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CREATIVE SIDES
Crime pays for
VMLY&R managing partner
Sarah Bailey, who has also
forged a successful career
as a bestselling fictional
crime writer.
Contents
MARCH 2020
22SPOTLIGHT
Natalie Giddings, managing
director of The Remarkables Group, Regulars
discusses adapting to the changing
social influencer landscape.
08 BEHIND THE COVER: Two young creatives are addressing the issue
of diversity in adland by creating this month’s cover as part of their
Changing the Face initiative.
Creative
Online
43
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Editor’s Letter www.adnews.com.au | March 2020 7
A li m ited
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The creative A
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contingent of adland g ra b s f o
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is the beating heart of
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W O R D S B Y
C H R I S P A S H
riting is an exercise in interviews and f lying back and forth to Canberra trying to work out
W maybe. Maybe someone will
read it. Maybe they won’t. Maybe
I don’t actually who was going to make this agency amazing.”
The Dark Lake was a bestseller here, in the US and Canada. It won the
they will like it. Maybe they won’t. think I’m that 2018 Sisters in Crime Davitt Award for Best Crime Debut and the Ned Kelly
You won’t know until words good at writing. Award for Best First Crime.
appear on paper (or pixels). And
that’s the thing — getting the words The Dream
down, and in the right order. Writing a book is a common one-day-soon desire in the advertising
Sa ra h B a i ley had a lways industry, many of who studied the arts at university.
wanted to write a book and she “I definitely know quite a lot of people who are writing books in the indus-
set herself the goal of writing one try,” says Bailey. “Once my first book was published, there was an influx of
by the time she hit 35. She was people who grabbed me at drinks saying, ‘I’ve actually got this idea that I’d
sick of talking about it and fanta- been working on’.”
sising about it. “I just want to do She studied media and communications at Swinburne University of
it,” she told herself. Technology in Melbourne with journalism at top of mind. But to get a break
Her first book, crime thriller The into reporting, she would have had to work in regional Australia on a small
Dark Lake, was published the day country newspaper.
after her 35th birthday in 2016. “I had zero interest in moving away from Melbourne back then and I
Bailey was appointed manag- discovered I really liked all the marketing subjects so I started to consider
i n g p a r t n e r a t V M LY & R a different career path,” says Bailey.
Melbourne in February 2019. Her “I did an internship at the Herald Sun, at Channel 10 and then at a mar-
third book, Where the Dead Go, a keting agency, and I ended up liking the marketing more.”
crime thriller set in regional
Aust ra l ia, was publ ished by The Story
A llen & Unw in less than six The most used excuse for not writing is that there’s too much to do with
months later. the weighty chains of daily life — the demanding job, family commit-
Her first priority at VMLY&R ments, the dog who needs walking, the weeds excised — squeezing
was to hire 30 people in five weeks creativity into a cul de sac.
to work on the Defence Force Bailey writes whenever she can: early mornings; over a coffee on the
Recruiting DFR account. weekend; late at night. Whenever she can fit in a burst of words.
“My initial task was to hit the “It is a bit of a messy, non-structured approach because it is more around
ground running when the DFR fitting it in around what I do,” she says.
contract began,” she says. “The Sarah Bailey has juggled Bailey writes without a detailed plan. “It’s kind of in my head as a bit of a
her career in the advertising
first few weeks I was here was industry with writing loose plan, but it’s fairly vague with a start, middle, end, plus characters, a
just a total blur of speed-dating fictional crime bestsellers. few key, interesting ideas,” she explains.
Creative Sides
A couple of weeks after that, the rights to the book sold internationally. enough. We’re 24 million people,
Tranter called: “The Americans want it, the English want it, but also and the proportion of them who read
“It’s really hard to
they want another book in 10 months. Can you do it?” regularly is not high. Then only
Bailey said: “Yep, I can do it, let’s do it.” make a living off a percentage of them read crime
She felt she had to say yes. “I’d already written one, so I guess I could just writing and fiction, leaving a small universe of
probably make another one happen.” selling books.” potential sales and audience.
With the deal behind her, she thought the writing for her first book “Everyone hears of the big
was over. If the publisher bought the book, they must love it. Right? success stories but there’s so few
But she was told, “Yeah, we love it but we still need you to change of them who make big bucks.
a whole bunch of stuff in it.” And then there’s this chunk in the
That can be frustrating. If you change one bit of a crime novel, with middle who have done really well
seven or eight subplots, then there’s a cascading effect with many parts and have international deals and
needing fixing and rewriting. make some decent money.
“If you pull out something, you have to check structurally that “After that, there’s a crazy long
everything else still makes sense,” she says. “I find editing sort of tedious tail of people who have written
but a rewarding kind of tedious, like undoing a massive knot in a neck- a book and done all of the same
lace, which is frustrating, but once you do it you’re happy.” amount of effort as someone else
but they only sell a thousand cop-
The bestseller ies and make nothing.
The Dark Lake came out in March 2018, featuring Gemma Woodstock, “I’m not at the top but I’ve sold
a detective sergeant who investigates a murder whose victim she has internationally and I am in a fortu-
connections to. nate position to have a series and
New York Journal of Books: “The Dark Lake is a thrilling psychological people have read all three books.”
police procedural as well as a leap into the mind of a woman engulfed The advertising industry pays
with guilt.” well for those who’ve built a career.
The detective is a complex character, something of a star, bagging her And, Bailey says, it’s almost impossi-
first serial killer early in her career. She is a good cop but her personal ble to match that from writing books.
life has falsehoods, including cheating on her partner with a colleague.
