VMG merges media agency Frontier Media with creative agency Yakkazoo
Venetian Media Group (VMG) has merged media agency Frontier Media with its creative agency Yakkazoo, with the integrated agency to be known as Yakkazoo. Frontier Queensland will continue to operate as a separate media agency.
VMG Group CEO Michael Fishwick told Mumbrella the decision to integrate the agencies was based on client feedback.
L to R: Michael Fishwick and Mark Barrett
“We’ve got a true integrated offer that’s all in-house under one roof in a boutique manner as well,” Fishwick said. “We’ve got great clients who have wanted us to bring these agencies together and have one point of contact.”
Fishwick added: “It was really important for us that we had both media, creative minds working more closely together under one brand rather than separate brands. That was a really important thing for us in business as well. It does make a big difference because there can be a bit of a divide between media and creative minds when it comes to execution. And I think from VMG’s perspective, we do want to sit at that intersection between content or creation and execution. So it’s really important for us that they sit in one room under one team.”
VMG acquired Frontier Media, then Frontier Advertising, back in November 2020. VMG also acquired digital performance agency Sillyfish and boutique talent management agency Aspire Talent Group in the past twelve months. VMG’s most recent acquisition, design agency Loulaki Blue, has also been integrated into Yakkazoo as part of the merger.
“We’re a really unique group,” said Fishwick on potential future acquisitions. “We’ve got what we would refer to as publishing arms, or we own out-of-home. We’re a media owner, we’ve got media agencies, we’ve got creative agencies, digital agencies. From a full suite communication stack, there’s probably some little bits and pieces that we want to fill out long term. It’s not really one specific area that we would look at because we are quite unique… From an acquisition or a growth strategy, whether it’s we build or we acquire, we’ll be fairly client led or where we feel there’s opportunity in market.”
The newly-merged agency is headed by Mark Barrett, managing director at Yakkazoo.
On the challenges of the addition of media to his leadership, Barrett said: “In my previous life, at previous roles of overseas, we’ve always worked alongside the media agencies for our clients as we’ve delivered local campaign. Whilst I’ve not led [a media] business, I’ve worked closely with media agencies for the past 15, 20 years. I’ve also got a very talented team.”
Yakkazoo’s new leadership team will include Frontier Media head of partnerships Ben Welsh, head of client services Dusanka Dimovski and strategy director Andrew Hardeman, as well as Yakkazoo’s executive creative director Lisa Taylor and head of resource Irina Dwyer.
The Frontier name will continue on in the form of Frontier Queensland, which will continue to operate separately.
Fishwick told Mumbrella that the decision to keep the Queensland agency separate was for both staff and client reasons.
“[Frontier’s] a 29 year-old business. It was split between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane The reason why we’ve kept it that way is that it is really a media-centric business. The media buys, it’s got a really great workplace and a really close knit team set up on the Gold Coast. It’s got a different ownership structure and things like that as well, but it makes sense for us to have no immediate or only from a media buying brands.”
The Gold Coast agency is headed up by Alexandra Paton, still under the VMG umbrella, and will work closely with Yakkazoo.
Yakkazoo’s clients include Mercedes Benz financial services, New Balance and Fresh Markets.
Fishwick was coy about new clients, stating: “We’re definitely looking forward to announcing some client acquisitions in the coming months.”
Got a tip?
topics
Andrew Hardeman
Ben Welsh
Dusanka Dimovski
Frontier Media
Irina Dwyer
Lisa Taylor
Mark Barrett
Michael Fishwick
Venetian Media Group
VMG
Yakkazoo
Have your say