How we see
the world
Bridge F61 consultants are the best mixture of talent from across the marketing world that we can find.
BF61 is a collection of marketing professionals from across the industry.
Just as the discipline of marketing has expanded to encompass the most diverse range of skills, so too have we assembled the best and brightest under the Bridge F61 banner.
However you care to define it, left brain/right brain, logic/magic or Excel/PowerPoint, we have found that the best work comes from a combination of both kinds of thinking.
We operate with a spine of full time employees who run the show and keep the lights on.
We have a long bench of specialists who work with us on specific tasks. We have always fought shy of a standing army of specialists; to a person only equipped with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.
If you think you would like to be part of this team, please get in touch.
Our Values
When you are in the people business as we are, your reputation is everything. We have adopted a series of values over the last few years, some of which were innate and some of which we have learnt make for a good business.
We like to think our clients would recognise these from how we engage with them.
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Those of us who spent any time at all in the agency sector will be familiar with the uncomfortable sensation of a client moving faster than the agency. The old agency model was predicated on the basis that drawing out the process, with a series of internal hand-offs and re-briefings, slows the clock and increases the fees. We reject this notion absolutely.
Our clients move fast, so we need to move faster. Momentum, intensity and focus are the handmaids of business growth. Why wait to reveal the next level of thinking till some arbitrary date in a timing plan if you know the answer already?
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Truth in the modern age is a slippery concept, but it’s a better description than data or fact, both of which lack the subjectivity of the human soul.
Modern marketing should be accountable, trackable and effective. Our first step is separating the myths from the truths, often using our Discovery phase. Then armed with an unvarnished view on the real barriers to growth, we can set about dismantling them. Speaking truth to power can often be uncomfortable, but it's rarely a mistake.
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IIf you hire a business made up of people like us, coming from varied backgrounds in technology, politics, public affairs, brand, product marketing, big agency, small agency and the third sector, you can't expect a predictable response.
Half of our work is fixing the enablers of growth; we diagnose the problems and understand how to rewire a business to unlock marketing-led growth. The other half of our work is the fun stuff; the lateral thinking that ignites that growth and produces strategies that can be bewilderingly simple or breathtakingly audacious.
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Our clients in Private Equity, and the boards of the OpCos we service, are in business for one reason, and one reason only. Everyone who works at Bridge F61 recognises this as axiomatic. If our work isn't driving growth in a client business it has no value to them, and therefore no value to us.
That means you won't be subject to lengthy debates about creative integrity or angels and pinheads. We believe communication has to be eye-catching, clear and meaningful to cut through the white noise, but if it's not serving its purpose and driving growth, it's vanity, not business.
The team
Will Harris
Founder
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Will Harris is one of the co-founders of Bridge F61. His career began in agencies where he worked on a succession of great brands, including Orange, Tesco, Stella Artois and Pepsi.
In 2000, as Chief Marketing Officer, he led the rebrand that created O2 before moving on to Nokia where he was UK Marketing Director and then CMO for Asia. After roles as global CMO of two LVMH brands, Will became CEO of Mission Media. In 2015, he became Chief Marketing and Strategy officer at Karhoo, and in 2016 he took on the role of CMO for Battersea Power Station, Europe’s biggest regeneration scheme. In summer 2018, Will founded Bridge F61 with his friend, John Nichols.
As a creative strategist, Will is passionate about building plans that don’t just live in a presentation, but have real-world impact. -
Sonja Healy
Partner
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Sonja began her career in advertising, before managing some of the Europe’s biggest events and executing brand strategies for multiple global businesses across e-commerce, airlines, fashion and tech.
As well as orchestrating major B2B tech summits, and experiential brand launches, her strategic comms and brand visual skills have helped her turn failing platforms into award-winning functions. Sonja has spent her life as a true global citizen.
Born a Finn, she was educated and developed her career across the Middle East before returning to Europe.
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Julian Delamain
Consultant
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Julian began his career in creative agencies in New York. After six years he moved to London, and from there on to Hong Kong, Paris, Tokyo and then Hong Kong again. While Julian started out in advertising, he has evolved into an all-purpose brand and marketing strategist.
Born in London, Julian went to school in England, University in Ireland and, having spent many years in Asia, he now lives in Northern Portugal.
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Maya Bhose
Consultant
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Maya began her career in the advertising industry developing campaigns for household brands including Mars, Fiat, Baileys and Wonderbra. She then moved client side into marketing in the telecomms sector working on the creation of the O2 brand and Microsoft's entry into the smartphone market.
Maya's love for TV (which remains to this day) saw her switch to Broadcast Media working in the UK at UKTV, NBC Universal and Food Network and at Astro in Malaysia where she led a team of 130 in restructuring an entire Master Brand and 14 sub brands ahead of an IPO.
Maya is passionate about marrying creative thinking with commercial needs. She loves developing and evolving brands; bringing their promise to life wherever they are experienced.
More recently she had become involved in the Third Sector and is piloting a stepping stone into voluntary organisations for people over 50 with transferable skills.
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