Campaign Brief Q&A with Tony Bradbourne, founder, Special: “Raise your ambition”

Campaign Brief recently caught up with the founder of Special, Tony Bradbourne, on the global international creative network started in New Zealand 15 years ago, and the flagship office he leads in Auckland that is consistently named as one of the very best agencies in the world.

2023 has to go down as a landmark year for Special New Zealand – being named ‘Global Creative Agency of the Year’ by Campaign UK, New Zealand Effie and APAC Effie ‘Most Effective Agency of the Year’, ‘Cannes Independent Agency of the Year’ for strategy and of course ‘Campaign Brief New Zealand Agency of the Year’ – all in the same year, how would you sum up 2023?

A lot of hard work by a lot of passionate people! There’s no getting around that really. Creating good work is only possible with a lot of hard work from everyone. Clients, agency, production and media partners – everyone. All pulling in the same direction. All focused on the results you all want to deliver together. A strong agency culture is essential, but that’s not enough in itself. You have to also all have that shared creative ambition to get anywhere together.

But yes, for an agency from far away New Zealand to win Campaign UK’s ‘Global Creative Agency of the Year’ was a real WTF moment. Something that hasn’t been done before by a single agency from this side of the world, going up against the best from Europe and the US. So I’m sure we will look back on that achievement in a couple of years with some real perspective…

And you know, we’ve come a long way to be named that, when we started in Kingsland, Auckland we were just three chairs, one desk, just a room full of international experience and ambition – so we’ve had to work hard for everything. Fully independent from day 1, no backers, no help, we’ve had to pitch, win and build everything from scratch. So when Campaign calls you out as the ‘Best creative agency in the world’ it’s a moment of real pride.

And then to also be named ‘#4 Independent Creative Network of the Year’ at Cannes and AWARD ‘Network Agency of the Year’. It was an impossible founding goal, to turn the marketing world on its head, and grow a global creative network from the bottom of the world up, but yeah in 2023 I think we have all ticked that one off the ‘to do’ list. We’ve come a long way…

Why are effectiveness awards so important for a creative agency like Special?

As an industry I think we need to continuously strive to prove that creativity is such a powerful driver of business success. And independently and rigorously judged effectiveness awards like Effies and WARC are one of the best measures we have of proving that a campaign, or a new brand platform or a rebrand has delivered business success.

So yes effectiveness awards are a real focus for Special, and as you said, we had a really incredible year at both the local and regional Effie awards. But that doesn’t mean we do safe work, quite the opposite. We believe that the most creative work is the most effective work.

So we strive to do Grand Prix level work not to win awards, but because we know that level of creativity is the best way of generating the most business impact. This year at Cannes we started the week by winning a WARC Grand Prix for Effectiveness and then won a Cannes Grand Prix in a creative category the next day. We value the two in equal measure. Because they are not different in our eyes – the most creative work is the most effective work.

This is not a new thing, this has been our goal from day 1, when we might have been excused for focusing on just trying to win some business to keep the lights on. Our very first campaign won three Gold Effies, our next won a Cannes Grand Prix. We were only a few people at the time, we had no heating, we were answering the phones, changing toilet rolls, doing the invoicing, art working and presenting all in the same hour – but we had real belief, a real focus on delivering business results with every opportunity. Because if we didn’t, that might be our last opportunity!

Special NZ’s work is extremely varied, unique and hard to box. There is no house style. What’s the drive behind doing such a wide variety of work?

When we launched, we wanted to break down the silos that exist between advertising and design agencies, and create work that exists anywhere from shelf to screen. And so as a result of our foundational DNA, and our unique business model today, we do some pretty varied work. We’ve crafted the packaging for ecostore for over a decade, we’ve created TV shows, documentaries, created brands from scratch and produced everything in-between.

We are more focused on what the business outcome is that we want to generate, rather than what a predetermined channel will be. So we are unblinkered, we’re able to execute at the highest level in any discipline, and as a company to aid this we combine world-class thinking and skills across design, tech, entertainment, strategy, PR and communications. And that shows in the varied types of work we produce.

The second driver is the want to make something different, something better, to add to the world rather than dumb it down. We believe the world has too much average and ordinary. That what the world really needs is more wonderful, more entertaining, more useful, in a word, more special.

