Image Centre Group acquires Mike O’Sullivan’s New Zealand creative shop The Collective
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Image Centre Group has announced the acquisition of New Zealand creative shop, The Collective. The business was set up by former Saatchi & Saatchi ECD, later Droga5 partner, Mike O’Sullivan two and a half years ago.
Says O’Sullivan on the deal: “We’re delighted. We’ve kept it secret for some time now so it’s nice to finally tell people. Like any fledgling business, The Collective had its’ challenges, but it’s been the most fun I’ve had in my career. Doing a start up with next to no clients, no business partner, and a handful of staff has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. It was definitely a different world to what I was used to. We had to start with a blank sheet of paper.
“The big question being how do we make a dollar? It was quite a learning curve. The good news is that if you’re creative, there are so many opportunities out there. The whole experience has reinvigorated my view of the industry. Creative people have vision. They see what others can’t see. And clients really value that. When you take out all the usual people involved in the advertising process, creatives are often the people that clients want ‘in the room’. The industry may change, but IP will always be needed.”
Says O’Sullivan on why he chose to sell the business: “There were a few reasons. Firstly we were getting too big, so we were going to have to bring in partners. But more importantly, it was an opportunity to learn new stuff. Apart from their long list of clients, the ICG partnership allows us to diversify into branded content, an area which is increasingly sought after by clients.”
The Collective has always kept a very low profile. Asked why, he said: “Once we got started, projects came and we were too busy to do the PR thing or even build our own website. In hindsight, it was probably not that smart. Since our inception, we’ve worked with over 30 brands, quite a lot of whom we still partner with.”
ICG is a big company, asked how the merger will work O’Sullivan said: “It’s an acquisition, but we won’t be merging geographically. Our staff will still work from our offices in Grey Lynn. It’s still business as usual, although I probably won’t be fishing as much.”