Former shots leaders launch Eyeballs
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Mike Harmer joins James Straker as Co-Founder, completing the Eyeballs founding team, as the company launches its new website and integrated visibility offering.
Creative companies have never had more opportunities to showcase their work. Yet getting noticed by the right people has never been more challenging.
A company's reputation is shaped by far more than the quality of its portfolio. Websites, PR, social media, awards, industry relationships and thought leadership all influence how businesses are discovered, remembered and ultimately chosen. But too often, these are managed independently rather than as one connected strategy.
That is the thinking behind Eyeballs.
Founded by former shots Managing Director James Straker, Eyeballs was created to help creative companies become more visible, more memorable and more commercially successful.
The company announces its next chapter as designer and engineer Mike Harmer officially joins as Co-Founder, alongside the launch of a new website 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 — helping businesses better showcase their work, strengthen their positioning and attract new opportunities.
Together, they believe creative companies need a different approach.
Rather than separating website design, PR, 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, PR, 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.
As the creative industries continue to evolve, Straker and Harmer believe one thing is becoming increasingly clear: Great work doesn't always get noticed.
But companies with a clear story, presented consistently across every touchpoint, are far more likely to.
