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“I think that’s the value. You can create real change and real impact because we have all of these different teams and capabilities.”
Collaboration is part of the DNA
Speaking to each person within the Interactive leadership team, one thing became clear: there is an insatiable hunger to collaborate and make a difference. Collaboration is part of this family’s DNA. With people in all parts of the world and experts in just about any area, a simple idea floated in a meeting could come to fruition overnight.
Alex Glenn, senior director at Accenture Interactive, leads the strategy arm of the business, 2nd Road. The business was acquired by Accenture close to four years ago but only joined the Interactive family in August.
“It felt immediately that it was the home we’d been singing for,” Glenn says.
“I suppose I can appreciate so much of what Interactive offers, because I was trying to help find this position and this opportunity to marry strategy and creative so closely.”
Since then, she has been privy to the innate sense of care and pride the team has to bring ideas to life. She refers to the team as “almost like
a collection of entrepreneurs who hustle and think bigger”.
“Most of the people in the team have different spikes and so if you begin to engage with other people, they complement you, it’s not the same,” she says.
“That opens up collaboration that’s not competition, but it’s discovering a really different angle you wouldn’t have other- wise thought about.”
The collaboration is what she says continues to invite freshness to ideas. For Sunita Gloster, a well- known figure in adland and recently appointed senior advisor at Accenture Interactive, this was also one of the most exciting, and in some ways, surprising compo- nents to the team.
“Whilst I have known and worked with The Monkeys team for many years, this was my first touchpoint with Accenture Interactive and to start remotely, and during the lock- down, in many ways that shines a greater spotlight on what’s really below the surface,” Gloster says.
“What sets them apart from other service businesses I’ve been part of is the energy and collabo- ration of its people, locally and globally to making the opportu- nity, idea or intent not only a real- ity but a customer experience that is as great as it can be in strategy and execution.
“Unlike other places, the ‘infra- structure’ doesn’t get in the way of doing great work. That’s quite unu- sual seeing multiple parts of a busi- ness coming together to deliver integrated solutions so seamlessly. Here it’s in the DNA.”
Green attests to this as well. While many global businesses talk about having a network or offices all over the world, many don’t actu- ally tap into them. With so many resources and experts at their fin- gertips, he says there are many avenues to a solution for clients.
“As an international business, you can pick up the phone and find a solution anywhere in the world,” Green says.
“It seems everyone talks about multinationals but it actually does operate like one. They use technology and video to come together in ways even pre-COVID that are really interesting.
Telstra Plus campaign.