Adholics was established at the height of the pandemic by Jake O’Donnell at just 21 years old – making him one of the IMAA’s youngest agency owners.
In 2022, the agency experienced rapid growth, winning ten new clients and expanding to a team of 15 staff.
O’Donnell, founder and agency director, spoke to Mediaweek about the agency’s key to success, its campaigns over the last year, and his bold yet optimistic outlook for the year ahead.
O’Donnell, who left his sales role at News Corp to start the independent agency, has helped businesses grow thanks to the close media relationships.
Adholics key to success
Adholics has continued to prioritise placing the right people in the right roles, having filled key positions across performance, digital, client service and management over the past 12 months.
This success has also seen the Melbourne-based agency establish a Sydney office, which is looking to expand its team following an influx of client wins.
Among those recently joining the team is Hamish May, the performance director from Direct Response Media, who shared that he joined the agency because he was attracted by the ambition and strategy it demonstrated.
Performance director May said: “It was refreshing to speak to Jake and the team and hear their plans for growth, backed by evidence and a clear roadmap to success.
“The culture and collective ambition to grow was unmatched by any other agency I interviewed with, and Adholics was a clear number one pick from the start.”
O’Donnell said that Adholics is proud to have a 100% staff and client retention rate, which he said they do not take for granted.
“Our mix of global and local clients means our hours of operation can extend to ensure an optimal service delivery across Europe to Asia. We reward our staff with additional leave and well-being vouchers for extended hours and have taken the team on a mental health break to Bali with more escapes planned.
“We also promote a truly flexible workplace which is essential to remaining an employer of choice,” he added.
Pitches and campaigns
Adholics also successfully pitched for global powerhouses Arthur J Gallagher and the world’s second-largest rideshare company, inDrive.
This was thanks to the agency’s ability to demonstrate an exceptional product backed by great culture and deliver outstanding results.
O’Donnell said: “What we offer clients is a product and service model that is 100% flexible.
“Gone are the days of inefficient retainers or spend commitments – especially in a post-COVID world. Our adoption of Performance-based remuneration is of huge benefit to clients.”
“Our record of new business wins is backed by exceptional case studies of business growth, and we are forging a reputation as being leaders for driving both short and long-term results,” he added.
Other campaigns won by the independent agency and launched this year include Odoo, Block Earner and Pana Organic.
O’Donnell’s bold yet optimistic outlook for the year ahead
O’Donnell is bullish about growing even more in 2023. “We believe we can keep momentum through adding further clients and talent in order to double our billings to $20m by the end of FY23,” he said.
“Adholics is about sustainable growth, however, and we need to ensure our people remain well cared for to maintain our famous client service and results ethos,” he added.
O’Donnell is also passionate about ensuring the agency is equipped with the best tools and infrastructure to benefit clients and staff.
“We know we can’t stand still for a second in this industry. We need to continually improve our offering to give our clients an unfair advantage against their competitors.
“We have recently partnered with Nielsen and Landsberry & James to provide much-needed rigour to our planning smarts and have also signed an agreement with TapClicks for a market-leading dashboard to give clients real-time access to results. The feedback has been phenomenal and plays a big part in client satisfaction,” he added.
Being part of the IMAA
Adholics joined the IMAA in 2021. O’Donnell said he enjoyed working with Sam and his team and looks forward to accessing more benefits in the year ahead.
“The IMAA has helped agencies through their ongoing training and education modules as well as the group deals that have made data and insights a lot more accessible,” he added.
O’Donnell is also keen to see a level playing field for other IMAA members. He explained: “We have a shared ambition to further democratise tools and data for future agency start-ups and those agencies who don’t have the resources or means to invest as we have done.
“Our independence gives us the freedom to choose the best tools and technology that suit our clients, and we believe all agencies should have this freedom,” O’Donnell added.
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Top image: Jake O’Donnell
