166: Harriet Knight and Hannah Penn on an agency world that’s open to all

This week we made difficult phone-calls to Ant & Dec, Torvill & Dean and, accidentally, the Neville Brothers, all in order to explain that the nation now has a new favourite double act – the joint chiefs of Pablo, Harriet Knight and Hannah Penn.Not content with leading Pablo to the very top of the creative charts in agency land – scooping up the Global Campaign Indie of the Year award on two separate occasions – H&H have set about tearing up the dusty old rulebook for agency leadership (especially all those pages about being greedy and horrible). They’ve poured their considerable energies into actually delivering the kind of culture every agency pretends they have, and even launched the Pablo Living Wage, a £30,000 minimum salary for entry level roles that opens up the industry to people who are usually left on the side-lines. As well as turning Pablo into the creative, and cultural envy of agency world, Harriet and Hannah are also responsible for one of the most successful agency models around – earning a reputation for being superb to work with that translates into a barely believable 100% client retention rate.  In an episode that puts us all in the uncomfortable position of listening to agency bosses who are actually likeable and amusing, we ponder everything from how agency cultures are created to the dynamics that make their partnership tick. This episode is proudly dedicated to Dan Watts.  Follow Hannah and Harriet on LinkedIn. /////  Timestamps03:00 - Early Career Paths: Hannah's Journey09:00 - Harriet's Background and Transition to Advertising15:00 - The Importance of Diverse Experiences in Advertising18:00 - Creative and Commercial Balance in Advertising22:00 - How Harriet and Hannah Met25:00 - The Dynamics of Their Partnership29:00 - Legacy and Impact in the Advertising IndustryHannah and Harriet’s Book Recommendations are:Four Thousand Weeks– Oliver BurkemanCork Dork – Bianca BoskoSuper Communicators- Charles Duhigg/////