Why First Son?

At 2.19pm on the 29th of September 1971 Mrs Dorothy Davidson gave birth to her first son. She named him Christopher. What she never realised was that was that one day her first son would be opening a super-cool new design business. So how did this lovable nipper find his way to professional independence?

Salad days

In the year 1999 Christopher joined Edinburgh Advertising Agency then called SMARTS. Amid the frenetic atmosphere of the agency creative department he became partof a core team of what was to become SMARTS' New Media division, Dijitol. In the following years the name SMARTS became CitigateSMARTS but the remit remained the same - produce creative, high-quality work that can benefit clients in a fluctuating economic environment. Some big projects went out and some awards came in. This First Son learned how to work across a wide range of creative disciplines, manage a cost centre and came to understand design's relevance within the full marketing picture. Like the initial founders of SMARTS, this First Son harbored a deep desire to go it alone. So in the summer of 2004 Christopher left day care for good.

First steps

Anyone who has ever worked for more than five years in an Advertising Agency will be able to tell you, it can leave you a little, well, weary at times. When First Son's founder looked at their motivation for starting up independently one thing became very clear: we must enjoy our work. Marketing strategies, strategic alliances, cutting edge technology, all take second place to this core value. If we don't love the work we do, why would anyone else?

In addition to such whole-hearted aspirations is some solid business thinking. First Son sees itself as a viable alternative to both big agencies and high street design outlets. Too often big agency fees, bolstered by weighty overheads, prohibit exciting small to medium sized businesses from seeking professional services. These businesses are often left with little alternative but to use a short term fix such as a visit to Kall Kwik or worse, try to make do without design services at all. Often the picture for large companies can be no more encouraging. Many corporate clients can be locked into high dollar retainer contracts which can leave little or no room for quick witted internal Marketing managers who frequently need short turn-around projects for specific, non-campaign related needs. First Son sees it as vital that it services both ends of this spectrum with high quality work and good relationships to get a firm foothold in a demanding market.

If any of this sounds familiar to you, get in touch with First Son today. There could be a fresh a interesting future for the way you buy design.