Indie media team SPEED has had a very impressive 2023. Playing its home games in Sydney’s Walsh Bay, the agency won five new clients — including a new highest biller — losing none. 

What’s more, SPEED made a habit of pinching clients from teams higher up the ladder in 2023. For instance, it pinched the Elmo Software media planning and buying account from Omnicom-owned Resolution Digital as well as the above-the-line work for B&D from OMD. 

The pick of the bunch, however, was its LDV win. COMvergence values the account at $8.8 million and, better still, it pinched the account off Publicis-owned media shop Spark Foundry. 

SPEED told us it manages about $70 million in billings in total and its surging new business performance saw the agency grow its revenue north of 47 per cent throughout 2023.

During 2023, SPEED grew its squad by more than 40 per cent to 35 staff members, adding new senior playing roles such as a national head of strategy (Rachel Teh), a national head of investment (Rob Maxwell) and a head of people (Angie Sigmin). The team also added a chief financial officer and office manager to help bring its new players on board and make the transition smooth.

SPEED also stands apart from many agencies with its impressive staff diversity and retention numbers. Half of its senior leadership team are from culturally diverse backgrounds and its employee churn rate was just three per cent. It’s easy to see why that churn rate is so low, too with SPEED offering a 100 per cent flexible work environment. 

Its SPEED School initiative offers staff monthly training sessions from external and internal presenters, and it gets involved in broader industry initiatives from bodies including the IMAA. Last year, SPEED truly accelerated from a small indie startup playing in the regionals to competing with the big boys.

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