The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has wrapped up for 2023, with the event having brought together those that work in creative communications and advertising from every corner of the planet. 

Mediaweek has been on location in the South of France, and spoke to some of the most influential people in both Australian and global media. Today is the Initiative global CEO Dimitri Maex, who joined Initiative Australia CEO Melissa Fein and managing director, Sam Geer.

See Also: Initiative: Why the “potential is lost in its packaging” for some of Australia’s game-changing work

Australia is a particularly strong division for Initiative, and Maex was not short on praise for the team Down Under. 

Maex: “To be honest with you, they dominate – and definitely punch above their weight. I think the Initiative DNA may live most vibrantly in the Australian office. 

“We’ve been relying on the team here to help us shape our global product and global proposition. These guys are getting involved in a lot of the global pitches as well, not just looking after the Australian or even APAC region. I’m very happy we have this team in Australia, they’re a key part of the network.”

When asked if there were any particular learnings or ideas that have come out of Australia to be applied in the wider Initiative network, Maex says that the interconnectedness of the business means that ideas come from everywhere,

Maex: “It’s hard to tell, because that’s not really how we’ve worked on the repositioning – we’ve really built it together. It’s not like Australia or the centre in New York come up with something and push it down the line. It’s been very collaborative. 

“These guys were in New York earlier this year, really helping to co-create the next evolution.”

Geer: “The thing we do very well as a global network, I would say, is that sharing. It’s not just ideas, it’s everything from how we engage our staff to policies that we introduce. They get shared, and then you go back to your country, and I’ll get calls from the MD or CEO of several countries saying, ‘Oh, can you send us this slide? We want to implement that in this market’. 

“More so than anywhere else I’ve ever worked, that sharing and the ability to just pick up the phone and say, ‘can you send me this’ is one of the Initiative strengths.”

Maex: “I think you can, as a global network, move a lot faster if you really mobilise the global enterprise. I think a lot of the best thinking often happens in the small countries, because you’ve got a little bit more freedom, you can move faster. For us as a global network, it’s really important to tap into that.”

One of the most recent accolades for the agency was taking gold for Media Agency of the Year at Campaign Magazine UK’s Global AOY awards. The award came off the back of Initiative winning the Nike account for Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific, and Latin America last year.

Maex: “At the global level, the key point last year was the Nike win – and that was obviously a very big win, but we had to rethink the way we operated at Initiative to win that. When Nike landed we all thought it was going to be the perfect brief for Initiative, because we’re all about cultural philosophy and creativity, and what brand moves faster through culture than Nike? 

“When the brief landed it was a lot of D2C, a lot of commerce, so we got to really balance our strengths and culture philosophy with more focus on performance, commerce, and D2C. I think we succeeded at that – the current positioning actually was born during the Nike pitch. During that pitch, we really cracked the integration between all the performance capabilities of media brands, and the initial proposition.

“We had a phenomenal year last year on defence as well, which I’m very proud of. Everybody always talks about the wins, but we didn’t lose a single big client at Initiative. That means a lot.”

Reflecting on what makes Initiative tick on a global level, Fein says that the culture is the driving force – and that it all comes from the top down.

Fein: “One thing I’m super proud of is when Dimitri hosts these incredible conferences that we get to go to globally. When he’s doing his business update at the start, we look at market-by-market NPS – the net promoter scores. We pride ourselves on always being above a certain benchmark. 

“People talk about dream teams, and through the network, culturally, that’s really inspiring. That’s how we want to show up every day, feeling motivated that we’re creating a great place to come to work 

“Initiative has got a really special culture, and its DNA is quite different from any other agency I’ve worked with. Actually, before I joined Initiative, I worked with Initiative as well as other agencies. Initiative has a very strong personality and a very strong point of view in the world, which I think is its power.”

Ultimately, the message about Initiative that Maex want the market to hear is that the agency is full of proactive people who have struck a balance between clients and product.

Maex: “It starts with the DNA of the people, our DNA is in our name – Initiative. That really is reflected in the people. When you’re in a room with Initiative, things happen and you feel it. That’s something very, very special, we definitely want to keep, and that’s something we look for in every person we hire. 

“Initiative has always been very strong at balancing client centricity with a strong point of view on the world, and with strong product. You get agencies that have a very strong product, but they may be not as flexible with the clients, or agencies that are very, very client-focused, but they don’t really look at the product. Initiative has always been very good at balancing both, so I think we have a very strong proposition.”

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Top Image: Dimitri Maex

Applying for jobs and recruiting new talent can be a stressful process, no matter which side of the coin you’re on. A new career platform designed with the Australian advertising industry in mind, Advertising Industry Careers (AIC) aims to help connect the right job hunters and graduates to the right businesses and jobs.

Founded by CEO Adam Elliott and COO Owen Joyce, AIC is set to launch in October. There are some big names already on board with AIC – Network 10, Nine, Mediabrands, UM and Initiative to name a few– as well as a number of smaller brands like Ryval Media, Oxygen360, and Principle Media Group.

Mediaweek caught up with Elliott and Joyce to chat about what the platform will look like and what users can expect from it.

AIC is designed to shine a spotlight on the advertising industry, and for the pair, that means promoting opportunities across all disciplines. To help generate interest from candidates, AIC has formed partnerships with Paramount and Mediaweek.

Elliott: “It’s for creative agencies, media agencies, publishers, ad tech businesses, it’s for people whose business is built on helping develop those marketing solutions for advertisers. We are the most dynamic industry, we understand the power of marketing, yet we’re not taking those same marketing principles and bringing that to life for recruitment. It’s time that we start to take that approach.”

By focusing solely on the advertising industry, AIC will be in a unique position as it’s able to tackle specific hurdles that the advertising industry faces. Having spoken to several companies and individuals while developing the platform, the pair have collected some staggering stats.

