Dave McCormack is the Co-founder and MD of Peg, a creative agency in Leeds specialising in video storytelling and branded content.
Previously, Dave co-founded the Local TV Group, the parent company of eight TV channels broadcasting across the UK on Freeview, Sky and Virgin from all around the country.
Today, he shares the way a week in his life looks…
Monday
At the start of lockdown, and as my wife has a grown-up job, I needed to put the business on hold while I looked after our two girls. They are now thankfully back in nursery but I’ve decided to stay at home every Monday with them moving forward.
On these days, my task is a simple and rewarding one – keep them alive. When the one-year-old goes for a nap, I can jump on to the laptop and catch up while the four-year-old shows me how to use Excel. When the kids are finally down by about 7:30pm, I’ll go for a run to try and clear my head and forget about all the food that was thrown at me that day.
Tuesday
For the rest of the week I’ll get up around 6:45am and drop the girls off to nursery on my way in to the office, which is just outside the centre of Leeds. I’m good at working perhaps one day a week at home, but any longer than that and my inbox battles with snacks, coffee, shop trips and Sky Sports News for my attention – so I’m delighted to be back!
My business partner, Tracy, arrives in shortly after me. We look after Commercial Strategy for the Local TV Group, and Tracy hosts a variety of morning briefing calls before we convene around 10:30am.
This week we have a brand video to complete for a FMCG client before their annual conference on Thursday. We completed the script in a couple of days, but getting the right shots has been tricky and there’s been a lot of late nights with my editor recently, – thankfully it’s now gone to the client.
Tracy and I prep ahead of a meeting we have with a wellbeing client on Friday before I head back home in time for bedtime. When the kids are down I go for a run to try and clear my head, and again forget about all the food that was thrown at me that day (not appropriate Tracy!).
Wednesday
Today I need to finalise a content plan for a new client. It’s a terrific app called Roam that will revolutionise the high street. The app has amazing functionality and the client has garnered impressive PR. We’re working with them to create some explainer videos to drive downloads.
The B2B side is clear – get on Roam and you can claim your venue on the app, upload menus, info, offers – even send push notifications to your followers. I now have to work on the creative for the B2C side and I’ve blocked out the day to get going on it. Time to avoid snacks, shop trips, and Sky Sports News… Coffee is allowed.
Thursday
Thursday starts with the struggle to get two young girls up and dressed and off to nursery in under ten tantrums. Today we limit it to just nine. Success!
Each Thursday, Tracy and I take time out to go through our client/project list; who we’re approaching, where we’re at with pitches and proposals, what’s in production.
It’s remarkably busy considering the uncertainty in the market and so, thankfully, there is a lot to get through.
We have carved quite a niche for ourselves producing ‘virtual open days’ for schools, academies and colleges. The shoots are always intense with so much to cover and a schedule that is basically out of your control, but we’ve had incredible feedback from our clients and personally I find them a joy to work on.
In the afternoon I check in with the FMCG client to see how the video performed for their conference… Success! The client loved it and apparently it brought some members of the team to tears. I choose to take that as a compliment.
Friday
Today we welcome our wellbeing client, CH Life, to the office. It’s a new brand born out of an existing one that pre-launched during lockdown and experienced significant demand for their product line of essential oils and blends. We’re working with them on brand, design and marketing. It’s so exciting to be involved from day one, but the pressure is certainly on to get everything set up for the eCommerce site ahead of Christmas.
The meeting is great and it’s a relief to know we are all on the same page.
Time to head home for a well-deserved rest, a Negroni or two, and to have ever more food thrown at my head…
