NZ Marketing

Plato Creative is proving you don’t have to be among the big players in Auckland to make a splash.

Fourteen years ago, John Plato and his wife/co-founder Lisa set out to cut themselves a slice of the agency pie in their hometown of Christchurch. Today, PLATO CREATIVE is proving you don’t have to be among the big players in Auckland to make a splash.

For more information, visit platocreative.co.nz.

South Island locals John and Lisa Plato of Plato Creative are passionate about cementing Christchurch’s place on the agency map, but their quest hasn’t been without its hurdles. Shortly after they opened their agency’s doors in 2007, the global financial crisis hit, with businesses far and wide tightening their purse strings as it took hold. That was followed a few years later by the more local emergency of the Christchurch earthquakes, the effects of which the city is still recovering from. But despite these ups and downs going on around them, co-founder and Chief Executive John is philosophical about what it means for the agency.

“One thing we’ve found in business is that every time there’s a crisis, we’ve taken the attitude that it creates opportunity and a chance to recruit new people,” he says. “We don’t play it safe.”

Having a growth mindset has defined his approach to the agency. Whereas they experienced steady, organic growth in the years before the 2011 Christchurch Earthquake, in more recent years, that pace has accelerated to the point where they now boast 60 employees.

“It was always our intention to have an agency here and put Christchurch on the map in the agency world,” says John. “There have been great agencies down here over the years, but they haven’t had the same exposure as Auckland and Wellington agencies, and we’re trying to change that — that’s our mission.”

Plato Creative have no plans to slow down their growth. In February, they launched a national recruitment campaign that targeted creatives in Auckland in particular, hoping to entice talent with an opportunity on ‘the mainland’.

“We’re promoting Christchurch as a great place to live and work,” says John. “There are so many obvious pluses here, like the cost of living, lifestyle and travel opportunities. Primarily, we want to entice people with the opportunity to work for an ambitious agency and accelerate what we’re doing down here in the South Island.”

The team are currently advertising more than 10 senior roles and are aiming to take more of a national view from a Christchurch base. In Christchurch, Plato Creative is the largest agency by some margin, which John says can create a challenge when they’re hiring locally.

“The opportunity to recruit in Christchurch is more limited [because] in Auckland, there’s the traditional agency sector and a lot more people floating around. [But] we don’t want senior creatives thinking that in order to have a world-class career, they need to be in Auckland — we don’t believe that’s true.”

The growth mindset Plato Creative embraces internally extends to many of their clients. The team likes to work with briefs that help clients build and grow their brands. For example, Plato Creative worked with Giesen Wines to create and name a new brand after the success of their 0% alcohol sauvignon blanc. The result is Strange Nature, the world’s first and only grapebased gin, packaged in a distinctive ribbed, green bottle (pictured left) that’s the result of the Plato Creative team’s extensive research.

Part of Plato Creative’s offering is to play both a creative and a commercial role for their clients. The agency is represented on some

clients’ boards, a situation that’s unique in the Christchurch market. John explains that the team likes to give their clients’ leadership a chance to integrate with the agency.

“Every agency is going to talk about collaboration and the buzzwords we all use. For us, having that commercial level of connection is critical. We always talk about understanding the commercial and operational sides of a business before we work with them.”

Working with Mike Pero Real Estate on a national television commercial campaign (pictured top right) presented an opportunity for the Plato Creative team to work closely with a client who wanted to refresh their brand. Using the brief to focus on people, the team created two TVCS — the first featuring Mike Pero himself on a scenic motorcycle road trip, and the second showcasing the emotion and support customers experience throughout the company’s sales journey.

Cultivating a good office culture and work-life balance is important to John, who says it’s also a big drawcard when they’re hiring people from out of town. Annual internal awards see high-performing employees recognised with overseas trips (something that has unfortunately been hampered by Covid-19), and the agency’s ethos of lifestyle, culture and balance is at the centre of its workplace. “We believe we have the best culture in the industry, and we believe we can prove it,” says John.

Plato Creative also prides itself on getting as many different voices as possible around the table. Currently, more than 70 percent of their senior management positions are held by women, they’ve hired people from all over the world and the team celebrates their multicultural values. There’s always room for more progress, though, and John hopes this latest recruitment drive only continues this trend.

“Whether you’re in the brand, strategy or commercial teams, everyone’s a creative,” he says. “To be able to offer a broad skill set with the agency, we need a diverse workforce. We’ve also got younger people in leadership as well, so it’s not just all grey heads. We want that diversity of thought.”

The proof may well be in the retention pudding. There are a number of employees who’ve flown the flag since Plato Creative’s inception, and about 20 who’ve been with the agency for at least seven years. That’s not too bad for an industry in which people tend to move around a lot, says John.

That growth doesn’t come without its complications, though. After the earthquakes, Plato Creative built a new office space in Manchester Street in central Christchurch, intending it to be their ‘forever home’. With more than 800m2 of studio space, it’s the largest of its kind in the city, but just a few years down the track, they’re now looking to rebuild and find a new space to support their growing team.

“Continued growth isn’t a bad problem to have, but it is a bummer to have to move again,” says John.

Since Plato Creative began in 2007, the industry has changed considerably, so they’ve had to remain agile to adapt. What started out as primarily a design offering is now a fully integrated service, with content teams, digital design teams, and strategy and technical skills in house. At a recent board meeting, Plato Creative’s senior leaders discussed the current trend of networks collecting agencies and whether that would ever be on the table for them. John says a step in that direction is unlikely.

“We’ve got an ambition to become New Zealand’s leading independent agency,” he says. “Our desire is to become a network, rather than selling to one. We want to build that and build a national footprint. It’s exciting and we’re pumped.

“Christchurch has experienced some difficult times, but we don’t dwell on it,” he continues. “We’re past all that now, so come and have a look.”

“Every agency is going to talk about collaboration and the buzzwords we all use. For us, having that commercial level of connection is critical.”

Marketing

en-nz

2022-03-31T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-03-31T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://nzmarketing.pressreader.com/article/282351158277265

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