"We're living in uncharted times," explains Hattie Matthews, co-founder of creative agency Uncharted. "There's a lot of unknowns happening. We're in a massive time of change particularly with AI."
This sentiment captures the essence behind one of the UK's newest independent agencies, founded by three industry leaders who've worked together in various guises over many years. Uncharted was born from a recognition that clients increasingly want partners who can help them navigate uncertainty with confidence rather than simply selling them "the people in the building."
The agency's motto - "set out without fear", encapsulates their mission to give brands the confidence to venture into an unpredictable future. As Matthews puts it, they're inspired by Margaret Heerman's quote: "The only way to know the future is to create it."
The talent revolution: Diverse, global and flexible
What distinguishes Uncharted in today's crowded agency landscape? According to Matthews, it comes down to two key differentiators: talent and technology.
"We're deeply human-centred, deeply tech-driven," Matthews explains. "We're really passionate about diverse creative talent. Very different to probably some other agencies, we're global from day one."
This isn't just marketing speak. Uncharted has built a community of talent under NDA and contract - not full-time staff, but diverse professionals with varied backgrounds who can be deployed based on client needs. This approach allows them to pull in expertise from Nigeria or Indonesia when a brief demands cultural relevance in those markets.
"The diverse talent helps us get to the most culturally relevant work, and we know that frankly better diversity means we have more original ideas," said Laura Jordan Bambach, co-founder and chief creative officer, emphasising that this community extends beyond project work: "Our youngest person is 17 and still at school. Our oldest person is 76 and retired. It's a really beautiful place where people are learning about each other's cultures and sharing things."
Technology as enabler, not replacement
The second pillar of Uncharted's approach is their relationship with technology. Starting fresh in the AI era has allowed them to integrate technology including AI, thoughtfully rather than retrofitting it to legacy systems.
"We can be really clever about the responsible use of technology within our business," Matthews explains. "How can it help us get there more nimbly, more quickly, but with more certainty that work is going to perform?"
This isn't about replacing humans but enhancing their capabilities. The agency leverages technology for data and insights, pre-testing creative work, and scaling globally once human-created big ideas are established.
"You can be small and global, which I don't think was something we could do 15 years ago," Matthews notes. "We can now scale an idea to any market once we've come up with a big human idea, which is amazing."
Global Talent, Borderless Thinking: The Airalo Case Study
Uncharted’s global talent model comes to life in its work with Airalo, the world’s leading eSIM brand. Airalo lets travelers access mobile data instantly, no physical SIMs, no roaming bill shocks.
The challenge? eSIMs are still a new and often misunderstood category. Airalo needed to build both category understanding and a bold, differentiated brand to lead in an increasingly competitive space. It called for universal insight, rapid action, and a brand that could flex across markets.
Uncharted’s central strategic insight was simple but powerful: “The world may be more connected than ever, but without eSIMs, that connection is limited. And when travelers don’t feel connected, they don’t feel confident.” said Fern Miller, co-founder and CSO,
“Airalo gives travellers greater confidence to explore the world”
Uncharted’s diverse global community helped shape the brand positioning, which was then evaluated across key markets using the latest rapid testing platforms, and iterated at pace.
Uncharted’s recent integrated campaign for Airalo, “Pack the Internet,” reframed mobile data as the most essential travel item. First launched in the U.S., it has since scaled to run across Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, The Philippines, Japan, Australia and beyond.
The result? Impact and global growth. Airalo recently achieved magical ‘Unicorn’ status with the business valued at £1 billion.
Uncharted proved its model: global talent, thoughtful tech, and the confidence to break new ground.
Beyond the "female agency" stereotype
Despite their success, Uncharted faces misconceptions as a female-founded agency, with the assumption they must specialise in "women's products." Matthews counters: "We haven't had any briefs for specifically female-focused brands at all yet. We're working with financial services brands, complex technology, cycling, fishing brands and more.”
The indie agency renaissance
Looking ahead, Matthews is bullish about the future of independent agencies. "I feel like we're living in the era of the indie. The indie is back," she declares. "I'm excited for us to kind of lead the way and show others that you can do it."
She argues that technology has levelled the playing field between independents and networks. "Some of the advantages of being big that they had in terms of scale and technology are being reduced - it's being commoditised.”
This democratisation has shifted the paradigm from ownership to connectivity. "The future is about bridges not islands," Matthews explains. "You don't necessarily need to build a massive piece of tech yourself and own IP. You can have the right connections and tap into the best thing that's out there, which is going to move faster than any agency can move."
In an industry constantly chasing the next shiny object, Uncharted's approach suggests that perhaps the most innovative model isn't about abandoning human creativity for AI or maintaining rigid legacy structures, but rather building flexible, diverse teams empowered by technology and driven by genuine partnership.
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