Brand Collective appoints Poison Gas Co. as digital agency following a four-way pitch

Creative and performance marketing agency Poison Gas Co. has been appointed exclusive digital agency for Brand Collective’s extensive apparel and footwear portfolio following a four-way pitch.

The win will see the agency work on Brand Collective’s 16-plus apparel and footwear labels including Reebok, Hush Puppies, Review Australia, Shoes & Sox, Superdry and Volley.

The appointment comes after Brand Collective sought an agency partner to deliver long term brand growth while still driving sales across the diverse labels it owns and licenses for operations spanning retail, ecommerce, wholesale, and marketplace channels.

Interestingly, the small and nimble Poison Gas Co. replaces international giant Mediacom on the Reebok business, after the incumbent resigned the account to take on Nike work globally.

Poison Gas Co. proved an ideal fit for Brand Collective’s short and long term strategy needs, with founder Chris Thompson (pictured above) bringing a background in creative development and digital marketing, including previous in-house creative and digital experience within the retail sector. He founded Poison Gas Co. in 2021 to offer an optimal blend of creative and performance marketing agency tactics after observing shortcomings in singular agency approaches.

Says Thompson: “I’d seen creative agencies disregarding measurement and lacking accountability for short term results too often. Performance marketing agencies would do the opposite – overcomplicate technical aspects of campaigns, focusing too much on short term wins over sustainable growth. Poison Gas Co. took only the best elements from each approach, mixed them in a test tube, heated them over the fires of passion and ambition (and let’s be honest, a little indignation), and voila – our founding formula was concocted. And that’s what we’ll use for Brand Collective. We won’t sacrifice growing brand long term for short term sales. We’ll drive both with a strategy that is future proof, digitally fit, but not digitally exclusive.

“We’re absolutely pumped to be working with one of Australia’s most forward-thinking retail businesses and taking on big household names like Volley, Reebok, Superdry, Hush Puppies and Review. Brand Collective have chosen to work with us because it was clear the textbook approach was no longer servicing their needs and we very clearly do not play by the rules.”

Says Anna Samkova, group general manager digital and marketing, Brand Collective: “We are delighted to partner with Poison Gas to elevate our brand’s performance across paid channels. Chris’s passion, industry knowledge and guidance are what we require to propel our growth and optimise the marketing efforts across the entire ecosystem.”