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M&C Saatchi Worldwide has announced the purchase of a minority interest in New York-based creative shop Technology, Humans and Taste (THAT), a company which has taken a non-traditional approach to advertising and is attracting brands such as Nike, Michael Kors, IBM, Kayak, The Kraken Rum, DKNY, Casper Mattress and Grubhub.
“As a network, we are committed to bringing our clients creative solutions that address the constantly shifting communications landscape,” said Moray Maclennan, worldwide CEO at M&C Saatchi. “THAT has a completely new approach that nets consistently unique ideas - lots of them. We’re confident that bringing them into the network will push us all to stretch creatively and bring truly modern solutions to our clients.”
“We've built THAT with the reliability of a traditional agency in our client services, strategy and production groups, to support our non-traditional creative department,” said THATco-founder and CEO, David Kalvert [above left, with co-founder/CCO Nathan Phillips and MD Dena Graham]. “M&C Saatchi is a network known for affording autonomy to entrepreneurs. They're the right partner to help scale our model in a way that supports our creative process.”
THAT’s non-traditional approach is best represented, say the agency, through its proprietary ‘Creative Dim Sum’ methodology; a series of strategic workshops in a dinner party setting that inspire collaboration between subject matter experts, professional creatives and brand executives to drive breakthrough thinking.
“We designed every aspect of the Creative Dim Sum process to hold ourselves accountable to delivering original thinking, diverse perspectives and unexpected solutions for our clients,” states THAT co-founder and CCO, Nathan Phillips. “Its collaborative nature requires experienced and trusting partners at every level and this was the perfect solution to grow our offering.”
THAT will work alongside M&C Saatchi’s New York agency hub, SS+K, to drive creative excellence among the North American division of the network. Born from politics, SS+K is known for its iconic work as the youth agency of record for both Obama campaigns, the development of LiveStrong’s yellow band, and the creation of HBO’s multiple Cannes award-winning brand campaign, Awkward Family Viewing. SS+K’s current clients include Samsung, Wells Fargo, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, among others.