Elliott: “Some companies are facing a really high turnover of 30 plus percent, particularly some of the bigger players. For some of the smaller players, of the companies we’ve been talking to that are now on our platform, they might only have 30 or 40 staff members but they’ve spent more than $250,000 on recruitment costs. That’s significant.

“They don’t necessarily have the resources, manpower, or people power to drive some of it, and also some of the existing channels they are using aren’t necessarily delivering the quality of people. We’re trying to help them connect the dots on all of that.”

For users, the AIC platform will work in a similar manner to other job board websites, but it will also provide a more in-depth look at the companies and teams behind the posting, helping potential employees find just the right match for them.

Joyce: “The front end is a pretty typical job board experience, you can set up job alerts and search for jobs by category, location, and keywords. We want to have some advertising space, but purely to promote graduate stuff – training courses and things like that.

“But the key thing is that when you’re investigating jobs, it’s not just about a job listing, it’s about learning more about the company – so we’re encouraging companies to produce tonnes of content around their Employer Brand. We know not every company has that from day one, so you can start off with a paragraph of text and a few photographs, but we want the companies to build as much content as possible over time.”

Highlighting education and landing roles for graduates is a major point of difference for AIC, and one that aims to help new graduates find the right fit to start their careers.

Elliott: “We’re hearing from some of the HR and Talent Acquisition teams we’ve been talking to that they’re getting grads and people in at junior levels, but often they’re leaving after six to 10 months, they just go ‘this isn’t for me’. Part of the reason that they’ve identified for that is that people are being put into the wrong streams of the industry – people are applying for the wrong role, and they’re not identifying the skill set early enough.

“We want to try to help minimise those impacts. We need loads of different people with loads of different skill sets and different types of personalities to be successful in this industry. We’re a very diverse industry.”

Whilst AIC brings jobs to potential employees, the pair point out that the platform isn’t designed to compete with Seek or any other online job boards, but rather provide a resource that adds to what’s already out there.

Joyce: “We make a point of telling everyone we speak to that we’re not competing with Seek or LinkedIn, that’s not our intention. In fact, when you advertise jobs on our platform, you can point your candidates elsewhere to apply – because the other thing we recognise is that a lot of these clients already have a very set recruiting process. As soon as you try to change that, things can go awry.”

Without a crystal ball, it’s almost impossible to see what is over the horizon. Set to go live in October, Joyce says that the platform will move with the industry’s needs, as well as through the increasing level of user contribution. No matter how the site evolves, however, there will always be one clear goal in mind.

Joyce: “What we look like in October this year versus next year will be quite different, we will have education programmes and a whole bunch of tools and services that will help both candidates and clients. The whole idea is to grow the industry, a lot of businesses can’t grow at the moment because they just can’t find people.”

Elliott: “We see ourselves as a tireless advocate for the industry. We want to promote and share the stories of what makes the industry great – the companies, what they do, and the individuals that make it happen are really at the centre of all of this.

“The industry is constantly evolving and driving consumer behaviour change, so it’s brimming with opportunities for people to grow, progress, and evolve their careers.”

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Top Image: Adam Elliott and Owen Joyce

Earlier this year, News Corp Australia announced the launch of The Growth D_Stillery, a dedicated research and intelligence service offering consumer insights to help marketers navigate brand challenges, anticipate consumer trends and understand where best to invest.

See Also: Behind The Growth D_Stillery: News Corp’s newest research and intelligence offering

The Growth D_Stillery amplifies key research insights on trade marketing platforms, and on News Corp Australia channels. As a part of its release into market, the platform has launched a series of vodcasts hosted by News Corp Australia’s director, Growth Intelligence Centre Dan Krigstein, with guests from all corners of the marketing world. 

Released fortnightly, the vodcasts aim “to really humanise these insights,” according to Krigstein, and tackle a new marketing challenge every episode.

This week, Mediaweek spoke to Toby Harrison, chief strategy officer at Ogilvy.

Having come off the unveiling of their Fountain of Youthfulness research, Harrison says that joining the Growth D_Stillery Vodcast made sense when it came to getting the research out there.

“We’ve been undertaking a bit of work with the guys at The Growth D_stillery since October last year. We’ve done probably the biggest piece of research I’ve ever been involved in, in my professional career. It was a rather extraordinary journey that led us to some pretty significant and interesting findings concerning Australia’s relationship with youthfulness, and as a result, Dan Kriegstein, asked me if I’d be kind enough to come and sit down and discuss some of that with my partner in crime, Dan Robertson-Jones.”

Sadly for those who may have gone looking, the Fountain of Youthfulness isn’t a real fountain – instead, it’s a whole new resource for marketers and brands to work with. 

“Essentially, what we’ve uncovered is a really, really powerful desire that exists across almost all Australians that’s hugely underserviced,” says Harrison. “People want youthfulness in their lives, but they’re really struggling to get it, and brands have huge potential to deliver upon this – but they’re not necessarily doing it in the right way. What we managed to do was decode it, and define it in a way that’s given brands route guidance and navigation, to be able to deliver exactly what people require to feel more youthful.

“It sounds ridiculous, but we’ve basically tapped this incredible seam of really rich desire in Australia. We’ve been able to define by the individual what youthfulness looks like to them, and how brands can service it specifically.”

Some things are easy to count and measure, and other things are a bit more nebulous. The concept of youthfulness falls into the second category, however, Harrison and the team found a way to bring it into clearer focus. 

“When we were exploring it, we worked with the behavioural science team at Ogilvy, and we asked ‘How do we define youthfulness in an appropriate psychological manner that allows us to build up a portrait?’ – they all started to quiver a little bit and they went, ‘well, there isn’t a psychological profile of youthfulness, it’s actually broadly undefined’. So we went away, and we built one. We actually built the model for what youthfulness is, and whilst the concept of youthfulness is sometimes quite hard to explicitly define, the behaviours and the mindset that exists behind it are a little bit easier. 

