Magnum & Co rebrands to Hopeful Monsters

February 10, 2023 9:02

Independent PR and comms agency Magnum & Co has rebranded to Hopeful Monsters, with Katie Barclay, Carl Moggridge and Alycia Raco at the helm.

“Since acquiring Magnum in late 2021, a lot has changed in the business, but also the industry more
broadly,” saids owner and CEO Barclay. “The type of work we’re being asked to do is different, the type of agency talent that want to work here is different, and the type of campaigns we’re creating have an exciting new direction to them.

“Of course, I’m proud of what we’ve achieved in the last 18 years, but we believe the next 18 can be bigger
and better. For that to happen, we needed a genuine agency brand with bolder ambitions and a much
clearer statement of intent. It’s not the usual agency nip and tuck rebrand. We wanted to create a brand
that’s genuinely different and means as much internally to our people as it does externally.”

Alycia Raco, Katie Barclay and Carl Moggridge.

Partner Moggridge added: “We get it. Culture is hardly a unique position. But it’s an important one
that’s counter to the hyper-rationalised, adtech-obsessed industry we find ourselves in.

“Culture is also the most overused and misappropriated word going. So when we say ‘culture is serious
business’ this is what we specialise in. It’s about making a genuine business case for it, based on evidence,
creativity and a growing body of work.

“We know culture is the biggest influence on human behaviour, probably bigger than Byron Sharp.
And when a brand affects the culture of a category, there’s a big commercial upside.”

Strategy director Raco said: “What excites me the most about Hopeful Monsters is that we have to
put our money where our mouth is. It isn’t a wallflower position. We’ve already assembled a cultural strategy and research team where everyone is trained and qualified to actually do it.

“At the end of the day, people don’t spend much time thinking about brands. They care about themselves
and their own problems. Our commitment to starting here grounds our work in the real world and with real people.”

The Hopeful Monsters portfolio of clients includes Adobe, Atlantis Dubai, Converse, Goodman
Fielder, Noom, Pizza Hut, Red Bull, Resmed and the RSPCA NSW.

Olivia Kruimel

Olivia Kruimel was the managing editor at Mumbrella. She has more than 15 years of experience in journalism, communications and marketing. Her journalism career began at Fairfax Media (now part of Nine) and includes various B2B publications such as B&T, Travel Today and ALB. As a marketer Olivia has worked for Standard Chartered and various global law firms.