“GUNG HO”, An Intriguing Name Bound to Stand Out

By Stéphane Mackay

Stéphane graduated from the Western Australian School of Art, Design & Multimedia, and came back to Mauritius where he engaged into an enriching career spanning over almost three decades… and still cruising! He has worked on some of the most renowned local and international brands, winning numerous local and international awards along the way.

During World War II, the Chinese troops worked together using a philosophy of cooperation they called gung ho, which means work together. Their biggest strength was their tenacity and ability to improvise and maintain high morale in the face of adversity. Characteristics which were totally in line with the founders’ ethos and inspired the agency’s military-like identity.

The D-Day!

02.02.2009, based on the first floor of a small commercial building in Moka, an elite commando of five brave warriors put their rebellious minds together to embark on this exhilarating, now 14-yearlong journey. The co-founders: Stéphane, his wife Christelle Mackay and his brother in-law – and in arms – Brice Herbereau de Lachaise, joined their forces to start building their own army.

Christelle Mackay, co-founder and Brand Director, recalls the agency’s early days. “It was unthinkable at the time, for me to embrace the uncertainty of entrepreneurship. But I was determined to make a twist in my career and decided to take up the challenge!”

The Mission

Gung Ho started its operations from ground zero with belief as their most valuable asset. Their mission: Challenge the established hierarchy amongst ad agencies prevailing at that time and bring fresh, ground-breaking creative and strategic ideas to their customers. Be a committed partner by their client’s side, advising and accompanying them towards their commercial, emotional or socially driven targets. “Producing great creative work and offering a dedicated service is quite obvious if you want your agency to be successful… however, having your client’s trust is essential. Without this key element, there is no way you will achieve that.” affirms Stéphane.

The Advertising Mavericks!

Independent, rebellious, enthusiastic… these are a few adjectives to describe Gung Ho’s strong agency culture. The fact that they are not affiliated to any international network or local group shows their independent spirit, relying solely on their own diverse competencies, experience and resources. They do things their own way, not trying to imitate what’s being done elsewhere, but rather being inspired by new trends around the world and most importantly by the local Mauritian culture.

Our Battalion

The most valuable asset of Gung Ho is the people that work there. A battalion composed of qualified, talented and experienced individuals that work together as a team to generate great ideas, produce impactful work and deliver dedicated service. Throughout the years, the quality of their recruitment has been instrumental for the perennity and success of the agency. As from 2012, Gung Ho started to win major regional advertising awards, propelling them among the best creative Mauritian agencies competing every year for recognition of creative excellence. This was a major turning point and brought even more awareness and credibility to the agency. As Stephane clearly puts it, “We are quietly loud… Our work speaks for us”. However, he adds “you are only as good as your next campaign”. The awards come as a bonus though. There is no better feeling than when a client gives you positive feedback on the effectiveness of a creative campaign.

All this would never have been possible without the creativity and dedication of Gung Ho’s zealous warriors working so hard to keep up the standards.

They call it the D.I.E attitude at Gung Ho! Dedication. Imagination. Enthusiasm – The core values of the agency that fuels the spirit of its warriors every single day.

Evolution

The evolution of technology and the emergence of new digital platforms transformed the media landscape and the way we are exposed to advertising. Gung Ho embraced this change at a very early stage by understanding the complex mechanism of the digital ecosystem and adapting its services consequently. Today, Gung Ho offers a complete digital service from website creation to setting up and management of social media platforms, SEO, SEA and impactful content creation.

Revolution

Gung Ho’s 10th year of operation was a milestone to be honoured! A branding clip was launched to tell Gung Ho’s story and affirm their identity and values. It was a great opportunity also to put the whole team forward and pay homage to them and to the role they play in the day-to-day battles of the agency. The theme of this short movie was Revolution is On! Announcing a revolution within the agency itself as they were now well prepared and ready to launch an assault on the next chapter of their story.

The Pandemic

In advertising, virality is what every agency wants… but no one expected that one. COVID-19 shook the world and impacted our lives like never before. Gung Ho had to completely review their strategy to adapt to that unprecedented situation and be resilient throughout this doomed period. However, their ‘Work Together’ philosophy and ‘Warrior’ attitude helped them immensely to work their way out of it.

New Blood

Gung Ho has recently recruited a handful of young guns to reinforce and energise the team even more. The agency believes in always keeping the right balance between the reassuring wisdom of experience and the refreshing enthusiasm of youth.

Resurgence…

After the battle, they count, not the dead, but the survivors, heroes limping out of the smoky battlefield… “Warriors regroup!” No time to rest, new missions await… together, aloud they shout their battle cry: “Gung Ho!”

Awards