Topham Guerin

1. Business / Trading Name: Topham Guerin Limited (commonly known as Topham Guerin)

2. Company Number: 6043790

3. NZBN: 9429042446927

4. Entity Type: NZ Limited Company (Ltd)

5. Business Classification: ANZSIC M694010 – Advertising agency operation

6. Industry Category: Advertising and digital marketing services (political communications specialty)

7. Year Founded: 2016 (incorporated 12 July 2016)

8. Addresses:

• Registered Office: Level 4, 4 Graham Street, Auckland Central, Auckland 1010, NZ

• Postal Address: PO Box 90158, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142, NZ

• Former Address: Level 3, 12 Huron Street, Takapuna, Auckland 0622, NZ (used 2016–2021)

• Auckland Office: 3 Lorne Street, Auckland 1010, NZ (current premises)

• International Offices: London (UK) and Sydney (Australia) locations established (since c.2019)

9. Website URL: tophamguerin.com

10. LinkedIn URL: linkedin.com/company/topham-guerin

11. Company Hub NZ URL: https://www.companyhub.nz/companyDetails.cfm?nzbn=9429042446927

12. NZ Companies Office URL: https://app.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/6043790

13. Social Media URLs:

• Facebook: facebook.com/tophamguerin

• Instagram: instagram.com/topham.guerin

• TikTok: tiktok.com/@topham.guerin

• Twitter (X): twitter.com/TophamGuerin

14. Ultimate Holding Company: TG Holding Co Limited (NZBN 9429047565388) – 100% shareholder since Aug 2019. (TG Holding Co was incorporated 17 Jul 2019 to hold Topham Guerin Ltd’s shares.)

15. Key Shareholders: TG Holding Co Limited – 100 ordinary shares (100% ownership). Historic shareholders (2016–2019): Co-founders Sean Topham and Ben Guerin each held 50% before transferring shares to TG Holding Co.

16. Leadership:

• Sean Topham – Co-founder and Director (former President of the Young Nationals 2012–2015).

• Ben Guerin – Co-founder and Director (Young Nationals alumnus).

• Andrew Blow – Managing Director (Australia) and Non-Executive Director; former adviser to Australian PM Tony Abbott.

• Sam Newton – APAC Managing Director (appointed c.2022, leads Aus/NZ region).

• Deborah Feldman – Managing Director (UK office).

(Other senior staff include Haydon Howlett – ex-Finance Director, Conor Ritchie – Media Director, etc.)

17. Staff: Approximately 50–60 employees worldwide as of 2022, with teams in Auckland, London, and Sydney. Staff specialize in digital media, political communications, and creative advertising (skills include social media, content production, web development, etc.).

18. Staff with Previous Government Roles:

• Andrew Blow – Former adviser to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott (served 2013–2015). Now heads TG’s Australian operations.

• (Founders Sean Topham and Ben Guerin were political party staffers rather than government staff – e.g. youth wing leaders – but did not hold public office.)

• No other publicly documented ex-government officials on staff were found.

19. Past Employees:

• Debra Susan Haworth – People & Culture Manager (October 2021 – June 2023)

• Haydon Francis Howlett – Finance Director and NZ Director (May 2021–Jan 2024). Departed after overseeing operations and rapid growth (319% revenue rise).

• Alan Graham Towers – Founding Director (2016–2019) who helped establish the company. Left prior to TG’s international expansion.

• Other past staff: Tsieske van den Broek (former GM), and various creative staff acknowledged in award posts.

20. Clients: (Known engagements across political, public, and private sectors)

• Political Parties: New Zealand National Party (2020 & 2023 election social media campaigns); UK Conservative Party (digital campaign for 2019 general election); Liberal Party of Australia (2019 federal election); Conservative Party of Canada (2021 campaign support); International Democrat Union (centre-right alliance, digital content).

• Government/Public Sector: UK Government (Cabinet Office COVID-19 communications contracts); New Zealand Government agencies (NZ Police COVID-19 social media contract); National Health Service (England) – NHS app promotion; New Zealand Police – recruitment and public awareness (client listed on TG site).

• Corporate/Industry: Lloyds Banking Group (Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland, Halifax – UK banking campaigns); Airbnb (digital advertising in UK); Rio Tinto (global mining company, digital comms); Spotify (streaming service, social media advertising) ; Acciona (infrastructure, Australia); Stockland (Australian property developer); Gilead Sciences (pharmaceuticals, UK); abrdn (Aberdeen) (investment co., UK); BusinessNZ (NZ business lobby group); Minerals Council of Australia (via pro-nuclear campaign) ; among others.

