Glasgow design agency Made Brave acquires content company Campfire

A Glasgow-headquartered creative brand agency has acquired an Edinburgh-based content production counterpart in a move that will see the pair target further global work.

Lewis Phillips of Campfire and Andy Dobbie of Made Brave. Picture: submitted

MadeBrave has purchased Campfire under the deal, terms of which were not disclosed, that will see the creation of holding company BornOriginal Group.

MadeBrave’s founding director Andrew Dobbie steps up to group chief executive and Campfire founder Lewis Phillips becomes a director and shareholder in the enlarged business, while continuing to run Campfire as a director.

The deal will give MadeBrave, which offers brand, design, marketing strategy, social media and campaign-creation, a footprint in the Scottish capital, complementing its headquarters and recently-opened London office.

Founded by Dobbie in 2012, MadeBrave is headquartered in the east end of Glasgow’s Clyde Gateway-owned Albus Building, a legacy building from the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and its client base includes Distell Group, William Grant & Sons, IBM, Vets Now, Jacobs, Peoples Ford, Scottish Equity Partners, Scottish Canals, the BBC and MetFilm School London.

It announced one of its largest-ever contracts earlier this month, with the appointment as sole creative partner for First Bus Scotland, owned by Aberdeen-based global transport giant FirstGroup.

Dobbie said: “MadeBrave and Campfire have got together on many occasions to produce industry-leading work.

“It’s the perfect time to join forces as video consumption increases exponentially and content marketing is constantly evolving in response to consumer trends and advancing technologies.”

He added: “The overall vision for the group is to enable clients to have access to specialist niche services from both Campfire and MadeBrave but also gain from the strength and power of the group.”

Campfire has worked with brands including Mercedes-Benz, Adidas, Google, Hard Rock Hotels, Irn-Bru, Pernod Ricard, VisitScotland, Royal Bank of Scotland and The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

The agency, located in Leith, specialises in creative film production across multiple channels and has built credentials in emerging technologies including virtual reality and motion graphics.

Phillips commented: “It’s an exciting new chapter for Campfire. Andrew and I have been friends for many years and we both strongly believe in the power of creative collaboration.

“Our companies share closely aligned values and culture and the strength we now have within the group’s complimentary service offerings will allow us to grow with some exciting opportunities and more international work on the horizon.”

Dobbie earlier this month hailed a “great year” for the agency, saying it has been winning business “in Scotland, across the UK and starting to generate a lot of interest internationally, too”.

The firm, selected in 2016 as an official partner of Google Digital Garage in Glasgow, now has 30 staff in its Glasgow and London offices and is expecting a record year, forecasting revenue in excess of £2 million.