Thom Hayward introduces Multi|Verse Asia’s Friday night movie, The Illusionist to his team. Photo: Aung Khant
It’s nearing 4:30pm on a Friday, and at many offices around the world the clock has run out on the work day. Yet, on the 11th floor of an office building on downtown’s Kon Zay Tan Street, employees of Yangon marketing and advertising agency MultiVerse Asia remain glued to their computers – despite strong inducements to peel themselves away.
“Grab a beer – that’s an order!” jokes their spiky-haired leader, advertising industry veteran Thom Hayward, as he urges his team away from the computer-filled “bullpen” and toward two black couches where they’ll watch The Illusionist starring Edward Norton and Jessica Biel.
On Fridays, the MVA team watches films together. While some companies might feel movies better reserved for the weekend, Hayward says exposure to other media – which he encourages his team to explore for on average an hour a day – is “everything”.
His approach injects a bit of Silicon Valley into Southeast Asia’s advertising industry. MVA’s on-the-clock pursuit of art as well as its ethos seem to take cues from the likes of Google, which had allowed employees to spend 20 percent of their time on ventures outside of their daily tasks.
“I want people to enjoy football, opera, computer games,” Hayward said. “If you don’t have a broad spectrum, how do you market?”
He has been building up his team since last year. A chocolate cake celebrating three near-simultaneous one-year anniversaries testifies to this fact and precedes the May 15 movie night.
With a future plan to retire in Southeast Asia, and with Myanmar opening up, moving to the country felt logical, said Hayward, who has been here since January 2014. But his next step – back into advertising – wasn’t quite so obvious.
Connections reached out asking for assistance with branding and marketing, and ever since he lent a hand the phone has been ringing, Hayward said.
Right before 2014 became 2015, he decided to throw the whole kit and caboodle behind his new company.
“I just said, ‘I love these guys that work for me. I’m going to put everything I have into this and I want to have the biggest independent Myanmar-based agency there is, because the talent is here.’”
The company’s digs on Kon Zay Tan double as home base for Hayward and creative director Ben McGrath. Hayward’s bedroom has a sliding door but it was open on Friday; inside, its proximity to Yangon River became clear when a foghorn belated on the water.
Both chief strategy officer Linda Lim and account director Jue Jue, who had spent a year at the company this May, have called the agency a family.
Meanwhile, one employee whose nicknames include “Master Zaw” and “Super Zaw” – “He does what mortal designers cannot,” Hayward said – mentions teamwork as his favourite aspect of working for MultiVerse Asia.
“This group collaborates like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” Hayward said, adding that he’ll compliment a team member on their work only to have them pass the credit on.
He said the atmosphere at the firm and the future it promises helps keep the team at the company – even in the face of attempted poaching. One designer reportedly turned down a salary double to remain at the agency.
Hayward, whose grey vest sports a black lightning bolt and ear a black stud, exudes earnestness when he talks about his team, admitting some of what he says might sound “corny”.
“I’m not giving these guys jobs, I’m giving them career paths,” he said. “They stay because they love the environment and we’re going somewhere.”
The company has already achieved success inside and across Myanmar’s border. Clients have included Coca-Cola, MySquar and Phuket Yacht Haven – the last of which came their way from one of their major competitors.
“I believe that there’s a really good time coming for Myanmar and corporate communications and proper advertising is going to be a very important part of the story. I believe that there’s a real need to have a truly independent advertising agency,” Hayward said.
Instead of answering to a board of directors, which could have a say in everything – even control over a Friday night film – he says he wants to answer to clients.
Meanwhile, traversing movies and media like The Illusionist – with its unexpected turn, romance and moody cinematography – could help the team on from creative blocks to Eureka moments.
“[The company’s work is] not just good by Myanmar standards, it’s good by international standards. And that’s why I show international films and encourage them to look at websites and companies in the US and Europe and other places in Asia,” said Hayward. “Inspiration could come from all over the place.
By Catherine Trautwein
Myanmar Time
Photo: Aung Khant
www.mmtimes.com/index.php/lifestyle/14659-the-illusionists.html
05 May 2015
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