Robert Tadros established his independent agency, Impressive, in March 2016. His vision for the agency was to define the future of performance marketing.
Six years on, the Melbourne-based agency has grown in leaps and bounds. CEO and founder Tadros spoke to Mediaweek about the agency’s growth, its achievements, and his outlook for the year ahead.
The agency’s growth and being a hands-on CEO
Tadros said that the Australian market for a performance marketing strategy was not quite as mature compared to the US and UK. And with the vision of defining the future of performance marketing, he created a unique and specialised agency that does not generalise.
“I found there was a sea of agencies that essentially were full service and did everything, but frankly weren’t good at anything,” he said. “Typically, they’re only very good at one or two disciplines. We honed down on our skills and what we were very good at.”
“We do pride ourselves on being an independent agency. We’re not owned by any of the big corporates. It is very much me, myself and the team, and it will continue to be that way for as long as I’m involved,” he said.
The Impressive team
Although Impressive has grown considerably since its inception, it is still a small agency compared to the big corporates. While Tadros is at the executive level of the organisation, that does not stop him from donning a few hats in the agency and getting involved in the day-to-day.
The CEO shared that he helps with pitches and client strategies and growth, and international expansion. He noted that he can “get his hands dirty” with the work thanks to the support of the leadership team – culture, client service, finance and digital departments – whom he praised as “very capable.”
Unlike many full-service agencies, Impressive is a specialist agency focusing on paid media, earned media, and data, which he called the “backbone of everything we do.”
Part of their offering includes main media channels, online, SEO and content. “You won’t find us doing dev work or creative work or anything of that for a simple reason – it’s not what we’re very good at. We hone down on our specialisation and our capabilities, and we work with other agencies in those areas where required,” he explained.
An Impressive achievement
Impressive was certified by Great Place to Work as an outstanding workplace last month, as reported by Mediaweek.
Tadros said that they adopted a people-first mindset from the company’s inception. “Our belief, as an agency, is very simple. Take care of your people who will take care of your clients; consequently, you’ll have very happy people and very happy clients.”
“We’re a service-based business. Don’t take care of your people, and you’ll have no business in a very short time. Being recognised solidifies that we are on the right track, and we are doing the right things, and we are taking care of our talent.”
Tadros revealed that Impressive underwent a rigorous process to be certified. This process involved all their employees – here and overseas – being surveyed with questions about feeling pride in their work, alignment with the company’s values, a fairly treated workplace, etc.
Following the surveys was the interview stage for Tadros himself and a range of people from different levels and sides of the company, including people and culture, business, and team members.
“You can’t fake it. You have to jump through a number of hoops to get certified,” the CEO added of his team: “It’s a testament to the guys out there and a testament to the team for the curriculum that we’ve built around our training.”
Tadros shared that an implementation they have that has helped achieve the certification is Impressive Academy. He described it as a world-class platform, which the company built, that provides training to anyone that wants to learn a discipline within digital marketing.
“We’re always looking for different ways to innovate and make this the best place to work. We want to be recognised as the best agency on a global scale,” the CEO added.
See also: Impressive CEO Robert Tadros on what makes his agency a Great Place to Work
The impact of the pandemic and the year ahead for Impressive
Tadros revealed that the pandemic had a positive impact on the business. He said: “It forced us to adapt, it forced us to look at our processes, it forced us to look at how we deliver our service, and how we work as a collaborative team in such an environment.”
The CEO explained that Impressive became the agency of choice for many brands as businesses transitioned into the online world during the pandemic. The agency was so in demand at one point that they had to knock back businesses.
Tadros noted that the notable negatives during the pandemic were being unable to work in a collaborative environment like they were accustomed to and not being able to hire enough people.
Tadros said: “For a lot of other businesses, this is not what they want to hear because I totally understand and sympathise with some of these businesses that suffered during COVID. But I think the space that we are in, we were quite blessed and lucky that we actually did quite well.”
Tadros said a few exciting things are coming for Impressive when looking to the year ahead.
“We’re expanding and opening an office in Brisbane, so that will be our third local office. Over the next couple of years, we’ll be making our way over to the UK and having a presence in the space over there.”
The CEO noted that they are working on a proprietary piece of technology that is AI-driven and set to improve the efficiency of their work and allow for real-time optimisations and budget allocations.
Tadros also said that they will continue to onboard new clients; among their recent partnerships include Kogan, ModiBodi and OptiSlim.
“Three great opportunities there to do something unique and help those clients scale both internationally and within Australia as well,” he added.
On the IMAA
Tadros said that being part of the IMAA aligned with Impressive’s values as a proudly independent agency.
“It’s a great platform that provides support and collaboration between independent agencies within Australia and gives us access to financial benefits to support, whether it’s insurance or media partners.”
The CEO also noted that the organisation’s not-for-profit status is a big win for the agency. He said: “as an independent, we didn’t have an association or a governing body that can support us at an extreme level.”
“Having access to the guys and having someone there as a voice for the independents in Australia is great and very beneficial,” Tadros concluded.
