Agency Spy

Anomaly this. Anomaly that. There’s a good reason the indie agency’s name is on everyone’s lips. Consider their recent launch of their new company Another Anomaly that has its own product line. Whoa. Business Week has a piece today about the New York based shop’s dive into intellectual property agreements with its clients. Like all good business men, founders Carl Johnson, Sal LaGreca, and Johnny Vulkan have realized that there is lot more power and cash in owning the product then just schilling for it. This may be the model of the future that keeps advertising agency’s in business, while expanding the scope of what they can do. Johnson notes that the motivation to help a brand succeed is intensified when you’ve won a piece of the business’ future. Naturally. “When we own the IP or we share in the revenue, you can bet we’re going to work all day, every day.”

Defer regular payments for percentage? You may think that advertisers would bulk at such a proposition. Think again. Billionaire Richard Branson and his company Virgin America have hopped on board. Anomaly received a “small, undisclosed fee up front for marketing efforts like print and outdoor ads, and a Web site running a contest to “name the planes”, but Anomaly will also take a percentage of sales from extras like in-flight entertainment and Burton branded luggage, which it helped to develop and produce. In another first, customers can order the Burton luggage on board their flights.” And that’s going to add up to cash - not only for the brands involved, but for the Anomaly. Right now, revenue-sharing work only is about 20% of the shops revenue, but Johnson estimates that in 10 years it may be more like 80%. Think about it: in 2006, Anomaly clocked revenues around $15 million. So… they get bigger (double the dollars of intake) and then make cents off of 80% of their business? We gotta get in there. Anomaly has six partners right now - Vulkan? Johnson? Want another?

Below, some photos of the Anomaly office in New York on Broadway.