Did you know king blogger, bow-tie aficionado and public speaker extraordinaire Rory Sutherland was once quoted as saying: “If start-ups choose not to be named after a person, it is almost an admission that you are not a top-league player.”
Hmm, not too sure Amanda Phillips and Chris Ward would agree with that sentiment, having shunned painting their names above the door when launching their own agency, An Abundance. After all, both have been “top-league players” in their time. Amanda created the so-called Proximity London “muffia”, where women ruled with a rod of iron at the AMV agency, while Ward also had his moments at Personal.
Mind you, I am left wondering what on earth they were thinking of. An Abundance of what, exactly? An Abundance of egos maybe? Or even An Abundance of freelancers, as they still haven’t hired any staff. One wag bemoaned the fact that there are already An Abundance of DM agencies, so why are they bothering.
Maybe they simply couldn’t agree on whose name should go first. To be fair Phillips Ward sounds like something you might get at your local hospital, while Ward Phillips already exists – it is the title of a series of very highbrow lectures. Thing is, I know plenty of people who have been on the end of one of Chris Ward’s lectures, although no-one ever mentioned them being particularly highbrow.
But An Abundance does join a very long list of DM agencies with strange names. Who could forget Red Mullet, the agency set up by former EHS founder David Evans? Then there was Yellowhammer, Mustard, Black Cat, Blue and The Yellow Submarine. Well, I say who could forget – in fact most people have forgotten, as they are no longer with us. Strange that.
Still, I wish them all the best; it’s a tough world out there for any new business and as I now work for a site called DecisionMarketing – what the hell does that mean? – I suppose people in glass houses and all that (too right, Ed).
All of which does beg the question: when will we see the launch of Sutherland & Friends? Call me a cynic, but I reckon it could be a while…
