As The Brand Shop closes, Shift opens
STW Group has launched a business and marketing strategy agency called Shift. The shop starts life with 40 employees and all of the existing clients of The Brand Shop, which will be wound down over the next few weeks.
Shift will move into The Brand Shop’s Redfern offices.
Some of the new agency’s staff, collectively dubbed “the super friends” at the launch event last night [Thursday March 10], will move across from SWT’s direct marketing agency Punch, which will continue to operate as normal.
The new agency has positioned itself as “an expert in change” and lies somewhere between a strategy consultancy and a traditional communications agency,” STW’s chief executive Michael Connaghan explained.
“We are moving upstream and talking to chief executives, not just marketing directors,” said Iain Good, Shift’s managing director and the former MD of The Brand Shop. “Much of our work will never reach a TV screen or a billboard.”
“But we provide the creative execution that consultancies do not,” he added.
The agency’s management line-up includes The Brand Shop’s executive creative director Monty Noble as ECD and The Brand Shop’s group business director Kate Meyer as general manager.
Richard Sauerman, known as the ‘The Brand Guy”, will join full time at Shift, but will continue to write do his keynote presentations and write his blog, Wake up tiger.
The team also includes Raj Rabrindath, art director, who joins from Ogilvy, Justine Marino, technology director, who was a freelance contractor, and Sally Harper as head of direct marketing and analytics, formerly of Punch.
Last week Peter Bray, formerly The Brand Shop’s CEO, left the agency to pursue a career in the not-for-profit sector.
Shift shares some of the intellectual property of Bates 141, the Asian agency network known as “the change agency” owned by WPP, which owns a stake in STW Group.
Shift’s clients include Kimberly-Clark, Budget, Domain, Moet Hennessey, Australia Israel Chamber of Commerce, Autodesk, Fantastic Furniture, Anglican Retirement Villages and the University of Wollongong.
Firstly, SHIFT what a fabulous company name – that says it ALL!
It’s great that SHIFT will be working with senior management as well as marketing – selling a product requires this collaboration. You can’t go wrong! The philosophy that SHIFT has embraced is totally refreshing.
It’s amazing to see this group of talented people come together to create a DYNAMIC new player in the market.
I wish you the best of luck.
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