Canadian Invasion: Zulu Alpha Kilo plots US expansion while still independent
In this series, The Drum speaks with various agencies hailing from the Great White North – including TAXI and No Fixed Address (NFA) – to learn about their origins, their goals and their secrets to success. Here’s how embracing creative bravery helped Zulu Alpha Kilo become one of the top indie agencies in the world.
Zulu Alpha Kilo charges ahead with New York expansion / Zulu Alpha Kilo
The first thing brands or creatives might notice about Canadian agency Zulu Alpha Kilo is its amusing website. “Zulu Alpha Kilo is the only agency that can offer 300% dedication to our client’s business while other agencies only offer a pathetic 100%,” it says on its "About Us" page jokingly states.
A maverick among global holding companies, Zulu’s parody website is cheeky by design, illustrating its ethos of “creative bravery” — in other words, its commitment to producing revolutionary ideas for clients, regardless of growth or profit — explains Zulu’s founder and chief creative officer Zak Mroueh. “Most agency websites feature shots of the founders with their chin on their fist, and we wanted to poke fun at that,” he says. “It’s also a business strategy to attract like-minded people — people who have a sense of humor and wish to shake things up in the industry.”
Taking an entrepreneurial leap
Prior to founding Zulu, Mroueh had served as partner and chief creative officer of Canadian agency TAXI. In 2008, 40 years old and with a family to provide for, he decided to “take a leap of faith” and start his own agency from scratch.
Zulu's founding principle would be that creativity, when embraced, transforms the world for the better. “I’m a creative person at heart, and we wanted to build our business around our superstars,” Mroueh adds. “It wasn’t a growth or revenue play — it was about acquiring the best creative talent in the world.”
With a current staff of 140 stretching across offices in Toronto, Vancouver and New York, Zulu has become a magnet for top talent hailing from around the world. Over the past 10 years, the shop has delivered campaigns for giants like Subaru, Corona, Puma, Uber, Harley-Davidson and Coca-Cola. Over its 14-year history, it's received more than 1,500 awards, including 39 Drum awards. 2022 has been another banner year creatively with five D&AD Pencils, six Cannes Lions and eight CLIOs. It was also named Small Agency of the Year by Ad Age in 2016 and Agency of the Year by The Drum in 2021.
A small company with big ambitions
Since day one, Zulu's team has strived to make it the leading creative agency in the world. Expanding beyond Canada into New York is a big step in that direction.
Meanwhile, a year-long search for a creative lead in the US ended when former Droga5 chief creative officer Tim Gordon assumed the role of Zulu Alpha Kilo NY's chief creative officer earlier this month. “Zulu Alpha Kilo’s bravery and category-defying work was something that immediately attracted me. I believe that at its core, this industry always needs new creative thinking,” says Gordon. “I’m thrilled to show the American market what our dedication to re-writing the rules can bring.”
“Over the years, there have been dozens of US opportunities that we’ve had to turn down, but with Tim joining, that's all about to change,” adds Zulu’s president and chief executive officer Mike Sutton.