John ‘Steady’ Steedman has become one of the most influential media buyers in the country. But his impressive rise isn’t by default. Steady’s position as the leading force in a long list of media agency honchos is well deserved – his consortium oversees annual media billings of around $2 billion, making the GroupM buying conglomerate the largest entity in Australia.
But it’s not just the billings which place him at the top. The power of the media buyer in general is becoming increasingly pronounced. As the market fragments and media owners fight for ad dollars, the media buyer acts as the powerful gatekeeper. What’s more, media agencies have been leading the charge in innovation in spaces like data and digital. Steedman is the most prominent figure in a powerful bunch.
He is known to be one of WPP chief Sir Martin Sorrell’s star performers, renowned as a skilled businessman with a knack for future-proofing his business – in the past few months Steady has overseen a majority acquisition of experiential agency Play Communications while spearheading the relaunch of flagship search unit Outrider as M. The rebadged brand will see GroupM moving beyond search campaigns, with the implementation of an innovation hub and a beefing up of digital creative capabilities.
An imposing, tattooed individual, Steedman is widely respected well beyond the walls of GroupM, and is regarded as one of the main agitators for change in the industry. In a world where media agencies are being forced to diversify, Steedman is the master of the add-on, pushing the industry as a whole into new arenas with gusto.
