Former Cummins & Partners media boss launches new agency
Former Cummins & Partners media boss Luke Maher says the traditional media agency model is “past its use-by date”. He is now flipping the script with the launch of Superhuman, Mumbrella can reveal.
Maher is launching the independent media agency to be “faster, smarter, and powered by AI”.
He described it as an agency for “modern marketers”, one that is built on an AI-first operating system, backed by talent. He told Mumbrella that Superhuman “promises to deliver modern media thinking at startup velocity”.
Luke Maher
The model works by plugging talent directly into client leadership teams, who will be supported by an automation stack that eliminates low-value tasks.
This can, according to Maher, result in around 40% of a client’s media planning and buying workflow being automated, which frees up time that can be spent “where growth actually happens”.
Aiming to fuse media and creativity, he hopes Superhuman will be “braver, faster, and more integrated than anything you’ve seen before”.
The launch of Superhuman follows a stint Maher spent working with Nike this year. There, he advised senior leaders on media strategy and digital transformation in Australia.
Prior to being engaged by Nike, Maher was the national head of media at independent agency Cummins & Partners. He took on that role in 2023, following a number of years spent in the UK.
In London, he was media lead for Ford and Unilever at WPP for two years, with other stints at Mindshare and GTB. Before moving to the UK, he worked at the Melbourne offices of Initiative and Maxus Global.
“We’re a generation that grew up in the platforms and now sit in the boardrooms. We know the theory and can execute. And in this new media world, you need both,” he said.
His experiences, particularly at Nike, “laid bare a simple truth”, he told Mumbrella. He believes traditional media agency models are a thing of the past.
These models were “built for a slower world”, he continued, recalling how it used to take multiple weeks to brief, respond, plan, buy, and get a campaign live.
“The traditional model is still weighed down by bloated teams, uneven talent, and too many layers of approval. It won’t keep up with what we’ve built at Superhuman,” he claimed.
“Media agencies are too slow, too layered and too focused on outputs instead of outcomes. Clients pay for that inefficiency in time, budget and missed opportunity.”
While Maher could not release client names, he said Superhuman is already partnering with brands through both project-based and full-service engagements across ANZ.
Keep up to date with the latest in media and marketing
Got a tip?
Lauren McNamara is the associate editor at Mumbrella, covering the agency beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
Linkedin
Another AI agency that will just drive clients back to actual humans working on their accounts.
User ID not verified.
I appreciate I’m an old fart from the days of bloated media agency past, but in my 30+ years I have never seen an intractable business challenge solved plus a smart, integrated creative idea developed – on demand, every time – all within 48-hours. I guess it depends upon your definitions of intractable and creative.
User ID not verified.
Have your say