Update from our New York office!

It’s been two years since Augusto dropped anchor in New York, and we’ve been electrified by the fast pace of life, the diversity of humanity, and the access to a fountain of creative opportunity.

“The best part has been building relationships with some really inspirational and significant people in this city,” said Leon Kirkbeck, co-owner, as he looked out at the Statue of Liberty from his office window. (Seriously). “It just always amazes me how many unusual and impressive people you can meet in day-to-day life that you’d never meet in New Zealand, from people who work at the UN to up-and-coming musicians to general managers of major league sports teams. It’s inspirational.”

If you know Augusto, you know we’re here to play, and what better place than NYC to get amongst some of the best sports in the world? Top of the list is our work with the NBA team, the Brooklyn Nets, creating some impactful sponsorship content. We’ve also had the pleasure of doing a massive deep dive into the New York Red Bull’s brand, helping the MLS soccer team develop its 2020 and Beyond campaign slogan and visual identity, as well as a banger of a manifesto video that showcases the intense connection between the Redbulls and their fans. Check it out: Red Runs Deep.

“The amount of collaborations and opportunities for some really special work at our fingertips is amazing,” continued Leon, now shifting his gaze to the Freedom Tower. “And the best part is we get to send it back to be done by our world class team in New Zealand. Not only is it faster and more cost-effective to have our team back home work on it, but it’s also got that extra spark. You send an NBA project back, and the team there is super jazzed, probably a lot more than the average New York creative would be.”

As we juggle these great new opportunities, we’re continuing to work with two of our favourite global clients, AIG and adidas, in the sports sponsorship space. Also, keep your eyes open for the upcoming launch of our own sports coaching app, Coachmate, which puts an assistant into the pockets of time-poor volunteer coaches.

Sports aside, we’ve been jumping right into heaps of new opportunities that we find bubbling in this melting pot, from putting iconic New York stars like Sarah Jessica Parker in the limelight for a wine campaign, to strutting our stuff with H&M, to helping a new social enterprise launch in the baby care sector. We’ve even had the good fortune to get involved in some local and global cause marketing: We’ve worked with Forum for the Future to increase the offerings of alternative protein, fresh fruit, and vegetables into U.S. school lunches, and we partnered with NZ visual artist Joseph Michael to project a 30-minute installation called ‘Voices For The Future’ onto New York’s UN buildings, transforming the facades into icebergs, ahead of the UN’s Climate Action Summit.

Fear not. It hasn’t all been marketing strategy and social media campaigns. We’ve also been developing our entertainment arm here in New York, focusing on a couple of exciting new documentaries, a handful of podcasts and TV series. Stay tuned.

Oh! And did we mention that Leon has been mucking around with Rhys Darby in the middle of the Nevada desert, in a partnership with Spotify to explore extra-terrestrial life? (Of course!)

Yes, Augusto has been keeping busy, but maybe we’ve already become true New Yorkers because we thrive in the hustle.

So hit us up, as they say. This city never sleeps. Neither does Augusto.