• Non-profit/Advocacy: Cure Our Ovarian Cancer (NZ/UK awareness campaigns); Lifeline (mental health, Australia); Kea New Zealand (expat network, NZ); International Olympic Committee (via HPower, event marketing).

• Industries/Sectors Represented: Broad range including political and election campaigning, government and public health, financial services (banking, investment), technology and digital platforms, mining and energy, pharmaceutical and healthcare, infrastructure and construction, agribusiness (e.g. wineries, farms), and non-profit advocacy. The company is especially known for conservative political communications and issue-based campaigns (often for corporate lobbying groups).

21. Publicly Disclosed Engagements:

• New Zealand: In 2020, then-Police Commissioner Mike Bush directly commissioned Topham Guerin for a NZD $500,000 COVID-19 social media contract (no tender). In 2023, the National Party publicly acknowledged hiring TG for its election social media, spending NZD $319,000 (9% of party campaign expenses).

• United Kingdom: Awarded a £3 million Cabinet Office contract in 2020 to produce COVID-19 messaging, revealed via government disclosure (awarded under emergency provisions without tender). During the 2019 UK election, TG’s role in managing Conservative Party digital strategy became public (e.g. running the “factcheckUK” stunt).

• Australia: Identified as the agency behind the “Get Clear on Nuclear” campaign (2024) on behalf of the mining lobby (Minerals Council), through domain registrations and political ad disclosures. TG’s contribution to Scott Morrison’s 2019 election win was widely reported in media post-election.

• Canada: Media reports in 2021 noted TG was working for the Canadian Conservative Party’s election campaign, particularly after a controversial ad (the arrangement was reported by investigative journalists).

22. Affiliations:

• Topham Guerin’s founders emerged from New Zealand’s National Party circles – both were active in the Young Nationals (Sean Topham served as president). This ideological affiliation with centre-right politics has continued in their client choices.

• Early in their career, Topham and Guerin worked under Lynton Crosby’s CTF Partners in London, acting as digital campaign contractors. They are often described as protégés (“acolytes”) of Crosby, aligning TG with the international network of conservative political strategists.

• TG is a member of the communications industry network spanning the UK, Australia, and NZ; for example, it has been listed alongside firms like Crosby’s CT Group, Hanbury Strategy, and others with Tory links.

• The agency has informal ties to the International Democrat Union (a global alliance of right-leaning parties) through contract work, reinforcing its alignment with conservative political causes.

• Within NZ, TG has been associated with BusinessNZ (the leading business lobby) as a client, suggesting alignment with corporate advocacy campaigns domestically.

23. Sponsorships / Collaborations:

• Ovarian Cancer Awareness (2021): Topham Guerin created a pro bono digital campaign for ovarian cancer awareness that was displayed on iconic billboards in London (Piccadilly Circus) and New York (Times Square), in collaboration with property company Landsec and billboard firm JCDecaux who donated the advertising space. This high-profile collaboration amplified a public health message and demonstrated TG’s ability to partner with media owners for social causes.

• Palantir “Good Law Project” Campaign (2023): Leaked documents revealed a covert collaboration between TG and US tech firm Palantir, where TG orchestrated a paid influencer campaign to attack the UK Good Law Project’s stance on NHS data – with instructions to keep Palantir’s role confidential. (This indicates TG’s behind-the-scenes collaboration with corporate clients for influence operations.)

• No other formal sponsorships by TG (such as events or awards) are publicly recorded. TG typically works behind the scenes rather than as a public sponsor, except when partnering on client campaigns as above.

24. Events (held or organised by this organisation): Data Not Found. (Topham Guerin does not publicly host events; its involvement in events is usually as a contractor for clients. Notably, co-founder Ben Guerin appeared as a speaker at the 2019 Friedman Conference – a third-party event – to discuss political PR strategy, but TG itself hasn’t convened public events.)

25. Political Donations: None disclosed. A search of NZ and UK donation registers did not reveal any direct political donations by Topham Guerin Limited or its principals. Instead of donating money, TG exerts influence through paid services to political parties (e.g. National Party’s payments to TG in 2020–2023). (If any donations were made, they were below reporting thresholds or via associated individuals and not publicly documented.)

26. Controversies:

• Disinformation Tactics: TG garnered infamy for the 2019 “factcheckUK” incident – rebranding the UK Conservatives’ Twitter account as a fake fact-checking service during a leaders’ debate – and for launching a sham Labour manifesto website to mislead voters. These tactics were widely condemned as deliberately deceptive.

