Initiative’s transition period came to a head in 2023, following five years of hard work, the agency was widely recognised as one of the best in the world — let alone Australia. Plus, many of the changes implemented by the agency did not come from IPG Mediabrands in the US or the UK. Instead, they were conceived, crafted and carried out first in Australia. 

For instance, the was one of the first to activate machine-led automation at scale, saving literally tens of thousands of hours of staff hours. It created a strategic advisory program to help clients combine trade-marketing and media budgets, and align sales and marketing spend to achieve a bigger bang per buck. That approach, pioneered in Australia, has been rolled out globally. 

It also picked up more than $100 million worth of client billings, winning huge accounts across 2023. It started the year by becoming the agency of record for the WA Government’s Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science & Innovation. By the end of June, it had bowled a hat-trick featuring Cricket Australia, Fantastic Furniture and Priceline. Then, in August and November, it picked up Auckland Savings Bank and Crown Resorts. 

The agency also successfully re-pitched for Pernod Ricard, WA Government and Jenema. It only lost one account, Cancer Council WA. 

Initiative’s trophy cabinet is creaking under the weight of its success, cleaning up at the prestigious MFA Awards, including the Grand Prix, for its LEGO City goes NITRO work. Its NRMA Cricket Covers campaign was also one of the smartest uses of ‘new media’ seen for some time.

In 2023, Initiative invested heavily in its team by helping lecturers create an online series of advertising tutorials — known as C.R.A.M — to attract the next generation of adlanders. It created a new FAST-PASS scheme to circumvent the traditional graduate fishing ponds and give non-uni grads a leg-up. Meanwhile, its CAMPFIRE program gives high-performing staff the chance to take part in an intensive, three-day pitch simulation to prep them for promotion opps. It even started to offer $7,500 in family planning benefits and extended primary carer maternity cover leave to 16 weeks.

The leadership trio of Melissa Fein, Sam Geer and Chris Colter are legendary on the pitching circuit, but their tenure at the helm of Initiative would be short-lived in 2024.

But for the 2023 season, few agencies in the world shone brighter than Initiative.

Check out the rest of the B&T’s Agency Scorecards here.