The Long Way Round
About
About Story
Nightclubs, then boardrooms.
Fifteen years watching culture generate attention no brand could hold onto, and brands spend fortunes reaching people they'd never be able to name. The room was always the asset. Nobody was building for it. So I did.
DEPARTMNT builds the infrastructure for connected products — tag, platform, app — turning a physical object into the start of a relationship rather than the end of a transaction.
Nightclubs, national brands, artist campaigns, connected products. Different rooms, same question every time — how do you actually reach someone, and what happens once you have?
Founder Memo
I started in rooms. DJing since I was 13, then a residency at Ministry of Sound, club nights at Egg and Brixton Academy, stage management at SW4 and Farr Festival. Then managing Novelist: booking his first world tour through Tokyo, Shanghai and Seoul, and his partnerships with Uniqlo, New Era and Casio G-Shock.
Then I went to learn how the biggest brands actually work. Programme director on Mercedes-Benz, the National Lottery rebrand, AB InBev's BEES. National campaigns, global platforms, budgets in the millions.
Both sides had the same gap. Culture creates attention no brand can hold on to. Brands spend fortunes reaching people they can never name. The value was always in the room, and everyone kept building for the screen.
DEPARTMNT isn't a turn away from that past. It's the argument that past was making all along. We build the layer that lets a garment, a wristband or a door remember who was there, so the relationship made in the room doesn't disappear when the lights come up.
How I Work
Everything is branding. Everything is experience.
The queue, the door, the wristband, the message the morning after. People don't separate them, so I don't either.
Build slow. Move fast.
Take the time to get the foundations right, then move quickly on top of them.
Never compete. Just create.
When you're building something that doesn't exist yet, the only benchmark that matters is whether it works in the room.
Create systems, not chaos.
The programme years taught me that creative work only scales when the operation underneath it holds.
Build things that outlast you.
A campaign ends. Infrastructure keeps working after everyone's gone home.
Open Lines
If you're building something at the edge of culture and technology, or want to put me in front of a room: partnerships, speaking, press and advisory. Get in touch.
ContactSpeaking
Connected products & NFC infrastructure
Turning a physical object into the start of a relationship, not the end of a sale.
From culture to commerce
What brands get wrong about reaching audiences that don't live on a media plan.
Building fan infrastructure
Consent, identity and loyalty for artists and labels, without another app.
Gamification in physical retail & events
Designing discovery into a space instead of bolting on a screen.
Artist-brand partnerships
What actually works, from a decade managing talent on both sides of the deal.
Founding inside culture
Lessons from building DEPARTMNT at the edge of culture and technology.
FAQ
What sectors do you work with?+
Culture, music, fashion, retail and live events — anywhere a physical moment needs to become a digital relationship a brand can own.
Where are you based?+
London, UK. DEPARTMNT's projects run internationally.
What kind of inquiries do you take?+
Speaking engagements, partnerships, press & media and advisory work, alongside DEPARTMNT client enquiries — the contact form on the home page lets you specify which.
Are you available for new projects?+
Reach out via the contact form and I'll get back to you on timing.