FOUNDED 2018
LOCATION
CLERKENWELL,
LONDON; AND
WORLDWIDE
STAFF 181 UK,
750 GLOBALLY
NEW HIRES 6501
Winning Best of Show at the Brand
Impact Awards for the second year
running with its BBC Two rebrand –
which also scooped a D&AD Yellow
Pencil earlier this year – Superunion
has gone from strength to strength
since five WPP Group agencies
joined forces in early 2018.
Having shot straight into 2018’s
UK Studio Rankings in sixth place,
a year later it was a resounding
landslide victory for the 700-strong
global branding powerhouse with a
boutique studio attitude...How does it feel to top this year’s
list, as voted by your industry peers?
Stuart Radford Amazing! We’re
absolutely delighted. A little surprised,
but it’s wonderful to get this level of
recognition from our peers, especially
as we’re just in our second year. It’s
fantastic and it means a lot to us – we
all feel very proud. A massive thanks
to everyone who voted for us!
Greg Quinton Wow, this is really
special for us all for two reasons.
First, because we just didn’t expectanything like this so soon as a ‘new’
agency. It’s been less than two years
since we launched and to be honest
it’s the first year where our work
reflects Superunion. Second, it’s
amazing to think what we’re doing
appears to be clicking and that our
peers appear to like the new work.
It’s been a roller coaster in the pitch
black, so any recognition is a ray of
light in the tunnel! Thanks peers!How do you balance the craft and
attention to detail of a boutique
studio, with the scale of a giant
global operation?
SR From a London point of view,
I think there are a few things that help
us achieve this. Creative ambition- whether we’re working with big
international clients or small local
start-ups, we’re committed to doing
great work. For us, that starts with
developing an original and single-
minded idea, then we refine and craft
the job to within an inch of its life.
We have a big creative team, but
it consists of a series of small teams.
These are important for the quality
of the work: they ensure creative
ownership and are great from a
mentoring perspective. The creative
directors know their designers and
foster trust and pride in their work.
GQ We like to think of ourselves as
the world’s largest boutique. But it’s
simply asking everyone to focus on
the most important thing: the work.
Focus on what our clients need and
create whatever helps their ambitions.
It’s not about us, it’s about them, but
hopefully everyone will have fun
while producing the best work of
their career. The way we see it, scale
isn’t a hindrance, it’s an opportunity.Now you’ve had some time to
bed in following the creation of
Superunion, what’s the biggest
strength of the model you have?
Any unforeseen challenges?
SR Launching a new agency of this
scale doesn’t come without its fair
share of challenges. But we’ve spent
the past 18 months focusing on our
clients and the work. We hope that ifSuperunion
http://www.superunion.com
V 5Below: Superunion’s
work for BBC Two;
opposite page, LSO
2019/20 and ESL.NOVEMBER 2019