Niall Corcoran, Managing and Brand Director, CI Studio
Having graduated in 1991 from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) with a Hons degree in Biochemistry and Applied Genetics (which feels like a lifetime ago and another person entirely).
I moved into sales, working initially for an agent of Lexmark and ultimately becoming Country Manager for Lexmark Ireland in 1996. I helped co-found Creative Inc (now CI Studio) with the real founder Mel O'Rourke, also in 1996.
And in 1998 decided to leave Lexmark and join Creative Inc full-time. Since then, I have worked as Managing and Brand Director, helping to build the business and working with our clients on their brand strategy.
I am a branding mentor with Founders Institute and last year completed a mini MBA in Brand Management.
I enjoy writing and speaking about branding on occasion, most recently with The Irish Time’s Inside Marketing on “Why a brilliant brand name matters for business success.”
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
LinkedIn. Probably because that's where most of our clients get to see our work. And where they discuss what's happening in their world. It's great for networking. I do think it's lost its way somewhat as a business platform, with too many non-related and personal posts that you'd ordinarily see on other platforms like Facebook.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
In my current role, I combine what commercial experience and nous I have, with my understanding of brand strategy (architecture, positioning, etc.), to help businesses align their brand strategy to their commercial goals.
It's a privilege and genuine area of interest for me, as typically, I'm getting to work with CEOs and founders, helping to either create something new (company or product brand) or to bring about a fundamental change in their business, e.g. mergers, rebrands etc.
The decisions you make together have lasting impacts, internally with their employees and culture and externally with their customers and experience. It forms the basis of any brief that is taken into the studio and the design direction we may take.
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
The main reason I jumped from Lexmark to Creative Inc at the tender age of 28 was that I realised that I didn't want to work for a multinational or large corporate. I was better suited to work for myself and with others.
It's a different kind of responsibility and pressure owning your own business, with its downsides (the financial crisis 2008-2015 wasn't great). Still, there is a flexibility and life-work balance that is better, in my opinion. Anyway, I'm probably not employable and dread to think what I would be like if I had to go for a job interview in the morning.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Always do right by the brand, and in that way, you'll do right by the client. If you're being asked to do something which you feel or instinctively know to be wrong for the brand, walk away, as the client won't thank you in the end. Regarding running a business, keep an eye on sales, and even more importantly, keep an eye on cash flow. It's the lifeblood of any business.
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
There are many sources of motivation and inspiration. Within CI Studio, we are led by a truly great Creative Strategist Mel O'Rourke, whose standards and attention to design detail have never wavered, which is a continual inspiration for us. In addition, the team within CI Studio are not only great designers, but they're also really decent people, so the motivation to get up on a cold, wet winter's morning and do my bit to push CI Studio forward is always there.
I also take great inspiration from the entrepreneurial spirit that is alive and kicking in Ireland. A lot of what we do is brand creation for entrepreneurs and the next generation of business leaders. It's a big responsibility they entrust us with, so the motivation is to make sure we deliver. Their business depends on us getting it right.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
A bit clichéd, my kids. 18 and 17 years old, they're good friends as much as they are a wonderful daughter and son. I'm not particularly proud of any major personal accomplishments, but sometimes it's the small things in life that you feel you did your best in.
My dad passed away recently, and I had the great honour of being asked by my family to give his eulogy. I was very conscious that I was being entrusted with the responsibility of telling his life story, of capturing who the man really was. I think he would have approved; in fact, I think he might have enjoyed it had he been there.
With regards to CI Studio, I'm proud of the diversity of brands we've helped create over the years, from global gaming brands like Havok to changing Dublin Corporation to Dublin City Council to more recent works like creating the identity for the Museum of Literature Ireland or MoLi.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
Face to face. Nothing like getting people into the studio for a chat. Get them away from their environs, from their email, and have an hour to chat about their business and goals.
LinkedIn is great for networking. This two-year experiment we have all gone through work from home has shown how much can be done via Zoom and Teams. But it is still great to press the flesh, as they say.
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
My dad was an exceptional salesman, and from an early age, he trained his kids all about the art of goal setting, making a plan, creating the need in the customer, handling an objection and negotiating the deal. I think these are skills that anyone can take into any part of their life and career. However, an important skill that needs to be continually worked on is truly listening and genuinely empathising with others.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
That a financial crash was coming in 2008.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
There are so many people to admire.
