The Independent Media Agency Association (IMAA) launched early last year. One of the foundation members was Sweeney Advertising.
Mediaweek spoke to Craig Sweeney who is co-CEO alongside his wife and co-founder Lesley Sweeney, about their agency and what it is like being part of the IMAA.
The married couple have worked together since Lesley was at 2CH and Craig was at 2GB. After John Singleton bought both radio stations, the pair eventually launched their own agency together.
“We started the agency about 13 years ago as Sweeney Advertising, but we had been working as an agency from the front room of our house for a couple of our foundation clients for the previous four years, so it’s been about 17 or 18 years doing the agency side of things.”
Sweeney said that the industry has changed a lot over the time that their agency has existed, which meant that they have needed to make changes.
“My wife has been the main media buyer for the business and then about three years ago we felt that we really needed to bring in a top-notch person. We brought in Paddy Douneen who was the GM of Mediacom from 1996 to 2000 and he was also client services director at Ikon and the media Director at BMF. He is an absolute high-end person who has really changed some real big thinking, and he has really added in that cutting edge that we needed to bring more of for our clients.”
Sweeney said that one successful aspect of the company has been running a radio campaign on 2GB, a practice the company has done since June of 2020.
“We are an advertising agency that believes in advertising and no one else is doing it. I have seen over the years so many people have done well with radio advertising and different forms of that type of thing, and I am like why not?”
Another major change to agency came five years ago when Sweeney advertising became a full-service creative agency.
“I just saw a need in the marketplace to bring some value into the creative side of things. I am not trying to put crap on anyone, I was just feeling like too much of my client’s money was going into massive creative budgets and I was trying to temper that with more media spend.
“That is what’s going well with the media advertising because the ad is me saying that we take your business personally and a lot of people have heard the ad, but if you don’t listen to 2GB you probably haven’t!”
Clients
Sweeney said that all of the agencies foundation clients are still with the company and point to Caruso’s Natural Health and Caravan & Camping Industry Association NSW as examples.
“The situation is that we say we are going to do something, and we actually deliver. That is not a new out there thing it is just the truth.
“A lot of what we do is not rocket science, it is really just doing the right thing by the client at every stage. And that is why the clients are with us, and they have been with us for 25 years.”
Some new wins for Sweeney Advertising include Decathlon and Temperzone but Sweeney also pointed to some exciting work that they are doing with not for profits and charities.
“We look after Anglicare which is a not for profit and we are very proud of that. We do a great job with those guys, and we have the Harrison Riedel Foundation that started up to help kids download an app to help prevent youth suicide, and we took that on as an agency charity.”
IMAA
As a foundation member of the IMAA, Sweeney said that it is in its fledgling stages but describes it as being a part of something bigger.
“We are very proud to be founding members of the IMAA. From our point of view we really believe that we are at the top of the iceberg with what we can do, and how powerful as independents we can become by utilising each other’s strengths, and being able to talk through certain clients and what we are doing with other clients, and have an honest conversation.
“When you put us all together there is definitely a big bit of money coming in from the industry.”
Sweeney said that one of the main perks of the organisation is that the agencies can work together to help the client.
“Part of the whole ethos of the IMAA is to not go out and try and pinch each other’s clients. Funnily enough we don’t come across each other’s clients often at all with how many businesses that are out there.
“No one is fishing in the same pond so we can have an honest to goodness conversation about what worked for a client. If the clients win every time, then we are all in front. “
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Top Photo: Lesley and Craig Sweeney