About

We First is a brand consultancy committed to business as a force for good. Watch our manifesto video:

MANIFESTO

We First is a new vision for the role of business in the world. It is a mindset, practice and movement that ensures business does well by doing good. It stands in contrast to a 'Me First' mentality that does not deliver the business growth, community engagement or social impact that brands and their communities want. It is inspired by the global challenges we face, the social technologies we use and the human values we share. It motivates all stakeholders in a brand community to work together to build its business and a more equitable, sustainable and prosperous world.

BEST SELLING BOOK

We First Founder & CEO Simon Mainwaring's first book, We First: How brands and consumers use social media to build a better world (Palgrave Macmillan) is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon bestseller. It was named an Amazon Top Ten Business Book, 800CEORead Top Five Marketing Book, and strategy+business named it the Best Business Marketing Book of the Year. It offers a visionary new practice in which brands bring a 'We First' focus to their leadership, culture, marketing and impact in the world. It has been translated into Russian, Chinese, Taiwanese and Korean.

Order your copy of We First. Book Simon as a speaker.

BRAND SERVICES

WE FIRST STRATEGY

Consumer Research
Competitive Research
Brand Strategy
Brand Purpose
Brand Positioning
Brand Story
Social Media Strategy
Advocacy Programs

WE FIRST TRAINING

Purpose Integration
Culture Building
Employer Branding
Employee Engagement
Leadership Training
Employee Workshops
Training Courseware
Keynote Presentations

WE FIRST STUDIO

Content Strategy
Brand Documentaries
TV Campaigns
Manifesto Films
Employee/Product Films
Social Media Content
Print/OOH/Experiential
Web/Brand identity Design

BELIEFS

  1. The future of profit is purpose.
  2. Brands must share a simple, consistent and scalable story.
  3. Be the chief celebrant, not celebrity, of your customer community.
  4. Social technology is teaching us to be human again.
  5. People rise to the conversation you grow around them.
  6. Transcend your product, service or category to shape culture.
  7. The evolution of revolution is contribution.
  8. Be a mission with a company, not a company with a mission.
  9. Brands must lead with their legacy.
  10. The best hope for business is the business of hope.

ABOUT OUR FOUNDER

Simon Mainwaring launched to realize his vision for a more equitable and sustainable practice of business and capitalism. He is a member of the Advisory Board of Sustainable Brands, the Steering Committee of the Business Alliance for the Future, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in London. He contributes to The Guardian, Forbes, and Huffington Post on purposeful branding and responsible business.

Simon’s book, We First: How brands and consumers use social media to build a better world is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon bestseller. It was named an Amazon Top Ten Business Book, 800CEORead Top Five Marketing Book, and strategy+business named it the Best Business Marketing Book of the Year.

Read More

Simon was included in Richtopia’s ‘Top 200 Philanthropists and Social Entrepreneurs 2017,’ the 2016 United National Foundation's 'Global Influencers to Follow', Statsocial's 2015 Top 100 Social Media Power Influencers, YPO's Real Leaders '100 Visionary Leaders' for 2015, GlobalCEO's Top CSR Leaders for 2014. He has been featured in BBC World News, The Guardian, Advertising Age, Inc., AMA, Fast Company, GOOD Magazine and Huffington Post.

Simon is a sought after international speaker with engagements including the Cannes International Advertising Festival, Royal Society of Arts, SXSW, TEDxSF, Promaxbda, Conscious Capitalism, Necker Island with Sir Richard Branson, Sustainable Brands, Social Good Summit, National Speakers Association, 1440 Multiversity and National Press Club, as well as brands such as Google, Coca-Cola, General Motors, VF, Samsung, VSP Global, Toyota, SAP, Gucci, VW Group, NHL, and Patagonia. He was voted a Top 5 Marketing Speaker by speaking.com, featured on the cover of the National Speaker’s Magazine, and was a finalist for Global Australian of the Year. Simon received the MAKE CHANGE, ‘Conscious Leadership’ Award for 2016 and was a finalist for the Conscious Company Leadership Awards in 2017.

Prior to starting We First Simon spent 15 years as an award-winning writer, Creative Director, and Worldwide Creative Director at many of the world’s top creative advertising agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi, Wieden & Kennedy, and Ogilvy working on brands such a Nike, Coca-Cola, Toyota, and Motorola, receiving over 60 awards at all major advertising festivals including the Cannes Advertising Festival the One Show, the Clio’s, the Kelly Awards, British Design & Art Direction Awards, and AWARD.
Watch Simon outline the vision for We First capitalism in his TEDxSF talk here.

TEAM

We First is a team. A collection of passionate branding experts, tech geeks, and social change agents deeply committed to realizing the potential of business to build a better world. Our diverse backgrounds include working at many of the worlds top advertising agencies in the US, UK and Asia (Wieden & Kennedy, Saatchi & Saatchi, Goodby Silverstein, TBWA/Chiat/Day, DDB, Ogilvy, Leagas Delaney); expertise across multiple industries (advertising, fashion, entertainment); and top honors at international award shows (Cannes, D&AD, Clios, One Show, Kelly Awards). Our combined skills ensure we bring a unique blend of expertise in social storytelling, social technologies and social impact to bear on building your reputation, business, community and social impact.

RECOGNITION

Our team hails from diverse strategic, creative and social impact backgrounds and have been recognized with a variety of awards throughout their careers.

 

PARTNERS

We consider ourselves a partner to inspiring organizations deeply committed to business as a force for good.

 

CONTRIBUTION

Since 2011, We First has provided free training support to over 200 non-profits. Here are some of the inspiring non-profits and foundations that our community supports.