Don’t Use the Toaster at Bear Meets Eagle on Fire
Bear Meets Eagle on Fire is one of those wonderful places where, at the end of the day, creativity wins.
BMEOF very quickly became one of Australia’s top independent agencies since opening in 2019. They are known for their incredibly distinctive work that makes you turn your head to look twice.
The team may be small but their heart, their ideas and their commitment to creativity is huge.
Over the course of the past five years, they have worked with clients such as NRMA, ROLLiN’, Optus, Stake and Wisr. They're also now leading the brand direction for Telstra as part of the +61 partnership, with work in development and production.
LBB spoke to the team at BMEOF to get a feel for the culture, company, and future endeavours.
LBB> What does Bear Meets Eagle On Fire mean to you?
Hanne Haugen> Bear feels like home. It’s a place where caring about the work is not just an empty promise in a creds deck - but lived and breathed. Making the best work is the reason for getting up in the morning, and why we’re all here. Whatever your role, this gives you a clear mandate to focus on what’s important
Mark Carbone> A phrase that gets tossed around a lot at Bear is we "care hard". That might sound a bit cute, but in my short time, it's evident that everyone here really does.
LBB> What drew you to working at BMEOF, and what’s kept you there?
Hanne Haugen> The people and their integrity. I loved the work Bear was doing, but ultimately - for me - it was about sharing the vision and way of looking at the world with the people who run the business.
That’s why I joined, and why I’m still here.
Cass Jam> Working on things that you’re proud of, with a bunch of people that care as much as you do.
Paul Gregson> Some good advice I was given early in my career was always seek out the people that make the kind of work you’d like to be making. Bear makes the kind of work I like to make.
LBB> You’re five years old, but many agencies don’t last longer than a short term lease. What’s the secret of your success?
Micah Walker> It’s not just one thing. Clear principles are essential. Without them, you’re just making short term decisions and before you know it, you might have a business but not a culture. Avoiding the trap of trying to be everything to everyone. Not being greedy. A lot of hard work. Finding the right people.
LBB> You’ve got a rep for taking the path less travelled. What unconventional sources or inspirations do you personally draw from when approaching creative projects?
Cass Jam> We all consume so much content, it makes for good sharing in the studio - from the latest movies, exhibitions, music videos, design, fashion, weird food fetish subculture, dogs wearing hats, our Insta DMs cover all bases. Everyone’s always exploring and sharing.
Micah Walker> It’s never about trying hard to be odd or strange, it’s about finding a distinctive and memorable way to share a message or an idea for the brand. A particular peeve of mine is when people lazily refer to our work as wacky or zany instead of seeing the intelligence behind the decisions. So much of the most surprising work we’ve made has been born out of the most rational, strategic foundations. We just believe distinctiveness is fundamental and predictability is an easy choice.
LBB> Have you ever really pissed a client off?
Toby Hussey> Probably! It’s never intentional though - that would be weird. Being direct and honest about shared challenges sometimes causes friction of course, but over the long term, it helps build a healthy dialogue, proper trust and real partnership. In my experience, it’s this level of radical and sometimes painful honesty that creates space for the best work.
Micah Walker> Certainly never as a point of pride.
LBB> What’s the secret in balancing the tension between artistic vision and commercial viability in your work?
Ian Williamson> I think if there is a tension, it’s to not make something that you’d be disappointed with seeing out in the wild. We never want to make anything invisible - that’s the worst thing you can do for a client and brand. We understand the commercial pressures our clients are under. And everything we do is designed to solve a real problem. Industry awards are nice, but seeing NRMA Insurance’s brand value rise to new highs is just as rewarding for us.
Hanne Haugen> This is such a false binary. We believe investing in creativity drives successful commercial outcomes for brands. It feels like a race to the middle out there at the moment, but ultimately, if you make stuff that no one cares about or make work that looks indistinguishable from everything else - what’s the point?
LBB> What are you personally most proud of in your time at BMEOF?
Micah Walker> The quality of the people that choose to spend time here. I know that sounds a little cliche, and everyone probably says something similar, but it’s true. Second would be the diversity of our output - that we’ve built a body of work that ranges from brand creation and design right through to more advertising shaped campaigns and projects.
Paul Gregson> I think our jobs are most enjoyable when we are making work we’re excited about. So that’s the constant driver, to try and be in that place as often as we can be, however hard it might be, to get there.
LBB> How do you continue to foster a sense of experimentation and exploration in what you do?
Micah Walker> I think this all comes down to casting and culture. Find the right kind of curious and interesting people and they’ll naturally be self motivated and determined to make things not like other people’s things. I’ve seen healthy friction misinterpreted and managed out of a culture by people who haven’t ever made great things, but that rub is a critical part of how we do what we do. It’s not always smooth and that’s ok, because it leads to less predictable things. Dan Weiden used to always talk about chaos and how powerful it was for the culture of W+K. It’s not a word that I find very comfortable using, but harnessing that kind of energy is a critical part of a creative culture.
LBB> What is it about BMEOF that’s unique from your other agency experiences?
