en
United Kingdom
Poppy Reeve-Tucker’s passion is connecting people through design and memorable experiences. So, in 2016, she harnessed her vision and launched a creative events agency called We Are Family London from a kitchen table in a small flat in Shepherds Bush.
At the time, Poppy faced multiple challenges including no funding, seed capital or loans to help with her start up, as well as having no office. She was also breaking into a typically male-dominated and crowded industry and frequently pitching new business against global agencies with far more resources and staff.
From these humble beginnings, Poppy overcame her challenges and built up what is now a 34+ person strong creative experience agency which delivers fresh, innovative in-person, online and hybrid events to a host of top tier global clients around the world. Their client list is wide and varied and they work in partnership with those clients to aid in hitting targets whilst also gaining ROI for their events.
“We came from nowhere so we had to prove ourselves through our unique creativity, attention to detail and ability to deliver above and beyond expectations,” Poppy explains. “We were initially dismissed by the wider industry, and being female led definitely compounded that, but we have since grown to become a formidable competitor and garnered a fantastic reputation for delivering forward thinking, innovative, fresh creative events.”
The company specializes in ideation and concepts, design, production and delivery across the full spectrum of events for both local and global clients. Briefs include conferences, retreats, parties, roadshow tours, brand activations, experiential marketing campaigns, press days, digital assets, product launches and much more.
Poppy prides her company’s ability to become a key family-style extension to their clients, making the process a close collaboration to be enjoyed while unlocking the creative potential of what can be achieved.
As she looked to scale up, Poppy bolstered her women-owned business (WOB) firstly by gaining an ISO27001 and then by certifying it with WEConnect International in 2021. This allowed her company profile to be accessible to WEConnect International’s 150+ member buyers.
“WEConnect International opened doors that had been previously closed to us by providing insight into who in procurement to contact at their member-buyer companies,” Poppy explains. “One of these doors recently opened and allowed us to pitch a piece of business against 340 global agencies, and we won the pitch.”
Poppy is on a growth trajectory. In the last 12 months, her company brought in four new large international clients in the film, technology, retail and media industries, and hired eight new team members. Her creative experience agency stands out as a certified WOB in a male-dominated industry.
“Our bottom line is whether we believe we are the right agency, and can add value. If we can’t, we turn the business down,” said Poppy. “If we know we can smash it out of the ballpark and offer a fresh way of thinking, a spin on today’s audiences, insight into cultures and what makes people tick, whilst placing our client on the map for a stand out event, then we relish taking on the brief.”
Working with WEConnect International has made a big difference to Poppy “Since I joined WEConnect International, it definitely feels like someone is there, encouraging you, supporting your right as a female business owner to be noticed every step of the way–that backbone of support means more than people realize” she explains.
