Social Mixer 2024 Singapore
marketing interactive Content360 Singapore 2024 Content360 Singapore 2024
marketing interactive

The Independents: Brilliant Agency

share on

In this edition, we speak to the ex-BBDO creative team who started their own agency titled Brilliant in early 2012.Jason Hodges, creative director/head of copy and Jon Pye, executive head of integration, had been a team for years on global, regional and local accounts when they came up with their craziest idea yet - to start up on their own. The duo was also later crowned Marketing Magazine’s Next Big Thing at Agency of the Year Awards in 2013.The boys both hail from just outside London. Pye has been in Singapore for nine years, following eleven years in Hong Kong, where he was instrumental in setting up Proximity across Asia. Hodges has spent most of the last 16 years in Singapore, having filled senior roles in Europe, Australia, India and the UAE at agencies including Batey, BBDO, DDB, JWT, and Y&R, as well as a handful of pure-digital agencies.Brilliant’s founders tell Marketing about starting up with nothing and the challenges of running their own fast-growing agency.(Read also: Our series The Independents)When was the precise moment you knew you wanted to do something on your own?We both came to the conclusion at the same time. Each of us has run creative departments at multinational agencies. You get to the stage where your desire to learn more seems to stop, buried deep under piles of creative briefs Running our own agency is a big leap from running a creative department but it gave us both our next challenge - and in nearly four years we have learned a hell of a lot -probably more what not to do - but the journey has been fun. Which year did you first start up? Who was the first client you had on board?HODGES: In 2012, February 1st. It was the first time at ever been at my desk at 9am…and it hit me, while staring at the phone, that we had started a business with zero business. Then, at 9.15am, there was a call out of the blue from Ian Batey, looking for some help on a three-month global pitch…How did you put your first team together?PYE: Living and working in Singapore, we knew exactly who we wanted and truly believed in. We cherry-picked people with diverse skills, experience and the “can do” attitude that every business, especially a start-up, demands. And they have all stuck with us through thick and thin. We owe them a big thank you as we grow together.What was one of the toughest moments in running your agency? How did you overcome it?HODGES: Letting one of our early global clients go – at the time we could least afford to.PYE: It was mainly due to differing opinions of where we thought the brand should be. It’s was a tough decision - one that many would say was naïve - but looking back today, it was a decision we would make again in a heartbeat. Every member of the the team must believe in what we’re doing for our clients and their brands.Were you afraid of failing? How did you handle it?PYE: Always - but it’s the fear of failing that drives us.HODGES: I try never to think about it. There were times when things got a bit hairy, but instead of dwelling on “What if?’ you have to focus on “What’s next?” We’ve made mistakes - but never the same one twice.What does it feel like to be your own boss? Could you ever work for someone else again?PYE: Even though both Jason and I are the bosses, there is no hierarchy. We roll up our sleeves and play an active role in the team. Everyone has a voice at Brilliant. Experience is great but it doesn’t mean you have all the answers. Anyone who says they have is not being true to themselves. Could I ever work for someone else? Perhaps, yes, if it was a company with a similar work ethic as ours that was inclusive and progressive - but it would be tough.HODGES: We listen and guide the agency accordingly. Right now, there’s a huge initiative on the table from the most junior member of our team.Pluses and minuses of being independent?PYE: Pluses - you can do anything you like - as long as it is against some form of plan.HODGES: Minuses…you don’t always have a back up plan or a holding company that can cover your butt when things get tough.When you first started out, how did you market your agency? How did you get clients on board?PYE: We were extremely lucky with clients approaching us, after a while. When clients from our previous lives heard we’d set up Brilliant, they gave us a call. These are the same clients that we credit with naming the agency. Hearing a client say “that’s brilliant” really makes your day.HODGES: It’s not always about big ideas - it could be the way we’ve integrated the campaign, or squeezed so much out of the budget.What was your first experience in the ad world? How do you think that shaped you?PYE: I joined JWT Hong Kong as a designer. I did a four-year degree course in Graphic Information Design and worked in London for a few years. I love coming up with ideas and then making the work look beautiful. How did it shape me? It made me open my mind, be adventurous and, above all work darn fast.HODGES: I’ve wanted to do ads and write copy since I was 13 years old. I blame John Hegarty – and I got to tell him so last year…. Ultimately, I did the D&AD workshop, lugged my portfolio around London for months and finally got a break at BBDO. I’ve honestly never lost that buzz.What have you taken away from your years in the ad world and implemented in your current business?HODGES: Never say die. London was super-competitive and to quote Heidi Klum - “One day you’re in, the next you’re out”. So, you stay awake when you’ve worked through the night and never stop pushing, learning and listening. Treating everyone you meet with respect goes a long way too.PYE: For any good agency to survive, you live on the work that you create and the results it brings to your clients. Make them look good in front of their bosses and it that will be good for you in the long run. So pushing harder, staying current - especially in digital and social - is something we instill in the wider team. It isn’t always possible to do award-winnning work: it’s about making it brilliant in the time you’ve got and the budget you have.What is the one thing start-ups need to remember in this market?PYE: There are other startups just behind you and they haven’t got your back!What is one piece of advice you’d give anyone wanting to make it out on their own?HODGES: Never look down… And hire a financial person the moment you can.PYE: You will never know if you could have made it if you don’t try. Wondering later won’t satisfy your need to know.Would you be open to buyout?PYE: Heck yeah… We love what we do but at the end of the day you don’t live to work you work to live. Whereby right now we a very happy where we are we’d be happy to talk. Besides I have my eyes on a brand new Porsche 911 Turbo says Jon – unless I move back to the UK I will never be able to afford one and I love Singapore too much.Five year plan for the agency?PYE: Five year plan is very apt – we use the points of our gold star brand identity to highlight the five goals, values etc which we live by.HODGES: Right now, we have seen business grow regionally and globally servicing by servicing clients out of Singapore…PYE: But we’re are looking at the prospect of setting up and supporting our regional clients on-the-ground in other markets – without losing focus in Singapore. Expansion is just over the horizon.First team: Jason Hodges, Jon Pye, Lee Chee Luen, Natalie ChanFirst big client: Frasers HospitalityFounding year: 2012Founded by: Jason Hodges, Jon PyeClaim to fame: Being recognised as the Next Big Thing at Marketing Magazine’s Agency of the Year Awards 2013Clients worked on: Standard Chartered, UBS, Unilever, Great Eastern Life, PropertyGuru.com, TAFEP, Frasers Hospitality, BBC News, BBC Worldwide, Fundsupermarket.com, Gumtree and many more…[gallery link="file" ids="111167,111168"]

share on

Follow us on our Telegram channel for the latest updates in the marketing and advertising scene.
Follow

Free newsletter

Get the daily lowdown on Asia's top marketing stories.

We break down the big and messy topics of the day so you're updated on the most important developments in Asia's marketing development – for free.

subscribe now open in new window