• by Larissa Faw , April 3, 2018

Two WPP veterans are launching a new company, Chinatown Bureau, described as a digital product studio and consultancy to focus on one problem for an entire year with the eventual goal of creating a suite of fully integrated creative advertising tools.

CEO Paul Miser and Chief Strategy Officer Marie Berry worked at WPP-owned boutique agency, Hudson Rouge, supporting the Lincoln Motor Company, before realizing that there are specific creative tools that need reinvention.

Now, each year, they will focus on one product for a 12-month period that makes designing creative briefs simpler so over the course of their five-year mission, they will have a suite of products – they call it a Creative OS – that allows people and businesses of any size to work more efficiently and bring their ideas to life.

First they’ve developed an enterprise tool for marketers that automates the governance of marketing material to ensure brand consistency. They are currently partnering with Beats by Dre to set a new industry standard to manage marketing pieces across multiple business units, global markets and licensing partners.

“We often see folks like us leave agencies to start their own in the hopes of overcoming the issues that current agencies are facing. However, they are often met with the same challenges and instead become another agency. Our goal is not to disrupt, but rather transform the industry from the inside out, building tools that power and improve it for the long run,” said Miser.

The studio has a core team of five people with diverse backgrounds spanning user experience, product development and software engineering, as well as strategy, creative and business management.

The agency's name is inspired by the office's New York City location. “Chinatown is more than a location; it’s a mindset," says Berry. "We are fascinated by the combination of heritage with a forward-looking spirit. It is Chinatown’s tenacity that is at the heart of what we’re trying to accomplish in transforming the creative industry."