The plot has layers upon layers. We read that Gemma knew her What next?
victim, Rosalind, at school. And it was as a teacher at the same school “I’m working away on another
in rural Victoria that Rosalind became a victim. We are also told of crime book,” she says. “I’ve also
Gemma’s boyfriend from school. His death is a mystery to the reader. got a contract with Amazon for
The second book, Into the Night, also with Gemma Woodstock, mate- an audiobook.”
rialised while Bailey was working a main job at Mr Smith. “It was a small For an audiobook, the process is
production company with two great guys. We were running this little the same as print. “I just have to
independent shop together. I worked with them and did the writing; write a book they’ll turn into an
that was a bit more flexible than a full-time agency management job.” audiobook. Basically it’s just a differ-
The third book, Where the Dead Go, came out in August 2019. ent distribution method.”
Ben Naparstek, director, con-
The money tent Australia, Audible, says
“Unless you sell internationally, it’s really hard to make a living off just mystery/thriller is one of the top
writing and selling books,” says Bailey. “The market here is just not big three genres.
“It seemed like a no-brainer to
commission one of Australia’s
leading new crime novelists for our
Audible Originals program,” he
told AdNews.
“Audible Originals are specifi-
cally created to be listened to and
they build upon the 400,000+
titles we offer in Australia.
Inspired by the boom in audio-
book and podcast listening, writ-
ers are increasingly publishing
their work audio-first to increase
their audience.
“Before joining Audible, I led the
digital and content businesses for
Edelman Australia, so I was excited
by Sarah’s commitment to a career
combining agency-side brand mar-
keting with writing for consumers of
audio entertainment and novels.”
Agenda
Publishing finds
its equilibrium
News publishers have turned to subscribers to help fill
the gap left by declining advertising revenue. AdNews
speaks to experts on how readers will pay for news and
whether it’ll be enough to sustain journalism.
W O R D S B Y
M A R I A M C H E I K - H U S S E I N
www.adnews.com.au | March 2020 15
Agenda
FIGURE 1: Advertising expenditure by media format and digital platform, adjusted for inflation advertisers, could do because
there weren't other outlets for
them. That created an underlying
discontent, which is okay as long
18
as conditions don't change. But
16
conditions changed.”
14 10 The arrival of digital meant new
12 platforms began to emerge, such as
($ billions – inflation adjusted)
14
16
18
12
00
04
06
08
02
96
98
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
Classifieds Other
19
19
Messenger
challenged.”
(percent)
Figure 3:
influencer market
called bloggers. At the end of 2016, the original founder approached
me to change the business model from traditional talent management
to providing strategy and ongoing management services. In my role
at the time, I was seeing first-hand the rapidly emerging power of
inf luencers. It was increasingly clear that in order to maximise the
value inf luencers could bring, brands needed hands-on help to plan
The Remarkables Group was founded and manage the activity.
in 2012 as a talent management agency When you are doing your job as a talent manager, you can actually
be in direct conf lict with a brand’s objective. At the end of the day,
dedicated to bloggers. Since then, the your role is to serve and maximise the opportunity for the talent. I
industry has changed and the agency has took on full ownership of TRG by December that same year. Since then,
I’ve turned around and refreshed the business with a new focus that
changed with it. Mariam Cheik-Hussein has allowed it to step away from its legacy of being a blogger talent
catches up with managing director Natalie agency and truly innovate within the crowded inf luencer marketing
Giddings to see what it’s been up to. space. Now proudly standing as the strategic agency that digs into
getting real results for its clients.
Since we embarked on the change in late 2016, part of the mind-shift
we have assisted our clients with is to now see these content creators
as legitimate media networks in their own right — more and more people
Spotlight
are choosing to watch and engage with “human media channels”. My witnessed the influencers’ audi-
vision is to also empower a rising force of talented creators who can Agency snapshot ence-first approach, many brands
build businesses through strategic partnerships, and who can work are now enlisting the skills of
with brands to reach and engage millions of Australians. NAME OF AGENCY: THE inf luencers much earlier in the
REMARKABLES GROUP creative process.
What services do you offer and how has this changed since
you launched? NUMBER OF STAFF: FIVE What’s your point of
Since the major business model change, the team developed a strategy- difference?
LOCATIONS:
first approach to planning the program. Once you have a clear focus of MELBOURNE AND SYDNEY Specialising in “human media”
what you want to achieve, decisions such as what style of content or and working with this relatively
which talent you should focus on will be easier, and you will be able to CLIENTS: WOOLWORTHS, new channel differs from booking
better measure your success. All that is great about influencers and their BUNNINGS, WESTPAC, a more traditional advertising
appeal can also make marketers emotional rather than logical and BROWNES DAIRY inventory. Each individual influ-
rational when planning their programs. For us, the outset is all about encer is essentially a stand-alone
COMPANY MANTRA:
creating a methodology to remove this risk and ensure results. We run publisher with their own nuances
TO BE REMARKABLE
each brief through a number of stages to eventually map the right and talents, unlike any other
IS TO BUILD TRUSTED
approach and the most relevant influencers to work with. It’s like a RELATIONSHIPS, media channel. Unlocking this
vertical sieve. This way, we can ensure content is co-created to outper- DELIVER EXCELLENCE, uniqueness and maximising the
form all set benchmarks. BE PIONEERING, THRIVING opportunity for brands takes
Not so long ago, influencer marketing was treated as an afterthought WITHIN OPPORTUNITY expertise. The point of difference
of an overall program. This lends itself to one-dimensional, inauthentic OF CHANGE. TRG provides might well lie in the
product-placement style posts at best. But as more businesses have unique space it occupies between
Spotlight
brands and a network of influenc- TRG works largely remotely, communicating across platforms such as
ers. With its original roots being Slack, BaseCamp, Google Drive, Hangouts and FaceTime to be as agile
in talent management, providing
Working at TRG is and efficient as possible. My very first marketing role was for an IT infra-
advice and mentoring to influenc- unlike any previous structure business which provided remote working options. I’m still
ers is still a cornerstone. The employment staggered as to how this technology still isn’t widespread.
human and audience insights I’ve had. I love
gained from these relationships the influencer Who is your ideal client?
are immensely valuable. Brands We are not interested in working with brands on what we call one-night
can ultimately work with inf lu-
space and the stands with influencers. You can make very little impact for your brand
encers to better unlock the genu- relationships we with a one-off post or product shout out. If anything, this kind of context
ine trust and understanding they build make my can have negative repercussions. Our ideal client is interested in a holis-
have built with their audience. job rewarding. tic plan and open to investigating results to regularly recalibrate the
program. An ideal client will be open to experienced advice and is keen
What makes your team to tap into the creative knowledge of the influencer themselves.
unique?
