| What is your background, in terms of agencies, accounts, and client-side experience? | |
|---|---|
| Sarah Lock - Senior Account Director | Grey London (Grad) - Nokia Publicis London - Cadbury JWT Sydney - Kellogg's Mojo Melbourne - Nestle Peters Clems Melbourne - Mars Leo Burnett Melboure - 7-Eleven, General Mills & VU |
| Nick Bennett, Integrated Account Director. | Hailing from the UK, I worked at the largest agency outside of London, Gratterpalm, for 4 years. It was mainly retail focussed work with my main client in that time being Asda Supermarket. Starting as an AE I left as a SAM. After a year travelling the world I moved to Australia and started work at Leo Burnett as a SAM on the 7-Eleven business. I've now been on the Honda Australia account for just over 6 months working mainly across their digital projects. I also look after the work we do for The Great Barrier Reef Foundation. |
| Emily Gould Strategy Planner | Agencies: Fully integrated creative agencies in London and Melbourne (both small independents and global networks). Accounts: a broad mix with a focus recently on auto and FMCG. Client-side experience: None. |
| Jacquelyn Whelan- Account Manager | I started at Leo's Melbourne as an AE on the Honda account, I then moved into an Account Manager role. The last 10 months I have spent on the Bonds account |
| Christopher Steele, Head of Social Media | 2 years Leo Burnett Melbourne (10+ accounts), 4+ years client side social media management for large businesses, trained Journalist. |
| James Duthie - Senior Digital Strategist | First 7 years of career agency side in digital marketing roles. 8 years following that in agencies including Next Digital, DT and Leo's. Key accounts include Honda, Bunnings, Coles, Ford, MCG, Officeworks & OfficeMax |
| Ari Sztal Group Acount Director | I have a mix of creative agency and media agency experience. |
| Jacquelyn Whelan-Account Manager | I have worked in advertising for 3 years (all LB). I have worked on Honda, Victoria University and Bonds |
| What has been your role in the new business and organic growth efforts of the agency? | |
| Sarah Lock - Senior Account Director | N/A |
| Nick Bennett, Integrated Account Director. | Whilst on the 7-Eleven team we constantly challenged clients with new ideas and pushed them show how we can work better, this resulted in a winning a large chunk of their digital business. Aside from that, I haven't been involved in any traditional new business pitches for new accounts to the agency. |
| Emily Gould Strategy Planner | As the Planner, I develop the strategy, positioning and creative brief. This sometimes involves doing qualitative research. |
| Jacquelyn Whelan- Account Manager | I have worked on two accounts (Honda and Bonds) over which time we have organically taken on all of the advertising business from them- ie retail/digital from Honda and Brand/wholesale from Bonds |
| Christopher Steele, Head of Social Media | Contributing to pitch presentations, identifying growth and new social media business opportunities, selling social capability to potential clients, building out a new team with relevant social media skillset, training and mentoring team, defining agency process. |
| James Duthie - Senior Digital Strategist | Dependent on the agency. Played a strong role at Next Digital, but was rarely employed at DT given they had a new biz team. At Leo's I'm utilised sporadically to contribute to new business work, with iSelect being the most recent example. |
| Ari Sztal Group Acount Director | I like to get involved in most new business pitches and continuously work towards organic growth. |
| Jacquelyn Whelan-Account Manager | I have helped with organic growth as we grew Honda to take on digital and retail business and more recently took on all of Bonds brand work. I believe I contributed to this through my account servicing role and building trust with the client. |
| As if you were writing to a prospective client, describe the agency in no more than 3 sentences: | |
| Sarah Lock - Senior Account Director | We believe that ideas that make a human difference are the best ideas - Humankind Creativity drives Results Agency culture is at the heart of what we do |
| Nick Bennett, Integrated Account Director. | We believe creativity has the power to transform human behaviour, a highly collaborative group of individuals that love solving problems in smart ways that are not only clever...but also effective. |
