WHO WE ARE & WHERE WE COME FROM

When Ben and Matt started the agency back in '07, all we heard was that it couldn't be done. A company dedicated to using the tools of persuasion to do good in the world simply couldn't survive. They told us to take the big corporate bucks and do some good on the side. They told us we were nuts.

A couple of months later they were almost proved right. The GFC hit and our agency of two people was almost over before it started.

Then a funny thing happened. The companies who were committed to sustainability stayed committed. They saw it as a long-term commitment and much too important to fail. NGOs too saw the value in a company who cared and they supported us. Soon we started to grow, in the very months the big consultation companies and ad agencies around town were shedding employees.

It taught us a few things. Firstly, to be frugal. Growing a company in a GFC is not to be done on the back of long lunches. In fact, few lunch breaks at all.

Second, it taught us the value of diving into sustainability and being 100% committed.

To this day, ad agencies all over town have a 'green' campaign they roll out when a potential client comes along. Some companies fall for it, but most see it for what it is…at best a naïve stab in the dark from a company with precious little experience in the space and at worst, greenwash, which can get your brand noticed for all the wrong reasons and cost everyone a lot of money.

As a wise client of ours says, 'I don't see the point in ruining one part of the world to fix another'. Which is exactly our approach. We put our money where our mouth is and we help our clients do so too. It's genuine, it's believable and it's the only way to become an expert. Sustainability is about people, environment and how they come together to create a world that can perpetuate to everyone's benefit. There's no half-measure way to do that, so that's how we approach our business.

We've been going for almost four years now and the space we work in gets more and more interesting everyday. It's inspiring to be part of the sustainability movement and humbling to meet some of the people who, like us, have committed our lives to it.

We're blessed to learn new things everyday. In a world where there often seems to be so little new under the sun, for us the opposite is true. And, to quote that old cliché, the more we learn, it seems the less we know.

So, what have we learned? Good question. We thought it might be good to list a few below. It will give you a little insight into how we think. If you like what you read and think the same then, please, drop by some time. We're always keen to  in meet new, interesting people.

We've learned there are two types of people in the world. Those who ask, 'what can I give' and those who ask, 'what can I take'. At all times we try to employ, work with and be the former.

We've learned that no-one ever changed the world by doing things by half. We make sure everything we do is of the finest quality. There's a lot to be said for doing one thing and doing it well rather than spreading yourself too thin.

We've learned that companies are people too. No one wants to feel that what they do for a living makes the world a worse place. This is a powerful thing. It means if a company can offer its employees and customers an initiative they believe in, then there is an army of people there waiting to make it happen.

We've learned that when you stick to your guns, people stick with you. Our team is one of the most talented bunch you will ever meet and they all came to us (which, apart from making Friday night drinks a hoot, also saves a fortune in recruitment bills). If we'd listened to the naysayers and started an everyday company that would never have happened and we'd be the worse off for it.

We've learned that creativity and adaptability are the keys to everything. It's not until you can look at a problem and question the things that everyone else assumes to be set in stone that you can create change in the world.

We've learned that simple is always better than complicated. And, in the interests of simplicity, thats enough said about that.

We've learned to put our money where our mouth is. Half the office rides bikes to work and we reward them by paying to have their bikes serviced. We buy 100% Greenpower (yes, even though it costs more) and we measure, manage and offset our carbon. In our new office, we have full recycling facilities. In our last building we didn't. So we convinced the building owner to put them in. If someone launches an interesting new Fairtrade or environmental product we try to support them by buying it and spreading the word.

We've learned that when people say, 'you can't do that', you're probably on the right track.

Most of all we've learned not to stop learning and that staying interested is the key to staying interesting.

So thanks for reading. If you've come this far, you're not doubt on the journey too. And it's always a pleasure to meet a fellow traveller.