How a Supermassive Wave Crashed into the Industry

The number three can often be described as a magical number. 

The three rules of comedy, for example, or the old latin phrase, Omne trium perfectum meaning everything that comes in threes is perfect. Even our favourite media presents heroes in groups of three. Harry, Ron and Hermoine or Luke, Leia and Han or The Three Musketeers.

Laura, Simone and Jon are three professionals who, like our favourite trios, have decided to embark on a brand new adventure. The trio crossed paths many times over the years, working together in different variations. Laura and Jon worked at Host/Havas, Jon and Simone worked together at DDB, and Laura and Simone were CEOs for Brand and PR in the Havas Australia Village.

Following the classic hero arc, after years of working together, separately, they banded together exactly when needed most. And like all legendary trios, they needed a name. 

Supermassive, an independent creative agency, dedicated to making stuff people actually want. Taking the ‘non-traditional’ approach to advertising, the three focuses their work in “creativity and robust strategy” as described by Simone. 

Laura, Simone, and Jon all came to the conclusion individually about the type of agency they wanted to build. Sharing the same energy and delight in coming together and being able to collaborate freely, getting their hands on projects once more and working closely with clients is what brought them all together. 

With the mission to entertain rather than interrupt, the trio found themselves racking their brains on how to achieve such a feat. After collecting data from a study done by the World Advertising Research Centre, they soon realised all the answers were in front of them. With 85% of 18-24 year olds using methods to screen out advertising, and 91% of people thinking that advertisement interrupts their day, Laura touched on the realisation this data caused;

 

“The most effective advertising doesn’t look like advertising” she said. 

Working to create an agency that ‘shakes off barriers and embraces the change’, Jon talked about the need to combine earned and paid media. 

“We can use paid media cleverly to amplify.” he said. 

With the ethos of wanting to lean into popular culture rather than competing with it -or to outsmart rather than outspend - Simone added:

“It's about a well thought out consistent brand strategy. It's easy to say ‘oh we’ve got to put something on TikTok’ but it has to come back to the brand story. Traditional media is still very important. But in order to build brands, get them understood in an engaging way. We've got to think differently” 

The team efforts are concentrated in an earnest attempt to connect the brand into culture. Giving loyal audiences experiences that align with what they already love about the brand and surprising audiences that are unfamiliar with something exciting and entertaining is the way forward for Supermassive. 

Laura described the feeling of discovering the opportunity to build something from the ground up as inspiring and joyful. 

“I think that opportunity doesn't really come along very often, unless you're prepared to go out there and build the business that you want to be a part of.” she said. 

With the rule of threes behind them, it is safe to say that Laura, Simone and Jon are making a Supermassive splash - and we’re only just starting to see the ripple effects.