Accessing audience data is only What’s the dream brief?
Ailsa Renk, influencer
the beg inning. Being readily A dream brief allows us to establish a longer-term plan, to approach the
available to consult with inf lu- campaign assistant right type of influencer and to prescribe the best channel, treatments and
encers in a meaningful way to formats to meet objectives. This style of program also allows for regular
map out the best program for the recalibration of the program as results come in each month or quarter.
brand is essential. Indeed, most On occasion, a client will approach us with an existing idea of how
typical agency talent wouldn’t they feel the influencer program could look. More often than not, this
cope in this environment because is because brands can get enamoured with audience size alone and
it shifts from creating and circu- throw out any need for a strategy or analytical assessment against
lating traditional advertising cre- their objectives. The other scenario is that they have used an online
ative, and takes as much effort to recruitment platform — again detached from a solid strategy — and
come alongside the inf luencers therefore become disillusioned or hoodwinked about the effectiveness
as it does fulfilling clients’ needs. of the work commissioned.
This is a digital world so influ-
encers are based all around the What has been the agency’s biggest challenge?
country, mostly working from A challenge for us, and in fact the industry as a whole, has been the mass
their homes. Predominantly of negative commentary within the media around certain influencers’
Australian influencers are women, behaviours. Unfortunately, much of this commentary within the
many with families who are bal- Australian marketing trade press comes from people who do not actively
ancing always-on platforms, inter- work with influencers and is not an accurate reflection of what’s really
twined with their many followers. happening on the ground. This can be disheartening at times. It is always
It makes sense TRG should be, too. important for us to go back to our core values and remind ourselves that
our methods are founded in genuine understanding and will result in
successful and authentic partnerships.
Biggest highlight?
Last year, The Remarkables Group worked on a completely new influencer
format with the Bunnings Make It Yours house. This was a 10-part series
where we set influencers the task of making over a room to completely
transform a real house in the outer suburbs of Melbourne. The line up of
talent includes Keira Rumble, Rachel Aust, Geneva Vanderzeil and Just
Another Mummy Blog’s Steph Pase.
The influencers were used across an integrated program including
YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, social media advertising, PR and print.
This hit more than one million organic reach from the inf luencers'
channels alone, and served to prove how remarkable influencers can
be at the forefront of a combined marketing scheme.
Whatarethetoptrendstowatchforintheindustryin2020?
Late last year, Facebook and Instagram made a bold and mostly
under reported move: further evolving paid partnership functionality
and launching Inf luencer Marketplace. Pushing the boundaries of
amplification is an exciting and changing avenue we have had our eyes
on for a while now. With a dedicated in-house team of paid media
specialists, TRG has been endorsing and further amplifying influencer
content with incredible results since mid-2018. Platforms such as
Facebook and Instagram reward great creative and we see it perform
three times better than a brand’s own advertising creative. This
www.adnews.com.au | March 2020 25
literally translates into reaching three times more people for the same getting a deep understanding of
dollar spent in amplification. what content works. In 2020, TRG
will be producing a number of
What’s on the agenda for 2020? creative projects, with several
An exciting adaptation we saw in 2019 was brands bringing influencers confirmed which also put them in
into the heart of their marketing program. Brands now have two to the director’s seat to produce
three years of working with inf luencers in more meaningful ways. more brand-owned content. I was
Using inf luencers within a brand’s overall content plan is becoming a producer on the first season of
more widespread or a hybrid of both, such as projects like the Bunnings [TV series] Emmylou Loves, and
Make It Yours house. the second season was commis-
Brands are notoriously bad at creating content themselves that con- sioned by 10 Peach, with season
nects with an audience. Practised influencers start and finish with their four already commissioned to air
audience’s interests at the core of what they produce. No other channel in October 2020. The show blew
can claim such a personal connection to its audience. Network 10’s expectations of
You don’t work in the midst of best practice content creation without viewership and audience partici-
pation via social media.
Peopleandcultureinitiatives
We’d like to become a recognised
Top three pieces of work f lexible employer. During the
course of a project or year, it can
1 Bunnings Warehouse:
Make It Yours
We worked on a new influencer
focused on finding influencers to talk
candidly about the moments their
bank mattered. The news feeds of
-December 2019. It blends
traditional TV with Emmylou's
memorable Instagram Stories,
very much feel like the influencers
themselves are actually part of our
team. The Remarkables Group is
format for Bunnings. In this 10-part 16-24-year-olds were flooded with taking her fans behind the scenes mostly a remote workforce, allow-
series, influencers transformed Westpac posts and stories that made as she strives to make her dream ing our employees and creators to
rooms in real houses with the bank account features worth talking a reality. The show includes feed into projects via technology
content shared across YouTube, about and relevant in their everyday pre-produced segments filmed such as BaseCamp, Google Drive,
Instagram, Pinterest and more. lives, reaching 2.1 million individuals, on location with everything Hangouts, Facetime and Slack,
with a staggering 115,000 Instagram Emmylou loves the most, whether they are working from
2 Westpac
Westpac wanted to find a new
Stories views. such as cooking, beauty and
fashion. Retailers House, DFO
inner-city Melbourne, the Sunshine
Coast, regional Victoria or the sub-
way to reach the under-25-year-olds.
