Meet The CEO: Wonderhood Studios' Alex Best

There’s a clarity of intent at Wonderhood Studios. An instinct to entertain, not just to communicate. A creative confidence that comes from the belief that the best ideas make you feel, and the best advertising is entertaining.

That simple idea sits at the heart of how CEO Alex Best thinks about creativity. "We don’t begin with a message or a media plan,” he says. “We begin with a feeling. If it doesn’t engage or entertain, why would anyone care?"

It’s not a rejection of strategy, it’s a recalibration of what strategy is for. Attention isn’t owed. It’s earned. And in a world saturated with noise, entertainment isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s the only door in. “The best advertising is entertaining,” Best adds, citing Walt Disney: ‘I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.’ It’s a line that quietly defines Wonderhood’s worldview.

From ideas to impact: A business model that works

If other agencies are still tinkering with integration, Wonderhood has already built it in. But Best is quick to point out that the studio model, where ideas fluidly move between advertising, content, and entertainment, isn’t the magic trick in itself. “It’s the thinking behind it that matters,” he says. “We’ve built a place where the best idea wins. That forces us to stay sharp, with no format as the default.”

That ethos, and its results, are helping attract ambitious clients. Earlier this year, Waitrose handed Wonderhood its summer campaign, moving away from its exclusive relationship with Saatchi & Saatchi. It marked a clear shift in the supermarket’s creative strategy, favouring flexibility and fresh energy.

“We’re delighted to be working with Waitrose,” Best said at the time. “It’s an exciting brief and we can’t wait to bring it to life.” The win followed a creative collaboration between the two agencies on the 2024 Christmas campaign, where Wonderhood produced two social films starring Line of Duty's Vicky McClure and Martin Compston.

Cultural currency as the measure of success

Ask Best how he wants Wonderhood to grow in the future, and the answer isn’t framed in market share or headcount. It’s cultural resonance.

“We want to be known for work that doesn’t just perform, it permeates. The kind of ideas that make it into group chats, pubs, and headlines. Work that gets under people’s skin, that travels without needing to be pushed. That’s the bar. And I’d rather miss that bar than lower it."

Best adds that alongside his co-founders and CCO Aidan McClure and CSO Jessica Lovell the ambition for Wonderhood is to push harder on creativity when others are retreating. “When times get tough, the industry often hides behind efficiency and lowest-common-denominator thinking. We’ve done the opposite. We’ve bet on originality and cultural punch.

“We don’t add to the noise. We create the moments people remember. That’s our value.”

Wonderhood’s creative engine runs on insight, strategy and data, but it’s steered by something more elusive. “Taste is what turns a smart idea into a resonant one,” Best says. “It’s what makes the difference between something that’s effective and something that’s iconic.”

Wonderhood Studios' produced Super Surgeons for Macmillan Cancer Support - a Channel 4 documentary exploring pioneering cancer surgery - is proof that this model can be highly effective for brands as well as for the broadcaster. It was Channel 4’s second biggest 10pm launch of 2022 with over 1 million viewing figures, whilst also making Macmillan the fourth most talked-about brand and most talked-about charity in the UK at the time.

Culture as provocation

Wonderhood’s ambition isn’t just to do standout work, it’s to build the kind of culture that makes it possible. “A culture that rewards people bringing their authentic selves,” Best explains. “One where people aren’t afraid to challenge the brief, the client, or each other.”

That requires care, clarity, and constant self-awareness. “Creative cultures thrive when people feel heard, supported and pushed. I try to create clarity, back bravery, and kill mediocrity wherever I see it.”

Friction, he insists, isn’t the enemy. It’s the point. “Great work doesn’t come from alignment. It comes from emotion and people who care too much.”

That also shapes how Wonderhood is developing its next generation of leadership. “We don’t want replicas. We want people who think differently. I’m not interested in creating a polite agency. I’m interested in creating a generational one.”

As for the future? Best believes clients are beginning to rediscover something long buried beneath performance dashboards: the power of brand.

“We’ve swung too far into performance-only thinking. But people don’t fall in love with landing pages. They fall in love with what a brand stands for.”

That rediscovery, he says, will come with a demand for fewer partners, more accountability, and bigger creative ambition. “The agencies that win will be the ones who can make brands famous again.”

Because while attention splinters and tech evolves, some truths remain: emotional work still endures. In the end, creativity remains the sharpest tool in the industry’s arsenal.