Ryan O'Connell, former Chief Strategy Officer at Ogilvy, and John Marshall, former General Manager at Special New Zealand, are launching a new independent, trans-Tasman creative agency called jnr. today.

The pair said the agency's name, jnr., is inspired by the energy, fresh thinking and curiosity of juniors. The approach, meanwhile, is powered by a proprietary 'guide' that aims to deliver effectiveness through creativity. The agency was born out of the reality that the industry has become overwhelmed and paralysed by the avalanche of academic theories, marketing sciences, and new technologies.

The duo's commitment to 'smart, but simple' has amassed over 50 Effies for their clients, including a Global Grand Effie for KFC Australia, and a Grand Prix Effie for Kiwibank.

During his time at Special, Marshall helped the independent agency win Effies’ Global Independent Effective Agency of the Year, Campaign’s Global Agency of the Year, and New Zealand Effies’ Most Effective Agency of the Year. Marshall also helped Special expand, leading the opening of their Wellington office, along with their te ao Māori capability unit, Special Aotea.

O’Connell spent the last 11 years at Ogilvy Australia, and under his strategic leadership, Ogilvy Sydney was recognised as the 2nd most effective agency in the world in 2022, and twice named agency of the year at the APAC Effies. O’Connell helped KFC Australia win Brand of the Year at the APAC Effies, and Advertiser of the Year at the Australian Effies. O’Connell was also recognised as the Strategist of the Year for AU NZ three years running in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

"JM and I have talked every single day for 10 years. It’s usually about stuff like 'Who is the best halfback of all time?' or 'Whose dog is cuter?' (it’s mine, by the way), but the number one topic has always been starting our own agency. However, it didn’t really become a serious chat until we felt like we had a unique offering," O'Connell said.

"We think we have that with jnr. We’ve always believed creativity and effectiveness are intrinsically linked, and should never be separated. Not even by words. So we created new word: creativeffectiveness. But it’s more than just wanky made-up word, it’s a simple – but smart - guide that we’ve developed to produce the most effective work for our client partners. And it’s a guide that puts our money where our mouth is too. Our client’s success is literally our success."

Marshall said the duo have always tried to make the complex, simple. "Mainly because you have to keep things simple for poor old Ryano, or the little guy gets a bit lost," he joked.

"But it’s also led to the best and most effective work we’ve done with our client partners. So that was the driving force behind jnr. - keep it simple, keep it creative, keep it effective. And our proprietary creativeffectiveness guide ensures we do just that. Along with our amazing Creative Partners across the Tasman, we think jnr. offers something a little different to all of the other incredible agencies across Australia and New Zealand."

jnr. will be a full service creative agency across both New Zealand and Australia.