For this age group, peer opinion and
recommendation is key. Our strategy
3 Emmylou Loves
Emmylou Loves aired on
10 Peach during November
and Woolworths have all been
sponsors, as well as Covergirl,
Bosisto’s and BetterYou.
urbs of Perth. This also maximised
face-to-face time with our creators
around the country.
Investigation
The essential
The Oxford English Dictionary
defines creativity as “the use of
skill and imagination to produce Vegemite toast
something new or to produce art”. stencils and Ash
Deemed as one of the top 10 skill Barty’s limited-
sets to have by the World Economic edition “Bartymite”
are two of the iconic
Forum, creativity plays an impor- brand’s recent
tant role for the economy. creative ideas.
www.adnews.com.au | March 2020 29
World Creativity and Innovation Day is held on April 21 each year by in Sydney, the regular on the
the United Nations. According to the global organisation, creativity has ABC’s Gruen program made a
become a “true wealth of nations” in the 21st century. plea for brands to apply creativity
The Creative Economy report, Widening Local Development Pathways, throughout their business.
co-published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural “We need the creative brand
Organisation (UNESCO) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), to absolutely be at the core of
highlighted why cultural and creative industries should be part of eco- business,” he said. “It’s around
nomic growth strategies. The report states these sectors generate US$2.25 brand purpose. It’s around the
billion in revenue and 29.5 million jobs worldwide. proposition. It’s around what we
For marketers and advertisers, creativity is essential. The rise in tech- do every single day.
nology and digital advertising has created a sea of sameness leading to “I think those of us in the mar-
more than 90% of ads going unnoticed. keting services business under-
Forrester says chief marketing officers (CMO) now have the fast- stand that for ourselves. We’ve just
est-growing tech spend in the C-suite, which is projected to grow got to get out there. We’ve got to get
between 9% and 11% from 2017 to 2022. This is compared with only 2.4% a whole lot better at getting our
for agency services. clients to recognise that it’s creativ-
In its report, The Cost of Losing Creativity, Forrester recommends CMOs ity throughout the organisation.”
“move portions of your marketing budget out of commoditised areas of In 1995, Australia sat at 57 on
technology and into creative resources to produce powerful, differenti- the economic complexity index
ated, branded experiences and communication powered by the right (ECI). Today it is 93rd. Japan is
technology”. It says US$19 billion could be shifted from technology to number one. Howcroft believes a
creativity, yielding a more proportionate approach for marketers. lack of creativity is to blame, call-
ing Australia “constipated” and in
A transformative power need of “collective laxative”.
When it comes to championing creativity in Australia, there is no “Here’s the problem with
greater ambassador than PwC partner and chief creative officer Russel the creative word,” he said. “In the
Howcroft. Speaking at the Interbrand Best Global Brands 2019 event Australian context, people think
creativity is about the arts. You
say creativity around a political
table — in particular, with a right-
wing conservative government
— they don’t see it as an economic
Media agencies weigh in on the role creativity plays in their work today. word. It is an economic word.
“We’ve just got to find a way to
get the creative word out of arts
and into business because if you’re
not creative, how do you possibly
come up with wi-fi? How do you
come up with plastic money? It’s
another Australian innovation.
How do you come up with penicil-
lin? That’s pretty good.”
To Howcroft, everyone is crea-
tive. At the talk, he spoke about
the “three Cs” of creativity: small
C, professional C and big C. Small
C creativity can be found in every-
PHD strategy director GroupM chief technology Publicis Media one, while professional C is attrib-
Remi Baker and transformation officer ANZ head of content and uted to those who have made a
When we think of creativity in Cameron King sport Patrick Whitnall career out of it, including those in
media agencies, some may jump It’s tempting to imagine that instinct Media agencies have always been ma rket i ng a nd adver t i si ng.
to thoughts of creative flighting, and art are lost at the hands of a creative source for brands. The Around 95% of five-year-olds have
trading and targeting. Yes, while data and technology. The robots growth of channels and technology genius levels of small C creativity.
this is true, creativity plays a are going to win, right? Not quite. has created an explosion in the need By the time they’re 15, it sits
much bigger role. Improved tech I believe technology enhances for more creativity and assets across around 25% because, as Howcroft
capabilities, access to data and creativity. It gives us detail about customer journeys, client-owned puts it, “we teach it out of people”.
more diverse talent pools mean consumer attitudes, preferences assets and devices. Media agencies Big C creativity, on the other hand,
that media agencies have the tools and needs. It automates the are best placed to adapt to this is reserved for the few who are
and the talent to come up with communications process and allows speed and demand in collaboration true creative geniuses such as
more meaningful and effective ideas to be tested and refined. It with media/tech partners, which is Pablo Picasso. Despite accounting
creative ideas. Ideas based on an gives feedback about how effective seen across SEO, mobile, six-second for a small echelon of society, it is
in-depth understanding of people great ideas were at influencing ads, long-form written content and often considered as the bench-
and their behaviour. hearts, minds and wallets. personalised digital ads. mark for creativity.
Investigation
Can adtech be creative? Like Howcroft, VMLY&R chief strategy officer Alison Tilling believes
everyone can be creative.
“Can everyone be a creative with a capital C? Probably not, but that’s
probably because most people aren’t thick-skinned enough,” she says.
“But I think everyone can bring creativity to bear on what it is they do
and given some of the challenges society faces, it’s incumbent on us all
to do that anyway.”
