Ahead of the CIM North West Conference on 25 September, we caught up with Dawn Paine and Valerie Bounds, the award-winning co-founders of Aurora. Known for their people-powered approach to brand transformation, Dawn and Valerie bring a unique blend of creativity and strategic clarity, shaped by careers spanning media, gaming, tech and culture.

At the conference, they’ll deliver their high-energy session In a World of Robots, Let’s Hear It for People-Powered Brands, reframing AI not as a threat but as a creative partner. Drawing on their philosophy of Stargazing, they’ll share how brands can use AI as an accelerant — while keeping humanity, authenticity, and emotional connection at the centre of every campaign.

You can register your spot at the event by clicking here 

Q1. Aurora is known for putting people at the heart of brand transformation. Can you tell us more about your agency, the vision behind it, and how your individual roles shape that mission? 

At Aurora, we believe the most powerful brands don’t just sell — they connect and attract.  We set out to build an agency that could help brands navigate change not by chasing trends, but by understanding people. Our vision was simple: put humanity back into marketing and use creativity to catapult brands into growth. 

Our backgrounds shape us for sure - and really makes us quite different in the agency landscape - in that we fuse client side / brand with agency backgrounds - at C suite level. So we have an incredibly nuanced and strategic understanding of how CEOs, CMOs and CHROs work together to drive change - starting with people and then cascading out into how to engage with their customers. It also means we understand the complex stakeholder environments that clients work within and help them navigate some of that with our strategic approach. 

We also come from diverse sectors—media, gaming, tech, culture, and strategy, UK and International, but what unites us is a shared belief that people are the most potent force in any brand transformation. We call this being people powered. Together, we balance creativity and clarity to make sure every idea starts — and ends — with real people in mind coupled with commercial impact. 

Q2. You’re both proudly based in the North West — how has the region influenced your creative approach and client work? Why is building brands in the North important to you? 

The North has grit, heart, and imagination — and that’s influenced everything from how we tell stories to how we work with clients. There's a distinct honesty and warmth in Northern culture, and we’ve built that into our creative DNA.  

Being Liverpool headquartered, we love having the power of that globally renowned brand as our home - albeit we work with brands based in Liverpool but equally nationally and Internationally. We do for sure love working with brands based outside of London - so we can deeply understand their audiences, their perspectives outside of the London media bubble and support economic growth outside London. 

Q3. In your experience, what’s the biggest challenge facing marketers trying to keep brands truly human in a world increasingly dominated by tech and automation? 

The biggest challenge we see? Data over DNA. Technology tempts brands to chase efficiency — faster content, real-time data, endless personalization — but in that race, it’s easy to lose the emotional core. Of course, the power of that data and speed is crucial to any modern brand - but it has to be alongside and complementary to the role of the brand’s core DNA. What are its human traits - what sets it apart, what makes it different. 

Being “human” means pausing to ask: Why are we doing this? Who is it for? How will it make them feel? That takes time and intention, which can feel countercultural in a tech-driven landscape. But in the end, emotional resonance will always outperform empty volume. 

Using our Glow Up methodology, we help brands to transform and connect to what they stand for - and putting humans — not hype — at the heart of brand transformation, enabling glorious and bold storytelling to connect brave brands to their audiences in ways that feel of the moment and deeply resonant. 

Q4. Aurora’s creative philosophy, ‘Stargazing’, is all about bold, people-first thinking. Can you share how this innovative approach has helped clients overcome complex brand or cultural challenges? 

‘Stargazing’ is our way of seeing beyond the noise — to ask bigger, more human questions. It helps brands zoom out from short-term tactics and align with long-term purpose. 

Stargazing sits at the intersection of internal corporate culture and popular culture and is the brand sweetspot where the brand can sit - and resonate with its people and consumers alike. 

We worked with global gaming giant everplay (previously Team 17 Group) to bring its people together across 3 disparate games businesses to create a new name and identity that brought everyone together. We anchored the whole approach in Stargazing - to explore what that brand could be and spoke to their people across the business to interrogate that same question. What that created was a truly people powered brand, bringing over 40 years of gaming heritage and fandom that worked for distinct parts of their business based across the world. Launched with their people front and centre - and connecting deeply to popular culture and gaming in the world today. 

