The Brill Building is investing €1.1m in a new creative studio and open-access production hub for creators in Dublin 8 as the company embarks on the next phase of its expansion.
Originally founded as a “cloud-based” agency in 2019, The Brill Building is now developing what it says is the “first of its kind” hub in the Irish creative sector.
“Five years into the big adventure that is The Brill Building and having created many nationally and internationally successful marketing campaigns in that time, this is our agency’s first investment in a physical space,” said Roisín Keown, CEO of The Brill Building.
“It’s a natural next step to invest in a production hub, rather than an office. However, we’re thinking bigger than just the immediacy of production. We’ve always had the mantra ‘scale is no barrier to ambition’ – meanwhile dreaming on a larger scale than most. Until now, harnessing virtual production could only be accessed on the largest scale. Now with new technologies, you don’t need a huge footprint or a team of hundreds in-house to create world-class work. It’s innovation and imagination in the one space,” she said.
Situated in Inchicore, she said that the agency “expects to support and benefit from the local creative community and Dublin City Council’s ‘cultural cluster’ strategy for the southcentral area.”
“The creative and creator economy is about more than commerce. It’s culture. There is a severe lack of both studio and creative spaces – for artists and influencers alike – in the city,” Keown added.
“Our plan is to open the doors for both once-off hire and a collaborative and reciprocal membership model that will inspire our own work by keeping us deeply connected to a community of inspiration and imagination and give our clients access to a network of the most exciting creators and creatives.”
Announcing the investment on site was industry body IAPI President Siobhan Masterson and Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr. Ray McAdam who said:“This €1.1 million investment in Inchicore from The Brill Building is exactly the kind forward-thinking Dublin needs. It brings new life, jobs, creativity and opportunity to a neighbourhood that has real potential,” said McAdam.
“In my capacity as Lord Mayor, I am committed to ‘Celebrating Dublin’, so I warmly welcome projects that turn vacant or under-used spaces into engines for growth and innovation. This hub won’t just boost the creative economy; it will help build a Dublin where ambition meets action and where culture, commerce and community come together. I look forward to working with The Brill Building to champion this new chapter for the Irish advertising industry, for Inchicore and for the city as a whole,” he added.
IAPI President Siobhan Masterson said: “This is the sort of development we are excited to see for our commercial creative industry in Ireland. At IAPI, we’re committed to scaling the influence and reach of our members, not just nationally but internationally and to see the drive and vision of The Brill Building evolve with this great new step for the agency is proof an inspiring next chapter for Irish marketing and communications awaits.”
Keown said that their approach- “partnering the creation of powerful brand platforms with cutting-edge production capability,” is key to helping alleviate “a key pain point for CMOs and CEOs at a seminal moment for brands and businesses.”
She cites research commissioned by The Brill Building as part of their own repositioning confirms that brand owners and CMOs are facing increased pressure to achieve results. “Many report increased competition and more media channels to share finite budgets across, as well as frustration with the traditional agency model of delivery as slow and formulaic.”
In contrast to what Keown calls the ‘one team fits all’ approach of established agency models, The Brill Building believes its “formula for excellence is unique in the market and pioneering in the industry”.
“Our approach offers all the benefits, efficiencies and unlimited imagination that’s possible now with the creativity, expertise and resourcefulness of skilled talent,” she said.
“Technology has been key to our USP to date, as an agency that was established first in the Cloud. Now, with this development of a collaboration and production hub, we have a way of bringing our global and local talent together with client teams in a creative space,” she said.
“This is agile excellence; de-risking the investment in ‘new’ and saving clients the workload and pressure of the ‘Do It Yourself’ model which companies like Meta and others are proposing, but one that still needs those with creative talents – writers, art directors, designers, and creators – to help them execute. Big international brands can afford the investment of budget and training in in-house teams. We believe everyone else would prefer that done for them, by those who are already the best in the business,” she added.
Elaborating on the evolution of the business, Keown said that The Brill Building “is a business accelerator for brands to keep them ahead of the curve.”
“Brand is proven consistently to be the differentiator to take businesses to the next level of their growth. The latest report from McKinsey, on the importance of brand for sustaining business and sales success, only confirms what many of us have been practising for years. For the businesses that have worked with The Brill Building, that means breakthrough communications platforms, campaigns and activations that reverse decline, accelerate growth and build brill brands. More attention, meaning, fame, leads, salience, sales, market share and scaled revenue – even the potential of more lives saved. These are the results we have consistently delivered for our client partners,” Keown concluded.
