Page 22 - AdNews Magazine Nov-Dec 2020

Perspectives
“What 2020 has taught me as a leader is that it’s OK not to have all the answers, just as long as you have
a plan. A plan that’s adaptable and communicated
to your people.”
CEO Publicis Groupe Mike Rebelo
Clients’ situations varied enormously from having no customers, to product distribution issues to selling out of product. This was very much category dependent, though half of all the IMAA members were facing six months of having at least 50% less business. Thankfully,
independent agencies adapt far quicker than larger organisations and all of our members have maintained their businesses, with JobKeeper a massive help in managing our way through those six months.
Perhaps obvious, given we are in the communications business, but there is no doubt strong communications and flexibility were needed to deal with COVID-19. Communications with staff, clients and media ven- dors became crucial. Our members told us they were constantly talking to clients and arranging Zoom calls with WFH staff. Staff relationships seemed to be more open, as P&Ls were being shared freely and constant staff updates became the norm. Media vendors have also been
tremendously supportive and helpful with insights and research despite having their own COVID-19 issues.
Despite shelving the calendar of events, the IMAA managed to run educational member webinars, establish an alliance with the world’s largest independent agency association (thenetworkone.com), run an ARN radio campaign and surveyed our members. One of the best out- comes from the IMAA is that it enabled independent agencies to talk to one another and share issues. There is nothing better than discussing concerns with people in similar positions to yourself.
What does 2021 look like? For the IMAA, we hope to get our calendar of events back up, we will have a new leadership team and expect membership growth on top of the 50 members we now have from across the nation.
In terms of advertising expenditure, we expect 2021 to be up compared to 2020 but still down compared to 2019. We have also been told independent agency spend has increased substantially during the years as clients appreciate the service, experience and consistency of staff that independents deliver. COVID-19 has changed employers’ attitudes to WFH so it is also reasonable to expect that to continue
to some degree.
The support the IMAA has received,
while launching in a once-in-a-business-life- time pandemic, has been outstanding. As the independent space gains greater exposure, we expect 2021 to be the Year of The Independent.
Mike Rebelo, CEO Publicis Groupe Australia & NZ
What 2020 has taught me as a leader is that it’s OK not to have all the answers, just as long as you have a plan. A plan that’s
adaptable and communicated to your peo- ple early, clearly and frequently.
A crisis can either have the effect of bringing people closer together, or push them apart. I’m grateful to be able to say that these challenging months have brought my team and the entire Publicis Groupe closer together. When the first lockdown hit in March, my CEOs and I were meeting over video calls every 48 hours, constantly reviewing and assessing the unfolding situation, making sure we had what we needed to support our clients, and
aligning our collective response.