Three Reasons Why Pablo Has Opened Its Doors In New York

The initial iteration of Pablo was a design agency founded by Gareth Mercer at his parent’s kitchen table in Leicestershire. Now, less than a decade later, the independent creative agency counts Dr Pepper, Deliveroo, Carlsberg, GiffGaff, Visit Britain and DFS among its ever-expanding roster of clients.

And it too is expanding, taking its Active Brand Platforms model with it, officially announcing its launch into New York, led by a heavyweight team of leaders that have been working with three clients since February.

Mercers explains that the Active Brand Platforms model, which is about earning unfair attention and connection for clients, feels very relevant and was already attracting attention from outside the UK.

Those charged with leading the business are chief creative officer Scott Vitrone from W+K New York and creative agency Fig, alongside managing director Hannah Hewitt, joining from W+K Portland where she has spent the last 10 years. Joining them will be planning partner Caroline Krediet, also from Fig, and another fellow W+K alumnus Ellery Luse as group strategy director. Finally, joining from VCCP New York will be Maxie Etess as group account director. 

Here are three reasons why the agency has sought to spread its wings beyond the UK:

• Pablo is surfing the crest of a wave right now. It’s being hired to handle major brand building campaigns (see Wilkinson Sword and Deliveroo in recent months alone) and that work is getting it noticed in the US.

“Getting off the plane earlier this year to start a new company was both thrilling and terrifying," says Mercer. "The creative and marketing people I met have been amazing. The crew that we have had the fortune to discover have done some of the best work I have seen and working with them has been a pleasure."

• Now is a good time for British businesses to expand to the US as the American economy is growing at a faster pace than the UK - it grew by 2.8 per cent last quarter. This is largely powered by consumer spending, which means that the advertising sector is proving a healthier proposition ahead of the Presidential elections at the start of November.

And to do business in America, you have to be there shaking hands and kissing babies.

“What I learned quickly was that this needed to be an agency born in America run by American people. To share our working model and Active Brand Platforms and let some of the world's best talent connect that to American culture in surprising ways. I'm really looking forward to what comes next,” adds Mercer. "Pablo gets described as a brand for now that is home to great talent. This felt like a very natural step as long as we were lead by NYC people."

• Pablo is an agency built on a culture and operating model that is strong enough to expand across the Atlantic and offer something different from the established competition in NYC, as highlighted by Vitrone.

“From the off I fell in love with the philosophy of Active Brand Platforms," Mercer explains. "Consumers don’t care what most brands are saying—80 per cent of advertising fails to reach the attention threshold, let alone have impact. Brands need to be humble and honest about their importance and place in people’s lives. Doing that forces us to think about how we can provide real value to people, in a way that feels unique and surprising."

And having been named Campaign’s Independent Agency of the Year and Global Independent Agency of the Year 2022, it was probably the peak time to build on that reputational success.