6 budding independent agencies to watch out for

2014 was not an easy year for the 4As circuit with more independent start-ups springing up all over the advertising arena to grab a share of the shrinking marketing budgets of even the biggest companies.

Working independently is tempting, especially when million-dollar buyouts seen for Metta Communications, Rice 5 and Profero, are becoming more and more common.

Clients are also favouring independent firms for their penetrable structures and easy to-reach attitudes, if not lower fees. Everybody knows it’s no longer the game for a closed group. In a short space of time, these six agencies have made the 4As sit up and take notice.

Air
Established by three key former TBWA\ creative leads, Ken Hui, along with copywriting based CD Mike Wu and senior digital producer Danny Wong, Air is a creative-centric agency with a heavy digital focus on new media and event marketing. The trio left the 4As umbrella last December under clients’ encouragement to work independently. The agency started out with a different, if not big, project – a fashion-related online platform – for consumers, a bigger revenue generator based on existing clients, including Mentholatum and Levi’s.

Constant
Constant, formerly known as SALT, is a Hong Kong-born agency which expanded to Copenhagen up in March. With the new identity, Constant pledges to bring a more holistic service offering, focusing on all areas of digital brand building. For Constant, the expansion to Europe is a logical next step that can bring a new perspective to current and future clients. Co-led by strategy director Tem Hansen and creative director Tim Ho, who found each other at Social@Ogilvy, the boutique agency have secured regional accounts including Nikon, Wrangler and New Balance in the past year alone.

Curious Few
Curious Few started in 2013 with four key partners who exited the 4As circuit in hopes of creating an agency that could one day form the basis of a team for entrepreneurial pursuits. The founders believe the most cut-through advertising today is not necessarily purely in just communication, but in the “baked-in” word-of-mouth value of your product and services. For Curious Few, gone are the P&G days where a product with limited innovation can be saved with loads of media and advertising dollars.

Innermost Mobile
The latest mobile app arm born under The Bees Group, Innermost was established by Gyver Lee, former associate creative director at Bates CHI & Partners (the agency that has now merged with JWT), with a vision that mobile technology is in more demand because more and more big corporates have encountered the needs of engaging customers on mobile. The mobile-tech agency is committed to offering tailor-made user experiences that answers what is most needed by consumers – where the name Innermost sprouts. The five-person company is now in its early stages with a set of mobile products on hand, including location-based mobile apps, business networking and F&B
mobile inventions.

Tomorrow Creative
Named with a belief “to think a step ahead” for clients, Tomorrow Creative was founded six months ago by former Publicis creative director Kwong Chi Kit, account service Carlos Lam, and JWT copy base creative director Hugo Yiu, in a move to revert the redundant hierarchical structure that is deeply rooted in 4As agencies. The six-person office is designed to foster a closer relationship with clients where all staff bears the responsibilities of accounting and creative. The start-up is now backed by some big titles including New Balance and Hong Kong Red Cross.