MEC is to provide clients in Brisbane with a digital full service offering beyond just planning and buying.
The GroupM agency has been in Brisbane for less than a year, entering on the back of wins such as Domino's and Allianz Global Assistance, but is now looking beyond winning new clients towards getting the most out of its existing base.
Although it's a tough market, MEC CEO Peter Vogel told AdNews, existing agencies had not worked hard enough in that city.
“Agencies really went to sleep in that market,” Vogel said. “I think people have said the Brisbane market had become quite staid and settled … we think there's opportunities to shake up the market there.”
Vogel said MEC wouldn't be chasing pitches quite as hard in Brisbane this year, and that the coming year is about consolidation and getting the most out of its existing clients.
“There's a couple of clients we're not providing all our services to, so there'll be a big push in terms of offering our full service there,” Vogel said.
“What I want is to move as many of our clients to a full service [digital] type of agency as we can.”
He said the strategy wasn't just to help get more revenue from clients, but to help clients grow their own businesses.
MEC is continuing to beef up its digital offering, and set up in Melbourne towards the back end of last year with the mandate to become an agency “with a strong digital DNA”.
It entered the Melbourne market after it won GE Money, as well as the Nestle account. Vogel said that MEC had deliberately gone after clients in the Melbourne market which were digital-first.
“If you look at the nature of our clients' business there, there's a lot of online acquisition,” Vogel said.
“GE Money is very focused on the online acquisition of customer. There's a very big focus on digital response. It's not just branding but digital ROI.”
He said MEC was setting up as a digital player in Melbourne, with plans to share expertise and learnings from Melbourne across the group.
“The great thing about a new client is that you have to evolve slightly each time to meet their needs,” Vogel said. “You have to bring in new people, you have to offer something different. That's experience you can offer to other clients too.”
While it's steady as she goes in the Brisbane market, Vogel said MEC would be in the pitching game in Melbourne should potential clients meet up with MEC's aims.
“We're looking at clients where they're looking at e-commerce, online engagement. It's those type of clients we'll absolutely be going after,” Vogel said.
He also said the Melbourne office would add another four staff by the second quarter, bringing its numbers to six.
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