What Whippet Melbourne does

Whippet Melbourne is the Australian operations of Whippet, an independent creative agency founded in London in 2001 and expanded to Melbourne in 2011. The firm operates from two offices (Level 7, 18 Oliver Lane, Melbourne; 7 Holyrood Street, London) and positions itself around a "store-first" brand communications philosophy, joining above-the-line marketing, in-store experience, packaging, point-of-sale, and loyalty programme work into a single creative engagement for retail and retail-adjacent clients. Its work spans brand strategy, visual identity, retail media campaigns, packaging, store concepts and space planning, integrated campaigns across TV, digital, print and OOH, and brand guardianship.

The agency serves primarily large enterprise retailers and retail-adjacent brands, with named clients including Marks & Spencer (multiple workstreams including M&S Food, Flower Market, Sparks loyalty, Cafés, Travel Money, and Wimbledon activations), Coles, Big W, Keells (Sri Lanka, 2.4 million loyalty members), Priceline, Specsavers, Bapcor/Autobarn, Australia Post, Village Grocer, EasyJet, Greene King, and Bensons for Beds. In 2024 the firm won two Drum Marketing EMEA Awards and a London Design Awards Gold for its M&S work, and was named in Campaign's Best Places to Work.

Whippet generates revenue exclusively through professional services fees billed on a project basis, with detailed estimates and budget reconciliation through each engagement; no fixed pricing tiers are publicly disclosed. GTM is direct enterprise sales via consultative pitches and account management, and distribution is supplemented by organic channels (Instagram, LinkedIn, website/blog, industry awards). The firm is privately held with no disclosed institutional funding, no parent company, and a management team led by Founder Steve Stoner and Managing Director Lucy Yeo alongside Customer & Strategy, Operations, Design, Copy, and Account leads.

Name

Whippet Melbourne

Legal name

Whippet AU Pty Ltd

Website

https://whippet.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Whippet Melbourne is an independent creative agency operating from Melbourne and London, delivering brand strategy, retail media, visual identity, packaging, and integrated campaigns for major enterprise retailers such as Marks & Spencer, Coles, Big W, Keells, Priceline, Specsavers, and EasyJet.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Agency Services

akta.pro primary industry

Brand Activations & Pop-Ups (Retail/Street/Guerrilla) (BPAFAGAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Guerrilla & Street Marketing (MPAAAGAH)

Keywords

• Creative agency services
• Brand strategy consulting
• Retail media campaigns
• Packaging design services
• Visual identity design

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne Street Station

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Creative Agency Services: Whippet generates revenue through professional services fees for brand strategy consulting, creative design, retail media campaigns, visual identity development, packaging design, and integrated marketing campaign development. Services are delivered on a project basis with careful estimation and regular budget reconciliation throughout each project.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Whippet is an independent creative agency providing brand strategy, visual identity design, packaging, retail media, and integrated marketing campaigns for major retail and consumer brands. They operate on a 'store-first' philosophy that connects every point of brand communication starting from the physical point of sale outward. Services are delivered as bespoke projects by a specialist team with deep retail client-side experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand Strategy Strategy consulting that defines brand positioning, customer journey strategy, and store-first brand direction for retail and consumer brands.
• Visual Identity Design Development of logos, brand systems, typefaces, color systems, and visual identity guidelines for retail and consumer brands.
• Packaging Design
• Retail Media Campaigns Retail media planning and creative execution including in-store screens, leaflets, point-of-sale design, window displays, and thematic activations such as Minecraft Cubeez and Jurassic World campaigns for Big W.
• Integrated Marketing Campaigns Multi-channel campaign development spanning TV, digital, print, out-of-home, social, and in-store for retail and consumer brands.
• Store Design and Point of Sale Store concepts, space planning, point-of-sale design, ticketing, and store experience transformation work such as Specsavers' store personality development and Village Grocer's visual identity and store design in Malaysia.
• Loyalty Program Branding and Design Visual identity and strategic positioning for retail loyalty programs, including the Keells Nexus loyalty program refresh (2.4 million members) and the M&S Sparks loyalty program upgrade.

Quantifiable outcome

• M&S Flower Market packaging rebrand resulted in highest market share in in-store floristry
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Mother LondonnotableGTM or Marketing PartnerMother London led the campaign for M&S Sparks loyalty program upgrade, while Whippet contributed brand identity and strategic positioning, including in-store screens and leaflets. Collaborative partnership delivering integrated campaign work.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Carter Wong Design: Independent London branding and design agency delivering brand identity, packaging and visual systems for retail and consumer brands - similar boutique scale and creative scope to Whippet.
• Mother London: Independent London creative agency with comparable heritage and enterprise retail clients. Already collaborates with Whippet on M&S Sparks, making them both a partner and a head-to-head competitor for similar retail brand briefs.
• The Hive Group: Australian independent brand and creative agency serving consumer and retail clients - ANZ-region direct competitor for brand strategy and integrated campaign work.
• Coley Porter Bell: WPP-owned retail and brand design agency specialising in shopper marketing, packaging and retail brand experiences - the closest direct competitor to Whippet's store-first retail brand communications model.
• SomeOne: London-based independent brand and design studio working with enterprise clients on brand identity and strategic design - comparable boutique scale and creative-led positioning to Whippet.
• Rufus Leonard: Independent London brand experience agency focused on brand strategy, design and customer experience for retailers and financial services - directly comparable in size, niche and approach to Whippet.

Regional players

• Designworks (A WPP Company): Australia-based brand design consultancy (WPP-owned) serving ANZ enterprise clients on brand strategy and design - directly comparable ANZ competitor to Whippet Melbourne.

Broad incumbents

• Pentagram: Largest independent design consultancy with deep brand identity and packaging capabilities across enterprise clients - sets the upper benchmark for independent brand design agencies and overlaps in retail branding.
• Superunion (Brand Union): WPP-owned global brand agency offering brand strategy, design and integrated campaigns for major enterprise clients including retailers - broader portfolio competitor with overlapping capabilities.
• Landor & Fitch: WPP-owned global branding and design consultancy with retail and CPG specialisms - larger, broader portfolio competitor operating in the same enterprise brand design space as Whippet.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/whippet-melbourne
• Instagraminstagram.com/whippetagency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Whippet Melbourne