CB Spotlight on Richard Ralphsmith, co-founder/ ECD, DPR&Co: “We’re not answerable to anyone except our people, our clients + the Lord above”

Campaign Brief recently caught up with Richard Ralphsmith, co-founder and ECD of independent agency DPR&Co. Ralphsmith, who’s career spans over 30 years, including stints at Ogilvy, CHEP, M&C Saatchi Sydney, London and New York, and Batey in Singapore and former MADC president, chats with CB about the agency’s people culture, The New Truth and the value of independence.

 

A lot of DPR&Co’s people stick around, what makes DPR&Co a place staff don’t want to leave?

We care more about our people culture than any other agency I know. We hire slowly and carefully. We think hard about our existing team members when hiring new ones. I love coming in here every day, in very large part because I love working with our people.

Another reason our people stay with us is our client mix. They are great businesses and great people. People sometimes ask us what our ideal client is. We never say “we want a beer brand/car brand/telco”. We just want to work with good people who respect us as partners, and whose businesses we believe in.

The occasional perk goes down well, too. Our team get their birthdays off, cook lunch for each other and we offer great incentives for referring people and clients.

What do you look for when recruiting new talent?

Intelligence is critical. Our clients respect our team members because they provide thoughtful solutions.

We highly value our culture but we also look for people that will stretch and challenge us.

We look for people who will care deeply about their colleagues.

DPR&Co has its own unique strategic and creative process, The New Truth. Can you tell us a bit more about it and how it serves clients?

The New Truth is our strongest differentiator. Clients who go through this process with us become ambassadors for it. It achieves two things that are critical to them:

1. It’s a vehicle that brings the whole business leadership on the journey of brand revitalisation

2. It helps those people feel more comfortable with bold creative solutions

DPR&Co is internationally informed and networked through the global AMIN Worldwide network of over 60 independent creative and digital agencies. What does that mean for your people and your clients?

The ownership structure of the global advertising sector is highly concentrated. A small number of holding companies control most agency brands. The culture of these holding companies infects the culture of the local agencies. We are free from that.

Being part of AMIN gives us all the benefits of being globally connected and aligned (you don’t need me to spell those out to you) while allowing us to define our own culture.

What do you enjoy the most about being independent?

We’re not answerable to anyone except our people, our clients and the Lord above.

What does a typical day at the DPR&Co office look like?

I’m going to ask our newest team member, Agency Producer Gemma Louise Murphy, to answer that one.

“The day starts with a morning kick off meeting where we run through our day’s priorities and project updates to ensure we have alignment across the team. This is followed by client meetings where we present progress on our projects, while further aiming to engage with clients on new opportunities. Our other focus of the day is working on concept development and ideation and then implementing these creative briefs with our internal design team and external suppliers, all with the aim of achieving our project deadlines. And not to mention everyone’s highlight of the day, which is a desk visit for a pat or two from our office dog, Rudy!”

Looking ahead, what are your goals and ambitions for the agency over the next five years?

Growth in our client base. Growth in our offering. Growth opportunities for our people. We’re always on the lookout for the members of the ‘Co who could take over from the D, P and R.

DPR&Co’s Top 5 campaigns from this year: