My Big Idea: creative agency Guy & Co’s Unfair Advantage system

‍Hi David! What's your elevator pitch?‍

Most marketing agencies talk about creativity. We’ve engineered it into something more dangerous. Guy & Co is built around our Unfair Advantage system - a way of turning bold ideas into smarter, confident investments. We help brands outperform bigger, better-funded competitors by finding and exploiting the gold in the attic that brands can have stored away.

Why does the market need it?‍

Because most marketing is still playing it safe… while pretending it isn’t. Brands are stuck choosing between “safe but ineffective” or “bold but risky.” That’s a terrible trade. We built Unfair Advantage to remove that tension, giving clients the confidence to go big, backed by consumer research and validation. The industry doesn’t lack creativity – it lacks conviction. We fix that.

Can you give us an example of the Unfair Advantage agency system at work?‍

Take esure. We took the old “calm down” territory and gave it a fresh, positive spin for today. That became “The Calm Down, Deer,” an animated and ownable idea inspired by a line that 82% of our target audience still remember. But we didn’t just make it memorable, we made it investable. Through robust testing, it landed in the top 2% of ads in the UK’s leading ad testing platform – System1. Giving esure and its board the confidence to go big across a full-funnel marketing campaign.

The result? A brand that didn’t outspend the market, it’s outplaying it. That’s Unfair Advantage: bolder creative, backed by proof, driving better returns.‍

Where is the business today?‍

We’re in that sweet spot where people start paying attention. The Unfair Advantage system is landing with national brands who are tired of safe work delivering safe results. We’re growing across multiple sectors: FS, tech, medical, property, food and drink, and proving the model works in different categories — even tough ones. And as a regional challenger agency we’re thrilled when blue-chip clients see beyond London and networked agencies. It’s a challenging market, sure. But that’s exactly when smarter investment matters most and that’s where we win.

What made you think there was money in this?‍

Because we saw the same pattern again and again: brands sitting on average ideas because they didn’t have the confidence to go further. Not a creativity problem – a decision-making problem. Most competitors are either selling safety or selling risk. We sit in the much more valuable middle – bold ideas, backed by proof. We realised if we could systemise that confidence – make ambitious work feel commercially smart, that’s where the value is. And frankly, what brand wouldn’t want better returns from the same investment?

What's your biggest strength?‍

Two things: a phenomenal team that consistently creates work that actually cuts through – not just fills space; and a system that proves it’ll work before it goes live. We combine top-tier creative talent with gold-standard research and validation. That’s what turns good ideas into winning ones. Talent gives you the spark. The system makes it investable.

What is the secret to making the business work?‍

Not treating creativity like a gamble. Most agencies still do – they just dress it up nicely. We’ve turned it into a calculated advantage. When clients can see why something will work before they commit budget, decisions get sharper, work gets braver, and bravely effective results follow. It sounds simple, but it’s surprisingly rare.

How do you market the company?‍

We practise what we preach. We show the thinking, the work, and the results – consistently. No smoke and mirrors. The Unfair Advantage system isn’t a tagline, it’s something people experience. And once they do, it tends to stick, because it changes how they think about marketing investment.

What funding do you have? Is it enough?‍

We’re a fully independent creative marketing agency now 13 years old. We steer a careful course and ensure we are robust and stable to take on the larger clients we’ve been onboarding over the last few years.

Tell us about the business model‍

It’s simple in principle: fewer, smarter bets that deliver higher returns. We price around value and impact, not just time. That includes evolving models like value-based performance elements where it makes sense. Because Unfair Advantage sits at the heart of everything, every client benefits from it. It’s not a bolt-on, it’s the product. Better work, better outcomes, stronger relationships.

What were you doing before?‍

I’ve run agencies for over 20 years and in my early career I specialised in innovation roles within large creative agencies. Again, systemising productive creativity, but more focussed on skilled collaboration with clients, all agency staff and multiple agency locations.

Are there any technologies you've found useful?‍

We use tech where it genuinely improves planning, creative stimulus and decision-making – data, AI, automation, mainly to build early momentum, prototype ideas faster and free up time for thinking and collaboration. The goal isn’t more tools. It’s better, faster, more confident decisions. That’s where the advantage is.

What is the future vision?‍

Guy & Co is recognised as the challenger creative agency helping to reshape how marketing ideas form, validate and roll out in a more efficient and agile way. More confidence in decisions, less hedging bets.