LONDON — Peter Bowles, the co-founder of technology agency Dynamo, has launched a new agency, Heist PR, with backing from B2B specialist firm CCgroup.

Bowles co-founded Dynamo PR with Paul Cockerton in 2011. After Dynamo was bought by technology agency Clarity in late 2019, he became chief creative officer, before leaving Clarity in February last year.

Heist will serve clients in the consumer technology and emerging ‘web3’ sectors, including cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), with the aim of “making consumer technology and web3 products accessible to all, breaking away from jargon-filled messaging and impenetrable content.”

The agency will operate as an independent division of CCgroup, benefitting from investment, access to resources and back-office support. The new venture will operate a quasi-virtual model, building bespoke account teams for each client depending on their needs, including working with specialist partners around the world.

Heist will draw on Bowles’ personal interest in crypto, as an experienced day-trader and father of the ‘Bitcoin Baby’, and NFTs, as the founder of London’s first NFT art gallery), as well as CCgroup’s experience supporting fintechs involved with crypto and digital assets.

Bowles told PRovoke Media: “Consumer technology is really important to me, I love promoting and testing gadgets, but the cryptocurrency and web3 world is a passion of mine. It’s fresh and exciting: it’s a new layer being built on top of the internet and I do think in time it will be as big as the internet and will change a lot of how we do our jobs. Heist is the Venn diagram of my interests in consumer technology and crypto.”

He said the agency’s name was based on his approach to finding the best ideas for clients: “I have what I call a safecracker method, turning a dial so things link up and you have the right story to take out there. When I was thinking of setting up a new agency, I thought, it’s like a heist, unlocking ideas for clients, and this got me excited about doing it all over again.”

CCgroup CEO Richard Fogg said: “Over the last 30-plus years, CCgroup has built a strong business and reputation in the B2B technology PR and marketing sector. We felt it was the right time to build a consumer technology proposition, but also to push further and faster into the worlds of web3 and crypto.

“Seven years ago, I met Peter when we sat next to each other on a flight to Mobile World Congress. Over time, I was impressed by Peter’s amazing geekiness and creativity, the work Dynamo delivered and more than a little jealous of how many awards the team won. It’s a pleasure to be working with Peter and to launch an exciting proposition that evolves CCgroup’s offer and addresses challenges faced by clients in huge, growing global markets.”

On working within CCgroup, Bowles said: “I wanted to partner with someone else and I know Rich really well and so I took the idea to him. They are a really truly outstanding team and it’s great to be supported by them.”

Bowles describes web3 as “an evolved internet that is owned by the people that build it, use it and create on it.” Web3 uses tokens and decentralized technology, aiming to disrupt centralised intermediaries such as banks. Cryptocurrencies, NFTs and decentralised finance (DeFi) are among its first applications, and are attracting high levels of funding: in 2021, global venture capital investments in crypto start-ups amounted to almost $30 billion, up from around $7 billion in 2020.