Some agencies start big – NYC’s Isle of Any with the New York Times – others small, with a raft of accounts, some of which may have staying power. Ark Agency, founded by former adam&eveDDB joint CEO Mat Goff and Anomaly MD Mike Wilton, has gone the latter route, winning a number of non-household names.
Latest to join Ark is The Food Foundation and Veg Power, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, to run a campaign hymning the benefits of pulses and beans.
This follows hard on the heels ofloveholidays (above), claimed to be the fastest-growing travel agent.
Co-founder Goff says: “I’ve had the privilege of working up close with The Food Foundation and VegPower before, so I know the kind of behaviour change they deliver. This new challenge is exactly the sort that we founded ARK Agency to address and the chance to work with the team again was almost too good to be true.”
Loveholidays brand director Jacqui Grimsey-Jones says: “We help millions of people to go on holidays they love every year, but we’ve been the industry’s best-kept secret. That’s about to change. Following this process, we’re pleased to have chosen ARK as our lead creative partner. ARK demonstrated exceptional strategic thinking, a clear understanding of our brand, creative ideas that were untraditional in their approach and great collaborative energy that stood out.”
There’s no one way to launch an agency of course. The A&E diaspora saw New Commercial Arts launch with a biggie, Halifax. Ace of Hearts, the new agency formed by former CCO Richard Brim and strategy chief Martin Beverley is still to break its duck having narrowly missed out to A&E on the biggish Merlin Entertainments.
Ark, to date, can certainly be said to have inherited A&E’s one-time legendary ability to win pitches.
