M&C Saatchi Melbourne: Mumbrella Creative Agency Review – In need of a reboot after losing its biggest client
The newly published Mumbrella Creative Agency Review examines Australia’s top 30 ad agencies. Today Robin Hicks examines how M&C Saatchi Melbourne has fared over the last 12 months.
M&C Saatchi had enjoyed a prosperous existence in the Melbourne market, built on the back of founding client ANZ. Until this year, when the bank switched its $55m account to Whybin\TBWA\Melbourne after a pitch that also saw fellow incumbent DDB lose out.
The end of a 14-year relationship that chairman Tom Dery called “a lifetime in advertising” meant that what was once an agency of 40-50 people is now half the size – a number were relocated to the Sydney office. The agency that gave Australia bolshy banker Barbara faces a year ahead of rebuilding.
In our survey, the agency features well down the order, and fares worse among our panellists than our readers. The agency scores poorly for commercial success, client stability, momentum and particularly for account management, for which it ranks just one off the bottom. Integration and creativity are its highest scores, positioning the agency just inside the top 20.
M&C Melbourne did hang on to some of ANZ’s digital business, and a panellist proposes that the future of the agency could rest in the potential of Mark, its three-year old digital offering. “They took a very big hit when they lost ANZ. M&C’s Melbourne office needs substantial re-invention. Which may come via Mark, which is impacting on the agency scene and has momentum.”
Mark is indeed a fast growing part of the business, with clients such as Fonterra and Australia Post. New business wins for the main agency, such as Tennis Australia, provide a base on which to build, and the agency’s planned move from Williams Street to Richmond promises a new beginning.
David Whittle, MD for both Sydney and Melbourne says: “It’s important, culturally, to restart and reconfigure. We’ve got faith in the people and the clients. We’re getting on pitch lists, we’re growing, we’re moving on.”
To read more about M&C Saatchi Melbourne, including full details on how it was scored by both our expert panel and Mumbrella’s own readers, to view examples of the agency’s work and read its own assessment of its performance, buy a copy of the Mumbrella Creative Agency Review priced at $75. The book features an assessment of the country’s top 30 ad agencies. To buy the book, click here.
