Emma Baines

You’ve been Head of Creative at Tony’s Chocolonely and Director of Creative at HelloFresh – could you tell us a bit about the different work environments, creative challenges and standout moments working for those two brands?

Two very different brands indeed. The main challenges for HelloFresh were around how to drive consumer understanding of the product and it’s benefits. We had high brand awareness but people don’t necessarily fully understand what a meal kit is, so overcoming those barriers to drive sales was key. Whereas the challenge with Tony’s Chocolonely is not in understanding the product but building awareness of our brand to achieve our mission, to end exploitation in cocoa.

My career highlight used to be that I rebranded a unicorn whilst working at HelloFresh, now I say it’s working for a company with a mission. When I tell people I work at Tony’s Chocolonely, their faces light up and it’s a lovely moment to be part of. Though, my 6 year old goddaughter still thinks I’m telling tales about working for a chocolate company and I get to eat chocolate all day. It really does sound too good to be true!

What does the creative team look like at Tony’s and how do you make sure that there is a through-line in everything you are doing together?

People might be surprised to know we are a fairly small team of 9. Small but mighty! The team is made up of a talented gang of multidisciplinary designers and copywriters all connected by a Studio Manager.

From a creative perspective, our mission is at the very heart of everything that we do – whether that be a new product launch campaign, a social post or an internal newsletter – coupled with our distinct brand elements. The DIY hand cut style visuals, primary colours and use of our verbally expressive style. We have to ask ourselves throughout the creative process is this message, product, creative we’re putting out there aligned with our purpose as well as our brand? If the answer isn’t yes to both those questions, we go again.

How would you describe the role of head of creative to an alien?

I love this question, it’s a version of ‘how do you explain what you do to your parents’ and that always tickles me. My role is to ensure what the consumer sees is the best creative translation of our brand and overall business strategy.  It’s leading a team to deliver great creative work that is going to make both commercial and mission impact, whilst building an environment to allow creatives to thrive, removing any barriers in the way. A lot of the time it’s about joining the dots to understand how best to solve creative and brand challenges.

I’ve also learned people understand tangible things, so I would give the alien a Tony’s Chocolonely bar or show them a TV ad for HelloFresh and say “look what my team did” that helps more than any explanation. And to be fair to my mum, I recently asked her what I did and she absolutely nailed it, so my tactic has worked!

How do you get the best out of people as a creative leader?

Anyone who works with me will have heard me say my motto on a regular basis: with the right people, doing the right thing, at the right time and in the right way – you are onto a good thing. Meaning you have to have all parts of the jigsaw puzzle for the best possible outcome. So people, creative output, process and character is the four prong approach I take to leadership. The key to unlocking the creative is the people – getting the right talent with the right attitude in the first place. I focus on finding ways to play to people’s strengths and setting them up for success. When hiring, I look for passionate people who can communicate, collaborate and be bold.

Why do people need a Head of Creative?

In every job I’ve had, I’ve always been the first one in that role. Businesses are definitely noticing a space for people like me in their structures. Strategically creative people managers, someone to take a look at the holistic picture, spot patterns, connect the dots, work with people on all levels. If you’re a CMO or Chief Brand Officer and need to create, plan and deliver a strategic vision for your creative team as well as someone to lead the team to deliver on that vision, you need a Head of Creative to support you and be the go between the team and you. There’s increasingly a gap that needs filling there.

You have a newsletter about women in creative industries and are particularly passionate about keeping women in the creative industry. How did that start?

The newsletter started because of my own loneliness in my creative world. I sat in a leadership meeting years ago and noticed I was one of 5 women in a room of 40 people. It was a common theme, meetings with agencies would usually be with a group of senior men. Where were all the women? I wanted to find them, which is hard to do when only 12% of creative directors are female. Billy Jean King once said “you have to see it to be it”, so fast forward a couple of years and I had the realisation that I needed to be the change I wanted to see. I would step out of the shadows myself and use my voice to be what I needed when I first joined the industry. And so, She is Creative began, a substack focussing on topics that support and empower women within the creative industry.

Who is the villain of that story?

The good news is women are joining the creative industries with 60% of creative students being female but keeping them there and reaching senior levels is where the problem starts, only 12% make it to director level. We are clearly losing them somewhere in between and it shouldn’t be this hard to keep them. But we have a broken system that allows for persistent gender norms to prevail, slowing down any progress women make towards equality. Hiring more senior women will only solve the problem so much, we need systematic change. We need growth plans, development and support across experience levels along our whole career paths. Parents need flexible working options to care for children and we also need mentors and people to inspire us and aspire to. We must demand more from our employers and they must step up.

You’ve just had a baby, how did that experience affect your creativity?

I’m not going to sugar coat it, to begin with it zapped every drop of energy and therefore creativity out of me! I missed my job more than expected because up until now that was how I defined myself before having my son. But I pride myself on being a creative problem solver, so when I felt ready, I began to lean into my new routine and carved out some time during naps to pick up my She is Creative newsletter again. I had the urge to write and express myself creatively. But more importantly it was my connection, my one foot in the door to the world I’d left behind for a short while.

My strategy was to dip in and out when I was up for it. I read a lot generally and kept up to speed with industry news, LinkedIn. I did a course on returning to work from mat leave and I had a couple of much needed catch ups with my excellent work friends. These small steps slowly refuelled my creative energy and 6 months on, I’m back at work and gaining my creativity back in bucket loads each day.

How can employers help creative people back into work after having a baby?

I’m very grateful to work for a company that are serious about people, but I know it’s not that way for everyone. Parents are still expected to work like we don’t have children and raise children like we don’t work. Flexible working should be a non-negotiable for employers. Those companies demanding 5 days a week back in the office are super short sighted. They say if you want a job done, give it to a busy person. Give it a mum, they will do it and do it well.Connection is also important, keep in touch (KIT) days in the UK, (not an official thing in the Netherlands where I am based but I did a version of them anyway) and it can come down to something as small as just asking if someone is OK when they’re back at work, making mothers feel seen and heard as they enter back into a known world that for them has now forever changed.