Strategy & Creative

For marketers who can't afford to wait.
Brand strategy to creative campaign — 6 weeks, start to finish.

Sharp strategy, fast creative, one fixed cost.

Impatient Ideas is a brand strategy and creative studio, run by Tom Drew and Sid McGrath, delivering brand strategy to campaign-ready creative in six weeks for one fixed fee.

Everything you need. Nothing you don't.
Why Impatient Ideas

If your business doesn't have time to waste or money to spend on people you'll only ever see on your bill, then we should have a chat.

A brief one, of course.

Executive creative director — The BBH creative director that helped turn around the Tesco brand (winning Brand of the Year) and the Wunderman Thompson ECD that took a dormant creative agency brand and helped it become the 2nd most awarded agency in the UK in 2024, picking up four Grand Prix on the way.

"Tom, you have my brand in the palm of your hand."

Sir Dave Lewis, CEO, Tesco

See what comes out of
Tom's brain here

Tom Drew
Chief strategy officer — Co-founder of Karmarama, one of the UK's most celebrated creative agencies. A brand, marketing and communications strategist with 30+ years building distinctive companies, winning pitches and making highly effective creative work.

"Sid has a fantastic ability to cut through the noise and get to the heart of the issue, grounding it in human insight and commerciality."

James Davies, Head of Marketing Strategy, HSBC

See what comes out of
Sid's mind here

Sid McGrath

01

Strategy
driven by ideas

No strategy mumbo-jumbo. We start with where the idea wants to go, then build the thinking that gets you there.

02

Creative
rooted in strategy

No creative egotism. Every execution earns its place by serving the business goal.

03

Six weeks,
start to finish

Brand architecture, creative guidelines, campaign-ready work. Everything you need. Nothing you don't.

Week 1 — Kick-off

A full team briefing so we can get under the skin of the business, figure out the real problem and start working on the solution.

Week 2 — Strategic angles

We show you three strategic directions, brought to life with simple creative. You input, we listen, we amend.

Week 3 — Creative directions

We bring to life the chosen strategy with three distinct creative directions, touching all the major media points so you have full faith in each idea's breadth.

Industry Fit Check

Before anything moves to refinement, we bring in the wider industry experts to make sure the chosen idea is going to work on shelf and online.

Supermarket Maker

An ex chief customer officer at a national supermarket reviews the plan and advises how to shape it for buyers, in the boardroom and in the aisles.

Thumb stopping guru

A Google Creative Lead pours over the social creative and refines it using the latest social best practice.

Column Inch Ruler

A giant of PR assesses the ideas for potential press coverage.

Production Reality Check

An external production partner assesses whether we're living on another planet or not. Decides we are, then plots a path for us all to get there.

Week 4 — Refinement

We consumer-test the creative direction alongside the outline of the strategic brand foundations and refine.

Week 5 — The Playbook

We deliver the final strategic documents, creative concepts and guidelines. A full kit of parts.

Week 6 — Press the production button

With full sign-off, we present two different production approaches from a trusted partner. Or, together, we make a plan with your own partner (in house or somebody you've used before).

Week 1 — Kick-off

A full team briefing so we can get under the skin of the business, figure out the real problem and start working on the solution.

Week 2 — Strategic angles

We show you three strategic directions, brought to life with simple creative. You input, we listen, we amend.

Week 3 — Creative directions

We bring to life the chosen strategy with three distinct creative directions, touching all the major media points so you have full faith in each idea's breadth.

Industry Fit Check

Before anything moves to refinement, we bring in the wider industry experts to make sure the chosen idea is going to work on shelf and online.

Supermarket Maker

An ex chief customer officer at a national supermarket reviews the plan and advises how to shape it for buyers, in the boardroom and in the aisles.

Thumb stopping guru

A Google Creative Lead pours over the social creative and refines it using the latest social best practice.

Column Inch Ruler

A giant of PR assesses the ideas for potential press coverage.

Production Reality Check

An external production partner assesses whether we're living on another planet or not. Decides we are, then plots a path for us all to get there.

Week 4 — Refinement

We consumer-test the creative direction alongside the outline of the strategic brand foundations and refine.

Week 5 — The Playbook

We deliver the final strategic documents, creative concepts and guidelines. A full kit of parts.

Week 6 — Press the production button

With full sign-off, we present two different production approaches from a trusted partner. Or, together, we make a plan with your own partner (in house or somebody you've used before).

All You Can Eat
£49k

Great for established brands that need everything and are sick of being rinsed by the agencies that charge for everything and deliver the opposite. For CMOs and MDs who are ready to move and make decisions quickly.

Includes
  • Detailed strategic principles
  • Quick qual research
  • Brand architecture and explanation
  • Brand idea
  • Tone of voice guidelines
  • Campaign idea
  • Campaign blueprint
  • Channel plan
  • Brand book
The Set Menu
£34k

Great for smaller marketing teams whose budget is too small to be looked at by a big agency but whose task is too important to get wrong.

Includes
  • Detailed strategic principles
  • Brand architecture and explanation
  • Brand idea
  • Tone of voice guidelines
  • Campaign idea
  • Campaign blueprint
The Meal Deal
£18k

Great for emerging brands that have been getting by but need some foundational rigour to take their brand to the next level.

Includes
  • Broad strategic principles
  • Brand architecture
  • Brand idea
  • Campaign idea
À la carte
Price on request

If you need something bespoke, just give us a bell.

