Cerys Holliday

Journalist.

Formerly Media and Communications at The All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon.

Shortlisted writer.

MA Journalism graduate at Goldsmiths, University of London.


Creative Salon •

Creators: The Next Gen

The creator economy is entering a new era but perhaps not in the way some many expected. Not because influence is disappearing, but because agencies and brands are rethinking where creators belong in the creative process.

Edelman’s Gen Z Maker Bench is one example of that shift. The initiative brings together a pool of ‘makers’ whose skills and cultural fluency can be matched with client briefs. Rather than treating creators as the final step, brought in to polish or amplify an already-made idea, Edelman is involving makers from the outset, using their understanding of audiences, platforms, and trends to shape the work itself.
Creative Salon •

Why Virgin Media O2 Collaborated With The Sidemen

The Sidemen are one of the UK’s most popular YouTube groups with over 20 million subscribers and growing.

Best known for their hugely popular 'Sidemen Sunday' videos, the group has grown into a cultural powerhouse, collaborating with creators including Mr Beast and, most recently, hosting YouTube's first official live stream of a FIFA World Cup match, complete with their own creator-led commentary alongside BBC coverage
Creat •

How Digitas Kickstarted Cadillac's F1 Journey

The Super Bowl is the pinnacle stage for brands; millions of consumers are watching, and an ad slot during half-time is worth an estimated $8m. The timing of this year's game coincided with luxury car brand Cadillac announcing its new Formula 1 (F1) team entry; not only did it look to capitalise on one of the world's most sporting events, but it looked to create a platform for attention to land and to keep audience engagement levels high. Its online hub was designed as a digital home for the br...
Cre •

Will Grundy on leading the next wave of strategy

It’s a growing rarity to find someone that hasn’t left their first job after more than a decade – even in adland. Will Grundy, having been at adam&eve\TBWA for nearly 15 years, is an exception to the rule. He was promoted to the agency’s CSO in January last year, having previously been head of strategy – originally joining through the adam&eve graduate scheme. “I love this place,” he begins. “I often feel I'm a fly on the wall in the All Black’s dressing room because I've had this incredible op...
Creative Salon •

Taking The NFL To The World

While football (or soccer to the natives) is the sport dominating America this summer, the National Football League (NFL) is only briefly sitting back in the shadows in its homeland.

The season, despite being only 18-weeks long, is constantly gaining traction internationally; Super Bowl 2026 had an estimated 125.6 million viewers worldwide and growing.

On top of all that, Flag football, which, alongside Dentsu Creative, sees the brand aiming to inspire the next wave of talent and celebrate the younger athletes shaping the future of the sport.
Creative Salon •

Kate Stanners: ‘I’m still working at my age because I bloody love it’

Kate Stanners surprised the industry last September when she announced she was leaving Saatchi & Saatchi for PR giant Edelman, ending a 20-year tenure at the creative agency.
Her hiring was a well kept industry secret, while her newly-created job title – chief creative officer, international – sees her leading the agency’s creativity across EMEA and APAC.
Sitting in a conference room after a full day of judging at D&AD, Stanners speaks with clarity and openness throughout the near hour-and-a-half...
Creative Salon •

When HP and Edelman Printed An Entire Billboard

When HP wanted to showcase the durability of its Smart Tank printers, it turned the traditions of advertising on its head alongside Edelman.

While just printing something out is seemingly an obvious choice to do so; printing out an OOH billboard using just a HP printer requires an eyebrow raise – both in intrigue and at its unconventional challenges.

“It gave us an opportunity to talk about the durability of the product in a very authentic way,” begins Debbie Fagan, creative director at Edelman. “There were no frills. We didn't put it on a stage. We didn't have any talent around it. We literally had the printer and the billboard.”
Creative Salon •

The World Cup of Influencers

With the World Cup just around the corner, it’s set to be a beaming reflection of the current digital era.

Audience attention is fixated on social media. Nose down in screens, scrolling through a symphony of opinions, liking the ones that align with their own. And being world’s most anticipated sporting tournament, this leaves a window of opportunity for brands to capitalise on the growing interest in what goes on off the pitch, behind the scenes, away on screens.

How? The creator ecosystem.
Creative Salon •

Starbucks Chilled Coffee Is Putting People Over Product

Waking up and reaching for a cup of coffee is a habit that is still ever-growing — whether that comes with 12 pumps of caramel or just a splash of oat milk — Starbucks Chilled Coffee is a brand looking to support as life’s sidekick.

That why its new platform ‘Whatever Your Thing, We’re In’— by creative agency AMV BBDO — is rooted in the insight of celebrating self-expression in an era where conforming to society is a barrier for some — particularly young people constantly editing themselves to fit in.
Creative Salon •

Ottolenghi Is Reinventing The Brand Storytelling Script

How do you launch a book in modern culture? A pertinent question when considering emerging technology, popular social platforms, fragmented attention spans. But for hospitality brand Ottolenghi, co-founded by chef Yotam Ottolenghi, its cookbooks are proof that appetite for reading is still there.