Emma Wright> I feel way more involved in all aspects of the projects, a part of the whole process - from sitting with creatives and hearing them bounce ideas off each other, to getting involved much earlier and seeing ideas take shape. We don’t have process for process sake. Things are kept simple and strong communication is key. We also get to work across all aspects of the brand and that’s a far richer experience.
Ian Williamson> We’re creatively led. That’s the main difference with anywhere else I’ve been. A lot of places will say they’re all about the work, but other interests always take precedence when the hard choices have to be made.
LBB> What's the culture around work like?
Ian Williamson> We’re a small, productive bunch, so there’s a lot of crossover and helping one another, which means we’re all invested in making things the best they can be.
Paul Gregson> Someone from another agency asked me recently “Does Micah just do all the ideas?”. I think the answer to that is “unless you come up with something better.” The bar is high and the work comes first, but it’s a meritocracy. Best idea wins. And when we land on something we love, we all instinctively try to protect it, take shared ownership, and make it the best it can be.
LBB> Craft is a huge part of the reputation for the studio, where does that come from?
Emma Wright> The work speaks for itself. Great idea, well executed. It cuts through a sea of sameness that so often exists. And very much Micah and how hard he cares for everything.
Mark Carbone> One of my favourite things to do at the studio is just see what’s going on on other people’s screens. It might be a 3D render or a 2D animation, a snap from a famed Israeli photographer but it’s always a well considered visual treat.
Paul Gregson> It’s strange to me that we’ve started to think of craft in our industry like it;s a choice. I’ve always seen it as a non negotiable part of the process. I think we’re all here at Bear because we share reasonably similar tases and standards.
LBB> What's the benefit of having such a lean, senior team?
Emma Wright> We are a small group but everyone is incredibly talented and knows their shit. They have a wealth of knowledge and years of experience, which makes for a smooth process on a lot of projects. Everyone has a very clear creative point of view.
Mark Carbone> We’re small enough that any regular conversation can turn into us all riffing together. There’s no hiding your test paper. It’s all very open and malleable. Us all being senior is great because people bake for fun, and there’s always homemade cookies around.
Toby Hussey> There’s so much fat in the traditional agency model that everyone spends a good chunk of the available time and energy trying to keep everyone on the same page... It’s so wasteful and demoralising! We put a real premium on getting the very best people available on a project, giving them real ownership, putting them as close as possible to the problem they need to solve, and removing layers and boundaries between them and the solution. It’s something we all firmly believe in, and something we’re striving to get better at all the time.
LBB> Is your relationship different with clients, than it was at other places?
Micah Walker> As a business owner it is, definitely. I think there’s a more transparent dialogue around everything from principles and ambitions, right through to work and what we believe is a respectful value exchange when it comes to fees. You have to be aligned if you want a meaningful partnership and equally, prepared to walk away, if you don’t think the fit is right. I think being project based and pricing on output rather than time, also means you have to be really up front about the differences from that and the more traditional agency model.
LBB> Is it nice having Dutch, the office dog, around?
Emma Wright> Incredibly nice. Dutch brings happiness and his unconditional affection is such a tonic for everyone. Even the pigs ears he snacks on are growing on me!
Mark Carbone> Dutch poops like a T-Rex, but I wouldn’t have him any other way.
LBB> What's your favourite project since you've been at BMEOF? Why?
Hanne Haugen> I’m very proud of what we did for ROLLiN. Everything from positioning, naming and brand design to a big launch campaign and smaller experiments in social - carving out a distinct voice and interesting space for a new brand in a traditionally ‘square’ category.
Mark Carbone> We have a project in production at the moment that is quite ambitious, and I’m really proud that we’ve been brave enough to run at it and keep the standard of craft at such a high level given the scale of the undertaking.
Paul Gregson> My favourite project is actually one nobody has seen. A brand redesign, and fully integrated launch campaign that we 100% finished production on. It was odd, funny, and would have been a real step change in the category. Unfortunately, for reasons out of our control, it didn't ever go live. You’ll just have to take my word for it, it was Bear doing what Bear does best.
Ian Williamson> We have this technologically advanced doll named Office Billy that we created. He used bespoke text-to-voice code from MIT to insult people. We knew it might offend someone who didn’t get the humour, so he’s still in the storage cupboard. Someday Billy, some day.
Micah Walker> I’m always most excited about what we’re working on next. I look back and as proud as I am of all the work, I also just see what we could’ve done better. It’s a curse, I know.
LBB> What is the worst part about working at BMEOF?
Mark Carbone> The toaster. Honestly, it's a fire hazard and something must be done.
Ian Williamson> We’re not allowed to have a toastie sandwich maker in the kitchen.
Cass Jam> It’s an office full of feeders. And the treats are too good to say no to.
LBB> What’s next?
Micah Walker> So much. We’re launching our own brand and product at some point this year or early next, which is really fun, and at worst, a great learning opportunity. We’ve done a lot of research and background work on that, so it’s super rewarding if we get it right. There’s a lot of really exciting production and development on Telstra, which is of course keeping us busy. We’re also sliding into a new studio space in May and have a few design projects on the side as well, which are always a nice change of pace and allows us to flex different muscles.