A regular agency typically takes five times as long and costs five times as much as Impatient Ideas, because you're paying for overheads you don't need. You could, and we can recommend a few good ones. But it'll take roughly five times as long, cost roughly five times as much, and you'll be paying for overheads you don't need. We also charge a fixed fee, not by the hour, so we're just as motivated as you are to hit the deadline.

Tom and Sid have worked together for years, including at Wunderman Thompson, delivering strategy and creative across a wide range of brands and briefs. Tom and Sid have worked together as a twosome and as part of a bigger agency at Wunderman Thompson. We've delivered strategy and creative solutions across a good range of briefs and brands. We're happy to share testimonials if it helps.

Impatient Ideas works on three fixed fees: £18k, £34k or £49k, with bespoke pricing on request — no day rates, no hourly billing. We work on fixed fees, not day rates. That means you know what you're getting and what you're paying before we start. Check out our menu pricing above or get in touch and we'll give you a straight answer quickly. No drawn-out commercial negotiations.

Getting started with Impatient Ideas begins with a no-obligation call to confirm the fit, followed by a clear proposal. Just get in touch with us directly by call or message. We'll have a no-obligation call, figure out what you need and whether we're the right people for it. If we are, we'll send you a clear proposal. If we're not, we'll tell you honestly and probably point you somewhere better.

Impatient Ideas is different because strategy and creative work side-by-side as one team, not as separate departments handed off to each other. Beyond our speed, our experience, our collaborative ways of working and the fact that we're really good, what really makes us different is the way we work together to combine strategy and creativity. Agencies have a habit of separating these but we bring them together, working side-by-side to ensure the strategy will lead to something creatively distinct, and the creative work will be faithful to the strategy. It's a winning formula.

Impatient Ideas delivers fully scamped, production-ready work, then hands off to a trusted production partner, or one of your own choosing. Our packages take you right up to the point where production is the next step. Fully scamped and visualised work. We then recommend one of our selected, trusted production partners. Or you can choose to produce it with somebody else or internally. Whichever you choose, we'll get the ball rolling with a briefing and induction. Then it's up to you whether you want us to help guide the production. Unlike other agencies, that's your choice, not a requirement.

Every Impatient Ideas package delivers a brand architecture, explored creative ideas, an agreed campaign idea and creative concepts ready for production. That depends on the package you choose. But even the most basic level delivers a full brand architecture, a range of explored creative ideas, an agreed campaign idea and creative concepts ready to go across multiple channels. In short, everything you need to go straight into production.

Working with Impatient Ideas requires decision-makers at a kick-off meeting and a handful of key review sessions, plus any existing brand documents upfront. We need the decision-makers in the room, or on the call. We'll ask you to commit to a kick-off meeting and a handful of key sessions to agree strategy, review creative and the final idea. We set all of that up at the start. We'll also need any relevant documents, research or previous brand work upfront, so we're not playing catch-up halfway through.

Six weeks is the standard Impatient Ideas timeline, but faster or longer schedules are available depending on how much strategic groundwork is already done. Six weeks is our sweet spot, but it's not the only option. Need something faster because the strategy's already done? We can do that. Got something more complicated that needs more time? We can do that too. Just talk to us and we'll work out what makes sense.

Tom Drew and Sid McGrath's full backgrounds and portfolios are on LinkedIn and at tomdrew.co.uk. Have a look at our LinkedIn profiles, Tom Drew and Sid McGrath, and at Tomdrew.co.uk for recent creative outputs.

Impatient Ideas works best with ambitious small and mid-size brands, and larger companies who want to move fast without a full agency procurement process. We work well with ambitious smaller businesses and mid-size brands, as well as bigger companies who need to move fast without going through a full agency procurement process. If you're a one-person startup who needs a logo, we're probably not the right fit. If you've got a real brand challenge and a budget allocated to it, we are.

Impatient Ideas works on brand positioning, brand architecture, campaign strategy, product and service launches, and challenger brand thinking. It doesn't do production. Most things. New brand positioning, brand architecture, campaign strategy, new product or service launches, creative ideas that need a strategic spine, challenger brand thinking. What we don't do is production. We're the thinking and creative bit.

Impatient Ideas is UK-based but works with brands in any market, provided the work happens in English, online. We're based in the UK but we've worked across multiple markets. As long as you're happy working in English and can get online with us, we can make it work wherever you are.

Impatient Ideas builds review stages into every project, so issues are caught and fixed before final delivery, not after. We build review stages into every project for exactly that reason. You're not presented with a final answer at the end with no right of reply. We work collaboratively throughout, so by the time we land the final idea you've been part of getting there. That said, if something isn't right, we'll fix it.

Examples of Impatient Ideas' work are at tomdrew.co.uk and sidmcgrathportfolio2.netlify.app, with live project walkthroughs available on request. You can see some of our recent work here and here. We'll always be respectful of our clients' live projects, but get in touch and we'll walk you through what we're doing right now. Confidentially, of course.

Impatient Ideas is right for anyone with a brand problem who doesn't want to spend six months or a fortune finding the answer. If you've got a brand problem or a brand opportunity, and you don't want to wait six months or spend a fortune finding out the answer, then yes, it's for you. You get senior experience working directly with you, fast, with none of the usual agency faff.
More questions →
6 weeks. Everything you need. Nothing you don't.

Brand architecture · Creative guidelines · Campaign-ready work · No waiting