Exiting R/GA boss Holloway claims agency was ‘floundering’ and ‘all over the place’
The outgoing boss of creative agency R/GA has claimed that when he joined the agency last year, its new Sydney operation was already “floundering” and that “the structure was all over the place”.
Jon Holloway says he joined R/GA in Australia when it was “floundering”
The comments from Jon Holloway come in his recently updated LinkedIn profile, as he officially left the employment of the agency last week.
Owned by Interpublic, R/GA – seen as one of the world’s great agency brands – launched in Australia in 2013. Its client list includes ANZ Banking Group, Qantas, Telstra, Red Bull and Twitter. The agency’s global output is led by Australian, Nick Law, who is the network’s global chief creative officer.
I think you’ll find Jon has been out of the business since September. Guess he was on gardening leave until December
If he leaves advertising how will he continue to tell everyone that is dying/dead? What will we do when we can’t read his waffle about how he has all the answers and the industry is terminal?
How on earth did Mumbrella really pick this up? Jon over the years has received way too much air time on these pages. Perhaps it’s time for airing less of one’s opinion and more nose to the grindstone and let the agency’s work do the talking.
This article is misleading click bait. R/GA are not ‘floundering’ and ‘all over the place’ They have just moved into a huge new office to house their rapidly growing staff and serve an impressive client list…
Hi Will,
The article is written as fairly as we can make it. Jon Holloway is entitled to his views, but I hope that the casual reader would not think we are endorsing them by reporting them.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
No one escapes their reputation.
Let’s not publish any more of his musings. He is the David Icke of Adland.
David Icke of Adland… such a great call
Perfect. He truly does believe he is ‘The Digital Son of God’.
The Tall Poppy Syndrome is holding us all back!
I think it is definitely fair to say that RGA are floundering. They have delivered on almost none of the promise of their brand and it’s illustrious New York agency and pretty much every talented thinker, be they creative or strategic, has left the agency. The culture is lacking and the work is ordinary
It is also fair to say that Mr Holloway has not left a track record of success or esteemed ex colleagues and clients at any of his agency stops. His public writing is cliche ridden and poorly expressed and he has achieved very little of note. His constantly negative pronouncements about the state and future of the industry remind me of the dateless teenager at a disco professing how nobody is good enough for him
he will not be missed
WHO CARES? Jon constantly whines and moans about how crap the advertising business is. His LinkedIn posts that range from condescending to “I’m smarter than everyone, bow before me”-esque rants, his commentary will not be missed. Good riddance.
accelerator of ideas, founder, digital product disruptor
He’s Dunning Kruger in full effect this lad.
Reading his illiterate musings, self-aggrandising descriptions (“disruptor” – of what, exactly?), and that unprofessional LinkedIn update tells you all you need to know about who’s really “floundering” and “all over the place”. I CFB by Dec junk C BnB
The tall tales this guy tells.
Why are there never former staff extolling Jon for his mentorship and leadership? Or former clients gushing at Jon’s advice or the results he has delivered them?
Of course Jon is going to say anything he can to make his tenure at R/GA seem a success. Those in the know, know that the truth isn’t always displayed on a public LinkedIn profile.
I’d expect to see and hear a lot more from R/GA with Bezzina back on board.
Hi Jon. Best of luck with your new career. There’s a lesson here I guess in what one achieves vs what one claims.
I worked for Jon for a few years and I learnt a lot from him.
The industry needs someone to keep reminding us the model is imploding. It’s an unpopular job, but someone’s got to do it.
Jon, still read your stuff and still value the contribution you’ve made to my career. Thank you.
Looking forward to seeing what you do next.
4 MD’s in 3 years tells you everything about R/GA.
A shiny new (very cold, dystopian) office doesn’t mask the fact they have created very little in this market. Even the last Google project was a clear ripoff of an award winning project from 2014: https://thefwa.com/cases/moon
What did Bezzina do at Cummins? Other than wait for Jon to leave.
R/GA floundering? They’ve just won all Toyota digital business.
and ‘the David Icke of Adland’ is brilliant @please
I’m sure toyota would be thrilled to know they outsource all of their digital development work
at the end of the day the work produced from an agency is the real gauge of success. the fact that the sydney office has not produced anything noteworthy since launch is the real story. lots of so-called high calibre and hand picked talent hasn’t really produced much. they had a huge halo to start with, which would have opened a lot of doors. it was a head start that one can only dream of. a below average mark in my book, and not just for the person in this article.
Toyota have around a 6 agencies covering everything from technical implementation to creative. By the time these guys touch anything it’s a bit of design, maybe strategy and the rest is done by someone else. It’s hardly all of digital.
Might be worth adding Jon’s response to this article somewhere… https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/setting-record-straight-jon-holloway?trk=prof-post
Looking forward to seeing what donkey you ride into town on in 2017, Jon. Better be disruptive and world-changing otherwise you’re going to look like a bit of dill. No pressure.
Whatever one might think of his opinions, he alway put his name to them.