Crisis, what crisis? i2i CEO Bruce Burnett isn't fazed by forecasts of economic strife and the tightening of purse-strings. Instead, he is looking to spend. It is, he argues, "a really good time to buy agencies".
Burnett is hiring staff for a new regional office opening this month in Cirencester, Gloucestershire. The move will round off a busy year for i2i and follows last September's rebrand of the agency from i2i Face to Face Marketing (prompted by an expanding remit).
Burnett has seen some changes of his own over the years. His first marketing job was at McCann-Erickson in the 80s. Then he spent 15 years on the client side, first at Nestle Rowntree and then rising to marketing director at Trebor Bassett. But it was his belief in experiential marketing's potential that led him to found i2i in 2000.
Clients include Sara Lee, Philips, Masterfoods, L'Oreal and Kellogg's, and if winning new business is any indication, the agency's rebrand has been a success. So far this year it has worked on new experiential campaigns for Weight Watchers, Hasbro, Dr Oetker and Swiss dairy brand Emmi. The agency is also about to launch a pan-European roadshow campaign for computer games company Capcom.
Burnett sees pan-European campaigns as ripe for growth. "What we're seeing is that international firms want to make their money work harder," he says. But there are many potential pitfalls and "especially in mainland Europe, they are very, very regional in terms of their mentality". Parisian staff, for example, wouldn't be suitable for a campaign in southern France - or indeed, anywhere outside Paris, he jokes.
Despite his optimistic economic outlook, Burnett highlights another change he's observed. "In the past two years, all the clients we've dealt with, from the biggest blue-chip to the smaller companies, have budgets under pressure." He adds, "I don't think there's a single meeting I have where ROI doesn't come up quite quickly."
He adds: "One of the biggest issues that a lot of clients have is so much business is going through the top grocers." Activity has to conform to a range of restrictions put in place by the big four. That has a knock-on effect on vendor fees for other locations. "Now you're spending top dollar to be in Bluewater. You're talking about £3,500 for a day."
Although such concerns keep him busy, Burnett ensures that he balances his personal and professional life. This is helped by his Thatcher-like ability to get by on four hours of sleep, allowing him to cram in horse-riding and two books a week.
The 47-year-old also reserves time for his three-year-old-daughter. Burnett became a parent later in life and relishes the new perspective fatherhood has given him. He decries "one-dimensional" people who view work as an end in itself.
Despite an increasingly competitive market and the knock-on effects of faltering confidence in the economy, Burnett is optimistic. On his shopping list are experiential and digital agencies. Some new media firms i2i already works with might also be targets. And there's talk of another office opening in the north of England. "A tough market is actually a market opportunity," he says.
CV
2008: CEO, i2i Marketing
2000: managing director, i2i Face to Face Marketing
1997: MD, Communication Innovation Group
1993: marketing director, Trebor Bassett
1991: head of marketing, Trebor Bassett
1989: group marketing manager, Nestle Rowntree
1981: account manager, McCann Erickson Advertising.