Throughout my career I have been labelled a ‘diversity hire’. And you know what? I’m (mostly) okay with that.
Because diversity isn’t just about hiring someone with a different skin colour, or heritage, or culture.
True diversity is about thinking differently too.
And that is at the heart of creativity – bringing fresh perspectives to find new ways to solve our clients’ challenges.
Edward Enninful said: ‘without diversity, creativity remains stagnant.’ And Tim Berners-Lee – the father of the internet himself – said: ‘we need diversity of thought in the world to face the new challenges.’
That’s where I come in.
As a creative director, I have run a multi-award-winning studio that delivered over 400 cross-platform campaigns a year for commercial and editorial clients. I have worked at every stage from pitch to execution for some of the biggest brands in the world and solved every kind of communications challenge.
And what I learned from nearly two decades in this industry is that diversity – of thought, of approach, of skills, of experience – is vital to bringing the best work together for those clients.
The creative sector faces huge challenges. Fighting for audience engagement and attention in a crowded world.
I believe the solution comes from bringing true diversity to our industry and creating work that resonates with ever-more fragmented and harder to reach audiences.
As a UN Women UK delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68), I am on a mission to use my voice to advance the rights of women and girls and accelerate the achievement of gender equality worldwide.
As an Executive Creative Director I founded an award-winning artist agency that champions exceptional individuals who are underrepresented in the creative world: Women. People of colour. People living with disabilities. People from working class backgrounds. People from the LGBTQ+ community.
As a director I made a short film for first, second and third generation key workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, that was officially selected as a global message of hope by the United Nations and amassed over 300 million views worldwide.
I am currently the CEO and Co–Founder of House of Oddities (HOO). A full–service creative agency built on the principle that 'difference makes a difference'. We do all the usual stuff for our clients – strategy, insight, research, creative ideation and full-scale production of everything from feature films and TV series to social, digital, print, TVCs, events, radio, PR stunts and OOH.
But we take a very different approach. We bring a 100% commitment to diversity and inclusion, combined with the highest regard for sustainability, with a dash of editorial expertise. The results are an award-winning mix of clever strategy and flawless creativity.
So if you want to embrace diversity in your clients, studio, agency or company, then HOO could be the one you’re looking for. As long as you want us to get to work making a difference, rather than as some sort of box-ticking exercise.
That’s not the kind of ‘diversity' project we're interested in.
As activist Verna Myers puts it: ‘diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.’
Interested? Then let’s dance.
Find out more at hoodares.com
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Clients Include:
Sport England, Tony's Chocolonely, Childline, Oxfam, Gucci, NSPCC, Snapchat, Universal Pictures, CNBC Universal, National Geographic, Volvo, The Movember Foundation, British Airways, American Express, Harrods, Audi, Google, Clarins, Skoda, Virgin, Sky Media, Elizabeth Arden, BT, Cartier, Fenwick, Dubai Tourism, Natwest, Samsung, Suqqu, Tiffany, UNICEF, Kia Motors, The Sunday Times Magazine, IBM, World Duty Free, Next, Volkswagen, James Wellbeloved, Grundig, Primark, Sarsons, The Outnet, Channel 5, Schroders, eONE, M&S, Sorel, Celebrity Cruises, Brita, Arla, Siemens, Laura Mercier, Lloyds, Balmain, Specsavers, Bicester Village, Dove, Eurostar, Fever Tree, Net-A-Porter, Soho House, Adidas, Vanity Fair, Mr Porter, Farfetch, Range Rover, Calvin Klein, Puma, Boodles, Budweiser, Tom Ford, Penguin and GQ.
Awards & Recognition:
Purpose Awards in association with PRWeek, Campaign and Third Sector: Finalist – ‘Not letting go’ TVC for NSPCC (2024): Best Public Awareness Cause Campaign
Gerety Awards: Shortlist – ‘Not letting go’ TVC for NSPCC (2024): Craft – Direction
The Digital Cinema Media Awards in partnership with Campaign: Nominee – ‘Not letting go’ TVC for NSPCC (2024): Best Use of Cinema under £250K
The Digital Cinema Media Awards in partnership with Campaign: Nominee – ‘Not letting go’ TVC for NSPCC (2024): Best Creative Use of Cinema
The Digital Cinema Media Awards in partnership with Campaign: Nominee – ‘Not letting go’ TVC for NSPCC (2024): Best 'Marketing For Good' Cinema Campaign
Thinkbox Creativity Awards in association with Campaign: Shortlist – ‘Not letting go’ TVC for NSPCC (2024)
APA Awards – Shortlist – ‘Not letting go’ TVC for NSPCC (2024)
Campaign’s Female Frontier Awards: Conquering Creativity Shortlist (2022)
Campaign’s Female Frontier Awards: Honouree for Diversity & Inclusion (2021)
Campaign x Creative Equals Future Leaders List (2021)
Creative Pool Annual: Top 100 Creative Leaders of the Year (2021)
Campaign Publishing Awards: Launch of the Year - Studio PI (2021)
Campaign Publishing Awards: Content Studio of the Year - Bridge Studio (2021)
Creative Pool Annual: Creative Services Company of the Year shortlist (2021)
Campaign Media Awards: Best Media Idea, Gold - Kia (2020)
You Clap For Me Now: Selected by the United Nations as it's official message of solidarity during the COVID-19 pandemic and now a part of the People's History Museum Collection in Manchester (2020)
Poems For A Pandemic: Number 1 on Amazon’s bestseller lists for poems and anthologies (2020)
News Awards: Commercial Advertising Initiative of the year - Skoda (2018)
British Media Awards: Commercial Campaign of the year, Gold - Skoda (2018)
Campaign Media Awards: Content Strategy, Gold - Movember (2018)
UK Sponsorship Awards: Branded Content, Gold - Movember (2018)
British Media Awards: Commercial Campaign Strategy, Bronze - Movember (2018)
News Awards: Brand Partnership of the year, Highly Commended - Movember (2018)
Testimonials:
'Sach is fearless for all the right reasons. She has emotional intelligence to burn and a deep rooted respect and mastery of the power of creative to move people. Her commitment to emerging and established talent is unmatched. And the sheer talent she oozes is a mix I'm grateful for and jealous of in equal measure.'
