DOA, a new consultancy backed by Thinkerbell and Ebony Gaylor, launches
Thinkerbell’s Adam Ferrier and Margie Reid have partnered with Ebony Gaylor to launch a consultancy focused on social purpose.
DOA – or Decade of Action – was borne out of the idea that businesses must take action now, as consumers, and indeed the planet, run out of time to tackle the big issues.
Gaylor, a former client of Ferrier’s when she was head of mob and social change at the Australian Red Cross, said the industry is currently in a bit of a golden era where brands can get away with inauthentic purpose-led initiatives.
This, however, is about to change, she said, as the planet continues to “go backwards” as it grapples with climate change, COVID-19 and fracturing social dynamics. The agency’s name, DOA, will also be seen by some as a reference to ‘Dead on Arrival’ – “a reminder that if we don’t change the way we do business and brands soon, there’ll be no business model on a dead planet”, the agency said.
The business’ guiding principles
“Business is playing a role in those issues, whether they acknowledge it or not,” Gaylor told Mumbrella this morning. And, she said, they need to do more.
“So it won’t be enough, for example, for a brand to say ‘We’re all about gender equity, yet our board is made up of 80% white males’. It’s really looking deep to say ‘Well, as a business, what is it that you’re about?’
“If you are in mining, there’s no point in you doing initiatives that are about say sport or health and wellbeing. Actually what we need to look at is environment or Indigenous rights. It’s really figuring out the point of potency for a business model and a brand to have the most impact.”
The global issues to which Gaylor and DOA refer, however, have the compounding effect of shrinking budgets and causing many brands to bunker down. Throw cancel culture and accusations of virtue signalling into the mix, and leaders of businesses may be hesitant to give more money to a new consultancy offering to solve their problems by looking at corporate social responsibility initiatives.
The brutal reality, Gaylor said, is that many businesses won’t have any other option.
“They need to figure this out. Some of them will be able to do it internally, and I think we’ve got some really great leaders in the space globally who have invested heavily to try and figure out how they can be more purpose-led and lean into that. I think that whether you see it as a brand budget, a CSR budget, a people budget – there are multiple points that you can pull this across from.
“What DOA wants to figure out is that compass to guide business. So this isn’t about us being a massive added-on scaffolded infrastructure to all businesses. This is about getting really deeply engrained decisions made by businesses around how they will be more purpose-led and the practical actions they will be able to take day-in, day-out.”
She contended that purpose-led organisations get stronger engagement, better productivity from their teams, and better buy-in and network growth from their shareholders and stakeholders.
If this element of business positioning, purpose and communication is so important though, why isn’t it offered via Ferrier and Reid’s existing agency, Thinkerbell?
Gaylor describes the relationship between the two businesses as ‘Facebook official’. Gaylor is managing partner, while her, Reid and Ferrier are directors. DOA’s ownership is split between Gaylor and Thinkerbell.
DOA’s founders: Ferrier, Gaylor and Reid
“I think it’s important for it to stand alone, because it’s not a creative agency. We’re much more of a consulting agency. Because we want to work with businesses to figure out how they can disrupt their business models, their production lines, manufacturing – so it’s taking more of a business strategy lens on that.
“We also don’t want to be distracted by going with some of the more obvious routes of campaigning alone. I think there’s a tonne of businesses in that space. We really want to work with leaders so they move beyond surface-level purpose that can be easier to go with. We want to get decision making and doctrines in place for leaders, so that when the going gets tough, they know how they will prioritise purpose as they move through their business decision making.
“We’re trying to really work with business and leaders to unpack what it takes – I guess what I’d call it is the long-tail of action. It’s not just one intervention, it’s how do you work with business in a deeper and more sustainable way to affect change at a greater scale?”
In a press release, Ferrier noted that while brands have dabbled in this area, they really need experts to help them get it right.
