Continuing our series on female leaders in advance of the Ad 2 Women’s Leadership Panel event on January 21, we’re highlighting Patrice Bradley, CEO and Creative Director at Swim Creative—a Silver Sponsor for this year’s #Ad2WLP. Learn more about Patrice and why female leadership is important in the interview with her.
Swim is a creative think tank headquartered in Duluth, MN, that exists to solve the world’s problems—or at least, its business problems. Leading the Swim team is CEO and creative director Patrice Bradley, who is part artist, possessing an innate sense of design, and an entrepreneur who has a gift for connecting with people. She founded Swim Creative with a commitment to producing profound work, while also carefully guarding the process so that creating the work is as powerful as the work itself. In short, she’s the reason everyone is pumped to come to work.
Tell us about Swim Creative. What are the goals and values? What makes Swim different from others?
Patrice: “The goal of Swim Creative is to create work that compels people to think, feel and do. We exist to make our clients, ourselves and our world go, “Hmmm. Cool!” There’s a huge difference between doing good work and being obsessed with great work that actually makes stuff happen.
As for our values, we’ve developed this handy code of ethics that sums up what we’re all about: Be good. Do good. Tell the truth. Work hard. Live responsibly. Take care of our community. Only be amazing. It not only unites us in our day-to-day efforts, but it also helps us attract people who hold these values.
Being located in Duluth gives us an edge, too. Duluth is a place where you love to live and love to work. That’s why Swim offers a good work/life balance; because there’s so much living to do here. We also happen to be located in the beer capital of the world, so grabbing a beer after work with your coworkers is pretty normal.”
Tell us a little about yourself. What is your history with Swim Creative? How did you get here and where are you now?
“I’m from Minneapolis originally, but I loved Duluth and wanted the opportunity to do the same high caliber of work—just up here, where it’s beautiful. Like most people in our industry, my path took many turns before I found an agency I could love—and I worked at that agency for 13 years. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to produce award-winning work for clients from many industries, and work with people who became my best friends.
In 2005, I formed Swim Creative after adopting my daughter. It might not seem like the best time to start your own agency, but it was then that I realized my love for the industry. I knew I had to act on it. I wanted to do incredible work, and I wanted to create an unconventional shop where I could think and play with my favorite people. I decided then to start creating exactly what we have now: a collaborative, invigorating studio that gives both account managers and creatives the freedom to be amazing.”
Why do you love to go to work every day?
“My favorite part of going to work is watching people get stoked about what they’re working on. I love that we’ve created an environment where people can do their best work.”
How is women’s leadership valued at Swim?
“Crazy question, but in my world, women have always dominated this industry. And, Duluth has a wealth of women-owned agencies so I’m in good company. In general, women appreciate collaborative and inclusive work environments, and because of this, we appreciate solid and supportive teamwork. Like everyone on the Swim team, I just want to play in the pool.”
As the year comes to a close, what is the one project, campaign or accomplishment that you are most proud of?
“I’m really excited about the brands and campaigns that have taken on their own lives this year. Those are the most exciting projects; the ones where the ideas are so powerful that the work feels like it’s part of the team.
I’m also incredibly proud of our interactive work, especially the websites and social campaigns we’ve launched for the Duluth Airport, the DECC, St. Luke’s About Baby and Northern Waters Smokehaus. They really showcase how we’ve evolved digitally over the past few years. We’ve enjoyed amazing growth. I’m pretty proud.”
How do you define success?
“To me, success is when I say, ‘I work at Swim Creative,’ and the response is, ‘Oh, Swim! I know that place. You guys do great work.’”
What would be your advice to young women and men in the ad community just starting their careers with eyes on leadership positions down the road?
“I worked under an art director once that was so amazing that the stuff she threw in the trash was stuff I dug out. There’s comfort in knowing that even the people you think are incredible never think they’re good enough. It just makes them work harder.
Throw away the ego; watch, listen and absorb everything. And when you think your idea is the best, make sure your rationale matches up to your ego. If you have a good reason, I might just buy it.
Swim Creative is celebrating its 10-year anniversary this year, and I can’t wait for the next 10 so we can keep delivering on the promise that when strategy and creative sync, you Swim.”
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