WONDERFUL LAUNCHES INITIATIVE TO SOLVE DIGITAL PROBLEMS FOR SOCIAL IMPACT

Sydney agency Wonderful has launched Wonderful Possibilities, an annual programme granting $25,000 in digital expertise to an Australian organisation creating social impact. The initiative reflects Wonderful’s new positioning of solving business problems rather than selling solutions, aiming to help purpose‑driven organisations overcome digital challenges that hinder their mission.  

Founded in January 2023, Wonderful has built its reputation on delivering digital strategy, customer research, UX, design, technology, analytics and experimentation. With Wonderful Possibilities, the agency signals a shift in philosophy, moving away from leading with solutions such as websites or platforms, and instead interrogating the underlying business problems that drive client briefs.  

Matt Barbelli, founder and managing director, explained the rationale behind the repositioning. “Clients understandably come to agencies saying they need a new website, a new platform, better UX or a particular piece of technology. But ‘we need a new website’ isn’t really a problem, it’s a proposed solution. The question we’re much more interested in is, what’s happening in the business that makes you think you need one?”  

Barbelli emphasised that agencies often risk becoming adept at solving the problem they are handed, rather than questioning whether it is the right one. “If you start with the solution, everything that follows is designed to justify it. If you start with the problem, you give yourself permission to arrive somewhere else,” he said.  

Wonderful’s new positioning, Digital experiences that move organisations forward, challenges the traditional model of agencies organised around what they sell. Barbelli noted that web agencies tend to default to websites, technology consultancies to technology, and media agencies to media. “That’s understandable commercially, but it’s backwards from the client’s point of view. Businesses don’t have UX problems, CMS problems or website problems in isolation. They have growth problems, customer problems, operational problems and moments of change. Digital is one of the ways we respond to them.”  

The agency believes the most valuable question it can ask a client is not “what do you want us to make,” but “what are you actually trying to change.” Barbelli argued that while the distinction may sound obvious, in practice it transforms the way agencies engage with clients and deliver outcomes.  

To embody this philosophy, Wonderful Possibilities invites not‑for‑profits, social enterprises, healthcare and education providers, community groups and purpose‑led businesses to share the digital challenge standing in the way of greater impact. The winning organisation will receive up to $25,000 in services, enabling Wonderful to apply its expertise to solving a real problem rather than building a solution for its own sake.  

“Wonderful Possibilities is a very practical expression of what our new positioning is about,” Barbelli said. “There are Australian social purpose organisations doing incredibly important work that have digital challenges standing in the way of their impact. Giving one of them $25,000 of our strategy, research, UX, design and technology expertise gives us the opportunity to help solve a real problem, rather than simply build something for the sake of it. For us, that’s what the Wonderful Possibilities are all about, using what we’re good at to help good go further.”  

Applications for the inaugural programme are now open, with the selected organisation set to benefit from Wonderful’s expertise in tackling the digital barriers that limit its mission.