iNC Digital Media has undergone a lot of change over the last year after being sold by HT&E – where it was part of ARN – to Impulse Screen Media, but that hasn’t changed the approach of the now indie agency says CEO Loan Morris.
“We are not a big agency, we are still a boutique independent agency so it has its advantages and inconveniences but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Morris told Mediaweek.
“Yes performance is 100% the goal but it is also how you go about it. One thing about our team and our business, we would never compromise our relationships with our clients to get where we need to be, we believe in respecting people and having a responsibility to everyone around us.”
Morris has been the head of iNC Digital Media for the last four years including when the agency was previously run by ARN and then after the company was sold last year.
“I had been at ARN for a long time, after seven years working there, I was given the opportunity to take over the agency and turn it from a loss making agency to a profitable division.
“I took over in 2016 and restructured the company and took it to where it is today. I led the merger and acquisition with Impulse Media and we just celebrated the one year anniversary of being separated from ARN.”
iNC Digital Media Clients
The agency has been quite successful with retaining its clientele and has had major clients like the Australia publishing arm of Simon & Schuster who have been with the agency since its launch.
“We have had clients with us since we launched in 2016/2017 and are still with us today.
“When we transitioned out of ARN we retained all of our clients but one, there was only one out of hundreds of clients that didn’t want to follow us.”
The agency has had some recent major wins with the recent acquisition of the Jack Links beef jerky account sticking out.
“It is quite a well-known brand and we will work in collaboration with a creative agency called Three Scoops.”
Media Buying
Morris said that iNC buys all of its own media direct but on top of that are also the digital agency of choice for a few other indies.
“Because of Covid we have had a lot of redundancies in our industry including a lot of very good radio labs and media labs and anyone who had their own little one-man-band agency, so I have been working with them to fulfil all the additional services for their clients exclusively.
“This was already very much a revenue channel, but this has accelerated since the pandemic.”
Specialisations
Morris said that iNC Digital Media doesn’t have one speciality as a digital agency and that in digital media unless you’re coming up with some amazing technology then everyone is basically doing the same thing.
“We don’t have a true specialisation as it stands right now. The things that set us apart is we absolutely stand for transparency and accountability and I would say that is one thing that is quite refreshing and new. Our clients know exactly what is being spent and we give them access to a lot of tools that provide them transparency the whole way along.”
Joining the IMAA
iNC Digital Media joined the IMAA in June of last year and Morris said the only reason for the delay was the sale of the company from HT&E.
“When I was still a part of ARN I said ‘that is amazing, that is exactly the type of support and network that we need’, and the moment that we became independent I was like how do we sign up?
“One of the amazing things during Covid has been the knowledge sharing, how we have been able to network but also educate our staff, especially around the different media channels. And the awareness that is being put on this sector which IMAA is doing an exceptional job at as well, it is really building a voice to be an independent agency.”
