In Melbourne they now talk in terms of them and the ROA (rest of Australia).
Adland, like the rest of the business community is doing it hard, coping with a second round of lockdowns with a lot of uncertainty about the future.
Mood is set daily by numbers, the latest coronavirus deaths and new infections revealed at a press conference by premier Dan Andrews.
In everyone’s mind is: "When will this end? How do we get out of it?"
Margie Reid, CEO of Thinkerbell, says she’s talking openly with the team about her own fears.
“It feels very isolating, being in Victoria,” she says. “You feel like the world, the rest of Australia, is against you.”
Reid now has direct experience of COVID with a family member getting sick.
“I'm now in full quarantine because I had been close to that person,” she says.
“You realise the reality of how close it is to us as a society when it literally knocks on your door and says hi.
“I wasn't stupid and I didn't do anything wrong, but it literally has turned up on my doorstep.
“And before that, I didn't know a single person that had had COVID. It is mentally very, very tough.”
Thinkerbell’s office, and the rest of the agency world, is shut.
“We're in stage four restrictions, nobody can go into the office and we’re completely locked down with no production happening in Melbourne,” she says.
“But in terms of the industry, I think marketers are being very optimistic. It's not like they're suddenly going, ‘Right, pull everything in Melbourne’.
“They're looking at it at a national level and making tweaks in sensitivity to the Melbourne market. If you've got a national campaign, what might you run in Melbourne that you wouldn't run in other markets? Think nuances in creative messaging.
“That’s something I think quite a lot of and that would be the biggest pivot. How are we tailoring to the Melbourne market?
“But the biggest concern right now is everybody's mental health. How do you make sure that people are okay? People don't want to be bored, but you've also got to make sure that they're not overwhelmed.
“Some people are saying,’No, I don't want time off. I just want to keep working’, but you've also got to make sure they are okay because it is overwhelming what's happening down here.”
Allan Dib, strategist, champion of consumer centricity and regular contributor to AdNews, says people in Melbourne are angry.
“Most of us are doing the right thing, and we expect to see a drop in the numbers. But that is not happening,” he says.
“Naturally, we want to blame someone. The media is doing its best to fuel this anger and are directing the blame at (premier) Dan Andrews, rather than those not following the rules set by health experts.
“This is creating division amongst Melbournians (which camp do you belong to?) which is exuberating the feeling of isolation.”
Dib tries to get everything he needs to get done before the daily press conference because his mood for my day is set by the numbers -- how many new cases of infection, how many dead.
“My mood has never been so impacted so much by one man before,” he says. “And there is not much I can do to change my mood (there are only so many dog rescue videos I can watch).
“I feel like I am alone. I am having fewer virtual cocktails – my mates in NYC are out enjoying summer, and my friends in the rest of the country are out at the pub.
“I, like many other Melbournians, am grateful for what Dan Andrews is doing and worry about his mental health. There are currently over 100,000 people that have signed up to a Facebook event to give Dan Andrews a virtual hug on August 14.
“Professionally this lockdown is impacting people differently; it depends if COVID has affected people’s jobs.
“For those of us looking for jobs, the outlook does not look good; we are trying to keep busy learning and supporting one another. Those that are working are feeling unsettled, not knowing what is going to happen when JobKeeper comes to an end.”
Angela Tangas, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network, says the mental toll of a second lockdown should not be underestimated.
“We’re focussed and committed to ensuring our people have access to the right tools and support, including upskilling our people managers on how to identify the warning signs of mental ill-health, as well as working with our health providers to host a range of online sessions on topics such as how to balance work and caring responsibilities,” she says.
“In times such as these, businesses need certainty and reliability in their partners and confidence that the investments made in media and marketing will deliver strong returns.
“Some brands will be leaning into fewer, bigger bets, while others may adopt a more test and learn approach. Ultimately agility will be key, but proactiveness is critical.”
Adam Francis, ECD and founding partner, AJF GrowthOps, is only allowed outside with his dog for an hour a day.
“No more than five kilometres away, one designated person to go to the shops. It’s not fun but it had to be done,” he says
“It’s harder the second time around.
“We've had restrictions for three weeks, four weeks, before this stage four.
“During stage three for the second time around, a lot of people just ignored it so they had to do something to try and stop this transmission.
“Our main concern is that you guys don't do the same thing, because I tell you what, it won't be great for the economy if New South Wales goes down.”
Gavin Macmillan, managing director, Ogilvy Melbourne, says Melbourne had been on a great run until the second wave hit.
“We were all set to become the nation’s largest city – the country’s emerging economic powerhouse,” he says. ”Now, it’s all come to a grinding halt.”
He says Melbourne’s agencies were riding the city’s wave and now, like all businesses, are feeling the effects of a crisis of confidence.
“The arrival of stage four restrictions though, whilst a blow to individual freedoms, do bring with them a sense that finally we have a plan to fight back,” he says.
“As the numbers start to come down, confidence will start to rise again. Whilst we aren’t going to beat this virus for some time yet, there will be a sense of victory when we bring it to heal in the coming weeks and get a version of our lives back.
“It will be the job of Melbourne’s agencies to reflect the wave of optimism that will be felt not just in this town, but all across the country.”
Jess Murphy, general manager, Landor Melbourne, says the work is getting done and our clients are comfortable with our approach.
However, she says it’s sometimes hard not to feel deflated by what’s going on and, of course, everyone’s situation is different.
“One of the key differences between now and the first wave was the sense of uncertainty we felt in March,” she says.
“How will this work, how long will we be WFH and how will this impact our business? I think we’ve normalised this and we remain focused on our relationships and communication with each other as a team and our clients. All of this will pass and better times lie ahead.”
Some tackle the second lockdown with humour.
Creative agitator Adrian Elton notes a great many businesses face incomprehensibly tough times.
“That in mind, consider what a terrible time it must be to be in the toothpaste business,” he says.
“All of a sudden, robbed of the promise of a dazzling smile - how should they best pivot? Afterall - if your Macleans are showing - then they probably shouldn’t be.
“Which made me think - how would you advertise the promise of sparkly white teeth that are now decidedly hidden behind face masks?”
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