And in a completely different sector - law, we have been working for several years with award winning, International law firm Weightmans - the epitome of a people powered business. We used Stargazing to make its people the stars and heroes of a series of leadership campaigns, underpinned with their wonderful purpose See the Possibility. Ultimately giving employees a stronger voice in shaping the brand narrative — the result was not just stronger branding, but stronger belief and bringing the whole workforce together to drive and advocate for its brand.  

Q5. What’s one model or tool that helps you guide clients toward more emotionally resonant branding—and why does it work? 

Our new model looks at the intersection of three forces: Human Truth, Brand Purpose, and Cultural Context. The magic happens where all three overlap. It’s deceptively simple, but powerful in practice. 

Too many brands operate in just one or two of those zones — they have purpose, but ignore culture. Or they ride cultural trends, but forget who they are. This tool brings focus. It forces real alignment. And it helps our clients make creative choices that stick emotionally. 

Q6. Are there any must-read books, podcasts, or thinkers who’ve inspired your people-powered approach to brand building? 

Definitely. A few that have shaped our thinking: 

• “Different” by Young Me Moon — a thought provoking exploration of how brands need to be different to escape the competitive herd.
  

• Brené Brown’s work on vulnerability and leadership — vital for building brands that are emotionally intelligent.
  

• Debbie Millman’s “Design Matters” podcast — inspiring, curious, and full of big human questions.
  

• And in our world, we constantly return to culture-first thinkers like Seth Godin and Sharmadean Reid who are redefining what creativity looks like when it centers people. As a pair of self confessed nerds, we also draw heavily on culture beyond the marketing world - fiction, sci-fi, film, music, gaming and the arts. This means we craft storytelling approaches which span the full creative sphere and know how to connect with audiences.
  

Q7. Your session reframes AI not as a threat, but as a partner in purpose. Can you expand on how marketers can balance automation with authenticity? 

We see AI not as a creative replacement, but as a creative accelerant. It can handle the heavy lifting — insights, iteration, even ideation — so humans can do what we do best: find meaning, tell stories, create emotional connections. 

The balance comes from intention. Are you using AI to enhance the human experience — or to replace it? Marketers who treat AI as a co-pilot, rather than a shortcut, will create work that feels smarter, faster, and still deeply human. 

Q8. How do sustainability, inclusion, and purpose factor into your creative decisions—and what advice do you have for brands trying to do this well without falling into ‘purpose-washing’? 

These values aren’t a “nice to have” — they’re essential lenses through which we shape every brief. But they have to be lived from the inside out. If a brand’s internal culture doesn’t match the external message, people will spot the disconnect instantly. 

Our advice: Start with truth, not trends. Understand what your brand can meaningfully contribute, and back it with action. Sometimes that means doing less, but doing it with real integrity. 

We are a female founded business and do a lot of work in the DEI space - we are long standing members of renowned gender equality campaigning group WACL and lead WACL North - giving female talent access to inspiration, events and mentoring. In addition, social mobility is a big focus for us, helping young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to build an interesting and exciting career. So definitely paramount for us that we walk the walk. 

Q9. You’ve both had dynamic careers—from media and gaming to co-founding Aurora. What advice would you give to those starting out in marketing, especially those who want to lead with creativity and courage? 

Be curious. Stay uncomfortable. And don’t wait for permission to be bold. 

The best marketers we know are the ones who combine empathy with edge — they listen deeply, but they’re not afraid to challenge convention. Also: learn to sell your ideas. Creativity without clarity rarely travels far. 

And finally, build your network. Creative courage is easier when you’ve got the right people around you. 

Q10. What’s a standout campaign from a North West brand that you admire—either for its creativity, cultural impact, or boldness? 

We loved the recent campaign from Co-op Live. It wasn’t just a venue launch — it was a cultural moment for the North. They didn’t just talk about community, they showed it: from spotlighting local artists to addressing accessibility and sustainability head-on. 

It’s a bold example of what happens when brands act with conviction and craft — and put people at the centre of everything.