The Chase x Squad

There’s been some elephant-sized change here at Squad.

We’ve united with the Chase to form an expanded global brand studio, bringing our clients and team under the Chase name and creating a combined leadership team to take the business forward.

Founded by Ben Casey and Lionel Hatch in 1986, the Chase is one of the most awarded creative consultancies in the world, twice topping Design Week’s league table for most awarded agency.

We’ve always admired and envied the Chase’s creative philosophy captured in their woodcarver’s tale.

It’s a simple yarn.

One about how, when a talented woodcarver was asked how he carved such masterful elephants from blocks of timber, his neat reply was, “I just cut away the wood that doesn’t look like an elephant.”

It’s a celebration of pin-sharp creative thinking; a belief that is stronger than ever as brands battle to express precisely who they are in a noisy and ever-changing world.

Together, we will unite around this philosophy and the Chase’s approach of being creative consultants, not just executing briefs but proactively advising clients on how creativity can grow their brands.

We will deploy creativity upstream at a strategic level and work across identity systems, campaigns, and digital, physical, and environmental design, bringing coherence to brands across mediums and media.

As well as creating a stronger proposition, our coming together is about succession, building a leadership team equipped to take the business forward into the future.

Most recently, Ben Casey and Bev Hutchinson have led the Chase.

Rob Gray joins as Managing & Strategy Director.

David Barraclough joins as Creative Director.

Both will become shareholders alongside award-winning Film & Creative Director Mark Gill and Business Director Alex Roberts, founders of the Chase’s Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated production company, the Chase Films.

It’s a natural evolution, that takes both businesses to the next level.

Team members and clients are unchanged.

Manchester remains our home.

With a team of around 40 people, we view the city as the ideal place to take on the world.

Our union further strengthens and expands the Chase’s capabilities amongst the most renowned, independent agencies across the globe.

We look forward to everyone who’s been a client, team member, collaborator, or follower of Squad continuing to be part of the business as we unite as the Chase.