“Eb was our client at Red Cross and is a brilliant social change and systems design thinker,” he said. “She’s hell bent on making a positive difference to the world, and gets the social change space better than anyone. Her understanding of the systems and processes actually required to make social change happen are formidable. As businesses step into a more pro-social, purpose-led space, they are going to need experts and specialists in the space who can work with them side by side to make these changes happen. DOA is there to assist businesses embracing this space.”
The agency said it was already working with some of Thinkerbell’s clients.
98% of people are going to think this means “Dead On Arrival”.
No?
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DOA?! From an advertising agency. Dead On Arrival. Not great timing. Does a name say it all? Like the idea, but stunned by the moniker.
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Hi comments, thanks for engaging with the idea. Decade of Action is the name of the business. DOA is a reminder that there is no business model possible on a dead planet.
Cheers,
Adam
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Whoops, this is nearly as bad as the new Australia logo
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Maybe you should read the article before making comments about the name. Classic Mumbrella audience.
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Adam good to see you controlling your own moderating.
Dead planet notwithstanding, I don’t think there’s a business model in DOA
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Whatever it actually stands, or the intent, or the business model, for naming your business Dead on Arrival is ill advised
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Is Mumbrella the publicity arm of Tinkerbell?
Genuine question.
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No.
Genuine answer.
Vivienne – Mumbrella
DOA? They do know it’s ambo and police speak for “Dead on Arrival” don’t they? Oy Vey what a blunder of an acronym.
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Hence why they have launched this agency – there needs to be! Businesses must do more!
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Oh they DO realise it’s a common acronym for Dead On Arrival. Even dumber choice then
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If you have to read the whole article to get the convoluted reasoning for why Dead On Arrival is not a stupid acronym to choose for a name for a business linking itself to saving the planet .. then… well .. do I need to explain it to supposed communication gurus?
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They have to be the largest and most successful independent agency in Melbourne. Impressive. Excited to see what they do next.
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Brilliant, love it, a great position and business purpose. Ignore the tyre-kickers, I love the play on the name
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“The agency’s name, DOA, will also be seen by some as a reference to ‘Dead on Arrival’ – “a reminder that if we don’t change the way we do business and brands soon, there’ll be no business model on a dead planet”, the agency said.” By some? By all maybe. And yes, I’ve read the whole article and still don’t think it’s a solid brand strategy.
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Truth in advertising
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Dead On Arrival is when emergency response fails to save the patient.
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Classic planner post-rationalisation.
Good to see you’ve still go the gift of quick-save spin fella.
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This decade is significant. I wish you all every success in capturing people’s attention and getting them to undertake positive action.
P.S. Wouldn’t it be great if the culture of this industry changed and instead of criticising new ideas and approaches, we supported them. What’s wrong with different?
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I am pretty sure PWC owns a sizeable chunk of Thinkerbell from day one. Independent means doing it without the help of another. They are Thindependent at most. Fauxdependent. Anyone? Anyone?
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PwC does have a stake in Thinkerbell. You are correct.
https://mumbrella.com.au/pwc-takes-stake-thinkerbell-467903
Worth noting I didn’t use the word independent in this piece though.
Thanks,
Vivienne – Mumbrella
No Vivien..if you moderate as much as Adam Ferrier does (lol) you’ll see in the comment section this:
“They have to be the largest and most successful independent agency in Melbourne. Impressive. Excited to see what they do next”.
Just questioning that, not your sterling journalism.
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It does feel like a sick joke. Surely as planners/strategists they would’ve known this.
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yup – imagine having to wheel that rationale out to everyone who ever sees the name of the joint.
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Just when I thought there couldn’t be a worse agency name than Thinkerbell. DOA as a name is exactly as it connotes.
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No website. And the name used by plenty of others. Gotta hand it to them for grabbing a headline and creating a stir. Can’t wait for the real name to be revealed. Maybe RIP? Really Interesting People.
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Damn, the comments here are toxic – the advertising equivalent of people arguing about whether Batman’s suit should have nipples or not (the answer is “who gives a flying f—k?”).
