Koala

Koala is an independent advertising and video production agency based in Manchester and Birmingham. Cracking Briefs and Munching Leaves since 1999 And a Koala.

A house of thinkers, doers and creators. And a gorgeous dog. Well, an Aussie founder, but that counts. Based in Manchester and Birmingham. Working across the UK. And worldwide, because why not.

06/08/2025

Wait… what’s an ident?

You’ve definitely seen one — even if you didn’t know the name.

An ident (short for ‘identification’) is a super-short branded clip, usually around 10 seconds, shown before or after a TV programme. It tells you who’s sponsoring the show. Think of it like the brand stepping forward, saying: “This programme was brought to you by us.”

They don’t sell.
They don’t shout.
But when done right, they make a big impact in a small space.

At Koala, we craft idents that feel like a natural fit with the show they bookend — helping brands connect with viewers in a subtle, story-led way. And yes, we’ve made a few corkers lately ( on Channel 5, anyone?)

Here's an example from our Simplisafe campaign 🐨

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31/07/2025

Meet the Koalas 🐨: Say hello to Phil Brice – our Founder, Executive Director, and (according to the team) the OG of Koala. He’s been with us since day one… 25 years ago!

Phil’s the storytelling engine behind so many of our campaigns – writing scripts, directing voiceovers, and occasionally moonlighting as an audio tech. If it involves a mic and a message, he’s probably touched it.

He’s meticulous, creative and still beats everyone at guessing songs from the first two notes (a party trick leftover from his radio DJ days 🎧). When he’s not crafting ads or championing clients, you’ll find him cycling, travelling, or catching up with his daughters over a beer and a classic "who’s paying?" standoff.

Basically, if Koalas had a theme tune – Phil would write it, produce it, and hum it before you even heard it.

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25/07/2025

Typography in Motion: Why Every Letter Matters
Creative Breakdown by Koala

When it comes to thriller campaigns, typography isn’t just a design choice – it’s a storytelling device.

In 25 Alive, every word had to punch hard and leave a mark. Here's how we used type to dial up drama:

🟥 Bold Caps for Bold Claims

We set key lines like “CATCHING KILLERS IS DANGEROUS WORK...” in full caps with high contrast and heavy weight.

Why? Because in the world of Patterson, danger is non-negotiable and so is impact.

🟥 Rhythm + Pacing Through Text

Instead of static blocks, we animated phrases in line with the story beats:

short bursts, timed pauses, and deliberate reveals.

It mimics the cadence of reading a thriller – fast, tense, impossible to ignore.

🟥 Brand Consistency

We anchored everything with Patterson’s established font family – keeping it recognisable to long-time fans, while modernising layout and motion for today’s platforms.

Typography isn't just style.

It’s suspense.

It’s tone.

It’s voice.

At Koala, we don’t just set type – we weaponise it. 🐨

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17/07/2025

Meet the Koalas 🐨: Say g’day to Daniel Muro – our Senior Conceptual Copywriter since 2019 and the reason half our campaigns sparkle and the other half are simply brilliant.

Unless there’s a big pitch, you’ll find him in the creative backstage — researching, scripting, strategising or helping teammates shape their work. Curious, chatty, empathetic – and never short of a fun fact or three.

When he’s not writing up a storm, he’s probably cooking, working out, watching stand-up, deep-diving into world politics, or catching up on fantasy and sci-fi shows at home. Basically, if Koalas had a pub quiz team… he’d captain it.

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10/07/2025

For The Life Impossible paperback launch, we didn’t just animate a book trailer — we created a moving postcard from magical Ibiza.

Working with Canongate Books and Matt Haig, we built a visual world that balances feel-good escapism with a hint of the surreal.

☀️ Colour-blocked skies and rolling seagrass
🌊 Smooth transitions that echo the story’s emotional arc
🏡 Layered 2.5D animation that lifts flat illustrations into living space

We kept the tone warm and cinematic, with camera movement designed to feel like a slow exhale — the kind you take when you finally let go.

🐨 Koala-crafted. Whimsical, weightless, and impossible not to watch.

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08/07/2025

New fit-out. Fresh floorspace.
So how do you really show it off?

We teamed up with Seneca Flex to produce a cinematic FPV drone tour of Radius Leeds — capturing everything from street approach to skyline views to the scale and finish of the interiors.

- One-minute hero film
- Cutdowns for socials and web
- Delivered with stills and style

🐨 Big space deserves big storytelling. Koala brought the lift.

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06/07/2025

"This was our first time using drone footage... and the final result really captured the space beautifully."

Big thanks to Seneca Flex for trusting us with Radius Leeds. From ground level to mezzanine, our FPV drone captured the newly refurbished space in full — with a smooth-as-anything glide-through and sharp architectural detail.

Shoutout to Kim, James and Holly for turning precision flying into creative storytelling.

🐨 Another Koala-crafted shoot, and another happy client.
📍 radiusleeds.co.uk

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23/06/2025

Working on Operation Pimento was one of those rare briefs that combined history, legacy, and personal storytelling in a way that felt truly special.

This isn’t just the story of a daring WWII escape — it’s the story of a great-grandson, , who retraced every step of his ancestor’s journey from Annecy to Spain. Along the way, he met the descendants of those who risked everything to help his grandfather survive.

Bringing that emotional thread to life — in under 30 seconds — was a challenge we relished.

Thank you Hodder Books for trusting us with such a powerful story.

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19/06/2025

CLIENT: Hodder Books
PROJECT: Operation Pimento by Adam Hart
BRIEF: Bring a real-life WWII escape to life in under 30 seconds

DELIVERABLE: A cinematic trailer capturing one man’s survival, one family’s legacy, and a story that spans generations.

OUR APPROACH: Built like a wartime thriller, this trailer blends archive footage, animated maps and atmospheric transitions to honour the extraordinary escape of Frank Griffiths — and the modern-day journey of his great-grandson retracing it.

- Muted war-era palette with high-contrast monochrome for tension
- Vintage slab-serif typography with tactical transitions
- Archive textures layered with slow pans, dissolves, and map animations
- Sound design included subtle static, distant gunfire and a rising drone — all underscored by Adam Hart’s voiceover, grounding past and present
- Delivered in 16:9, square and vertical for full platform adaptability
- Ends with a cinematic packshot and retail CTA for hardback, ebook and audio

THE RESULT: History that moves. Legacy that lingers. A trailer crafted to echo across generations ... and feeds.

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18/06/2025

At Koala, creativity knows no bounds. Whether it's TV, online, or radio, we craft messages that resonate. Discover the Koala difference.

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16/06/2025

We didn’t just cut a trailer. We carved it — ice-pure, tension-tight, and built for digital.

To launch The Girl with Ice in Her Veins, the newest entry in the iconic Millennium Series, we leaned into what makes Lisbeth Lisbeth: the silence, the stillness, the stare that sees straight through you.

🎥 Monochrome tension
🧊 Cool colour theory
🧩 Visual fragments and jagged cuts

It’s not just a story continuation — it’s a tonal continuation. For a character who never lost her edge, we gave her a trailer with one.

🐨 Koala-crafted. Freeze-framed. Frostbitten on purpose.

11/06/2025

At Koala, we believe in building brands and creating impactful ads. Our team of thinkers, doers, and creators is dedicated to bringing your vision to life. Let's make something amazing together!

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Address

Birmingham

Telephone

+441212624220

Website

http://koalatv.com/

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