Australia's independent media and full service agencies continue to show their value as the proliferation of media continues, with sources citing frustrations with the larger holding groups as the core driver.
Over the past 12 months, independent agencies have made their presence known throughout Australia and, while many still tout Melbourne as the heartland and main battleground, it's hard to ignore the overall growth.
A former holding group-owned agency leader told AdNews "it's hard deny" that more clients are looking for alternatives to the holding group structure, finding themselves lost in the changing media landscape.
While some are doing well, there are still those whose "poor staff churn rate" are causing confusion and begging the question, "who is actually running their account".
In recent times, major names who had previously led top agencies, have exited to launch their own shops or join other indies including former Vizeum MD Nick Behr who runs Kaimera and ex-MediaCom business director Jimmy Hyett, now owner of This is Flow.
The likes of Margie Reid, who once led OMD Melbourne and Phil McDonald, ex-CEO of Y&R, have also joined indie shops such as the PwC-backed Thinkerbell and BCM, respectively.
And the talent drain isn't limited just to the top spots. Cummins&Partners continues to grow its media offering following the appointment of Paul Murphy, UM Brisbane's former MD Chris Platt now heads up media for BCM and in recent weeks former Maxus account director Sam Hoeben joined Byron Bay-based shop New Beach Media.
"It's not just clients who are looking for a change," a source told AdNews.
"There aren't many instances where you get the chance to build something new and a lot of people in the industry are starting to see that. Not to mention, while the larger agencies catch-up on culture, you can help shape a new one."
Who's won what?
Both Hyett and McDonald have previously told AdNews that while there may be a cap on the size of business you can on-board at one time, there is further opportunity to secure businesses looking to ramp up their media presence.
"We want to make sure that the clients have the right amount of people looking after their business from a service and management side," Hyett says.
"The key challenges as we grow is on-boarding clients that are still stuck in the traditional model."
He says some are reluctant to make the change, however, those who are looking to do more in market are finding the "more nimble" indie offering a "sound fit".
This is Flow is one of the many indie shops that are picking up multiple small to medium size accounts. Over the past 12-months, the agency has built a strong client base, including the likes of CruiseCo, media worth $5 million, and the $3 million media and creative account for McVities and Hydralyte, as well as Zeus Street Greek Restaurants and Domaine.
Sydney-based Kaimera has also had a slew of wins, starting with property giant Knight Frank's $3m account, but also including the likes of Intrepid Travel, Caroma, Cointreau, myPlates, Rivkin and Amaysim.
However, it's not just smaller clients that are riding the indie wave. Late last year Thinkerbell snapped up two former Dentsu-owned agency clients, with Melbourne Racing Club coming out of Vizeum and Bega from Carat.
Cummins&Partners also secured Jenny Craig's $8m media services, while Slater and Gordon swapped its account over to Audience Group only last month.
One industry insider told AdNews "this is only the beginning", stating that the trap indies need to avoid is "scaling for the sake of chasing profit", using the likes of The Media Store and Nunn Media as examples of how it can be done effectively.
Not all rainbows
Other members of the industry have been critical of the success in the indie landscape. Former Banjo founder Andrew Varasdi told AdNews late last year shrinking margins, the threat of consultancies, the squeeze from procurement and the detrimental local impact of global pitches were drivers behind the sale of his agency to Bastion Collective.
Varasdi went so far as to label the days of the indies as "numbered".
“It’s tough out there. The day of the independents are coming to a close. The world is getting smaller and the client is getting smaller,” he told AdNews.
“If you are not part of a network it’s harder for new agencies to startup and smaller agencies to survive. It’s so competitive, it's crazy.”
However, other independents, such as The Royals and Apparent, have remained strong, with The Royals adapting to the modern market to remain successful.
Conversely, long-standing independent media agency Paykel Media was acquired by Active International earlier this year, with founder Tony Paykel emphasising that the move "wasn't about survival", adding that media owners just need to continue "doing what they think is right for business".
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