“With an exchange rate like that and the opportunity to bill in British Pounds we decided to open a London office,” says the agency’s managing director, Danny de Nobrega. True to the agency’s agile nature, they opened their London office within a few days on Wednesday the 16th of December.
He continues; “Unfortunately with a ridiculous exchange rate like that we could only afford a small, but trendy space the size of a PO Box. Well, it’s actually a PO Box to be exact.” The latest addition to London’s advertising scene, Kilmer & Cruise London occupies a modest 0,06 m2 space at Suite 600, 275 New North Road in the North of London.
“We realise that space is a concern, but it allows us to save on things such as desks, chairs and bulky printers whose effect on the creative process is negligible,” says De Nobrega.
Commenting on the competitiveness of the London advertising scene, the agency’s creative director, Francois Wessels muses; “We see this more as an opportunity to collaborate with London agencies than directly compete with them. Having access to our world-class creative talent at an attractive rate will surely appeal to both UK agencies and brands. Although our London office will have much of the same agency culture, all output will take place in the Cape Town studio. Our agency was founded on the ethos of agility, creativity and collaboration and this gives us an ideal opportunity to put all three at play.”
De Nobrega further mentions that they’ve not discussed any of this with their current clients but feels that those with global reach stand to benefit from the new London office; “Although we’ll remain headquartered in Cape Town and give our full commitment to growing the London office, we’re already looking at PO Boxes in New York, Paris and Shanghai,” concludes De Nobrega.