Oxygen360 was established in 2006 by founder and managing director Cameron Jurd.
The business began as a creative and production space off the back of Jurd’s background at Nine, running the creative services piece.
Since then, the independent agency has expanded its client portfolio and offering. Jurd spoke to Mediaweek about the agency’s core strength, the key to keeping its long-term clients, and Oxygen360’s exciting year ahead.
Jurd on leading Oxygen360 and its offerings
Jurd shared that he oversees every part of the agency – from the economics of the business to managing that day-to-day. He leads Oxygen360’s client service on a number of businesses and the output of the agency, be it media or creative.
The agency expanded its offering to include media a few years ago. It brought in marketing and media communications consultant Andrew Lamb to run the media side of the business.
“We had a lot of clients asking why we didn’t do media and say they’d rather deal with us. So we’ve been in the media side of the business for four to five years.”
How Oxygen360 ensures clients get the “best bang for their buck”
Oxygen360 specialises in retail and DR – direct response, which Jurd called their “bread and butter.”
“We’ve done wonderful brand-building exercises with some fantastic brands over the years. But our core is, what I’d like to think is the essence of what we do, is about getting a return on investment for our client partners,” he said.
Jurd noted that the agency is very focused on every dollar spent needing a return and using the agency’s features to make that happen.
“The fact that we’ve got production, creative, media strategy and planning and buying all under one roof means there are economies of scale there. Everyone is very focused on ensuring that our clients get the best bang for their buck,” he added.
Jurd said the agency’s people and its capacity as a full-service agency to provide creative, brand and media strategy to its clients is its core strength. He noted that the agency boasts a production team, a soundstage, a studio, voiceover booths, and edit suites and designers.
Jurd said that being the agency owner and having a daily presence at the business, along with their no-nonsense approach, gets them the results they want for their clients. “I often have conversations with clients at odd hours of the week, and I’m more than happy to do that. We’re certainly very much invested in the success of our clients,” he added.
Jurd also noted that the agency focuses on above-the-line, traditional media. He said the agency firmly believes in the power of those channels, particularly TV, where they use TVSquared attribution software to achieve great results. “We’re all about attribution measurement, driving that cost down for the client, and keeping the advertising return on investment as solid as we can,” he said.
The key to keeping client relationships
Among some of Oxygen360’s longest-service clients are PD Insurance (formerly Progressive Insurance), having worked with the brand for almost eight years on various insurance products in Australia and New Zealand.
Jurd also noted their creative work with FetchTV, who has been with the agency for almost eight years.
For the past year, the independent agency has worked with Viking Cruises. Jurd said: “They’re a fabulous brand, a great bunch of people, and we’re enjoying that process.”
When it comes to keeping long-time clients, Jurd noted that while it is not an easy task, the key to strengthening those relationships has been to immerse themselves in their client’s business and understand the outcomes needed.
Jurd highlighted being nimble for their client as an important factor. “You can’t afford to be too rigid, particularly with a lot of the brands. You’ve got to be nimble to find a way to ensure they’re making a little bit more noise than what they’re probably entitled to and that they’re getting a bigger bang for their buck,” he said.
Jurd also noted Oxygen360’s policy of their senior people working on the business day to day. He explained that neither he nor Andrew Lamb, senior editor Andrew Yoole or creative director Adam Searle work hands-on, with the support of their team.
“That’s really key because a lot of the time, we find we’re dealing with GMs or owners of businesses, and they want to know that they’ve got the most experienced team working for them,” he added.
Navigating business during 2022 and the exciting future ahead
The pandemic was a turbulent time for the industry. However, some agencies thrived; fortunately, for Oxygen360, that was the case.
“We had a very good time through the pandemic on the back of some great retail results that we’re able to help some clients with.
But when turning his attention to this year, Jurd noted that while they’ve taken a bit of a hit and the market is tough, the agency is still performing above where they were in 2020.
Jurd revealed that Oxygen360 has an exciting venture ahead, including content plays with a couple of their clients.
“I can’t talk too much about that at the moment, but that’s on the horizon,” he hinted.
Jurd shared that he has been proud of the agency’s results in the current climate and noted that while some adjustments on cost around and TV advertising, “it certainly a good time to be advertising from a financial point of view. There are some good deals to be had out there” he said.
“But I think, for us at the moment, it’s just focusing on some of these new opportunities we’ve got around some content that we’re doing and ensuring that our list of clients that we’re working with now are comfortable and happy because they’re all going through challenges as well.
“Everyone’s feeling a little bit uncertain. We’ve been, I guess, buoyed by the results that we’re seeing some of those clients good,” he added.
Why the IMAA is important and worthwhile for Oxygen360
Oxygen360 joined the IMAA in 2022 and has benefitted from its membership with the industry body, including insurance.
Jurd noted that there is still more the industry can do as a community of independent agencies.
“I like the fact that the IMAA has been putting some pressure on federal and state governments to use Australian-owned independent agencies. That’s very important and worthwhile.
Jurd said that the IMAA provided independent agencies with a platform to discuss their businesses and brand. He also highlighted the impact of IMAA Academy with a few new people in their office taking part in the program and benefitting from the education.
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Top image: Cameron Jurd
