{"id":34474,"date":"2026-04-30T16:31:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T11:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/creativebrandsmag.com\/?p=34474"},"modified":"2026-04-30T16:31:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T11:01:53","slug":"underdog-studio-bets-on-outcomes-over-hours-as-tearle-and-clarke-challenge-consulting-status-quo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creativebrandsmag.com\/underdog-studio-bets-on-outcomes-over-hours-as-tearle-and-clarke-challenge-consulting-status-quo\/","title":{"rendered":"UNDERDOG STUDIO BETS ON OUTCOMES OVER HOURS AS TEARLE AND CLARKE CHALLENGE CONSULTING STATUS QUO"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Former VML and McDonald\u2019s executives Thomas Tearle and Brent Clarke have launched Underdog Studio, an Australian consultancy focused on outcome-based transformation. Targeting high-growth and private equity-backed firms, the venture rejects traditional consulting models, promising faster, simpler, and more effective growth through design, data, technology and AI.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Former VML and McDonald\u2019s executives Thomas Tearle and Brent Clarke have launched Underdog Studio, an Australian consultancy focused on outcome-based transformation. Targeting high-growth and private equity-backed firms, the venture rejects traditional consulting models, promising faster, simpler, and more effective growth through design, data, technology and AI.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A new Australian consultancy is aiming to upend the traditional transformation playbook, as former&nbsp;VML&nbsp;AUNZ CEO Thomas Tearle and ex-McDonald&#8217;s&nbsp;ANZ executive Brent Clarke unveil Underdog Studio, a business and technology firm built on delivering measurable outcomes rather than billable hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The venture marks a reunion for the pair, who first crossed paths at&nbsp;WPP&nbsp;15 years ago, and reflects a growing trend of senior network leaders branching out independently. Underdog Studio joins a wave of new-age consultancies seeking to challenge legacy models they argue have grown overly complex and ineffective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tearle, who previously oversaw a 300-strong team and multiple mergers during his tenure at VML AUNZ, believes the consulting industry has lost sight of its purpose. Despite the global consulting market reaching an estimated USD $263 billion in 2024, research suggests that the vast majority of transformation initiatives fail to meet their original ambitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMost businesses aren\u2019t stuck because they lack strategy,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re stuck because they can\u2019t stop transforming long enough to build the foundation that makes transformation unnecessary. The big consultancies are incentivised to make it complicated. We\u2019re built the opposite way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Underdog Studio plans to work in short, high-impact cycles rather than drawn-out, multi-year programmes. Its approach combines expertise in e-commerce, subscription models, digital revenue streams, CRM, loyalty systems, and product development across web and mobile platforms, with a focus on tangible growth outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Clarke, who left McDonald\u2019s Australia after nearly seven years leading digital transformation initiatives\u2014including the launch of the MyMaccas loyalty programme and exponential growth in app usage\u2014said the firm is designed for ambitious, fast-scaling businesses, particularly those backed by private equity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe studio is built on a simple belief: the best transformation is the one that makes the next one unnecessary,\u201d he said, adding that senior practice leads across design, data and technology are currently being recruited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Central to Underdog\u2019s proposition is a commercial model that charges clients based on results rather than time spent, a structure increasingly gaining traction among independent consultancies. Clarke argues this aligns incentives more closely with business outcomes, eliminating inefficiencies that plague traditional engagements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe goal was never transformation,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was always&nbsp;growth. We use design, data, technology and AI, combined with hands-on experience, to grow our customers\u2019 businesses. Like any good underdog, we aim to achieve more with less\u2014more growth with less cost, time and frustration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The launch also comes amid a widening gap between investment in transformation and tangible returns, particularly in emerging technologies. Clarke pointed to findings from&nbsp;Deloitte&nbsp;indicating that only 12 per cent of Australian leaders believe generative AI is already transforming their business, compared to a global average of 25 per cent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Underdog Studio, that disparity underscores a broader industry problem\u2014one it hopes to address by simplifying transformation and tying it directly to growth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former VML and McDonald\u2019s executives Thomas Tearle and Brent Clarke have launched Underdog Studio, an Australian consultancy focused on outcome-based transformation. Targeting high-growth and private equity-backed firms, the venture rejects traditional consulting models, promising faster, simpler, and more effective growth through design, data, technology and AI.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1375],"tags":[5930,7842],"class_list":["post-34474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brand-launches","tag-technology","tag-underdog-studio"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/creativebrandsmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-04-30-at-4.22.49-PM.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativebrandsmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativebrandsmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativebrandsmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativebrandsmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativebrandsmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34474"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/creativebrandsmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34476,"href":"https:\/\/creativebrandsmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34474\/revisions\/34476"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativebrandsmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativebrandsmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativebrandsmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativebrandsmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}