A seasoned strategist, Tilling may not work in a creative “with a capital C”
role but it doesn’t mean she isn’t applying creativity in her day-to-day work.
“I know not everybody would agree with this, but I think being a
strategist is a pretty creative role,” she says. “For example, when you’re
writing a brief or you’re thinking about how a business might grow, there
is creativity there. You have to think about that from some different
perspectives and in some different ways. You have to pull it apart and
put it back together in different combinations every time. So, I think
strategy in itself is a creative act.”
Amobee head of sales and Once a thing that only a select few people did, Tilling says creativity
client services Andrew Dixon is being applied more broadly today to a range of different problems.
Good data should inspire creativity While much of her work sits within the marketing science realm
at the planning stage rather than where Binet and Field’s 60-40 rule is lauded as the driving force behind
replace it entirely. The adtech effective advertising, Tilling says it’s important to remember creativity
industry often confuses the is the real power.
concept of dynamic creative with “I think sometimes creativity gets a bit lost in that conversation and
solving the “creativity + data” for me it’s really important that work on effectiveness is in the service of
problem. Dynamic creative is more creativity,” she says. “It’s creativity that gives power of effectiveness.”
about automating the production
of creative assets to personalise The modern creative
messaging — which is great for As noted by Tilling, creativity is no longer an exclusive role reserved for
relevance, but not necessarily those with it in their job title. But for those who are in traditional creative
replacing “creativity”. Creativity positions, recent years have seen a shift in their own day-to-day work.
is about being memorable, and “Creativity is a culture, no longer a department,” says Belinda Lodge,
being memorable is about shared founder and CEO of the recruitment agency iPopulate, which specialises
experiences and reactions. in the advertising and communications sector. “Most successful agencies
The most memorable and now see creativity as everyone’s responsibility and good ideas are
creative ads still tend to be shared welcome from anywhere.”
experiences that are talked about Today, digital strategists, web developers, social media specialists and
around the water cooler, usually data analysts all work in tandem with creative teams.
on large canvasses such as TV and As the agency model continues to evolve, Lodge says siloed job
Facial recognition
outdoor, which are now very much used for Movember descriptions are a thing of the past, and it’s those with “a truly integrated
within the adtech space as well. promotion in Sydney skill set” who are becoming desired candidates.
www.adnews.com.au | March 2020 31
“It is tough out there as client spend is being reduced and redirected,” happening in adland, the key to
she says. “Creatives are now being asked to present engaging ideas with creativity is remaining open and
smaller budgets, making innovation and commercial acumen core curious. Like others, she’s also a
requirements of any creative role. believer that an idea doesn’t nec-
“Hybrid skill sets are also more prevalent than ever. Both talent and essarily have to come from within
agencies reap the benefits of individuals who can play across multi dis- the creative department.
ciplines, broadening traditional job titles.” “Just because our title is crea-
The move towards a desiloed workforce sees more modern creatives tives, I don’t think that should stop
joining adland from diverse backgrounds and collaborating across clients, marketers, strategists or
departments. anyone else coming up with ideas,”
While everyone in the industry has been talking about a desiloed she says.
structure, Digitas creative director Simon Brock still thinks the industry Hetherington departed Dentsu
has a way to go before it is truly there. Aegis Network’s WiTH Collective
“It’s become the biggest cliche in this industry,” he says. “Yet when last year, with fellow creative
you look at the fundamental structures we use to define ourselves, the Simon Fowler, and the duo set up
very first thing we do is put up walls between departments. their own creative consultancy.
“That’s problematic because we’re now seeing a really interesting Going from creative in a big
generation of creative people coming into this business who don’t fit agency to owner of a new business
neatly into one of those predefined buckets.” h a s s e e n he r role c h a n ge
For Brock, one of the most transformational moments in his career dramatically.
was when he began to work for Digitas in Sweden. Joining the industry Hetherington says rather than
with a background in film, TV and music production, he interviewed be experts in everything, they’re
for a role which Digitas didn’t feel was quite right for him, however they choosing to work with the right
knew he had something to offer the team. experts to meet client needs.
“I was employed without a department and without a title,” he says. “While we don’t have experts
“That was such a massive liberating moment in my career because it in certain areas sitting right next
changed the game in terms of expectations.” to us, what we see as an opportu-
Nicole Hetherington, co-founder and creative partner at newly- nity is the fact we can draw on our
formed independent creative consultancy Abel, says despite the changes partners — the right ones — for the
Investigation
Prior to entering the workforce, she expected it to be “only big TV As workflow changes, so does
commercials and coming up with killer slogans” but soon learned it was the work. While some people have
much more than that. been fearful of what technology
“Starting out now, I’m realising you can effectively use creativity in lots brings, others are welcoming it
of different ways and lots of different avenues,” says Ryan. “So even if it’s with open arms.
something that feels really small or inconsequential, [such as] we need Brock likens technolog y to
to have this mandatory form that customers need to fill out, there’s ways the script an actor has in a play
to make that a more engaging process or pinpointing a particular pain or a tool for an artist. Through
point they might be experiencing and trying to come up with a clever improvisation and experimenta-
way to fix that and to make the process better for everyone.” tion, he says the industry is able
Enjoying the “performative nature” of copywriting, Ryan predicts in to evolve.
