In this week’s instalment of the Fast 10, B&T chatted with Simon Lawson, managing director at PHD Melbourne, where he has been for over 10 years. Recently, his team won the accounts for Bunnings and Spirit of Tasmania, setting sail as the company prepares for the arrival of two new ships next year.
Lawson has worked at PHD Melbourne since it opened its doors back in 2012 and has been managing director for the past four years. PHD has more than doubled in size under his tenure with numerous new business wins across multiple categories including retail, FMCG, superannuation, entertainment and travel. He is also a member of the organising committee for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance.
He has worked with advertisers such as ANZ Bank, CUB, Porsche, Honda, Emirates, Samsung, Simplot & Mars.
1) You’ve had a brilliant career, from Press Office assistant in London to the MD PHD Melbourne. If you had to pick only one, what would be your career highlight so far?
Simon Lawson: Hard to pick one, but the first years of PHD Melbourne were very special. There weren’t many of us and in many respects, we were left to just get on with it! It was a different time: We were all so proud to be starting something new in Melbourne. We felt like we were on a mission to prove ourselves, at least I did!
2) The agency has been smashing it on the new biz front, capped off with your recent win of the coveted Bunnings account. Can you share any factors for your success?
SL: We’re all very excited about our recent new business success!
Every process is different. I’m a big believer in developing tailored propositions based on individual clients and competitive circumstances. I’m also a big believer in asking questions, sharing provocations, leaving room for discussion: No one wants to listen to people talk about themselves for an hour and a half!
3) PHD has also been recognised by the AFR as one of the most innovative places to work. How do you continue to thrive and focus on the agency’s culture?
SL: It’s probably never been harder to have a strong and coherent agency culture than it has been over the past couple of years.
There is power in having a clear vision and a clear sense of purpose. It’s also important to celebrate your successes and to repeat cultural rituals that are built up over time.
Most of all, I believe that a strong culture comes from individuals feeling that what they do is important. Recognition is critical, from agency leaders as well as from the client individuals work with day in and day out.
4) As a young boy, what did you want to be when you grew up?
SL: I wanted to be a World Cup ski racer as a teenager!
5) You attend and share learnings from leading industry events, including the Cairns Crocodiles. How do they inform and inspire your perspective?
SL: I’m fortunate to be invited and attend a lot of industry events. With the wisdom that comes with age, I now think of these events more as valuable opportunities to learn and make new connections, more than I think of them as parties.
I share my key takeaways from them on LinkedIn because I really enjoy writing, and it helps me to synthesise what I’ve learned. I also think there might be some value in sharing what’s been discussed with others unable to attend.
6) As an industry, what’s one thing you would change to make us all better?
SL: Media agencies need to better balance being seen by marketers as suppliers that are good at managing large volumes of media investment with the more upstream role of being genuine strategic advisors to our clients, helping them to unlock incremental growth for their businesses.
On a personal note, I would like to see marketers and media agencies better connect their media spend with ESG outcomes. It should be important to all of us that the marketing, advertising and media industries have a positive impact on society. I’m particularly interested in the ongoing health of the Australian media industry, especially media companies that employ journalists, produce Australian content and tell Australian stories.
7) What are your clients’ CMO challenges, and how are they driving growth?
SL: It’s challenging for CMOs to have clarity of purpose – there is so much noise in our business, so many contested ideas, so much complexity, so many mouths to feed.
What I’ve observed is that the CMOs who are successful in driving growth are the ones with a clear vision, a shared philosophy of growth, and the ability to get everyone aligned and working towards that vision.
From a media agency perspective, I’d like to see clients placing less emphasis on driving cost efficiencies vs getting set for success with the smartest people onboard and a focus on topline growth and effectiveness.
8) You mentor and give back to the industry, who have been your mentors, and what’s the best career advice you have been given?
SL: That’s a hard question. I’m not sure I’ve ever really had a mentor.
I have been lucky to have worked under some of the industry’s most respected leaders across my career at Mitchells, Starcom and PHD. You learn a lot just by listening to how they deal with different situations.
I’m also grateful to have worked alongside many quality individuals over my career, including people like Tim Murphy, Dan Clark, Ben Crawford, Daniel Isaac and Kathryn Weatherlake: Hopefully, we’ve learned a lot from each other.
Best advice is a tough one. My dad used to tell me, “Simon, if you don’t ask, you don’t get”. That’s good advice for media negotiations.
9) You have an insightful LinkedIn feed. What’s one thing that’s not on your LinkedIn profile?
SL: I’m an obsessive holiday planner and have been known to book holidays more than a year in advance to get the right Airbnb!
10) Important last question, do your parents know what you do?
SL: My daughter thought I worked for ANZ for a very long time! She’d hear me arrive home, still on a call, walking and talking around our front porch. She’d walk out with a small block of wood, hold it up to her ear as a phone, and have her own meeting with ANZ!
I think my mum thinks I go out to lunch for a living 😊
