'It felt like coming home': Account director returns to lead West Sussex agency in new AI era

Creative agency Tann Westlake is entering a new era, with Josh Bryan returning as Managing Director as the West Sussex business prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary next year.

Josh, 34, from Storrington, spent six years at Tann Westlake as Account Director - and a further six years previously in the industry - before leaving to join the senior leadership team of his wife’s family businesses. After gaining valuable experience in his two years away, Josh wanted to return to the industry, and Simon Tann convinced him to come back to lead the agency.

“Coming back to Tann Westlake felt like coming home, but with work to do,” said Josh. “Simon has built a great agency from the ground up, and now it’s about going out there and showing what we can do.”

Graphic designer Simon founded Tann Westlake in 2002 as a start-up with the vision to grow an agency. Today it’s a team of 10, plus freelancers, working with local, national and international clients on strategy, branding, websites, digital marketing and advertising. The agency is also a Google Partner.

Simon puts the success of the business down to leading the way in creative marketing and website design with the emergence of smartphones and social media in 2011 - and he can see a similar turning point now in the age of AI.

“It feels like everything’s changing again,” said Simon. “This new era needs a leader with youthful energy, but also maturity and experience. Josh has both, and he already knows the agency inside out.”

Simon is staying on in the business as director - but wants Josh to take the reins to lead the agency into the next 25 years.

“I don’t want Tann Westlake to stand still. I want it to keep growing and doing really amazing work for clients,” Simon added.

“Our biggest client has been with us since 2011. There’s a reason they stay: creativity, understanding technology, adapting to change and really looking after our clients.”

Josh agrees, and believes his time away on the client side gives him a valuable perspective.

“I’ve now experienced both sides of the agency-client relationship, and it’s shown me just how important those relationships are,” Josh said.

On what’s next, he said: “Simon has built the foundations of a great agency. Now it’s about going out there, winning more clients and working on some great projects. We’ve proven time and again that we can create great work, whether that’s websites, design or ad campaigns.”

The agency is also launching a new brand identity and expanding its work in AI, including helping clients appear in AI search and running AI-powered advertising campaigns.

“With AI supporting us, we can help companies grow in ways they potentially couldn’t before,” said Josh. “We’re already running ChatGPT ads for clients and helping them make their websites more discoverable in AI search.

“We’ve built our own AI-supported reporting tool, designed around what our clients actually need, in a fraction of the time it would once have taken.”

He said AI will never replace design and marketing - and that human creativity assisted by new technologies is where he sees the future for the industry.

“Human prompting and review are critical to the successful application of AI,” Josh said. “Combining human interaction with the capabilities of AI allows us to create incredible work, and more efficiently than ever. AI is expanding our potential, not replacing it.

“AI is developing at such a remarkable pace, but we're embracing it and working hard to stay ahead of the curve.”