Two years ago, Dan Beaumont left traditional agency life – 10 years as managing partner of The Royals, preceded by five as director of client services at The Monkeys, another five at George Patterson Y&R (now VML ANZ),, and one at M+C Saatchi. He started an indie with a distinctive difference. It’s a lean machine that outsources creative – picking and choosing from a plethora of talent out there – and makes abundant use of AI for research. And it’s a creative advisory, or as he calls it, a “creative concentrate or shot”.

Here is the story of doing it differently, aka GAME Creative:   

The Stable: You’ve built an unexpected indie. Why did you “go indie”? How does it work? 

Dan Beaumont: I’ve been working in independent agencies now for 17 years. So, it’s been a long time since I experienced the corporate side of agency life; this doesn’t mean that I’ve forgotten what it’s like. Experiencing WPP at its worst stays with you, in fact it helps guide you to ensure you don’t replicate the same errors in judgement. 

“Going indie” was an easy decision to make, especially off the back of being a partner in an indie for a decade. Independence for any industry is probably the same – you have control over decision making, who you work with (and who you don’t), the kind of product you want to create and how to best gear the business for success. In a creative industry like ours, control is critical, so that you can flex with client needs and the design best way to work. 

In a nutshell – GAME is a creative advisory, not an agency. We help businesses of every shape and size build brands that create measurable value and become a genuine competitive advantage. GAME is much smaller and more potent than a network. We’re like a “creative concentrate or shot” where the networks are diluted and flavourless. 

GAME is not only an indie but a radical offer for clients. It’s about high-value creative thinking without all the layers and overhead. Which means GAME can generate top-shelf thinking at speed. It’s a ‘virtual’ brand advisory – GAME works closely with clients to work out what needs to be done and what the right brief is to solve a particular problem and then hand picks the best freelance and contract talent to work on that specific project. It’s a small team of highly experienced, subject matter experts, who actually do the work. Rather than hand it off to more junior people. This means that clients work directly with this accomplished team, rather than through us to others.

The Stable: Why did you create GAME that way – what makes it great?

Dan Beaumont: Things are also changing fast in our industry. Retainers are few and far between meaning projects are sporadic and vary in size. Great talent is leaving big agencies for smaller, more intimate experiences. Offices aren’t needed as everyone (including clients) work more from home. Remuneration is moving to a ‘value-based’ cost model, which influences how effective the team needs to be. All these things mean the old model of traditional ‘agencies’ is decomposing. GAME is a new version helping clients get what they need for their brands really effectively. 

GAME’s approach gives everyone involved more control over the outcome. When dozens of people are involved, the best thinking can get lost, watered down, misinterpreted or be totally off the mark all together, resulting in average work that won’t work. When you’re dealing with a smaller team that knows the difference between good and great you can move faster and with more determination. It’s efficient, sure, but it’s more effective too which is important for the outcome.

The Stable: You’ve made AI useful. How useful?

Dan Beaumont: I couldn’t have started GAME at a better time. AI now gives the business capability that 3 years ago meant hiring 5 people. Having AI agents at your disposal is incredible and allows me to run a lot of the administrative tasks automatically. It’s also a superpower when it comes to research, trends and patterns in industries, so it gives you lots of time back in strategy to spend on deep thinking and generating original ideas for brands. It also helps with financially running the business.

The Stable: Indie life can be a roller coaster. What have you conquered? What has helped GAME get to where it is? 

Dan Beaumont: We’ve already produced some excellent integrated campaigns with large budgets for listed companies, we’ve helped launch start-ups, repositioned and rebranded mature family businesses. The team is working on some really interesting government projects and providing strategy and creative support for in-house services. So, we’re being asked to advise clients in all sorts of ways. 

However, it’s still very early in GAME’s lifecycle. So, what it is now versus what it might be in a few years’ time could be different. The variability of projects and cash flow is less of concern when you don’t have 90% of the overhead of a larger agency, so that helps a lot. After 2 years, clients are now starting to provide repeat business so new business is only making the model incredibly profitable. 

There’s no secret to success. I’m focussed on doing the best job we can for clients in the most creative and professional way possible. Working with a variety of talented creative people, and giving them room to move, is so satisfying and I feel like I’m learning more every day. When teams are wholly project based the collaboration and co-creation opportunities are immensely enjoyable. With GAME I’ve managed to keep all the bits I love about what we do and discarded the bits I don’t like. 

The Stable: What are you most proud of?

Dan Beaumont: I’m most proud of, and thankful for, the quality brands we’re already working with. Getting a very different model up and running, and proving it works takes a lot of courage, but working in indie businesses for a long time I feel like I’m seasoned and conditioned to the consequences of independent life. 

Not having a safety net provides all the motivation and tenacity you need to get things moving. The GAME model is innovative, so after a few years, I’m really proud that it’s working and importantly producing really interesting ideas for clients that are having the desired impact in the market. It’s really nice to be as experienced as I am, and yet still looking forward to what lies ahead – building the business and helping clients build powerful and valuable brands. There’s a “joyous obsession” about how we do things at GAME. 

GAME on.