Digital marketing agency Zone Founder & CEO James Freedman's clients include Tesco, BT and ChildLine, according to Natalie Graham of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Zone is "currently delivering Coca-Cola GB's digital activity for the World Cup." The company employs 160 staff, with offices in London, Bristol and Berlin, and has a turnover of £14M ($24M). Freedman started Manchester United magazine in '93, then produced magazines for Chelsea, Arsenal and Roma. He acquired Quantum and created Zone in '00. Freedman discussed his career in a Q&A, and the following is an excerpt:
Q: When you realized that you had made £1M were you tempted to slow down?
James Freedman: My first million pounds profit was in 1997. It has never been about making money, but the feeling I had produced something that was sustainable and people enjoyed. I felt that the Manchester United magazine was part of the zeitgeist, as we were selling 160,000 copies every month. The first interview David Beckham ever did, in the mid-90s, was with us. Absolutely I did not want to slow down, because I need new challenges.
Q: How big was football in the U.K. before the Premier League era?
Freedman: In the 1980s football went through a massive nadir. There was Heysel and Hillsborough, and then the Taylor Report. Clubs had to rethink how to improve their stadiums. With Manchester United magazine we tried to reach out to fans, more like customers in a supermarket. The popularization of the sport came with the top clubs creating the Premier League, and the foresight of Rupert Murdoch, who recognized the power of live sports on TV.
Q: What is the secret of your success?
Freedman: I have always been lucky enough to surround myself with smart, ambitious, hard-working people. When you have got even one or two people who are unsuitable, that infects the culture.
Q: What is your basic business philosophy?
Freedman: Have a clear plan of where you want to get to. In the late '90s the sports journalists who worked in my office were spending their lunch hours and free time looking at their computers. That was a good enough sign for me that real change was on the way. To me it was clear that people were going to spend more and more time online.
Q: Do you allow yourself the odd indulgence?
Freedman: No, not really, just a day off now and again. I like going to work, but I’m not motivated by material possessions. My biggest indulgence is going to the gym twice a week and having a personal trainer, and having the occasional tennis lesson (
FT, 7/11).
