In the June-August 2026 issue of NZ Marketing magazine, we asked agency founders to tell us the story behind why they started their agency, their favourite thing, what they’ve learned and their best advice.
These Guys I Know
- Founders: Amanda Wilson and Ant Farac
- Year founded: 2018
Tell us the story behind founding your agency.
Born out of the fast-paced world of media, These Guys I Know began with a simple, recurring line.
After leaving her role as marketing director at MediaWorks, founder Amanda Wilson kept saying: “These guys I know can do that” – shorthand for a trusted network of smart, proven people who could respond quickly to solve problems.
Those informal connections grew into a deliberate model – a flexible, on-demand consultancy bringing the right people to the right challenge, without the overhead or rigidity of traditional agencies.
Today, These Guys I Know is an award-winning consultancy known for high-impact, culturally resonant work including Thanks Driver, Make Room for Newsroom and the Z Manu World Champs.
Blending strategy and execution through integrated communications, it offers initiatives such as pay-for-performance publicity, outsourced marketing service Tidy Little Package and content production offerings – Heavyweight (for long-form, including TVNZ’s Heavyweight with Dave Letele) and Lightweight (for shorter-form, social-led storytelling).
Amanda Wilson and Ant Farac started These Guys I Know in 2018.
What’s your favourite thing about running your own agency?
Our favourite thing about running These Guys I Know is having the freedom to focus on work that matters – being selective about the projects we take on and how we spend our time.
It’s great being able to focus on the work and its impact – rather than other things (like office politics!) We’ve created a model that is outcomes-focused, where time is spent on solving problems and creating impact.
We also really enjoy creating work for others – particularly those who want to work flexibly around other commitments including childcare – and creating opportunities for people through effective communications. That can be life changing.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned?
The most important thing we’ve learned is that you don’t have to do things the way they’ve always been done! Actually, sometimes it’s better to completely ignore the way things have always been done.
We didn’t come from a traditional agency background, so when we built These Guys I Know, we didn’t follow that model. (We don’t know that model!)
Instead, we designed it from a client perspective – based on pain points we’d experienced ourselves. That includes getting into things as quickly as possible, being fast and responsive, without kerfuffle or layers of sign offs. We didn’t know traditional agency models – but we did certainly know about brand, content creation, media channels and how to build audiences and capturing attention. That serves our clients very well.
We’re also genuinely interested in the work we do – and very selective about that – and value alignment. It drives a better result for all.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received or given out?
If you work in a factory that makes ducks, you better be sure to pop your head up sometimes to make sure a duck is actually coming out the other end! This seems like a silly line, but it proves pretty effective in keeping our relentless focus on outcomes.
Anything else we should know?
These Guys I Know’s co-founder and creative director is Ant Farac who created the Three brand identity, Newshub and other high profile media brands and campaigns.
Ant was part of the original bro’town team and directed Heavyweight with Dave Letele.
This story comes from NZ Marketing magazine issue 87, June-August 2026. Why not subscribe? Get four issues a year for just $50 (including delivery) if you autorenew.
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