草榴短视频

Advertising is often about selling a dream. For John Linton (98-02) the dream came true in 2023 when he started his own creative agency, Berlin Creative.

John Linton (98-02)

YOU STARTED IN WESLEY IN YEAR 8. WHAT ARE YOUR MEMORIES FROM THIS TIME?

I remember it as a pretty daunting but exciting time. Growing up in Kalamunda, Wesley felt a long way from what I knew, but I saw it as an opportunity to broaden my world a little bit, to get outside the bubble of my suburb.

It probably took me a year and a half to get comfortable, but I was really lucky. I had an amazing year group, and there are still 15 or so guys who I鈥檓 still friends with today. I often think about what life would be like if I hadn鈥檛 gone to Wesley and how fundamentally different it would鈥檝e been.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE WESLEY MOMENTS?

A lot of memories are built around the sporting experiences, like the swimming carnivals 鈥� I鈥檓 not a swimmer, and I never swam at the carnivals, but the cheering and intense celebratory camaraderie was special.

WHAT SETS BERLIN APART FROM OTHER CREATIVE AGENCIES?

What sets apart is the work we won鈥檛 do. We are upfront about not working with alcohol, tobacco, fast food, fossil fuel or gambling clients. We鈥檙e big believers in the important responsibility we have as communicators, and so we only want to put our energy into the businesses and causes where the social, environmental and economic impact is happening in harmony.

It鈥檚 also why we鈥檝e set Berlin up as a 鈥榮ocial enterprise hybrid鈥�, where we channel 20% of our time and profits back into pro-social and pro-environmental campaigns.

AS A NEW ENTREPRENEUR, WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST LESSONS YOU鈥橵E LEARNT?

I鈥檝e learnt just how important your business partner is. When I was more naive about it, I thought it was only really important to have someone who was good at the opposite part of the job to you. But I鈥檝e come to realise that you have to have someone with whom you can share everything. It鈥檚 important to be open about where your stresses are, what鈥檚 happening at home, and where your fears are. Rich is honestly the second most important relationship in my life, after my wife.

YOU AND RICHARD OBVIOUSLY MAKE A GREAT TEAM. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR ASPIRING ENTREPRENEURS?

Don鈥檛 be afraid if things are slow and they take time. If you鈥檝e got a clear idea of who you want to be, don鈥檛 feel as if you need to be in a rush to get there. In the first six months of launching Berlin, we had 50 different coffees, drinks, or catch-ups with people. For the first six months, no work came from that, but after the seventh month, one of those early catch-ups reached out, and it has all flowed from there.

It was about being patient and not going: 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 working; we鈥檝e got to change; we鈥檝e got to do something different.鈥� We had to stay true and trust our vision.

WHAT WORK ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

I鈥檝e done a lot of work with Alcohol. Think Again. to educate the public on the health harms associated with alcohol use. I鈥檓 proud of producing work that has a positive impact on the community.

I love working on 鈥榖ehavioural change鈥� projects, where there鈥檚 a rigorous evaluation of the campaign to see whether it has had any effect or impact.

WHERE DO YOU SEE BERLIN CREATIVE IN 10 YEARS?

We have this stretch goal for Berlin to be seen as a cultural asset to WA, which sounds ridiculous. However, there are adverts that are part of the culture of Australia. Everyone remembers the 鈥榥ot happy Jan鈥� adverts for the Yellow Pages, or the Sam Kekovich lamb ads. They鈥檙e an iconic part of who we are! I want Berlin to be seen on that level and engaged in projects that show off WA as a creative hotspot.

AS SOMEONE IN A LEADERSHIP POSITION, WHAT TRAITS DOES A GOOD LEADER NEED?

One thing I鈥檓 learning only as I get older and more comfortable is that you should have an opinion and you should voice that opinion.

You should have a point of view or a perspective on something and be prepared to debate it, take on other people鈥檚 opinions and potentially evolve your own opinion by listening to people.

But you should at least start from a place of having a belief 鈥� the worst thing a leader can do is just go along with whatever makes everyone else comfortable.

This article was originally published in the Winter 2024 edition of The Wesleyan. To read more,聽click here.听