From Guns N' Roses to Aerosmith and Bud Light to Fox Sports, London-based multi-disciplinary branding and content creation studio Creative Works has been racking up big names on its list of credentials during its short five years of existence.
Managing director Jeremy Leeor and creative director Dan Potter founded Creative Works in late 2012 with the goal of bringing brands to life with their unique Make It Live® process. With its concept-to-delivery experience in creating imaginative and engaging content, Creative Works has a knack for live show and television content creation—even on the most unrealistic timetables.
“As we get involved often at the beginning of a project, we touch on all aspects of the production process, from developing the run-of-show, narrative elements, and playback specifications through to merchandising design and social media assets,” say Leeor and Potter. “We have a deep respect for the guys working on the ground, and while things sometimes don’t run perfectly, we’ll stay until the show goes live to ensure our work gets implemented as the client wants it. Sometimes issues can’t be avoided, as was the case for Guns N' Roses’ 2016 Coachella show when we dropped over a thousand modular clips on the video team a day before the performance. We had foreseen this issue and had our team on the ground to help program everything, but it was one of ‘those’ challenges.”
Creative Works has devoted itself to its Make It Live® process, creating and delivering impactful projects. “One thing that sets us apart from others is that we understand our creative process intrinsically,” Potter adds. “We strive to find the artistic side of any project. It is for us very much about the art and narrative of the project. Being able to be decisive, flexible, and efficient through the creation process helps us fine-tune ideas to completion quickly. Given our point of reference in terms of getting things done creatively we aim to be as transparent in the way we communicate our process and ideas as possible.”
In late 2013, Creative Works conceived and designed the live show video content for Guns N' Roses’ song “You Could Be Mine,” which “put us on the radar for clients looking for something new and interesting,” Leeor says. Sure enough, their content caught the eye of Gary Hartley of Fox Sports. Hartley was looking for a team to create content for 2014 Fox Sports NFL Super Bowl XLVIII broadcast in Times Square, and Creative Works was just the studio to do it, in collaboration with PRG and JHD. Fox Sports got a taste for the studio’s work and again hired Creative Works to also produce the Fox Sports NFL TV package for the next two years as well as a subsequent content extension for 2017-2018. Creative Works also produced a spin-off mini content package for Sky Sports NFL UK show.
“This project was definitely something that, once we had accomplished that job, we felt we could handle anything,” Potter explains. “The project both creatively and production-wise pushed us to the limits. Working on a flagship package for a key American network is no small thing. We also knew there was no room for error with the immovable deadline of an NFL season fast approaching. Fox Sports have high standards when it comes to its design ethos and production values, and this really meant pulling out all the stops.”
Guns N' Roses hadn’t forgotten about their old pals either and asked Creative Works to create a small content package for their 2014 Las Vegas residency at The Joint and their South American Tour. “One of our main aims, even back then, was to make every photo taken by fan and photographer look and feel like a Guns N' Roses’ live show shot,” the partners add.
In 2015, Creative Works forayed into the world of pop music, producing a full content tour package in collaboration with Volt Lites for Christina Perri’s Girls Night Out, Boys Can Come Too Tour.
Later that year, Creative Works was #upforwhatever, creating content for Bud Light’s three experiential events: first the Arizona Super Bowl XLIX Village; then the spring break party at The City nightclub in Cancun; and finally, Whatever USA 2.0 two-day party experience on Catalina Island.
“These Bud Light jobs were always on extremely tight timelines and needed careful planning,” Leeor and Potter state. “They were always exiting to work on though and kept us on our toes.”
After wrapping up 2015 with Bud Light’s Union Square experiential installation, Creative Works launched into 2016, building out the new Guns N' Roses logo, which was premiered at Guns N' Roses’ first reunion performance at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, marking the beginning of Not In This Lifetime Tour. Creative Works then developed the content for the entire show and its subsequent growing set list of songs.
Since then, Creative Works has continued to forge a reputation for high-quality content that catches the attention of more and more new clients, including Aerosmith, NCAA Coca-Cola, Tropicana, Oracle, and Live Nation, among others.
“Our plan is to keep learning and continue to work hard on making spectacular work for our clients,” the founders say. “With all the new tools emerging which help creatives build their visions faster, it’s an exciting time to be in the industry.”