• “Boomer Memes” and Misinformation: TG’s signature strategy of flooding social media with “shitpost” memes (“low-quality, deliberately lame” graphics) to trigger shares and amplify reach has been criticised for sacrificing truth for virality. An anonymous staffer dubbed their 2019 Australian campaign strategy “boomer memes”, highlighting how it gamed older audiences’ engagement while sidestepping substantive debate.

• COVID-19 Contracts and Cronyism: In the UK, TG’s £3m COVID comms contract (2020) raised alarm for being awarded without tender to a firm with close Tory connections. In NZ, TG’s $552k police contract (2020) was approved through an old-boys’ network: the Police Commissioner personally brought them in after a “professional engagement” meeting with Sean Topham, bypassing standard procurement until formalized later. Critics called the resulting content “confusing or boring” and not worth the money, and the contract was terminated early amidst embarrassment.

• “Sexist” COVID Ad Scandal: TG was linked to a widely-criticised UK government COVID-19 ad (Jan 2021) that showed women doing all domestic chores and a man relaxing. The ad, perceived as out-of-touch 1950s sexism, was quickly pulled. Industry press reported TG as the creator, given its work for the UK Government and prior role with Scott Morrison’s team. This fueled debate on the Government’s blind spots and TG’s judgment in social messaging.

• Opaque Influence Operations: In late 2023, TG was revealed to be managing a covert campaign for Palantir to discredit a legal accountability group, with instructions to hide the true sponsor. Similarly, TG’s involvement in a pro-nuclear lobbying campaign in Australia was not immediately transparent to the public, only traced via technical clues. Such cases underscore TG’s role in “unauthorised” influence campaigns that operate in the shadows.

• Public Backlash and Ethical Questions: These controversies have sparked public backlash and questions in Parliament (e.g. UK MPs and commentators lambasting the factcheckUK stunt and sexist ad). TG’s methods are frequently cited in discussions of disinformation, prompting ethical scrutiny for manipulating social media discourse and undermining trust in political communications.

27. Other Information of Note:

• Rapid Growth: Topham Guerin achieved extraordinary growth in its first years. It ranked 15th on the 2022 Deloitte Fast 50 list of NZ’s fastest-growing firms, with 319% revenue growth over three years. This growth, achieved without external investors, reflects the boom in demand for digital campaign tactics. TG expanded from two founders and “a couple of MacBooks” in 2016 to a team of 60 by 2020.

• Global Footprint: Though NZ-founded, TG is globally active. It established a UK subsidiary (Topham Guerin Ltd UK) and Australian entity (Topham Guerin Pty Ltd) to service international contracts. The co-founders relocated at times (Topham and Guerin have listed London addresses in company filings). TG’s international work often informs its NZ activities and vice versa, making it an influencer across multiple political systems.

• Awards and Recognition: Aside from Deloitte’s recognition, TG’s campaigns have drawn both accolades and ire. Its innovative approach was discussed in marketing circles as re-writing the playbook for digital political advertising. At the same time, journalists and academics frequently highlight Topham Guerin as emblematic of the new wave of political PR that blurs ethical lines.

• Company Structure: TG’s use of a holding company (TG Holding Co Ltd) and minimal public disclosures reflect a deliberate low-transparency structure. Ownership is concentrated with the founders, and there is no public board beyond them and a close associate (Haworth). This insularity has raised questions about accountability, given the outsized impact of the firm’s work on democratic processes.

28. Recipient of Wage Subsidy Scheme: Data Not Found. (No public record confirms whether Topham Guerin claimed New Zealand’s COVID-19 wage subsidy. The company’s fortunes in 2020 were buoyed by government contracts, which may have obviated any need for wage subsidies. In absence of official data, it appears TG did not rely on the NZ wage subsidy, or any claim was not disclosed.)

Sources:

1. “Topham Guerin – Wikipedia page (Key people, founded 2016, HQ Auckland).” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topham_Guerin

2. “Topham Guerin Limited – NZ Companies Office summary (NZBN 9429042446927, Company #6043790, reg. 12 Jul 2016, Ltd company).” BizDB (NZ). https://www.bizdb.co.nz/company/9429042446927/

3. “LinkedIn – Topham Guerin (Company Overview: Advertising Services, 51-200 employees, founded 2016).” LinkedIn.com. https://www.linkedin.com/company/topham-guerin/

4. Farah Hancock, “Social media agency’s $320k bill for National’s campaign advertising.” RNZ News, 22 March 2024. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/512357/social-media-agency-s-320k-bill-for-national-s-campaign-advertising

