Cheshire, January 19th, 2022

Founded in 2004, Outpost is an award-winning digital first studio based in Cheshire, United Kingdom. The studio explores the commercial difference in brands, enabling them to discover their true market proposition and make them distinctive from the competition. It then uses these insights to develop exciting brands and truly engaging digital experiences that resonate with audiences and build value for its clients.

In an interview with TIA, Christopher Wilcock, Co-founder and Creative Director, described the first steps of the agency and the growth experienced since then. He highlighted the teamwork spirit at Outpost and its long-term relationship with clients and suppliers, mentioning a few examples of some recent work.

To kick things off please can you describe to us a little bit about your city and why it is a great place to work?

Our studio is based in a town called Wilmslow, firmly suited in leafy Cheshire, while only being about 30mins from Manchester. The best thing about where we are is the access to the countryside from walks to picturesque villages and countless pubs. It’s a nice change of pace from city center living and gives you a different perspective on things.

How did you first become interested in digital experiences?

Since we started Outpost 18 years ago, we’ve been involved in everything from branding, digital, TV, and print. What’s really been the constant throughout was creating digital experiences from basic campaign micro-sites to highly dynamic immersive digital experiences. I think the reason why we’ve focused more firmly on brand-led digital experiences in the last 6 years is purely down to our background over the last 18 years.

Our studio has always been heavily insight-driven which gives us a great foundation to develop truly engaging user experiences, also coupled with our branding background it enables us to come at projects with a slightly different perspective converting the insight into strategy and then taking that into the creative process.

Working with the right agency can be a valuable partnership. What attributes do you want people to associate your Outpost with? How do you align business decisions with your values every day?

At the very core of Outpost is collaboration and our desire to push boundaries, we all work together as a team to deliver the best possible outcome for our clients. This approach has led to some long-term relationships with clients and suppliers who end up seeing us as part of the team and not as an outside agency.

Six years ago when we rebranded we decided to fully embrace our ‘remote’ location and promote a working model built on a network of talent all over the world. Pre COVID this was a pretty big move as unless you were based within a major city and had all your resources in-house then you weren’t taken seriously – now everyone is doing it.

Of all the recent projects your company has produced, which one are you most proud of?

That’s a tough one as I hold us to a high standard and feel there are always things we can improve in every project. But if I had to hold up a project or client, it would be the work we do for Discovery Land Company and our ongoing relationship with them. We started back in 2019 with the main company site and have since rolled out a total of 12 other sites for the group. All these sites have been based upon a brand-led design system and technical framework we created together. In retrospect, this project was a huge undertaking across insight, strategy, technology, design, and roll-out and it does embody our processes and what we can do as an agency.

Can you walk me through your development processes? Do you handle all development work in-house?

Over the early years, we tried to deliver a wide range of services in-house. The lesson we learned was to focus on what you do best and collaborate with specialist partners. When it comes to our development process we do hold ourselves to tried and tested processes.

Following a client-approved specification that we develop the build is undertaken by our development partners. All UX and UI design assets are created in Figma which enables us all to work collaboratively throughout the entire project. The project team has check-ins often daily to ensure the project is on track and they’re no road blocks.

Once the site has been built it’s placed on a staging environment where we’ll undergo a comprehensive testing plan and populate the site with the required content. From here it will go through various review and sign-off stages before finally being approved to go live.

Every experience has an emotional component. What is your approach to designing positive emotions to keep users happy and engaged?

Know your audience and what will resonate with them. In my opinion, this is the only way you can successfully engage with your users. To do this we carry out a lot of research before doing any creative work. From stakeholder questionnaires, customer interviews, design territory workshops, and landscape analysis, we do as much as we can to immerse ourselves in the audience and market before even beginning the creative process.

We are living through the most important pandemic in recent world history. How digital has changed marketing product launches?

Due to people working from home brands have had to embrace digital technologies and adapt their business models very quickly to survive. At the beginning of the pandemic, we did notice brands reduce spending partly due to the unknown impacts COVID was having. However, after the first 12 months, we saw a huge increase in brands investing in their brand and overall digital presence.

What advice would you give to a new nonprofit startup that is looking to build a smart digital strategy?

Do the research and get a deep understanding of who your audience is before creating or building anything. I see so many brands ignore this or think they know who their audience is and make massive assumptions which lead to poorly implemented digital strategies.

Can you outline one, two, or three crucial skills any innovation specialist should possess?

I’d say being open-minded to new ways of working and new techniques is a must. You need to be receptive and accept that inspiration can come from anywhere. Also always push yourself outside your comfort zone, learn new skills and always try to be better than you were yesterday.

What were the most important character-building experiences you’ve been through?

Building an agency from scratch has probably been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. We probably did it the hardest way possible, setting up in the middle of nowhere and with a very limited network at the time meant the first couple of years were very tough. Even after we won some contracts meeting the client demands while at the same time ensuring the money is coming in was even more stressful and we learned some hard lessons over those years. Thankfully these challenges have helped shape us and the agency as it is today.

From your personal standpoint, what global issues are you most passionate about and why?

My wife and I visited Iceland a couple of years ago and had the amazing opportunity to hike on one of the glaciers. While we were there the guides showed us how much the glacier has receded in the last few years due to climate change. It’s a really scary thought that because of our actions we are fundamentally changing our planet on a global scale and if we don’t make major life changes then the world as we know it won’t exist for future generations.

What are your favorite ways to decompress outside of work?

The main one would be going to the gym. I’ve been doing CrossFit for the last 5 years and find it’s an invaluable part of my daily routine. What I love is the sheer variety from conditioning, gymnastics, weightlifting – every day is different and you’re always learning. Along with that, you have an amazing community where there is always support and encouragement wherever you go.

Can you name a fun fact that people would be surprised to learn about you?

For the last 12 months, I’ve been restoring a 1994 Land Rover Defender with my father-in-law. We completely stripped it down to the chassis and it’s nearly ready to get back on the road. It’s been a great project and has really pushed me out of my comfort zone.

Thanks Chris!

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