Red Antler, the agency known for creating brands such as Casper, Allbirds and Brandless, launched a performance agency on Thursday called Good Moose.
Good Moose debuts with a team of 12 and performance marketing capabilities across search, social, programmatic and ecommerce. Daniel Romano, Red Antler’s head of performance marketing, will lead the agency as CEO.
Red Antler saw an opportunity to complement its focus on brand strategy, creative and digital experience with performance marketing for its digitally-native clients, bringing together two disciplines often viewed as distinct.
“To be a successful brand, you need to be able to navigate those two worlds, which sometimes feel separated,” Romano said.
Good Moose will tie its media plans closely to Red Antler’s brand strategy work. If insights reveal that a brand performs well with certain audiences or platforms, Good Moose will build media plans around those strengths.
Someone looking for a mortgage, for example, might spend more time researching on informational platforms, such as Quora, rather than responding to a Facebook ad, Romano said.
“We try to find the right touch points that are relevant for the brand and the level of urgency of the audience we’re trying to target,” he said. “It’s very hard to win the battle if you don’t have something unique and with purpose.”
Good Moose launches with DTC clients including home decor brand Snowe and food delivery company Snap Kitchen, but it can also work with retailers and legacy brands with performance marketing needs. All engagements begin by evaluating clients’ media strategies, followed by customer journey mapping, audience development and media planning and execution.
After brands have scaled in their market, the agency can also help clients bring certain capabilities in house and hire and train an internal team.
“When we get you to that place, you’ll have way more access to better talent and people who know how to manage and build teams,” Romano said.
Good Moose and Red Antler share a majority of clients, but the two agencies will operate on separate P&Ls. Good Moose will be transparent about pricing and fees and operate on a percentage-of-media model for larger clients. For smaller clients, it will offer three retainer pricing tiers. All contracts are one month long to ensure flexibility and performance.
“So many companies don’t take care of things the way they should until there’s a review,” Romano said. “I want to make sure the team understands that we need to deliver and provide value every single day.”
