CB Interview with Justin Drape: No longer an indie, will The Monkeys’ “provocative thinking” proposition still remain after Accenture buyout

Justin Drape (left) and Scott Nowell (right), co-founders and chief creative officers of The Monkeys, Australia’s most awarded independent creative advertising agency, discuss the impact of the agency’s sale to Accenture, announced earlier this month

How does the new business model redefine the industry landscape as we know it?

It’s connected creativity, in a model that is end-to-end.

We can now offer complete business and brand transformation – all the way from business strategy, new platforms, products and services through to brand strategy, creative ideas and creative executions that influence the customer impression and experience with a brand.

Accenture Interactive have been helping some of the best businesses in the world transform the way they operate so the conversations around business objectives and customer needs will start a lot earlier than they do with most creative agencies. We will now be privy to these needs and provide world-class strategic thinking and creativity whenever the opportunity is there.

Will the co-founders continue to play a hands-on role in the agency?

Absolutely. We’re all excited about the next chapter and the possibilities in front of us. With the talent and skills resource of Accenture Interactive behind us it really is a matter of whatever we can think of is now possible.

What kind of business transformation capabilities can the agency now present to clients?

We can now go a lot deeper when it comes to understanding business objectives beyond marketing. We’re still going to be focussed on providing strategic thinking and creative solutions but, whenever the opportunity presents itself, the strategy and ideas will be more seamlessly connected to the insights gleaned from the business platforms and customers needs that Accenture Interactive have established.

No longer an independent, will The Monkeys’ proposition “provocative thinking” still remain?

Yes. It’s at the core of what we do. Everybody in the agency is here to make provocative ideas happen and we’ll now have the opportunity to do that on bigger projects in bigger markets.

How does the acquisition influence the creative agency’s commitment to culture?

Our commitment to cultivating an entrepreneurial and creative culture won’t change. During our initial conversations with the Accenture Interactive team they genuinely cared about how we nurture and protect our existing culture and how the people that make it what it is can thrive as we move forward and grow. Accenture Interactive is the largest digital network both worldwide and is a hugely successful ($4.4 billion) business so a lot of emphasis goes into making sure the people that make this business work are happy and satisfied by what they’re doing.

What future expansion plans has The Monkeys set in place for the next 6 months?

We’re going to open an agency in Melbourne. There’s already interest from both clients and local talent who want to be a part of it.