…and on it builds its culture, creative and presentation skills, a cookbook, an exhibition and a charity campaign.

“It’s funny what drives the culture of a business and it’s not always what you expect.” [Jules Hall, managing partner, The Hallway]

“Such is the way with Cake Club, a somewhat tongue-in-cheek weekly ritual we initiated three years ago.”

Jules Hall is right. The culture of a creative business can be a very quirky thing – and may even become its calling card. Moreover, without a company culture a creative business is just a bunch of people who go to the same place to work every day.

So every week, a different Hallwinian bakes a cake and then pitches it to the rest of the agency. The (most) quirky part is that it has to link to the life or work of 60s French filmmaker, Jacques Tati. The Cake Club has grown into a lot more than a get together (and a way to finesse The Hallway’s presentation skills). It has birthed a cookbook, launched an exhibition and created a charity campaign. The Stable wanted to know more.

TS: How important is it to have a corporate culture?

Jules Hall: “I banned the word ‘culture’ a few years ago. It is so cliched to talkabout building culture – but the fact is, whatever you choose to call it, it is bloody important. But, and this is the really, really important part – it’s rarely something you can contrive or control.  Whoever thought Cake Club would become what it has? I have to pinch myself every time I walk into Brenda May gallery and see the work hanging, or when I pick up a copy of the cookbook. (Cake Club even became the name for the agency band that won Battle of the Ad Bands!)

TS: What’s yours? 

JH: I¹ve taken to describing our environment as creative and entrepreneurial. It’s that combination that has enabled us to create such a varied portfolio of work – and so many non-traditional / non-advertising pieces of work (think ZUJI Beans, Mizone Zone Lab,The Worlds Smallest Multinational for Servcorp, Sunshine Coast Smartphone Code of Conduct, Dream Racer etc).

What’s in our culture for Hallwinians?  Simple. Personal fulfilment.

What’s in it for clients? Responses to brief that less entrepreneurial businesses might not be able to make happen for the budgets available.

TS: Where did the idea for Cake Club come from?

JH: Back when we were a tiny agency of 8 people, Dave Lidster, head of art, turned up one Monday armed with a cake and a poster. The poster announced the launch of Cake Club. And the cake was its first offering. It has been a Monday ritual ever since.

TS: Why the link to Jacques Tati?

 JH: This part is a little tongue-in-cheek. Everyone has experienced the passions that TV directors so admirably have when they share their treatments, and they do love to be able to draw on occasionally somewhat obscure references for their ideas. Jacques Tati seemed to crop up a bit. So in an homage to wonderful obscurity we made Jacques Tati the deity of Cake Club.

TS: Best pitches?  Best cakes?

JH: So many great cakes. But best pitches? One would have to be a cake that told the entire life story of Jacques Tati.  It went on and on.  But to call out just one doesn¹t really do justice to everyone else¹s amazing efforts.

TS: When and how was the Book of Cake added?

JH: Last year we had an agency offsite. The agency had doubled in size overthe past 12 months and we wanted to make sure we didn’t lose touch with the magic culture we had. The whole team spent time reflecting on what made our culture so special. Cake Club came out top of the list. So, aside from vowing to keep it going forever, we talked about ways we could celebrate Cake Club.

Someone put forward the suggestion that we make it into a cookbook. We all agreed that was a brilliant idea. It took a while to get from the idea of a cookbook to actually creating it. Making any kind of book is a massive time commitment. And we didn’t have a lot of spare time – the agency was in a continuing growth phase and we were flat chat servicing our clients.

So we called a council of (Cake Club) war. The cookbook had to be made. Agreed.  But how and by whom?

Then we did what you should never do when you are trying to create something magic – we opened it up to everyone. And in this instance that turned out to be the masterstroke.

Anyone who could draw or paint was given illustration duties. Others were assigned the job of collating the many and varied recipes, and choosing a shortlist to go in the book. The rest of us had to craft the copy style and design concept for the final production.

Suddenly we were in sight of the finish line. We launched the cookbook at Christmas, sending a copy to all of our clients.

TS: What has The Hallway gained from it?

JH: Probably a few extra kgs.  But more importantly plenty of laughs and a lovely moment each week where we all convene and take a few minutes to enjoy a piece of cake.

PS: A bunch of kids in need is also going to gain from it. Early this year, The Book of Cake landed in the hands of art curator, Akky van Ogtrop, who contacted the agency and asked it to exhibit the illustrations. Now The Book of Cake is an art exhibition con display at Brenda May Gallery in Danks St, Waterloo, Sydney.

All proceeds from the exhibition are being donated to The Girls and Boys Brigade in Surry Hills.