Kilmer & Cruise Opens London's Smallest Agency

What do you do when your currency takes a headlong dip and your global credit rating goes down "faster than a drunken intern at an office party tripping over a box full of discarded scamps."

For most agencies this would be a red alert situation - but all advertisers live by one manta - the negative can always be spun into something good. We make gold out of straw. It's what we do. And it's what Cape Town-based agency Kilmer & Cruise decided to do this week, when a series of swift, unexpected cabinet reshuffling moves "resembling a dandy game of musical chairs" by South African President, Jacob Zuma, saw a massive drop in the value of the South African rand.

Rather than reacting with a round of redundancies, Kilmer & Cruise are expanding - in a way - opening a new London office. There's just one catch. While they can't wait to start billing in pounds, they couldn't afford much in the way of space.

Kilmer & Cruise managing director Danny de Nobrega, told Adland:

Unfortunately with a ridiculous exchange rate, 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. 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.

This latest addition to London’s advertising scene, Kilmer & Cruise London occupies a modest 0,06 m2 space, and can be found at Suite 600, 275 New North Road in the North of London.

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 a very 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.

So UK brands, if you fancy hiring a 'London-based' creative agency, but without having to foot the bill for their pretentious new 'den' in Shoreditch - war room and all - this Cape Town-based agency might just have the right compromise for you.

Any agencies or marketers who are interested in working with Kilmer & Cruise can get in touch by emailing london@kilmerandcruise.com or visiting https://kilmerandcruise.com/london/