• by Larissa Faw , January 7, 2021

Industry veteran Jeffrey Butterworth is launching Butterworth Collective, a new agency servicing “dirty work,” like writing and designing emails, building websites, social campaigns, and product descriptions.

“We’re good at it,” quips Butterworth. “It’s the sort of work that we all know bigger ad agencies aren’t too excited to do and will run you over the coals with what they charge.”

During its soft-launch mode the new agency developed these so-called “dirty works” projects for clients including Dickies, AMD, and Electronic Arts as well as numerous startups.

It also has delivered “blue-chip work” for clients such as SA Expeditions and NIPYATA, a startup selling booze-filled piñatas.

This mixture underscores this agency’s mantra to meet the needs of clients, regardless of the assignment. “It’s important to me that we always put our best foot forward,” he says. “I know from places I’ve worked at in the past and many friends in the business, that so much of that work is frowned upon and ultimately trudged through to deliver it. I understand why people feel that way as well, but I try to make sure the people I bring on to assignments are happy to have the work, know the degree of quality that is expected, and are willing to check their ego at their door.”

Butterworth spent most of the past year forming the Austin-based shop to build an agency designed for a post-pandemic world. “There are many resources we pull from, and they range from Grade-A creatives to younger, more affordable options too,” he explains. The talent works on contract. That’s by design, he says. “We want to stay lean so we can be nimble and responsive to pull the right resources in for any given project.”

His tenure as an agency founder follows nearly two decades of experience as an agency creative, starting at Mering in California where he worked on clients like NFL and California Tourism. He then went to Las Vegas to serve as the creative director for the Vegas Tourism account.

More recently Butterworth worked in Austin at GSD&M, leading creative for clients including Popeyes, Southwest Airlines, Dodge, and John Deere. The shop debuts with a sense of humor. Its promo reel intermixes 1980s dating service videos with clips of Butterworth talking about the “dirty” work he and his agency live for.