The New Wave ~ Cocogun
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 Cocogun.
1. Give us the elevator pitch – who are you and what do you do?
We’re Cocogun, an independent creative agency that makes Ideas That Matter for iconic brands, challenger brands, B2B clients, and purpose-driven organisations, across Australia, the UK and US. In a world full of endless noise, vacuous chatter, disposable content, proteinmaxxing influencers, and unskippable ads, we create work that cuts through and actually matters.
2. Are indies still challengers, or have they become the norm?
Any creative company in any field – be it independent or group-owned – is, or should be, a challenger. To the norm, the conventions, the status quo. But independent companies aren’t beholden to shareholders and broken, legacy ways of doing things. There’s a sense of freedom, efficiency, care, and agility that the industry is clearly gravitating towards.
3. What’s your unfair advantage over the networks today?
Put yourself in a client’s shoes. Would you prefer:
- A. A proven, passionate and consistent group of talented people throwing themselves at a problem, caring fiercely, and betting their reputations, livelihoods and futures on the outcome. Or…
- B. Layers of waffle, jargon, and bureaucracy, an ever-revolving merry-go-round of different people in endless meetings, prioritising the holding company’s agenda over the work.
4. How are you using AI to compete above your weight?
We’re not. We’re using smart humans with talent, taste and experience to compete above our weight. We use AI like we use our kettle, coffee machine, the hand-dryers in our bathrooms: to make things more efficient and save us humans time. Because AI can optimise, automate and generate stuff, but can’t feel it. It’s never been in love, lost a parent, been present at the birth of a child, been simultaneously proud and slightly jealous of a friend’s achievements. So we leave the uniquely human stuff to the unique humans who work here.
5. What kind of clients are choosing indies right now – and why?
Those who can distinguish between leadership and layers. Who buy into the conviction of people who’ve backed themselves, and share that spirit of entrepreneurial accountability. And who inherently understand how the right people, energy and belief around an idea can drive real growth and unreasonable loyalty.
6. What’s next – growth, staying lean, or something else?
We didn’t start a creative company to replicate the network agency world we came from. We’re running our own race. Our ambition hasn’t changed or wavered over the seven years we’ve been around. It’s as simple and epic as it was on day one: to stand for something we believe in and create audacious work that puts a massive positive dent in the universe. We’re working with clients here, in the UK, and the US. But headcount and footprint aren’t the key factors, it’s about prioritising the work, the culture, and the relationships with our clients and partners.
Check out the other New Wave Q&As below:
Read Tightknit Studio’s Q&A here
Read Bastion Australia’s Q&A here
Read We Are Different’s Q&A here
Read SICKDOGWOLFMAN’s Q&A here
Read Kill Boring Dead’s Q&A here
Read Oblong Creative’s Q&A here
Read The Many Australia’s Q&A here
Read Bureau of Everything’s Q&A here
Read Art of the Possible ANZ’s Q&A here
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