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Industry Contributor 21 Oct 2019 - 5 min read

MFA EX: Mixed results as a reset moment

By Grant LeQuesne Director, Strategy & Insight - Wavemaker Australia

Last week’s inaugural MFA EX event was an opportunity to change the way the media agency sector presents itself, both internally and externally. But as a reset moment, there were mixed results. Moving forward, we must focus on the positive thinking.

Positive takeouts such as:

  • Ken Allen, Phuel: Performance is more about attitude than ability – fix your attitude.
  • Brent Smart, IAG: good media agencies bring their own ideas to the table.
  • Jeremy Bolt, Hearts & Science: when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.

MFA EX attracted a sell-out crowd of 1,500 people, most of whom were relatively new to the industry. The event kicked off with an introduction that promised a day of inspiration, a showcase of best practice and ground-breaking media thinking: a day that would demonstrate media agencies’ contribution to achieving tangible, long-lasting results for clients. 

That promise was fulfilled in spades by the Inspiration X speakers, four intelligent talks from people with less than 10 years’ experience in the industry that should have inspired all of us to think differently.

Regrettably, many the most senior people to take the stage didn’t deliver the same positivity. We had a CEO from a major TV network telling us about the “shit sandwich” agencies like to hand media owners. A pitch consultant openly accusing a panel of media agency CEOs of exacerbating the “race to the bottom”. We even had a CEO from an OOH company passing comments about a rival’s clothes.

It’s essential that we dwell on the positive moments from the day. No doubt most attendees will remember TV’s Dr Jordan Nguyen, urging us to dive head-first into an idea and figure it out along the way. The session hosted by The Marketing Academy’s Sherilyn Shacknell, titled ‘Why “the whole self” is greater than the sum of all parts, reminded us of all the tremendous advances this industry is making in the talent and culture space – although her comment that “this room is a recruiter’s wet dream” probably made a few agency leaders nervous. 

But there was one session that nailed the brief for the event. ‘The Curse of Data: overcoming short-termism with dual-speed strategies’, presented by Mindshare, drew on fashionable marketing academics as a hook, but it really boiled down to one simple purpose: showcasing and celebrating great work that drove business growth. 

In this all-too-brief session, four different agencies shared world-class work for GSK Panadol, NRMA Roadside Assistance, Officeworks and Foxtel. We saw relevant application of data intelligence, contemporary deployment of short- and long-term strategies, and the building of innovative new media touchpoints. Crucially, the agencies responsible looked past basic media outputs – the stuff that’s easy to measure – and identified how media was delivering genuine outcomes and impact, demonstrating the value that media agencies can add, especially when they collaborate with the rest of the marketing village. 

It’s great work like this that elevates our industry. It instils pride, lifts morale and reduces churn. It changes the conversation with clients from saving money to adding value. IAG CMO Brent Smart stated that he only spends 6 per cent of his time with his media agency. If we want to increase that to 10 per cent, we need more great work.

I urge everyone to focus on the positive stories from MFA EX. Study the work of the MFA Awards finalists. Dive deeper into case studies where you can. Discuss and debate with colleagues and clients, and decide how you’ll contribute to this industry’s body of great work in 2020.

What do you think?

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