The Gutsy Creative Agency: Jen Landels on Brand, Imperfect Action and the Horse Tethered to a Plastic Chair

In this episode of Scale HER Up, I'm joined by Jen Landels, Managing Director of Studio LR — a 22-year-old independent creative agency based in Leith, Edinburgh, that helps ambitious organisations build brands and campaigns with both substance and standout.

Jen calls Studio LR "the gutsy creative agency" — and this conversation is every bit as gutsy as the work they do. She talks about brand strategy for businesses of all sizes, what it really means to step into leadership for the first time, and why the most powerful thing holding most of us back is our own self-belief.

We cover:

- What Studio LR does and who they work with — from Volvo to Suntory Global Spirits to Historic Environment Scotland

- The biggest brand mistake businesses make (it's not what you think)

- How to build a brand on a small budget — practical advice from a workshop with Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce

- Why you need to meet your audience where they are, not where you want them to be

- Jen's extraordinary career journey: Red Bull, the Leith Agency, Scottish Government, Scottish Rugby and now Studio LR

- The moment she got into advertising — through babysitting

- "Shy bairns get nowt" — and what it taught her

- Taking over as MD with no prior experience of running a business — and what she did first

- The fika approach to joining a new team (taking every single person for coffee)

- Why leadership is lonelier than she expected — and the peer group that changed that

- The female agency leaders WhatsApp group growing from 24 to 53 — and why competing businesses support each other

- Her six annual mantras, including imperfect action, conviction and vulnerability as a strength

- Rebranding herself from Jenny to Jen when she became MD — and what that really meant

- Her late dad Jim's legacy — and the project that brought everything full circle

- The horse tethered to a plastic chair: why it's your own self-belief holding you back

**Quote of the episode:** *"We think we're stuck, but it's our own lack of self-belief that's holding us back."* — Jen Landels

If you're building a brand, stepping into leadership, or wondering whether you're more capable than you're giving yourself credit for — this episode is for you.