Kevin Yeates - Head of Brand, NSPCC
'Sach leads by example. I have felt the impact of being guided by her vision, dynamic enthusiasm and passion. Sach is someone that you want to work for. She is warm, kind and passionate - rewriting the stereotypes of what qualities are important for leadership. This is reflected in the teams she builds and fosters, and defines the collaborative environment in which she works.'
Sing Yun Lee - Senior Illustration Agent, Studio PI
'What I look for in a colleague first and foremost is passion, someone who really cares about doing a great job. Sach has this in abundance. Then talent, her eye and creativity shine through in her portfolio. On top of all that, she's an incredibly likeable, friendly, positive and driven person. Combine all these attributes and you get a genuinely inspiring Creative Leader.'
Tim Shearring - Creative Director, The Times
'Sach is unstoppable. She is not only a brilliantly talented creative, she is a leader of people and a leader for change. Sach creates departments with creativity at its heart and inspires people to want to work with her. She is brave, honest and committed to making the world a better place and her mentoring and development of her teams really raises the bar on creative quality.'
Lou Gordon - Creative Services Lead, NSPCC
'Sach is fantastically talented, determined and tenacious about changing the industry we work in for the better. She always encourages her teams to push their standards to be the very best in the industry. She is not only brilliant at her job, she's brave and has the grit and determination to make everything she touches a success.'
Georgie Harwood - Head of Production, News UK
'Sach is a highly gifted individual with a rare talent for balancing great leadership with kindness and award-winning work. People WANT to work with Sach. They are drawn to her boundless creativity, integrity and strong desire to make our industry a better place. She is universally admired by clients, her teams and artists who have a profound respect for her commitment to delivering the best work possible whilst also supporting and celebrating others. Her resilience and determination to succeed despite the many hurdles she has faced is beyond admirable.'
Darren Smith - Chief Brand & Marketing Officer, APLYiD
‘Sach is an inspiration. She is one of those rare gems who's creativity, enthusiasm and energy are all wrapped up to produce one highly talented individual. If she is your leader, creative director or colleague, you cannot help but get swept along in a creative whirlwind that always results in great work and an even greater experience. A sharp eye and an even sharper mind, her ability to push for new levels of creativity is a talent many strive for but very few can deliver.'
Mark Field - Director of Client Strategy, Reach
'One of my favourite Creative Directors I've worked with. Sach showed amazing commitment to achieving real originality in every project we worked on. She has all those brilliant qualities every employer puts in their job ads, but most of all she has that very difficult thing to explain - a sense of what is truly brilliant work and how it gets made.'
Matt Glynn - Director of Photography, Bridge Studio
Skills:
Commercials Director, Creative Direction, Art Direction, Video Direction, Graphic Design, Production, Commissioning, Team Management, Client Liaison, Idea Generation, Brand Building, Public Speaking, Exhibition Curation, Budget Planning, Judging, Marketing, Storytelling, Pitching, Mentoring, Visual Identity, Brand Strategy, Creative Strategy, Leadership, Talent Acquisition, PR, Business Management, Content Strategy.
Education:
BA (Hons) Visual Communication Design (1st), Middlesex University (September 2002 - June 2006)
BTEC Diploma in Art & Design (Distinction), Richmond College (September 2001 - July 2002)
Press & Interviews:
On Design Podcast: Sachini Imbuldeniya on House of Oddities, advertising and celebrating the rebels.
Volunteering, Judging and Other Stuff:
Creative Review Photo Annual: Jury member (2022).
News UK’s Cultural Diversity Network: Co-Chair (May - December 2020)
References available on request
Part of a semantic typography series for Patek Philippe: Creative Direction - Sachini Imbuldeniya, Art Direction - Valentina Verc