A village, growing slowly.
GMT is a small agency on the Sunshine Coast with a long memory. Here's where we came from, who's behind the work, and why we still do it the way we do.
Decades of agency craft, compressed into deeper attention.
GMT started as a small design studio. Over the years it turned into a full-scale advertising agency — the kind that wins awards, presents to boardrooms, and runs campaigns you've probably seen. We did all of that. It was a good run.
The reason we're back to a small team isn't nostalgia. It's the simple realisation that the work we're proudest of — the brand we built that's still running fifteen years later, the small business we helped triple its turnover, the regional retailer that became a category leader — all of it came out of being close to the client. Close enough to understand their numbers, their staff, their cashflow, their families. That kind of closeness doesn't scale. So we stopped trying to scale it.
GMT today is a small team that works selectively. We do the same kind of work we always did — branding, websites, campaigns, ongoing strategy — but for a much smaller list. Decades of experience now compressed into deeper attention. And, increasingly, with the help of AI and modern tooling, which means we can do more in a week than a team of ten used to do in a month — without diluting any of the thinking.
Most of our clients have been with us for years. Most of our new clients are referrals from those old ones. We've built our team and our client list the same way: slowly, deliberately, and by word-of-mouth. Some call that a village. We're inclined to agree.
Who's behind the work.
Carlo Marchese
Founder · Strategy & Creative
Two decades in agency-land — from small studio to Sydney boardrooms and back. Carlo built GMT around the idea that the best work happens close to the client, not above them. He runs the first hour with every new prospect.
Sandra Groundwater
Branding, Communications & Design
Decades of branding and communications work across the US, UK and Australia. Sandra builds visual identities with a clear sense of who they’re speaking to — strategic thinking paired with an illustrator’s eye for the small details that make a brand feel considered.
Willi
Creative & Design
Willi pairs an easy, natural creativity with a genuine read on who a client is trying to reach. He’s relaxed to work with and brings a perspective all his own — every project gets a fresh look rather than a recycled one.
Sean
Technology & Build
Builds, ships, and modernises. Sean handles the technology side — web, infrastructure, AI workflows — so the rest of the team can stay focused on the strategy and craft.
Four working principles.
We work selectively.
That's the constraint that makes everything else true. If we take more, we can't do the work the way we want to. So we don't.
The senior team is the team.
The people you meet in the first hour are the people who'll do the work. There's no junior team behind a curtain. There isn't a curtain.
Technology is a tool, not a story.
We use AI heavily. We don't market ourselves as an "AI agency." Anyone can use AI now — what matters is judgement, taste, and the experience to know what to ask of it.
Long relationships only.
Most of our clients have been with us for years. New work usually comes from old clients — either more from them, or referrals from them to people they trust.
Decided we sound like your kind of agency?
The first hour is the right place to find out.