Blacksmith Collective: a good, but risky business
Capitalising on a skills shortage in advertising in the digital age, Blacksmith Collective draws on a pool of creative talent — but it is well aware that there are risks attached
Outsourcing project work in the ad industry is nothing new. But as specific skills become scarce and the value of long-term client-agency relationships is being questioned, the concept is once again finding favour in the local market.Taking advantage of this trend is Blacksmith Collective, founded by former Ogilvy & Mather creatives Diogo Mendonça and Marcus von Geyso. They describe their business as a production collective specialising in content creation and what they term "creative problem-solving". The gap in the market, they say, was obvious. "We just wanted to better the creative industry. It’s not about grinding out work to meet minimum requirements. We want to innovate and push the creative envelope. Through a network of creative talent we can deliver great work that is inspired and well thought through."Mendonça says: "We spend a lot of time researching our creative teams to find the best fit for the job at hand."The collective is already working on brands including Castle ...
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