Creative agency Naked merges with BMF to form creative powerhouse under the BMF brand
BMF has today announced it will add Naked’s team and clients to the business, in a move to strengthen its strategic and creative services offering to clients. Under the BMF brand, the merged businesses will continue to focus on helping marketers navigate their increasingly complex landscapes.
Says Stephen McArdle (far right), managing director, BMF: “BMF and Naked have always shared a belief in the power of creativity to deliver outstanding results for our clients and a reputation for world class strategic thinking. Naked was born of a focus on unconventional thinking that has been the hallmark of the Naked brand since conception. BMF’s focus is on delivering enduring ideas for brands and maintaining an obsession with effectiveness.”
The move comes soon after BMF’s ‘Santa Crashes Christmas’ for ALDI Stores Australia campaign won two gold, two silver and three bronze awards at the AWARD Awards, and Naked won three gold and three silver awards for its ‘Sans Forgetica’ campaign for RMIT University. BMF were also recently named NSW Agency of the year at the B&T awards.
Says McArdle: “We are incredibly excited about our teams joining forces. They have impressive talent, great clients, a fantastic entrepreneurial spirit and a breed of work that we have long admired and that will further enhance the creative output.”
Says Matthew Melhuish (far left), CEO, Enero Group: “As we continue to reimagine the future for Enero and look to build strong businesses to take advantage of the changing marketing landscape, we saw a great opportunity to bring together the skills within Naked and BMF. By adding Naked’s strength in media-neutral strategy and innovative creativity to a BMF team who are already performing brilliantly, we are creating a stronger business that has even more potential. Both agencies have great clients and produce great work; I’m excited to see what they will produce now they are working together.”
BMF is part of the Enero Group and this announcement comes as part of Enero’s strategy to continue reimagining the future and building strong businesses that take advantage of the changing marketing landscape.
13 Comments
That’s a polite way of saying Naked finally carked it.
The Naked brand was always one that felt exciting and different. Sorry to see it gone, even though it’s been nothing more than a nameplate in recent times.
Just push these chairs over here. Done.
Now take that plaque down. Brilliant.
Anybody taken down the website?
It’s still up? Oh, come on…
Naked launched as a pure channel planning agency and a their whole proposition was based around not be ‘influenced’ by executional production. So when they started doing creative they just became another agency and just looked a bit silly based on what they used to stand for.
Naked were better at talking about it than actually doing it. Grand strategies and contrarian views always sound great in a workshop. And best left as a deck on someone’s shelf. And lo..one of the founders now works for PWC.
Couldn’t quite get the truth, but I suppose naked finally gives up isn’t as exciting as BMF getting some more people.
Sad, but about 2 years late.
Just as the work was getting good
Not quite true. The work mentioned above came from creatives that left a while ago. So the work was just about to get shit again.
I hate the tone of the negative comments here.
The industry is changing, the market is changing and this is a move to strengthen BMF, keep talent and keep jobs. It’s a natural process in a market where clients are becoming meaner, insourcing is surging and where to be honest we’ve got too many agencies for too little total and diminishing spend. The critical people here are obviously oblivious to what’s going on at a macro level across the industry. Well done BMF on making the brave call, keeping good people and preparing yourself for the next wave.
As an industry, why do we on an almost daily basis try to destroy ourselves with judgment and criticism which is mostly anonymous, uninformed and unfounded?
Appreciate your Kamahl sentiment “why are people so unkind?” plea.
But unfortunately until people are forced to declare their identity (and eventually it will be law) then just revel in the dark thoughts, the square ups and the score settling and enjoy the anonymous rants.
I wrote an earlier comment and will double down on it. Anonymously. Naked tried hard to cut other agencies lunch. I saw it first hand. They quietly but purposely slagged the indisyry mocked creative people and acted like they knew better. Then…they realised they didnt. Creative people are the force in this industry. Not sneering cynical pseudo intellectuals. I mean..really…there is no such tging as a Consumer Pyschologist. It is a made up credential. But after all this..clearly you love the business..and we need more people like you. And less of them. So dont let them win.
3.
Naked people it’s time to get dressed and go home.
The reason we have negativity on a post like this is the sheer lie. They are lying to save face.
BMF makes ads, that’s what they do, sometimes they do it well, beyond that, the boys club doesn’t have much to show for itself.
Naked died a few years ago, became a nothing agency in a sea of mediocrity. Not media neutral, just an average shop hunting for scraps.
Naked died right here and BMF picked up a few people who wont last long, non-story, move along.
As someone who worked at Naked for a couple of years up until quite recently, it’s very disappointing but again not at all surprising to see the negative tone of these comments, the cruel remarks and petty criticism. For what it’s worth, this marks the sad end of an era for what was a great agency trying to deliver smart and cut-through creative in a market where as articulated so well above – budgets are shrinking, expectations are higher and we’re all fighting for the same split second of attention from an increasingly cynical audience. The entire team at Naked were an absolute pleasure to work with – brilliant minds, creative spirits, warm energy, caring natures and egos well and truly left at the door. Cheers to the memories Naked, we all know what we had was special and should be proud of the fight we had in us!