The Six Things Special New Zealand Has Learned Over The Last Two Years

Special New Zealand has won back-to-back Global Creative Agency of the Year awards. So how did an agency from the edge of the world beat the best agencies in the world?

Great clients make great work

The most important ‘forever lesson’ is that ‘clients make agencies great.’ And if you want to do the best work in the world, you need to have the best clients.

They are the truly brave ones; they are the ones who say ‘yes’ and buy the work. They are the ones who keep that campaign or platform alive and beating within their organisation day in and day out. Thankfully we have worked with a number over the years, we couldn’t have made the work we have without them. And we’re lucky to work with some incredible ones right now.

Great clients give clarity, trust and inspire ambition. And that’s key. We don’t have many that say ‘Hey let’s just keep with the status quo this year’. Because many of our clients face a similar challenge ‘We are outspent by the competition, so how do we out-think them?’ That challenge always sharpens everyone’s focus, and how we collectively measure the potential of campaign ideas. When you focus on that challenge you often go to places that necessitate really different shaped work. And that is often a great thing.

A great client is one that says yes when it was easier to say no. But they don’t just say yes; they lean in, challenge ideas, and push for better. They run with us as a partner, and champion the unique, bold and the not-signed-off-by-legal-yet. And the truth is we wouldn’t be where we are today without them.

People are what makes Special special

OK, OK, I know we just said that clients make an agency great, but the people who work there are pretty damn important too. Because we know that every agency is defined by its people and the culture they create. Some good, some bad. Thankfully we have the ones that help us live up to our name. The people that set the tone, provide the energy, and don’t just shape the work, but shape how the work gets made.

Work that we are all serious about making great, but approach in a not so serious manner. Because we believe that everyone’s better when they’re having fun.

And when you have the right mix of people and personalities you feel it. In the energy, the momentum, and the “we probably shouldn’t do this but let’s do it anyway” spirit. That’s the real difference. And the work’s just the proof.

Ambition beats geography

We may be a small country at the bottom of the world — with smaller budgets, fewer people, and without the same spotlight as some of the bigger markets. But one thing we’ve never been short on is ambition.

At Special, we don’t see distance or size as a disadvantage. If anything, it’s given us perspective — the freedom to think differently, to back ourselves, and to punch well above our weight.

We’ve never believed greatness is purely reserved for large agencies in London or New York. We believe it belongs to the those who marry ambition with drive — to those who care more about the idea than where it comes from or the fact it can often seem impossible, and who never let scale limit vision.

Ambition is our fuel. It’s what’s carried us from the bottom edge of the world to the very top of it.

The best ideas don’t care where they came from

Hierarchy is necessary, but ideas don’t read org charts. So, whether an idea comes from the client, the CEO, a strategist, a media partner, a production partner, a lawyer – OK maybe not a lawyer, but you get what we’re saying – it doesn’t really matter. If it’s good, it’s good. And if it’s good, it’s in.

And it’s this collaborative thinking and openness that has allowed us to make the work we make and claim such impressive awards and titles.

Take our Grand Prix winning Export Ultra Cold Call Back Service for example. It started from someone at work leaving beers in the freezer for too long. A waste, sure, but a waste that berthed an idea. Then a service. Then an unforgettable face of this service. Throw is some chill time (the beer, not us), some old-school tech for a new-school way to communicate with your audience and you had many hands and ideas that made this the great success it was.

What got us here won’t get us there

Apologies for pointing out the bleeding obvious, but technology and the way people engage with brands if forever changing. And just as obvious, we should be too. Because change isn’t the risk – staying the same is.

It’s also important to note that your ideas don’t deserve attention, they have to earn it. So, while it’s one thing to show up in the right channels, if you aren’t doing anything exciting in this space then what’s the point?

When making The Last Performance for Partners Life, we did something no one had done before. We ran ads inside a TV show, using dead characters to talk to the benefits of life insurance, speaking to audiences in a totally new way. It was a major success. But that doesn’t mean we did it again the following season, even though we could have.

These pivots and changes are not for us, they’re for our brands and for their audiences. You can’t keep approaching something the same way and expect the same results. You have to respect your audiences and continue to talk to them in new and exciting ways.

You need a perfect 360 performance to win

Brilliant creative work is not enough. Believing that everything is about culture won’t get you over the line. Having brilliant revenue growth and stellar profit numbers won’t win it for you. Being the masters of effectiveness will not get you on stage.

If you want to be in the running for ‘Global Creative Agency of the Year’ you need it all. Every single bit. As each part has a % of points allocated against it. The big ideas, the flawless execution, the relationships, the culture, the numbers, the impact.

Because greatness isn’t one thing — it’s everything. It’s what gets you to the top — and keeps you there.

Right, enough talk, we’ve got to get back to it. Because as they say, you’re only as good as your next piece of work. Or as Rory likes to say, a pat in the back is only six inches away from a kick in the arse.