The New Wave ~ Apparent
The New Wave is Campaign Brief’s Q&A series spotlighting the next generation of independent creative companies and exploring how the indie model is evolving. From structure and speed to culture and capability, we unpack where these businesses are finding their edge and what’s driving client decisions today. Next up is Phil Smith and Suzy Smiley, Agency Partners at Apparent.
1. Give us the elevator pitch – who are you and what do you do?
Apparent is a world-class, independent, customer-centric Australian agency, with a global footprint. We stand for Undeniable Impact – in that it is measurable and tailored to each client’s unique business context, so we’re focused on solving the problems that matter.
In simple terms, we help Australian and global brands find, get, keep and grow customers.
2. Are indies still challengers, or have they become the norm?
Independents are no longer niche or the scrappy underdog, they’ve become a genuine part of the mainstream competitive landscape. The conversation today is less about whether indies can compete with holdcos and more about why clients wouldn’t choose one.
What’s changed is that independents have matured, they have access to capabilities and tools that simply weren’t as accessible or easy to embed before. Now they can use data insights and apply them faster to optimise performance and outcomes, and in a way that’s more tightly aligned to client problems rather than layered through complex global systems.
Indies naturally operate with a challenger mindset. They’re often faster, founder-led, less political and closer to the commercial outcomes clients are trying to achieve. Combined with broader capability and now far greater technical leverage, independents are increasingly well placed to deliver real, measurable value in ways that are directly tied to business growth which is ultimately what clients care about most.
3. What’s your unfair advantage over the networks today?
Our independence and global delivery footprint gives us a unique advantage: the freedom and agility to shape our commercial and delivery models around clients’ exact needs, rather than a holding company’s mandate, and the ability to execute in most markets at speed with a bias for action.
4. How are you using AI to compete above your weight?
AI is enabling us to compete above our weight by elevating the impact, speed and sophistication of our work.
We apply AI at an application level with purpose, never for its own sake. Human intelligence and curiosity still shape meaning and originality, while AI enables greater efficiency, creativity and precision across the business. We’re integrating it across key phases of our process, from briefing through to delivery, streamlining workflows, reducing repetition and creating more space for strategic and creative thinking.
What’s been important for us is treating AI as a cultural transformation, not just a technology shift. Our proprietary LLM framework, Leadership, Labs and Mavericks, has helped embed AI adoption across the agency, from innovation sprints and workflow automation through to democratising AI literacy through initiatives like Tinker Time and Prompt of the Week.
Working closely with the tech sector also gives us a front-row seat to the pace of change. Through our partnership with Google and early access to tools like Gemini AI Ultra, NanoBanana and Veo3, we’re often able to explore and apply emerging technologies before broader market release. That helps us move quickly, experiment responsibly and guide clients more confidently in how AI can create practical value across marketing and marketing operations.
Importantly, it’s not theoretical. We’re already applying AI across the business, from synthetic research agents and proprietary Gems that automate high-frequency tasks, through to AI-powered creative production and Generative Engine Optimisation to help clients remain visible in AI-driven discovery environments.
5. What kind of clients are choosing indies right now – and why?
Clients that want true partnership and closer integration with the people actually driving the work are choosing indies. They want senior leaders engaged in their business, teams that understand their commercial challenges and agencies that are genuinely invested in delivering meaningful, measurable impact.
What we’re seeing is that clients still want full-service and full-funnel capability, but they want it delivered with greater adaptability, collaboration and accountability. They’re looking for customer-first thinking, faster decision making and partners who can build ways of working around their needs. Increasingly, clients are also recognising that indies can deliver highly sophisticated thinking and have access to many of the same advanced tools, technologies and AI capabilities traditionally associated with larger networks.
We’ve spent the past two years strengthening expert leadership across every discipline and building a team culture with strong chemistry that clients can genuinely feel. Ultimately, clients are choosing indies because they want partners who are close to the work, focused on outcomes and committed to helping drive growth.
6. What’s next – growth, staying lean, or something else?
We’re definitely on a growth trajectory. Last year we were ranked the No.2 agency in Australia for new business wins by TrinityP3, which reflects the momentum we’re building.
For us though, growth only matters if we can continue to stay true to our culture and remain close to our clients’ business needs. We believe the best growth comes from creating an environment where our people are thriving, our clients are seeing real impact and the business grows as a result. It’s a win-win-win.
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