We Sat Down With WILDEBEEST Founder Curtis: The Story, The Standard, and Why Copy Paste Marketing Has to Die

This deserves airtime: social media marketing has become dull.

And it’s not because the industry is full of untalented people. It’s worse than that. It’s full of capable people who have been trained to play it safe. Complacency. Laziness. Templates. Rinse. Repeat.

So we sat down with WILDEBEEST founder Curtis, East London born and formerly Head of Marketing at Cubitt House, to talk about where WILDEBEEST came from, what it stands for, and why the work has to have more bite than what we’re seeing right now.

First things first. Who are you, and what is WILDEBEEST?

I’m Curtis. I built my career inside content, sales and marketing, learning the craft the proper way. I spent time at Cubitt House as Head of Marketing, which means I’ve been on the inside of what it actually takes to build a brand, keep it consistent, grow it, and make it matter.

WILDEBEEST is my answer to the dullness. It’s a creative studio and media house based in East London. We do branding and identity, film and video production, photography, design, content, digital. The full picture.

But the real point is this: the brand has to speak. It can’t just appear. It can’t just post. It has to say something, look like something, and feel like something. Otherwise, it’s kinda irrelevant, right?

You sound like you’re mad at the industry. Why?

Because I am. Honestly. Some days it’s boring. Some days it’s infuriating.

I’ll scroll and see the same edit, the same caption structure, the same recycled idea, the same “agency humour”, the same trend repackaged as “strategy”. Everybody’s chasing the same version of traction. Not because it’s right for their brand, but because it’s what the internet is rewarding this week.

And I’m not blaming individuals. There are insanely talented people out there. But people get complacent. They get busy. They get tired. They default to what’s quick, what’s safe, what’s proven.

The problem is, when everyone is doing the same thing, the work stops having soul. It stops having identity. It stops being memorable. Brands lose their spine.

But you still care about performance, right? It’s not just “art for art’s sake”.

Of course. The work has a job.

Traction matters. Engagement matters. Visibility matters. Making money matters. If you’re a business, you don’t exist to collect compliments. You exist to grow. But the lie is that performance and identity are opposites. They’re not.

The best work is the work that performs because it’s true. Because it looks right. Because it’s unmistakable. Because it’s not trying to be everyone else.

So what does “standard” actually mean to you?

It means we don’t throw content into the world just to feed the machine. We don’t post for the sake of posting. We don’t make visuals that look like they came out of a starter pack.

Standard means taste. It means restraint. It means detail. It means the identity holds up. The typography makes sense. The colour choice makes sense. The story makes sense. The video has rhythm. The edit has intention. The sound matters. The shot matters.

And it means we care about the human side too. Communication. Clarity. Service. You’re not a ticket number. You’re not “a client”. You’re a person trying to build something. You should feel supported, not sold to.

Where did WILDEBEEST come from? Why that name?

WILDEBEEST has been in my head for years. Not as a gimmick. As a feeling.

It’s an animal that moves with force and purpose. It looks chaotic from the outside, but there’s intelligence in it. It’s not random. It’s instinct with direction.

That’s the part people miss. People hear “wild” and think it means messy. For me, wild is controlled energy. Creative power with a backbone. Freedom, but not nonsense.

Also, the herd matters. When the job needs scale, you bring the right people in. Not a bloated agency. Not a random pile of freelancers. A pack. The right minds, pulled in at the right time, for the right job.

That’s the culture I want. Stronger together. No ego. No pretending.

You’ve spoken before about needing to step away from the industry. What happened?

I hit a point where I knew I was capable of more, but I couldn’t get there in the environment I was in. Not because Cubitt House was bad. Because corporate can slowly drain you. You’re constantly battling. Constantly justifying. Constantly trying to keep the soul intact while the machine keeps moving.

On top of that, I was dealing with my own stuff. Life. Mental health. And long COVID hit me hard for a period. Brain fog. Communication. Energy. It messes with your confidence because you know what you can do, but your body is not cooperating.

So I stepped out. I gave myself space to think. To rebuild. To find the work again. And in that time, clients started coming to me. Slowly at first, then more. It wasn’t a big dramatic launch. It was a gradual build.

I took the long route on purpose. Learning. Making mistakes. Doing things for free sometimes because I wanted reps, not quick cash. Trial and error. Listening. Building a standard I could trust.

What do you actually do for clients day to day?

We build the pieces that make a brand feel real and look undeniable.

That can mean brand identity, design systems, visual direction, photography, a film, a campaign, social content, a website creative direction, or an entire marketing system that connects the dots.

And we do it with a blend of old school foundations and modern execution. Marketing is not new. The platforms change, but the fundamentals don’t. People still respond to clarity. Feeling. Trust. Consistency. A point of view.

The difference now is speed. Noise. Volume. Which is why the work needs more conviction, not less.

What’s the biggest mistake you see brands making right now?

Trading identity for attention.

Brands get scared. They see competitors pulling numbers. They see a trend working. They see a format go viral. So they pivot. They change tone. They copy. They start speaking like a different brand because they want a quick win.

And slowly, they disappear. Not from the internet, but from memory.

If your brand doesn’t sound like you, look like you, and feel like you, then what are you building? A moment. Not a brand.

So what’s your promise? What does someone get with WILDEBEEST?

They get honesty, first. Not sales talk. Not polite agreement. If something is not working, we say it. If something is right, we push it harder.

They get craft. Taste. Detail. Work that looks considered and feels intentional.

They get a pack. The right people, not the biggest team. The right minds for the brief. And a process that keeps things moving without turning it into corporate theatre.

And they get work that holds up. Work that doesn’t need excuses. Work that speaks.

What’s next?

2026 is the year we expand properly. Not bloated. Not rushed. The right people. The right structure. The right projects.

More film. More brand builds. Bigger creative swings. More case studies that prove the standard.

But the mission stays the same. Keep the soul. Keep the craft. Keep the identity. Make the work loud in the right way.