| Emily Gould Strategy Planner | A boutique culture with global expertise. |
| Christopher Steele, Head of Social Media | Our creativity has the power to transform human behaviors. Leo Burnett Melbourne is a truly integrated agency delivering creativity and full service advertising/digital marketing for client brands. |
| James Duthie - Senior Digital Strategist | A full service communications agency with a proven track record of driving transformational work that truly impacts business performance. |
| Ari Sztal Group Acount Director | Leo Burnett Melbourne is a vibrant creative agency. We collaborate closely with our clients to solve their business problems. We push creatively to achieve our best. |
| Jacquelyn Whelan-Account Manager | Leo Burnett is a fully-integrated agency that is large enough to cover all skill sets, but also small enough that all clients are unique and valuable. |
| List the top few agencies that you do/will compete against most often: | |
| Sarah Lock - Senior Account Director | N/A |
| Nick Bennett, Integrated Account Director. | DDB. Cummins & Partners, GPYR, BBDO, McCann |
| Emily Gould Strategy Planner | Clemmenger BBDO Melbourne GPY&R Melbourne |
| Christopher Steele, Head of Social Media | Clemenger BBDO DDB M&C Saatchi |
| James Duthie - Senior Digital Strategist | Clems Melbourne, GPYR, M&C Saatchi, Cummins |
| Ari Sztal Group Acount Director | Clems, DT, |
| Jacquelyn Whelan-Account Manager | AJF, Cummins and Ross, George Pattersons |
| In the eyes of clients, what do you provide of value, that none of your competitors do? | |
| Sarah Lock - Senior Account Director | Global Agency, Local Clients = global resources but local manouverability |
| Emily Gould Strategy Planner | The Leo Burnett Melbourne team! |
| Nick Bennett, Integrated Account Director. | N/A |
| Christopher Steele, Head of Social Media | The Humankind lens on briefs, our exceptional service and culture integrating with client businesses. |
| James Duthie - Senior Digital Strategist | There's not a lot tangible to point towards. They're all big, full-service agencies with strong award credentials. The only two that come to mind and category expertise (where relevant) and client case studies/results (SPC/7-Eleven). |
| Ari Sztal Group Acount Director | Creative effectiveness and collaboration |
| Jacquelyn Whelan-Account Manager | Access and involvement on all accounts by senior management and Creative Director. |
| In the eyes of clients, what do your competitors provide of value, that you do not? | |
| Sarah Lock - Senior Account Director | N/A |
| Emily Gould Strategy Planner | I don't know |
| Nick Bennett, Integrated Account Director. | N/A |
| Christopher Steele, Head of Social Media | Size, social media resource and client base, a 'global' client list. |
| James Duthie - Senior Digital Strategist | Deeper digital experience and credibility with larger (non-creative) projects |
| Ari Sztal Group Acount Director | Scale |
| Jacquelyn Whelan-Account Manager | Media buying. In-house editing suites |
| Which agencies do you find the toughest to pitch against? Why? | |
| Sarah Lock - Senior Account Director | N/A |
| Nick Bennett, Integrated Account Director. | N/A |
| Emily Gould Strategy Planner | I don't know - we often don't know which agencies we're pitching against. Perhaps Clems because they're the biggest agency with a lot of resources to throw at new business. |
| Christopher Steele, Head of Social Media | N/A - not qualified to judge here. |
| James Duthie - Senior Digital Strategist | Haven't had enough exposure at Leo's to comment |
| Ari Sztal Group Acount Director | Clems, they seem heavily resourced |
| Jacquelyn Whelan-Account Manager | NA- I would guess the larger agencies such as Clemenger based on their size and reputation to clients |
| Are there any negative perceptions about the agency that might hold your organic growth and new business efforts back? | |
| Sarah Lock - Senior Account Director | 'Melbourne office is not as creative as the Sydney office' |
| Nick Bennett, Integrated Account Director. | None that i'm aware of! |
| Emily Gould Strategy Planner | Not that I'm aware of. |
| Christopher Steele, Head of Social Media | No. |