5. Anusha Bradley, “The $500k contract for Covid-19 memes that was approved by then-Police Commissioner Mike Bush.” RNZ (In Depth), 17 May 2023. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/490071/the-500k-contract-for-covid-19-memes-that-was-approved-by-then-police-commissioner-mike-bush

6. Henry Oliver, “The memeing of life: An interview with digital campaign whizzes Sean Topham and Ben Guerin.” The Spinoff (NZ), 4 September 2020. https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/04-09-2020/the-memeing-of-life-an-interview-with-digital-campaign-whizzes-sean-topham-and-ben-guerin/

7. Latika Bourke, “How the Liberals beat Labor at its own game.” Sydney Morning Herald, 25 May 2019. (Describes TG’s “boomer memes” strategy in Australia’s 2019 election). https://www.smh.com.au

8. David Conn et al., “Tory-linked PR firm granted £3m Covid-19 contract without tender.” The Guardian (UK), 3 August 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/aug/03/tory-linked-pr-firm-granted-3m-covid-19-contract-without-tender

9. Jim Waterson, “Tories hire Facebook propaganda pair to run online election campaign.” The Guardian, 23 October 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/23/tories-hire-facebook-propaganda-pair-online-election-campaign (Describes TG’s hiring and tactics like factcheckUK and fake Labour site).

10. Anne Davies, “The 24-hour meme machine: what the US election can teach Australia about digital campaigning.” The Guardian, 5 January 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/06/the-24-hour-meme-machine-what-the-us-election-can-teach-australia-about-digital-campaigning (Mentions TG’s influence on conservative campaigns).

11. Alexandra Topping, “‘No 10 pulls “sexist” Covid ad showing all chores done by women’.” The Guardian, 28 January 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jan/28/no-10-pulls-sexist-covid-ad-showing-all-chores-done-by-women (Notes ad reportedly made by TG for UK govt).

12. Cam Wilson, “Australia’s mining lobby is running a pro-nuclear campaign using Liberal Party-linked ad firm.” Crikey (AU), 3 October 2024. https://www.crikey.com.au/2024/10/03/minerals-council-nuclear-campaign-scott-morrison/ (Exposes TG’s role in the Get Clear on Nuclear campaign).

13. Aaron White & Peter Geoghegan, “Controversial Tory-linked PR firm working to oust Trudeau in Canada’s election.” OpenDemocracy, 17 September 2021. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/controversial-tory-linked-pr-firm-working-to-oust-trudeau-in-canadas-election/ (Reports TG working for Canadian Conservatives).

14. Company Records – “Topham Guerin Ltd – Shareholding and Directors.” NZ Companies Office via BusinessCheck. https://www.businesscheck.co.nz/ltd/9429042446927/ (Shows TG Holding Co as sole shareholder, directors list)

15. Sam Bright, “£203 Million Financial Boost for COVID Contract Winners With Conservative Links.” Byline Times (UK), 4 October 2022. https://bylinetimes.com/2022/10/04/203-million-financial-boost-for-covid-contract-winners-with-conservative-links/ (Details TG’s finances post-UK contract and Crosby links).

16. Good Law Project, “PR firm that works for the Tories and Palantir offers to pay for attacks on us.” goodlawproject.org, 22 Dec 2023. https://goodlawproject.org/pr-firm-topham-guerin-tories-and-palantir-offers-to-pay-influencers-attacks-twitter-x/ (Leaked emails about TG’s covert campaign for Palantir).

17. Topham Guerin website – Clients page. TophamGuerin.com (Archived). https://www.tophamguerin.com (Lists various corporate and govt clients by logo, including BusinessNZ, NZ Police, Lloyds, Airbnb, etc).

18. Bryce Edwards, “The Silent Death of Lobbying Reform in NZ.” The Democracy Project – News Briefing, 6 March 2025. (Discusses how firms like TG operate with impunity due to lack of reform). [Substack/DemocracyProject]

19. Andrew Blow, Profile – “Lifesize Plans raises $2m… (board includes Andrew Blow, TG MD, former Tony Abbott adviser).” TWIYO (AU), 2020. https://www.twiyo.com.au/insights/lifesize-plans-raises-2million-eyes-global-expansion (Confirms Blow’s role and background).

20. Richard Harman, “National’s strategists shut out all the noise and negatives.” Newsroom NZ, 16 Oct 2023. (Describes National’s 2023 campaign strategy, presumably influenced by TG’s approach). https://www.newsroom.co.nz (analysis piece).

Spot anything in this entry that is wrong? Please either leave a comment at the end or email, in confidence: bryce@democracyproject.nz