Copywriter Collective Expands To USA

After 20 years as Europe's No.1 boutique agency for freelance copywriters—Copywriter Collective is proudly announcing its expansion into the United States with a hand-picked A-team of 50 top-tier freelance American copywriters, CDs and ECDs, boasting a collective portfolio of over 1,000 international advertising awards between them. Copywriter Collective is set to streamline the US freelance advertising landscape with a network of agents who connect creative recruiters with suitable (and available) talent within hours. 

Based in Amsterdam, Copywriter Collective has made its name supplying top European creatives to brands like Apple, Nike, Philips, Amazon, Google, BMW, Mercedez Benz and Adobe and agencies like Weiden+Kennedy, 72andSunny, TBWA, BBDO, Ogilvy and many more, since 2004. 

Outstanding talent at every level: Senior, ACD, CD, ECD+

To kickstart its new US operation—which will have representatives in New York, Chicago and LA—CC has recruited leading lights in the freelance advertising world to represent. Beginning with ECDs like George Tannenbaum (Ogilvy), Serena Connelly (Accenture Song), Josh DeMarcantonio (McCann), Greg Collins (L&C/BBDO), Parag Tembulkar (Saatchi), Pamela Kim (Havas/Saatchi) and TJ Bennett (TBWA/Saatchi). 

But CC is not just an executive recruiter, as they aim to service all levels of agencies and clients. So there is a host of CD/ACD talent, plus a string of senior award-winning writers with decades of experience at W+K, Crispin, Deutsch, 180, Mother, BBH and all the hottest shops.  

Creatives like Josh Bogdan (W+K), Tracie Mae Roberson (R/GA), Jake Benjamin (Hill Holiday), Elizabeth King (McCann), Ryan Iverson (R/GA-72andSunny), Heather French (Wunderman), Kevin Doyle (BBH), Susan Lightman (Razorfish), Regan Kline (Camp+King/72andSunny), Madison Kahn (Apple), Jonathan Horner (TBWA), Nicole Drinkwater (StrawberryFrog), Evan Burton (R/GA) Nina Austin (DDB), Max Mager (Leo Burnett), Josh Gold (BBDO) and more 

“We’re starting with the cream of the crop. A short roster in the three hubs and will grow as we get more demand, ” explained Stafford. “We didn’t want to start with 1,000+ writers. We want to get regular work for the writers we represent, not spread the jobs super thinly across thousands of writers.” 

“We’re also promoting diversity by recruiting from as many different backgrounds as possible, and have deliberately recruited the genders equally. We want an agency that is representative of America as a whole”. 

The Linkedin Hunger Games 

Copywriter Collective's U.S. division will offer Creative Recruiters access to an elite pool of copywriting talent, without needing to search themselves.  

“CC is win-win. We are a dream come true for Creative Recruiters, because instead of posting a job on Linkedin and drowning in replies, they can send the brief to us and we propose a selection of creatives available tomorrow. While copywriters can avoid the LinkedIn Hunger Games and let us promote them.” 

Stafford himself was a copywriter in Amsterdam but side-stepped into being an Agent when he found he was better at managing other writers than writing himself. 

Q&A WITH FOUNDER JACK STAFFORD 

Q: Most countries worldwide are in recession now. Is it a good time to launch? 

From the many interviews I’ve done over the last six months, I learned that 2023 was the worst year ever for many freelance creatives in America. But despite perceptions, America is not in recession. I think it’s just a distribution of work. And we can hope to correct that—at least for the writers we represent—through our traditional, back-to-basics approach. 

Q: How does the US market differ from Europe and Asia? 

We originated from Amsterdam and the rates are pretty much the same there. London is a lot more competitive and it’s a race to the bottom. We prefer to compete on quality rather than price, but do offer our clients a tier of writers so we match their budget needs. 

Q: What about the existing giants like Working not Working or Creative Circle? 

I’ve spoken with many copywriters over the last few months and they are all very disgruntled with the existing platforms which don’t give them much work—and when they do, they take a huge chunk of the writer’s income. 

Q: Will you also sellout and end up with 10,000+ creatives on the site? 

That’s not our model. We will get more creatives if the demand is there and we have more work than our existing copywriters can handle. But we won’t open the doors and let everyone sign up because we lose control and it would quickly become a mess. It’s a short-term boost for long-term dissatisfied clients. We come from an agency background, we’re not a Silicon Valley startup. 

Q: Why don’t you represent Art Directors? 

We’ve found that writers have multiple Art Directors they can call on depending on the job. In Europe, the different languages were the Unique Selling Point, language was the USP, so we pushed Copywriters first and Art Directors second.  

Q: How will AI affect the industry? 

We’ve noticed a big dropoff in the lower end of the copywriting business… long copy for websites and content writers. That’s why our US expansion is focusing on award-winning writers—ACD and above.  

For inquiries or further information, please contact: Jack Stafford, [email protected] +1 646 360 1686 

About Copywriter Collective: 

Copywriter Collective is Europe's leading boutique agency specializing in freelance copywriters. With over 20 years of experience and a team of top-tier creatives, Copywriter Collective has garnered a reputation for delivering exceptional copywriting services and innovative advertising campaigns. With the launch of its U.S. division, Copywriter Collective aims to redefine the standards of excellence in American advertising.