Above+Beyond Founders Launch Independent Creative Group The Beyond Collective

The partners of creative agency Above+Beyond are launching an independent creative group, The Beyond Collective - a micro-network of specialist companies unified around the common goal of helping clients grow their brands in the age of the audience.

The Beyond Collective will be home to creative entrepreneurs from the worlds of film, music, brand, media, PR, content production and advertising, who will work both collaboratively and independently on a diverse range of client business challenges.

(L-R Zaid Al-Zaidy - Group CEO, Christian Lobo - Executive Producer, Nic Ost - Chief Operations Officer, David Billing - Executive Creative Director)

Yonder will be led by Ed Cox, the former Managing Director of Havas agency Forward Media, and has been established to bring audience-first strategies and creativity to the heart of media thinking. Other companies are in the pipeline and will be joining The Beyond Collective throughout 2018.

Zaid Al-Zaidy, the CEO of Above+Beyond, will assume the additional role of Group CEO of The Beyond Collective and Brand Services Director, Tom Bedwell, will be promoted to the newly created position of Managing Director of Above+Beyond, which boasts clients including Amazon, Pilgrims Choice and The Balvenie. Tom Bedwell is former Managing Partner of McCann London, and previously held roles at Wieden+Kennedy, Mother and BBH.

Zaid Al-Zaidy, Group CEO of The Beyond Collective announced, "Our industry's flux is an incredibly exciting time for the independent sector. Across disciplines, clients are asking for two things: help us grow our business in a new world where audiences are in charge; and give us access to your top creative and strategic talent without the shackles of a big agency structure. The Beyond Collective offers precisely that."

The Beyond Collective will be based in Bermondsey, in a new, purpose-built, creative space by award winning architects AHMM, with interior design by Jackdaw. The space creates a fully flexible work environment that physically fosters collaboration, co-creation, and open thinking across teams, disciplines, companies and clients.