0:00 Introduction and what Two Giraffes does

Welcome to the show. I’m Arielle, I’m the CEO and founder of Two Giraffes, a full service creative video agency. We do everything from the video content strategy to the creative ideation itself and then the execution and production. Most of our work is direct to client. A client brings us in, tells us what they want to achieve, their KPIs, their new products, and we help them with their full video funnel: how many TV commercials they need versus paid ads versus social media versus brand films, testimonials, podcasts, masterclass series, all of it. We have to be their brand hero because everything we do needs to live and breathe their brand.

6:00 From film school to MTV and Australia

I’m American, from Austin Texas. I went to film school in LA and did all my classes at night while interning, because in America all the internships are for free interns. I interned at MTV, fuel TV, and CBS. Before I graduated, they offered me a full-time position for the MTV Movie Awards. From there I kept getting requested for other award shows: the VMAs, People’s Choice Awards, Emmys, Oscars. After years in it I directed a travel show that brought me to Australia. I got here and realised there is real work-life balance here, which I just didn’t know existed back in Hollywood.

12:00 Founding Two Giraffes and winning the first clients

I got to a point where I was second in command in a couple of companies, the face speaking to everyone, but without a say at the end of the day. I knew I could lead a creative agency in an empathetic, human-centric way and still deliver amazing things. My first client was Transport for NSW. Then University of Sydney and Colonial First State. Each required a three to six month process to get onto their preferred supplier list. I never felt like I was bothering clients. I genuinely believed I was offering them a better experience than they currently had, and that shift made all the difference.

20:00 The name and the business model

The name Two Giraffes comes from two giraffe statues: Jerry, which my husband has had since he was a teenager, and one I inherited from my grandmother when she passed away. Two most important people in my life, old family and new family, both represented by giraffes. On the business model: we go direct to clients rather than through agencies. By the time a brief travels from client through agency to production company, it gets very expensive. We work directly with large corporations who have full marketing teams, cutting out the extra add-on layers while still delivering high-end production.

28:00 Culture, the office, and the nine-day fortnight

The office is on the top floor of a building with 110 square meters of outdoor space. The whole team designed and built it together: murals, colours, bean bags, couches, different zones, team photos everywhere. We have ten full-time people and about 20 specialists we work with regularly, blooming up to 150 for large projects. We’re also launching a nine-day fortnight trial: every other week the team gets a three-day weekend, giving them an extra 26 days off a year. It’s scary as a business owner but I genuinely believe that better-rested people do better creative work, and that flows directly to our clients.