James Straker, Mike Harmer Team Up to Help Companies Get More Eyeballs
James Straker, former Managing Director of shots, has launched Eyeballs, a new service created to help creative companies become more visible, more memorable and more commercially successful. “Creative companies have never had more opportunities to showcase their work,” says Straker. “Yet getting noticed by the right people has never been more challenging.”
To that end, Eyeballs has announced its next chapter as designer and engineer Mike Harmer officially joins as Co-Founder, alongside the launch of a new website at www.eyeballs.co that reflects the company's integrated approach to creative visibility.
The partnership reunites Straker and Harmer after almost a decade working together at shots, where they helped shape how production companies, agencies and studios present themselves to the global advertising industry.
While Straker spent more than 25 years building relationships and helping creative companies raise their industry profile, Harmer became one of the industry's most respected digital designers and engineers, quietly creating many of the websites and platforms that have become familiar across the creative advertising landscape.
His past portfolio includes websites for Farm League, Common People Studio, Outsider, NOMINT, Easy Mondays, Lobo/Vetor Zero and Irresistible Studios, along with extensive work across the shots digital ecosystem. Together, they believe creative companies need a different approach.
Rather than separating website design, P.R., social media, awards consultancy and industry positioning into different suppliers, Eyeballs brings them together through one connected visibility strategy designed specifically for the creative industries.
“Throughout my career I've met brilliant creative companies producing exceptional work that simply wasn't being seen by enough of the right people,” says Straker. “Visibility isn't just about marketing anymore. It's a commercial advantage. Every interaction someone has with your business influences whether you're remembered, recommended or invited into the next conversation. We created Eyeballs because we believe those touchpoints should work together, not in isolation.”
Harmer believes a company's website sits at the heart of that experience. “A website is often the first meaningful interaction someone has with your business. It needs to do far more than display a portfolio: it should communicate your personality, your ambition and the quality of your thinking. When it's supported by PR, social media and a clear positioning strategy, the result is significantly more powerful than any one discipline on its own.”
Coinciding with Harmer's appointment, Eyeballs has also unveiled a completely redesigned website that reflects this philosophy. The new site showcases the company's integrated services across website design and development, P.R., social media, awards consultancy and industry positioning, while embodying Harmer's belief that outstanding creative work deserves an equally thoughtful digital experience.
With its founding team now complete, Eyeballs is working with production companies, post houses, agencies, creative studios, music companies and emerging AI businesses across the globe, helping ambitious teams build stronger brands, increase their visibility and create more commercial opportunities.
