Droga5 chief strategist departs for new gig at the ABC
Milla McPhee, chief strategist at Droga5 ANZ, has taken a pivot away from agencyland to become the new director of audiences at the ABC.
McPhee joins the broadcaster after two-and-a-half years with Droga5 and Accenture Song. She previously spent five years at Adam & Eve DDB in London, and two years as the head of brand and creative strategy at Amazon.
During her time in agencies, she developed strategies for some of Australia’s “most complex and trusted brands”, including NRMA, Telstra, Optus, Tourism Australia, Australia Post, and Qantas.
In her new role, McPhee will be responsible for understanding audience needs and ensuring the ABC is meeting them. The audience team encompasses data and insights, social media and partnerships, marketing, internal creative and media agencies, enterprise design and accessibility, and audience planning and support.
Milla McPhee
Karen Madden, former ABC head of marketing, had been in the role since August in an acting capacity, following the departure of former audience head Leisa Bacon.
McPhee will report to ABC managing director Hugh Marks.
“Milla clearly has an incredibly strategic and creative mind that will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen the relationship between the ABC, its programs and services, and all Australians,” Marks said in a release.
“She will bring a unique perspective and audience focused approach to the leadership team, contributing to the ABC’s delivery of memorable and distinctive content experiences.”
McPhee said it is an “extraordinarily rare opportunity” to help reflect how a nation sees itself.
“The ABC is one of our most vital public institutions and enduring cultural icons. Its role as our most trusted source of understanding and shared meaning has never been more essential,” she said in the release.
“I’m honoured to join the leadership team at such a critical moment for media, creativity, and Australia’s cultural identity.”
A fellow Accenture Song alumnus also recently joined the ABC. Kyle Hugall, who also worked in strategy at Droga5, started at the broadcaster last month to lead its in-house creative agency, ABC Made.
His appointment signalled a refocus from the ABC on its in-house team to lead the broadcaster’s creative expression.
It came following operational changes confirmed by the ABC a week prior, 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.
As part of the changes, ABC’s content division was renamed ABC Screen, and now includes a newly created digital content department to “streamline digital and social content to align directly with our screen genres and commissioning process”.
McPhee will start at the ABC on September 8.
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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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