For most business owners, the pandemic created a cataclysm of professional and personal circumstances to navigate, and Emily Moon was no different.

Steering her agency through a growth phase while quietly recovering from a kidney transplant, her grit and graft was put to the test — but she had a mission, and that mission’s been key to her success.

Having worked in advertising for 15 years — the past five of those at the helm of her own agency, Loupe — Moon hasn’t just borne witness to the changing advertising landscape, she’s been at the coalface, forging a new, diverse and inclusive industry standard that prioritises artist wellbeing and creativity, and taps into what consumers really want from their content.

The youngest artist rep in Aotearoa and with more female photographers on her books than any other agency, Moon’s goal since going out on her own has been to assemble a team “varied in their creative views and mahi”, with a view to attracting clients that embrace the style of her artists — not the other way around.

“From the beginning, I’ve advocated for my artists,” she says. “I’m not interested in pushing them to adapt their individual styles to suit what traditional commercial advertising might dictate.” It’s an approach that’s paid off, as brands have become increasingly considered in the content they put out, and the artists they trust to tell their stories.

Having just signed her 11th artist, bringing the agency a step closer to its goal of equal gender representation, Moon knows Loupe’s status as one of the most inclusive and diverse agencies in Aotearoa is what sets it apart from the rest. “The talent we represent is reflective of the community in which we live and work. How can I expect a client or brand to trust in us if they can’t see themselves reflected in our team?”

Words: Phoebe Watt
Photography: Guy Coombes