Good Food, Great Company as Manila welcomes its latest creative hotspot Octopus&Whale

Last week, members of the Philippine communications and marketing industries gathered at the Pinot fine dining restaurant to herald the arrival of Octopus&Whale, a new player in the advertising community.

Billed as a game and brand design agency, Octopus&Whale applies a gamified mindset to their collaborations with existing brand teams and agencies for the best possible outcomes in creative execution, big ideas, design, and digital.

Guests were met with customized menus that detailed the culinary wonders they were about to experience.

To mark the occasion, guests were regaled with a sumptuous five-course meal crafted by renowned chef Chef Markus Gfeller, with each component representing one of the agency’s core values of sustainable creativity, business chemistry, safe space, fulfilling adventure and the idea premium.

As shared by agency Founder and Chief Creative Joey Tiempo (pictured centre) in her opening remarks, the notion of launching over a sit-down meal was inspired by the tendency of Octopus&Whale’s first-year milestones to have occurred in one restaurant or another. Befitting the unconventional nature of the party was the agency’s origin story, having come into existence as a result of nobody actually setting out to create one!

“We never set out to build another agency – far from it!” laughs Tiempo. “We started out making video games. But we like to outdo ourselves. Octopus&Whale is our game, and beating challenges is built into our core. There are always new skills to learn and new levels to unlock! “

While the founding partners may not have intended to put together a creative shop, they’ve nevertheless managed to put up an impressive roster of industry talent. In addition to Tiempo, Octopus&Whale’s impressive frontline includes veterans of major agencies, brands, and awards, such as Lead Strategist Joy Garcia, Creative Lead for Art Nolan Fabular, Creative awards, such as Lead Strategist Joy Garcia, Creative Lead for Art Nolan Fabular, Creative Lead for Digital Pauline Ty, and Creative Lead for Innovation Abi Capa.

“Over the years working in the industry, we learned that the key to great work is a great client,” says Garcia. “So we work to make our clients great – by understanding their business issues as their fellow entrepreneurs.”

One year in, Octopus&Whale counts among its clients such recognizable names as Bonchon, Nestle, Belo Essentials, and SidoMuncul. Naturally, the team is just getting started.

“We are on a mission to discover uncharted spaces for creativitty,” says Tiempo. “And we’re excited to find out how far that mission is going to take us.”