PHD was founded in London in 1990 by David Pattison, Nick Horswell and Jonathan Durden; the ‘P’, the ‘H’ and the ‘D’.
Back then the industry was all about buying; as cheaply and as quickly as possible. But David, Nick and Jonathan believed that consumer insight and media behaviour was just as important. They saw a future where smart thinking and clever planning could help brands influence consumer behaviour more than ever before.
PHD, or Pattison-Horswell-Durden as it was known back then, became the agency that ‘thought before it bought’ and was quickly credited with inventing creative media.
In 2002 PHD – now part of Omnicom – opened its first offices outside of the UK and began to grow the international network.
The formation of PHD’s parent company, Omnicom Media Group, in 2005 meant that PHD’s buying was now powered by one of the world’s largest media holding companies. Clients could now benefit from PHD’s unique approach to media planning, without compromising on the buying.
The founding principles of thought-leadership, creativity and innovation have remained at the heart of the network and today PHD is a global network of 80+ offices still leading the way in the evolution of communications planning around the world.
Read more about our heritage at www.phdat25.com
