The Communications Store chiefs launch new agency, ScienceMagic.Inc

Julietta Dexter and Daniel Marks, the CEO and Chief Creative Officer at The Communications Store, have teamed up with former CEO of The Guardian Media Group David Pemsel to create a new PR, branding and marketing agency – ScienceMagic.Inc – that will "build and partner with the brands and talent of tomorrow.

ScienceMagic.Inc, which will be based in London and New York, aims to combine story telling with digital technology and data science, helping brands to "define and articulate their purpose, develop their commercial strategies and build their digital interfaces" using science, magic and experience.

The Communications Store (TCS), which was founded by Dexter in 1995, will be merged into the new venture along with its 115 staff. The agency, one of the most pre-eminent in fashion and beauty, handles clients such as Versace, Goop and Victoria Beckham Beauty.

Pemsel, who is also a non-executive director of The British Fashion Council and a voting member of BAFTA, becomes CEO of the new venture, Dexter will be Chief Growth and Purpose Officer while Marks will be Chief Magic Officer. All three are shareholders in ScienceMagic.Inc.

“There now has to be a new answer to the challenges of building meaningful relationships with consumers in this complex and dynamic world. ScienceMagic.Inc is grounded in three core capabilities of Strategic Science, Creative Magic and Digital Experience to grow real and enduring value for both brands and people of influence," said Pemsel of the new venture.

"Established brands urgently need immediate solutions to make the shift in a post-covid world, from offline to a new physical, digital, mobile and virtual world. Personality and Purpose are the future of all brands and all consumers are looking for inspiration in a new world of genuine engagement and entertainment,” he added.

Dexter, who recently released a book entitled Good Company: How to build a business without losing your values, said the COVID-19 crisis had forced the trio to think about "radically reinventing" the future for brands.

“The crisis we’re all in has focused us single-mindedly on radically reinventing the future of brand, talent and business building. ScienceMagic.Inc is our future. An agile, new model company that focuses only on building the brands and businesses of tomorrow through true partnership and purpose. I have always believed that purpose has to be the foundation of any business success. No brand or individual will succeed unless they can articulate their 'reason for being' well beyond financial success," she said.

Marks added: "I have always believed in the magic power of great brands – that extraordinary feeling of connection when you experience exceptional creativity, desire and beauty.

"ScienceMagic.Inc’s ambition is to bring real meaning and purpose to our connections with brands and people. We champion the magic behind our interaction with brands and people and empower that magic with science. In our role as brand guardians we use data, AI and technology to amplify great creative thinking, develop exceptional consumer entertainment platforms and build sustainable commercial businesses.”