Ep 19: Why being a d**k Is a creative compliment - Graham Goodkind

Now Go Create

He trademarked the word talkability and then watched the rest of the PR world borrow it. Frank PR founder Graham Goodkind joins the Now Go Create podcast this week to talk fame, making ideas, creative bravery, and why being a dick is the highest creative compliment.

Graham is the founder of Frank, the PR agency known for creating ideas that are impossible to ignore, that spark conversations, headlines, and sometimes even end up being debated in parliament. In this episode, Graham joins me to talk about twenty five years at the helm of Frank, what it takes to stay creatively sharp in a risk averse world, and why he thinks that charging for ideas and not time is the future of the agency model.

We get into the stories behind some of Frank's most infamous campaigns and he shares why his creative mantra is to be a dick, a tribute to high jump icon Dick Fosbury, and a reminder to us all to flip the brief, break the rules, and do things differently.

Highlights:

• 25 years of Frank: from startup to building one of the UK’s most talked-about agencies
• What 'talkability' really means and why it's more relevant than ever
• The stories behind iconic campaigns like Weetabix & Beans – the tweet that broke the internet
• Why Graham’s creative mantra is “Be a Dick” – a tribute to high-jump legend Dick Fosbury
• What it really takes to lead a creative culture and how Frank reignited theirs after losing momentum

Meet Graham Goodkind

Graham is the Founder and Chairman of leading consumer public relations agency Frank PR. Winning just about every industry award there is, GG as he is more commonly referred to, has been behind many of the most famous, creative and engaging campaigns and stunts in the business and is the person responsible for introducing the word Talkability to the PR lexicon.

He set up Frank PR in September 2000 (and trademarked Talkability®) having cut his teeth at the 'absolutely fabulous' agency Lynne Franks PR, where he worked his way up from a work experience placement to MD. In 2007, he sold Frank to Photon, a publicly-listed Australian marketing services company, subsequently renamed Enero Group. At the start of 2021, Graham orchestrated an MBO (management buy out) and the agency became fully independent once again. In July 2024, Graham completed another deal to sell this shareholding to the employees of the business via the creation of an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).

GG is also a 'Dutch Uncle', a term he coined for a new type of business and growth consultant and NED. He works with a variety of consultancies specialising in experiential, digital and cultural marketing and he is often brought in as an advisor to consult on various M&A deals in the media space given his own experiences.

He is a proud father of twins (Dexter and Summer), an OK husband of 26 years (to Lisa), a decent golfer (he represented TeamGB at the Maccabiah Games in 2022) and a massive Arsenal fan.

About Claire Bridges

Claire Bridges is Chief Spark and Founder of leading creative training consultancy Now Go Create, whose philosophy is that everyone can be creative.

Claire worked as Managing Director and Creative Director working with global brands including Starbucks, Kellogg’s, Unilever, P&G and Danone in her previous PR career. Upskilling individuals, teams and organisations with practical creativity tools is Claire’s mission.

She’s one of only 250 people globally to hold an MSc in Creativity, Leadership & Innovation, and authored an Amazon best-selling creative handbook In Your Creative Element based on her academic studies.

Claire and her hand-picked team of experts have worked on thousands of creative projects and trained over 40,000 people around the world since starting Now Go Create in 2011.

Join our newsletter for free resources and worksheets to go with the podcast.

Connect with Claire:

Website: https://nowgocreate.co.uk/

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/nowgocreate/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NowGoCreate

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/claire-bridges-b6205b14

Connect with Graham:

Website: https://welcometofrank.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/goodkind/

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk