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Then came the ‘talent crisis’, which made working arrangements and benefits even more critical. Yes, there were horror stories of people accepting but not even starting jobs to jump to another agency for an extra $20K, but for the indie sector it was not as bad as we first thought. Yes, talent shortages meant staff working longer hours but that is now a thing of the past.
Being part of an independent agency has been attractive for many talent – due to the ability to really be part of something meaningful and to effect real change – and although it’s taking agencies longer to fill roles, things are improving.
This augurs well for 2023, as our members are skilled up and ready for growth.
A key strategy for the IMAA has been to level the playing field for independents and we have achieved that through trade credit deals, group deals with suppliers, and international staff transfer programs, but it is technology that will really close the gap between indies and multinational agencies. Data, and the ability to harness data for insights, will be one of the true differentiators between agencies in the future.
Yes, we are entering, once again, unchartered waters in 2023 with grow- ing inflation, cost of living pressures, an unsteady housing market and the ‘R’ word being used by some. These economic factors will test consumer confidence but if there is one thing that marketers learnt during COVID, it was to keep investing in their brands, which is now paying dividends.
We know of some very large client wins coming to some indie media agencies in 2023 and there is still strong confidence and optimism in our sector. And it’s full steam ahead for the IMAA with another industry wide event in early 2023 and another series of great initiatives that will benefit our members. Bring it on.
2Justin Graham, CEO M&C Saatchi AUNZ
022 was a year full of promise, it was touted as our ‘return to normal’.
What's normal?! Sign me up for international travel, the kids back at school, concerts, cinemas, industry award shows. Lots of them...
Looking back at this same article from last year, I wrote that I was looking forward to “reconstructing an M&C Saatchi that presents the best possible environment for creativity to flourish”.
I’m proud to say that we have made significant progress against this ambition, and at the same time have a ways to go (I also made predictions about my favourite teams, the Wallabies and Wests Tigers respectively, best not go back to fact check those...)
In terms of how we work - we have continued to realise the positive gains that came out of the lockdown periods. We have developed more personal connections with clients and colleagues, better ways of work- ing through borderless collaboration, and embraced flexibility as a core part of how we work.
We have momentum from the coming together of a connected creative offering between our Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland hubs. Working with brilliant local design firms Woods Bagot and Made For, we have reinvented our physical spaces allowing us to create, collaborate and be inspired in a cutting edge environment.
The year has also resulted in some significant pieces of work relevant to all Australians & our future that we are hugely proud of; ‘Come and say G’day’ for Tourism Australia officially reopened the country for business. One of our most trusted brands in CommBank is providing hope around a brighter future, and we continue to partner with the State & Federal Governments to provide Australians with the tools and resources to navigate this next phase of life. And, our partner Woolworths continues to show up for all Australians being voted the most valuable brand in the country by Brand Finance.
However, Australian creativity was clearly impacted by the extended lockdowns, and this was reflected in a relatively poor performance at Cannes compared to past years. Aussies and Kiwis love a challenge and speaking to leaders across the industry there is definitely an ambition to return better in 2023.
My plea to the industry would be that we all adopt a fearless approach and, to borrow one of our values, to ‘run towards the fire’. It’s what ... creativity is all about.
M&C Saatchi, Justin Graham
We know many agencies have continued to interrogate and evolve their model and M&C Saatchi is no exception. We have made incredible progress but as an industry I believe we still don’t have it quite right.
There are still mental health challenges to address, we are los- ing people due to burnout and new passions, and access to interna- tional talent remains a challenge.
We’re in a messy transition point in a lot of ways and 2023 will be about landing a new equilibrium.
Last year I reflected on our peo- ple being incredibly resilient. We learned that our people are fear- less, and we are embracing that. We actually have ‘Hello Fearless’ plastered on our front door along- side our values to remind our peo- ple, clients and partners to unite around this common strength.
As we look at how clients want to engage, we know they want to utilise our original thinkers, but we also need to help navigate the increasing pressures that they’re under.
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