ACORNS alumni and Sticky founder Bridget Johnson brings a new voice to advertising.
Bridget Johnson, a copywriter, creative director and strategist with over 25 years’ experience in the advertising industry set up her own consultancy Sticky at her home in Greystones, Co Wicklow, in February 2023.
Originally, from Johannesburg, South Africa, Bridget has been based in Ireland for four years.
“The support the community of women on the programme gave to each other was invaluable”
She is a graduate of the celebrated ACORNS women entrepreneurship programme which recently opened applications for 11th Cycle as previous participants reported 54% revenue growth. The next programme has a deadline of midnight on 22 September. The programme is available to early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland who have generated sales no earlier than the end of June 2022. Up to 50 places are available for ACORNS 11, which will run from October 2025 to April 2026.
Breakthrough creative ideas
Bridget, who works with expert collaborators on a project-by-project basis in Ireland, the UK, Europe and South Africa, helps brands of all sizes turn their business objectives into breakthrough creative ideas and campaigns without the costs that they might incur working with bigger agencies.
Immediately prior to launching Sticky, Bridget was an executive creative director with the Boys + Girls advertising agency in Dublin.
“I was drawn to the idea of setting up on my own because I am comfortable operating in both creative and strategic aspects of advertising, so I can can fulfil both roles well for clients and therefore a greater value option for them.
Bridget got the business up and running by putting the word out among her contacts, and she has been consistently busy ever since.
“My biggest milestone so far was a job for Jameson Whiskey where I was able to bring in a collaborator, as it turned into a successful test case for the kind of expert collective I plan to create.
She says the ACORNS programme led to her operationalising her processes more and putting all the necessary business structures in place. “The support the community of women on the programme gave to each other was invaluable.”
Her focus now is how to migrate Sticky into a bigger operation, with the aim being to pick three partners to work with and to begin taking on bigger projects.
From little ACORNS to thriving businesses
Women in rural Ireland with new businesses or at least with well-developed ideas are being invited to join next phase of the programme, ACORNS 11.
The ACORNS programme is designed to support early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland through a peer learning approach. Thanks to the support of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and the voluntary contribution of time by Lead Entrepreneurs, there is no charge for those selected to participate.
Interested applicants for ACORNS must first register their interest here and will then receive an application by email. There is no charge for participation, thanks to continued government support and the voluntary contribution of time by Lead Entrepreneurs.
Results from ACORNS 10 demonstrate the programme’s impact on rural female entrepreneurship. All 52 participants who completed the cycle reported feeling closer to achieving their business ambitions, with 90% saying their participation brought about practical change within their business. Four businesses started trading for the first time during the cycle.
The financial results were particularly impressive, with the combined annual turnover of ACORNS 10 participants growing from €2.8m to €4.3m, representing a 54% increase. Participants employed a total of 104 staff at the end of the cycle, an increase of 15 positions, and 18 participants had gained export experience.
ACORNS operates on the belief that early-stage entrepreneurs learn best from their peers. The programme features monthly roundtable sessions facilitated by Lead Entrepreneurs who have first-hand experience of starting and successfully growing businesses in rural Ireland.
The programme has also been recognised as a ‘good practice’ on the EU’s INTERREG Learning Platform, adding to its recent accolades.
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