In 2022, executives at creative agency The Royals realised they had a problem.

For about 11 years, the agency had been working with some of the country’s biggest brands – AustralianSuper, Spotify, NAB and News Corp, for example. There were a few notably good years, but The Royals were not cutting through in an incredibly competitive industry measured both by the awards glistening on the mantelpiece and the quality of creative thinkers. There was above-average staff turnover and below-average engagement scores. Something drastic had to be done.