Meet Humble & Wallop: The 'No-Bullshit' Agency That's Making Audiences Care Again

When Matt McDermott bought The Harvey Agency in 2021, he was a man on a mission. After twenty years in the biz, he was familiar with the common mistakes made by agencies - having made some pretty big ones of his own - and was ready to helm an agency founded on more realistic expectations. He wanted to tear things to the ground and build something new. His belief in being an accomplice to clients helped forge an agency culture that will always “conspire with brands who refuse to be forgettable”. This new venture was designed to defy common pitfalls of the adland zeitgeist. But, in order for this no-nonsense, results-driven framework to be effective, it had to be firmly grounded in reality – thus Humble & Wallop was born. 

Describing the inspiration behind the company name, Matt tells me: “Humble is a reminder of how easy it is to get knocked on your ass in this industry, and Wallop is the commitment to creating work that leaves an impact on the cultural conversation and the client’s bottom line. Humble can take a punch. Wallop can give it back.”

The team began devising the tenets of the business; four key pillars that ousted the “bullshit bureaucracy” H&W had set out to overthrow. Not one to mince words, Matt explains how each pillar was inspired by “things I fucking hated about working in agencies in the past.” The culminating result was a “full-service consumer experience and creative agency that challenges brands to work hard for their place in the conversation”. Through a combination of updated creative assets, video assets, social media activations, influencer outreach, earned media opportunities and direct mail executions, H&W would redefine the agency-client relationship. Matt tells LBB how these four pillars aren’t mere catchphrases, but guiding principles that breathe life into every client engagement.

Honest Partnership

This team is not afraid to have uncomfortable conversations. They believe open channels of communication render the best results, and that honesty builds tenacious and uninhibited relationships. And it’s a two way street – clients are encouraged to be as direct as possible with the H&W team.

H&W goes above and beyond to ensure the partnership is prosperous for all parties; interviewing consumers, monitoring social channels, and even digging into principles of psychology to paint an honest picture of what targeted consumers want. H&W shares these findings with its clients to indicate where the gaps exist between them and the audience preference is, and to challenge brands to create for their audiences, not themselves. This might result in a change of direction and some hard home truths, but H&W’s brand of tough-love is ultimately valued by clients across the board. 

“It's important for me to really work with the clients to let them know that we're approaching it more from this standpoint of nobody cares,” Matt says. “99% of the time advertising is so presumptuous and we’re here to remind clients that audiences don’t just exist, simply to absorb their message. We want to unearth the truth – why should people care about this?”

Touching on a recent client campaign - the relaunch of a podcast - he explains how he implemented this first pillar when posing this exact question to the client. “I ask this question to clients because I want them to realise the importance of giving audiences a reason a) to care and b) to come back. From the offset, this client knew I have no problem saying this isn't going to matter unless you do XYZ.” This brutal honesty allowed the team to implement an attention-grabbing approach that paid off, with the podcast reaching 203.8M impressions three hours post-launch. To Humble & Wallop, being an open and honest accomplice is the first crucial step towards impactful collaboration. 

Streamlined Management

“This second pillar is where some agencies start to freak out,” Matt warns me. To an institutionalised industry bod who is used to erecting a curtain between process and production, H&W’s take on management and communication may appear slightly unorthodox – but Matt was determined to remove the curtain altogether, permitting clients unrestricted access. 

“If there’s one consistent issue that I witnessed over the years, it was that infuriating artificial log jam. I believe in allowing clients total visibility into a project, eradicating unnecessary bureaucracy.” 

Bolstered by the capabilities of H&W’s experienced team - most have been in the agency world for close to 20 years - this streamlined approach to management has proven to be a big hit with clients. Cutting away at the “artificial log jam”, halves the likelihood of things getting lost in translation. 

“Our clients know there’s a key H&W team member who leads each task - a copywriter, web developer, creative director - and  they are allowed to reach out directly to them. In fact, we encourage those conversations, safe in the knowledge that our incredibly senior team can manage expectations of their own projects and others.” With clients no longer kept at arm's length - instead, invited to actively participate - H&W fosters a level of trust that has become the backbone of successful partnerships.

Speed to Relevance

In a world where timing is everything, Humble & Wallop's emphasis on speed to relevance is a game-changer. “Agencies tend to get really iffy about speed and I totally get it because there's this feeling of, if we rush, it's going to be shit. The general consensus is you can have it fast, you can have it cheap or you can have it good. There's an underlying fear that it’s only possible to succeed in two of those things,” explains Matt. “But we recognise the importance of capitalising on a moment, in order to squeeze the most amount of attention out of it. When it comes to social media or earned media, in particular, it's really important to be able to move quickly.”

Advocating for a newsroom-style approach to cultural moments - rather than being hung up on perfection - Matt tells me about a recent project that greatly benefited from the agency’s rapid response time. “One of our clients ended up getting picked up as part of a viral news story. Despite our best efforts they had never wanted to create a social presence. But we encouraged them to take advantage of the viral opportunity to make noise on social media.”

“So we set up an entire social media presence in less than four hours and were able to start driving traffic to these channels. Was it perfect? No. But it was exactly what they needed and if we had over-thought it or tried to make it perfect, we would have missed the moment.” This ability to seize cultural trends and capitalise on them without succumbing to the paralysing fear of imperfection has not only proven effective but become a defining characteristic of Humble & Wallop. 

Creative Collaboration

H&W’s fourth and final pillar focuses on embracing its active role in the creative journey. Being an accomplice to clients, an instigator in the creative process, culminates in honest, streamlined, swift and creative collaboration. 

Since the refounding of the company in 2023, H&W’s collaborative efforts have led clients in the education, media, CPG and nonprofit industries to outstanding results. Speaking to Amanda Gillespie, director of communications and marketing, College of Professional Studies, The George Washington University, she reflects on H&W’s transformative approach to creativity. “The team redefines the concept of collaboration by seamlessly involving clients in every step of the creative journey, granting them direct access. This unique partnership not only crafts captivating narratives but also empowers clients to actively shape and mould their own stories.” 

In a world inundated with forgettable messages Humble & Wallop has emerged as a refreshing antidote. Matt McDermott's vision to dismantle the barriers that plague traditional agencies has given rise to an agency that stands as a testament to the power of honesty, streamlined management, speed to relevance, and creative collaboration. Inviting clients to be part of a movement where creativity knows no bounds, Humble & Wallop is creating ripples that are sure to resonate throughout the advertising industry – and they’re just getting started.