On 11 January 2011, Cummins&Partners, began doing business in Melbourne with Jeep Australia as its foundation client. When it launched, Cummins&Partners was the first independent agency to bring creative and media back together and is still one of just two Australian independent agencies with a presence in the US.

Over the past decade, the agency has expanded into Sydney and New York and now has 150 employees in its three offices with a growing collection of clients that includes Pernod Ricard, Energy Australia, McCain, Absolut, Adore Beauty, Godfreys, Sara Lee and recent wins Heritage Bank, Indeed, Klorane, Avene, and Sapporo.

On its boast wall are awards from Cannes Lions, New York Festivals, Effie Awards, Spikes Asia, Webby Awards, Campaign Asia, AMI’s Marketing Excellence Awards, ADMA Australian Creativity and Effectiveness Awards, AC&E Awards and more. Cummins&Partners Sydney was included in the Top 20 Independent Agencies in the World in the 2018 Global Creativity Report, an analysis of the results from the Cannes Lions Awards.

Chief creative officer, Sean Cummins, commented, “A lot has changed in our industry over the past 10 years and we’re proud that we’ve been able to enjoy continued success within a highly competitive landscape. From the beginning, our intention was to be a new kind of agency that reconnected media and creative in partnership, ever-evolving digital and tech services, customer experience and strategy as a unified force. It’s clearly a model that has resonated with clients, both here in Australia and in the US.

“Like every other business we faced uncertainty and upheaval at the onset of the Covid-19 crisis and its impact was felt across our clients and our people. We feel incredibly fortunate to have emerged in a strong position, thanks to the hard work of our people and the fearlessness of our clients. Cummins&Partners at ten will continue to create work that commands attention for the next ten years”.

Founding partner and Sydney managing director, Kirsty Muddle, added, “It’s gratifying to see independent agencies thriving in the Australian market and overseas. Our independence has always been highly valued and fiercely protected at Cummins&Partners, empowering us to adapt and make fast decisions, and to offer true independent thinking to our clients. I believe that’s been an important ingredient in the business’s resilience and success.”

In September, Cummins&Partners reimbursed all staff for Covid-induced salary cuts that had been in place for six months.

Recent work includes: