Is there enough business around to support all these creative agencies suddenly appearing on the scene?
One, now established, which appears to be doing pretty well is Neverland, formed by ex-Naked and adam&eve alumnus Jon Forsyth. Now it’s won Hostelworld, described as a “social network powered online travel agent.”
CEO Gary Morrison says: “Hostelworld is building the world’s leading social travel platform — one where finding your people is as important as finding your destination. Neverland will help us make that vision unmissable.”
In reality you’re doing pretty well if you get two decent campaigns out of such clients before some digital transformation muppet sticks their oar in.
Pablo is one of the few such agencies that seems to have scaled: it’s currently invading McCann’s Aldi territory by the Irish back door. But two of its apparent grown-ups, joint MDs Harriet Knight and Hannah Penn have left suddenly after what, from the outside, looks like a monumental bust-up.
Creative agencies are always walking a tightrope with remuneration under pressure and the fear of losing business, however much they may dislike working on it. Will the two roll the dice again? With long stints at the likes of AMV BBDO and Ogilvy they’re what a rather shaky sector needs. But just as the moment it’s hardly an attractive option.
