Episodes  · Season 3  · Episode 33  · 32 min

Marc Webbon: Strategy Creative Production

Marc Webbon, Co-Founder and CEO of Wonderhatch, on how a production company reinvented itself as a full creative agency over six years, why partnerships are the fundamental infrastructure of creative work, and what being new to the advertising industry taught him about asking questions everyone else stopped asking.

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 ·  The Business of Marketing  · S3 E33  · 32 min
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"Six years ago we were very transactional. Now we are a full-blown creative agency providing strategy, creative, and production."

The Conversation with Justin Cooke

How Wonderhatch transformed from transactional production into a full creative agency and why partnerships made it possible

Marc Webbon co-founded Wonderhatch six years ago as a production company. Today it provides strategy, creative, and production to clients including Cafe Nero, Spotify, Ford, the British Film Institute, and 888. The transformation happened through an evolution that accelerated dramatically in the most recent 18 months.

In this conversation Webbon explains why the partnership ecosystem is not a nice-to-have for a creative agency but the fundamental infrastructure of the work itself, how the relationship with Digital Cinema Media opened doors to Google and Sky, and why being new to the advertising industry is freedom from convention.

Key Takeaways

  • A production company that only does production is always downstream of strategy. Moving upstream changes the relationship, the value, and the commercial model.
  • The industry is an ecosystem made up of partners. Without partnerships there is no exchange.
  • Being new to a sector is freedom from convention. The best ideas often come from people who do not know what they are not supposed to suggest.
  • Work across variety. The diversity keeps the team engaged and produces cross-pollination that category specialists cannot access.
  • Culture fit matters as much as capability in a partnership.

Topics Covered

  1. 01 How a production company evolves into a full creative agency: strategy before execution
  2. 02 Why the advertising ecosystem is built on partnerships and what makes them work
  3. 03 The Digital Cinema Media relationship and what it unlocked for Wonderhatch
  4. 04 The value of an outsider perspective in a mature creative industry
  5. 05 Brand storytelling from an independent agency perspective

Key Exchanges

05
01 Tell us what Wonderhatch is today.

If you had asked me six years ago, I would have said a very transactional production company. We have been on quite a journey. We are now a full-blown creative agency providing strategy, creative, and production services. Clients include Cafe Nero, Spotify, Ford, the British Film Institute, and 888.

Webbon frames the transformation as gradual, with the last 18 months representing acceleration. The shift from production company to creative agency means being brought in earlier, at the strategic rather than executional stage.

02 How important are partnerships?

It is fundamental. Without partners there would be no exchange. A key partner for us is Digital Cinema Media. Fantastic cultural fit, really nice people who care for their clients. They have enabled us to work with NSBCC, Google, Sky. And we are introducing our clients to cinema.

The DCM relationship illustrates a bidirectional partnership. Wonderhatch brings creative capability. DCM opens cinema and a client network. Both sides genuinely benefit.

03 What does being new to the sector give you?

I am fairly new to this sector and very open about that. But being new means you approach problems without the assumptions that come with long experience. You ask questions that veterans stopped asking years ago. Those questions often produce the most interesting answers.

Webbon treats fresh perspective as a competitive advantage rather than a gap to fill.

04 What does the next phase look like?

We want to keep building the agency side, keep developing strategic capability, keep growing the partnerships. The goal is to be brought in earlier, to solve bigger problems. Being part of the conversation before the brief exists.

Moving upstream is the ongoing direction of travel for Wonderhatch.

05 What does the partnership with Digital Cinema Media look like?

They have enabled us to work with brands we would not have reached alone. And likewise we are getting some of our clients who have not advertised in cinema to start getting excited about it. It has been really interesting to see how those conversations have grown.

The partnership is genuinely bidirectional, with value flowing both ways.

S3 E33Season & Episode
32 minDuration
6yr Journey from transactional production company to full creative agency
50+ Technologies and partners in the Wonderhatch ecosystem

"The industry is an ecosystem made up of partners. Without them, there would be no exchange."

Hear Marc on
The Business of Marketing
Season 3 Episode 33 32 min
Apple Podcasts→ Spotify→ Marc's full profile→ Marc on LinkedIn→
SEO & AI indexed Read the full transcript 6 turns
Lightly edited for readability.

Host Tell us about Wonderhatch.

Webbon Six years ago Wonderhatch was a very transactional production company. Now we are a full-blown creative agency: strategy, creative, and production. Clients include Cafe Nero, Spotify, Ford, the BFI. Real variety.

Host How important are partnerships?

Webbon Fundamental. Without partners there would be no exchange. Our key partner is Digital Cinema Media. Fantastic cultural fit. They have enabled us to work with Google and Sky. We are introducing our clients to cinema. Everyone wins.

Host What advantage does being new to the sector give?

Webbon You approach problems without assumptions. You ask questions veterans stopped asking years ago. Those often produce the most interesting answers. I am very open about being fairly new to this sector. I see it as freedom.