Optus rolls out new in-house creative agency ‘Yes Agency’
Telecommunications provider Optus has launched an in-house creative agency named the ‘Yes Agency’.
Mumbrella understands the latest effort is a new initiative following the telco making some of its in-house creative team redundant approximately two years ago and embarking on a major reshuffle of its agency roster early last year.
Currently the Yes Agency has an Instagram feed that features four posts since it was created in September, including one of its staff at lunch at North Ryde’s El Rancho hotel, and a Vimeo page, showcasing promotional work for the Rio Olympics in 2016.
A spokesperson from Optus said in a statement to Mumbrella: “At Optus, we’re continuing to build our internal capabilities and we utilise the expertise of our creative agency roster to help us do so.
“Yes Agency is a new Optus initiative in collaboration with Re, and we continue to partner with our existing roster of agencies within the village.”
According to the Yes Agency’s LinkedIn page, the agency and Optus will work as one team to “develop creative execution”.
“It enables us to deliver experiences people genuinely want in a way that inspires and excites.
“We’re building a team that can challenge preconceptions and limitations to produce the best work around,” the LinkedIn post explains.
The new internal agency comes as the company outsources 170 of its operations staff to global telco vendor, Nokia.
David Sutherland, the former executive director of client services at Landor is now the general manager of Optus’ Yes Agency.
Sutherland previously worked at M&C Saatchi’s brand consultancy Re, which is working closely with the Yes Agency.
Yes Creative was originally launched by Optus as IMM before being later rebranded, which seems to have been part of a larger restructure of the internal business unit.
Yes Creative’s former creative and design traffic manager Cooper Ramsey is now a creative and design project manager at Yes Agency, joining in August when the agency launched.
Cate McNeil, who was previously the creative service business lead at Optus has since departed, joining HCF as its advertising and campaign manager.
Optus’ creative strategist, Leo Bajzert, also left the company the same month as the launch of Yes Agency.
Optus’ current creative roster includes Big Red, M&C Saatchi, The Works and Emotive.
Abigail Dawson was Mumbrella's senior content journalist covering event content. She left Mumbrella to move into an agency role in 2020.
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If you are a telco selll data and phone calls if u are arrogant enough to think u can make communications instaed of facilitate them you are deluded.
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“El Rancho”?!!
Sounds like they’ve been commissioned to do a rebrand on The Ranch after that establishment’s recent appearance in the tabloid columns. http://www.smh.com.au/business.....yrszs.html
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@ Er no
I agree with the point you made, but there was a delicious irony in the way you went about it.
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So to summarise, M&C have lost lead agency status on the Optus advertising account, but helped them setup an internal agency which may occasionally call on RE for branding support.
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Sutho is awesome.
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I made a point over the weekend that hasn’t made it through the filter.
There is a mistake in the reporting – Optus’ largest agency relationship by a mile is with Big Red, M&C only retains the branding component via their Brand Consultancy
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If you think of your telco as just a comms vehicle, then you’re with the wrong telco. The additional services offered today are much more than Dog & Bone. Concerts/Cinema/Sports/Events, Birthday Bonuses and that’s just to start.
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Hi ‘fleshpeddler’,
Thank you for pointing this out it seems I managed to unintentionally leave them out, I have added Big Red into the story.
Cheers,
Abigail – Mumbrella
I don’t want to be challenged by any independent thinkers, I just want people to shut up and make my web banner happen without question. Here’s an idea, lets just create an agency of yes men, a bunch of industry drop outs we can own – literally. Heck, we’ll even call it Yes Agency… (Suit drops microphone)
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Have Optus learnt from the lessons of the past? Probably not. Remember those mega-millions squandered in poorly managed, badly administered, vision-less “internal brand groups” – operating in a digital agency like manner?
All that squandering, leading to epic levels of sackings and it all being packed up and sent offshore to SingTel.
The lesson is; who has the accountability on this direction? And how will it work within the greater Optus ecosystem?
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