‘Redefining what an agency is’: Former Magnum Opus partner launches new creative studio with brother
Former Magnum Opus Partners creative director and partner, Pat Langton, and his brother Matt Langton are “redefining what an agency is” with the launch of Hook Creative Studio.
Describing itself as being formed “to make creative things that people actually want to engage with”, Hook believes the industry and audiences have changed, so agencies also have to change too.
Pat Langton, who takes the role of ‘chief creative guy’, originally published the idea of Hook as a book in 2021, and has since applied the knowledge and principles to build the new creative studio.
“The advertising landscape is more crowded than ever, so brands need to find creative ways to cut through the noise,” he said.
“Advertising isn’t just an ad anymore, it’s an experience, a book, a new product, or even a video game.
“When you look at advertising as entertainment, it changes the way you talk to your audience,” he added. “We want to bring a bit of fun back into advertising.”
Mike Allen, also former partner at Mangum Opus Partners, has joined Hook as chairman.
“The industry has changed so much since I started over 35 years ago and video is now what clients want,” Allen said. “We’re bridging the gap between agency and production.”
Matt Langton, who will serve as ‘chief moving image guy’ (motion graphics), said: “Video is more important than ever and a lot of agencies are just not set up to deal with the TikTok generation.
“Hook is positioned to deal with this problem and provide clients with creative solutions across all mediums that suit all of their needs.”
Matt Langton has worked as a motion graphics designer in Melbourne and London for the past two decades, creating film for some of the world’s biggest brands.
“In my experience the video trend isn’t going away, in fact it’s even more important than ever before,” he continued. “You just have to look at social media and see that video is king.”
Hook Creative Studio’s founders, the Langton brothers
In 2017, Magnum Opus rebranded to Magnum Opus Partners to reflect Pat Langton’s appointment as creative director. Then, in 2022, indie agency HERO integrated the agency into its national offering, where Pat Langton, Allen and fellow partner Erin Lightfoot joined the HERO leadership team.
Hook Creative Studio is taking a similar approach of consolidating production with agency as production house The Producers, who recently appointed its first-ever creative director in ex-agency talent Luke Thompson.
Thompson said of his appointment: “…This shift from agency to production has been a chance to use my experience in a more hands-on role that’s been truly eye opening. There’s just so much potential for the role of creative director on the production side.”
Credits:
Agency: Hook Creative Studio
3D/2D animation: Hook Creative Studio
Music: Hook remix of the classic piano piece ‘La Campanella’ by Franz Liszt
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Lauren McNamara is a journalist at Mumbrella, covering the creative and PR beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
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