Judith Duck established ROI Network in 2010 after her tenure at a full-service advertising agency Ad Partners.
There she started as a graduate trainee and worked her way up to become head of client management and worked with a diverse range of clients from blue chip, multinationals, and not-for-profit advertisers.
After leaving Ad Partners, she formed her agency to serve not-for-profit clients to help them with fundraising campaigns and promote services like aged care.
Duck spoke to Mediaweek about the agency’s work in the not-for-profit sector, navigating the pandemic and how ROI Network has benefitted from their IMAA membership.
Collaborative work and focus on the not-for-profit sector
Duck is the client director and owner of the advertising consultancy. She said: “While avid while ROI network, as an advertising consultancy, focuses on media strategy and buying, we will partner with other companies where needed.”
The client director explained: “For instance, if a technology solution is required or there are other services that help us do our work. We mainly work with the owners of these businesses, so everyone’s motivated for the campaign to succeed.
“So, the structure is a little bit different to a traditional agency in that capacity,” Duck noted.
The ROI Network focuses on media strategy and buying and works mainly in the not-for-profit sector. Duck noted that she enjoys working with clients as an extension of their in-house marketing and creative team.
“We’re not there to take over but to collaborate. Whether the client’s goal is a business imperative or a social cause they want to promote, it lets us delve into the business problem more deeply and explore creatively driven solutions,” she said.
Duck explained that ROI Network adds value to its team by delivering a fresh perspective from a media viewpoint.
“This is how we approach our work for not-for-profit clients so that we can stretch their dollars as far as possible. We certainly thank the media, who have been incredibly supportive whenever we reach out for assistance in that manner,” she added.
Navigating the pandemic and beyond
Duck noted that the pandemic created turbulence in the marketplace and impacted business because it changed how people and other companies re-evaluate priorities and habits.
“It’s become an opportunity for me to think about what the business is to be. In the marketplace, people are thinking about work-life balance; they want to have fun and move away from the doom and gloom of the last few years.”
The client director also noted the influx among marketers changing jobs to try something new and people wanting to move to regional areas.
“What that means is that new ideas, new contacts, can become more available to independent agencies as the old loyalties are not as important anymore. As new people come in, there is room for change. So, I think that will be the greatest impact on ROI network moving forward,” Duck added.
Projects with Purpose
Duck shared the ROI Network’s work with its most recent client Wesley Mission. She said that they had done two brand campaigns for the charity.
“The current one is called Gut Full of Gambling, the client has developed their own creative, and it has two key focuses. One is to help people who might have the potential to experience gambling harm.
“The other is agitating to try to stop gambling advertising, which from an agency perspective, is quite an interesting challenge,” which Duck noted goes against what most media companies would usually do by keeping as much advertising as possible.
The ROI Network also helped the Wesley Mission during the pandemic with increasing media exposure.
“We were able to help them with media exposure around a fundraising campaign to pay for and deliver emergency food hampers within Southwestern Sydney during the lockdown. That was a nice way we could help people during the pandemic when everyone was working at home,” Duck added.
The key benefits of being an IMAA member
The ROI Network was among the agencies that joined the IMAA in early 2020. Duck noted that there had been two key benefits of joining the industry body for her agency.
“The first is that we’re doing weekly webinars. It keeps us updated with trends and technology and exposes us to information we wouldn’t necessarily hear otherwise.
“That, in a way, becomes a good opportunity at expanding our contacts beyond traditional areas so that we can explore much more into digital channels or what is new in information technology.”
The second aspect is IMAA’s work with other media proprietors. “Because they’re part of the IMAA, it makes it a less risky business decision for us to work with them. We know they’re legitimate and have skills in their appropriate area.
“So, it gives us the confidence to partner with some of these other organisations in delivering what we need to do for our clients,” Duck added.
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Top image: Judith Duck
