Former TBWA CCO Evan Roberts and whiteGREY CEO Lee Simpson reunite to launch Tightknit Studio 

Former TBWA Sydney CCO Evan Roberts (right) and whiteGREY CEO Lee Simpson (left) have joined forces to launch their new venture Tightknit Studio.

Says Roberts: “Tightknit is a promise of how we work and what we deliver. We know business is more challenging than ever before. Tightknit Studio is a creative practice born to tame this complexity and turn it into something beautiful.”

Says Simpson: “We’re on a mission to take creativity to new places and apply it across as many areas of an organisation as we can. This gives us more opportunity to tackle both familiar challenges and new kinds of problems. We’ve been busy exploring models to help us do just that – from operating in a regular agency model, to partnering closely with in-house teams, and, perhaps most interestingly, already acting as an outsourced marketing function across the Marketing mix.

The pair are a proven entity having worked together at ClemengerBBDO Melbourne (Simpson as Managing Partner and Roberts as ECD), together creating NAB’s long running brand platform ‘More Than Money’ and the highly acclaimed ‘Meet Graham’ for Transport Accident Commission among others.

The pair are a proven entity having worked together at ClemengerBBDO Melbourne with Simpson intially joining as GAD on NAB and promoted to Managing Partner and Roberts joining as CD in 2014 and promoted to ECD in 2017), together creating NAB’s long running brand platform ‘More Than Money’ and the highly acclaimed ‘Meet Graham’ for Transport Accident Commission among others.

Says Simpson: “Building an agency from scratch means we aren’t dealing with legacy structures and can set ourselves up for the emerging future as well as help clients find their place in it. It’s an incredibly exciting moment in time.”

In his previous role, Simpson led the revitalisation of whiteGREY, joining as CEO in 2018 and transforming it into a top ten agency in APAC for creativity and effectiveness (Cannes and WARC respectively); celebrated by Fast Company for world-changing ideas and he left with the agency holding the titles of AFR’s Most Innovative Media & Marketing Company and the Most Innovative Small business in ANZ. Prior to that Lee worked at respected agencies in the UK and Australia including Grey London, AMVBBDO London and M&C Saatchi Australia – earning over 200 industry awards across creativity, data, and technology, notably including two Cannes Grand Prix, a D&AD Black Pencil, and gold at both Euro and APAC Effies.

With more than two decades of experience Roberts has built a reputation as one of Australia’s most respected creative leaders, creating some of the country’s most enduring brand platforms as well as world-first creative innovation. He’s worked across many of Australia’s – and world’s – biggest brands including Mars, Apple, HEINZ,  Airbnb, NAB, CUB, TAC and the Australian Defence Force.

His work has been recognised with the highest creative and effectiveness accolades possible including multiple Cannes Grand Prix, the prestigious D&AD Black Pencil, three Fast Company Most Innovative ideas and the Grand Effie. In his time at Clemenger BBDO the agency won Cannes AOTY, D&AD AOTY and he was ranked #1 creative director in the world as a result.

Roberts began his career with Clemenger BBDO in 2002, prior to spending several years abroad. In 2008 he joined VML Melbourne as a senior writer before re-joining Clemenger BBDO in 2014 where he helped the agency secure the title of Campaign Brief Agency of the Year and again in 2017.

In his most recent role as CCO of TBWA Sydney, Roberts led the agency to success at Cannes, D&AD and The One Show as well as being awarded multiple Fast Company Most Innovative Ideas. Beyond Sydney he led global pitches for the TBWA collective and was part of reinvigorating Media Arts Lab in Australia.

Says Roberts: “When I look back at the noteworthy projects I’ve been part of over the years, they all had two things in common: deep collaboration and creative discipline. Those are the fundamentals we’re building Tightknit on and in the increasingly fast-paced and fragmented landscape we work in, they’ve never been more important.”

Contact: hello@tightknitstudio.com