If I Knew Then: Gemma McGrattan

Synergy Creative is a brand engagement agency based in Westbury-on-Trym. It is the only Bristol agency to feature in this year’s Recommended Agency Register (RAR)’s Top 100 which ranks agencies on financial performance and client satisfaction. Synergy has carved itself a niche in employer branding, internal communications and customer experience. 

Gemma McGrattan is one of the founding directors. She’s passionate about engaging employees through clear and creative communications, and the impact this has on customer experience and business growth. The agency counts household names including Morrisons, Ladbrokes, Aviva, ODEON and Experian as clients.

How did you start Synergy?

I started the company nine years ago with my business partners Nicky Clark and Giles Hicks. We all worked together and decided to leave and set up shop together.

We took the plunge to go it alone, and were suddenly sat around my dining room table with no clients, two laptop PCs that kept crashing and a Mac.

We might not have had money, but we had plenty of enthusiasm, excitement, passion and nervousness (asking ourselves, what have we done?!). We put our grit and determination to good use. We networked hard; cold called and even did door knocks to get the business off the ground. 

If you knew then what you know now, what mistakes might you have avoided? 

We definitely would have started the business earlier. We were all in our early 30s when we eventually took the plunge. We would have done other things more quickly too; taken people on to work with us, got proper offices, just generally scaled up a lot faster. 

What advice would you have given yourself when starting out?

Start earlier and have more confidence in yourself that you’ll be a success. Expect to put in the hours and work hard and remember it’s not an easy ride if you wish to succeed. Believe that you can do great things. Make sure you’ve got plenty of energy and stamina, be willing to try new things and be ready to give it a go and do what it takes. Put simply, be brave and put yourself out there. 

If you knew then what you know now, would you be sitting here?

Absolutely! I love what I do. We simply would have taken more risks along the way.

What do you know now that you didn’t know then?

I understand the intricacies of running a business and how to work more efficiently and quickly. I understand people management, the legal aspects of running a business etc. It’s those things you don’t really think about when you start out. I also know just how much you can achieve if you put your mind to it. You can juggle home, family, business. It’s full on, but more than possible with the right focus. 

What is your business highlight? 

This year we were named 8th on a Recommended Agency Register (RAR)’s list of independent agencies (1-25 staff). This puts us into an Elite category judged by financial performance, customer feedback and peer recognition.  Over 240 agencies entered, so that was a huge accomplishment. We’ve also grown year-on-year and work with huge household names.

What is your business lowlight? 

The business took a step backwards a couple of years ago and it really knocks your confidence. You have to really think about how you are going to turn things around. Brush yourself off, build yourself up and carry on. 

What keeps you awake at night?

I’m kept awake by my three year old son, and when he’s sleeping it’s our next big campaign. My mind never stops! I’m always thinking, looking around, reading and watching the world go by, just generally gathering inspiration and insight and thinking about how it can be used to create great communications for our clients.

What’s changed from when you started out?

A lot has changed. It’s a more demanding environment and that can make it harder to win clients. The pitch process has gotten longer and more resource-heavy and there’s been an explosion of new technology that we need to keep up with. It’s information overload sometimes, but it’s also what makes the industry exciting.

What’s still on your to do list?

How can we be an even higher performing team? What can we do to make things even better internally and for our clients? Where can we add more value?

What’s next for Synergy?

Keep the great team we’ve got happy, fulfilled and inspired. Keep looking after the amazing clients and brands already on our roster. Keep on doing what we’re doing….and keep on growing!

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