So if we sail a 30 foot tall bright yellow rubber duck unannounced into Auckland Harbour to launch an entertainment channel, or sell life insurance by using dead characters from a popular TV show, and is made by the same crew, same director and runs between the end of each episode and the end credits – rather than being an ad that disrupts you in a traditional ad slot – then this is us trying to live up to that promise.

To create work that lives up to our name.

You’ve just celebrated 15 years since founding Special. What are the standout moments?

Jeez that is a big question! So many I guess, and too many to remember. Actually, doing it and not falling completely on our faces is a good one to start with! I have huge respect for anyone brave and driven enough to step outside and follow their own vision and start something.

And when you look at our industry in NZ and AUS now compared to 15 years ago – Bear meets Eagle on Fire, Howatson+Co, Thinkerbell, Motion Sickness, Milk+Honey, Supermassive, Pitchblack, Yarn, EightyOne, and The Royals, to name just a few – the independents are leading the way. Just look at who’s winning all the ‘Agency of the Year’ titles… and hats off to all those brave ones.

It’s not really a moment, but nothing over the past 15 years would have been possible without the amazing people that we get to work with every day, and over the years, that believe in the mission of what we are trying to create. We are lucky to work with such incredible people and incredible partners around the world. That is the most powerful thing.

Then to have achieved the things we set out to do from day 1 – to do the best work in the world from the edge of the world. To create the best agency in the world from scratch. To turn the marketing world on its head and build a creative network from the bottom of the world up. All these things were our foundation ambitions. Goals too impossible to think you could ever really achieve them all. But 15 years later, with the help of a lot of amazing people, and far too many weekends, here we are.

Starting an agency was one thing, but starting a global creative network is another thing all together. No one in New Zealand had ever successfully opened an office outside of New Zealand before. But that was the vision from the start – to do something that has never done before. It took a lot of bravery, a lot of effort from a lot of people – and a lot of flights, over 100 I think. So all of that effort really led to another standout moment for Special – opening our first office offshore, and proving that the idea can work.

You’ve moved into a new flagship office space in Auckland. Why are your agency spaces so important to you?

Our first office was an old movie theatre. A massive space, with just one tiny window. Very cold in winter, very hot in summer.

Sydney was a small ex art gallery, then we moved into a bigger ex art gallery in Surry Hills. So there’s always been something about having unique spaces. Spaces that have a back story. But mainly chosen as spaces that we think will inspire.

We are in a talent business, and one of the things we can do to attract and retain the best talent is give them the best space to express that talent in. I want everyone to be incredibly proud of working at Special, and incredibly proud of the offices. We know there are many others in the industry who don’t give much thought about this. Who measure how many people can fit into how small a space. And good luck to them. But we see our spaces as being one of the ingredients we use to create the perfect conditions for creativity. Who knows who’s right – I just know where I would prefer to work.

A saying we have at Special is ‘Life is short, make it special’. And that runs through everything we do. Even with our offices. Don’t waste time with ordinary, make it special… Case in point is our new office in Auckland, it used to be one of the more aesthetically challenged buildings in Auckland. So we are really happy to have helped transform that into an incredibly beautiful space. And to be right in the centre of Ponsonby. The move is a conscious statement. We want to elevate our industry in the eyes of business leaders. We want to be a beacon for business excellence. We’ve already hosted talks and gatherings of CEO’s and business leaders. This is what a ‘special’ space allows.

Seven offices globally, Cannes Grand Prix’s, diversification into PR – what’s possibly next for Special?

Just keep focused on doing great work that achieves great results. Most other things are a distraction.

Don’t get carried away by any one success, don’t drop your head with any one failure.

Don’t think you are any better than you are.

Choose to be positive. Get up each day with the same hunger and drive as you did on Day 1.

Stay curious. Stay hungry to learn.

Embrace new. It’s a powerful thing, but never lasts long.

And always try to raise your ambition, for what you can create and what you can change for the better.

One of the most motivational things you can say to me is ‘it can’t be done’. It forces me to ask ‘why not?’. And that is one of the simplest yet most powerful questions there is. ‘You can’t build the world’s best creative network from New Zealand’. Why not?