Mat Baxter-led Huge launches in Australia
Interpublic Group (IPG’s) design and digital experience agency, Huge, led by Australian expat, Mat Baxter has launched in Australia.
After a year transforming the agency, it has now entered the Australian market, to be led by Ben Skelsey as its managing director, who returns after 13 years working internationally, most recently leading the Huge Singapore office.
Baxter and Skelsey, launching Huge in Australia
“Why are we a creative growth acceleration company? Because creativity unlocks and powers growth,” said Mat Baxter, Huge’s global CEO. “There is a wide body of research which shows that creative companies are more successful, and customers think better of products and services when they come from creative companies. But creativity, which is all too often viewed as some kind of secret sauce — immeasurable except in relation to an output such as marketing — requires a different lens if we want to apply it to the problems facing businesses today.”
Huge operates on a remote/hybrid working model, as outlined by Baxter on the Mumbrellacast last year. Skelsey has become its first employee based in Australia, with a local senior leadership planned.
Baxter joined Huge from Initiative in 2021, where he spent five years in roles including global CEO and chairman. His move sparked speculation that a local launch would follow shortly after for the agency, which at the time had no presence in Australia.
Baxter continued: “Huge has also embraced hybrid and remote working. Shedding its offices and instead re-organising and networking its entire organisation, which allows the company to bring the best global talent based on clients’ unique needs. Huge’s local offering will be backed by the entirety of Huge’s global network. Brands in Australia will have access to the full breadth of Huge’s expertise and capabilities across multiple disciplines, allowing them to achieve success more effectively.
“Ben and I are excited to bring our new approach to the Australian market,” said Baxter. “Our remote structure allows us to tap into the best global talent and bring the right team to each client, and our productised approach gives a no-nonsense way for Australian brands to get what they need and make huge moves.”
Skelsey added: “We’re a commercial creative business and we’re here to drive your commercial outcomes and growth. We understand that Australian brands have plenty of options for comms and campaign work. But for brands that are really looking for sustainable and purposeful growth, and want to change their business for the future, that’s where we come in.
“We’ve already begun work on a game-changing innovation project with a large Australian brand; it’s refreshing to see how creative this company already is, and we’re going to take that even further.”
IPG has been noted for its lack of creative firepower in Australia previously, selling off McCann to Ben Lilley and 303 MullenLowe to New Zealand group, Attivo.
“There is no mandatory return to the office,” Baxter said on the Mumbrellacast last year. “You can not come back to the office at all if that’s what you want to do,” he said. “We encourage that people do come into the office occasionally to create that connection and to keep that culture alive, but one of the things we’re doing is re-imagining the office altogether.”
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Calum Jaspan was news editor at Mumbrella, based in Melbourne. He was also the producer and host of the Mumbrellacast. He left Mumbrella in May 2023.
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Huge’s extraordinary transformation is the subject of a book to be released in June, 2023.
“Madison Avenue Makeover: The Transformation of Huge and the Redefinition of the Ad Agency Business” is authored by Michael Farmer, author of Madison Avenue Manslaughter (Third Edition 2019) and long-time consultant to ad agencies and their clients.
Pre-orders of the book are now available on Amazon.
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Skelsey! Great to have you back.
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