ARK was launched on 30.04.2018 to coincide with Dom’s eldest daughter’s birthday. The agency was marketed as the first data-driven creative agency in healthcare. The board comprised Dom, Louis Joubert, Zsofia Kopetka, and Nicky King – all of whom had worked together at Dom’s previous agency, DJM – and soon established itself as a major player in terms of client list and awards. Having just completed its first full financial year, ARK was recognised in three categories at the PM Society Digital Awards, winning Gold in film, Bronze in Internal Communications, and Winner of Agency Team of the Year.
“In 2019, two agencies stood out at the top of the field”, said Rachel Farrow, Director, PM Society & Digital Awards Lead, describing Four Health and ARK’s dominance.
Dom was keen that, from the outset, ARK would have one pro bono campaign each year. This would enable the team to work together on a project outside of healthcare so that the team could experiment with the data-driven approach, channels, creative methodologies and, above all else, have some fun whilst doing some good. In September 2020, ARK picked up a Creative Floor Award for its pro bono campaign for The Childhood Trust.
In July the same year, ARK Comms was launched – a sister agency to ARK focused on health and medical communications. Olly Childs co-founded this new agency and worked closely with the ARK board to drive growth across the two companies. In August, ARK moved from St Martin’s Lane to its new home on Henrietta Street in Covent Garden, London.
2020 was the biggest year for ARK in terms of growth. The year started with a Silver at the PM Society Awards in the Corporate and Internal Communications category. The client roster and team grew significantly and the year concluded with 4 wins at the PM Society Digital Awards including Agency Team of the Year for the 2nd year in a row. In just over two years, the agency had grown from a small investment to a multi-million pound revenue agency with 17 awards to its name.
In 2021, ARK and ARK Comms were sold to OPEN Health and the team quickly integrated into their new environment. Dom became Chief Creative Officer at OPEN Health and was tasked with increasing the creative profile of the company. Over the next two years, OPEN Health won more awards per year than ever previously. In July 2024, he left OPEN Health to look for new adventures outside of agency land! Dom wanted ARK to be the last agency he would found, build, and sell.
