Rachel Perry: 1-Year-Old Whale Melbourne is Bringing International Work to Australia

Whale, the Amsterdam-based, production-led creative agency which set up in Melbourne just over a year ago, didn’t expect a prickly reception when it entered the Australian market. 

Co-founder and executive producer Rachel Perry moved to the other side of the world at the end of 2023 to expand the business into APAC, and spent the first year educating the market on what Whale does, and why it’s here to bring international work to the market, not compete with existing production agencies.

“The last thing people wanted to see was even more competition in the market,” she tells LBB.

“When I was reaching out to meet production companies here, they were unsure why we wanted to meet them.

“Initially in Australia, they had this immediate sense of, like ‘you're going to take our work’,” she explained.”

But Whale wasn’t here to compete with existing production agencies. It sees itself more as a client than a production company, and partners with production companies on projects, many of which are international.

“What's so nice about the projects we undertook is that they’re international clients,” she explains.

“So in some ways, I think Whale was fantastic for the community, in that we were bringing work to Australia from international clients as well.”

Its first full year in business in Melbourne was filled with more work than Rachel expected, but also plenty of market education and a dose of unpredictability.

“2024 was an exciting year, but because it was our first year in Australia, and our first year with our second office, it was also really uncertain,” Rachel says.

“I left Amsterdam at the end of 2023 with an idea and a plan in place, and the office set up, and all of those things.

“It was a very exciting but experimental year. There were a lot of new things to get my head around, from both a business and a production point of view.

“It was a year of working out where we fit, what the market is like here, and how we can make that work in our quite unique setup.”

After over 15 years of working in agency production with some of the world’s largest brands, Rachel felt the industry needed a different approach, and that Whale was the right fit.

“I loved and learned so much from my years as an agency producer … but over time, I found myself drawn to projects that were more intimate and deeply focused on craft,” she says.

The turning point came when she noticed a shift in client priorities — towards more tailored, efficient productions that still delivered high-quality work.

Recognising this trend, Rachel and her co-founder, Ezra Xenos, launched the agency to meet this demand with an agile, production-first model.

“We wanted to create a model that maintained the highest quality of work while using resources more intelligently,” Rachel says.

“It’s taken the year to educate suppliers and clients [in Australia] about the type of work that we do, how we fit in, and how we can be efficient.”

While setting up a company in a new region, Whale didn’t shy away from big jobs in 2024, working with brands like Airwallex, Nike, and the Australian Open. 

One project for fintech company Airwallex, featuring McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris, involved multi-location shoots and a challenge to Whale’s commitment to efficiency and sustainability.

Starting with the production constraints, Rachel’s team worked backwards, crafting a narrative that could be achieved in time for the campaign’s unveiling at an F1 event in Singapore.

“We had to adapt quickly to new opportunities that emerged, ensuring we captured everything that would enhance the story,” she notes.

This flexibility in the production and creative process enabled Whale to deliver in spite of the rapid pace and unpredictable factors — ranging from unconfirmed details to the evolving artistic input of Michael Murphy, the campaign’s sculptor.

With the success of client Airwallex and their partner McLaren – which won the Formula 1 constructors’ championship in 2024 – Whale has been briefed on a similar project for the 2025 Melbourne GP.

With that body of work, Rachel says Whale’s experience in the market will strengthen its focus and resolve in 2025.

“I'm really looking forward to focusing on the work this year,” she says.

“Even though we were just setting up, we were brand new in town, and there was still a huge amount of uncertainty about what we did.

“I think, if anything, it was quite an unexpected year in terms of how much work we did.

“I’m looking forward to not having to go through the company setup and all that stuff and just focus on the work.”

Her ambitions are to engage local talent and partners to make “relevant, respectful, and impactful work.”

Whale’s local success will depend on striking the right balance between technology and traditional craft, she adds.

“It’s about blending the best of both worlds — honouring the craft while exploring new possibilities.”

As Whale has begun integrating AI tools for tasks like research, treatment visuals, and VFX retouching, Rachel emphasises that technology should enhance, not replace, creativity.

“Ultimately, the technology needs to add to the efficiency of making great work, not take away from the craft.”