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WHO WE ARE The brand, digital and marketing agency that always asks 'why?'

Connecting brands to the source of their value

We are solution providers and problem solvers, using our expertise in brand, digital and marketing to propel brands and help them fulfil their potential and exceed their goals.

We are a full service agency made up of strategists, designers and technologists, partnering with purpose-driven organisations to drive audience connections and boost bottom line results.

But what gets us out of bed every day? Well, that’s simple, as we all share a single common purpose; to create brands that connect with greater frequency and deeper intensity, and always with an eye firmly on results. We create and work with forward-thinking and purpose-driven brands across three core sectors of property, professional services, and leisure, tourism and hospitality. 

The Escape in numbers

  • 26 years young

    It all started with 2 blokes, a little black book, a giant Nokia, an Escape out the back door and a desire to do it better. 26 years later and we’re a grown up agency. Well, almost.

  • 20 specialists

    Over 250 years of combined knowledge and experience under one roof. The perfect combo of smart strategists, brilliant creatives, magnificent managers and technical gurus.

  • 10 dogs

    Massive to miniature, our four legged friends are part of the team. They are the masters of positive distraction… it can’t all be work, work, work.

  • 2 offices

    Spanning Basingstoke to Cape Town. Both packed full of character and charm, the houses we call home are where the magic happens. 

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What is a connector brand?

We work with brands that truly seek to connect with their audiences on a more meaningful level across a multitude of relevant platforms. 

A connector brand seeks to understand how best to form a long-term relationship with its users and how to connect on a deeper level. A connector brand knows its audiences, understands their needs and responds strategically and creatively to engage and convert. It realises the value in existing relationships and how to create new ones.

Brand

Audience

30%

Increase in direct bookings, reducing dependency on OTA's (Online Travel Agent)

90%

Occupancy rate across the park

500,000

Baking kits and Baking Club subscription products sold over the past 12 months

17,000

Website users more than doubled from 6,000 to 17,000 in the first 10 months

What we do

Our passion for creating connector brands informs our every action and interaction. We interrogate your challenge making sure the ‘audience’ filter is applied.

We identify your users, understand what makes them tick, where they can be found and how they could best connect with your brand. We step into their shoes, living the brand as they see it. We look ahead and identify opportunity and innovation. For us, the work is never done.

What's in it for you?

Authentic relationships

A brand that is connected to the source of its value – its users, influencers, loyal advocates and brand lovers.

Stand out from the crowd

A brand that is differentiated visually and verbally based on audience insight.

Better engagement

A brand that engages in a unified, consistent, timely and persuasive way across relevant channels. 

Competitive advantage

A brand that maximises competitive advantage based on people over product.

Added value

A brand that adds bottom line value based on strategic and operational alignment.

The way we do things

We live and breathe insight, strategy, creativity and technology, but there’s more to us than that. We’re driven, relentlessly compelled to achieve, curious to know more and open-minded about what next and where next. We have the courage to try new things, embrace the unexpected and step out of the comfort zone. We are The Escape and this is how we do things…

  • 1. We ask why

    Why… or purpose, is at the very heart of all our work. We ask why with the end users of our client's brands in mind. We create why so the brands we work with have purpose. We challenge why to ensure we solve problems and deliver value. We use why to ask ourselves if we’ve produced our best work.

  • 2. Listen and learn

    We pride ourselves on asking all the right questions, but more importantly, listening to the answers and being open-minded before we make assumptions. We’re inquisitive and love to learn. We know each client, brand and person we partner with is unique, so we treat them as such, taking the time to listen, learn and understand.

  • 3. People partnerships

    Successful outcomes rely on strong relationships, friendships even, and this has been our foundation for success for the last 23 years. We focus on knowledge, mutual respect, trust, honesty and collaboration. If you’re looking for a supplier, you’ve come to the wrong place. If you’re after a brand guardian and committed extension of your team, then hello.

  • 4. Deep thinking

    The first idea is rarely the best idea, so we don’t stop until we’ve thought hard, explored every angle and tested every possibility to ensure we have done our best, for you. From client service to creative concepts, the simple to the sensational, we take on every challenge with a courageous, deep thinking approach.

  • 5. Always aspirational

    Whatever your measurement criteria, expectation or desire, you can rest assured that our own benchmark of success will be higher. We are only as good as the last thing we did, so it needs to be the very best each time. We hold the achievements of our work and our client's success in the highest regard, so you can guarantee we will always be aspiring for greatness.

  • 6. Make work fun

    For us, hard work is a hygiene factor. But life gets very dull very quickly if you don’t have fun while you’re doing it. So, forgive us the studio banter, fancy dress moments, BBQ’s under a brolly and the pimping of an Escapee Facebook page (never leave your laptop unattended!). It’s these things that keep a smile on our faces and the creative courage flowing through our veins.

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Meet the team

300 collective years of expert strategic, creative, technical and client service talent, working on some of the world's biggest brands across property, tourism, hospitality, services and more. We're Made of Masters, you won't find any Jacks here... 

Meet our Escapees

Values & Culture

People and culture is the beating heart of our agency. We're kind, empathetic, hard-working, fun, silly, and not afraid to make fools of ourselves, but with shed loads of talent thrown in too.

View our values
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Clients we call friends

Since our formation in 1998, we have been fortunate to partner with an inspiring array of global enterprises, SMEs and exciting start-ups. The common theme? They’re all brands that share our passion for purposeful connections with people.

  • CLIENT FEEDBACK

    The Escape is the most professional agency I have ever worked with. The quality of their team, and the quality of the output, was exceptional from start to finish.

    Matthew Roach
    Head of Marketing, Harbour Hotels Group
  • CLIENT FEEDBACK

    The Escape is a team that we’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with and will be pleased to recommend.

    Mark Vincent
    Director, Amiri
  • Already extremely impressed with their expertise, project management skills and professionalism. We have no doubt that The Escape will meet every objective we have set out.
     

    Aisling Corcoran
    Digital & Marketing Manager, Ocorian