Melbourne indie, By All Means (BAM), has marked 10 years in business, celebrating with five new client wins and significant revenue growth. The agency established by brothers, Toby and Mat Cummings, and third (unofficial) brother, Ed Howley, has marked its 10-year anniversary recording year-on-year growth of more than 15% and gaining five new clients – City of Melbourne; Australia’s leading food importer, Riviana Foods; leading commercial law firm Macpherson Kelley; Tasmanian power company, TasNetworks; and the Victorian Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions’ TAFE brand.
BAM was born from a desire to provide an alternative to the traditional multinational agency structure, and a direct path to top tier strategic and creative talent in an industry that has faced seismic changes in the last 10 years.
“These days you read about a new indie agency every second week, but it just wasn’t a thing 10 years ago. We’re proud of the trail we’ve blazed for so many of our peers, and we’re super excited about where the industry is heading,” stated By All Means co-founder and creative partner, Ed Howley.
BAM began its story by winning the strategic and creative account for then-new sports betting company, BetEasy, delivering high-profile campaigns that not only launched the brand, but helped it exceed its business acquisition targets.
Since then, the agency has grown off the back of work for high-profile clients, Fiverr, Lifestyle Communities, MYOB, Clarks Shoes,RACV, Bendigo Bank, McCormick, Bridge Road Brewers, Gordon Legal, Nutrien Ag Solutions, and the University of Melbourne.
Recently, BAM was appointed by the City of Melbourne as lead creative agency following a hotly contested competitive pitch, along with strategy and creative for Melbourne For Business, designed to position Melbourne as the place in Australia to do business.
The agency also won strategy, creative, production and implementation duties for top-tier law firm Macpherson Kelley, soon to launch its largest-ever media campaign, along with strategy and creative for Riviana Foods’ key brands including Always Fresh and Toscano.
TasNetworks also appointed the agency to lead creative and strategy for the creation and launch of its new brand Trio, an industry-scale infrastructure company. A fifth substantial win is still confidential.
These new client wins, along with a number of retained accounts, have helped By All Means soar past its business growth objectives, notching up 15.6% year-on-year growth in 2024, on the back of 30% year-on-year growth in 2023.
“This is no mean feat for an indie agency that began with no capital injections, no safety net, or backing from any major consultancies, just great work straight out of the blocks,” stated By All Means co-founder and managing partner, Mat Cummings. “It’s been an incredible 10 years. This milestone has given us a chance to pause and look back on the BAM journey. There have been so many highs along the way, but even the failures are still highs when you’re navigating your own ship.
“We named the business By All Means after our determination to do whatever it takes to deliver the most inspiring work. And over the past 10 years, we’ve stayed true to that core mission of going above and beyond, both creatively and strategically for our clients, and it’s been the key to our ongoing success.”
One of By All Means’ proudest achievements is its commitment to giving back to the community, which the agency calls Creativity For Good. Since its inception, BAM has taken on regular pro-bono causes supporting a range of charitable organisations, including the Council to Homeless Persons, Polished Man and Dying with Dignity – even amid its own challenges.
“During the pandemic, we developed a not-for-profit fundraising initiative for Beyond Blue, Greetings From Locktown, a range of lockdown-related apparel that was so successful it allowed us to donate $45,000 to Beyond Blue, helping to support Melburnians suffering lockdown-induced mental health issues,” Howley stated. “We feel that that project really did prove the momentous power of inspiring creativity.”
By All Means is focused now on ambitious 2025 growth objectives and efforts to become B-Corp certified.
“We keep having our best year, year after year. And there’s no reason 2025, or 2026 for that matter, will be any different,” stated BAM co-founder and creative partner, Toby Cummings.
