Drawn Combines Brand Strategy With Digital Invention To Connect, Ignite And Inspire

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Drawn is a creative digital agency. They’re combining digital invention and brand strategy to dream up immersive ecosystems that connect, ignite and inspire.

Below is our recent interview with Shanon Marks, CEO at Drawn:

Q: Could you tell us something more about your team?

A: Our team of critical, creative thinkers untangle complex challenges by envisioning outcomes that fundamentally change the way we experience brands.

Q: What kinds of services do you provide to your clients?

A: All of our work begins with strategy, moving from brand and story through experience design and product innovation. We dream up big ideas rooted in business truths, and shape those ideas into transformative digital experiences.

Q: You’ve recently announced a complete rebrand; could you tell us something more?

A: We started off as a user experience firm driven by research, design sprints and rapid prototyping, but we were missing out on the most exciting cleint opportunities. Our legacy capabilities fell short of realizing what I knew our agency was always capable of; telling brand stories that change the world. Adding new capabilities wouldn’t be enough to realize this vision, and it was clear to me that reinvention was at hand.

I reached out to Nancy Hala, the visionary who could create such an ambitious brand. Nancy and I began our creative partnership while we both worked for Accenture, transforming their go-to-market strategy through story telling and digital invention. I founded MU/DAI while Nancy went on to lead Strategy for Red Interactive, as well as launching a brand story and media firm in Los Angeles. Six months ago the universe brought us back together, with a clear message: dream big. I was having coffee at Pitchoun on South Olive Street when I called Nancy and suggested the idea of working together. A few weeks later she was appointed Chief Strategy Officer and we were unpacking our legacy capabilities and imagining every possibility.

Drawn launched in April as a completely reimagined agency, fully capable and ready to take on the most ambitious and visionary clients.

Q: How did you get to where you are today?

A: Saying yes more than no. It is who I am and always leads me to interesting places and brilliant people. The more I say yes the more that comes to me. I am an explorer and a seeker, I can’t afford to say no. I surround myself with the people I imagine becoming and observe how they navigate the world around them. I have learned is vitally important to stay close to your craft, I am a designer before I am a CEO. My mind is designed to imagine, create and build. Those qualities define my leadership.

Q: What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced in launching your business and how did you overcome it?

A: Flying the plane. I started flying 3 years ago and it is the perfect metaphor for launching and leading a business. Flying a plane is a relatively easy task if you observe only a few moments of the experience. Straight and level flight requires few inputs and is suspiciously effortless. Good pilots stay ahead of their craft, and focused on changes to their environment. The moment you fall behind, you’re no longer focused on preparing for what’s next, you’re struggling to keep up. Most of the time you can correct and catch up, but you really don’t want to find out what happens to those who don’t. The same is true for launching a business, you have to stay ahead of it, scanning the horizon for what should and could happen at any moment. Focus is the responsibility of leadership and drives great businesses forward. It is easy to lose focus when you’re balancing revenue goals, managing costs and developing new business. It’s easy to convince yourself that you can rest.