When I lived at the Ponsonby end of Richmond Road I became aware of a fresh, new, boutique advertising agency that had popped up in the ‘hood going by the name of True.
Managing director, Matt Dickinson, joined as a partner around six months after the agency was established by fellow .99ers Craig Pethybridge (True Executive Creative Director) and Michael Currie (who has now left the agency), and word of their reputation began to grow. Exponentially. Like any new business the first few years were a challenge, but the petite agency soon blossomed into quite the creative player, working with big brands like Air New Zealand and Vodafone and moving into areas outside traditional advertising that were earning them major kudos.
Now employing 40-something staffers and juggling big-name clients like Southern Cross Health Society and ANZ Bank with their continuing boutique approach, they have moved to the other end of Richmond Road in West Lynn, where I visited Matt and Craig in their airy, inspiring new office space.
Five years after the birth of True I ask the pair if the escape from big agency life has lived up to expectations, to which they both nod in agreement. Most enthusiastically so, in fact. “I would say that is has far exceeded our expectations,” says Craig, in spite of early years when big clients and a small staff roster meant that hours were long and weekends at home pretty much not an option. When it came to the big campaigns trusted to a still-small agency Matt tells me, “being boutique and being the owners definitely allowed us to do a lot more of what we wanted, and when it came to the likes of Air New Zealand we could be a lot more responsive to their needs than, say, a huge operation.” He says that they also really ‘get’ Air New Zealand as a client, and they are exceptionally proud of the work they have done with it over the years.
Craig and Matt had worked with our national carrier in their previous professional lives, and then in 2012 Air New Zealand came on board with True and the magic really started to happen. Their first project was the non-legendary safety video starring Bear Grylls, which was the first one the airline had ever had filmed outside of a plane. Bigger budgets have seen the ‘Safety in Paradise’ campaign putting Sports Illustrated bods in tropical locales made, as well as the recent ‘Men In Black Safety Defenders’ video that is the most viewed video on You Tube in New Zealand. Collectively, Air New Zealand’s safety videos have been viewed more than 53 million times online, which must make the True team feel rather chuffed.
Despite the growing - and growing - success of the agency, the pair says that they are still willing to “help make the coffee”, with Matt adding, “we’re not really into standing on ceremony here, the agency has a very flat structure. We don’t do the fist on the table, ‘let’s motivate the troops’ kind of thing, it’s not really our style.” They say they don’t think of themselves as the ‘big, swinging proverbial’ either, shying away from the ego at the centre of so many in the industry still. “We definitely want to avoid that!”
Craig talks about the massive hours many in the agency world are still expected to fulfil, with suits and creatives both becoming burnt out at the expense of their health and their sanity. “We both remember doing crazy long days when we worked for big agencies,” he says, “and sure, the money was nice but you are left wondering what you do it all for. It’s not the glamorous industry that people imagine - it is a lot of hard work. We are maybe working even harder now but the rewards are there as we are doing it for ourselves.” Matt adds: “And it’s not just a financial thing, it is just so amazing to see what we’ve achieved in terms of nurturing our staff and generating some fantastic new work.” The pair has made a conscious effort to put what Craig says is “time and effort into our people, and treat them like our friends and family”, a factor that definitely puts them a rung above many of the agencies that I personally have worked in as a copywriter.
They are also proud of still going to work every day in the Grey Lynn neighbourhood, despite their expansion in size. “We couldn’t find anywhere and we really needed more space,” says Matt, “when thankfully this place opened up. We absolutely love it here, we love the relaxed vibe of the area so much.”
“We feel part of the community here,” adds Craig with a smile, “and it’s definitely a lot more us.” (HELENE RAVLICH)