10 years’ time her work will become more focused on technical writing. “We have no choice but to take
She cites technology and science communication as areas she believes the brilliant craft we’ve made to this
hold the greatest opportunities. point and start thinking of data and
“Science communications can still be quite confusing for people,” she technology as new paint brushes on
says. “The same with tech. Anything that needs to be translated before our easel rather than thinking of
it can go to a lay person, I think there’s always room for copywriting and them as replacements for it,” he says.
creativity in those fields to try to help bridge that gap.” “I totally get why there’s appre-
hension because most examples
Friend or foe? we see is where data and technol-
There’s no denying the shake-up the industry has experienced as ogy get applied to a traditionally
a result of technology’s rapid advancements. Catapulting society creative output. We see things
into the realms of a 24-hour news cycle, and always switched-on mode, such as versioning or program-
tech significantly sped up the pace at which we work. matic media buying — which can
Investigation
When she started in the role, it was just Taylor and her boss on the Top left: Caravanning Aside from increasingly using
creative team. Fast-forward a few years and she is now leading a growing Queensland’s world record facial tracking and recognition,
Lego replica of a 1973
team of five and answering 10-20 briefs a week. Viscount Royal caravan Taylor says live streaming has been
They work closely with a team of engineers to ensure they can bring another popular format.
to life what clients are looking for. In 2017, the team used it for a
“Facial tracking and facial recognition was a really huge focus for campaign called Answer the Call
us during the past 12-18 months,” she says. “With face tracking, to see what Australians would
there’s a lot of extra layers that can be executed in different ways. It do to win tickets to the AFL Grand
started with eye tracking, but we knew, as part of that, we can do Final. The campaign appeared on
smile recognition, plus gender recognition, age and sentiments.” interactive digital panels in CBDs
While they aren’t using it to track people at the moment, Taylor across the country and featured
says in the future she sees opportunity for the technology to be used a static AFL advertisement pro-
as an engagement tool. She sees the possibility for it to test what moting the finals in the lead up to
creative works for a client campaign, measuring the best reactions the Grand Final. At a random
due to eye gaze, the length of time viewed and the sentiment when peak time, the panel displays
viewing the ad. were activated, beaming well-
“We would be able to then code that to optimise the rest of the network known players from teams in
from the learnings of those panels where we would do those builds,” each state via a live video stream,
she says. enabling members of the public
For now, the interactive panels are predominantly being placed in high to interact in real time.
foot traffic areas such as Sydney CBD’s George Street, Southern Cross Fans were rewarded with game
Station in Melbourne and at public transport shelters and stations. tickets via the screen and the play-
Taylor says this is because the work is often deemed as a high distraction ers would sometimes physically
for motorists. appear at the site. Taylor says they
One of her favourite campaigns is Pepsi’s augmented reality (AR) reached around 1.2 million people
bus shelter in London where the panel appeared as a fake window with the work.
with unlikely objects appearing such as f lying saucers in the frame. “I don’t think it has to be super
However, she does think AR isn’t always the best technology for clients complex, it just needs to be
to use at the moment. smart,” she says.
“The traditional way that we’re seeing a lot of AR is where you actually “Creativity for me, especially
have a panel with the scene behind and then the scene changes,” she across ou r for mat, is about
says. “But right now it’s quite expensive. considered creative and making
“It does serve a great purpose for really great content but I think the most of the placement you
there’s a lot of ways we can get great content that doesn’t cost that much have. It’s about how we create emo-
in development.” tion in whatever we’re doing.”
Better Workplaces www.adnews.com.au | March 2020 37
Thinkerbell agency
launched in 2017.
Measuring I t has been almost three years since the industry was graced with
Thinkerbell’s inception. Formed by ex-Cummins&Partners chief
strategy officer and partner Adam Ferrier, and executive creative
Magic
directors Jim Ingram and Ben Couzens, the agency has cast a spell over
the industry with its “measured magic” philosophy.
Global consultancy PwC recognised the value of the business and its
marketing science approach early on, purchasing a stake in the business
shortly after its launch. However, unlike other consultancy acquisitions,
Thinkerbell and PwC have previously told AdNews that their relationship
is more like “friends with benefits”.
Mental health, long hours and short “Our investment in Thinkerbell is an investment in a future we think
tenures are issues synonymous with the is really exciting, and we don’t need to own the agency in order to play
a part in that,” PwC partner Lawrence Goldstone said at the time.
advertising industry. In Better Workplaces, “We will find ways to work together on particular clients when it makes
AdNews takes a look at the ways in which sense, otherwise we have nothing to do with Thinkerbell.”
agencies are changing this through company Building up a strong team of “Thinkers” and “Tinkers”, the agency
has expanded from a simple creative agency to a full service shop with
culture, HR initiatives and office design. Margie Reid rounding out the team as managing partner and to help
drive its media offering. Joining the team following 11 years at OMD,
W O R D S B Y Reid said she would bring “a broad understanding of the marketing and
P A I G E M U R P H Y media landscape, strong management skills, and perhaps upweighting
the ‘measured’ component of the ‘measured magic’ proposition.”
Better Workplaces
In addition to its creative and media offering, the agency has added
Agency Snapshot public relations (PR) to its services. Catherine King was appointed
head thinker of PR, bringing 20 years’ experience.
STAFF COUNT: As it continues to grow, Thinkerbell has begun to beef up its presence
beyond the Melbourne market. Opening up shop in Sydney’s Surry Hills
Around 60 to 70 and appointing The Works’ Paul Swann as executive creative director, the
Thinkers and Tinkers are continuing to spread their magic across adland.
In line with this, the agency moved its Melbourne office to a new
LOCATION:
Neverland in Richmond last year. Decked out to project its measured-
THINKERBELL NORTH
(SURRY HILLS, SYDNEY) magic proposition, Thinkerbell’s new home is one they hope inspires
AND THINKERBELL SOUTH employees and clients to work with them. The Thinkers and Tinkers
(RICHMOND, MELBOURNE) took AdNews inside their new digs to show us how they make magic
happen and describe it in their own words.
