Early in 2019, Micah Walker came back from a five-year stint as a creative director at Wieden + Kennedy Portland and decided to open his own agency. He called it Bear Meets Eagle on Fire, a name with no chance of being ignored. Within months, BMEOF was an agency with no chance of being ignored either. Its work was getting big brands noticed.

Here are some of its secrets:  

The Stable: What was the vision you had for BMEOF when you launched it?

Micah Walker: I’d be lying if I said I had a concise mission that shaped every decision right from the start, but I had an informed idea in mind for what Bear could be. That and generous advice from former clients and people I respect who are running their own creative companies.

The non-negotiable was making sure the business was purpose built around the creative product. It couldn’t just be something we talked about, it had to be core to our shape, how we thought and made things, and how we were paid.

Making Bear a place where caring harder about what we make and how we make it, was also vital, because that’s true to me. I think you should be honest about that when you start something. It needs some of what makes you, you, in it.

Part of that was creating space for thinking and craft to make it a point of difference,
but it also informs much more – from working with the right kind of humans to not just falling into the be everything for everyone trap.

Lastly, I wanted Bear to work across all things brand – from brand creation and design right through to more campaign shaped projects. A bit of that is because I just really enjoy these kinds of projects, but also because it’s a space full of opportunity for creativity to be informative and valuable.

TS: How hard has it been to make BMEOF what you wanted it to be? What challenges have you had to conquer?

MW: Starting out was both scary and exciting, and after almost four years now, it’s still a bit like that to be honest. You go through all the emotions and always feel like you should be doing something more or better.

Being project based also brings its own pressures, of course.

I think we’ve really found our stride over the last year, year and a half, though, and that comes down to a small group of talented and dedicated people that help make Bear what it is. I’m most proud of that, having great people who want to work here. 

TS: BMEOF’s work is notable by its difference. That’s not easy to achieve for many reasons. What does it take?

MW: That’s such a great compliment and a credit to our partners as well.

We genuinely believe great work is distinctive and worthy of attention. There’s just too much bland work out there that you could sign off with another brand’s logo, or worse, that no one even notices at all.

Getting there never happens by accident and making something ownable and distinctive means different things for different brands. It just comes down to shared ambitions for the project, a willingness to challenge some conventions, and of course finding great partners to help bring it all to life.

TS: You have worked in some very creative agencies around the world – Fallon London, Wieden + Kennedy Portland, and as far away as Warsaw as well as here in Australia. What have you learned about great creativity and great agencies along the way?

MW: A variety of experiences shape different parts of your philosophy and if you’re lucky, you find more happiness than frustration on that journey. I’ve been fortunate that way, as a creative and a person.

Fallon London and W+K in Portland were both similar in their values and culture, even though they were very different as experiences for me

In both it was about making the best work in your life, but maybe something less obvious from the outside is that they also shared a kind of collective outsider’s mentality that really created a unique culture. It’s hard to explain if you haven’t experienced it, but that kind of energy is powerful and really makes you feel like anything is possible.

I’m also very proud of work and friendships I’ve made in other places, so a mix of all those experiences have helped shape what I hope Bear can be.

TS: What work are you most proud of and why?

MW: I’m proud of everything our studio has made and cursed to feel like we could’ve made everything a bit better than we did.

ROLLiN’ and Wisr are great because they’re both brand design and campaign projects.

NRMA is special because we rarely pitch, and after winning that one, we made special work for an iconic Aussie brand, moving it forward.

Stake has a unique owner who’s ambitious to do things differently and I love the platform and work we created for them as well.

OPTU5G was massive and fun. We owe a lot to them as well, as one the first clients to trust us with such an important project.

TS: What’s next for BMEOF?

MW: We’ll keep trying hard and hopefully make even better things.