New beginnings

Our Managing Director, Tim Antric, reflects on the big shifts of 2021, and celebrates the agency's past and future...

2021 was a year of transformation for GSL and our industry. I’m excited to be moving into the position of Managing Director as we start a new year.

The last two years have seen a renaissance in social marketing - an area we’ve led the field in for many years. A pleasing reversal of the decline I described in my PhD thesis. This revival has brought new opportunities to use theory, creativity and strategy to reshape our nation and its communities. We’ve created some exciting new campaigns within a wider industry landscape of change, and our commercial work has gone from strength to strength.

Creative Duo, Cam Frecklington and Matt Eastwood.

Over the summer, we’ve launched innovative creative campaigns for a number of clients, with more under development. Our creative team of Matt Eastwood and Cameron Frecklington really hit the ground running when they joined us at the end of lockdown last year. It’s been a delight to add them, as well as Elle Namana, Lucy Kay and Ashlee Hall to the team.  

Our latest campaign for Fisheries NZ.

Rethinking GSL 

When Sigrun Grice and Jodi Macauley invited me to get involved in rethinking GSL, I had no idea how that would evolve. Within a few months, I could see the possibilities unfolding. 

The opportunity to build an agency focused on enabling people to thrive, to be the best that they can be – employees, partners, clients, audiences – to be part of the flourishing of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Sigrun will be sorely missed at GSL, as was former Managing Director, Leigh Graham, but change is a constant in our industry. The team has stepped up to seize new opportunities and, as we say at GSL, Change Starts Here.

One of my favourite whakataukī speaks of the importance of looking back in order to move forward: Titiro Whakamuri, Kōkiri Whakamua. Professor David McKie, Associate Professor Margalit Toledano and I used this as the starting point in our article on the evolution of social marketing in Aotearoa.

Valuing ourselves and our clients

Our approach builds on our values and our focus on teamwork. As a team, we came together last year to hone in on how we can Discover ›› Dream ›› Design ›› Deliver our future – how to use the same tools we use with our clients on ourselves. 

As a result of our discussions, we developed a set of core values as a team. We value everyone for who they are, and we respect people for what they bring to the team. We are stronger together, and we collaborate with one another at every opportunity. We take an innovative and creative approach to every challenge. We are passionate about what we do, and we have fun in our work. And we’re growth-focused, both as an agency and as individuals; we want to be the best that we can be.

We recognise that each of us has a role to play in being the best agency, the best marketers, the best change makers. Mā pango mā whero, ka oti te mahi (“With red and black, the work will be done,” which refers to the importance of working together to achieve a common goal.)

As part of our self-examination, we undertook a brand cause workshop amongst ourselves to unpack some of the things that matter to us. Work-life balance stood out as a key priority, so we want our team to have the time to spend with their friends, whānau and their passions. We acknowledged that we’re big-picture thinkers, with strategy ingrained in our DNA. We strive to be positive, with a strong emphasis on relationships and bringing the best of who we are to our client and associate relationships. We’re bold, always pushing into new areas, and we try to have fun –together as a team and with our clients and associates.

Being bicultural and multicultural 

As a team, we’re a multicultural group operating within a bicultural nation. Te Tiriti o Waitangi shapes much of the work we do, particularly with our government and non-profit clients. However, we’re also seeing commercial clients recognising the impact of Te Tiriti on our nation. I’ll come back to the importance of diversity, and the inclusion of tangata Māori, in a future post. 

You’ll find our client solutions on our website. Delivering a custom integrated approach means weaving together these different solutions in a unique way every time. And of course, we still have our GSL Media, GSL Digital and The Insight Lab ready to deliver standalone solutions. 

Throughout our discussions, change has been central to who we are as a group. Our work is about change – changing behaviours, changing awareness, changing practices. 

We're a strongly people-focused agency that contributes to a thriving Aotearoa New Zealand. We've assembled a team of the best marketing people and resources to deliver results that matter to our clients. We’re a team of passionate and creative problem solvers and change makers, bringing together the best people and resources to deliver marketing and behaviour change that matters.

Connect with me on LinkedIn to find out more about how GSL can help you and your team. 

Tim Antric PhD FCIM FRSPH MRSNZ

Tangata Tiriti | Tauiwi | Tyke | He/Him/Ia 

Tim is a creative and passionate leader with extensive experience within government, non-profit and commercial marketing. He leads our client solutions, overseeing research and insights, creative and design, cultural and stakeholder engagement, media and digital, and account service. Tim has worked in traditional and digital agencies in Aotearoa and overseas.