“Youthfulness is essentially driven by a mindset around wanting to make your life better. That mindset comes to life through four very specific behavioural avenues – people are seeking to make their life better through an exploration of identity, through an exploration of community, success, and enjoyment. These different avenues are really interesting spaces where youthfulness manifests really clearly amongst a host of audiences.”

With the episode of The Growth D_Stillery Vodcast out on Tuesday, Harrison says that he hopes the discussion will let people know that every brand in Australia has the potential to really service the youthfulness journey that exists amongst Australians.

“There are some really notable luminaries who I think just make us feel youthful, and they’re great at it, but every brand has the potential to do more of this. 

“When you tap into it, it makes your brand incredibly magnetic and incredibly valuable. What I hope that people will take out of this conversation is that it’s a really interesting way to think about how your brand can show up, and how it can pose a different value equation for potential customers, or open the width of value that they can provide to a broader canvas of customers.”

Taking a broader lens on the industry, Harrison says that the cost of living crisis is a major hurdle to be overcome, but it also presents the opportunity to create bold work.

“We’re experiencing a cost of living crisis, at a time when we’ve been through probably the greatest period of flux that any of us have ever experienced. I think brands and marketers are desperately trying to understand where the new normal is, and what does appropriate look like? When we tend to be in periods of change, that change can be terrifying to people, and they tend to go back to tried and tested behaviours – doing what they think is going to deliver results. 

“Actually, change is such a powerful environment to experiment within. Change presents an amazing opportunity. When we’ve got a whole bunch of people who are really struggling to make ends meet, you might think just posing a value equation to them is appropriate because good pricing might be the right answer. It’s not. I think what we should be doing, and we should be encouraging clients to do right now, is to have a look at alternative ways to show up. Look at alternative ways to pose the real value that your brand provides, to experiment with new opportunities in a period of change. Because if you don’t, your competitors will.”

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Top Image: Toby Harrison

Standard Media Index (SMI) Australia has revealed the ad spend trends of May 2023.

Data from the index has found Australia’s ad market has started the new financial year in a positive manner, reporting underlying market growth of 0.1% in May 2023 when abnormal Government and Political Party ad spend is removed to eliminate the impact of last year’s Federal election.

Before that spend is excluded, the market is reporting a headline decline of 6.8%, but that includes a $41.2 million fall in Political Party category ad spend and a $12.4 million hit from Government advertising.

SMI AU/NZ managing director Jane Ractliffe said last year’s Federal election and the impact of last year’s ongoing COVID-related ad spending by Government had significantly affected advertising demand throughout 2023.

“SMI’s data quantifies the size of the abnormal impact the extra spending within these categories has had on our market, propelling it to record levels of ad spend last year but now creating a $153 million hole in ad spend since January which is affecting all major media,” she said.

“From a headline perspective, it changes a decline in calendar year-to-date ad demand from -4.2% to growth of 0.4% once the ad spend for those categories is removed.’”

Ractliffe said the impact of Government and Political Party ad spend was clearly evident when comparing the headline and underlying growth rates for most major media.

“Ad demand for both Radio and Magazines returns to growth when we remove the Government and Political Party categories, while Linear TV’s decline reduces from 15.3 to 3.5%. These are huge swings that prove underlying ad demand remains stable for most media,” Ractliffe said.

“And there’s another sign the market is returning to normal as SMI’s Forward Pacings data for June shows 87% of the value of last year’s June ad spend is already confirmed (ex Digital) and that’s back to levels we would normally expect to see in a growth market.”

In other developments, SMI last week relaunched our UK database with ad spend now from all six major holding groups and four large independent agencies.

“SMI’s UK pool now has more than GBP10 billion in annual ad spend, and is also a Digital-first market with Digital bookings already more than half of all media agency ad spend. Given the difficulties in finding accurate Digital insights the SMI UK database is a hugely valuable tool for all advertisers and other UK media stakeholders,” Ractliffe said.

Black Hawk helicopters, machine guns, cocaine, methamphetamine – you would think Herald Sun senior journalist Stephen Drill just came back from the set of the newest season of Narcos. 

However, what Drill just came back from was a very real investigation into the global drug trade being fuelled by Australia’s insatiable appetite for illicit substances. 

In the seven-part docuseries, Narcos on the Front Line, senior reporter Drill and video journalist Jason Edwards travelled to the cocaine fields of Colombia, the methamphetamine labs in Mexico and the ports in Panama to expose the new and dangerous drugs which authorities in South America warn are about to flood Australian shores. 

The docu-series takes viewers into the source of where the drugs are coming from – exposing not only the deadly ingredients used to produce cocaine but the price being paid by locals at the hands of deadly cartels of Latin America. 

Mediaweek spoke to Stephen Drill about his investigation and the sheer scale of drug production that uses extremely dangerous ingredients that threaten the lives of not only the Australians who take them but users worldwide. 

Stephen travelled to Panama, Mexico and Colombia with the AFP who gave him unprecedented access to makeshift drug production stations deep in the jungle as well as narco tunnels that are used to smuggle cocaine and ice from Mexico into the United States. 

Drill said what shocked him the most while overseas was the scale of all of it. He said while most of it is cocaine and methamphetamine, what he is really worried about is fentanyl. 

“Everyone we spoke to was talking about fentanyl and it’s a real issue that, unfortunately, is inevitable that it comes to Australia,” he said. 

While he was shocked about the scale of the production, Drill said one of the main things that stood out to him was the pride of the people in Colombia and Mexico. 

“In Colombia, we didn’t speak to as many locals as we did in Mexico, but people there were really proud of their country and really angry that all it was known for was cocaine. So they want to try to change that.”

Drill touched on the danger of being in Mexico as a reporter and expressed that he felt they could be ambushed by cartels at any time, with the Mexican Navy escorting them with belt-fed automatic weapons on the back of Utes. 

“We were pretty spoiled, to be honest. Everywhere we went we were protected by commandos with loads of M16s,” he said. 

Their security personnel camped out at their car while they were having dinner each night as well as stayed out of the front of their hotel as they slept, but Drill says there was one time when the threat of danger became very real.

