2025 AGENCY SCORECARDS
Dentsu Creative
Team PROFILE
Agency type
Creative
Ownership
Dentsu
tagline
Transformative Creativity
LEADERSHIP TEAM
kirsty muddle
TEAM CAPTAIN
Cate Stuart-Robertson
MD Dentsu Creative Australia
Brett Colliver & Mike Felix
Chief Creative Officers
Graham Alvarez Jarrett
National Head of Planning
Katie Firth
MD of Dentsu Creative Melbourne
Gabe Tamborini
Dentsu Chief Experience and Gaming Officer
Thomas Galluzo
Head of Data and Analytics
David Halter
chief strategy officer
KEY STATS
offices
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide & Perth
HEADCOUNT
Not Provided
gender balance
34% Male 66% female. Leadership 40% male, 60% female
CLIENT WINS
3
CLIENT RETENTIONS
2
LARGEST CLIENTS
American Express
NBN
Adobe
TROPHY CABINET
cannes lions
3
Award
2
D&AD
2
B&T's season report
Dentsu Creative didn’t exactly come out swinging in 2024, but that wasn’t the plan. This was a season of controlled ball movement, quiet field position gains and incremental wins built on structure and discipline.
Two major departures were Toyota, which moved the retail and value communications part of its account to Saatchi & Saatchi, while Dentsu declined to defend its Kmart account towards the end of the year.
Dentsu Creative did lock in Adobe’s Digital Media Business on a core creative retainer, added The Star and DBG Group to the roster, and retained existing client relationships with NBN and American Express. A decent showing, all things considered.
Creative output showed a focus on clever, effective plays rather than flashy flourishes. Zespri’s Healthier Ways campaign gave fruit a lifestyle makeover, Tegel’s Free Range Area activated around cricket culture with surprising freshness and The Iconic’s Got You Looking platform blurred fashion and satire with precision. That said, it’s ‘Hammerbarn’ campaign for BBC Studios and Bunnings was one of our favourite pieces of work through the entire year.
A Kiwi campaign, ‘Aid Aisle’, turned heads on the French Riviera, too. Which is no means feat.
Dentsu Creative has an impressive record on gender equity, with women accounting for 60 per cent of its senior playing staff and its gender pay gap at all levels skewing slightly more towards women.
Dentsu’s sustainability efforts were arguably ahead of the pack: a 65 per cent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions, offices powered by 100 per cent renewable electricity and the rollout of a client-facing carbon calculator.
Internally, its moved from a federation of acquired businesses to a single, united team. Dentsu now boasts a tighter integration across PR, CX, production, B2B and gaming. That cohesion should sharpen delivery and position it for bigger plays ahead.
While 2024 may not have been a blockbuster season, Dentsu Creative might have placed foundations for bigger seasons ahead.
campaign HIGHLIGHTS REEL
Zespri Kiwifruit’s ‘Healthier Ways’
Zespri Kiwifruit’s ‘Healthier Ways’ was more than just an advertising campaign, it was a utility that helped parents avoid the 2800 junk food ads they face on the school run every year.
The navigation experience, made in-house and promoted by DC PR, was an integrated piece of tech with a sound purpose; To give parents a healthier alternative.
A huge success in terms of experience usage and brand affinity, Healthier Ways is also gaining momentum on the awards circuit.
Tegel
Tegel, New Zealand’s largest supplier of free range protein products was a proud cricket sponsor with no way to show it off.
So we helped them officially rebrand the famous ‘grass banks’ of New Zealand’s International Cricket stadiums, transforming them from the ‘General Admission’ section to the: Free range area. The idea wasn’t your traditional in-game sponsorship, it was talked about by fans everywhere and quickly became vernacular in the cricketing zeitgeist.
The ICONIC – ‘Got You Looking’
The ICONIC’s ‘Got You Looking’ is an example of masterbrand platform that embeds way into culture. And it all starts from a very simple insight; THE ICONIC is the retailer that gets you looking. It’s not just that it delivers unique style, it also acts differently too.
From day dot it blew the traditional juggernauts away with their fresh take on retail – and over a decade later they still do.
So Dentsu crafted a campaign with the exact same ethos. Every element from the art direction and scripts to the music and grading is designed to get you looking. In a category that takes itself way too seriously, Dentsu is turning heads, bringing the cheek, and upsetting the status schmo.
Dentsu Creative's ANALYSIS
After years of deliberate internal transformation, DC rebuilt itself from the inside out, focusing on long-term value over short-term noise.
The agency matured from a collection of acquired entities into a unified, future-ready business. Major new business wins with Adobe, The Star and DBG, alongside the expansion of long-standing partnerships with AMEX, NBN, The Iconic, and NIB, underscore its renewed credibility. DC’s integrated capabilities – from B2B strategy and CX to PR and gaming – are now core to its offering, not siloed services.
With a focus on sustainability, ethics, and Sanpo Yoshi – creativity that benefits business, society, and talent – DC’s growth has been intentional and values-driven.
While others sought attention, DC quietly delivered one of its strongest years yet in work and momentum, proving that true transformation speaks loudest through results.
mvp award
Graham Alvarez-Jarratt: National Head of Strategy
Strategic smarts, kindness personified and found the time to launch Smelly Lunch Stories, an initiative designed to help make our industry better – simply put, Graham is one of the best at what he does, and one of the best humans.
B&T's agency score
Dentsu Creative: 7.5
COACH's COMMENT:
Dentsu’s score might not reflect the fireworks from some of its campaigns, but this is a team with a clear game plan, a strong bench and the kind of culture that should win championships in the future.
