Not Normal: Matt Loudon’s Recipe for Success
The world of cinema, from VHS tapes to big screens have long had a grip of Matt Loudon. He grew up enamoured by the worlds created by storytelling giants like Ray Harryhausen and would later combine his love for storytelling and knack for graphics to forge the career he adores today. When he isn’t working, he can usually be found visiting his home county, Devon, where he’ll be sure to settle the argument of how cream tea is made.
Here, Matt speaks candidly, sharing the ins and outs of Recipe’s evolution, the significance of its ‘Not Normal’ ethos, and the indomitable spirit that has been the agency’s hallmark since its inception. We hear about ground breaking campaigns, the development of fresh talent, and how they do things differently. We learn about what it is that makes Recipe such a durable force in such a tumultuous industry - and believe me, having joined the business in 2008, he really does know a thing or two. Matt’s insights offer a glimpse into the soul of the company, painting a vivid picture of a team not merely driven by a desire to be different, but the ambition to set new and greater standards. Here’s what he had to say:
LBB> Looking back to your earlier years, what inspirations and influences did you have growing up?
Matt> I was inspired by films growing up. From cinema to VHS and films on TV (with tons of adverts in the breaks) - I loved them all. I was also a keen reader and had a real love of mythological history. Greek Mythologies were my favourite. I remember Saturdays as a child at my grandparents would feature a double bill of Ray Harryhausen’s Clash of the Titans and The Wizard of Oz. It summarises quite well my love of storytelling through film.
I also really enjoyed drawing and trained as a GFX designer at college before I began making my own films.
LBB> And how did you eventually land in advertising? Was it always something you knew you wanted to do or was it a happy accident?
Matt> I originally started my career as a filmmaker and working in TV, with bits of corporate production dotted about. Naturally, you move around and network to create further opportunities, and TV advertising is a great environment to hone the technical and creative filmmaking craft. The founding partners of Recipe hired my small production company to help make a regional advert (back in 2008) and I had such a great experience working with them, that when they mentioned they were looking at growing their production offering, I was happy to come on board (for what I thought might be a six month freelance stint…..turns out, that wasn’t to be!)
LBB> You’ve been with Recipe from its founding days. Tell us about that time and what drew you to the company.
Matt> The guys always had an adventurous, generous and solution-focused mindset, which was very attractive in terms of culture and ambition. Naively they (and now we) have always felt the horizon is the goal, that the next step is within our grasp, and each step takes us further down the path to ever greater creative and industry success.
We were a small team so you had to become good at a lot of different things at once - production, creative, client development and relationships, industry requirements, tech etc. That hybrid nature and a can-do attitude was saturated into the DNA of what we did back then. I’m pleased to say that, although we’ve come a long way as a company, that foundation is still true of the agency.
LBB> How has your role evolved over the years to what it is today?
Matt> The biggest change over the years has really been to move away from the day to day creative and production work and taking more responsibility from both a client facing and people management point of view. Obviously as we’ve grown our success, we’ve needed to grow the Recipe team (the right way). We’ve always taken a view that it’s not just about the work, but about how we work - and our people and culture are central to that. There’s no magic bullet to achieve this; it takes lots of invested time and communication to make sure people are supported and inspired to keep moving forward.
LBB> And what have been your personal highlights (up to three) over this time?
Matt> The work is always a highlight. So much time, effort and skill goes into producing everything that comes out of the agency, whether that be a 360 campaign ATL, partnership, sponsorship or digital build project. It’s hard to pick a favourite, but it was certainly great to see the sugar tax work with Coca-Cola be released on the Piccadilly site. Another piece of work that stands out is our partnership project with NatWest and DCM. This type of work is very specialist and it’s always a delight when you see it come together with very effective results for the client. Likewise, our campaign for New York Bakery Co. had an enormous impact.
The main highlight though is still the people and their development. Seeing confidence and skill grow through the work we do here is always very pleasing. We’ve had people come in as interns and develop into senior members of staff who are superb at their craft. It’s hard to really overview the amount of brands we work with due to our wide variety of services. It makes Recipe a genuinely rewarding place to work, as you might be doing a cinema partnership one minute, and a new brand launch the next.
LBB> What do you think it is about Recipe as a business that has helped it stand the test of time?
Matt> I think Recipe as a business is built for the advertising and media industry in all its colours, whether that be traditional ATL campaigns, production services or media partnerships. We’ve become quite multi-disciplined with different parts of the business; specialising in different areas has allowed us to be flexible and forward thinking. Even in the beginning we were early adopters of digital delivery to TV stations, so were able to move faster and do more than other agencies. This has allowed us to withstand the various challenges the industry has faced over the last two decades.
LBB> Recipe is built on a ‘Not Normal’ ethos. What does this mean to you?
Matt> ‘Not Normal’ is an ambition as well as a day to day reality for us. We honestly believe ‘Not Normal’ is the way to create cut-through, effective and awareness-grabbing work. It does, however, take a lot of courage to make the jump, so we are working with our current and future clients to see the benefits of this. Read the Super Pink Paper by Jonny Pein in our planning team to understand the tangible benefits of the ‘Not Normal’ approach.
The reason I also say it’s a day to day reality for us, is because it’s baked into our beginnings. The three founders didn’t have a traditional agency background, and I myself came from a more traditional production environment. This has driven our ways of working, allowing for a new approach to advertising communication and industry relationships. We are very close with our clients and partners. We work with our media partners to find the very best solutions for our clients. Having grown from a creative production business, we know the challenges of execution and are able to work through these with speed and precision. This in turn makes us unique from other agencies that are having to bring production in-house to stay flexible in the market - it’s not an easy thing to do that way around.
LBB> How do you see this running through the company at all levels?
Matt> First and foremost we make sure we push our ‘Not Normal’ ambition in all of our strategic and creative responses. Secondly, we try to think outside the box in terms of solving issues around brand, timing and budget challenges. Our Blue Dragon work was achieved by taking the traditionally very long and expensive process of shooting, to having a small and nimble team shoot documentary style over a week, without having every inch of it storyboarded. This could only be achieved by having the client’s brave blessing to execute in this fashion..
We are always looking for ways to evolve. A recent example of this was when we abolished timesheets. We want to spend our time doing the things that create value for our clients, not timesheets. It’s allowed us to focus on the value of the work rather than the time it might take to do it, and has opened up really interesting conversations with our clients.
LBB> Tell us about your ambitions for the coming years.
Matt> I want to ensure that all the reasons people come to work at Recipe hold true as we continue to grow. I’ve been here so long because I’m proud of our culture, and what we’ve achieved as an independent in response to the bigger agencies. We’re a top four independent agency which gives me great pride, but provides further fire to keep pushing forward to create success for the business and everyone in it.
LBB> Lastly, when you’re not working, how do you like to spend your time?
Matt> My two young daughters and golden retriever keep me very busy. I’m very fortunate to have been born in Devon and still have a big family there so we spend a lot of time in the South West, arguing about the correct way to make a cream tea. For clarity, it’s cream on top.