“We were taking a photo in our street in Lazaro Cardenas and we waited until sunset as Jason was keen to get some shots of the sunset. As we were waiting, people were gathering around as we were there just taking photos of the sunset and the Mexican Navy commandos with all our camera gear.

“It was no more than 15 minutes into standing there until the Navy came over and told us to pull the pin as it was getting dangerous. They said there are all these people here and all it takes is one person to call in the Mexican cartels. We had to get out of there quickly and once we moved, we were in a moving car within 60 seconds.”

The cycle of violence is all too common in the drug industry and Drill’s angle is the violence seen in Mexico and Colombia is fed by the drugs that people consume in Australia. He pins his whole investigation down on one point, and he hopes this point is the one that resonates with readers and viewers of the web series.

“We really need to see that the choices made in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, all have real consequences for people overseas.

“There are people being murdered every single day for the price of a couple of grammes of cocaine in Sydney, we just need to start thinking about our choices a bit more.”

All seven episodes of Narcos on the Front Line are available now.

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Top Image: Jason Edwards & Stephen Drill

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny opens in over 600 screens across Australia

This weekend, the Australian box office made $15,701,372, up 22% from last week’s $12,837,312. 

Harrison Ford returned for one last ride in Walt Disney’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The film, which reportedly cost well over USD300 million to make, debuted at the Australian box office in the number one spot, bringing in $4.9 million nationally and USD130 million globally.

Given that 2008’s Kingdom of the Crystal Skull brought in over USD700 million, it was a soft opening for the fifth and final instalment of the Indiana Jones franchise. However, the film runs for two hours and 34 minutes, making history as the longest film of the Indy flicks.

For its first second week in cinemas, Paramount’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts took $3.5 million. Starring Hamilton Broadway alum Anthony Ramos and Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, Rise of the Beasts follows 2018’s Bumblebee, down 39%.

Given it’s now the school holidays in most states of Australia, families took to the cinemas to watch Walt Disney’s Elemental. Coming in at number two for its third week, the fiery animation recorded $2 million nationally, up 45%.

Coming in fourth for its fifth weekend at the box office was Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Still going strong, the Marvel animation brought in $1.7 million nationally, down 16%.

For its second weekend at the box office, Sony’s No Hard Feelings came in fifth. The Jennifer Lawrence-led comedy recorded $1.3 million, down 22%.

Falling out of the top five this weekend was Walt Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Warner Bros’ The Flash, Forum Distribution’s Carry on Jatta 3 (debut), Midndblowing’s Satyaprem Ki Katha (debut) and Walt Disney’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3.

#1 Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – $4,907,594

Daredevil archaeologist Indiana Jones (Ford) races against time to retrieve a legendary dial that can change the course of history. Accompanied by his goddaughter, Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), he soon finds himself squaring off against Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), a former Nazi who works for NASA. The film grossed $4,907,594, averaging $8,152 over 602 screens.

#2 Transformers: Rise of the Beasts – $2,190,534

Optimus Prime and the Autobots take on their biggest challenge yet. When a new threat capable of destroying the entire planet emerges, they must team up with a powerful faction of Transformers known as the Maximals to save Earth. The film grossed $2,190,534, averaging $5,356 over 409 screens.

#3 Elemental – $2,027,215

Elemental journeys alongside an unlikely pair, Ember (Leah Lewis) and Wade (Mamoudou Athie), in a city where fire, water, land and air residents live together. The fiery young woman and the go-with-the-flow guy are about to discover something elemental: how much they actually have in common. The film grossed $2,027,215, averaging $5,539 over 366 screens.

JCDecaux has announced the appointment of Alexandra Heaven as head of ESG for both Australia and New Zealand.

In this newly created senior leadership position, Heaven will be responsible for delivering on the local execution of the out-of-home media company global Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) 2030 strategy.

Steve O’Connor, CEO JCDecaux Australia and New Zealand, said: “Being a leader in ESG has long been a core part of our business both locally and globally. As we continue to expand our ambitious ESG commitments, the time is right to appoint a dedicated senior resource to bring to life the significant work already happening across our organisation.
 
“Alexandra brings extensive and valuable expertise, including in European regulation and legislation, to ensure we keep leading the local market in this area.”

Heaven spent seven years at global food company Danone in Paris, in a variety of ESG specialist roles, most recently as global lead sustainability performance and reporting and global lead – Business for Inclusive Growth (B4IG) and Co-lead Impact Measurement.

Heaven said of her appointment: “JCDecaux’s ESG Strategy sets out ambitious and robust environmental, social and governance goals for 2030, and clearly demonstrates they are  a forward-thinking media company. I’m thrilled to join as their first ever Head of ESG for Australia and New Zealand and deliver on the clear opportunity to be a leader in the industry.”

The out-of-home media company has a strong track-record in ESG practices:

Omnicom Media Group Australia (OMGA) has announced a partnership with TV technology business Adgile.
 
The partnership will provide OMGA with first-to-market access to Adgile’s new suite of TV measurement tools that provide real-time measurement of Total Video performance.

Thad King, OMD Australia’s National Head of Planning, said: “We are excited to be rolling out the Catalyst platform, giving our clients access to Adgile’s unique real-time data across linear and streaming TV, with the Group’s key clients already onboard under this new partnership.”

“We’ve been fortunate to have been involved with Adgile’s evolution over the last few years as they’ve brought new products to market. This partnership ensures that our clients enjoy first-to-market technology opportunities to best understand and navigate the changing Total TV landscape.”

Adgile’s technology tracks linear TV and streaming VOD impressions in real-time, dynamically reporting on category and competitive activity as well as comparing delivered audience volume against OMGA client purchased inventory. Live forecasting of weekly and campaign totals in a single cross-channel view provides consolidation and automation of reporting.

Omnicom Media Group Australia’s clients will have the distinct advantage of having their Total TV activity proactively managed and holistically optimised, navigating today’s fragmented viewing landscape.