Congrats on having the vision and fortitude to launch something like this during a once-in-a-century pandemic. I’m glad to see some of Australia’s best and brightest are focused on driving real change…
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PwC have a small and passive stake in Thinkerbell.
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Hi All, I like this a lot. its strong and powerful, with a great idea in the name. I like the clock too. Its actually excellent work. A few disjointed people on this blog?
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How long until DOA is quietly wound up and packaged away as another failed HGTF (Hubris got the Ferrier) idea?
I look forward to the the next spin-off launched in its place.
Possibly a consultancy specialising in normative analysis of behavioural psycho-attribution…
SYLTFR*
*(See you later, thanks for reading)
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It might be worth noting that Adam is on the “expert working group” that oversaw the COVID brand mark for Australia.
https://www.austrade.gov.au/nation-brand/expert-working-group
What share of the $10 million did PWC get?
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Has mumbrella stopped comments on this article? I’ve tried twice!
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So many opinions on an acronym from, likely, people who have never started their own business. Possibly, never named or created something for themselves. Good to see something like this being launched, I’m sure it can be a great success.
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No. It just takes time to moderate. From what I can see, your attempts to comment were less than an hour ago, and we’re on deadline. Apologies.
As your comments seem to be very similar in nature, I have published one of them.
Vivienne – Mumbrella
Clause 13, part (a), subsection (ii) of the AAAA (Association Against Acronym Abuse) Charter of Acronym Naming and Terminology (CANT) specifically protects certain acronyms from being appropriated in the manner that Adam and his friends seem to be attempting here.
” Any person or persons wishing to appropriate an existing heritage listed acronym (see Appendix F) must first apply to the AAAA with a formal appropriation.( Form 8.2 (c) (iv)). Applicants should be aware that there is appropriation request fee varies per acronym (Appendix ?F) and should they be successful an ongoing license fee depending on which acronym has been appropriated. Again the license fee will vary. No applications will be accepted for appropriations of a political, religious or scientific nature including but not limited to climate change, end of days and second comings.”
DOA is in Appendix F, just after DICKFACE (Did Italians Create Kittens For Another COVID-19 Excuse – only recently listed it seems)
I think that about ends this experiment, as interesting as it has been
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Finally a discussion worth having! – No nipples for sure.
The name is irrelevant if there are no customers … and I fail to see which C suite execs are going to ask this crew to come in and tell them how they should virtue signal better.
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Not so new. We’ve been operating in exactly this space for the last 2 years. But welcome to the party, DOA! The more the merrier… In the end it’s all about impact and helping businesses evolve to serve a bigger group of stakeholders.
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Hi commenters
It’s been great to see the conversations sparked following our launch of DOA yesterday.
DOA is a name that is intended to get your attention and make us feel a bit uncomfortable. The global challenges we’re all facing and the change needed is also uncomfortable. So thanks for engaging on the name – I hope you’ll also use this energy to engage in the work, of not just DOA, but the many other businesses and brands prioritising purpose and action for the planet. Because right now, we seriously need it!
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Lots of cutting comments from ANONYMOUS industry insiders…..
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I love it. Both the business and also the radiant positivity from the comments.
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Wow! What a lot of negativity!
We’ve been in this space for five years. It’s tough convincing agencies and clients who just need to move metal that there might be a purpose and a calling that could get even better results.
We’re in the middle of a campaign right now for an industry mired in its own misdeeds but still thinking it can get out of bed and do the same thing and get a different result.
And guess what? They have all the traditional agencies from content to advertising.
So good luck DOA. Welcome to the club and I hope you have the muscle to move over all those traditional thinkers and help people while we make money.
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Can I just say – Vivienne Kelly’s replies to this thread of comments are greatttt!! This is how moderation should be handled. Informative sass at it’s best 🙂
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Yeah, Thinkerbell was…a choice, but they got away with it. This one is inexcusable.
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So that “expert group” is incredibly…white.
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Yeah, that’s DOA brought to you by RIP
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Exactly what I was thinking. Straight to a body bag.
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