The great remote work debate continues to divide industries, with passionate advocates on both sides. But here’s what many miss: not all work is created equal, and creative industries have unique needs that remote work simply can’t meet. Here’s what Beth Finlay, Co-Founder of Spring the Agency believes is best for her team and the creative industry.
As co-founder of a creative social media agency, I’ve watched this conversation unfold with growing frustration. While tech companies debate hybrid work schedules and Zoom fatigue, those of us in creative agencies know a different truth: office culture isn’t dead-for creative teams, it’s absolutely essential.
Let me be direct about why remote work doesn’t work for creative agencies, especially in social media: speed is everything. We operate in an environment where trends emerge and die within hours, not days. Our clients expect reactive content strategies, real-time pivots, and the ability to capitalise on cultural moments as they happen.
Just last week, we had content for our client Tinder concepted, filmed, and edited within one hour because we could immediately gather the team, brainstorm concepts, and execute. If we’d been remote working, coordinating that response would have taken hours, not minutes, and we would have missed the moment entirely.
When Taylor Swift drops an unexpected album or a meme goes viral, we don’t have the luxury of scheduling a Slack huddle for tomorrow morning. Creative collaboration requires immediate action, and that’s nearly impossible when you’re not sharing the same physical space.
There’s something transformative that occurs when creative minds occupy the same physical space. Ideas bounce off walls – literally and figuratively.
Last week we noticed a trending Alexander Hamilton sound and decided to film it ourselves for our TikTok channel, which performed exceptionally well. Had we been remote working, we wouldn’t have been able to film it because it required two people and wouldn’t have made sense in a home setting. The office became part of the creative content.
When we’re in the same creative workspace, everything accelerates:
It’s not just about office productivity – though that’s certainly part of it – it’s about the creative alchemy that happens when talented people share oxygen.
Remote work evangelists love showcasing “seamless digital collaboration” with beautiful Figma boards and perfectly organised Notion pages. But they’re missing the fundamental point about creative collaboration.
We’ve tried remote brainstorming, but it often feels exhausting and takes longer than necessary. Our in-person brainstorms can be quick 15-minute chats, with everyone bouncing off each other’s energy rather than forcing scheduled calls into busy calendars.
Creative collaboration isn’t just about sharing files and leaving comments. It’s about:
When clients call with urgent changes, we don’t want to spend precious minutes coordinating video calls or dealing with technical issues. We want to gather around a screen, hash it out in real-time, and get back to creating.
The numbers support our approach to office culture:
I want to be clear: remote work succeeds in many industries. If you’re writing quarterly reports, managing databases, or coding software with long development cycles, remote work might be perfect.
But for creative agencies that create content daily, not quarterly, in-person collaboration makes business sense.
Take our recent CASETiFY x Oasis collaboration. We filmed content in the morning, edited and sent it the same day for feedback. Because we were all together, we made live edits and reshot anything required throughout the day – revisions and reactions happened instantly. Remote working would have required advance booking of videographers, longer editing times, and possible reshoots because the process wouldn’t be as agile.
Creative industries have always been about energy, spontaneity, and shared inspiration. We’re not assembly line workers producing identical widgets. We’re creating something new every single day, and that requires a different kind of environment.
This doesn’t mean we’re stuck in outdated practices. The future of work isn’t about choosing between “office” or “remote” – it’s about finding the right solution for your specific industry, company culture, and business needs.
At Spring the Agency, we’ve created a space that reflects our values: a bright, open creative workspace with abundant daylight that brings positive energy to our culture and work. We’ve seen positive increases in:
Since prioritising our in-person office culture, we’re quicker, more agile, and produce superior results. It’s really a no-brainer.
For creative agencies like Spring, this means investing in a workspace that fosters creativity, collaboration, and rapid response. It means creating an environment where our team wants to be, not where they have to be. It means recognising that for creative work, proximity isn’t just nice to have – it’s mission-critical.
The office isn’t dead – it’s evolving. For those of us in the business of creating culture, capturing moments, and moving at the speed of social media, office-based creative collaboration is more vital than ever.
The question isn’t whether the office is dead – it’s whether you’re brave enough to admit what your creative agency actually needs to thrive.
Tailored solutions for growing teams
Adding 10 or more team members? That’s exciting — and we’re here to help! For teams like yours, we offer custom membership options designed to fit your needs perfectly.
Let us know some more information using the form below — we usually reply within an hour during business hours. Prefer to chat? Give us a call on 020 3349 8269 — we’d love to hear from you!