Abitofbackgroundonallofyou,
hometown,education,family,
interests/hobbies?
Jamie:Sydneybornandbred,Newington
College, Macquarie University. I’d
describemyselfasbrandplanner,entre-
preneur,dad,husband,coach,counsel-
lor,surfer,skier,fisherman,philosopher,
buddingmusician.LiveinNorthBondi
withmyfirstandonlywifeSkye,three
school-agekids,onecat,onedog.
Rob:I’mfromAdelaide, Campbelltown
HighSA,Guitarist.
Paul:GrewupinMarlowontheThames
notfarfromLondon,anareafamousfor
theHenleyRegattaandproducingsome
qualityrugbytalent,andI havealways
lovedthegame.
I readEnglishliteratureatLondon
University,wasa graduatetraineeat
Ogilvy& MatherLondonandin 1987 was
exportedtoOgilvySydneyheadingup
theAmericanExpressbusiness.
In 1989 I becameManagingDirector
ofDMB&BWeekes,MorrisOsborneand
in 1995 startedBWMwithJamie.
Howlonghaveeachofyoubeenin
theindustry?
Rob,PaulandJamie: 35 yearseach.
Whydidyougetintoit?Wereyou
goingtodoanythingdifferent?
Jamie:Perfectbalanceofcreativityand
entrepreneurialismsuitedmyskillsand
passions.Couldhavebeena journo,
reallywantedto bea musicianbut
couldn’t do the practice required.
Whatstartedasavisiontobuildatruly
integratedpartnership,basedongrowing
brandswithbigideasatthecentre,hasnow
becomeoneofAustralia’smostenduring
creativeshops.Fromhumblebeginnings
tobeingpartoftheDentsuAegisNetwork,
BWMDentsufoundersRobBelgiovane,
PaulWilliamsandJamieMackaytakeus
throughtheirlives,buildinganagency,
andtacklingchange,allwhilemanaging
to remaining friends throughout.
JOSH MCDONNELLWORDS BYRob:Gotintothebusinessbecauseit seemedlikea good blend of my
creativeinterestsatschool,art,musicandEnglish.Whendidyouallmeetandwhat’sthestorybehindhowitallstarted?
Jamie:PaulandI werebestmates,wesharedanoldGreekfishingboat
togetheronPittwater,hewasatOgilvyI wasatMcCann.It wasonthat
boatweconspiredtogoit aloneandsobeganWilliamsMackay.Eighteen
monthsinwe’dbuiltit toa pointwhereweneededa creativepartner.
Belgowasa younghighly-awardedcreativewho’dalreadystartedone
agencyinhis20s.Welikedhisthirstfornewbusinessandhelikedthat
wehadsomebusiness,andsoBWMwasborn.It wasMay 1996 andwe
neverlookedbackfromthatpoint.Wetripledthesizeinsixmonths.Doyoueachbringsomethingdifferenttothetable?
Rob,PaulandJamie:Peoplesaythethreeofusareeachverydifferent
butthereis definitelysomethingmagicalthathappenswhenweareall
togetherandfiring.It’sa rareenergy.Weeachcomeatproblemsfroma
differentanglewhichis howa goodplanner,suit and creative team should
work;insight,commerceandlateralleaps.WheredidtheideaforBWMcomefromandwhatwerethe
initialchallenges?
Rob,PaulandJamie:BWMwasa visiontobuilda trulyintegratedpartner-
shipbasedongrowingbrandswithbigideasatthecentre.We’vealways
believedbrandsandcreativityaremoreinf luentialandvaluablethanjust
marketingandcomms.Thisis whysomeofourmostsuccessfulworkand
partnershipshavebeenatCEOandboardlevel.Weoftensayif wehadany
ideahowhardit wasgoingtobetoruna businessbeforewestartedwemay
notof hadtheguts.Thechallengesandbarriersarewaygreaterthanyouever
thinkandit'snotaboutwinningnewbusinessormanagingclients,weall
knowhowtodothat,it'salltheotherareas;HR,legal,financial,etc.thatyou
arejustnottrainedinwhenworkingfora bigcorporate.Asa business owner
youhavetowearmanyhatsaswellasbegoodatyourcoreskill.Whoweresomeofyoufirstclientsandhowdidyoubreakinto
themarket?
Rob,PaulandJamie:EarlyclientswereAlfaRomeo,FreedomFurniture,
O'BrienGlass,AbbottPharmaceuticals,AussieHomeLoans.
Weeachhada goodnetwork,we hustled hard every day and were
ferociouslycompetitivepitchers.You’veallworkedtogetherforsolong,whathavebeenthe
benefitsandhowhaveyoumaintainedastrongpartnership?
Rob,PaulandJamie:Thebenefitis thatwelearneverythingbya factor
ofthree.Thatmeanstodaywearea leadershipteamwithcollectively 69
yearsofexperience.That’sa uniqueandpowerfulforceunlikeanyother.
Theotherimportantbitis westillhavefunjusthangingouttogether,
andalwaysfindtimetohavea beerandlaughalongtheway.
OurprimaryfocushasalwaysbeenROIforourclients;we’venever
lostsightofthat.IncreasingROIexponentially through creating unique
advertisingorbrandexperiencesis fun.Canyoueachdescribeoneofthebiggestachievementsyou’ve
hadduringyoutime?
Jamie:Meetingsomanygreatpeopleanddevelopingclosefriendships,
earninga greatlivingdoingsomethingI love,showingmykidsfirst-hand
thathardworkandcreativitycanbuildindependence,buildingour
Melbourneoffice,thethreeofusannouncingtotheteamthatwe’dbought
backfromPhoton,winningAdNewsCreativeNetwork of the Year 2000, and
winningthelongtermEffieforBigPond.Rob:TheGreatWall of China campaign for BigPond; textbook long-
term success.