Work
Formidable expands team of creative specialists with four new hires
Social-first creative agency Formidable appoints a Social Strategist in a newly-created role to enhance its social division. Steve Whiting joins the agency following five years as Social Lead and Consultant for brands including Adobe and BBC Maestro. With over 15 years of social media experience working with various brands and agencies, he will play a key role in growing Formidable’s social offering beyond creative and production, and provide valuable strategic counsel for clients.
Steve Whiting comments: “The team at Formidable create truly exceptional campaigns for the brands and partners they work with; I’m excited for all the creative opportunities that lay ahead.”
In addition, a further two new hires join Formidable in newly-created positions to strengthen the agency’s creative firepower. Charlotte Polley-Hughes is appointed as Junior Creative while George Cheetham is appointed as Senior Creative Project Manager, having previously spent 2 years as Creative Project Manager within Formula 1.
As part of Formidable’s plans for growth, the team expansion also includes the appointment of a Communications Director to help drive awareness of the agency and its creative work. Katie Crosta brings 17 years of communications experience to Formidable, working with UK brands including Sony Pictures Entertainment, ITV, Philips, and Adobe DMe, as well as global creative studios.
Whiting and Polley-Hughes will report to Creative Director Elin KlockareJarlstrom. Crosta and Cheetham will report to Founder Nik Selman, who comments: “Our clients have ambitious plans for 2025, and so do we. This variety of fresh thinking and new skillsets will bolster us in all the right areas as we enter an exciting year for the agency.”
Founder Pete Gibbons speaks to Entrepreneur UK about the origins of the agency and its evolution
Pete Gibbons, co-founder of London based, social-first creative agency, Formidable, shares how a casual Nando’s meeting sparked a decade-long journey of creativity, adaptability, and business evolution.
What inspired you to start your business?
My co-founder Nik Selman and I started the business in 2014, I was running a company on my own, and he was looking for the next adventure after 13 years at Freuds. Other than that we knew our skillsets could combine to create something special but, looking back on it, we didn’t yet have a detailed plan for how that manifested itself. We met for a Nando’s and worked out there was a gap in the market for an agency with our joint offering, so we went for it, and here we are 10 years later.
Read the full article on Entrepreneur.com
Formidable wins seven awards at The Lovies
Formidable has won seven awards at The Lovies, including the prestigious People’s Lovies, for their hero content of Red Bull’s skydiving feat “Wings Through Tower Bridge” and “Sporty AF”, a YouTube series for Team GB.
Red Bull “Wings Through Tower Bridge” was recognised in the Social: Sports category, which celebrates social media content dedicated to sports news, sports culture, sporting events and sports history. It received a People’s Lovie Award and a Silver Lovie. The project also won Bronze in the Social: Entertainment & Sports category.
Team GB “Sporty AF”, a YouTube series featuring conversations with female athletes in Olympic sports, secured a People’s Lovie Award and a Silver Lovie in the Social: Best Social Content Series category.
The coveted Lovie Awards celebrate internet excellence in the fields of culture, technology and business throughout Europe.
Nik Selman, Co-Founder at Formidable says “The team here is beaming about our haul at the Lovies this year, and rightly so for the outstanding work we delivered. It makes it even sweeter when we pick up a couple of gongs via public vote.
The Lovies – Wings Through Tower Bridge
The Lovies – Sporty AF
Formidable shortlisted for The Lovies and Broadcast Sport Awards
Formidable’s hero content of Red Bull’s daring feat, “Wings Through Tower Bridge”, has made the shortlist for the Broadcast Sport Awards and The Lovies.
The Broadcast Sport Awards is the leading UK awards for content in sport. It celebrates the best of sport on TV and digital platforms – from documentaries and live production to social media, advertising and marketing campaigns. “Wings Through Tower Bridge” has been shortlisted in the ‘Short-Form Content of the Year’ category, which honours content creation of noteworthy execution that has excelled at maximising reach and engagement with its target audience.
The Lovie Awards is the most prestigious and coveted award recognising European Internet excellence in the fields of culture, technology and business and is presented by the European arm of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS)—a membership body comprised of leading Internet experts, business figures, luminaries, visionaries, artists, and talented entertainers and creators.
Formidable’s content creation services have been selected as finalists in the ‘Entertainment & Sports in Social’ and ‘Sports in Social’ categories for “Wings Through Tower Bridge”, and are also recognised as finalists in ‘Best Content Series in Social’ for “Sporty AF”, a You Tube series for Team GB that celebrates female athletes and across a wide variety of Olympic sports.
Nik Selman, Co-Founder at Formidable says “A haul of award nominations for two completely different kinds of social media content creation. From delivering large-scale, nail-biting, multi-camera production, to producing authentic and entertaining conversations with purpose. We’re equally proud of both projects. Fingers crossed for the big nights!”