the most professional a manner I could muster in the surrounding madness and it went well all things considered. Following an 'enlightening' visit to the studio, plus some gentle hassling from me, I got the job.

So here I am 15 years later, still trying to work in professional a manner amongst the madness. Simon is still the same old lover of great typography and lasagne sandwiches that I remember. The hairs a little greyer the ‘tache is now a Frank Darabont goatee but more importantly he has always been someone who continues to give a damn in this cynical industry, putting people first at every level of the business.

Summer 2010. Oasis release their greatest hits and Take That ARE in fact Back For Good. I also hear Bruce Willis will indeed be dying hard again. Some old guys just don’t know when to stop. Including Bruce Willis. 

Dave Birch, Senior Designer

When I first met Simon, he seemed to be a cool guy and made me at ease with his smiles.

All I can say is that I am very lucky to have him as a boss, although he hates when I say that!! He is very kind, friendly, caring and generous but most of all he always knows when I don't understand something, explains it again to me and always makes me laugh!

Karine Djivanian, Client Liaison Administrator

And finally…

The A – Z of words I associate with my friend and colleague Mr Simon Dover.

Anal
Brilliant
Chocolate
Danny La Rue
Eggs & Bacon
Friendly
Generous
Hungry
Ingenious
Jovial
Kind
Laughter
Muffins
Norwegian Music
Oral
Pants
Queer
Red Funnel
Sting
Touchy
Undress
Vacation
Wind
Xmas Party
Y-Fronts
Zany

Paul Wright, Operations Director

 

Posted by all of Idealogy

Simple Simon says you’re gonna be No.1!

Simple web site helps brand to No.1 UK OTC skincare position by becoming powerful charity, recruitment and partnership campaign promotional tool.

Simple is, today, the UK’s No.1 Over The Counter Facial Skincare brand. Built on over 50 years experience in caring for all skin types, this journey to market ascendancy has been a potent combination of teamwork, product development and powerful market and audience awareness.

Simple takes as much pride in using the right ingredients for your skins’ needs, as it does in creating all the relevant building blocks to help it reach this remarkable achievement.

One of the cornerstones of the program has been the use of www.simple.co.uk as a powerful communications, commercial, recruitment and partnering vehicle. In recent months extraordinary effort and creativity has gone into generating some ‘best-in-class’ campaigns like SkinTrition™, Search for a Simple Star and the Simple Challenge.

As a key part of the Simple Brand team, Idealogy’s Director of Digital Demand, Simon Johnson, and his team were asked to turn these campaign concepts into natural, user-experience driven, on-line environments by using simple.co.uk to it’s fullest extent and incorporating a vivid, memorable and valuable web experience - at the same time providing advice, nutrient knowledge, healthy eating recipes, games, the opportunity to make important charity donations, and a social-media style recruitment platform.

Technically, the front-end campaigns were simple enough (no pun intended) but the back office was a functional minefield. Getting all kinds of publishable data to link and be searchable, from ingredients, nutrients and recipes. Acquiring personal data, encouraging 3rd party voting and behaving like a Facebook style social utility by matching Simple brand characteristics to personal attitudes, values and lifestyles. Using a viable e-commerce model to generate £50,000 of donations for MacMillan, the UK’s best-loved charity, to help improve the lives of people affected by cancer.

And, on the face of it, we did a great job. Such powerful and emotive communication and technical competence has helped push Simple’s brand awareness and, ultimately, it’s market position to the top of the pile.

But don’t let anyone tell you that it was simple getting there!

Posted by Idealogy

Rabbit, rabbit, bunny jabber, yup, yup!

A psychologist might say that a young lady who spends excessive time playing with her little bunny, and with a track record of many midnight trips with a prone Oscar (the Dwarf Lop Rabbit!) to Pet A&E, is a strong indication that things are not all well in the hutch.

Despite her lapine tendencies, one of Idealogy’s newest recruits, Shelley Crouch, is hardly ‘hopping mad” – which is exactly the point! Getting her to come out of her shell has been the biggest challenge.

Her work, as one of our cross-media designers, is high, high quality. Her willingness to learn new disciplines, such as web based design and HTML and CSS coding – no worries! And her strange passion for Trance music makes her fit right in with the, let’s just say, eclectic musical oeuvre of the Idealogy Design team. And she loves the slightly ‘bloke-ish’ humour that glues the whole thing together.

But now, well into her 2nd year, things are changing – she’s become a strong defender of her design principles and a regular contributor to a broad range of digital matters. And we’re waiting for the moment when she tries to recruit a few of the lads to dress up in wigs and prance around the IOW Bestival. Perhaps more to the point, she’s not afraid to have a dig at her managers. In fact, to quote Chaz and Dave, “now I don’t mind ‘avin a chat, but you have to keep givin’ it that”

So, to put the psychologist in his place, we’re all very happy that Shelley is now well and truly out of her shell.

