Mat Baxter launches Huge in Australia; headed up by Ben Skelsey in the role of managing director

Huge, the 20+ year design and innovation outfit born in Brooklyn has officially opened for business in Australia. Building on its award-winning legacy of craft and innovation, global CEO Mat Baxter (a New York-based Australian) has taken Huge on a year-long journey of head-to-tail transformation, and gone to market with a bold new offering: Creative Growth Acceleration. Having begun to gain traction around the world, Huge says it is now dedicated to helping local brands grow in new ways.

Creative Growth Acceleration is built on the premise that the world is on the cusp of a new business and economic era where the traditional approaches to growth are no longer fit for purpose. Creative Growth Acceleration is a new business philosophy and practice that enables organisations to grow sustainably, purposefully, and predictably. Built on decades of Huge’s design leadership working with the world’s most ambitious brands, Huge now helps companies solve problems – and grow – by providing infusions of Creative Capital into their brands and businesses, and by making, “huge moves.” Huge moves are game-changing, leapfrogging efforts that make a lasting and material impact for brands and their customers and deliver powerful outcomes.

Says Baxter (above left): “Why are we a Creative Growth Acceleration Company? Because creativity unlocks and powers growth. There is a wide body of research which shows that creative companies are more successful, and customers think better of products and services when they come from creative companies. But creativity, which is all too often viewed as some kind of secret sauce — immeasurable except in relation to an output such as marketing — requires a different lens if we want to apply it to the problems facing businesses today.”

To deliver on this new vision, Huge has designed a suite of products that use data, strategy, technology, and creativity to address the most common barriers to growth. Each product includes the predefined methodologies, required tools, frameworks, and typical outputs to overcome each barrier, allowing Huge to define its engagements in terms of concrete business results and ROI, not simply creative artefacts, like most of the industry.

Huge has grouped its products into three key areas, or “gateways” organised around current and future client challenges that have been identified: Experience Transformation, Technology Realisation, and Growth Creation. The company’s team of global experts work closely with their clients to identify a clear and ambitious articulation of the business problem(s) to be solved. Once the problems have been identified, the Huge team shapes the most relevant product solutions.

Says Baxter: “In creating a standardised and consistent process for tackling our clients’ thorniest problems, we have fundamentally changed the way that they engage with us as their creative partner. We no longer sell traditional scopes that focus on the number of team members or a specific period of time. Instead, we provide our clients with a recommended ‘product solution’ that is always tied to real-world business outcomes.”

Huge has also embraced hybrid and remote working. Shedding its offices and instead re-organising and networking its entire organisation, which allows the company to bring the best global talent based on clients’ unique needs. Huge’s local offering will be backed by the entirety of Huge’s global network. Brands in Australia will have access to the full breadth of Huge’s expertise and capabilities across multiple disciplines, allowing them to achieve success more effectively.

Australia will be led by Ben Skelsey (above right), managing director, returning to Melbourne after spending 13 years working internationally, most recently running Huge’s Singapore office, leading it to be Brand Experience & Consulting Agency of the Year in 2021.

Says Baxter: “Ben and I are excited to bring our new approach to the Australian market. Our remote structure allows us to tap into the best global talent and bring the right team to each client, and our productised approach gives a no-nonsense way for Australian brands to get what they need and make huge moves.”

Says Skelsey: “We’re a commercial creative business and we’re here to drive your commercial outcomes and growth. We understand that Australian brands have plenty of options for comms and campaign work. But for brands that are really looking for sustainable and purposeful growth, and want to change their business for the future, that’s where we come in. We’ve already begun work on a game changing innovation project with a large Australian brand; it’s refreshing to see how creative this company already is, and we’re going to take that even further.”

For more information, visit hugeinc.com, follow Huge on LinkedIn or contact Huge at business@hugeinc.com