Carnaby Street - A New Place to Call Home for Mobsta
After seven years in Charlotte Street in London, Mobsta decided it was time to bid their old office farewell. After the pandemic hit, they realised the importance of having a space that could accommodate the needs of their 30 employees, whilst encouraging hybrid working. “The Charlotte Street office was split over two floors, making it difficult to maintain company culture,” Matt explains. “You could go a couple of weeks without seeing some colleagues in person and it didn’t feel right. If we didn’t do something drastic we knew our culture would be harmed. So we took the decision to be more ambitious in our outlook for the workspace.”
For the past two years, Mobsta has been putting much of its energy into becoming a socially and ethically responsible company. The new office space is key to ensuring that these standards are upheld. “This is an opportunity to create a new kind of company“ says Matt. When the team were searching for a new place to call home, they knew they wanted somewhere bright and airy, surrounded by images that reminded them of who they are, and why they are doing what they do: “It’s going to be the place that allows us to be braver, more ambitious, more trusted, more human and more principled.”
The new aesthetic is entirely different from that of their previous space. The designer, Nick O’Toole from Open Associates, was given a brief to bring some of Carnaby Street’s iconic culture and history inside, resulting in a light and almost psychedelic space, featuring lots of hearts, flowers and spirals in bright colours.
Mobsta’s move is already setting a precedent for a positive future by aligning them completely with their sustainable values. Sustainable materials have been used for all internal decoration – they even made use of the UK’s first Epson sustainable printer, through Verve Display, which allowed for printing on recyclable PVC alternatives using fully water-based inkset. And the company has ensured the use of 100% renewable electricity in the building itself. As a B-Corp, they are committed to considering the impact that everything they do has on the environment, and the new office is testament to that commitment. Matt tells us: “Moving to a new office has given us more control over which suppliers we use for utilities, and we ensured we chose an office that had one of the most efficient energy ratings in London.”
Mobsta is also keen to use the move as an opportunity to give something back to the industry. “Agencies have always been really accommodating for us, allowing us and other media partners to hot-desk in their offices,” Matt says. He notes that this has provided great opportunities for his team to see multiple clients in the same day, “but it’s rarely offered the other way around”. As a thank you, they want to open up their offices to clients to work from, whether they have business to tend to with Mobsta or not. “Whenever they have meetings or lunches in the area, or just want to work centrally before going shopping, we want to offer a calm, modern working space for people to use whenever needed.” The team realise just how much isolation was caused by the pandemic, and now want to do their bit to help reverse that.
Mobsta’s goal throughout the rest of 2023 is to “spread the love and encourage interaction”. So whether it’s to get some data insights or simply “have a natter”, the Mobsta team are ready to welcome clients into their new home.
