The New Wave ~ Elevencom
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 Elevencom.
1. Give us the elevator pitch – who are you and what do you do?
We left big agency land exactly 18 years ago in September 2008 – the actual week Lehman Brothers collapsed and the GFC began. Everyone was terrified for us. We were terrified for us. But it was actually the perfect time to start a lean, creative alternative.
We were (and still are) the opposite of everything clients hate about big agencies. The owners of the business turn up to the pitch and keep turning up every day. Briefs don’t get lost in layers of agency nonsense because we don’t do layers and we don’t do nonsense. We invest in brilliant people and clever tech and largely leave it at that.
Our office is an old army barracks tucked into bushland at the back of Mosman. It’s made of weatherboard not marble, and our thinking spaces are the walking tracks that surround us. That means every cent that clients spend goes into producing the best work, and the next big idea is normally only a short walk away.
2. Are indies still challengers, or have they become the norm?
There’s no doubt a lot of indie start-ups sound and look pretty similar. Normally a couple of creative types, a virtual office and healthy serve of swagger. The ones who stand out, and last more than a few years, are the ones who understand business as well as they understand creativity.
Most indies can incubate good ideas. Not all can deliver them painlessly – and keep delivering time after time, year after year.
We started our agency with a creative strategist, a creative director and an operations director because we value strategy, creativity and delivery in equal measure. Making stuff make sense. Making stuff look great. Making stuff happen. The three essential ingredients of an agency.
3. What’s your unfair advantage over the networks today?
Before we started Elevencom, we cut our creative teeth on some of the biggest retail brands in the country. And we still love the pace and excitement of retail.
That’s one thing a lot of networks struggle with. They are too weighed down by complex processes and a belief that retail is a dirty word. We have a deep understanding of retail and we have geared our business to deliver for retailers and brands who want to drive serious retail sales.
4. How are you using AI to compete above your weight?
Network agencies used to have a clear advantage in that they had hordes of people to help with research and data. Now so much of that is available to everyone via AI.
Just about everything we do and every job we create has some element of AI. Whether it’s collecting data for the strategy, visualising the concept, or even automating the output, if there’s a simpler/better way to handle the low-value, time-consuming work, we’ll use it. It’s certainly not perfect yet, especially the automation platforms, and it still requires a lot of good old-fashioned human judgement to make it work, but there’s no doubt about its ability to help a smaller agency punch well above its weight.
5. What kind of clients are choosing indies right now – and why?
The same kinds of clients and for the same reasons as when we started our business.
People who don’t need the gloss and glamour of a network agency. People who like dealing directly with a small group of senior people and appreciate the power of a nimble structure. People who understand real-world marketing and want dramatic real-world results.
6. What’s next – growth, staying lean, or something else?
We’ve been indie for so long, we’ve almost forgotten what it’s like to be anything else.
In our original business plan, we wrote: “We are a lean, creatively-focussed business. We don’t want to be a big agency. We want to be a great agency doing great work for a select group of great clients.” That approach has worked well for 18 years, and we see no reason to change it.
Pictured (L-R): Elevencom founders – Jono McCauley, John McLachlan and Ryan Fallowfield
Check out the other New Wave Q&As below:
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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