| James Duthie - Senior Digital Strategist | Poor cousin to Sydney perhaps. Not likely to be seen as a mature digital agency at this point in its lifecycle. |
| Ari Sztal Group Acount Director | Pmi |
| Jacquelyn Whelan-Account Manager | Perhaps some negative perceptions that we don't have enough staff for the clients we have..concerns around meeting deadlines etc |
| What are top 2 or 3 trends you see in terms of how clients are interacting with agencies in your market? What most makes clients unique in your market? | |
| Sarah Lock - Senior Account Director | More interest in transparency on retainer hours - more projects as OOS (non-retained) |
| Emily Gould Strategy Planner | Full collaboration. It's not unusual to see clients working from our office for the day and some of our team work from the client's office for one day every week. Full integration. There's less separation between different client agencies on some accounts. The wider agency team gets together regularly for WIPs and other meetings. |
| Nick Bennett, Integrated Account Director. | I've noticed of late clients are after an agency that can deliver the whole package, from media planning through to content production. They want to work with people with skills across the board who understand a range of markets. |
| Christopher Steele, Head of Social Media | The desire for full digital servicing, quick and agile media capability and seamless creative integration with digital offering. |
| James Duthie - Senior Digital Strategist | From the new biz work I've been exposed to at Leo's, the primary trend is about consolidation. It's expensive and inefficient to manage multiple agencies. It also increases the chances that strategy/creative are lost in translation . Of the clients approaching Leo's, it seems that consolidation of work within single agency is the driving factor. |
| Jacquelyn Whelan-Account Manager | Clients seem to be quite quick to change agencies. Trend towards working retainer on a project basis and even pitching out different projects. |
| Please explain how your office is currently experiencing AOR vs. project-based client work? Are you seeing a shift? What are the biggest challenges you’re experiencing? | |
| Sarah Lock - Senior Account Director | My GM retainer has just decreased by 25%. Difference is now in a SOW specific 'delta' fund that Client can spend / not spend at will - e.g. take projects to another Agency. Media owners undercutting on specific projects - e.g. Promotional radio spots Clients doing project content production in-house - not willing to spend with Agency |
| Nick Bennett, Integrated Account Director. | If anything, from my experience, i'm noticing clients trying to consolidate everything in one place, Leo Burnett has been lucky enough to benefit from that type of decision recently. |
| Christopher Steele, Head of Social Media | N/A - Not qualified to judge. |
| James Duthie - Senior Digital Strategist | Varies widely from client to client. Honda has a strong AOR relationship. 7-Eleven prefers to keep multiple agencies involved despite a strong history. Whilst AOR, they still employ other agencies to perform work that we could complete. Gen Mills is rolling back AOR to project based work. The dynamics of the business, and the key decision makers, guide the nature of agency engagement. |
| Jacquelyn Whelan-Account Manager | Majority of our clients work on retainers that cover all work. Our US company General Mills is moving towards a more project based specific retainer structure |
| On a scale of 1-10, how well do your presentations back up the agency’s recommendation with an irrefutable logic trail? In other words, how well do you typically build a strong argument for the agency’s recommendation? (10 = we are always strong in this area) | |
| Sarah Lock - Senior Account Director | 8 |
| Emily Gould Strategy Planner | 8 |
| Christopher Steele, Head of Social Media | 8 |
| James Duthie - Senior Digital Strategist | 8 |
| Jacquelyn Whelan-Account Manager | 7 |
| On a scale of 1-10, how well do you build your presentations around a new and unexpected strategic consumer insight vs. a predictable consumer insight? In other words, how well do you always have something brand new to share about the client's target audience? (10 = we are always strong in this area) | |
| Sarah Lock - Senior Account Director | 5 |
