Aegis throws down the gauntlet to 24/7 Danielle Veldre
The incoming chief executive of Aegis in Australia, Lee Stephens, has fired a warning shot over the bows of search engine marketing firm 24/7 Real Media, after Aegis announced the launch of iProspect in Australia.
Stephens, the former head of emitch, starts with Aegis next week with one of his first tasks being the launch of search engine marketing offer iProspect.
Stephens said there were still opportunities to make headway in the search marketing space in Australia and he had a dig a rival search firm 24/7 Real Media.
"There's a great deal more scale left in search engine marketing, compared to other sectors. It hasn't been commoditised in the same way as other sectors,” he said.
"There's really no clear market leader [in SEM]. There's 24/7 but they don't know if they're a software company or a search company.”
He added: “We believe that search engine marketing will be an essential element of mainstream marketing. In the US spending is up 62% and expected to grow, and we intend to be a key driver in its further growth in Australia.”
David Holmes, the former head of the Aegis-owned digital agency One Digital has been named chief executive of iProspect.
Laura Peck, who was the head of digital agency Beyond Interactive before taking on the role of marketing director of AOL in the US, will replace Holmes as head of One Digital.
Holmes also identified 24/7 Real Media as iProspect’s key competitor in Australia.
“The Australian search market is under-developed, with the number of tier-one search marketing companies weak compared to markets such as the US. 24/7 Real Media has enjoyed many years relatively unchallenged, but we are now here to raise the bar and provide a legitimate choice for large clients looking for experience, scale and demonstrable results,” Holmes said.
Establishing iProspect in Australia was mooted earlier this year as part of a push into the Asia Pacific region with markets such as Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Korea and Malaysia also opening, with Singapore, India and New Zealand to follow.
The launch of iProspect comes after a shake-up of the management of Aegis in Australia, including Stephens’s appointment, as well as the recent appointment of former Age sales director Peter Barrie to head up the Melbourne office.
