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EssenceMediacom
Team PROFILE
Agency Type
Media
Ownership
WPP
tagline
Breakthrough
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Pippa Berlocher
Chief executive officer
Carl Colman
Managing director, Melbourne
Susan Lyons
Managing director, Brisbane
Sophie Price
Chief strategy officer
Matt Scotton
Chief product officer
Sarah James
Chief investment officer
Poorani Adewole
Chief data & tech officer
Jack Graham
Chief planning officer
Key Stats
Offices
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane
Headcount
526
Gender Balance Staff
M: 30%
F: 70%
Gender Balance Leaders
M: 49%
F: 51%
RECMA Compitches
A+
RECMA profile classification:
Dominant
Client book
Client Wins
6
Client Losses
3
Client Retentions
4
Largest clients
Commonwealth Bank
Queensland Government
KFC
Trophy Cabinet
Festival of Media APAC & Global
Cairns Crocodiles Awards
Spikes
Asia
MFA Awards
WARC Awards
Agency Scorecards report
If 2024 was EssenceMediacom’s ‘breakthrough’ album, 2025 was the year WPP Media’s largest agency truly took off.
EssenceMediacom is the only Australian agency to be classified ‘Dominant’ and score an A+ in RECMA’s influential classifications, while its client TRR score surged to 8.03—well above the global benchmark.
EssenceMediacom has proven music in the ears to its current clients, as it signed retentions with the likes of Isuzu, World Vision and the NRL.
Its ‘Breakthrough’ mantra has also gone down a treat with prospects. The agency won six new accounts, including alcohol giant Lion, Australian Retirement Trust, Mastercard and Max (formerly HBO Max), adding north of $110 million in new business billings.
The agency had two notable losses, Mars to Publicis Groupe and Bayer to UM. Both were the result of global reviews.
EssenceMediacom’s work has also caught the eye. Its ‘For You Who Did That Thing You Did’ campaign for Mars, in partnership with Amazon, proved a hit. The campaign used trillions of behavioural signals to reward everyday achievements, increasing sales by 4.3 per cent and snapping up plenty of silverware at the Cairns Crocodiles, Festival of Media Awards and MFAs.
Uber Eats’ ‘Get Almost Anything’, which saw Uber drivers chasing Andy Murray around Melbourne Park, also stormed the hit parade at awards shows around the region.
Meanwhile, band members Jazmaree Dawson won B&T’s 30 Under 30 Media Buyer/Planner category, Katherine Pochroj was an Unltd Hall of Good Social Change Maker and Pippa Berlocher was among the leading agency CEOs in B&T’s Best of the Best list.
It’s hardly surprising the agency’s employees are winning accolades when eight out of ten staff are proud to work for the agency, 90 per cent respect and trust the leadership, and 96 per cent are proud of their work.
The band also gives plenty back. EssenceMediacom’s ‘Do It For Dolly Day’ secured $15 million in pro bono media and raised $1.9 million to tackle bullying.
It’s easy to forget that EssenceMediacom was two separate groups with completely different vibes a few years ago.
The agency has proven it is no one hit wonder. In 2025, EssenceMediacom elevated its performance to new heights, winning over plenty of new fans along the way.
Hightlights reel
Mars Bar: 'Using Amazon to reward that thing you did'
We turned Amazon’s behavioural signals into a reward engine, delivering 162 personalised messages across Prime Video, homepage, email, display and packaging.
This world‐first collaboration lifted brand awareness to 92 per cent, boosted ad recall by 38 per cent overall and 72 per cent among 18–24s, and delivered a 4.3 sales uplift in exposed markets.
Hightlights reel
HBO Max: 'All Killer. No Filler'
We launched Max into Australia with a bold promise rooted in behaviour: Australians waste 42 minutes a day searching for something to watch.
A unified creative and media approach with Special Group delivered a culturally sharp, high‐impact launch across screens, social, digital and OOH, driving rapid subscriber growth and making Max an instant must‐have.
EssenceMediacom's take on 2025
In a rapidly shifting landscape, our Year of Altitude elevated our ambition — combining WPP Media’s $300 million Open AI platform with the human ingenuity that truly differentiates.
It demanded a step change in how we operate, so we doubled down on Breakthrough Thinking: our agency proposition and the mindset shaping how we think, create and deliver.
Despite global realignments, our Australian operations showed exceptional resilience, contributing to a No.1 RECMA ranking, industry‐leading Media‐i results and an average Vantage score of 8.03. Our culture remained a defining strength, with 92 per cent of our people proud of the work we produce.
Beyond commercial impact, we delivered the most successful Do It For Dolly Day ever. In 2026, we’ll continue building the model of the future — enabled by AI, elevated by human imagination.
Katherine Pochroj,
Head of investment, Sydney
A true powerhouse — exceptional media expertise, brilliant with people, pivotal to Lion’s onboarding, and an inspiring leader of our Dolly’s Dream partnership.
If we were a band, we'd be...
Journey
We bring different talents together to create breakthrough moments people remember long after the final chorus.
We’re still on our journey, but momentum is building fast and we’re only getting started.
BMF
B&T's Agency Score
9.2
Previous season: 8.5
Critic's Comment
“EssenceMediacom says it’s on a journey, but its 2025 performance suggests it has more than arrived.”