What Agencies Can Learn From Ryan Reynolds’ Brand Investments

Ryan Reynolds’ brands Mint Mobile and Aviation American Gin have no plans to launch a creative agency review. The companies can skip the cost and the hassle—probably forever—because Reynolds is the creative director of both of their creative AOR, Maximum Effort. With the actor at the center of the relationship between brands and agency, Mint and Aviation’s relationship with Maximum Effort stands out in an environment where agencies want to get closer to their clients. To forge tighter bonds that hopefully lead to longer partnerships, some agencies co-locate with clients, send emails from their domains or even gain security access to their office buildings and proprietary data. Marketers also crave a tighter bond with their partners, as evidenced by the in-housing surge that isn’t slowing down. Creating an in-house agency puts both teams under one roof, making it easier to keep the agency aligned with the brand’s messaging and ethos. But in-housing also has downsides. Its critics say that external agencies have a leg up on their in-house counterparts because working with multiple clients can fuel creativity. Mint and Aviation get the best of both worlds. Reynolds’ stake in the brands plus his job at Maximum Effort makes it possible for both brands to create a working relationship with the creative agency that feels a lot like an in-house or fully-integrated dynamic. Plus, they can still take advantage of the agency's expertise working with other brands. The creative agency works with Peloton, Bolt, Match, Kraft Heinz, Oscar Mayer, Jack In The Box and more. “This is the kind of thing you dream of when you’re on the agency side and as a client, this is the dream,” Mint CMO Aron North told Adweek. Mint and Aviation may be the sole industry examples of how this particular structure works. Most agencies don’t have celebrity leaders, but Reynolds’ influence on all three brands is a case study in how agencies can create dream partnerships by acquiring stakes in the companies they service. Independent creative agency Mother also has a track record of client investments, and the independent brand agency Bullish doubles as an early-stage consumer investment firm. Both agencies report that the investments nurture their client relationships. Investing in the dream partnership A mutual investment in success ensures everyone is on the same team and breaks down traditional communication barriers that can stymie creative ideas. Reynolds’ brands forego formalities that, for better or worse, plague traditional agency-client relationships. North and Maximum Effort's co-founder George Dewey once hatched a so-called “marketing stunt” that led 250 customers to commit to Mint’s services for a 25-year period. It all started with a conversation between Dewey and North about a deal the New York Mets made with former player Bobby Bonilla. The Mets deferred payment on Bonilla’s contract, and instead of paying the $5.6 million it owed him up front, Bonilla agreed to receive $1.1 million every year from 2011 to 2035. Dewey proposed that Mint mimic the advantageous deal by offering consumers a 25-year phone plan. Later, Mint came up with a concept for the “Ryan on an Island” holiday greeting card that Mint Mobile sent its customers. https://twitter.com/jacktsi2/status/1553416278353686529 “Those are two instances where the traditional agency-client relationship would have created too much friction; it’s too easy to say 'no' to something like that. And that’s not how we were,” said North. The dynamic between Maximum Effort and Aviation is similar. Dewey once texted Adrian Molina, brand director at Aviation, with an odd request: Could he track down the Fyre Festival event producer Andy King? King went viral following Netflix’s documentary about the festival in which he recounts his plan to give customs officers oral sex to ensure four 18-wheeler trucks carrying Evian water reached festival goers. The impromptu text led to a spot called “Dedication,” which capitalizes on King’s notorious interview. Michael Duda, managing partner at Bullish, whose clients include Walmart and Anheuser-Busch, said the clients Bullish invests in tend to trust the agency more. Those clients understand that the agency has something to lose if the marketing campaign isn't effective. "If it's a million dollar fee, maybe we'll do it for $800,000. But for every dollar we give up, we want a chance to get $3 in return," Duda said. "When I'm a pain in the ass fighting for something, [client's think,] 'Well they're aligned with us. They're not trying to just do some sort of crazy-ass creative work.'" Embrace failure While many agencies have successfully ventured into investment territory, they risk becoming bored or uneasy if they don't see an immediate return, according to Duda. He said that Bullish risked a $100,000 investment in Peloton, eventually making a significant return fours years later. Agencies stand to lose their investment by acquiring a stake in clients, and so their leaders must embrace failure, according to Charlie McKittrick, CSO and partner at Mother, which is a prolific investor in its clients. "You have to have an atmosphere where when something goes wrong, everybody doesn't turn around and stare at you and say, 'How the fuck did that happen?'" he said. No costly reviews At a time when reviews are extremely common, it is unique for a client to commit to a long-term relationship with an agency. Mint and Aviation, by contrast, have no plans to replace Maximum Effort because of the nature of the relationship. Maximum Effort’s ongoing work with Aviation saves the brand the cost of a creative review, and Maximum Effort the cost of ever defending the business. Defending a large account can cost agencies approximately $120 thousand according to an IDComms estimate provided to Adweek earlier this year. Aviation also saves the overhead costs of expanding its two-person large internal marketing team. North led several past media reviews for Mint and its sister company Ultra. “It’s exhausting,” he said. “With a tenth of that effort, we get 100 times the yield [from Maximum Effort]. So this is about as perfect as you can get, from a chief marketing officer standpoint,” he added. Other agencies report that investing in some clients led to a better experience for all of them. Mother's employees gleaned a stronger understanding of brand business objectives by sitting on some of their boards."Our clients feel more comfortable including us in a broader array of questions," said McKittrick. "We know how to talk about margin because we understand distribution, because we think creativity and business aren't two separate things to be hidden from each other but combined together." How VaynerMedia Is Helping Mint Mobile Take Media In-House and Grow Its Team

The Future of Agencies

What Agencies Can Learn From Ryan Reynolds’ Investments in Aviation Gin and Mint Mobile

Shops with a literal stake in their clients’ success reap long-term benefits

Olivia Morley

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Olivia Morley