Craig Service, chief customer officer for Adgile, said: “OMGA has proven themselves to be a dynamic and collaborative agency group who, alongside their progressive client base, have allowed us to push the development of our technology and remain on the cutting edge of Total Video measurement.”

“They are a great partner for Adgile, as we look to bring measurement solutions of the future to Australian advertisers.”

Alex Pacey, OMG chief product officer, added: “The broader Adgile partnership means we will have access to more Total TV data, quicker, than with any other service available.”

“Not only can we be more responsive to our clients’ needs, we are also able to spot trends and identify opportunities earlier than otherwise. We continue to invest in the best people and the best technologies to deliver our clients a clear advantage.”

Intender has announced the appointment of Jonathan Peach as general manager as it consolidates three years of growth that has seen the business quietly compile a roster of national and international clients from its base in Noosa, Queensland.

The sustainability-focused performance marketing agency’s data-driven approach has seen the under-the-radar agency pick up performance marketing accounts for brands including Stockland, EnergyAustralia, Cheddar by CBA, Insure & Go, Chelsea Football Club and Exceptional Alien.

The GM role is a new one for the fast-growing agency founded in 2020 to lift performance and drive growth for clients by creating people-first media journeys using intent, interest and interruption data, while minimising the impact of media on the environment and mental health.

Peach joins Intender from OMD where he led media and digital transformation initiatives with clients as transformation director.

Prior to that, he was head of data and personalisation at Mars, responsible for leading first-party data and digital marketing projects across 12 brands in the Mars Petcare Australia portfolio.

Peach’s career also includes roles as digital marketing manager ANZ for Specsavers, client service manager – programmatic for Dentsu Aegis’ Amnet Group, and as digital strategist on Carat’s Global Team.

Phil Ohren, Morgan Ohren and Jonathan Peach

Intender co-founder and CEO Phil Ohren welcomed Peach’s extensive agency, programmatic, FMCG and client-side experience to the strategic shores of Noosa.

Ohren said: “Our CFO Morgan Ohren and I founded Intender to create the enterprise agency we wished existed – a sub-tropical collective of performance media specialists who care about quality over quantity, and reducing the impact of media on mental health and the environment,” Phil said.

“We’ve got a challenging vision – one that Jonathan’s experience with Amnet, OMG, Mars and Specsavers brings us closer to achieving as we continue to grow and challenge the media norm.

“With recession looming, reducing ad spend, lifting quality reach and lowering cost per acquisition (CPAs) will be a top priority in 2023-24. Jonathan’s experience across all sides of the landscape helps set us up for success.”

Peach, who has also worked in wildlife conservation and wilderness exploration in Africa, relished the opportunity to join the like-minded innovative, environmentally-focused agency.

“I’m excited to grow a team striving to make advertising useful and not annoying, in all its facets. The sustainable focus Intender puts on reducing ad wastage and carbon output aligns with my background in, and passion for, conservation,” he said.

“It’s high time we made advertising useful without wrecking our environment. Our stunning HQ location at Noosa surrounded by pristine national parks is the perfect place to drive that mission from.

Peach added: “A core role of mine will be ensuring we have the right product, people and processes in place to drive our clients’ companies forward and continue our sustainable growth trajectory. Intender already has a wealth of expertise that is pushing boundaries as a trusted, fully integrated, strategic business advisor to many C-suites. The formula works.”

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Top image: Jonathan Peach

iProspect, a dentsu company, is expanding its NSW leadership team, appointing iProspect client director Shae Healey to the role of group digital director as the agency continues its focus on delivering accelerated brand growth via a performance mindset.

Healey has been promoted to the newly created role after four years with iProspect, demonstrating the agency’s commitment to developing talent. He joined iProspect in 2019 as a client manager, promoted to client director in March 2021.

Reporting into iProspect NSW managing director Marcelle Gomez, Healey will be responsible for driving digital excellence across the agency for our clients and our teams.

“We are so pleased to be able to promote Shae to this new role. He’s been a force within the iProspect team, and his skills, personality and passion for delivering real business outcomes are the perfect complement to our brilliant NSW leadership team,” Gomez said.

“This new role reflects our commitment to do the absolute best for our clients, to push boundaries through innovation and deliver best in class digital campaigns that generate meaningful business results for our clients. I am so pleased to have found the right person for this new role within our iProspect team, demonstrating the hard work we have committed to creating and realising accelerated career opportunities for our ambitious and passionate people.”

Healey said: “I am so proud to step up into this leadership position at iProspect NSW. This role will give me the opportunity to further strengthen our existing digital offering and show why we are a market leader. The team around me are already so amazing and talented, and I’m thrilled to be able to contribute towards the momentum of the powerhouse that is iProspect.”

Healey is also part of iProspect’s Level Up Committee, the agency’s shadow board who work closely with the national leadership team, identifying and working on key initiatives for the business – allowing them to elevate beyond their day to day, build relationships with the Executive Leadership Team, be a voice for the wider iProspect team, and effect change and influence business strategy.

The appointment comes after iProspect welcomed Nick Kavanagh as chief strategy officer earlier this month and after the agency topped the Media-i’s happiest agency rankings in NSW.

iProspect NSW has also recently launched work for client Glenfiddich during Afterpay Australian Fashion Week, using paid media to extend the reach of their presentation of The Talks and their ongoing designer partnerships. iProspect also continues to support Polestar’s launch in the Australian market, taking on heavy competition and challenging economic headwinds to establish itself as a frontrunner in the Australian EV sector.

Healey begins in his new role immediately.

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Top image: Marcelle Gomez and Shae Healey

Engaging.io has opened its doors in the US to meet growing demand from existing and prospective clients across North America. 

The Sydney independent agency, a CRM integration agency and global HubSpot partner, is already working with a number of US clients across the event, media, education and sporting sectors. It has now appointed sales and solutions consultant, Ben Whitehead, as its first local appointment to manage US client growth.