AGENCY MANTRA: The Thinkerbell agency’s
“WE LIKE TO HUDDLE
Neverland in Melbourne Thinkerbell’s Neverland
has reinvented the modern, We designed our office around two principles: the first is measured
AND THINK AND TINK creative workspace based
AND GET SHIT DONE.” on the principles of magic. Everything in the office ref lects our driving philosophy,
“measured magic”. from the knitting installation you walk through that guides you to
www.adnews.com.au | March 2020 39
A magical experience
Reception is at We want to bring measured magic into everything we do, including where
the very back we work. It’s our guiding proposition and how we go about our day.
We want the experience of the agency to reflect the Thinkerbell brand.
so people need to When you come to Thinkerbell, the first thing you see is a big BX room,
walk through the and around the corner is our custom-designed CX room — the layout
office to get there. reflects a working model of Thinkerbell — to always put “BXB4CX”.
This hopefully Reception is at the very back so people need to walk through the office
communicates to get there. This hopefully communicates transparency and a concept of
nothing to hide. We have a library for quiet time; Fonzie and Pinkie are
transparency and two “floating booths” for group thinking; and the bar has an extension
a concept of space which acts as another breakout room. PwC were given a large oak
nothing to hide. desk and a very important-looking chair. There are a few other bits and
bobs — managers get to work at the Paris End of the office, and, for some
reason, Jim and Adam insist on having their own toilet.
Mind Expansion
Thinkerbell founder One of the benefits of working at Thinkerbell is the office has a nice vibe.
Adam Ferrier We also have a parental leave policy in place, plus other stuff that
should be in place at a modern, caring workplace, including flexible
hours. We also offer every employee an extra week of leave, referred
to as the Mind Expansion Project, were they are free to go wherever they
choose and do whatever they want, provided it expands their mind
in some way.
REACH THE INFLUENCERS
WHO ARE SHAPING YOUR
WORKPLACE & LEADING
THE BUSINESS AGENDA.
The Cycling Classics for Australia
To e n g a g e w i t h t h e m o s t i n f l u e n t i a l a u d i e n ce i n S p o r t s M a r ke t i n g co n t a c t :
Ja mes Yaf fa Publisher T 02 9213 8293 E james yaf fa@yaf fa.com . au
Open.
A BIGGER, MORE A decade after We Are Social opened its Australian office, managing
director Suzie Shaw says the agency is still riding the wave of growth
PROFESSIONAL
in social media.
The UK-founded business recently moved into new offices on Sydney’s
Cleveland Street, complete with new production studios. The move
accommodates its team of 50, which includes new executive creative
TEAM
director Edu Pou and head of strategy Gerry Cyron.
“In all the time the business has been open, it's been in growth
with a few ups and downs,” Shaw tells AdNews. “Part of that has been
riding the wave of substantial growth that we've seen from social.
But also, the scope of what is social has been growing and growing.
“In the early days, as a social specialist, it was about helping clients
We Are Social is marking 10 years in with their social media channels and creating content for the platforms.
Australia with a bigger office and more Whereas now, increasingly, it's much broader than that. It's about creating
campaigns that are socially led, and that may or may not result in some
ambitious goals for the agency that’s content that lives on social media. It's more about getting people to talk
grown from a handful of staff to 50. and driving conversations around a brand.”
AdNews sits down with its managing The agency has 20 clients, including big names such as Netflix, Red
Bull and Samsung. It recently completed a global campaign for the elec-
director, Suzie Shaw, to talk 2020. tronics company, enlisting Stranger Things’ Millie Bobby Brown, gamer
Ninja and Instagram personality Miquela.
Shaw says when her team creates a campaign, they focus on how to
W O R D S B Y invite consumers to be part of the conversation — something brands still
M A R I A M C H E I K - H U S S E I N need educating on.
“A lot of brands still see social media as an advertising channel rather than
a channel that operates with the opportunity to connect more meaningfully
with your customer or to build a community around your brand,” she says.
“Those sorts of things behave very differently from just advertising at
someone. There's a long way to go, but some brands are doing it super well.”
Meet the Team
G E R R Y C Y R O N • H E A D O F S T R A T E G Y
What’s the biggest challenge communications mix is the biggest incredibly talented humans who
in your role? challenge and of paramount teach you a thing or two along the
I think in any strategy importance. It helps to position way. What’s not to love?
role, finding a fresh social above and beyond
and differentiated way community management as What’s been one of your favourite
of solving your client’s a social force that drives real campaigns to work on?
business problem can business results. Wow. That’s an incredibly difficult
be challenging. However, question to answer. Campaigns
proving and isolating the What is your favourite part about are like children — you love them
impact of social within your role? all (with the exception of the really
the marketing The beauty of being a strategist is annoying ones, of course). If I had
the variety of business problems to pick one, it probably would be
you are exposed to. Every. Day. “Share a Coke”. The campaign was
Is. Different. Yesterday an energy social by nature but started on
drink captured your undivided the shelf, not on Insta. With that
attention and imagination, today said, the campaign blew up on
you focus on an airline destination, social media. It’s the bane of my
and tomorrow you find yourself existence that we weren’t able to
in the pressure cooker that is do more with the amazing UGC
pitching for an entertainment as the media buy was heavily
brand. Throughout this potpourri skewed towards traditional,
of challenges, you work with non-conversational media.
E D U P O U • E X E C U T I V E C R E A T I V E D I R E C T O R
S U Z T U C K E R • E D I T O R I A L D I R E C T O R
What’s the main focus of your role? routine. And, like most people,
At the start of 2019, I visited my I’m genuinely interested in what’s
90-year-old grandmother in Texas happening in the world so I read
and in describing my job to her the broadsheets, Twitter, Reddit, a
I said something to the effect sizable collection of e-newsletters,
of: I use the same principles and magazines, Yelp reviews, the
creative disciplines from the world of comments section of our clients'
journalism (great storytelling, finding social pages, and so on. I also have
the angle, tone of voice, writing an excellent team of super switched
craft and, importantly, servicing the on people who are into culture,
audience first) and apply them to art, politics, celebrity, technology,
making content for brands that help videos of dogs reuniting with their
the right people notice them and owners after lengthy separations...
like them. She patted my hand all the stuff people are talking
and took a sip of white wine. She’s about, which means staying
a shrewd woman. on top of trends and topics is
a collaborative effort.
