Hannah Thompson is senior creative lead at Flaunt Digital, a Leeds-based digital marketing agency.
Thompson has over 10 years of experience working both in-house and agency side, creating for household brands such as Nike, Adidas, Jewson, Pizza Hut and Iceland foods.
Here, she shares the top three influences that have shaped her life and career.
The person that has inspired my working career the most, and why
I’ve worked, travelled and grown up with so many people who have been influential in different ways to the decisions I’ve made in my life and career. However, if I had to choose one, it would be my dad. His positive attitude towards life and his belief in me definitely helped me get to where I am today.
I remember when I was doing my Art Foundation at Bradford College. I worked in retail, which at times, as a creative person could be pretty dull. He would always say as I left the house “make the best of a bad doo” – which, for people not from Yorkshire, or even from the Thompson household, meant making the best out of a boring situation, finding as many positives from that shift as possible, see how much you can learn and make it interesting for yourself so the time flies by. Which I guess was encouraging creativity, for me to use that time whilst doing mundane tasks to expand my imagination.
I would make up narratives about customers based on what they were buying. I became interested in people – their buying habits, how they were influenced, and the way they lived. It definitely did make that year a little more bearable. The interest I developed has something to do with why I ended up in creative marketing and helps me to the job I do today.
The place that has inspired my working career the most, and why
As a creative, you’re inspired everywhere you go – from huge global brand campaigns to the logo of an independent coffee shop, billboards, architecture, music, fashion and so much more. If you’re using your senses or emotions to experience, then you’re open to inspiration. I started my career in Manchester, so that city will always be special to me. It’s always somewhere I go back to for inspiration, it’s the entire vibe is one of creativity, culture, and growth.
But, the place where I feel most inspired and do my best work now is the Flaunt Digital HQ. This has a lot to do with the environment and the people I’m surrounded by. Back in April 2022 the office was a blank canvas and I was tasked along with my colleague Polly Chapman to design the office. It was a challenging project with so many considerations but it was a true labour of love. We knew it was so important to communicate with us as a company, be practical, but fun and be somewhere people enjoyed coming to work. Now we have an incredible space with breakout areas, a podcast room, a bar and a beautiful boardroom! It is a place we all love to think, socialise, explore and create amazing work!
The thing that has inspired my working career the most, and why
It would have to be the people. I have been very lucky enough to work in two amazing agencies alongside some brilliant colleagues. Both organisations have a true people-first approach. These types of working environments attract the best people into the business, leading to a confidently positive atmosphere, where people are always learning and helping one another to achieve a common goal. And, those people are more than colleagues in an environment like that, they become friends.
