New STW agency Bohemia looks to leverage on owned media

Brett Dawson and Chris Christofi, both former leaders with Icon, which was acquired by STW in 2009, and Peter Leaver (formerly of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia) have launched the agency with the full blessing and partial funding of the wider STW group.

They say Bohemia will take on a ground-breaking new approach, one that will create "a new agency operating system".

Dawson says the agency will offer clients a holistic view of their media options, including a much stronger focus on fully utilising the owned media that brands have. "These sorts of channels have more influence," he told Campaign. "We're focusing on maximising every single (customer) touchpoint that a brand owns."

This includes everything from retail storefronts to a brand's own staff, he said.

The approach allows the agency to delve far deeper into its clients business to provide stronger data-based insights and solutions.

“Bohemia is a new agency operating system that brings together a collective of experienced and
networked individuals, unencumbered by traditional agency buying models," Dawson said. “Bohemians will design communication programs with the entire customer journey as their canvas and the growing sources of customer and behavioural data as their palette."

Michael Connaghan, CEO of STW, said he was excited to be a part of the new project. “Brett, Chris and Peter bring a strong blend of skills and proven experience, each having played vital
roles in building strong businesses, including Ikon,” he said. “They have seen a gap in the market
and spent considerable time in carefully crafting a business model that is forward thinking,
responsive and entrepreneurial. These are attributes that are highly valued by, and have helped
build, the STW Group.”