You’ll often hear that teams (sporting or agency) are in periods of transition. Few in adland had such a dramatic transition in 2023 as Clemenger BBDO.

CEO Jim Gall departed after three years in the top job and decades within the Clemenger Group. 

Then, it was announced that Digitas UK head honcho Dani Bassil would be returning to Australia to helm an agency that was merging its Melbourne and Sydney offices – marking the end (in name at least) of one of Australia’s most storied agency offices in Clems Melbourne.

Dani brings form. She restructured Digitas and led it to become one of the UK’s top agencies; she seemed at the time a shrewd pick.

The change would continue. Anita Zanesco joined as chief growth officer midway through the season from Trinity P3, before Simon Wassef joined from AKQA in October.

Clems was solid on the new business front. It resigned the Frucor account in September but not before picking up a series of projects (some quite hefty in value) from the Federal Government, Transport for NSW and more. 

It also joined the agency roster of a large CPG client that was shared with B&T confidentially. 

It was the only piece of retainer business it won during 2023, but 26 of its 35 clients were already on a retainer; not be a bad thing.

One good thing, however, is Clems’ diversity – something the agency is proud of. While bringing in a female CEO and chief growth officer would do wonders for any agency’s gender pay gap, Clems’ swing from 17.9 per cent in favour men to 16.9 per cent in favour of women is quite remarkable. 

Clems has a 50-50 gender split in its senior leadership, with women accounting for 59 per cent of the agency’s entire playing squad. All of Clems’ senior leaders have undergone Mental Health First Aid accreditation and the agency introduced wellness days in an effort to help its players recharge after a hectic fixture schedule, for instance.