FLUORO® on their new-age model for creating entire brand worlds

The Brand Identity: Tim Smith spent eight years climbing through the luxury industry before realising the aesthetic he was helping to build felt at odds with where he wanted to go. He founded FLUORO® to work with brands fixated on shaping the future, and the London-based creative agency has since built a roster spanning Apple, Adidas, Beats by Dre, Sweaty Betty and the Royal Academy of Arts. What connects this range is a single creative process that Smith applies regardless of sector, rooted in deep cultural research and a belief that brand and advertising are one living system.

For R.A.D®, that meant partnering with former Head of Nike Innovation Tom Berend to build a performance footwear brand from scratch; for Apple, it meant proposing an abstract motion piece for South Asian Heritage Month that departed entirely from the original brief. In this conversation, Smith discusses what ‘new-age’ branding and advertising mean in practice, why he rejects the industry’s reliance on data as risk reduction, and how he hires for perspective rather than cultural fit. TBI Hey Tim!

How are you doing? TS I’m all good, thank you – excited to be talking to you guys. I loved last year from a FLUORO® perspective, and I really want this year to be even better!!! TBI It will be! Let’s get into it. You felt trapped by the luxury industry’s formulaic aesthetic early in your career – what was the turning point that made you decide to start FLUORO®? TS Over eight years, I worked from junior designer to partner, a journey that gave me a lot of experience and, more importantly, real conviction in my own point of view.

I sometimes joke that I stayed about seven and a half years too long(!), as I knew early on exactly what I believed and how I wanted to work. I wasn’t just contributing creatively; I was helping shape the strategic direction – how we positioned ideas, how we sold the work and why it mattered. Eventually, it became clear that I had taken that environment as far as I could. I understood the realities of running a business, both the right ways and the wrong ones, and I had a strong vision for doing things very differently.

Increasingly, the thinking around me felt at odds with my own, and I realised that if I wanted to work in a more progressive, forward-focussed way, I would have to create that environment myself. Starting FLUORO® felt like a necessity. I wanted to build a team aligned by shared passion, belief and ambition – working with clients who are open to new perspectives and bold vision. Because mega work comes from good leadership and direction. It requires control of the process, clarity of vision and the ability to reassure and inspire clients through expertise and perspective.

When you create that confidence, then great things follow. TBI FLUORO® as a ‘culturally driven’ agency – how does that translate into the way you work for your clients? TS It starts with discovery. Everything we do at FLUORO® begins with serious research, not as a formality, but as the foundation for original thinking.

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FLUORO®'s innovative approach to brand strategy and emotional engagement is significant for the industry, offers a fresh perspective on traditional practices, and provides actionable insights for brand strategy professionals.