| Emily Gould Strategy Planner | 8 |
| Christopher Steele, Head of Social Media | 7 |
| James Duthie - Senior Digital Strategist | 7 |
| Jacquelyn Whelan-Account Manager | 6 |
| On a scale of 1-10, how well do you build your presentations around a new and unexpected creative/concept/program/tactical idea? (10 = we are always strong in this area) | |
| Sarah Lock - Senior Account Director | 10 |
| Emily Gould Strategy Planner | 8 |
| Christopher Steele, Head of Social Media | 10 |
| James Duthie - Senior Digital Strategist | 7 |
| Jacquelyn Whelan-Account Manager | 6 |
| On a scale of 1-10, how well do you demonstrate the business impact of your recommendations? (10 = we are always strong in this area) | |
| Sarah Lock - Senior Account Director | 3 |
| Emily Gould Strategy Planner | 6 |
| Christopher Steele, Head of Social Media | 9 |
| James Duthie - Senior Digital Strategist | 7 |
| Jacquelyn Whelan-Account Manager | 6 |
| Overall (and as you consider the questions above), what do you believe most holds back the effectiveness of your client and new business presentations? | |
| Sarah Lock - Senior Account Director | Inability to demonstrate substantial knowledge of the Client's business / key stakeholder understanding |
| Emily Gould Strategy Planner | We tend to end the presentation on the creative idea and next steps. We rarely demonstrate the impact that the creative will have. |
| Nick Bennett, Integrated Account Director. | Unable to comment on al of the above i'm afraid. |
| Christopher Steele, Head of Social Media | N/A - Rarely involved in the presentation itself. |
| James Duthie - Senior Digital Strategist | Strong success ratio says not much. A relatively selective approach to new biz seems to ensure the senior team can guide each response, which helps to maintain quality. |
| Jacquelyn Whelan-Account Manager | I am not close enough to pitches to comment.. but I would predict it would be around the way we often execute ideas- often tend to be quite TV/press orientated |
| When you lose a new business pitch or aren’t able to secure client buy in with a strategic/creative recommendation, what are the key reasons? | |
| Sarah Lock - Senior Account Director | Not fully understanding stakeholder limitations / restrictions |
| Nick Bennett, Integrated Account Director. | N/A - Although LB Melbourne has had a seriously good trike rate over the past 2 years. |
| Christopher Steele, Head of Social Media | NA - not exposed to this. |
| James Duthie - Senior Digital Strategist | Client buy-in: Not engaging the client deeply enough through the ideation process. Sufficient time for internal review before presenting to the client. Lack of budget always a factor. Conservatism within businesses that lack strong results/performance. |
| Jacquelyn Whelan-Account Manager | Seems to often be around finance |
| Bottom line, what do you think the agency most has to do to improve at new business? | |
| Sarah Lock - Senior Account Director | N/A |
| Emily Gould Strategy Planner | Become more streamlined - have some new business processes or pitch templates that people can use if helpful. |
| Nick Bennett, Integrated Account Director. | Continue to demonstrate the ability to win and retain current and new business wins. |
| Christopher Steele, Head of Social Media | NA - not exposed to this. |
| James Duthie - Senior Digital Strategist | It's more about selling in ideas to our current clients for me. We win new business. But there are a lot of great ideas that get left on the table because we're ineffective at selling them in. |
| Jacquelyn Whelan-Account Manager | We are doing new business particularly well at the moment by being quite selective on what we pitch for. Would be great to get the suits more involved in new business as it is quite creatively led. |
| Any advice for us as we prepare the training program for you? | |
| Sarah Lock - Senior Account Director | Please don't only focus on New Business. Let's explore the theme of 'securing Client buy-in' more broadly. The headers on the previous page around logic, insights etc. are a great way to make the course content more applicable to retaining existing business. |
| Emily Gould Strategy Planner | It'd be great if a lot of what we can learn about new business can also be applied to day to day clients. |
| Jacquelyn Whelan-Account Manager | NA |