The newest ad agency in town is called Ugly, so we know that the new partners are pretty damn good at branding. Ugly is a name you’re unlikely to forget, and infinitely more memorable than Klønhammer, McCreadie & Bethinussen, which the agency could have been called.

Its founding partners are Hazelle Klønhammer, who was founding partner and chief executive officer at Anomaly Amsterdam, Gary McCreadie, ex-executive creative director of TBWA Sydney, and Ross Berthinussen, ex head of strategy at M&C Saatchi Sydney.

The agency’s credo is that creativity can transform business.

“Easy to claim but hard to do, especially within traditional agency structures, Ugly creates the right environment for creativity to thrive,” it says in its launch statement.

Klønhammer noted, “I see huge potential in Australia for a more progressive agency model that is stripped back, switched on, and straight up. We’re here for clients who want to work in a more human, collaborative and efficient way.”

That more human, collaborative and efficient way has done away with traditional agency roles. Instead it will mix and match strategic and creative collaborators from outside the agency and the communications industry, depending on the problem at hand.

McCreadie commented, “It’s easy not to love the game at the moment, a multitude of new pressures come thick and fast every day. Pressures of perfection, at speed, for less. So, if you create an environment that’s friendly and open, in which you can make mistakes and say dumb shit and not be judged, then creativity flows way more freely.”

It will use CX as the starting point for its creative solutions.

Berthinussen explained, “Starting with people’s experience of a brand allows us to pinpoint where creativity can have the most impact on our clients’ business. The answer may lie in the product or the experience around the brand. We don’t assume advertising is the answer.”

The three founders are:

Hazelle Klønhammer, managing director

Klønhammer’s strong suit is winning new business and repositioning global brands – brands like Nike, Converse and Johnnie Walker. She spent over a decade at Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam on Microsoft, Nike, Heineken, Carlsberg, Electronic Arts, Vodafone and P&G, won the first digital client for the network and was instrumental in setting up its digital offering. Before joining Anomaly, Klønhammer was managing director of Grey Amsterdam, leading its agency re-structure and significantly improving its creative profile. She has also worked at 180, Modernista, TBWA-Campaign Amsterdam and Amirati Puris Lintas Sydney.

Gary McCreadie, creative

Gary spent the past three years as executive creative director of TBWA Sydney on David Jones, Airbnb and Foxtel. Prior to this he spent 2 years at Host Sydney, and 8 years at BBH in London where he was creative director of the global Lynx/Axe account, BBH’s most media agnostic and creatively driven brand. He has also worked on The Guardian, Barclaycard, Tango and Johnnie Walker.

Ross Berthinussen, strategy

Ross has spent the past two and a half years as head of strategy at M&C Saatchi Sydney. He was also a key member of the M&C pitch team and worked directly on a number of brands including Lexus and NRMA Insurance. Prior to M&C, he spent 9 years at BBH London on British Airways, KFC and Axe. He cut his teeth at Grey London, working on P&G and Mars brands.