With an unapologetic belief in magic, madness and Santa Claus and a slightly unhealthy obsession with coffee and the moon, Megan is a creative multidisciplinary who toys with a pet expressive avenues like writing, voice acting, singing, yoga and Art Direction & Design for advertising. Her often melancholy and gritty short verse found its home on Instagram, and has now made it into a debut collection “Poison Apple” published by Unsolicited Press, USA. Megan is an Alumini of Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya, and holds a BA in Advertising from RMIT University in Melbourne. She currently co-runs a small creative think-tank, The Next Big Think, which handles advertising and marketing campaigns for small niche businesses. She is also a mum to seven year old Navya. Here’s what we discussed about The Next Big Think, her career and her aspirations.
What inspired you to start the next big think?
My partner Dillai Joseph and I were young mums trying to battle the hours and demands of a traditional agency job. We both quit at different times, choosing to dedicate more of our time to our very young children, but at the back of our minds, we still felt that we still had a lot to offer creatively to the ad world. We decided to come together, each bringing to the table different strengths, to tailor make an agency model that was workable for us as well as for potential clients. That’s how The Next Big Think was born.
What makes ‘The next big think’ different from other advertising agencies?
I wouldn’t go so far as to call ourselves a traditional agency. We are a creative think tank that was founded to provide marketing solutions to niche and growing brands, who may not be able to afford the large price tags of a multinational. We are virtual, do not function in the typical brick and mortar office and are focused on building your brand with you by giving you more time.We believe in collaborating with different talents in the industry to best fit the project and this model seems to work well for us as there is much more transparency with the client and it also allows us to be more focused on our creative product.
What were some special campaigns you worked on?
Since beginning the Next Big Think we have worked on quite a few different types of projects but a few stand out. Ohè Island was one that was close to our hearts, as it spoke to women just like ourselves and was marketed in an entirely different manner. We enjoyed creating experiences for the loyalty members of Amante Boutique and designing some iconic window displays for them as well. We also did an interesting rebranding exercise for the popular Jewellery brand Lalitha, which was a lot of fun and we feel has given the brand a much needed facelift. You can find more about our work on our website www.thenextbigthink.co
How do you manage to handle so many important clients when there’s only you and Dillai working together?
We consciously take on a limited number of clients/projects at one time. Currently we try not to handle more than 4 projects at any given time as we want to spend as much time as possible on each client. Stretching ourselves will only mean that our end product suffers, and we definitely do not want that. We also collaborate with a few others in the industry on things like PR, Media and Graphic Design if need be, while retaining full creative control of the job.
You’re also a poet and an instagrammer. Tell us about it.
I’ve been writing in some way or another for as long as I can remember, and poetry happened to suddenly triumph as my favourite form of expression a couple of years back. I started writing in short verse and prose, and shared these verses on social media before compiling them into a book about 2 years ago. My book “Poison Apple” is now internationally available and I have been doing many readings of the work at open mic sessions in Colombo. My Instagram @meganpoisonapple now shares my new work and some readings as well.
What are the main themes you mostly focus on poetry?
Currently my writing is mostly centered around love, loss and the fragility of human relationships.
When starting the next big think, what was the support you got from your family members?
My family is extremely supportive of my work and help in any way they can to take care of my daughter if I need to be away on meetings or shoots. There are occasions where I have to work late or on weekends and they rise to the occasion with no questions asked. I’m really blessed that way.
Any future plans?
I’m a restless soul by nature and not one to really make concrete plans. For now I want to keep my work with The Next Big Think going and stay as true to our purpose as possible, I definitely want to take my writing more seriously and see what other forms of writing I can delve into.
Written by Sureshni Pilapitiya