Based in Salt Lake City, Whitehead joins the new Engaging US office from multinational software company Hyland and Netsmart which develops technology and software services for the healthcare industry. He will help clients address business problems by working alongside the Engaging team and Hubspot to identify the best solutions for them.

Engaging, which works with enterprise clients across health, finance, property, education and alcohol categories, is an award-winning HubSpot partner for five years running.

Recognised as HubSpot’s number one for advanced CRM implementation globally, it is an Elite partner and one of a handful of global partners to achieve advanced implementation certification and platform enablement and onboarding accreditations.

Michelle O’Keeffe, CEO, Engaging, said: “This is a significant moment in the history of Engaging. We have scaled rapidly in recent years and are now working with a number of major US organisations wanting to improve their customer relationship and one to one marketing capabilities.

“We weren’t looking to hire someone to manage sales in the US, but when we found Ben, we knew he was the right person. Our sales function isn’t sales in the traditional sense of the word. We only speak to businesses that have already identified an issue in their business and their tech stack isn’t supporting their business objectives.

“All our leads have an existing identified need and we needed someone who was more focused on solving their problems than shoehorning a boxed solution at them. Ben is at heart a solutions consultant, he isn’t pushy, he cares, and he’s personable. He was so like us we had to check he wasn’t already working here.”

Whitehead added of his new role: “The opportunities for Engaging and Hubspot in advancing CRM solutions at the enterprise level, and moving away from legacy platforms such as Salesforce, are considerable. I’m delighted to join the Engaging team as their first US hire and will be making my first trip to Sydney at the end of this month to meet the team in real life and get to know more about the business.”

Engaging recently announced the appointment of experienced digital marketing entrepreneur and executive, Miles Joyce, as non-executive chair, in addition to being appointed by four new clients including ASX listed adventure tourism business, Experience Co. 

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Top image: Ben Whitehead

MiQ has reached a record high in hiring of diverse background staff in 2022 while also significantly increasing its representation of women in leadership roles, its new diversity report has shown.

The programmatic company today released its third annual Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accountability (I.D.E.A) Report as part of its ongoing commitment to more inclusive and equitable representation across the business both in APAC and globally.

The report shows MiQ’s consistent progression towards greater diversity company-wide during 2022, while also outlining how the company is laying the groundwork for further change in 2023 and beyond.

In Australia, the report shows more than half of the MiQ workforce are women (53%), higher than the industry average of 42.7%, and 81% globally is comprised of people historically marginalised, including Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC), women, LGBTIQ+, neurodivergent, people with disabilities, and veterans.

In the APAC region, the number of women in the Indian workforce grew by 2% on 2021 to 32% and is up 10% since 2018, while data showed almost two in three workers in Singapore (60%) are women. Additionally, the representation of BIPOC held steady in Singapore, at 22% of the workforce.

Other key achievements outlined in the latest I.D.E.A Report include:

• Enhanced representation in leadership:there was a considerable increase in the representation of women and BIPOC at management levels and above, with a growth of 42% and 35% respectively, since 2020.
• Inclusive hiring practices:MiQ reached a record high in racial/ethnic hiring last year, with an impressive 45% of all hires globally* being BIPOC.
• Equitable salary distribution: for the second year running, salary band pay qualities did not reveal a pattern of inequity by gender or race/ethnicity

MiQ has also been working with its partners to extend its DEI efforts. Last year, the company expanded its internal Active Allyship: Bystander Intervention in Identity-Based Harassment program to its partners, collectively training more than 800 people worldwide. It will continue to offer this opportunity to other organisations across the globe in 2023.

MiQ APAC CEO, Jason Scott, said: “We’re thrilled with the outcomes we’ve achieved in the APAC region over the past 12 months – it demonstrates our  continued commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion, particularly in a tough economy, where many businesses are pulling back on their efforts in the DEI space.

“Our focus is on long-term, systemic change. We recognise that DEI is a forever journey for MiQ; it’s something we have to work on day-in, and day-out, so it’s an area I’ll continue to champion across our APAC business.”

In Australia, MiQ managing director, Fiona Roberts, has partnered with Cuppa.TV to bring employees free access to content and discussions varying from mental health and wellbeing, resilience and performance, sexuality, gender equality, cultural differences, sustainability and more.

MiQ global head of diversity, equity and inclusion, Sara Axelbaum, said: “For the last three years across the MiQ global business, we’ve doubled down on our DEI efforts and created real, demonstrable change, both in the data, as well as how we operate. As one of the only programmatic players not just committed to these initiatives, but openly sharing our progress in reaching our goals, our foot is firmly on the gas of leading this charge.

“We believe that by strategically and thoughtfully maintaining the momentum we’ve created, we’ll ensure long-lasting change that not only allows every MiQer to feel included, regardless of their background, but will help stimulate industry-wide change in a sector historically challenged to meet and exceed the global standard.”

MiQ has been recognised by the industry for its achievements, receiving finalist nods in the SXSW Innovation at Work, Ragan Workplace Wellness, and the AdMonsters and AdExchanges Top Women in Media and Ad Tech awards for DEI.

As part of its ongoing efforts, the company also held its annual Fellowship and Learning Labs program to help expand recruitment, particularly for underrepresented communities. More than 50 people participated and nearly 20 have continued on as permanent, full and part-time MiQ employees.

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Top image: Jason Scott

Radar MCN is now spearheading a new Total Distribution strategy for the wider WTFN Group six months on from launch, having achieved remarkable results through its growing network of owned and managed channels, as well as a series of global FAST channels.

Under general manager Derek Dyson, this new strategy means that Radar MCN will work ever more closely with Group businesses – WTFN Entertainment (production), Fred Media (TV distribution) and Empire Talent (talent management) – to ensure that every right for any type of content is maximised across every available platform, leaving no value languishing on the shelf.