The problem we’ve got is getting her back in it!

Posted by Idealogy

Thank Flikr it's Friday!

It's that time again, so get over to Flikr and have a look at some of the things that Idealogy have been dreaming up for our clients lately.

You know you want to...

Posted by Idealogy

Simple SkinTrition™ - natural ingredients, great advice, fabulous skin, all within a vivid on-line experience.

Simple, the UK’s No.1 Facial Skincare brand, has over 50 years experience in caring for all skin types, even the most sensitive. Simple prides itself on using only the ingredients that your skin needs - and nothing that it doesn’t, so you can trust the natural goodness in all products. Simple skincare isn’t just about how you look on the outside, it’s about looking after the inside too, which is why the experts at Simple have developed Simple SkinTrition™.

As a key part of the Simple Brand team, Idealogy were asked to turn that vision into a natural on-line environment, extending simple.co.uk and incorporating a vivid, memorable and valuable web experience providing advice, nutrient knowledge, healthy eating recipes and games.

And, on the face of it, we did a great job…a more detailed blog will follow soon.

Posted by Idealogy

Analog or digital? Left or right side of the brain? Town-y or country girl? Anna keeps us all on our toes...

How well do any of us really know Anna Ecuyer, Idealogy’s very own Bristolian?

The story so far - Anna joined us from a local PR and Design Agency, but prior to that, the greater part of her career was forged on the London Agency circuit. So, nothing the provinces could throw at her was going to be tougher than that experience.

When her husband Toby landed the key role as Creative Director at a leading super yacht, luxury motor and sailing yacht design consultancy, Anna didn’t think twice about changing to a life by the sea or, for that matter, committing herself to her career with an out-of-town consultancy – and that was where her (to date) 6 year relationship with Idealogy began, progressing from her initial role as Senior Designer, to Client Services Manager, through to her role today as Key Account Manager, handling the relationships and account services for many of Idealogy’s leading B2C Clients.

So what does she find so engaging about her work at Idealogy? Well, in her words, it was “the first time I really felt the ‘benefit’ of leaving London and the change of lifestyle.” And this highlights the most valuable characteristic about Anna’s approach to her work –achieving a sustainable work/life balance. She works fantastically hard, and is one of the most, if not the most, diligent worker in the business. But ask her and she’ll say, ‘I work like this because I value the time I get to spend by the sea, in the forest, with my boy, walking Polly (her beautiful Hungarian Vizsla, and now the Company dog), doing interior decorations, and, of course, gardening’.

So, actually, we do know an awful lot about Anna, and, by return, she knows an awful lot about her colleagues – which is another thing she finds intriguing, compelling and, lets say it, bizarre about Idelaogy. It feels like working alongside nutty uncles, older brothers and strange, twice removed cousins. So, it’s a dysfunctional yet highly individual family. But what she revels in is her own space, within her hectic working and social lifestyle, to watch good movies by the fireside, to try to read lots of books and to get back to her piano playing roots.

For those of us who think we know her, theres a lot of stuff we possibly don’t realise – and that’s a good thing; a constituent part of keeping a balance and keeping a distance. “Work is great, but life is so much better…”

Yep! She’s going to continue to keep us all guessing!

Posted by Simon Dover

Getting your teeth stuck into Finance - It doesn’t have to be a pain in the neck!

For over a dozen years, Charlie Blake (she’s a lady!) has been responsible for the financial management of Idealogy and for Selling Ideas before that. Initially she joined as a Financial Assistant but quickly became the mainstay of everything money-side in the business, working to develop internal systems, proper project finance records, at the same time building solid, long-term relationships with clients and suppliers alike.

And, as with jobs of this nature, she’s had to take the rough with the smooth – finance is never a straight path – using the good times to create systems and methods in preparation for the much heralded (and now very real) downturn. But she has committed wholesale to the challenge while also finding the time to raise two lovely girls of her own, Hannah and Gracie, and there have been times, we’re sure, when she may have thought that she’d bitten off more than she could possibly chew. Her response? Up the qualifications, skills and experience and lets see what we can continue to improve or cost control!

Charlie loves the ‘continuity’ of the business and, by that, she means that many of her colleagues have been in the business as long, if not longer, than she has. So she knows the people side of the organisation intimately, she has many friends within, and loves that there are no subjects that are taboos. Except when it comes to her other passions – horror or vampire movies and The National Trust. Both of those tend to get people, except the weirdoes, rushing for the exit doors.

No matter – she soldiers on, knocking over hurdles that continually get placed in the way of SME’s. She’s now worked on 3 internal reorganisations and is still smiling, because she marks it down to experience. Add to all this her long-term commitment to improve her CIMA qualifications, her role as a School Governor, a full-time Mum, and her new iPhone, and life is, at best, a difficult act to balance.

Good to know she’s sinking her teeth in with such relish!

Posted by Idealogy