Thinkerbell is one of the most successful ad agencies in the country, consistently picking up metal at awards shows and winning big clients — just yesterday it picked up GWM’s creative account.
At last year’s B&T Awards, it won the Best Regional Media Campaign, presented by Boomtown, for its brilliant “Postcodes of Origin” campaign for XXXX.
It also won two Agency of the Year titles: PR Agency of the Year and Advertising Agency of the Year.
Are you at the top of your game? Entries to the B&T Awards close today!
To find out why Thinkerbell has become so prolific at winning awards and clients, we caught up with co-founder and national chief tinker, Adam Ferrier.
B&T: Thinkerbell has produced some of the most iconic campaigns in recent memory — with Postcodes of Origin right at the top of the list — why does the agency produce such a high standard of work time after time when others cannot?
Adam Ferrier: This is not going to be the coolest answer in the world but we have exceptionally good tools, systems and processes that allow us to listen to the brief, respond with strong ideas, work up the solution with the client, and measure the impact. We have a strong culture and one of ‘101 things about Thinkerbell’ is ‘we have a process for everything except creativity’. This allows the agency to run smoothly across projects large and small, fast and slow. It’s a significant contributor to our consistently high standard of output.
We also have an exceptionally talented crew who have joined us as they were disgruntled with the silos, layers and bullshit of many traditional agency structures. At Thinkerbell everyone is encouraged to stretch their creative muscle as much as they choose.
This is all summed up in our measured magic philosophy but as I answer this I’m starting to feel like it’s an awards submission!
B&T: Thinking about the very crux of an idea – why do Thinkerbell’s stick in the memory, when others don’t?
AF: All of our work combines what marketing sciences tells us it will work, combined with a huge dose of creative firepower. Normally this boils down to making sure you get attention by standing out in a way that’s strongly branded – so we end up with work that memorable and equally as important, attributable to a particular brand.
Once a brand idea is clearly understood within an organisation it really is about unleashing the power of that brand across everything the organisation does.
Are you at the top of your game? Entries to the B&T Awards close today!
B&T: Thinkerbell is spread across three offices. Are they in a battle for the most metal or do they work together more than ad agencies in the past?
AF: Most of the time it’s one Thinkerbell without geographic siloes or territorial thinking. We also have the same processes and model in each office. Also, Margie, Jim and I spend a lot of time in each office ensuring it’s all a consistently delivered product. Surely the days of different offices from the same agency being competitive are dead? ☠️
Each office though is developing its own personality and vibe, which is a function of the city they are in. I’ve always admired Aesop’s branding how every store feels like and looks like Aesop, yet they also capture the essence of the location they are in. I feel we’re a bit like that.
B&T: What should our judges be looking out for in this year’s entry?
AF: I think we’re seeing a rapid change in businesses as they realise communications is only one leaver for brand building. A strong agency needs to help its clients build a brand with all the resources that the company has to offer, not just a media budget. I’d be looking for agencies who know how to build brands not just make ads.
B&T: Why did you enter the B&T Awards?
AF: The B&T Awards have the right mix of being held by an established trusted publisher but with a creative heart too. So winning, or even shortlisting at B&T signals to the market that we are at the top of our game.
Ironically, the awards are also a way to ensure that we are not getting stuck up our own ass. By that I mean they are an opportunity to see if we can tell our story and talk about our culture, results and work in a manner that sounds compelling and attractive. If we can – great, if we can’t then we have work to do.
Are you at the top of your game? Entries to the B&T Awards close today!
