Pete Vamos and Stephen Stanley are doubling down on the content business – together – with the launch of a new venture they’ve named Verses Content.

The move has been prompted by an increased need for content in the modern world, Vamos says, as well as an opportunity to reunite with Stanley, with whom he worked at strategy publisher Brunico Communications from 2006 to 2008.

“Partnering is something we’ve always wanted to do. We work so well together – even when Stephen was at Fifth Story and I was at PostMedia and the Toronto Star, we were always looking for ways to collaborate,” Vamos explains. “We have finally reached a point in our lives where it made sense.”

“The way things have been in the past year, we were able to carve out some time to think about this and realize it was probably a good idea,” adds Stanley.

But the decision to launch a content company was driven by more than just personal circumstances. Vamos, who has spent more than six years with Shifter Media, and Stanley, who left film production house Meta4Films last May, both are sold on the increasing importance of content in the modern marketing landscape.

“In the past two years, everything has changed to become increasingly online, and so the opportunity for brands to engage with their customers has totally shifted and content has become much more important. It used to be that if you had a story to tell, you could tell it at a conference or event, but so much of that traffic and engagement has moved online,” Vamos says. “Customers are now checking you out more online. And if you have a story or something interesting to share with them, that is an essential piece of the puzzle.”

The problem for a lot of brands, however, has been making that adjustment from the status quo, he says.

“A lot of businesses are struggling with it. They don’t know that they need content, they just know that they’re not engaging with their customers in the same way. We can help with that, by giving them the opportunity to tell their stories in an engaging, top-of-funnel way,” says Vamos. “We’re offering them that solution.”

The company, for now, consists only of Vamos and Stanley, who ideate and develop the creative. The pair then harness their network of creative contacts to develop the content on a freelance basis – a strategy that has been employed increasingly by creative agencies and content production houses since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a means of reducing overhead and increasing the speed at which work can be done.

“We’re what you get. We’re tapped into some of the best podcast and video producers, freelance writers and designers. But we are the creative hub for all of it, and we’re involved every step of the way. We’re very lean, and that’s how we operate,” says Vamos. “We’re not trying to build a huge business here. We’re trying to do great work for our clients.”

Verses takes its name both from the founders’ initials – the “V” and “S” are played up in its stylized logo – and also from Stanley’s background as a songwriter. “In songwriting, there’s this idea that the story is contained within the verse,” he elaborates.

“Everyone wants to sing along to the chorus,” Vamos agrees. “Even in this industry, everyone is focused on that chorus – the earworm. The thing that will attract the most attention. But the nut is in the verse, and that’s what we’re trying to articulate.”