Meet our friends…Spruik

‘Meet our Friends’ series is where we take a moment to celebrate and share a little about the diverse studios who make up our DA Friends. Today we spoke to our friends, Spruik, to learn more about their studio team, culture, and design philosophy.

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Where are you based and what shape does the Spruik team take?

Spruik is an Independent creative agency based on the North Shore on Orbit Drive – Mairangi Bay is our closest beach.

We are a small (and mighty), passionate team of strategists and creatives from far and wide.

The whole team is in the office everyday as we believe that collaboration and culture are key for a healthy studio dynamic. We have a ‘bring yourself to work’ policy, which means people can truly be themselves and are supported by the wider team. We like to think of ourselves as a band, individually we’re good, but collectively we’re a powerhouse.

Gif of the design assets Spruik created for Canon.

Gif of design assets Spruik created for Canon.

Can you share with us what a typical day at your studio looks like?

Most of the team arrive at Spruik around 8am. The coffee machine then gets a swift wake-up call and we start the days with a WIP, once a week it’s with the full team and the rest of the week it’s a quick check in to see how the studio team is tracking and check if anyone needs support. We know what each other’s part to play is and everyone gets on or breaks out for discussions in smaller groups. We have a very relaxed vibe and humour is welcomed – but political commentary, not so much!

Clients may come in for a chat and we always have quite a few deliveries as we are a creative agency, with a warehouse downstairs! We manage print collateral for our clients and fulfilment for several long-standing clients as another arm to the business.

Generally the team downs tools to have lunch together each day and we do seem to attract sweet treats from happy clients, or our neighbours! There’s quite a community vibe to the area and that’s helped by our Business Director and co-founder, Kathryn, being a body corporate board member.

Sadly, no-one in the office has a dog, however as soon as someone does it would become the newest Spruik member… maybe it could be Bez.

Gif of design assets Spruik created for Difflam

What projects have you been working on recently?

We won a new account last year with a client in the Pharmacy space so we’ve been very busy with direct to consumer and health care professional campaign’s and above the line media. Being media agnostic, we aren’t creating assets for any specific touchpoint, our work is diverse and as a result our team has a broad skill set. In a day we may jump from rolling out a new campaign, to a social strategy and content creation, to a brand positioning workshop.

What does the Spruik design process and philosophy look like?

Through experience, we have identified a set of key values that all members of our team naturally exhibit and that is crucial to our hiring process. It’s a mindset that transcends physicality. That’s not saying that we all think the same way, quite the opposite. All members of the studio are passionate creatives that draw on inspiration from highly varied sources outside of work, be that culturally, artistically or socially. We recognise the value of that out-of-work, personal creative exploration as a necessity to the creative process and to our teams well-being. We strongly agree with Albert Einstein when he said that “Creativity is contagious, pass it on.”

Favourite tools in the studio to help your team manage the day-to-day?

Is the coffee machine considered a tool??

We use Workflow Max to manage all projects and Teams to communicate and share inspiration internally – and externally with clients.

We also value our morning studio WIP as a way to stay connected.

What recent achievements or projects are you most proud of?

Something that can be seen in the wild, is a recent DTC campaign for Invisible Zinc, where we were briefed to reposition the sunscreen in the New Zealand market. Something that is not seen, but felt in the wild, was a hugely fulfilling brand positioning project that we completed with a not-for-profit, spoken word poetry community organisation.

We’re also really proud of our studio dynamic. Spruik is a place that fosters growth and development with a highly engaged team. It’s a really exciting team to be a part of – and that feels like a fantastic achievement.

Gif of design assets Spruik created for Invisible Zinc

Where to next for Spruik, what is your team working towards for 2023/24

We are looking forward to continuing to foster healthy working relationships with both our team and clients. We’re all excited to be on this journey together and welcome others along for the ride.