Behind the name: Maverick's key to building a powerhouse team

In the business of brand building and advertising, having a name that stands out and is memorable matters. In our numerous interactions with agencies, we often hear unconventional names and often wonder how these names came around. Next up in this series is Maverick Group.  

Founded in July 2002, Maverick is known for its crisis and issues management capability, ability to manage integrated communications campaigns, leadership in championing AMEC-standard measurement and evaluation of communications, as well as influencer marketing.  

Ong Hock Chuan, managing partner, Maverick Group told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE in an interview that the team agonised over settling on a name for the agency so much that they hit the Thesaurus and tried on many names. “Then we stumbled on “Maverick” and we thought that was it, as it reflected our character - unorthodox, independent-minded, a dislike for rules made by others, preferring to make up our own. It was what Indonesian PR needed and we ran with it,” he added. 

Maverick now has about 70 employees, 50 of whom are consultants and specialists, making it likely to be one of the largest PR consultancy in Indonesia. Some of the clients it has worked with include Airbus, Dyson, Freeport Indonesia, WhatsApp, Bintang, Heineken, Spotify and Garuda Indonesia. “What makes us stand out is that we live our credo - to make anything complex sound simple; anything simple sound important - and our purpose to make a difference, for ourselves, our clients and our communities,” Ong added. 

Additionally, Maverick launched its social business MavGood this year, which helps non-profits and NGOs become more effective in doing good for society and the environment. Ong added that this year will also see the agency deepen and put finishing touches to its sustainability and ESG offering that goes beyond the PR industry’s “traditional let-us-PR-your-sustainability-report-prepared-by-specialists approach”. 

According to Ong, the agency measures itself not only against independent agencies but against large, international networks as well, to ensure that it has an edge over its competitors. To that end, Maverick constantly builds a robust leadership pipeline that constantly produces not only good managers but leaders that will allow the agency to achieve the unimaginable. “We feel that in this business too many can talk the talk but the real test is if you can walk the walk, and the latter is our measure of success,” Ong said.  

However, Maverick’s journey was not without some hiccups along the way. Ong said while there has never been a problem getting enough clients or work, getting the right people to do it has always been the main challenge. “Finding the right ones, onboarding them and creating the conditions where they’ll stay with us a bit longer than the industry average has absorbed us most,” he explained.  

At one point, Ong was tempted to throw in the towel when the agency faced “a spate of resignations of senior consultants”. Though it was a very low point for the agency, Ong and his partner decided to carry on for the sake of the rest of the staff by scaling down for a short term and then rebuilding the team from there.  

Now, Ong said that he feels most proud about the people in Maverick. Maverick now houses a relatively young staff as the agency found that it is better to hire and train fresh graduates than to hire people with relative experience. “Our staff are young but they are spirited, have the gumption to take new risks and embrace change. They have also stepped up in leadership and have grown by leaps and bounds professionally and personally, all determined to make a difference to their teams, their clients and also to our communities, Ong added.  

On what he envisions for the PR industry, Ong said that he hopes to see the market’s disparate PR associations get together to lift the professional standard of the industry. “One area it can do this is to help coach PR professionals on an activity where Indonesians have been doing well - the PR category of the Cannes Young Lions. Indonesia made it to the finalist list last year and won the award this year. It's a great momentum to maintain and grow,” he explained.  

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