When Roisin Keown, Head of Creative at DDFH&B advertising in Dublin, headed off to the wilds of east Clare in 2018 and set up a virtual ad agency called The Brill Building – one may have thought she had her head in the clouds!

However, Roisin had realised that it was entirely possible to operate a full-service agency with an experienced team via remote working using just that – all the latest Cloud technology. With the advent of Zoom, Dropbox and file compression, there was an effective way to work with clients and devise creative strategies that transcended offices and brick walls. So her head was in the right place.

"I really believed there was a different way to run an ad agency and achieve your brand’s objective without the cumbersome, costly structures of the traditional advertising industry. So from day one, even before the pandemic, we operated totally in the Cloud," she says.

Another factor for the big move was that as a married mum of two children working in Dublin, she had yearned for a healthier work/life balance for her family and wondered how to achieve it. Roisin and her husband Graham Kennedy, a structural engineer, had searched for a better house in Dublin for three years but to no avail.

"However, by moving to Clare we discovered we could purchase a good home with a decent garden, and we even had a view of a lake. So we accepted the first offer on our house in Inchicore and headed close to Killaloe, where Graham’s family is originally from."

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"I’m a country girl at heart. The community is super here. It’s the best thing we ever did, and I’d encourage anyone to do it as we have a fantastic lifestyle with great support from our neighbours and family."

Roisin Keown is originally from Co Antrim and studied English Literature in Trinity College Dublin, and then did the Advertising course at DIT (now TUD). She dabbled in music journalism before joining DDFH&B, starting as an intern copywriter, and eventually becoming Head of Creative during the halcyon days of big-budget commercials and lucrative media buying.

As a member of a Euro-based creative council, she gained insight into the global reach of brands that was transforming advertising, and the fast rise of digital media platforms.

By the mid-2000s, as Facebook, Google and Twitter began to dominate the media-scape, it was time to take heed of the Zuckerbergs or collide with terrestrial icebergs.

"I realised it was no longer necessary to spend four hours travelling to a meeting for a 40-minute presentation when you could just as easily jump on a Zoom and deliver the campaign as effectively online," she explains.

There was no need for board meetings on polished mahogany tables decked with fancy sparkling waters and choux pastries.

"When I decided to step off the wheel in 2018, I didn’t plan to set up the agency immediately. It all happened gradually as I took up some PR work, then clients started to contact me and then more brands followed."

She could also source an experienced and talented team from her network in advertising to get the campaigns rolling. The core Brill team include her former Art Director partner Peter Snodden, Daniel Hensen, Kevin Griffin and Ross O’Callaghan, plus other key personnel who look after production, media and PR. As CEO, Roisin creates the brand strategy and sourcing research which she finds invaluable.

While Clare is her base, she also likes to commute to Dublin for workshops regularly. "We live near the motorway so I can hop in my car and be in our Dublin office within two hours to thrash out ideas, as I love teamwork."

Fortunately, just a few months after setting up The Brill Building, Roisin’s creative advertising agency became one of the most awarded new agencies in Ireland.

Their campaign for Breakthrough Cancer Research – The Shop That Nearly Wasn’t  – created the world’s first shop both fully stocked and staffed by cancer survivors. Then they rocked up as the big winners at the 2021 APMC Star Awards, picking up the Grand Prix as well as three other awards – for Best Brand Experience, Best Cause and Consumer Marketing.

More accolades followed with their award-winning campaign for Kilkenny Design and the Champion Green concept. At the Effie global network awards hosted by Jennifer Zamparelli, Brill secured two Gold Awards and a Silver in Topical Marketing. Then another clatter of trophies came at the ICAD awards last September. Did the awards help business?

"Yes. I love awards. This recognition gives us a higher profile to access more brands seeking innovative ideas. As creatives, the validation of our work is very important. Awards also help to build client trust. Even being nominated for awards is an honour."

Roisin is lucky to have good broadband, unlike other wild Atlantic towns where two tin cans and a piece of string may deliver faster connections.

"The broadband works very well here. Like most people working from home during the pandemic, I had to hop out of the odd Zoom meeting to help with a home-schooling query from the kids or to answer the door to the postman," she says.

"Covid accelerated everything towards the Cloud and internet meetings. In one way, Digital has given us virtual freedom. This is a great time for young workers to have more freedom for their ideas. It’s easy to connect up with others and to join the dots without having to join a company just because it’s close to where you live.

"Also, the virtual office is good for blokes as they can be more involved with the family life; they don’t have to leave home and it means that there is more sharing of domestic tasks," adds Roisin, whose own kids catch the school bus every day from the top of the road and they come home the same way.

She is lucky that Graham’s mum is there to help, along with fantastic neighbours – many of whom are young couples like themselves.

Has she any words of caution for new start-ups? "There are lots of marketing and ad agency companies out there competing in a fractured, noisy sector. Only the focused, impressive and disruptive will stand out without spending a fortune," she believes.

So are there any downsides? "Public transport is a disaster in the country. We are not even in a remote area but there is a scarcity of local bus routes for commuting.

"I also would like to see more networking opportunities – such as creative hubs for the commercial arts, as the West of Ireland is rich with artistic talent from animators to videographers, graphics and photographers."

What does she look forward to doing now that hospitality is open again? "I am looking forward to a delicious meal at The Piper’s Inn and a trip to the Armada Hotel at Spanish Point," she replies.

"I encourage anyone to come to east Clare. There are no limits to where you can build a business from in this digital age, and no boundaries on sourcing an award-winning creative team."

Image: Creative directors Roisín Keown and Peter Snodden of The Brill Building, the APMC Star Awards Grand Prix winners 2021 (provided)