Tom Pritchard Portfolio

1 Tom Pritchard / Creative Copywriter

Tom Pritchard Creative Copywriter

I am a 28 year old creative copywriter with extensive

experience writing for web, print and integrated

campaigns across sectors.

I actively contribute to every stage of the creative

process, working closely with in-house creative

teams and agencies to construct and work to a

detailed brief. I understand the importance of brand

guidelines and tone of voice, and have experience of

creating and working to both.

I thrive on the pace, variety and demanding nature of my work. I am a personable and

capable communicator, as comfortable working with a multinational as I am with a one-man

independent, and as at home in the client‟s boardroom as I am in my own office.

School

BA English, First Class Honours, Queen Mary University of London

MA English & AKC, Kings College London

Work

In 3 years of creative copywriting I have helped a wide range of organisations find their

voice, both online and in print. These range from dynamic start-ups to the likes of Vodafone,

Virgin Media Business and the US medical group Cigna.

In recent months I have been working with security software giant Symantec (Norton

Antivirus) in the UK, Asia and Europe. I have been providing copywriting services as a

supplier to Oxford University, and am one of two writers creating content for a new website

from the Discovery Channel. I also regularly write marketing copy for residential and

commercial property developments in London.


Contact

M - +44 (0) 7840 164752

E - [email protected]

L - linkedin.com/in/pritchardthomas

T - @tom_teepee


Work Samples

Property Work Samples:

- „Barts Square Samples‟ – Residential development copy for Helical Bar

- „The Eagle Marketing Suite: A Brinkworth Collaboration‟ – Residential news article for

Mount Anvil

- „12 Hammersmith Grove Samples‟ – Commercial development copy for Development

Securities

- „Fifteen Graduation, with Jamie Oliver‟ – Tone of voice writing for Mount Anvil

Breadth of Tone & Content Samples:

- „LLSB: The Concrete Waving Goodbye?‟ – Editorial article for Long Live Southbank

campaign

- „Crash: How Ballard Woke Up the World‟ – Literary article for The Quietus

- „The Workplace: The Final Frontier for Wearable Tech‟ – Corporate blog writing for

Mpower Development

- Ages of Gold & Umber: Ruskin, the Medieval, Beauty & God‟ – Academic article for

The Journal of Pre-Raphaelite Studies


Property Work Samples


Barts Square Samples

Residential development copy, for Helical Bar, 2014

NB - Barts Square is a residential development in and around a number of St Bart‟s

Hospital‟s historical buildings. The brief required two parallel narratives – a „character

narrative‟ describing a modern flâneur‟s wanderings through the square, and a more direct

marketing narrative that still maintained the charm, intimacy and historical awareness fitting

for the development.

The Flaneur –

I stepped out of the City and into that remarkable square – in that winding patchwork of

buildings and cobbles I saw all that I loved of London.

I had long held a particular fondness for wandering the lanes and courts tucked between and

behind historic Smithfield. My wanderings always had a destination, though I seldom knew

where it would be until I found it. Today I had found Barts Square, and I was captivated.

A most handsome miscellany, tied together with cobbled threads.

The quarter slowly revealed itself to me in crowded corners and empty passageways; all this

was home to a lucky few...

It was the perfect place to end a journey, or the perfect place to start an adventure...

The city spilled out in every direction from Barts Square, alive with a thousand possibilities. I

could delve ever deeper into Smithfield, or be back amidst the City‟s swell of light and sound

in minutes. I don‟t know that there is a finer feeling than that of standing with all of London at

your feet.

I will return to this square, some other sun-flecked afternoon, and discover it all over again.


The Marketing Narrative -

The Askew Building

Robust, traditional lines echo the architecture of local warehouses; inspired details

make this bold new arrival feel like it’s always been here.

The Askew Building sits at the northern edge of Barts Square, within the Smithfield

Conservation Area. Many of its apartments enjoy views over the cobbles to the Grade I listed

St Bartholomew the Great, one of the oldest and finest churches in London.

The Askew Building takes its aesthetic lead from Smithfield‟s historic warehouses. Its fine

linear architecture creates a sense of authenticity and continuity with the existing

streetscape, its glass and glazed brick facade finished with traditional warehouse-inspired

fenestration, wooden shutters and glazed terracotta panels.

