The Do Collective: The Big Little Agency That Can
Ben Walker has always loved the can-do attitude. After participating in the WPP graduate scheme in 2006, he continued to work his way up the ranks of adland. Over the course of his career, he has gained invaluable knowledge.
After years of working within the industry under larger companies in London, Sydney, and Dubai, he woke up one day with a burning desire to create his own full-service creative agency.
So, that's exactly what he did.
The Do Collective, or the BIG Little agency as Ben likes to describe them, opened its doors in 2022 and has since created a mighty impact on the industry.
Ben and The Do Collective often emphasise the motto, “You to the power of Do.”
It all starts with YOU - the client, the brand, the product.
Interrogating your challenge or opportunity. Possibly even your problem.
They believe that by defining the ‘do’ it ensures we get that absolutely right from the get go, to enable our collective success.
With the DO defined, we build the team required to get it DOne.
The right people, the right intelligence, the right creativity and the right energy. And then, starting with our trusty whiteboard, we get to work.
The Do Collective don’t do this alone, being a full service agency means understanding that partnerships with reliable counterparts are just as important as the creative work.
Ben has built relationships with media and production companies that continue to work together on each project. That is the ‘can-do’ attitude embedded in the ethos of The Do Collective, encompassing a sense of community that is vital to the life of a creative agency.
“Familiarity and relationships are the key ones for me,” Ben said. “Building these two makes working together more seamless and mutually beneficial. It also creates a sense of trust and gives a sense of one team with a shared culture.”
Ben believes in finding the right partners for what needs to be done and fostering these long-lasting relationships creates a sense of comradery; a community spirit that otherwise is overshadowed by a need to move ahead of the crowd.
This strong belief in finding the right people for the right job provides clients with a sense of security. Clients know what to expect from The Do Collective, and that expectation is one of collaboration and hard work.
This is just one of the many things that sets The Do Collective apart from other agencies within the industry. Another is their pride in being a ‘BIG Little agency’; but what does that mean exactly?
"We combine the benefits of a large network agency, with the advantages of a small independent,” Ben says.
This means:
- Global experience with accessibility
- Breadth of offering with agility
- Strategic objectivity with collaboration
To be an agency that allows clients to be involved with the people who will be completely hands on from the start to the finish is something that works wonders for many brands. That doesn’t take away from the work done by larger network companies, but rather allows brands to find an agency that fits their needs best.
This formula is the kindling that keeps Ben’s desire burning. With plans to have offices in Sydney, Melbourne, London and Dubai, there is no way of knowing what is next for The Do Collective, but it is sure to be a wild ride for those involved.
The Do Collective has only been around for two years.However, their reach has already expanded into the UK and soon Dubai. Ben states that he has ‘unfinished business’ in Dubai, and has had the desire to go back for a while now.
“The proposition we're building here in Australia is perfectly set for a market like the Middle East. There's again big networks and hundreds of small indies but nothing in the middle that can help brands. We also see an opportunity in helping Australian brands get established in the Middle East, balancing our cultural understanding and knowledge of brand origins,” he said.
The Do Collective is, after all, the BIG little agency that can do it all.
