Five minutes with Jim Sampson
Meet our new Senior Vice President for North America, Jim Sampson.
We first introduced you to Jim Sampson back in January 2024, when he joined us as Head of Client Service US. Fast forward to now and our US team has expanded a lot. Now, as we approach the end of an epic first year for Fox Agency US, we’re thrilled to announce Jim as our new Senior Vice President for the US. Join us as we catch up with Jim to hear all about his new role.
Congratulations Jim! What will your new role as Senior Vice President for Fox Agency US involve, and what excites you the most about it?
Truthfully, a number of things will remain the same. My main priority remains building a culture that is true to Fox Agency, while creating an identity that positions us uniquely within the US and global B2B agency landscape. There’s still a lot of work to do there, namely getting the word out that Fox Agency US is in business and putting our US team and clients in a position to be successful. Our team takes nothing for granted, we understand that in the US we’re still relatively new and need to prove that we belong. That challenge truly excites the hell out of me.
In January, you told us your goal was to continue the growth trajectory in the US by creating significant opportunities for our US based clients. How has the year unfolded since then, and have your growth ambitions evolved?
We’ve been very fortunate to hit the ground running with several key US wins – some organically thanks in part to the groundwork our UK based team has established, and some net new that we’ve already onboarded and put work into market for.
In terms of growth ambitions, our number one priority continues to be focused on our existing clients. Ensuring their needs are met and putting numbers on the board on their behalf. It’s no secret that demonstrating effectiveness generally leads to a bigger and better agency / client relationships, and so we’ll continue to focus on that. Our doors do remain open for the right new opportunities, and we’ll remain selective about who we partner with going forward.
What’s your vision for Fox Agency US in the next five years?
Five years? How about five months. In all sincerity, we’ve put a lot of effort into defining our value proposition within the US market and we’re excited to tell that story, which is grounded in ‘creativity in technology.’ Telling the story of why we’ve committed to partnering with today’s most innovative tech brands is what we’ll continue to hammer home. I expect in the next five years for our US and global presence, our people and our client base to have grown substantially, but our values and ethics will be the same. Doing innovative work that drives growth and revenue for our clients.
What does ‘creativity in technology’ mean to you? And what does it mean for our clients?
Our clients are literally changing the world and transforming the way people experience their lives. And that’s what drives us. But in an ever growing, crowded marketplace, tech brands need to fight harder than ever to tell their story and capture the attention of their audiences. And that’s where we come in. For our clients it means we’ll always have strong points of view on how to break the mould, and for us it’s a commitment to ourselves in refusing to be complacent.
As an agency insider, what’s your view of the US B2B tech marketing landscape currently?
There’s a lot that excites me, and some things that frankly bum me out. On the positive side, It’s feeling like a bit of a creative resurgence within B2B and certainly within tech. Years of brands playing it too safe and forgetting that these are real, live humans buying solutions has finally swung back in the direction of creating to human emotions and helping solve the growing expectations that we all must ‘do more with less.’ And that’s given me a lot of faith in the industry.
On the flip side, technology within marketing has created a notion of efficiency at all costs. And that can really hurt brands. We’re well aware of increasing revenue demands and a crowded market place, which is why it’s so important to take a step back and really understand our customers and what we can do for them.
2024 has been an exciting year for Fox Agency US so far, do you have a highlight from the past 11 months?
For me personally, it’s the time I get to spend in-person with the team and our clients. Operating a global agency that has some degree of remoteness means that we are ‘always on,’ and if we’re not careful can result in relationships based too centred on the work. Getting out from behind the keyboards and having the opportunity to spend meaningful time with teams from around the world, has been a joy. In fact, when the entire Fox Agency got together in Leeds over the summer, I have never felt more connected to my colleagues. We all have our own stories and come from such diverse backgrounds and places, celebrating that is what makes us successful – because it reflects the real world out there.
Finally, tell us something that’s grabbing your attention at the moment?
I’m just continually blown away by human resolve and the compassion that comes from everyday people in the face of tragedy. We recently experienced a natural disaster here in the US, in Hurricane Helene that impacted so many lives. The response from folks in surrounding communities bringing food, water and temporary shelter to those in needs was nothing short of amazing. Particularly in an election year when we are bombarded with what makes us different, it’s a great reminder that at the most basic human level, we can all come together.