The apartments in The Askew Building are crisp, contemporary living spaces, with high

ceilings and a keen eye on beautiful detailing. Crafted finishes in natural materials, including

oak and slate floors provide the apartments‟ open plan, minimalist lines with warmth and

individuality. These are contemporary, design-focused city residences in the heart of

London‟s most historic neighbourhood.

The Collection

Above parapet level, the brick and stone facades of Barts Square give way to the

architectural language of the warehouses, weaver lofts and stables that once stood where

Abernethy House and Dominion House do today. The three bedroom penthouses here

feature full height glazing, and crafted finishes in their bespoke timber joinery and steel

framework. Private terraces offer residents views over the restful interior of Middlesex

Passage, St Paul‟s Cathedral and London beyond. These are beautifully light, spacious

residences, with a distinctive sense of craft and an understated luxury.

The remaining four residences in The Collection are located in Hogarth House. The yellow

brick facade, arcaded ground floor and centrepiece glazed roof lantern set the tone for these

characterful, three bedroom duplex apartments. Reinterpreting Hogarth House‟s grand

Victorian interior, these are luxurious residences with pedimented central bays and Venetian

arch headed windows, sweeping, open living spaces with double height vaulted ceilings and

beautiful private gardens in Middlesex Passage.


The Eagle Marketing Suite: A Brinkworth Collaboration

Residential news sample, for Mount Anvil, 2013

The Eagle Marketing Suite isn‟t just the start of your journey - it‟s a destination.

A development as bold and iconic as The Eagle deserves a game-changing marketing suite. That‟s why we chose to work with creative designers Brinkworth on the project.

Best known for creating the signature All Saints store concept, Brinkworth have a wealth of experience in recasting space, materials and expectations. They helped us tear up the rulebook – writing the starchy, sterile sales floor out of this project‟s history and creating a striking, Art Deco-inspired space in its place.

It‟s a space that introduces you to The Eagle‟s aesthetic, atmosphere and ideology: bold, seductive and confident.

It‟s an elegantly conceived and executed idea; a cutting edge, future-facing and social area that reawakens an era of decadent design. The branding is clean and crisp, the lines sharp and elegant, the space both functional and beautiful. Sound exciting? It is.

Come for a drink. Revel in stylishly furnished and sophisticated New Deco surroundings minutes from Silicon Roundabout. Talk shop with us, or socialise with friends. Make sure you visit The Eagle exhibit to hear more about what the development can offer you.

See you there.


12 Hammersmith Grove Samples

Commercial development copy, for Development Securities, 2014

A New Landmark, A New Benchmark

Brought to you by the team behind 10HG, 12HG takes the baton and runs with it. Bigger and

bolder than 10HG, this is a striking, design-conscious new commercial landmark that brings

the high-spec office space of the West End and the City to Hammersmith, offering vibrant,

dynamic brands the space they need to work, play, and prosper in the heart of this thriving

district.

Hammersmith is a significant London office submarket, with an existing occupier base

including organisations such as Coca Cola, GE, Betfair, Universal, L‟ Oreal and Disney.

Its excellent, comprehensive transport links and ideal placement between London‟s West

End and Heathrow Airport puts the whole of London – and far beyond – within easy reach.

“12HG is a landmark new commercial asset for Hammersmith, benefiting not only

those who work there, but the local community too.”

12HG is both a celebration of Hammersmith‟s burgeoning commercial presence in London,

and a bold new contributor to its continued success. As with 10HG, its arrival will bring a

series of public realm improvements – newly dressed communal spaces, new destination

restaurants, and a new sense of vitality to this thriving neighbourhood.

People are at the heart of 12HG. Its striking glass and chrome triple glazed facade is

designed to house open, spacious, and comfortable offices, and its internal design and

detailing is decided by the requirements of its tenants, from the smallest intelligent lighting

modification, to the sweeping communal balconies. This isn‟t just a place to work; it‟s a place

to flourish.


Fifteen Graduation, with Jamie Oliver.

Tone of voice writing sample, for Mount Anvil, 2013

NB - Two versions of the article were required, one fulfilling the tone brief for The Eagle

development on City Road, the other for Mount Anvil‟s corporate site.

The Eagle -

Westland Place came alive on Thursday evening, as our beautiful marketing suite hosted a

graduation ceremony for this year‟s apprentices from Jamie Oliver‟s Fifteen.

Every year over 200 young people apply to the programme, which offers around 18

successful applicants training, and the opportunity to be a part of one of London‟s most

authentic dining experiences.

