EXCLUSIVE: DDB Group's Sydney and Melbourne offices will restructure to form DDB Australia, while a change in the senior management ranks has seen the appointment of a new national chief executive.
DDB Group Sydney managing director Chris Brown has been promoted to DDB Group Australia chief executive, overseeing the advertising arm, DDB, and the various agency brands including Rapp, Tribal DDB, DDB Remedy, and Mango. DDB Group Melbourne managing director Andrew Little has become national managing director of DDB, reporting into Brown, and will relocate to Sydney.
Marty O'Halloran remains chairman of DDB Group Australia and New Zealand and the functions of his role will not change.
The restructure has come off the back of the agency group's victory during the Westpac creative pitch, which was a joint effort between the Sydney and Melbourne offices. Little, the lead on the account, has been travelling to Sydney from Melbourne regularly since DDB snared the business.
DDB has also shared the mammoth Telstra business between the two cities. The alignment has been designed to integrate the two offices into a 'best of breed' service, regardless of locale.
Brown told AdNews: “More and more we'll see clients who are looking for the best people and tailoring teams that can deliver the best outcomes. That's the breadth and excellence modern agencies need to have.”
Little reiterated the restructure will allow the individual offices access to a greater talent pool.
O'Halloran added: “We're doing this [restructure] proactively. Some agencies do it because they're facing problems but we're still growing and we want to continue that growth phase. We've had seven consecutive years of revenue and profit growth. My role in ANZ doesn't change and I'll be spending a lot of time with Chris in particular. This is part of our evolution.”
Potential acquisitions are part of that growth strategy. O'Halloran said the group has money to spend and is focusing on expanding its offering in the data and analytics area. He flagged the finalisation of any acquisitions are weeks if not months out.
The restructure will result in more changes to be announced in the next few weeks. Brown emphasised they will be positive and the moves are not about redundancies or cost-cutting. In particular, he said there will be opportunities to elevate technical skills at a national level. Additionally, DDB Group has been looking to relaunch Rapp in the Melbourne market.
O'Halloran said in a statement: “Recently we've witnessed what could be achieved when you combine the talent, resources and intellect of our Sydney and Melbourne operations, not only with the recent win of Westpac but also how we manage the Telstra account nationally.
"We are firmly committed to investing in both offices and continuing to have a strong presence in each region, however, the ability to integrate the offering more effectively and seamlessly on a national basis for our clients is both powerful and timely.
“Chris and Andrew are both outstanding modern business leaders that have now been part of my team for over 10 years and they both have great experience in running large integrated offices and I am excited about their combined vision for the future direction of DDB Group Australia.”
Little said in a statement: “It is a truly fantastic honour to lead the DDB agency in Australia. We work with amazing clients and have arguably the strongest line up of talent of any agency in Australia. After 15 years in Melbourne, my family and I are looking forward to moving to Sydney but I'll be back in Melbourne often. I am really looking forward to working with the senior management of both offices and continuing the growth trajectory of the last few years.”
Brown said in a statement: “This change marks the evolution of the group to an operating model that will drive greater growth and innovation over the next three years. The industry is changing rapidly with the increasing focus on technology and data in all that we do. This is influencing not only our output but also how we are structured.”
Interbrand, part of DDB Group ANZ, and its chief executive Damian Borchok will continue to report directly to O'Halloran.
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