How does an editorial director fit
into an agency? Any goals for 2020?
I’m only 5’2” so I don’t take up a lot Make work that real people
of physical space. genuinely give a shit about. And,
with all due respect to data and the
How do you stay on top of the latest algorithm, in 2020 I also want to
trends/topics consumers care about? continue working with clients who
I come from a digital publishing are keen to create new trends, not
background so following the news just respond to existing ones.
cycle is an ingrained part of my That’s exciting to me.
M I C H A E L B A T I S T I C H • H E A D O F R E S E A R C H & I N S I G H T S
Josh Fanning l CityMag
0401 873 788
jfanning@solsticemedia.com.au
Creative Review
CHARLIE COOK
JimJam Creative Director
Last year, we were delighted to create a tourism campaign for the Eurobodalla Shire, one of the
most stunning places I’d ever seen. This year, we were devastated as we watched half of it burn to
the ground. I reached out to the local councillor to see how we could help. The shake in her voice
almost had me in tears, but her response was swift. In short, they need visitors to start rebuilding
what is now a broken economy and a heartbroken community. In turn, we need brands to
respond swiftly with genuine initiatives that drive real action and make an immediate difference.
JIMMY HYETT
This Is Flow Founder
and Managing Director
A sunburnt country
Is it wrong to say you’re sick
of seeing bushfire posts?
The volume of companies and
individuals driving support
for the crisis was staggering.
While this influx into our feeds
had a serious donation-positive
Australia’s bushfire crisis is far from over, but the impact globally, brands walked
a fine line between being
support from the nation and brands across the sincere and opportunistic
globe has been overwhelmingly positive. We asked — and consumers could see
creatives to review some of the best (and possibly the straight through the frauds.
W O R D S B Y
P A I G E M U R P H Y
PAUL FENTON
Loyal Co-Founder and ECD
It’s sad that it takes a crisis to bring us together,
but we’ve shown that when we unite with
a single goal, we make a difference. Let’s keep
this momentum, focusing not only on the
immediate, but also long-term solutions. As long
as no-one’s listening to #ScottyFromMarketing.
www.adnews.com.au | March 2020 49
CC: A sound and profound JH: Ah, Tiffany Blue. The only
message that unfortunately will colour I’m afraid of. A nice clean
do bugger-all for the livelihoods, execution that shows brand, but
homes and wildlife lost in these speaks community. One look
fires. Climate change obviously at their website and you will see
needs to be addressed, but a list of their sustainability pillars,
using this current crisis to call so you know it’s authentic. On
out a slow-to-move government topic, on trend, on brand. Trifecta.
is just calling out the obvious.
Invites to climate rallies, links PF: I love brands making a
to relevant charities or simply powerful stance; see Nike and Colin
donating the media spend to the Kaepernick. Is it qualified, though,
firies would’ve made a bigger with Tiffany’s position on the global
difference. Right now we need environment? Or is it someone with
effective initiatives that help money telling off someone else
today’s victims today. with money for social points?
BAUER MEDIA
CC: What can you say about a given for the media outlet to
Bauer’s initiative apart from bloody deliver this level of journalism.
brilliant? #Rebuildourtowns does A good story to drive additional
what it says on the pack. It offers sales with a donation feels
practical ways we can help fellow opportunistic.
Aussies and small businesses
in townships doing it tough. PF: Great engagement. Giving
It’s all about making a real, money immediately helps,
tangible effort towards rebuilding but Bauer’s strategy has
Australia’s future. Nice one. long-term impact. How do
we keep supporting these
JH: The hot topic, "how to help", communities? By visiting and
has been a big question many putting money back into them.
have asked. While the intention After the fires have settled,
of Bauer is positive, it doesn’t communities will still need
get bonus marks, as it should be a platform for ongoing support.
Creative Review
LIBERAL PARTY
CC: Wow! Scott from marketing PF: Woefully insensitive while set
has really pulled an all-nighter among Liberal climate inaction,
on this one. Clear strategy, sound Hawaiian holidays and forced
idea, strong headlines, bold art handshakes with firies. The
direction, bloody brilliant initiative, political advertising with donations
Scott, you could actually make appeared to simply heighten the
a real difference... oh, no, wait, haters who have turned against
bugger, unfortunately you’ve ScoMo, myself included.
missed the deadline by about six
months. Sorry, Scott, we’re going
to have to let you go.
KOALAS OF NYC
Creative Agency:
CUMMINS&PARTNERS NY
CC:A mate of mine recently got JH: In a sea of digital streams, it’s
back from a holiday in New York. nice to see an idea that lives in the
Apparently everywhere he went the real world. The surprising invasion
locals greeted him with handshakes of koalas in the Big Apple is an
and hugs, showing their deep intelligent idea. Intrigue driving
sympathy for the fire victims, reality and a subtle link to take
especially the billion-odd “critters” action is more than enough to
lost in the disaster. Astonishing to capture hearts on the other side
think New Yorkers on the other side of the world.
of the planet giving a shit about our
furry marsupials. This Koalas of NYC PF: Despite global coverage,
idea surely had something to do people can become immune
with the overwhelming response. to the news, the anguish and
It clearly tapped an emotional cord the houses burning down. This
with a country’s deep affection idea is simple but significant,
for our native animals and, most approaching the problem with
importantly, showed them how they fresh eyes and an instant way
could help. Well done all involved. to act. Not bad for a stuffed toy.