The Bloke Behind the Brand

Marketer.
Brandologist.
Professional
Disruptor.

I've been doing this since before most marketing tools existed. Built campaigns with nothing but instinct, a stubborn refusal to copy anyone, and the unshakeable belief that average is the enemy of great.

Based in Dubai, UAE
Jaymes' photo goes here
Disrupt or Die
12
London, Early 1990s
"That's a rubbish ad. I can do better than that."

Jaymes Payten, age 12, staring at a Yellow Pages ad

Where It All Started

A saddle, a rework,
and a free discount.

Most kids were out riding their BMXs. Jaymes was pulling apart a Yellow Pages ad for a bike shop, wondering why anyone would spend that much on a full page and say so little.

He reworked it. Convinced his brother to drive him to the shop. Handed the owner a redesigned version and told him it would work better. The owner smiled, said he'd use it, and knocked money off a saddle.

That was the moment. Not a university module. Not a LinkedIn course. A 12-year-old with a pencil, an opinion, and the audacity to walk into a shop and say "I can do this better."

Turns out, he could. And he's been doing it ever since.

Copy
someone
else's brand
and you
deserve to
be invisible.

The Slogan That Means It

Disrupt or Die.
Not a tagline.
A belief.

If you copy what everyone else in your industry is doing, your brand disappears into the noise. Consumers stop seeing you. You become wallpaper.

The only way to win is to stand out. To do the thing that makes people stop scrolling, look twice, and think "who the hell is that?" Boring is a choice. Generic is a strategy that kills brands slowly.

Disrupt or Die has been Jaymes' operating principle since that bike shop in London. Every campaign, every rebrand, every strategy starts from the same question: what makes this impossible to ignore?

Career Highlights

The moments that
actually mattered.

FXTM  |  2015  |  Campaign of the Year (in my books)

The ad that went viral before "going viral" was a brief.

When IronFX's offices in China were stormed by introducing brokers, the entire Forex industry was talking about it. Rather than stay quiet, Jaymes saw an opportunity. He grabbed a red tie (IronFX's brand colour), got a member of the Chinese sales team to grimace next to a steaming iron, had the designers add the steam, and wrote the line: "Have you been burned by your broker? Partner with FXTM."

It went viral. Everyone in the industry knew exactly what it was referencing. Within hours it was being shared across trading communities worldwide. That is what happens when you move fast, think sharp, and have the bottle to go for it.

Real Madrid  |  Museum Content

Every English word in
the Real Madrid museum.

When Real Madrid needed English content for their museum, they needed someone who understood how to write for the world's most passionate sports fans. Every piece of English copy you'll find in that museum? Jaymes wrote it. Not a ghostwriter. Not an agency. Him.

It is the kind of brief that does not come along often: write for an institution that has more trophies than most clubs have players, for an audience that spans every language and culture on the planet, and make it feel like you belong there.

Consulting  |  Global Brands

The Forex, Crypto & iGaming
verticals most marketers avoid.

Regulated, compliance-heavy, and brutally competitive. Jaymes has consulted for Exness, FxPro, HFM, and a host of other FX, crypto, prop firm, and iGaming brands. These are industries where generic marketing gets you fined, flagged, or ignored.

He knows the regulatory landscape, the audience psychology, and the difference between what you can say, what you should say, and what will actually make someone convert. That is a rare combination.

The Journey

25 years.
Zero straight lines.

A career built on refusing to do things the conventional way. Every stop on this timeline had one thing in common: the brief was "make it stand out."

Early 2000s
First Steps
London, UK

Cutting teeth in London's agency scene. Learning that good ideas beat big budgets, and that most briefs can be solved by asking "what would actually make this interesting?"

Mid 2000s
Brand Strategy & Copywriting
Multiple agencies & direct clients

Branching into brand strategy. Building a reputation for copy that sells without sounding like it's trying to sell. Clients start asking for Jaymes by name.

Late 2000s
Real Madrid Museum
Real Madrid CF, Madrid

Invited to create all English content for the Real Madrid museum. Writing for the world's most famous football club and their millions of global fans.

2010s
Into Forex & Financial Markets
Various FX & regulated brands

Discovers the Forex world. A niche that is wildly competitive, compliance-heavy, and desperate for marketers who understand both the product and the psychology. A perfect fit.

2015
CMO
FXTM

The IronFX campaign. A viral moment that defined an era. Proof that speed, instinct, and a red tie can do what no media spend can buy.

Late 2010s
Crypto, Web3 & Blockchain
Multiple DeFi & Web3 projects

Moves into the crypto and blockchain space early. Token launches, exchange growth, community building. Being one of the first marketers who understood both the tech and the audience.

2020s
Senior Consultant & Brandologist
Exness, FxPro, HFM & more

Consulting at the highest level. Working with global Forex, prop firm, and iGaming brands. 300+ brands across a career that refuses to sit still.

Now
Independent Marketer & Brandologist
Dubai, UAE

Based in Dubai. Taking on start-ups and established brands that need a complete brand rejuvenation. Plus quietly writing a series of novels on the side. More on that soon.

Beyond the Brief

The human behind
the marketer.

The Novelist

When he is not disrupting brand strategies, Jaymes is writing fiction. A series of novels is currently in progress, with the first one due for publication in 2026. More details coming soon.

Dubai Life

Based in Dubai, UAE. A city that suits him: fast-moving, internationally minded, and completely allergic to standing still. If you want a meeting, he is probably already up and working.

The Corner Man

Ask his best mate to describe him in one sentence? "You're the person I want in my corner, as I know you'll fight for me to the very end." That is exactly how he approaches every client brief.

"I always ask: what can I do to differentiate this brand and make it impossible to ignore? Everyone else is already doing the conventional thing."

Jaymes Payten

Right, Enough About Me

Let's talk about
your brand.

You have read the story. You know the slogan. Now let's have a proper conversation about where your brand is, where it needs to go, and what it's going to take to get there.