ABC refocuses on in-house creative team with senior appointment
The ABC has appointed Accenture Song’s Kyle Hugall to lead its in-house creative agency, ABC Made.
ABC Made launched in 2015 as a way for the broadcaster to “maximise [its] creative staff” across the organisation. It hoped to deliver more efficiencies and streamline its marketing needs.
While at the time arguing it “does not have partnerships with agencies”, the ABC has more recently engaged with external partners. Over the past 12 months in particular, it has worked with Howatson+Co on projects including Triple J’s rebrand and brand platforms for ABC iview.
Hugall’s appointment as head of ABC Made signals a refocus from the ABC on its in-house team to lead the broadcaster’s creative expression.
It comes following operational changes confirmed by the ABC last week, including the dismantling of the ‘social strategy’ team within ABC Audiences. That team’s duties will be carried out by various groups within the strategy, marketing, and screen divisions.
Kyle Hugall
“The ABC is an extraordinary and vital institution that has served the Australian public for over 90 years, playing a key role in shaping the nation’s identity,” Hugall said in a media release.
“The opportunity to lead the creative expression of such a special brand, particularly at a time of rapid change in media and entertainment is an honour, and one I’m excited to embrace.
“I look forward to helping the ABC show up in bold, relevant, and culturally resonant ways that connect with audiences across the country.”
He joins the ABC from Accenture Song and Droga5, where he was a strategy director. There, he worked at across brand, customer experience, and digital technology to help clients with growth and cultural relevance.
Prior to that, he was head of creative and brand strategy at Lion, where he worked across the organisation’s portfolio of liquor brands. He has also held various creative and strategic roles at Redscout, Naked Communications, and Mother.
Hugall will officially begin on July 21.
ABC’s acting director, audiences, Karen Madden, said Hugall’s global experience as a creative leader will bring “a wealth of strategic insight” to the broadcaster.
She said this will be “invaluable” as the ABC continues to evolve how it connects with audiences.
Operational changes to the ABC’s content division were announced last week. The division has been renamed ABC Screen, and will include a newly created digital content department to “streamline digital and social content to align directly with our screen genres and commissioning process”.
Elsewhere at the broadcaster, the audio division will also be simplified, with the separation of the sport and capital city network teams, the integration of music programming into the ABC’s music networks, and the establishment of an ‘audio quality’ team, to bolster training for content makers.
The ABC is one of many brands looking to strengthen internal capabilities and re-think media models. Last year, Foxtel Group similarly revamped its creative agency Fox Creative, turning it into Balboa.
According to a In-House Agency Council study last year, 78% of Australian marketers are leveraging in-house models in some capacity. The adaptation of in-housing has increased, as this was up from 63% in 2021.
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Lauren McNamara is the associate editor at Mumbrella, covering the agency beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
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