Andrew Rae, former managing director of the Institute of Promotional Marketing, has launched a promotions and experience agency called Another Way, with the confidence that there will be a post-Covid boom in brand experience.
Devised last year during the coronavirus pandemic, Another Way intends to help brands looking for "a more long-term way, more meaningful way and purposeful way to connect with their consumers", Rae told Campaign.
"It had become apparent that brands were really starting to look to capitalise on this return to activity," he said.
"There was an opportunity to be one of the agencies which has been born out of Covid, and has cut its teeth in challenging times and can come out the other side a little bit more prepared perhaps than agencies in the past."
The agency's three key pillars of business will be promotions and prize management, brand experiences and sales incentives. The shop intends to utilitise its lists of contacts and also pitch for business.
In the next few months, the independent agency will be taking on a handful of new starters but also intends to engage with a roster of freelance support. The first positions to be filled will be fulfilment manager and promotions manager who will report to Rae.
"I feel it's a really exciting and engaging time to start a business because people are doing things differently," Rae added. "People want different things, they're challenging brands and agencies more. We have to go beyond a random on-pack campaign or simple bits of activation."
Before joining the IPM in 2020 Rae was at travel incentive and prize agency The Black Tomato Agency for over five years, exiting as head of promotions. He also worked at Momentum Worldwide for two years.
Another Way is initially being operated through remote working but, in the future, plans to obtain permanent office space in the London Bridge area, and allow for flexible working.
Rae said: "The format that we are looking at may involve two days in the office and three days out. In our creative industry, ideas are formed from sitting around tables and spitballing ideas, discussing options. You do need to have that face-to-face interaction even if it's one day a week.
"There is flexibility in working from home and we definitely want to be answering that call as much as possible, while also recognising the need for people to be engaging in person."
A partnership with What3words will see the agency adopt the company's word-specific location technology to inform guests of locations and guide them to an exact spot for brand experiences. What3words recently received investment from ITV and is utilised by emergency control rooms and brands including AA and Addison Lee.