Barraclough to launch direct marketing agency in Soho

Former Proximity London chairman Chris Barraclough is launching a new directing marketing agency next month.

The Soho-based agency, which opens in the first week of July, will be called Barraclough Edwards Chamberlain. The agency is co-founded by Barraclough, his former creative partner Steve Edwards, who will both be creative partners, and Nic Chamberlain, who is an account director at EHS Brann. Chamberlain will take the title of managing partner.

Barraclough, who was a founder of Barraclough Hall Woolston Gray, which later became Proximity, claims his new agency will have similar principles to those of Mother, and will keep the creative output closer to its clients. He says advertisers will have a creative from the agency working at their offices one or two days a week on secondment and adds the agency will be able to turn round creative briefs in a matter of days.

“Clients are fed up with the cumbersome process they have to go through to get work out of large agencies, and feel remote from the process,” says Barraclough.Barraclough claims to have a number of clients on board, but refuses to disclose them. He is under contract with Proximity until the end of this month.

Barraclough started his career at Smith Bundy, before joining DDM as creative director. He quit in 1991.