British designer Terence Conran founded and built the Habitat brand in the 1960s, popularising modern continental European design in the UK long before anyone else thought to. He founded London's Design Museum, is credited with making more impact on design in the UK than anyone else, and simultaneously was a hugely successful businessman. He built a retail empire by acquiring Heal's furniture brand and running high street brands Next, British Home Stores and Mothercare through his Storehouse company.
The impact Jony Ive, former Chief Design Officer of Apple, has had on the contemporary world is huge, making design the core attribute of the biggest brand in the world.
Closer to home, although arguably the antithesis of design, Michael O'Leary has created one of the biggest aviation brands in the world, with the cult of the leader at the heart of its success.
Loathe him or love him; he cannot be ignored. Positioning on always being the cheapest is a huge risk for any brand, but somehow Ryanair has managed to always pull it off, to be continually one step ahead of their rivals. I always find it interesting that the very people who profess to hate Ryanair are the very ones who, the next day, are online booking a flight with them.
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
Very typical, I'm afraid. Gym three or four times a week, cycling with a group of buddies. Spending time in Dunmore East. I love watching rugby, often taking the Guinness 6 Nations Fantasy League way too seriously. I feel like I’m Andy Farrell with some of my selections.
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?
I like to think of the last two years as an experiment on how to run a business from home. As experiments go, it's been a huge success. But, if you had asked me beforehand, would you be able to successfully run a design studio with everyone working from home? I would have had my doubts and concerns, particularly around conceptual collaboration.
For some of the younger designers, it was very hard working from their bedrooms (many are in rented accommodation) whereas, for some of the older designers with kids and homes, it has been easier to manage. So, with both working from home and in the studio, a blended approach will most likely be the norm for us.
In terms of business, we had a particularly good 2019. So, in 2020 we saw a drop in turnover, but 2021 was much better. Personally, I have found the pandemic fine, I've adapted well to working from home, and the only time I found it tough was during the lockdown in January and February 2021.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
No. I probably need one if anyone wants to volunteer.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
The best advice for any work area is to try and develop a career in whatever area interests you the most. To get paid for what you love doing. Not everyone is lucky enough to have this, but if you do, you are blessed. If I had a choice of being paid well for something I loved doing or being paid big bucks for something I didn't, I would choose the former.
Specifically, concerning what I do, clearly, you don't have to be a designer to work on brand strategy. Still, equally, some of the best strategic thinkers and commercially sound people I have come across were designers. Great designers are essentially brilliant problem solvers. So, whatever direction you are coming from in life, just do it if you want to do something.
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
As the saying goes, "you only fail when you stop trying". So, I suspect the most common reason for people failing or giving up is a lack of energy and a fear of failure itself. On the other hand, one of the attributes I think all great entrepreneurs, creatives, business people, sports people, etc., have is a huge abundance of energy.
They are unbelievably persistent and have an innate inner drive to keep going, even when the odds seem insurmountable. Maybe it's just in them, and in that sense, they are almost unconsciously driven to do it, a certain inevitability.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth". - Mike Tyson. It’s all well and good to have a plan, including a business plan, but only when you are in the real world will you need to adapt and even sometimes throw the plan out the window.
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
I really admire brands that, having started small, usually with a visionary Founder, go on to build and cultivate thriving communities.
Rapha is one such brand. Essentially a premium cycling company, its founder Simon Mottram see's it as a "global lifestyle brand". Rapha produces not just cycling apparel but also content, hosts events, and has over 20 Clubhouses worldwide that serve as physical hubs for its community.
Mottram doesn't so much talk about figures but instead about members; the company mantra is "putting the customer at the centre of everything we do." "It's about building relationships over time. Encouraging that person to come back. Helping them to fall in love with the product through contact before they place the transaction".
Brands that build a sense of belonging offer an emotional benefit.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
Success is such a personal and subjective measurement. However, CI Studio has been by far the biggest part of my business life. In the 25 years, it has existed, many great designers and people have started their careers there, some going on to achieve great things internationally at Apple and other places, some going on to start their own studios, and many having stayed on the journey with CI Studio, to help shape and develop it into the studio it is today.
So, with our Founder Mel O'Rourke, I'm most proud of the environment and culture we have hopefully fostered in CI Studio that has allowed many young designers to flourish. This has been aided in no small part by the clients and brands we've had the privilege of working with. Seeing some of these start-ups become global leaders in their sectors has been a wonderful legacy and success for the agency.
So, in essence, I'm probably saying that success, however you measure it is down to people. The people you surround yourself with, the people you work with and for, and the people you go with on life's journey. Choose wisely.