Bondi Vet is a prime example of Total Distribution thinking: having started as a TV series watched at home and then internationally, it is now a content universe that includes four million subscribers across the likes of YouTube and Instagram, in addition to branded AVOD and FAST channels managed by Radar and core content on Blue Ant’s recently launched and rapidly expanding FAST channel network, Love Pets.

Derek Dyson

Dyson said: “Radar MCN is the engine driving Total Distribution within the WTFN Group, working end to end with the other business units to ensure every piece of content we represent works across the best mix of platforms – for maximum returns. The fact that we’ve grown out of a creative business makes us unique in this world.
 
“We have creativity in our DNA and understand what makes great content. When you combine this with our knowledge of digital opportunities and audiences – and our track record in revenue generation – it explains why content owners are increasingly turning to us for help.”

Radar MCN will also be looking to offer Total Distribution solutions to an expanded third-party client base and is delighted to begin driving this forward with a new partnership with ReDriven.

ReDriven is the fast-growing used car channel created by host Adam Morris and Sam Rawlings and is currently closing in on 150k subscribers on YouTube, where it is the third most viewed Australian car channel. The partnership, which will be Radar MCN’s first move in the auto video content market, sees the team taking over daily management of existing channels, as well as launching new channels, with a mission to turbo charge views, engagement and revenue.

Dyson continued: “We’re thrilled to be partnering with the guys at ReDriven. We know more than 50% of car buyers use YouTube to research purchases, and the way the economy is right now, there couldn’t be a greater need for quality used car content.

“We’re certain that by providing additional resources and expertise around optimising and commercialising channels, that we can build on the fantastic job the guys have done in making it one of Australia’s most influential auto channels.”

Rawlings from ReDriven added: “We are thrilled to be working with Derek and the team. While we trust our own abilities to make content that people enjoy watching, we’re complete novices when it comes to leveraging that content in the best way to reach the biggest possible audience and maximise every available commercial opportunity.

“We’re excited for Radar MCN to now flex its muscles around our offer, especially with our plans to scale the broader ReDriven enterprise. Having seen what Radar has quickly achieved for other brands we are very excited for the future.”

Kate Llewellyn-Jones joins Radar MCN

WTFN ‘s Radar MCN has also announced it has recruited former Beyond Rights CEO Kate Llewellyn-Jones to help drive the Total Distribution strategy in a newly created role – Content Partnerships Lead.

Joining as a consultant, and based with the Radar team in London, Llewellyn-Jones will be looking to work with a range of production companies, content creators and other rights owners to help ensure their untapped rights can be successfully monetised.

Having worked in several senior distribution roles, Llewellyn-Jones brings with her an enviable understanding of rights management and exploitation, as well as a global network of contacts – and will be instrumental in growing Radar’s international client base.

Kate Llewellyn-Jones

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Top image: Adam Morris & Jim Hull

Sami Lukis has joined ARN’s 91.1 Hot FM on the Sunshine Coast for a two-month stint.   

Having started on air this morning, Lukis will be co-hosting the popular breakfast slot alongside Sam Coward, replacing Ash Gierke, who is on maternity leave until September 1.

Of the new role, Lukis said” “I’m super excited to get back behind the mic and join the team at 91.1 Hot FM for the next couple of months. Who wouldn’t want to spend winter on the Sunshine Coast in QLD? Lucky me!”

Coward added: “I’m really looking forward to showing off the Sunny Coast to Sami and getting to know this energetic Sydney Sider. Having two Sams won’t be at all confusing!”

Lukis has established herself as one of Australia’s most accomplished and versatile media personalities on radio and television.

Lukis has notched up a successful career spanning more than 25 years as a television presenter, radio host, author, podcaster, journalist, red carpet reporter, professional MC, columnist and media Commentator.

Lukis is a regular contributor to Australia’s leading women’s lifestyle network, 9Honey, and she appears regularly as a commentator on The Morning Show on Seven. Her first book ‘Romantically Challenged’ was published through Penguin Random House in 2018.

Lukis also launched a spin-off podcast ‘Romantically Challenged’, which was nominated for Best Original Podcast at the 2019 Australian Commercial Radio Awards. She is also host and producer of the successful ‘And Just Like That… They’re Back‘ podcast, which has been downloaded in more than 100 countries.

Beyond her media pursuits, Lukis is a passionate traveller and entrepreneur, and in 2011, she established her own travel business, hosting unique getaways for women to New York.

Throughout her career she has also been involved with several charities, including serving as the proud Patron for The Emerald Ball, an annual event raising funds for Kids Rehab at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, and an Ambassador for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Lukis can be heard alongside Sam Coward each weekday on 91.1 Hot FM from 5am-9am, or on the free iHeart app.

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Top image: Sami Lukis

Luxury Escapes: The World’s Best Holidays, the acclaimed travel program, will be joining the programming of Foxtel and BINGE.

The show will showcase some of the world’s best travel destinations and feature a selection of Australia’s most loved TV talent.

This season will celebrate the very best of travel, from adventure to five-star opulence. From unforgettable locations and luxury villas to wilderness adventures and Michelin-starred dining, Luxury Escapes: The World’s Best Holidays spotlights the destinations and travel experiences Australians are aspiring to enjoy.

Luxury Escapes: The World’s Best Holidays will take audiences on an awe-inspiring tour around the world featuring some of Australia’s most in-demand hotspots along with the big-city action of Dubai, New York City and London, the European delights of Santorini, Tuscany and Vienna and the wild beauty of South Africa, the Maldives, Thailand, Bali and Fiji.

The brand-new season will feature an unprecedented line-up of well-known TV talent, including Cameron Daddo, Rebecca Gibney, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Miguel Maestre, Ben Lawson, Matthew Le Nevez, Diana Chan, Melissa Leong, Holly Kingston, Neale Whitaker and Jules Robinson.

The series will also feature familiar Foxtel Group faces including Australia’s very own Heather Mitchell and Jane Hall alongside others such as Andrew Winter, Rachel Khoo, Wendy Moore and more.

