The New Wave ~ DO.
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 DO.
1. Give us the elevator pitch: who are you and what do you do?
We started DO close to ten years ago with a simple POV: the advertising industry had become too complicated. Too many meetings, too many layers, too much bullshit, too much talk and not enough do. None of that was fun.
We set out to build the opposite. Have the right people around the table, get to the problem quickly, and create work that was seen and remembered. Creative, strategy, media, PR, content, digital, creator – whatever combination it takes to solve the problem. We call it Defy Ordinary. Which is both our philosophy and a good description of how we think. DO is also a convenient acronym for the founders, which is fun.
2. Are indies still challengers, or have they become the norm?
Ha, good question. Indies are undoubtedly the way forward. If the slow-motion car crash of the holding companies with their crazy overheads and archaic ways isn’t proof enough, then some of the world’s biggest brands jumping ship should do it.
Once upon a time, Indies were commonly a few talented people sitting in a room feeding off the scraps of the big guys. Today, we’re winning major accounts, attracting the best talent and competing for work that was once locked up by the global networks.
So, are Indies still challengers? Yes, but we’re challenging a very different game now. The irony is what was once the alternative has become the norm. Maybe the real challenge for Indies today isn’t proving they can beat the big guys, it’s making sure we don’t become them.
3. What’s your unfair advantage over the networks today?
Access. When you work with DO, you get the owners of the business around the table. Not just for the pitch or the big problems but actually involved in making the most of every opportunity. Fewer layers, faster decisions and less time spent taking things upstairs. Because we have owners in all our offices, we’ve got skin in the game. If the brand wins, DO wins.
When we started, we had plenty of ideas on how to lure clients away from the perceived safety of the network companies. But things have changed. They’re not really the competition anymore.
At DO, clients get the people who own the place, not just the agency managers. We think that’s a pretty good way to work.
4. How are you using AI to compete above your weight?
For us, the real opportunity is when AI becomes the backbone of our business, not just an external strategic platform or a creative execution tool.
We built DO.AI specifically to punch above our weight through seamless project management and a deeper understanding of the category. It helps guide our strategic thinking, fast-track our channel planning and streamline campaign delivery. It’s a platform that supports how we think, work and deliver smarter, not just quicker.
Rather than starting a client partnership or campaign from scratch, DO.AI can bring together everything we need to know about a category, brand, audience and previous campaigns, then help the team identify opportunities, develop the strategic territory and map the right approach.
Ultimately, it removes friction, automates the mundane and gives our people more time to think, solve and create.
5. What kind of clients are choosing indies right now, and why?
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, it was typically the regional lawnmower distributor that didn’t have the budgets to work with the big networks. Now it’s the biggest and best brands in town. Not much more to unpack than that.
The marketers we’re best suited to are ambitious and impatient with ordinary. They want to move quickly, they ask to be challenged, and they see creativity as the best way to attack business problems, not just answer briefs.
Our type of clients want the best and most experienced talent around the table, and they’d rather create an opportunity than wait for one to appear. Those are our people. And they’re choosing independent agencies that share the same ambitions as their business.
6. What’s next: growth, staying lean or something else?
We’re growing different. Our HQ is in Australia. We’ve launched offices across Asia and landed in the UK last year. The US is next.
From day one we never wanted to become too big in any one office – it’s impersonal, kills culture, and stifles profitability. When we expand, we do it geographically, partnering with local owners yet avoid doubling up on capabilities across locations wherever possible.
Each of our businesses needs to reflect the reason we set up in the first place – to keep it personable and make it easier. The right people, coming up with better solutions. We’re not trying to build an empire. We’re just trying to inspire, motivate, and offer a better experience for our people and clients.
Something that is exciting us aside from the day-to-day business growth is our recent launch of DO.STUDIOS in Manila, which is also launching soon in Sydney.
Check out the other New Wave Q&As below:
Read The Fuel Agency’s Q&A here
Read Rethink Everything’s Q&A here
Read Agency Named Desire’s Q&A here
Read The Digital Picnic’s Q&A here
Read Paper Stone Scissors’ Q&A here
Read Curious Nation’s Q&A here
Read cummins&partners’ Q&A here
Read Connecting Plots Group’s Q&A here
Read Jacko Jacko & Jacko’s Q&A here
Read Chimera Project’s Q&A here
Read Today The Brave’s Q&A here
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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