Published by Neil ThompsonOn 16 November 2000 Claire Scaramanga founded Scaramanga Marketing (as it was known then). Having previously worked in large agencies, Claire had moved to join a dotcom startup as marketing director to launch the company in the UK, France and Germany. Sadly, the company was badly affected by the dotcom bubble burst, and Claire decided that it was time to do what she had always wanted to and start being her own boss.
In 2001, Claire met Simon Leadbetter and his then business partner Gren Hamlyn through a local networking event. They then started to work collaboratively on client projects as well as Simon and Gren designing the previous Scaramanga brand identity. They might also have gone out for a few curries in Wimbledon with our other halves!!
When Simon formed his web, design and branding agency, Thoughtful Web in 2011, the timing was perfect as Scaramanga were looking for a new partner. The first project Simon and Claire worked on was the rebranding of The Sheriffs Office and their new website. The collaboration carried on from there.
The merger
In 2018, Claire started to consider how to grow Scaramanga and build the range of services that could be offered, and it seemed the obvious choice to talk to Simon. Their goals, plans and way of working aligned on so many levels that they started conversations about merging the two businesses. After lots of discussions about legal stuff and what the new joined venture should be called – Simon thought we should retain “Scaramanga” because it is so unique and everyone remembers it - the two businesses merged to become one. Scaramanga Agency was formed!
Turning 20 in 2020
2020 has obviously been a tough year for everyone, but so far this year Scaramanga has:
- Launched a new service offering animated videos
- Grown the team with Mike Gammon and Tristan Sheen joining
- The marketing team moved into a new office in Croydon
- The design website and branding team moved into a new bigger office in Kent
- We discovered that, while we prefer working together in the same office, we can work effectively from home
Plans for the future
Looking forward, Scaramanga's plan is to continue to grow their clients, their team and expand on the services they offer. They look forward to taking you on this journey with them and would like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has supported them for the past 20 years, be that colleagues, clients, family, friends, and their wider network.
Oh, and is there a James Bond connection?
As you might expect, Claire does get asked this question quite regularly and the answer is, yes, there is a somewhat tenuous connection. Ian Fleming went to Eton with Claire's grandfather’s cousin. By accounts, they didn’t like each other, which is presumably why Scaramanga was made a villain. However, Claire does think that he was the coolest of all the Bond villains, played perfectly by the inimitable Christopher Lee.
And, just for the record, Claire is keen to point out that she does not share the character’s unusual physical attribute!!
You can find out more about Scaramanga here: https://scaramanga.agency/
