Stephens Francis Whitson co-founders Chris Whitson and Neil Francis have been granted fellowships of the IPA in recognition of their contribution to the agency trade body.
Whitson has been an active supporter of the IPA for many years, particularly in the direct marketing arena. As chairman of the Direct Marketing Group (2008 — 2010) he pioneered the IPA Summer School concept in 2007, with the aim of raising the profile of an agency career among undergraduates, especially in agencies with a focus on direct, digital and integrated communications.
He was instrumental in its successful development over the following years and a high proportion of the Summer School graduates have since secured jobs in IPA agencies. Whitson has also championed the ‘fair marketing promise’ concept in the belief that in addition to financial services, all companies should seek to build trust with consumers based on openness and clarity rather than small print and obfuscation.
Francis is an experienced practitioner and passionate supporter of the art of copywriting. Fearing that some basic writing skills were being lost, and that the industry was missing talented youngsters who hadn’t been through art colleges, he was instrumental in the launch of the IPA Copy Test in 2009.
This free online self-assessment enables aspiring copywriters to see if they’ve got what it takes and also provides the selection process for the IPA Creative Summer School programme, which Neil was heavily involved in establishing in 2009. A significant number of delegates have subsequently been employed in IPA agencies.
Fellowships were also awarded to Adam & Eve planning partner David Golding, OMD UK head of digital Matt Simpson, and former Publicis London chief executive Neil Simpson.
