16 Years of Partisan.

Today, Partisan Advertising turns 16.

Sixteen years.

When we started Partisan back in 2010, I don't think we could have imagined quite where the next 16 years would take us. There was no grand five-year plan. No enormous office. No army of account managers. Just a belief that there was another way of running an advertising agency. One where the people who won the business were the same people who did the work. One where clients could actually talk to the people doing the thinking.

And, most importantly, one where good ideas weren't just about making something look good. They had to make a difference.

Sixteen years later, that philosophy is still at the heart of Partisan.

Over 16 years, a lot of people have passed through Partisan. Some stayed for years. Others stayed for shorter periods. Some were employees, some freelancers, some contractors, and some became part of the extended Partisan family.

And every one of them left something behind.

Kei Serrano was an important part of the team during a period when social media and digital marketing were becoming increasingly important to our clients. Kei worked across projects including TR Group, PBT, Botany Town Centre, Auckland Eye and TERRA, as well as contributing her own thinking to the Partisan blog.

Soo Park was another important member of the team, working across some of our biggest accounts, including TR Group, PBT and Botany Town Centre.

Pamela Du Toit and Mike Isle also played significant roles across some of the agency's major projects.

And, of course, there was Ash, who has been there from the beginning.

The thing about working in a small agency is that everybody leaves their fingerprints on the work. Ideas get challenged. Arguments get had. Someone comes up with something at 4.30 on a Friday afternoon that turns out to be the best idea of the week. Someone else looks at it and says, "No way." And occasionally, the "no way" turns into the campaign. That's advertising.

Over the years we've had the privilege of working with some extraordinary businesses.

TR Group. PBT. Bridgestone. CRC. AMP Capital. Elanco. LG Electronics. Voyager. Renault. Botany Town Centre. Auckland Eye. Virbac Animal Health. Excellence Pet Food. TERRA.

And many others. Some relationships lasted for years. Some started with a single advertisement. Some began with a problem that seemed almost impossible to solve. And some grew into partnerships where we became involved in almost every aspect of how the brand communicated.

TR Group is a good example.

We started working with them in 2014, when they had grown substantially but had never really had a formal marketing strategy. Over the following years, we worked across strategy, branding, advertising, television, digital, social, media, signage and marketing — even helping launch TR Group Australia after the company's acquisition of Semi Skel Hire.

The work generated a 150% increase in lease sales in 12 months.

But the number isn't really what I remember most. I remember getting to know the business. Understanding what made it different. Finding the idea that could express that difference. And then watching that idea become part of the business itself.

That's the bit that makes advertising worthwhile.

One of the things we've learned over the years is that you don't necessarily need a huge budget to make an impact. You need a good idea. For Virbac Animal Health, we were launching PenClox 1200 into a competitive agricultural market where much of the advertising looked remarkably similar. So rather than doing what everyone else was doing, we looked for a different way in. The product went on to sell 406% over forecast in less than two months.

With Excellence Pet Food, the challenge was different again. The product was excellent. The challenge was getting consumers to think differently about where they bought their pet food. The resulting campaign helped deliver a 21% increase in sales in just two months.

These are the sorts of results that remind us why we do this. Creativity isn't decoration. It should have a job to do.

Then there were the big ones

Some projects were simply enormous.

Our work with Botany Town Centre involved more than 90 projects over two years.

Fashion shows.

Christmas.

Chinese New Year.

School holidays.

Community events.

Digital campaigns.

Photography.

Video.

Advertising.

And a major redevelopment.

It was the sort of account where there was always something happening.

And that's another thing we've loved about Partisan.

The variety.

One day we're thinking about heavy trucks. The next we're selling pet food. Then we're launching a television. Then we're working on healthcare. Then we're trying to explain something incredibly complicated in a way that somebody will understand in three seconds. It's impossible to get bored.

When Partisan started on October 1st 2010, the advertising industry looked very different.

Facebook was still relatively new.

Instagram didn't exist; it only launched on the 6th of October that same year. TikTok certainly wasn't a thing. Digital advertising was growing rapidly, but traditional media still dominated much of the conversation. Since then we've watched the industry transform. We've moved from print and television to social, search, digital, mobile, content, data and now artificial intelligence. We've designed websites, built brands, created campaigns, produced videos, managed media, written social posts and worked on just about every type of communication you can imagine. But while the tools have changed, something hasn't.

People still respond to ideas.

They still notice what's different. They still remember things that make them laugh, think or feel something. And businesses still need communication that delivers results.

Have we got everything right?

Absolutely not. We've made mistakes. We've backed ideas that didn't work. We've underestimated things. We've probably overcomplicated things occasionally. We've learnt that clients don't always want what you think they want. And we've learnt that sometimes the best thing an agency can do is listen.

But we've also learnt that running a small agency gives you something pretty special. You get to know your clients. You get to understand their businesses. You get to see the results of your work. And you get to build relationships that go well beyond a campaign.

So, 16 years on...

Looking back, I'm incredibly proud of what Partisan has become.

Not because we've worked with a particular list of brands.

Not because we've produced a particular number of campaigns.

Not because we completed over 3,000 jobs for TR Group.

And not because everything we've done has been perfect.

I'm proud because we're still here.

Still independent.

Still small.

Still hands-on.

Still arguing about ideas.

Still trying to find the thing that makes a business different.

And still trying to turn that difference into something people will notice.

Most of all, I'm grateful.

To the people who have worked here. To the freelancers, suppliers and production people who've helped bring ideas to life. To the clients who've trusted us with their businesses. To the people who've challenged us. To the people who've encouraged us. And to everyone who has contributed, in big ways or small, to the Partisan story.

Because ultimately, Partisan isn't a building, a logo or a website.

It's the people. It's the relationships. It's the ideas. It's the work. And it's everything that happens between those things.

Sixteen years ago, Partisan started with an idea.

Sixteen years later, we're still chasing them.

Happy 16th birthday, Partisan.

Here's to the next idea.