Abi: For those who haven’t come across Sleeping Giant before, can you tell us about what you do? 

Joe: We’re a full-service video and animation production company, which means we work with clients from the earliest stages of a project – not just creating content, but helping shape the communication strategy behind it. We start by understanding what they need to say, who they’re trying to reach, and where that message will be seen. Our role is often to bridge the gap between what a business wants to communicate and what its audience actually needs to hear.

Abi: How can video and animation help communicate complex information?

Sean: Video is often the gateway into a complex subject. Clients sometimes come to us wanting to explain everything in a single piece of content, but that’s rarely the most effective approach. Instead, we’ll often recommend a hero video supported by shorter, more focused pieces that explore individual topics in greater depth. We’re also always thinking beyond a single project. During production, we capture enough material to build a library of content that clients can reuse across future campaigns. That gives them better value while creating a more flexible communications toolkit.

Abi: What communication challenges do organisations commonly face?

Joe: One of the biggest challenges is that clients are often experts in their own field. They know their subject so well that it’s easy to assume the audience shares the same knowledge. Our job is to step into the audience’s shoes and ask the questions they would ask. That often means challenging assumptions, simplifying the structure of the message, and helping clients prioritise what people really need to know first.

Abi: We’ve worked together across a range of projects. From your perspective, what makes the partnership between Sleeping Giant and TDL effective? 

Joe: Both organisations are focused on the same goal: helping audiences understand complex information. Whether it’s through motion, video or information design, we’re trying to communicate clearly and ensure content achieves a specific objective.

Sean: I also think we share the same mindset when it comes to working with clients. We don’t simply accept a brief at face value – we ask questions, challenge assumptions and work together to understand what success actually looks like. That attention to detail, from briefing through to delivery, is what produces stronger outcomes.

Abi: What advice would you give organisations considering video and animation for the first time?

Sean: Treat it as an investment rather than an isolated project. It’s worth taking the time to create something properly and think carefully about how that content will be used once it’s produced. Great content still needs a clear distribution strategy to succeed.

Joe: That’s right – strategy comes before production. Before writing scripts or creating storyboards, you need to understand your audience, your objectives, and the channels where the content will appear. Those decisions shape everything else, from the creative approach through to the budget. 

Employee ownership wasn’t a fix for TDL; it strengthened what already worked in terms of staff motivation, employee retention, and company culture. The real benefit is shared ownership, as the team sees how their effort directly shapes the business. The EO model reinforces long-term stability, helping attract and retain strong people. It also brings financial upside, with the option to pay employees tax-free bonuses of up to £3,600 annually. 

As for our clients and partners, they have the reassurance that we have a proven model putting our employee’s interests at the heart of what we do. Thanks to our EO status, there’s now little chance of TDL being bought out and losing its great culture, so we will continue to be a sustainable and reliable partner, offering a market-leading information design service. 

When I had the crazy idea of uprooting my life to move to Australia, my thinking was that I’d just set up another branch of TDL in Sydney, surely that’s not going to be too difficult? But this was a big decision, and now the agency I’d originally founded in 2011 was 100% employee-owned, this couldn’t be one of my crazy in-the-moment ideas. This was something I needed the input and backing from the whole TDL team. We structured a clear process of developing the idea based on a thorough business plan.

This business plan may have originally been required for the visa, but it soon turned into a live document, being scrutinised by the team, with thoughts inputted, discussed, revised and ticked off as a group rather than an individual. Sometimes it was hard, but it was a great process to go through and gave me a sense of responsibility of making the right decisions for the team, not just for myself as a director.