Agile advertising: 4AM’s unique approach to brand growth

Pictured above: Kurt Bradley (right) in the 4AM studio.

Since 1999, 4AM – previously known as Brandspank – has carved out a unique space in New Zealand’s advertising landscape. Known for agility and expertise, the creative agency spans the roles of boutique studios and large-scale agencies, offering services from branding to campaign execution. They are a small and agile team of seven, producing branding and advertising for brands both big and small – including Auto Trader, Bossi and The Pacifica. NZBusiness sits down with Kurt Bradley, Executive Creative Director and Managing Partner, to discuss 4AM’s journey, rebranding, and how they continue innovating in a rapidly evolving industry.

Kurt Bradley’s path into the advertising world started in the late 1990s, when early production work on big-budget commercials sparked his creative interest. His partnership with Steve Thomson, 4AM’s founder, began with a shared passion for creative work long before the agency’s formal establishment.

“Steve and I grew up in the same part of town and were mates,” Kurt says.

“He was working at TVNZ as a motion graphics designer. We started collaborating on small projects, which led to the agency’s beginnings as Brandspank.”

In 1999, Steve founded Brandspank “during the dawn of the desktop revolution,” working from his bedroom. “Technology was suddenly allowing us to do things ourselves that used to cost thousands in post-production,” Kurt says.

This accessibility enabled Brandspank to manage end-to-end projects, leading to early success with clients like Sky TV. Over time, the agency expanded its services and expertise, broadening into brand identity, digital marketing, and advertising. This evolution eventually culminated in the transformation to 4AM– a name reflecting the agency’s growth and focus on innovation.

Combining boutique flexibility with full-scale capacity

As for differentiating 4AM from the many other creative agencies out there, Kurt highlights their unique ability to operate effectively across multiple disciplines. “We’re a small, agile team with a personal touch, but we’re also able to execute large campaigns that many smaller studios wouldn’t have the capacity to handle,” he says.

4AM blends the hands-on approach of a boutique agency with the capacity for strategic, far-reaching campaigns more typical of larger firms. “Big agencies often lose that personal touch – the ‘roll your sleeves up’ attitude. We pride ourselves on maintaining this culture, which lets us handle all aspects of a project while keeping it cohesive.”

Whether it’s a major nationwide campaign or a small, local project, Kurt says 4AM’s approach is consistent. “We get just as excited about a small website as we do about a big national campaign. The work is what counts, and so does maintaining that one-on-one client connection.”

How do you craft a brand image? 4 AM’s branding process offers insight into this. “Our process begins with a kick off session – a collaborative workshop to get to know the client’s business, challenges, and audience.” This workshop he says is integral for understanding the brand’s market and defining its core messaging. From here, the team crafts a brand strategy – a ‘brand on a page’ that captures the brand’s essence in a few words. Once finalised, Kurt and the team move into the design phase, where logos, colours, typography, and other brand assets take shape.

Brand building comes first: “Once we’ve established the brand” “that’s where our advertising expertise comes in.” The campaign development process closely mirrors brand-building, focusing on aligning key messages and engaging the target audience across various platforms. “We find a real advantage in handling both branding and advertising because we’re part of the process from the start, which keeps everything strategically aligned,” Kurt says. Content production is intentional, well thought out and executed.

One can see this approach in the recent rebrand of Auto Trader, a nostalgic Kiwi brand reimagined to engage a new generation of car sellers. Through a multi-platform campaign, Kurt says they have helped transform Auto Trader into a community-focused hub where Kiwis can share unique car stories. AdTrek’s Dynamic Content Optimisation technology was integrated, allowing live car listings to feature on outdoor billboards and reconnecting Auto Trader with a modern audience in a fresh, exciting way.

4AM rebrand

The transition from Brandspank to 4AM this year was part of an intentional shift to modernise and reflect the agency’s evolved capabilities. “Brandspank served us well for a long time, especially in broadcast, but as we expanded, we needed a name that resonated with our multidisciplinary approach,” says Kurt.

Choosing 4AM wasn’t just a rebrand; it was about capturing the essence of creativity itself. “For me, the best ideas often come when you least expect them, even at four in the morning – those moments when your subconscious brings solutions to the surface,” Kurt says. The new name embodies the unpredictable inspiration that drives the creative process, reminding clients and the team alike of those flashes of insight that can strike at any time.

“Names are empty vessels; they take on meaning over time. 4AM reflects the character of our brand as it stands now, not just where we started.”

In the past 25 years, the advertising landscape has transformed significantly, and so has 4AM. One major shift has been the fragmentation of media across multiple platforms. “There’s a need for lots of smaller, tailored content pieces rather than just one or two big campaigns,” Kurt says. “Today’s landscape requires a brand to be versatile, whether digital out-of-home, social media campaign executions, or app icons.”

Authenticity has become more important than ever, with audiences – especially younger ones – seeking a more organic look. “There’s sometimes a reaction to things that feel overproduced. We’ve seen people crave more unpolished, natural brands, which resonates in a world of perfect imagery,” he says. The Auto Trader campaign is a prime example, with user-generated content playing a key role in its success.

Looking to the future, 4AM intends to continue broadening its client base across industries while nurturing young talent within its team. “The fresh perspectives that younger team members bring are invaluable. They help keep us relevant and innovative,” Kurt says, making mention of 4AM’s commitment to fostering new talent and adapting to changing trends.

The agency also hopes to revisit its roots in sports branding, where it excelled with the All Blacks Skills campaign for Sky. “The campaign was a huge success, showcasing a playful, relatable side of the All Blacks and resonating globally,” Kurt says. This type of work speaks to 4AM’s strength in crafting marketing activities that connect audiences with a brand’s human side – a strength they aim to tap into as they grow.

With more brands bringing creative work in-house, 4AM also helps clients set up design frameworks to manage their creative output efficiently. “Brands are increasingly equipped to handle their own content and branded communications, and we help them build design systems, but a great designers eye eye is still irreplaceable when it comes to maintaining quality,” Kurt says.

Kurt has the following advice for small businesses looking to up their brand messaging. “Often people running small businesses do an amazing job of wearing a number of hats. They usually don’t have specialist marketing expertise or experience. What we see a lot is, and not just with small businesses, is a tendency to push too many messages and create too much variation in their marketing. As business owners and marketers, we of course consume our own marketing material way more than the audience we are trying to reach. We get sick of it far earlier than our audiences do. Repetition is a powerful thing, so say fewer things, more often, to everyone.”