Audience Group has unveiled leadership changes at the independent agency.
The agency has championed evidence-based advertising from the start, helping clients leverage first-party data to align advertising with business goals. It has made advanced modelling and predictive analytics—combined with a strong focus on data privacy—standard components of its offering, helping clients cut costs, make faster decisions, and run more effective campaigns.
Tom Evans, co-founder and managing director, will step into the newly established role of chief operating officer (COO) and will focus on scaling the agency’s technological, data, and privacy-first capabilities to meet evolving client needs.
Co-founder and director of strategy, James McDonald, will take on the managing director (MD) role and will focus on driving expansion while maintaining the agency’s evidence-based ethos.
“Our clients expect smarter, more efficient outcomes, and we’ve established some seriously smart technology, capabilities and services as the backbone of delivering on that promise,” Evans said.
“We were early adopters of attention metrics combined with custom bidding algorithms, notably achieving a 74% uplift in brand recall in our first use case. We’ve established the capability to rapidly generate media mix models and predictive analytics—tasks that once required hundreds of hours— reducing costs significantly, without compromising data privacy.”
Evans added: “As Brisbane’s biggest independent media agency, and certainly one of the larger indies nationally, it’s critical for us to remain agile and competitive. This shift to COO lets me focus relentlessly on scaling our capabilities, continuing to bring the right people on board doing exactly the right things, and ensuring we continue to innovate.”
McDonald said: “This change is invigorating, and it’s as good for Tom and I as it is for the business and for our clients.”
“As director of strategy, I was working to shape our offering and take it from vision to reality in a way that is useful to our clients. Now, as MD, I’ll be homing in on the day-to-day as well as representing Audience Group’s vision for the future of advertising across the market, building on what Tom and I have established.”
Audience Group has grown to a 25+ strong team who boast energy and enthusiasm, paired with its innovative approach, the agency been instrumental in realising the dream of building a leading-edge, evidence-based agency.
The agency’s portfolio includes national, industry-leading clients — ranging from mid-sized businesses to national not-for-profits and hospitality sector brands — some of which have partnered with Audience Group for nearly a decade.
“We’re not about growth for the sake of it,” McDonald continued. “This structural shift is about ensuring every step we take strengthens our offering, that we build with purpose, and stay ahead of market demands.”
Evans emphasised that people are at the core of Audience Group’s success. “Our focus on people is central to everything we do, from hiring the right talent to fostering a culture of sustainable and socially responsible practices. For example, we’re now supporting Scope 3 emissions reporting for clients looking to make a positive impact.”
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Top image: Tom Evans and James McDonald