A Brief Introduction

To tie in with The Sparks tenth year of business our founder and Creative Director, Neil Marra gave an interview in the Manchester Evening News.

Please see the interview below…

When did you start your business?

I established Creative Spark in 2003. I come from a creative background and knew from the start of my career I wanted my own agency. My dad was  head art director in a leading advertising agency and I have always been keen to follow in his footsteps.

In the past 10 years we have grown into a team of 20 with a broad skill set, we have moved to SparkTowers, and we have some of the most impressive clients in the UK.

What were your main challenges starting up?

Starting up on my own was a risk at first, being responsible for client services, the creative department and finance was hard work. Gradually I established some strong working relationships, invested in talent and Creative Spark became the agency it is today.

Creative Spark is a strategically creative team which focuses primarily on return of investment for our clients. We are celebrating our tenth year in business this year by raising £10,000 for Forever Manchester.

So far, Team Spark has run the Manchester 10km, abseiled down the Triangle Shopping Centre, in Manchester, held a pub quiz and are holding an art exhibition in October to complete the total figure.

What is the best project you’ve worked on and why?

We are lucky at Creative Spark as we work for great clients with household brands from all sectors, including the sports and entertainment sectors.

The briefs we get vary greatly keeping our creativity fresh.

Currently, we are very proud of the work we are doing with MAG. Over the past two years, we have created some campaigns that have directly impacted on the success of the airport and therefore business in the north west.

Our spring 2013 campaign, Fly North, has seen a dramatic rise in passenger numbers. The client attributed the most successful summer in five years directly to the campaign.

What plans do you have for the future?

Since Hannah White joined us in January as our MD, we have focused on expanding our digital offering. We have strengthened our digital strategy department in line with public demand. We have to ensure our clients brands are strong enough to translate easily to all forms of media.

I now focus entirely on the creative output which maintains the quality we are known for. We plan to expand our team further and develop our studio in London.