The New Wave ~ Chello
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 Chello.
1. Give us the elevator pitch – who are you and what do you do?
We’re a brand growth agency. We work with businesses activating in new markets, launching new products, or backing brand maturity and growth investment. With a real focus on operationalising brand across the whole organisation, not just one department.
We work with some incredible brands: launching Shopify and Klaviyo into APAC, naming and launching Telstra Health’s latest product, Corus™, refreshing brands like AICD and My Muscle Chef, and building new ones like Poco Vino and Haiku by Greystar.
Chello’s home is Sydney, but in the past 12 months we’ve opened offices in Brisbane and London to support client growth in both markets.
2. Are indies still challengers, or have they become the norm?
Well, two things can be true at once.
Independents, by their very nature, have the freedom to make their own calls. Without global approvals, network mandates or internal politics to navigate, they can move faster, adapt quicker and make bold moves.
It’s why independents are winning more clients, the norm is greater senior attention, finding new ways to create value, and a willingness to challenge category conventions.
3. What’s your unfair advantage over the networks today?
Our interdisciplinary team. We’ve built a culture where skills, responsibilities and perspectives overlap rather than sit in silos. Being smaller means people are more willing to share ownership, collaborate across disciplines and solve problems together, which helps us move faster, think broader and, based on feedback, deliver more value for clients.
4. How are you using AI to compete above your weight?
It’s letting us create, innovate and accelerate ideas that just wouldn’t have been feasible before. We’re seeing a lot more ‘what-if’ moments across the agency, and the ability to bring them to life in hours rather than weeks or months. That shows up across the whole process, from research through to rollout, and especially in how we help clients implement, enable and govern their brand in more dynamic ways.
5. What kind of clients are choosing indies right now – and why?
We call them optimistic challengers: marketers with serious chops who need an agency that moves at speed, challenges their thinking and delivers on their word.
They want to build a trusted agency support system around them, bringing together best-in-class thinking, strong working relationships, and independent perspectives on the problems that need solving.
In return, they’re gaining access to a broad portfolio of experience, perspective and expertise across categories, disciplines and markets. The best bit is often the quick phone call between meetings starting with “…we just had an idea”.
6. What’s next – growth, staying lean, or something else?
Lean growth, if you had to put a label on it.
We’ve recently opened our London office to better support clients across European markets, and closer to home, a Brisbane office to strengthen our presence in Queensland. Alongside this, we’re continuing to explore how AI and emerging technologies can change the way we work, and the way we add value for clients.
Check out the other New Wave Q&As below:
Read Art of the Possible ANZ’s Q&A here
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