Indie creative agency Today The Brave has acquired fellow indie agency Zoo Republic, one of the country’s longest-running independent retail, shopper and experiential agencies.
The agencies said the deal unites their two complementary strengths: Today The Brave’s nous for bold, culture-first brand platforms and The Zoo Republic’s 25 years of expertise in turning behavioural insight into real-world activation.
The result is a fully integrated agency hat amplifies brand platforms across every touchpoint a consumer experience—from the TV screen to the store shelf, the festival stage or the checkout.
Jaimes Leggett—who co-founded Today The Brave in 2022 with Jade Manning and Vince Osmond—is thought to have long been an admirer to The Zoo Republic, stretching back to his days as the CEO of M&C Saatchi Australia.
Today The Brave has grown its offering significantly with recent expansions into media, PR and content to deepen its formidable creative bench. The Zoo Republic was founded back in 1999.
The addition of The Zoo Republic team, thought to be just under 10 staff, including founder David Lo, adds another string to Today The Brave’s bow. They’ll be joining Today The Brave in its new Hibernian House office in Sydney’s Surry Hills.
The deal, believed to have been completed in August, marks a clear strategic move from Leggett. It’s well known he has long believed in the value of truly full-service, vertically integrated agencies that can service clients in compelling and cohesive ways down the purchase funnel and through different touch points—whether online, offline or in-person.
“We’ve always believed brave ideas can change the way people think and feel about brands,” said Leggett.
“Our superpower is big brand platforms. But those platforms only matter if they meet people where they are. The Zoo Republic helps us deliver just that—turning big brand platforms into experiences that consumers can see, touch, and act on. This is about amplifying creativity and impact at every step of the consumer journey.”
The Zoo Republic brings with it an enviable client roster, too, including Arnott’s, Ampol, ANZ, Bentspoke Brewing Co, Cranky Health and Brown-Forman, which operates brands including Jack Daniel’s, Herradura, Woodford Reserve, El Jimador tequila and remarkably quaffable Venezuelan rum brand Diplomático.
The Zoo Republic brand will continue to operate for those clients, with no disruption in ongoing projects. Lo will continue to lead The Zoo Republic team for the next three years to see that vision through.
“Joining Today the Brave has always been about creating the next chapter,” said Lo. “We’ve kept the independence and thinking that define us, and now we have the scale to take it further – more clients, more capability, more creative impact.”