The restaurant‟s proximity to us on Westland Place and the programme‟s qualities –

elegance, aspiration and community – made The Eagle the perfect venue for the event. The

sleek, sophisticated marketing suite was decorated for the night with 1m2 headshots of the

successful apprentices, and each apprentice had their moment in the spotlight with a short

film documenting their rollercoaster journeys over the past year.

Amidst the bustle, the conversation and the laughter, Jamie awarded the apprentices their

dog tags as family, friends, and past and future graduates looked on.

We were thrilled to play our part in supporting such a worthy cause, and we look forward to

working with Jamie and Fifteen again in the future. Watch this space!

Mount Anvil -

It was a busy night for The Eagle last Thursday, as their marketing suite played host to a

graduation ceremony for apprentices from Jamie Oliver‟s Fifteen.

Fifteen is part of the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation, the charity that also heads up Jamie‟s

„Ministry of Food‟ and „School Food‟ campaigns. Each year the charity gives young people,

many of them from challenging backgrounds, the chance to train at Fifteen and gain

invaluable experience at one of London‟s top restaurants.

The restaurant‟s location on Westfield place, and the programme‟s reputation for innovation,

made The Eagle the perfect venue for the event. The bustling marketing suite was filled with


supportive families, friends, and past and future graduates of the programme. Jamie himself

awarded the graduates their dog tags.

We were thrilled to have the opportunity to support such a worthy cause, and we look

forward to working with Jamie and Fifteen again in the future. Watch this space for more

pictures and video from the night.


Breadth of Tone & Content Samples


LLSB: The Concrete Waving Goodbye?

Editorial article, for the Long Live Southbank Campaign, 2014

NB - This is an extract from the full article.

It‟s only as I‟m crossing Waterloo Bridge to the Southbank that I realise how long I‟ve been

making this pilgrimage for. More than a decade, and I still walk by the same route – over the

cobbles and through the crowds at Covent Garden, across the Strand and then on to the

bridge, revelling in how the city opens up around the river. This afternoon is cold, but every

now and then the January clouds part and the sun is thrown glittering and gold across the

water, like new pound coins in a wishing well. Then the clouds are back and it‟s the Thames

again – thick with dirt and day-trippers.

I‟ve never been a regular at the Undercroft, but from my mid-teens I made a habit of visiting

whenever I was in London. Back then I didn‟t realise the weight of history that it carried. I

didn‟t know it was the oldest surviving skate spot in the world. I didn‟t know about the

concrete surfers riding the banks, or the legendary video parts that were recorded here

through the „90s. I didn‟t know about the community, or the tumultuous relationship between

that community and the Southbank Centre.

I didn‟t know much, other than that I had been nervous the first time I arrived there, and

people had been welcoming in a way that I wasn‟t expecting. Over the next ten years people

I had never met before taught me, picked me up, laughed and shared their stories with me.

It‟s a strange thing, the Undercroft. What‟s left of it is brutal – dark, damp concrete and a

sense of the subterranean, only lit by a few overhead lights and the endless vibrancy of

decades of graffiti on graffiti. What grew to be hallowed ground for skateboarders started life

as an architectural accident – a non-space that happened to be perfect for skateboarding.

The bank surfers found it early on, and it‟s been one of London‟s most welcoming, most

used and most important spots since the early „70s.

Maybe you haven‟t been following the Southbank Centre‟s proposals to redevelop the

Undercroft. London feels a long way away from a lot of places - a world away from some -

and everyone has their own battles to fight closer to home. Essentially, the Southbank

Centre wants to fit the Undercroft out as retail space – some tasteful glass and chrome

frontages, a coffee shop or three, maybe a Pret.

Firstly, let me say this: I get it. The puddled, oily concrete in the depths of the Undercroft isn‟t

making anyone any money. It belongs to the Southbank Centre. People need jobs. I get it.

The LLSB campaign isn‟t anything as clumsy as „skateboarders vs capitalism‟, or kids in Che

Guevara shirts chaining themselves to railings. [Extract Ends]


Crash: How Ballard Woke Up the World

Literary article, for The Quietus (online culture magazine), 2014

I still remember Dad giving me Crash, with an awkward laugh and a knowing look. I don‟t

know what made him do it. I‟m pretty sure Mum didn‟t approve. Mums generally don‟t

approve of Crash. It was the book that introduced me to Ballard‟s twisted, broken near-

futures. It was also the book that alerted me to the infinite possibilities of the written word,

the darkness and the light that the greatest fiction juggles effortlessly.

