Just six months in and Perth’s newest agency Significant Other is kicking significant goals
It’s only been 6 months since Perth’s hottest creative team departed Wunderman Thompson to set up Perth’s newest creative agency, Significant Other. Since day one Matt Wilson, Luke Williams and Caitlin Totten hit the ground running and already the agency is getting noticed. Campaign Brief sat down with Wilson, Williams and Totten to find out what’s keeping them busy.
Campaign Brief: 6 months in, Significant Other has really picked up momentum. What’s been keeping you busy and who have you been working with?
Wilson: It’s only been 6-months? Yikes. We can honestly say we were terrified in the beginning. Picture Jerry Maguire holding up the office goldfish and Dorothy Boyd not standing up beside him. Just imagine! This was the scenario running through our minds. Deciding to start something different and unique is daunting.
Fortunately, that hasn’t happened. We’ve had some superb people and brands join us on the journey. Some new faces, and some people we’ve managed to reconnect with from earlier in our respective careers.
There’s a real demand for agile, creative-led advertising in WA and beyond. And there’s lots of good people and good brands to do it with.
In terms of clients, we’re working alongside the likes of Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation, Summit Homes, Easystart Homes, My Foodie Box, Bonfire, Spruke, Friday’s Dog, More than Mining, Skin Elements, ATCO, Anglicare WA, Asthma WA, Limbs4Life, and a few others we’re excited to announce soon.
CB: What’s the most interesting project you are working on or have worked on?
Williams: We don’t have any ‘uninteresting’ projects right now. There’s been major brand campaigns, rebrands, start-up launches and the like. We did just shoot a TVC in a medieval basement tavern with full period costume and a suit of armour. That’s up there.
CB: What was your motivation for starting your own agency rather than stay with a large agency?
Wilson: We’re not big network agency types. We like to move at a certain pace, and we’ve found most big agencies don’t tend to keep up. Plus, the creatively focused agency we were all looking for didn’t exist – so, we decided to create it.
CB: Tell us about the team you are working with and your new office?
Totten: We’ve got a great loft space in King Street opposite Varnish Bar. There are 10-highly talented, diverse experts from a range of advertising disciplines all making great work and having a good time to boot.
We’re also looking for a new Account Manager and a Graphic Designer to join us so if you are reading this and are interested please contact us.
CB: What are you hoping for from the next year?
Wilson: We’re looking to keep creating world-class creative work for our partners and use creativity to give them an unfair amount of market attention. Afterall, that’s what this is all about.
We also want to keep building an aspirational agency where the best people want to join us because they can use their talents for good and work on modern, purpose driven brands – and still have a life outside of work. Happy, balanced humans is the goal.
And, an agency which enables people to take on projects which are of a personal interest, and not work on projects if they’re own values aren’t aligned. So far, so good.
15 Comments
Tip of the hat to you all. It’s been fun watching you lot kicking goals, warms the cockles of Old Man Edge’s heart.
Yeah, smashing it, great to see. And you do stock modelling now? Lovely.
Plus, the creatively focused agency we were all looking for didn’t exist – so, we decided to create it – LOL – Brand, Block, Rare, &Partners, Anthologie, Rhythm Content…
You’ve listed 2 design shops, a production house, the biggest agency in town and the smallest.
But good to see the level of differentiation between ‘agencies’ in some people’s minds.
Love the spin. Waiting for the substance.
Would be great to have interviews with the other challenger agencies in the market (there’s lots of them). Who have substantial clients and are doing great work. Moonsail, &partners, Kiosk, Horse & Hounds, Likeable, Marketforce etc, etc, etc.
Marketforce are a challenger now?
The SOCA guys are doing great work and, winning awards for it. That’s why they’re getting airtime.
Why all the jealousy? Carn Perth. You’re better than that.
Er Marketforce is the largest/second largest agency in town. No challenger.
Love the hot takes on here. Waiting for the substance? Hilarious. What’s the implication? They’ve already proven themselves to be capable of great work, what have you been up to lately, making some sweet MRECs?
The Beand Agency 😄 You’re avin’ a giraffe, yeah?
Setting up your own ‘Agency’. Well done. That’s significant. But it’s no more successful than Moonsail etc. Winning awards whilst at other agencies, should not be attributed to the new ‘Agency’. It takes a team to do this. It’s all spin until there is output from Significant Other. I’m sure they will do award winning work, but let’s wait until that happens. At the moment it’s three people in King Street with some charity clients. Not significant yet.
I couldn’t leave this thread with the last few comments being negative and derailing. So, here it goes; proud of you guys for creating your own thing, with the talent and passion I know you have, there is no way you will be anything but successful.
Well done for having the ambition and courage to set up your own agency. More people need to step off the escalator and have a crack themselves.
Matt & Luke, Some words of advice from someone who’s been there: watch the cockiness. It is a long journey and one that will humble you. Great that you’ve won some awards for a couple of NFP at Wunderman – well deserved – but they’re Wunderman’s trinkets, not yours. You’ll learn that the ‘creative’ bit is the easy bit (even as tough as it is to do good work) – making payroll, paying the rent (and your mortgage), taking care of your family and staff all the while trying not to be crushed by the overwhelming anxiety that every day brings, and then there’s a little thing called cashflow – if you manage to survive all of that and are still there collecting the gongs in five or ten years time, then I would consider putting out a release like this one. The bagging of your peers that is implied (if unintentionally?) in this post, lacks class. Ask the guys at Rare, Rhythm, &Partners, Block, Moonsail, Anthology, Kiosk, Horse & Hound, Likeable, Gatecrasher and any of the other independents out for a beer and listen, don’t talk. They might not meet your level of self-assessed brilliance, but they know a shed load more about what you’re doing than you do. Generally it’s a good rule of thumb to only put out release when you have something to talk about other than how good you think you are – let the work talk.
Was hoping I wouldn’t have to do this again. But @Agency Founder kinda forced my hand.
I couldn’t leave this thread with the last comment being negative and derailing. So, here it goes; proud of you guys for creating your own thing, with the talent and passion I know you have, there is no way you will be anything but successful.