London’s Media Village in White City was the venue for a gathering of ‘the brightest D2C minds’ to share their thoughts, wisdom and insights into the best strategies to grow a brand.

The event was hosted by Tash Courtenay-Smith and Steve Bolton, CEO and Executive Chairman of Bolt Digital and they introduced a collection of inspiring and enlightening speakers.

The line-up brought together the best people from the best D2C brands, platforms and providers within the Shopify D2C ecosystem.
Danny Gray, founder of War Paint, the men’s make-up brand, Will King, of King of Shaves fame, Maxine Laceby, who co-founded Absolute Collagen and Jane Clarke, founder of Nourish were among those who appeared before a large audience of brand owners and D2C specialists.
The event was also live-streamed.

In a world where purpose and substance are becoming increasingly vital to a consumer’s relationship with a brand, it was compelling to listen to the origin stories of Danny and Jane and their brands born out of profound personal experience.

It takes this kind of singularity to stand out in the overcrowded market square of D2C.
And this was the theme when Free the Birds Creative Director Nick Vaus and Creative Strategy Director Paul Domenet took to the stage.
They engaged those watching and those following with a celebration of Beautiful Thinking and how it can raise awareness and affection for brands in the D2C arena.

was at the heart of a presentation which took in everything from a German drainpipe system which plays music when it rains to the latest VR 3D poster which mesmerised commuters on the streets of Tokyo.
To show how this elevation can happen in the supermarket aisle or the social media scroll, Nick and Paul shared work the agency had done for Lenor and Boots No 7.
They also gave a glimpse into the process which makes Beautiful Thinking possible and the unique Brand Islands where clients can explore and evaluate ideas. Finally, to tie everything back to the inspiration for the Free The Birds name, the audience were left with lessons they could learn from Leonardo Da Vinci. As they pointed out, in the frenzied conveyor belt of posts and feeds, it’s hard for a D2C brand to last for longer than a few seconds in the collective consciousness.

And yet Leonardo’s Beautiful Thinking has lasted for half a millennium.

A Beautiful Thought to leave with those in the theatre and on-line.