Special turns 15 and moves into new office

Special recently celebrated its 15th birthday with an exhibition of its most iconic work and a move to a brand new custom built office in the middle of Ponsonby Road.

The ambitious move was part practical, part perception and part passion as co-founder Tony Bradbourne explains: “Our first office was an old movie theatre in Kingsland. Our first Sydney office was a small ex art gallery, then we moved into a bigger ex art gallery in Surrey Hills. So there’s always been something at Special about having unique spaces. Spaces that have a back story. But mainly chosen as spaces that we think will inspire and help create the perfect conditions for creativity.

“We are in a talent business, and one of the things we can do to attract and retain the best talent is give them the best space to express that talent in.

“Practically we also wanted to bring the whole company back together into one building, we had grown out of our last offices, spitting into two separate spaces. So there was a real desire to bring everyone back closer together.

“We also have a history of transforming buildings for the better, and 202 Ponsonby used to be one of the more aesthetically challenged buildings in Auckland. So we are really happy to have helped transform that into an incredibly beautiful space. So we are really happy to have helped transform that into an incredibly beautiful space.”

Says Heath Lowe, co-founder, Special: “The new space has been re-imagined to work better for our unique business needs while looking to the future, housing a dynamic mix of creative and commercial teams across advertising, design, PR, strategy, interactive and production.

“It spans 1400 m2, occupies the two top floors of the building and has production space, edit suites, larger conference rooms, private offices and room for flexible working and collaborating. With a focus on our talented people and culture, we’ve enlarged the windows for natural light with excellent views, and built a large outdoor deck for socialising, with plenty of room for our legendary Boot Camp sessions.”

Special, recently named ‘New Zealand Agency of the Year’ again by Campaign Asia, and ‘New Zealand’s Most Effective Agency’ by Effie’s, christened the new space in style with a party and an exhibition of 15 years of ground-breaking and world-beating work.

Adds Bradbourne: “It was great to be surrounded by such a large number of people that have achieved some pretty amazing things together over those years.”