RHYME / ABOUT
Poetry.
Heavy metal.
Calvinism.
Just some of the things that make us tick.
I say we, I mean me. Dan Abbey, founder and executive creative director of Rhyme.
And no, I’m not going to wax lyrical about why Rhyme is one of the best writing-led creative consultancies in the world. Or, at the very least, in the Philippines.
Let me tell you about me. I’m at the helm, I oversee all Rhyme projects, I sign the pay slips.
Know me, know the company.
Some people grow up with a silver spoon in their mouth. I grew up with a pen in my hand. I would have preferred a silver spoon, but a pen isn’t so bad if you know how to write gold.
I won several writing competitions as a kid. I did so well that when I flunked math, my teacher said, “It’s OK, you’re gonna be a writer one day anyway,” and gave me a passing grade.
Yada-yada-yada, I eventually settled in Manila and landed a job with a luxury real estate company, developing ATL and BTL content. Did lots of great work here, interfacing with sales teams, architects, and global brand partners like Paris Hilton and Versace Home.
I even spent a day looking after the Trump brothers. No joke.
After seven years, I quit to become the creative director of a start-up agency in Makati. I helped take it from a bootstrapped four-person outfit to a thriving agency of more than 20 people in just five years. And that includes surviving a pandemic.
Speaking of the pandemic, I developed a real joy being home with the wife and kids. I could no longer battle the daily traffic. There’s a reason Manila is called the world’s biggest parking lot. A delight it is not.
So I quit to start Rhyme. My own writing-led creative consultancy, helping businesses find the ideas, language, and creative direction they need. And yes, occasionally putting up with MS Teams.
A few years ago, I talked about starting Rhyme and why I think writing is a superpower. You can read that interview here.
I’ve worked on brand development, advertising, corporate communications, annual reporting, video, and creative direction.
My clients have been Universal Robina, Novellino, Century Properties, Avon, and Philippine Airlines, and many others.
I’ve worked alongside designers, filmmakers, marketers, business leaders, influencers, celebrities, and creative agencies, often helping bridge the gap between what a client wants to accomplish and what the creative work needs to express.
But this is not why you should work with Rhyme.
You should work with us because we listen.
OK, everybody says that. But seriously, we put ourselves in your shoes.
We want to understand who you are, what you’re about, what keeps you awake, what puts you to sleep.
Because success lies in the conversations. The questions. The uncomfortable truths. The ambitious plans. The things a client knows instinctively but hasn’t quite figured out how to articulate.
We listen for those things.
Only then can the ideas materialize. Only then will the words flow.
Small by design. Experienced by nature.
We don’t believe every assignment needs a room full of people, three layers of account management, and a presentation explaining why the presentation needs another presentation.
Rhyme is built around the work.
Depending on what the project requires, we collaborate with talented designers, illustrators, filmmakers, and other creative specialists.
That gives clients direct access to senior creative thinking, with the flexibility to bring in the right expertise when it’s needed.
No unnecessary machinery. No complicated hierarchies.
Just the people and the thinking required to do the work well.
Kick your feet up. Let your hair down.
We’re interested in what you’re building, what’s getting in the way, and what success would actually look like.
Not just what you need designed, written, launched, or published.
We’re interested in the source.
You.