Greggs huge success is most probably down to my mother.

It’s true, let me illuminate you.

Recently, of course, Newcastle-based Drummond Central has made massive strides forward for the brand.

However, my story goes back about 30 years.

I was Creative Director of Robson Brown Advertising at the time. I’m not sure who came up with the idea. 

It may have been Keith Morris, our chief media Guru. We handled Greggs of Gosforth at the time. The idea was to visit Greggs in Rutherglen, Scotland, and propose combining media spend to get more bang for their advertising buck, using our genius creative work, of course. Rutherglen is an area swallowed up by the 

ever-expanding city of Glasgow.

You need to appreciate that this was the extent of Greggs at that time: some bakery shops on Tyneside, and some on Clydeside. That was it. National treasure it was not.

I was dispatched across the border to sell the idea.

You may be able to tell by my name that I am indeed of Scottish descent. I therefore understood that the Scots may not be too thrilled about an English company landing in town and telling them what they must do.

I opened the meeting in their boardroom by saying, “My mother Jean is from Rutherglen, and would frequently, and with great pride, announce that she was NOT from Glasgow but from The Royal Burgh of Rutherglen!”

This got a big laugh and, more importantly, opened the door to their acceptance of me, our English agency, and our proposal.

Success duly followed.

With the confidence of this success, our team travelled the UK, selling the same ‘more bang for buck’ proposition to other bakeries. Brands changed to the Greggs brand, and before you could say ‘Sausage Roll’ 

Greggs was a national brand with a national presence. The rest is history, but not many people remember how it all began, once upon a Tyne.