Independent. United. Building a challenger agency with creative freedom and scale.

We can all feel it, the seismic shift happening around us. Office work is changing rapidly; working from home or back in the office, AI tools,  powerful software and a greater desire for work life balance. Gen Z are busy rebelling against ingrained norms and established business cultures. Change is happening fast and it’s only accelerating. It’s both terrifying and exciting in equal measure.

Creative agencies are feeling the full force of these changes more than most. The traditional agency business model is creaking under the speed and weight of these developments. Being service businesses, they’re at the mercy of the economy at large, changes of government and world events. Combine that with the sector being incredibly competitive, high staff needs and smaller than desired profit margins – it’s a tough business to be in. Agencies seem to be perpetually a couple of projects away from either boom or bust. Don’t even get me started on businesses taking their creative in-house.

The creative industries have gone through a brutal year, with redundancies at most studios and agencies. Wellington has been especially hard hit. My heart goes out to everyone that had to go through it. My wife and I were both made redundant from our respective agencies within 6 months of each other. It was hard and forced us to completely reevaluate our careers.

And this is how Semper Semper™ came to be. Rather than fruitlessly apply for non-existent jobs, I decided to make one for myself. I’d always dreamed of running my own studio, in my own way. Over a beer with a former colleague, it became clear that Semper Semper™ should operate as a collaborative studio – a core team supported by a large pool of freelancers and contractors, both locally and internationally to deliver work that competes with far bigger studios. We’ll deliver projects by forming teams of specialists to deliver work at scale and speed, utilising senior talent to do the job better, faster, cleaner. I know that’s how a lot of studios make their start. Over time they make hires, grow their team and fall out of using independent talent. I'm curious to know why they chose to stop.

The collaborative studio model is a legitimate proposition and side-steps a lot of the problems traditionally run agencies face. Working from home with a good internet connection, a laptop and some powerful software is all you need to start a business. Especially a design studio. Clients don’t need their agency to be in the same city or even country most of the time now. The real challenge with this agency model is available freelance collaborators – something that New Zealand has previously struggled with. 

For better or worse, the mass redundancies in 2023 have opened up an enormous pool of incredibly talented freelancers that we can work with, both locally and internationally. It’s been incredibly inspiring and rewarding meeting with so many wonderfully talented people in Wellington and further afield. Some will return to permanent positions when the economy improves I’m sure, but others will establish themselves and be around long enough to make it work. To really make this a success, I’ve made it my mission to be the most networked man in New Zealand. Maintaining and growing the network is critical to delivering the work. We’ve got a core group together now that I’m beyond excited to work with on some big juicy projects.

Here’s the thing, the advantages of a small collaborative studio can’t be understated; lower staff overheads, no HR headaches, no redundancies, no need for an oversized office (although a beautiful studio is always a draw) and especially less compromise on the work. Simplicity, flexibility, creativity and experimentation are all easier to achieve with a small head-count. If projects fall through, it won’t ruin us. We can experiment, take our time and work with all kinds of people. That’s real freedom.

I talk a big game, but I really do believe in this model to deliver great work. I’ll admit I’m also new to this and there’s lots to learn. The model is likely to change over time and I’ll probably eat my words. But something seems off and broken in agency world. It isn’t working as well as it used to and it’s time to try new methods. Moving forwards, I plan on being fairly open and transparent about my own business and the industry at large. I’m no fan of secrecy and gate-keeping. So feel free to strike up a conversation with me about any of this. And if I’ve missed something, let me know in the comments.

Semper Semper™ is an independent branding and design studio for optimists and visionaries, actively contributing to a better, brighter future. If you’re an independent designer, creative, project manager, producer or business side type and want to make incredible work for amazing clients – get in touch and we’ll win the work together. If you run an ambitious business with a vision to achieve, we’re the ones who will get you there. Let’s talk.

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