Luxury Escapes: The World’s Best Holidays is produced by Foxtel in conjunction with i8 Studios.

The brand-new season of Luxury Escapes: The World’s Best Holidays premieres on Foxtel’s LifeStyle channel August 29, also streaming on BINGE.

Hunted has revealed two new pairs ready to outsmart the Hunters after the show’s season two return on 10 and 10 Play was announced last week.

Taylah and Glenn hail from Queensland. She’s a professional boxer, and he is ex-military, branding them public enemy number one to the team if highly trained hunters.

Meanwhile, Ben and Callum from Victoria are self-proclaimed geeks with an army of Dungeons & Dragons adventurers ready for action.

The second series will see 10 pairs of ordinary Australians transform into real-life fugitives with limited funds and resources, finding ways to survive and remain undetected whilst on the run.

Released somewhere in Melbourne, the fugitives must remain undetected for 21 days from the team of expert Hunters, made up of some of the world’s best investigators formerly of the Australian Federal Police, Australian Defence Force, and British Intelligence, alongside cyber analysts and intel experts.

Many HQ Hunters from season one will return, including Hunted Chief Dr. David Craig, Deputy Intelligence Ben Owen, Deputy Operations Reece Dewar, Lead Investigator Graeme Simpfendorfer, Lead Cyber Jason Edelstein, Forensic Psychologist Dr Karla Lopez, Open-Source Intel Carter Smith and Steph Jensen, Digital Forensics Jay Banerji, and Ethical Hacker Vicki Grouious.

Season two will also see the addition of a new hunter, Senior Principal Analyst Leigha Fraser.

HQ Hunters will be supported by five Ground Hunter teams on the road tracking every move.

In the first season of Hunted, fugitives Robert and Stathi did the improbable and reached the beach that had been named as the extraction point.

First to arrive at extraction was Robert, who boarded the helicopter, elated. Stathi made a run for it across the sand as Team Bravo hit the beach at the same time. It was a neck and neck foot race to the chopper, but Stathi managed to evade capture just in time, with the helicopter taking off with the inaugural winners of Hunted Australia aboard.  

Hunted is produced for Network 10 by Endemol Shine Australia, a Banijay Company.

See also: Hunted Australia: New season, new fugitives, new hunter

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Top image: Taylah and Glenn
Bottom image: Ben and Callum

• 476k fans tune in for another instalment of Home and Away 

Total TV Ratings, June 26

913,000 watched 10’s Have You Been Paying Attention with the awkwardly hilarious Ray O’Leary, first-timer Bron Lewis, and eternal favourite Kitty Flanagan joining Sam Pang and Ed Kavalee on the panel, up 33%.

823,000 saw 10’s MasterChef Australia and it was a ‘Use Everything’ Mystery Box as Malissa, Cath, and Rue were sent to the following night’s Pressure Test. Up 22%.

818,000 tuned into the final night of Nine’s major drama event Warnie starring Alex Williams as cricketing legend Shane Warne. Lifting 34%.

542,000 viewed Seven’s Million Dollar Island with the castaways tackling more puzzles and physical challenges in their quest for cash, lifting 28%.

Overnight TV Ratings, July 3

Primetime News
Seven News 1,056,000 (6:00pm) / 980,000 (6:30pm)
Nine News 852,000 (6:00pm) / 842,000 (6:30pm)
ABC News 606,000
10 News First 237,000 (5:00pm)/ 167,000 (6:00pm)
SBS World News 164,000 (6:30pm)/ 107,000 (7:00pm)

Daily Current Affairs
A Current Affair 678,000
7.30 561,000
The Project 206,000 6:30pm / 318,000 7pm

Breakfast TV
Sunrise 209,000
Today 203,000
News Breakfast 135,000

Nine has won Monday night with a primary share of 17.0%, however, Seven took out top network share with 25.6%. 7Two has won multi channels with a 4.2% share.

Nine’s A Current Affair (678,000) tracked down a 22-year-old who pleaded guilty to spying on his unsuspecting flatmate through cameras hidden in her bedroom. Then, 292,000 watched Rush. During the episode, the 11 remaining travellers were dropped in Turkey to the sound of a call to prayer. Day One of Wimbledon followed with matches including Australia’s Max Purcell taking on Russian Andrey Rublev. Rublev won 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 with 151,000 tuning into the day’s highlights. 

476,000 began their evening in Summer Bay with Seven’s Home and Away. Irene and John were the talk of the town, while Mali was in financial turmoil and Marilyn closed a traumatic chapter of her life. Million Dollar Island followed as 33 players remained. With food supplies dwindling, one camp had its last meal and prepared itself for battle before a friendship was put to the test in an emotional elimination.

On 10, The Project’s (206,000 6:30pm / 318,000 7pm) Georgie Tunny and Hamish McDonald were live from the Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part 1 premiere in Sydney. The program also looked at the controversial decision that saw three fans suspended for abusing Aussie cricket players at the prestigious Lord’s during The Ashes. MasterChef Australia then followed with a delightful Perino tomato Mystery Box. Brent wowed the judges (as did fan-fave Declan), scoring himself a chance to earn a one-way ticket to Finals week. 508,000 tuned in. Then, 604,000 stayed on for Have You Been Paying Attention with guest panellists Celia Paquola, Urzila Carlson and Aaron Chen.

561,000 watched ABC’s 7.30 explore rising energy prices and the government’s promise to lower our bills and also looked at Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s arrival to Australia. Back Roads followed with 515,000 joining a journey on the Strzelecki Track, starting near Lyndhurst in SA and heading into the Strzelecki Desert before 449,000 watched Four Corners and 406,000 tuned in for Media Watch.

The highest rating non-news show on SBS was Robson Green’s Weekend Escapes with 134,000 tuning in to see former Newcastle United footballer Les Ferdinand share his insights into switching off, as he and Robson journeyed along the Northumberland Coast.