Tom Richards is CCO of Havas Lynx EU and is responsible for the creative reputation of Havas Lynx. With over 20 years’ advertising experience producing award winning and category-changing work across every conceivable medium, Tom believes in in harnessing the power of creativity to solve problems, sell products and more importantly improve lives.

If I had an idea for every time I heard a creative utter these words, I would be Sir John Hegarty and all the trappings that go with being the legend. Global agency, awards cabinet bursting with trophies and of course the award-winning vineyard.

Creativity has the power to change healthcare – to change lives and patient outcomes, but great ideas rarely arise from being slumped in a swivel chair; you need an environment that allows ideas to be set free.

We were overdue a dedicated, inspiring creative environment where our ideas people could be unleashed to live and breathe creativity, let their ideas loose, display inspiring stuff and hang out with like-minded people.

Welcome to Department X.

Turns out, with our creative medical writers, we’re the biggest creative healthcare department in Europe – a multidiscipline collaborative team, rocking their specialisms and inspiring their colleagues. Bringing these people together in one place can take a seed of an idea into a game-changing concept. Where a writer can bolster their idea with the input of a videographer; where a medic can add the life-changing dimension to a designer’s concept.

If we’re to be at the forefront of more ground-breaking projects, this place of collaboration, development and idea sharing will be our foundations; the platform to allow such to happen. When you constantly strive for better ways to work, you produce better work and that way, we’ll go from being in good health, to great health.

As a wise man once said, probably Sir John, surround yourself with talented people. So that’s what we did. Cue Atul and Chris from Sheila Bird – incredibly talented creative interior designers; some of the best in the business – we’ve created a Tardis for creativity out of excess desk space. The place is peppered with plants – we know best when it comes to subjective wellbeing, and plants not only bring a breath of fresh air, but fill the room with green – the colour of creativity.

As we up our creative ante – already reeling in four awards this year –we’ve upped our creative environment… four creative pods, an editing suite, a social media newsroom, an updated and up-to-date creative library, presentation space and a mural of creation. Big shout out to the talented illustrator Matt Sewell for the vista of creativity and bringing our bird/idea metaphor to life.

When you’ve got an awesome idea, sometimes you’ve just got to ride the rainbow baby.

Watch this space.

Twitter: @TOMmRICHARDS

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