Frost* rebrands as Frost*collective – restructure sees company operate under new umbrella brand

Sydney agency Frost*, headed by founder, Vince Frost, has today announced that it has undergone a significant restructure which will see the company operate under a new umbrella brand, Frost*collective, whilst specialist brand, digital and branded environments divisions are now separate business entities.

Says Frost: “Becoming Frost*collective is an exciting and critical move for the business and part of a bigger plan to become the world’s most innovative, strategic and creative collaborative.”

In the most significant rebrand resulting from the restructure, the environmental design team has become a new company called Urbanite. The Nest, a boutique digital agency acquired last year, and Frost* Design, which will focus on the agency’s brand, design and communications work, are also separate entities. The three businesses within Frost*collective will be serviced by a shared team, which includes group creative director, Anthony Donovan and the company’s strategy director, Catriona Burgess.

Frost will remain as the creative and company head of Frost*collective and all existing staff will be retained in their current roles. All members of the collective will continue to work under the same roof at the agency’s warehouse studio in Sydney’s Surry Hills.

Says Frist: “Frost*collective is about ‘designing success’, which means we are very tightly focused on being strategic about creating successful outcomes. We’ve been in a period of transition from being a specialist design studio to becoming the creative company we are today – with an award-winning creative business portfolio, not just a creative one.”

Frost says the restructure will create better clarity of the company’s specialist offerings, which will drive the business and deliver better results for clients.

Says Frost: “Separating our teams into fully accountable businesses will allow The Nest, Frost* Design and Urbanite to take complete ownership of their specialty, build a strong brand of their own in the market and create a more bespoke service for our clients. We have always been a company of specialists, not generalists, and the new structure will further nurture that expertise and create opportunities for more growth in each area. Our clients will further benefit from the collective nature of our new structure, with our businesses collaborating closely on creative ideation and the seamless delivery of services.”

With Frost sitting as the executive creative director and CEO of Frost*collective, a company head has been appointed to run each business.

Frost* Design is headed up by senior brand specialist, Rennae Long, who joined the company almost 12 months ago. She has seventeen years branding and campaign experience, via roles with agencies including Grey Advertising in London and Sydney, Publicis Mojo, JWT, Yello and 303Lowe. She is currently leading her team on projects including work for North Sydney Council, DE Coffee & Tea Australia, AMP Capital, City Of Sydney and NSW Health.

Urbanite is lead by Carlo Giannasca, a long-term partner who was formerly in the role of head of environments at Frost* and has been with the company since its inception. His team is currently working on projects including the University of Technology, Sydney’s new Frank Gehry-designed Business School, the new headquarters for Westpac and KPMG and recently completed work on the redevelopment of the Qantas headquarters at Mascot. Always a very strong part of the Frost* business, Urbanite has important ongoing partnerships with leading architects interior designers and developers.

The Nest continues to be lead by founder, Stuart Buchanan, who began the digital agency in 2010. The Nest has created award-winning digital campaign and platforms for clients including AMP, Sydney Festival, SBS, Art Gallery Of New South Wales, Goodman, Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, Tropfest and the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Frost*collective has today also launched a new website, designed by The Nest and confirmed the long running series of industry, creativity and innovation-focused talks, deFrost*, will continue to be run out of the Collective’s studio space. There are also plans to further expand the lecture series and launch the Frost* Academy.

Frost continues to work on a range of personal creative projects, including his lifestyle book and brand with Penguin Books, which is slated for launch in November.

Says Frost: “I feel incredibly positive about where we’re headed. The business has gained significant momentum and our vision for the company is a global one. The launch of the Frost* Collective is an important step in that direction.”