I don‟t think I need to go over the subject matter here – if you‟re reading this article, you‟ve

read the book, or at least read about it. Car crashes, sexual deviancy, a cacophony of

screeching, semen and sighs. It‟s a book that gleefully cuts the brake cables of expectation

and decency‟s Ford Capri, leaving words like „amputee‟ and „nymphomania‟ to career wildly

in to each other. You can see why it shocked people on its publication in 1973, and you can

see why it has continued to shock ever since. David Cronenberg‟s 1996 film adaptation

raised the collective eyebrow worldwide, even with many of the book‟s sharp edges rounded

off - the bodily fluids implied, rather than sprayed liberally as in the novel.

The beauty of Ballard‟s work, however, has never been in the headlines. What scared

people about Crash wasn‟t the idea of symphorophilia, it was the people themselves.

Literature that shocks and horrifies isn‟t implicitly Ballardian. Literature that shocks and

horrifies in part because of its proximity to our own lives is.

In that respect, I have always thought of Ballard as a literary Egon Schiele. The latter was a

supremely capable young artist of the Viennese school who, stifled by the ultra-

conservativism of the Akadamie der bildenden Künste Wien, sought out Gustav Klimt and

spent the following decade creating increasingly intense, distorted and harrowing portraits of

himself and those around him. But it is not the quiet horror of Schiele‟s paintings that upsets

his audiences. Rather, it is the deftness with which that horror is laid over the mundane.

Schiele‟s work has one foot very much in the real world. It is recognisable and relatable

enough to be genuinely disturbing.

Ballard similarly recognises that horror - even a very British, suburban horror - is only truly

recognisable in its relationship to the everyday. Ballard has one foot in the recesses of his

surreal creativity and the other firmly in the front gardens of middle England. It is his mastery

of both, and his effortless, unannounced movement between the two, that allows Crash to be

so affecting.


It‟s the same uneasy alignment that marks his other great triumph, High Rise. Ballard looks

us in the eye and tells us that our magnolia paint samples, John Lewis cushions and Smart

cars don‟t mean shit. That underneath it all – and not very far underneath it all – the only

things we care about are eating, fucking and surviving until tomorrow. The world won‟t end

because of nuclear war, religious extremism or economic collapse; the world will end

because we are animals who think we are Gods. It was designed to shake Britain by the

collar, to wake it from the twin curses of idealism and apathy.

And High Rise worked. It still works. But nothing before or since works quite like Crash, a

book that started shaking the world in 1973 and hasn‟t stopped shaking it yet.

Read it if you haven‟t. It turned 40 last year, so there‟s a reason if you need one. It really

ought to be read, enjoyed, and passed on. After all, what is Crash, if not an awkward laugh

and a knowing look?


The Workplace: The Final Frontier for Wearable Tech?

Corporate ghost-writing, for Mpower Development (sales training), 2013

I‟ve been reading a lot recently about wearable tech. It‟s all very exciting and very current,

and no doubt it will have some effect on our industry. The question is exactly what that effect

will be. I tweeted an article from Mashable earlier in the month, a wide-eyed, wonderfully

optimistic crowd-pleaser of a piece about the advent of wearable tech in the workplace. This

technology could increase productivity, streamline processes, provide a platform for

integrating personal necessities – health checks, for example – with professional obligations.

“This world isn‟t futuristic,” the article claims excitedly, “it‟s now possible”.

This is, without a doubt, very exciting. I‟m all for progress, and our industry has always been

an early adopter, a driver even, for technological advancement and integration. But I am

wondering if people are getting too excited too quickly. Let me explain why.

I‟ll use Google Glass as an example because it‟s the piece of wearable tech that we have

heard most about so far. Jawbone and others are up and coming, but Google Glass is the

headline. As well it might be – just using its most basic functionalities you can take photos,

record audio and video, broadcast what you are seeing and more, all in real time.

That is a huge leap forward in technological terms, a giant leap for mankind in terms of how

we utilise technology. Workers will be able to dictate emails on the move, live video

conference from anywhere without a computer or tablet, research anything from anywhere.