Its most popular read, ‘Simple’, launched in 2018, sold 11 million copies and resides in one in eight UK homes, according to Shona Campbell, chief marketing and growth officer at Ottolenghi. With the launch of its highly anticipated sequel, ‘Simple Too’, the brand is looking to answer that very question while working with its first creative agency, Ace of Hearts.
Creative Salon •

World Cup 2026: Redefining Brand Partnerships

They think it's all over... the wait for the next World Cup almost is anyway, and it’s not just fans brimming at the possibility of ‘what could be’.This year’s tournament, hosted across Canada, Mexico, and the United States, is one that has stirred up controversy. That includes the extortionate ticket prices (the lowest-priced ticket for the final is nearly 500 per cent higher than Qatar 2022 at £3,000), controversial immigration enforcement practises, FIFA cutting its operating budget by over...
Creative Salon •

Representation Redefined: McDonald's and Sport England

Inclusive marketing has long since progressed from a nice-to-have to a critical must - but why do some brands do it better than others? It's because they make audiences feel like they belong.

And that is abundantly clear from conversation at the IPA’s Talent and Diversity Conference 2026, where discussion delves into the gaps between intent and execution, audiences identifying when diversity being used as a checkbox, and the brands that are getting it right.
Creative Salon •

Fandom Without Borders: How Guinness Goes Global

Fandom is power – and Guinness is championing its importance. The brand's sponsorship of the English Premier League is one of many layers of fandom; and it’s latest work puts it at the very heart and centre – regardless of geographical location.

‘A Lovely Day’ by VML is a celebration of Premier League fans across the globe as it promotes its Guinness Foreign Extra Stout (FES) – the ‘extra’ representing the extra hops brewed at a higher gravity designed to last long sea voyages.
Creative Salon •

Creating Remington's Content Catalyst

The beauty category doesn’t wait for anyone. Trends can come and go in the time it takes to scroll a feed, and the brands that win are the ones that are able to show up consistently in culture.For haircare brand Remington, that raised the question: how do you maintain a clear, consistent brand voice while allowing local markets to create content that resonates in their own culture?For years, Remington operated much like a B2B business. Success was largely about securing retail listings, with pro...
Creative Salon •

Crayola's Sarah Horowitz on Inspiring Creativity Across Generations

Crayola is staple of growing up. It's a brand that plays a part in the memories of millions all around the world — be that sat at a small classroom table while attempting to colour in within the bold, black page lines on the page, or arguing with siblings about a favourite colour being snapped in half. It’s a brand that helps provide the foundations of creativity which has given it a rich history. At 123 years old, it's has evolved beyond producing crayons, however. Recently it moved into beauty...
Creative Salon •

Pass The Pringles: Turning A Snack Into A Social Signal

Pringles is renowned for its witty since of humour, playful approaches to work, and immaculate moustache-wearing mascot. It's also well aware of its moreish qualities too - something it never shies aware from.

The near 60-year-old brand kicked off this year with the introduction of a new European brand platform ‘Pass The Pringles’, honing down on the insight that the snack is best enjoyed when shared with others (its cylinder canisters designed to insist on communal use).
Creative Salon •

Make 'Em Laugh: Alice Brine On Being Funny

As she sits down in DEPT’s London office, it’s immediately evident that Alice Brine is a naturally funny person as nearly every sentence warrants a laugh. It’s something she’s aware of; “Trying to walk into a room with a goal of being funny, I would rather die.”

While not working as one of the agency’s senior creatives, Brine is a stand up comedian and content creator - a gig that, as she details, makes the average 9-5 look like a piece of cake.
Creative Salon •

Rewriting The Script For Sports Brand Building

The global sporting economy is worth $2.3tn - and is projected to rise to $8.8tn by 2050. An astonishing number, but with the growth in audience numbers and fandom, it’s hardly surprising. Earlier this year the BBC achieved its largest overall audience consumption for the Winter Olympic Games, with over 83 million streams and 235 million views across socials. Sport remains one of the most powerful cultural forces on the planet, but when AI is changing consumer expectations and fragmentation, its...
Creative Salon •

Resilience Redefined

The world, on many fronts, is in crisis. Economic crisis. Housing crisis. Political crisis. All just a small percentage of its struggles, but that doesn’t stop the ability to imagine a hopeful future. Last year, according to IPSOS, 66 per cent of people said 2025 was a bad year for their country and 50 per cent believed it was a bad year for them and their family. However, as the tides of change are on the horizon, optimism about the future providing something worth looking forward to is growing...
Creative Salon •

Putting Jeremy Clarkson's Lager On The Map

Think Jeremy Clarkson then think; Top Gear, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, farming, Amazon, notoriety, and now... lager?Hawkstone launched in 2021 in collaboration with Clarkson and the Cotswold Brewing Company (which has since rebranded to Hawkstone Brewery), and uses barley from UK farms and farmers, including Clarkson's famed Diddly Squat Farm, to create what aspires to be the next best alcoholic beverage. Tasked with putting Hawkstone on the map is creative agency T&P; getting audiences to...
Creative Salon •

Tom Laranjo: At The Helm Of Serviceplan's Expanding UK Empire

There’s a lot of uncertainty in the agency world right now - about integration, about AI, about what exactly is the best future-proof route forward. Tom Laranjo isn’t buying it.

The end of 2025 marked the announcement that Serviceplan Group is bringing its House of Communication model to the UK, which sees the integration of its growing constellation of creative, media, data, platform and experience businesses (Mediaplus, Behave, Plan.Net, Serviceplan) under one roof.
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