About

About Darren Groucutt

Darren Groucutt is an award-winning Creative Director with over two decades of experience in advertising, digital, and retail environments. Known for pushing creative boundaries, Darren has a talent for blending strategic insights with design-driven solutions to bring brands to life across diverse channels. His work spans high-profile brands in sports, food, fashion, and lifestyle, where he’s led everything from brand propositions and retail media to packaging design and experiential activations.

Currently, as Retail Creative Director, Darren oversees all Cadbury promotions and launches, both in the UK and globally. Through impactful campaigns, he has consistently aligned with Cadbury’s mission of generosity, delivering impressive outcomes such as the Secret Santa seasonal activation, which drove a 1.9PP increase in market share, and the Big Win Win Cornershop activation, which boosted singles market share by 1.7PP and achieved a 21.9% sales uplift. Darren’s guidance also supported Cadbury’s 200 Years campaign, ensuring cohesive brand visibility across retail channels.

Previously, Darren led the brand launch for Más+ by Messi, a hydration drink founded by Lionel Messi and MABI, targeting the Gen Z market. As Creative Director across brand, retail media, and product packaging, he developed a social-first strategy that grew the Más+ Instagram account to over 300K followers organically in just three months and achieved 30M+ impressions with no media spend.

Skills

  • Creative Direction & Brand Strategy: Skilled in leading brand transformations and storytelling across digital, retail, and experiential platforms.
  • Digital Innovation & Emerging Technologies: Experienced in integrating emerging tech such as AR/VR, advanced UX/UI, and real-time digital engagement into brand experiences.
  • Omnichannel Campaign Development: Expertise in developing cohesive campaigns across social, digital, and in-store environments that drive consumer engagement and brand growth.
  • Team Leadership & Talent Development: Proven ability to mentor and lead multidisciplinary creative teams, fostering a collaborative and high-performing work environment.
  • Client Relationship & Stakeholder Management: Trusted in building and sustaining strong relationships with high-profile clients, guiding them through bold creative directions and achieving their goals.

Recent  Achievements

  • Más+ Hydration Drink Launch: As Creative Director, established the brand’s positioning and digital-first strategy, achieving over 30M impressions and growing the account from 0 to 300K+ followers organically in three months.
  • Cadbury Big Win Win Cornershop Activation: Led a campaign that increased Cadbury singles market share by 1.7PP and boosted sales by 21.9%.
  • Cadbury Secret Santa Seasonal Activation: Drove a 1.9PP increase in market share, elevating Cadbury to a 36.2% share over the activation period.
  • McDonald’s Drive-Thru Digital Redesign: Spearheaded the digital transformation of the McDonald’s Drive-Thru, enhancing the customer experience with advanced UX/UI and technology integration.
  • adidas Originals Made Originals Activation: Created a multi-platform, immersive event that generated 58M impressions, integrating physical and digital experiences for a Gen Z audience.

Awards & Recognitions

  • Clio Award Winner – adidas Manchester United ‘Threads’ campaign
  • BAFTA-Nominated – People’s Choice Award for the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony
  • Royal Television Society Award – Design & Craft Innovation for the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony
  • Gold Award for Screen Design – Pro-Max Nickelodeon Network Branding
  • Vimeo Staff Pick – Velodrome Promo for The Chemical Brothers
  • Featured Speaker – Autodesk Meet the Experts webinar, key panelist at China Britain Youth Association Creative Industries at Houses of Parliament
  • Cannes Lion – Online Interactive animation Haven House