But let‟s just re-read those basic capabilities: you can take photos, record audio and video,

broadcast what you are seeing and more, all in real time…

I‟ve been around for too long to think that technology with those capabilities will be readily

and easily integrated into the workplace. The blurred personal / professional aspect of BYOD

is still proving too much for many companies to handle, and wearable tech is a much more

complex thing than that.

IT departments will be more concerned than excited at the moment. Aside from the initial

financial outlay (the development prototype of Google Glass currently costs around £985,

though a consumer version may well be cheaper) there will be massive concerns around


areas including security and compliance. The already complex job of detailing company

policies on hardware and software usage, employee access and restrictions, BYOD and

social media sharing will be made infinitely more difficult. Opportunities for the accidental

leaking of private company or project details will be rife. If anyone sought to deliberately leak

private company or project details, wearable tech would make it a great deal easier.

The bottom line is this: progress is important. It is also generally positive. It is generally a

very exciting thing. But don‟t let that excitement blind you to the possible risks that progress

often carries with it. Wearable tech will revolutionise the workplace, no doubt. But there will

be some fairly high-profile kinks to iron out along the way.


Ages of Gold and Umber: Ruskin, The Medieval, Beauty and God

Academic article, for The Journal of Pre-Raphaelite Studies, 2014

NB - This is an extract from the full article.

It is evident that the title ‘Dark Ages’, given to the mediaeval centuries is [...] wholly inapplicable. They were, on the contrary, the bright ages; ours are the dark ones.

-John Ruskin

John Ruskin was perhaps the most influential of the great nineteenth century polymaths, and

certainly the most influential in terms of the British appreciation and understanding of beauty.

He was an outspoken and unorthodox art critic, the author of far-reaching and formative

critiques of both literal and sociological architecture, a poet, draughtsman, botanist, geologist

and moralist. Throughout his enormous body of work, he sought to define and explain the

beautiful, and, as a result of “his charming and learned discourse he attracted even the most

resistant Englishman to the idea of beauty”.1 The many disparate facets of his output were

designed to lead the reader to the conclusion that any and all creative and expressive output

had a social responsibility – that ultimately, the acceptance of beauty was the key to social

improvement.

Ruskin‟s position as a natural theologian is fascinating. His is a theology of nature that does

not follow logically from that which chronologically preceded it. Indeed, his thought is entirely

distinct from that school of logical, mechanical teleology espoused so famously by William

Paley a century earlier and expressed most concisely in his analogy of the watchmaker.

Rather than arguing from a rationalist viewpoint that looks in detail at the interrelationships

between natural order and processes to determine and define God‟s presence, Ruskin‟s is a

theology of natural sublimity. His is an aesthetic argument, one in which natural order and

process is secondary to natural beauty in communicating traces of divine presence.

It is such thought that leads him, in his discussion of landscape painting, to claim that the

form should seek only to capture nature, rather than supplement or augment it. Landscape

painting “ought to have been a witness to the omnipotence of God”, rather than “an exhibition

of the dexterity of man”.2 The glory of nature should force the viewer to forget about human

influence and consider the majesty of nature, and through it, the majesty of the divine.

There is much in Ruskin‟s theology of the beautiful that seems at odds with his evangelical

Christianity. His arguments regarding what constitutes beauty are greatly informed by forms

1 Robert de la Sizeranne, The Pre-Raphaelites (New York: Parkstone Press, 2008) p. 35.

2 John Ruskin, Modern Painters Vol. 1: Of General Principles, and of Truth (London: George Allen, 1906) p. 133.


of medieval expression more commonly associated with Catholicism – commonly pre-

supposing the reader‟s belief in the superiority of Italian iconography, classically influenced

sculpture and Venetian architecture, for example, albeit often as a precursor to dismantling

and discrediting such assumptions.

Even Ruskin‟s preoccupation with the beautiful itself is a fundamentally Catholic one.

Protestantism, influenced in large part by Lutheranism, generally espoused the opinion that

God reveals himself in the terrifying, the awesome, overwhelming and sublime, rather than in

the beautiful. Furthermore, natural theology is an appeal to reason – an instruction to look to

the world around you and observe the existence of God in physical things. In such a mode of

thought, belief in God becomes reasonable, rather than fundamental. Nineteenth century

Protestantism more commonly sought to distinguish between the beautiful from the true

rather than reconciling the two. [Extract Ends]

Tom Pritchard Portfolio

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Transcript of Tom Pritchard Portfolio