Page 21 - ADNews magazine March-April 2022

Feature
The rise and rise of Nunn Media
Nunn Media, with annual billings of more than $330 million, recently acquired Alley, the AdNews Digital Agency of the Year. It was Nunn's fourth acquisition since 2013 and its largest.
Performance agency Alley was referred to Nunn, which positions itself as the largest independent media agency in Australia, by a mutual senior media contact familiar with the expansion goals of both businesses.
Founder Matt Nunn on Alley CEO Nick Lavidge: “We clicked right away on a strategic level, but more significantly, we had common corporate, people, and personal values, which are the bedrock of any purchase.”
What followed was an exhaustive strategic, people, and financial due dili- gence process over months
Matt Nunn: “We found the process to be very seamless, open, and compre- hensive from both parties due to the emphasis we make on strategic fit prior to financial negotiations.
“The first thing that drew us to Alley was Nick's track record of accomplish- ment, vision, and commercial savvy. Alley is considered as one of, if not Australia's, top digital performance firms, so that was obviously appealing, and the awards they've won lately have just added to that impression. Their ecom-
merce capabilities, as well as their burgeoning digital creative growth, also impressed us.”
Nick Lavidge at Alley: “Working with the Nunn team, we found apparent synergies between the two agencies that may bring even more value to our current and prospective clients.
“We were also intrigued by their history, culture, and clear articulation of their strategy and vision, all of which were very similar to ours. We still feel the same after a few months.”
“Excellent people to work with, allowing us to keep growing the business while also assisting in the development of key growth areas such as enterprise, commerce, and creative services.”
Lavidge started Alley in 2014 -- and grew it to 40+ people with offices in three countries -- after being on the client-side for more than a decade where he built in-house marketing teams and also worked with multiple external agencies.
“Unfortunately, most of the large agencies I worked with gave me more headaches than results and I noticed countless inefficiencies in the ways they worked with their clients,” he says.
“All these agency limitations ultimately lead to diminishing trust and per- formance which, in recent years, have led to more clients opting to take their digital marketing and media buying activities in-house.
“However, building several in-house teams myself, I know firsthand there are many limitations to in-house that pose significant risks for organisations as well. “This leaves many CMOs (like myself) in a tough position where they want more control of their digital media but understand that in-housing can be a very risky and expensive exercise that doesn’t happen overnight. On the other hand, brands want alternatives to the large agency holding groups which have
WORDS BY
CHRIS PASH
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