Tackling Global Challenges from the Bottom of the South Pacific, Three Years of Daylight, and What Comes Next
LBB> Three years of Daylight already! Tell us, how did things start and what’s your impression of the studio as it stands today?
Lee> It’s crazy to think that Daylight got its start right as the world was shutting down. We were incubated within The Spinoff off the back of a relationship with the World Health Organization. They approached them after seeing their viral explainer content getting picked up by international leaders and media.
Our original team created extensive amounts of health content for global markets, while also supporting The Spinoff commercial team with media briefs and brand partnership campaigns.
Then, in 2021, after winning local clients across the government, finance, and NGO space, we broke away, establishing Daylight as an independent creative studio. Fast forward three years and things have changed a fair bit since then!
Charlie> Being born in the newsroom means storytelling is always at the heart of what we do. However, over the last three years, we’ve placed a real importance on the integration of our creative and tech teams - ensuring our stories and digital solutions are always engaging. That could be a digital art collection to recount the history of Wimbledon, a time capsule that preserves the global findings of the pandemic, or an app that uses live conditions to show you safe beaches to swim at. The work coming out of the studio today is definitely unique. And we love that way.
LBB> Tell us about your experience and how that led to Daylight being founded.
Lee> I’ve spent the last 14 years working around the world at brand agencies. The majority of that time has been within the BBDO network - AMV, Clemenger and Colenso. In between those roles, I had a stint with The Monkeys in Australia, before having to move back to New Zealand. I love reflecting on that time with The Monkeys - they’d just been acquired by Accenture and we were setting up the Melbourne office. I learned a hell of a lot working with Mark Green and Paul McMillian. They gave me a huge amount of trust when I was relatively young in that role, which has shaped a lot of my leadership style today.
So, the opportunity to establish Daylight came out of a chat with Duncan Greive, founder of The Spinoff, when he was looking to build an internal studio offering that would sit within the newsroom. The opportunity to build something totally unique in this market felt like a chance I couldn’t pass up.
Charlie> My background is in brand architecture, storytelling, and art direction. I’ve mastered my craft in some of the best creative departments in Aotearoa, including Saatchi & Saatchi and Colenso BBDO - which is where I met Lee.
In New Zealand we’ve always created work that punches well above our weight - something we foster at Daylight too. It’s that relentless pursuit of an idea, finding a way, and running face first into the unknown. Having that drilled into me every day at Colenso gave me the confidence to leave and try something new with Daylight.
I also have to acknowlege the exceptional creative leaders that raised me both at Saatchi and BBDO - many who have now kicked on to set up their own shops and are doing epic things!
LBB> You talk about how Daylight ‘responds to the world as it shifts.’ What does this mean and what work exemplifies this?
Lee> Today, I think clients, brands, and organisations are having to grapple with a myriad of challenges. The traditional ways of responding can mean reacting to change is much more difficult. It means long production lead times, expensive budgets, and agency partners that aren’t agile. Responding to the world as it shifts is the opposite of that. It’s finding solutions and telling stories that make our partners a part of the culture as it evolves.
Charlie> To me, it means being truly open to what the right response is. Our latest work with Pacific Media Network (PMN) is a great example of this.
PMN was faced with the challenge of future-proofing the network's ability to connect with a growing and younger Pacific population in New Zealand. A traditional answer might have been to just look at the brand positioning. But this problem couldn’t be solved by communications alone - it needed a holistic approach. The solution was to completely rebuild their digital infrastructure - a world-class publishing platform that allows them to compete within the media landscape for audience attention. Once the foundations were right, we wrapped it all in a beautiful new brand, tone of voice, and campaign - but it wasn't the default response.
LBB> What's happening in the studio for 2024 and what are you excited about?
Lee> This year, I’m excited (and slightly terrified) to see what AI is going to help enable us to deliver. We’ve got a few projects in the pipeline that use AI as a tool to help surface and distill extensive amounts of research, making information instantly accessible to audiences.
I’m also looking forward to continuing the work we’re doing in the digital transformation space for publishers. The media industry is facing one of its most disruptive periods to date, needing to rethink revenue models, build new audiences and change the way in which content is shared and distributed. It’s something we’re deeply entrenched in.
Lastly, I’m looking forward to spending a bit more time across the Tasman as we look to grow `our footprint more in Australia this year. Watch this space!
Charlie> We’re going to be focusing a lot more on how our in-house motion and development teams integrate this year, challenging ourselves to create unique experiences that exist within our digital products.
Along with that, the branded content space within Aotearoa is where we’re going to see a lot of creative innovation in the next 12 + months, and I’m keen to make sure Daylight is at the forefront.
