Dave Birss

, Brand/Creative

After getting a degree in Computer Programming & Advanced Mathematics and a Post Graduate in Marketing, Dave eventually found his way into the advertising industry in 1992.

He started as an Art Director in Glasgow before he realised that he was better at words and defected to Copywriting. His restless curiosity then caused him to flip back and forth every few years, resulting in him being hired as both a Head of Art and a Head of Copy at different agencies.

In 1997 he moved south to start at Ogilvy in London. He then embarked on a 10 year freelance career which gave him a tour of the best agencies across all disciplines. So he developed a thorough understanding of Advertising, Direct Marketing, Sales Promotion and PR. In 2006 he took up the role of Creative Director at MRM Worldwide. During his time there he helped them win numerous awards. After making an impact on the digital industry, he moved to become Creative
Director of Poke – one of the most awarded digital agencies worldwide. And in 2009, Ogilvy managed to coax him back to raise the digital creative standards in their London office.

In January of this year, Dave started up an education programme for the Ogilvy creatives. This got some interest from other agencies, so he’s now starting a training company to bring the rest of the industry up to speed with digital.

However, Dave has never confined himself to the advertising industry. Throughout this time he has also helped to start a number of businesses, including unchainedguide.com, mysoti.com and a recording studio. He’s been a patented inventor. He was a regular guest poet on BBC radio. He’s a board adviser for a number of businesses. He’s a regular speaker at marketing and music industry conferences. And he’s now on a personal mission to make the Internet dyslexia friendly.