Agency Founders: Jonathan Emmins

What does a typical project look like at Amplify?

It shouldn't look the same. My biggest fear is having a house style. A Nike AirMax Day for Melbourne's creative communities needs to be very distinct from Facebook's F8 developer conference in San Jose. We avoid this by using different mixes and blends of talent in the office while mixing up teams of external creative collaborators, who often come from the very communities our clients are trying to engage.

What we do hope for is a constant with all our work. Our ECD, our mantra from Jeavon Smith, is: "Simple, innovative and makes the audience feel something."

Do you work on any internal projects? How do you balance those with your paid client work?

Everyone should have personal projects, but the lines blur, and I see it the other way around too. Whether it's a passion project like Young Blood or any one of our client campaigns, it's a win-win.

Can you tell us a little bit more about Young Blood?

Launched in 2016 and regularly updated, Young Blood is Amplify's ongoing deep-dive into the hope, fears, and realities of growing up in the world today.

While Amplify deals with a breath of audiences, it's always the younger audiences we look to for inspiration, creativity, collaboration, and to see what's next. Our social mission is "to connect with, enable, and champion young creative talent" from all walks of life. Young Blood is part of this mission.

Yes, it makes our work better, but we also feel this audience gets a hard time, whether it's through the legacy they've inherited, or by being described in the media as "snowflakes", "robots", and "enfeebled youth." It simply doesn't tally with what we've seen as a positive and pragmatic set of individuals, and Young Blood serves as a platform for their voices can be heard.

You've got offices in London, Sydney, and Los Angeles. What are some benefits of having a footprint on multiple continents?

We think globally, but as a culturally driven agency, we're always grounded in local nuance. A lot of our clients are global brands, and we're often working with them at a central and global level. Typically 55–60% of our work is outside the UK, but for the first 10 years, everything ran through the London office. In 2018, we set up in Sydney, and an LA office followed at the end of 2019.

There are three factors we look for when we set up a new office: Firstly, lead talent. Both offices are headed up by longstanding Amplifers from our London office and ready for the next challenge. Secondly, we need client demand requesting us to be in that territory. Finally, and most crucially, we carefully consider the market. There are a lot of good agencies in the world. So we really question whether we are needed and how can we can make a difference.

And yes, there is a lot of collaboration between the three offices. That's the exciting world we live in! We use a blended model—best-in-class talent on the ground, but with access to all the people and specialists in the London hub. As Sydney and LA are growing, they are developing their own strengths.

What are some of the differences when your client is an established brand versus a startup?

We're lucky enough to work for some of the most progressive and forward-thinking brands all over the world. It's worth noting brands can grow quickly. Airbnb was founded in 2009, Spotify in 2006, and Google in 1997. Relatively speaking, these are three young brands. Every client has similarities and differences, and they are at various stages and trajectories.

Working across a breadth of brands helps inform us how we tackle constantly evolving brands and business challenges in whatever life stage they are at. When the agency started 10 years ago, we were applying our culture-first approach to predominantly youth-focused B2C brands, including Nike, Converse, Red Bull, and PlayStation.

Now, techniques and tactics previously reserved for hard-to-teach and influential youth audiences are just as relevant and accepted for other audiences; for example, older or B2B audiences that have become equally adept at filtering out messages they don't perceive as relevant.

Have you ever turned down a project because it didn’t fit with what you do well or it went against what you believe in?

Yes. As an agency, you’re defined by the good work you do. But equally you are defined by the work you choose not to do. Having integrity and the ability to turn down the wrong kind of work is key.

Does music play an important role in your work?

A commonality between the team is their interests and passions, all of which make our work stronger. Music is a shared passion, but it's also a broad church, as we see from fights over the office stereo or the allocation of DJ slots when we're out.

Music and sport are two of the biggest passions, but they're hotly contested and brand saturated. Our campaign approach is to understand the target audiences and their passions and find cultural spaces to bring them together with brands. The brand needs a right to be there, a clear point of view, and to add genuine value.

Are there any technology trends that you're excited about using in your work?

I firmly believe the only time you think about technology is when it isn't working. The rest of the time, it's just enabling you to get on with your life. Jamie Davies, Amplify's Head of Innovation, nails it when he says: "Don't worry about the innovation… just think about what you want your audience to feel. The tech is just an invisible helper." Easy for him to say when he's got a background in both the agency and product sides!

While COVID-19 has laid down a number of challenges, one of the (few) positives is that it has created an expedited opportunity for all of us to push things forward; to find innovative, exciting, authentic and helpful solutions that have total relevance now; and to build the platforms and formats that take us forward into what comes next.

By necessity, brands are having to be brave and, consequently, some amazing creativity is coming out. A lot of our clients' campaign objectives and messages remain the same, but we are using new methods and channels to deliver them.

Have you worked on any cool projects lately that you're particularly proud of?

That's like asking me to pick my favourite child. They're all special and unique in their own ways and labours of love.

We recently won a couple of Grand Prix awards, so I should probably mention those. One was from The Drum for our work for Airbnb on "Night At...The Louvre", an event for two people that traveled the world with over 2,700 press and broadcast hits in 90 countries. Our recent launch for Google Pixel 3 "Curiosity Rooms" won 7 awards at Campaign's Experience Awards, including the Grand Prix. Check them both out at weareamplify.com.