Tom Phillips has built a career on connecting ideas that actually matter. As co-founder and CEO of Connecting Plots, he leads a team that blends modern storytelling with old-school marketing fundamentals, to help brands transform their ideas into meaningful work that transcends channels to deliver impact.
Among a range of impressive career highlights, Phillips points to winning an Effie for Fantastic Furniture as a standout. To him, it’s proof that creativity is most effective when it’s able to deliver real impact.
In this week’s Fast 10, Phillips and B&T’s very own Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham unpack industry truths and the bold thinking behind Connecting Plots.
1.You’ve had a brilliant career, from starting at Mindshare London to Co-founder & CEO at Connecting Plots. If you had to pick only one, what would be your career highlight so far?
Tom Phillips: It has to be winning our first Effie Award for Fantastic Furniture.
2.The Agency has a blue-chip client list, e.g., Nestle, Goodman Fielder, Electrolux, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, etc. What’s the current work you are most proud of & why?
TP: Hard to pick a favourite child, but right now I’d say the work we’re doing with Chartered Accountants ANZ. We’re tackling a big, hairy challenge that is actually changing lives and shaping society. The marketing department and partner agencies we’re working with are ambitious, bold, and a delight to work with.
3.What’s the backstory to the agency name?
TP: We launched when most ad agencies were obsessed with TV ads. With Dave’s entertainment background and my comms/digital/social chops, we built a model to meet clients’ modern marketing needs. Our belief was simple: lead with the principles of entertainment, not advertising…and Connecting Plots was born. For us, it’s all about defining a brand story people actually care about, then connecting that story seamlessly across every touchpoint. Also… one of us is a Gang Starr fan. IYKYK.
4.As a young boy, what did you want to be when you grew up?
TP: A Trout Farmer…I’m a country boy at heart. Or a doctor. Or on some days, I also wanted to be a dolphin trainer.
5.I love that you have a motley crew of old-school thinkers and new world dreamers. How does this special combination of talent improve the work?
TP: Today, brands don’t just compete within their category, they’re also up against anyone with a ringlight and an opinion. Our motley crew anchors ideas in proven marketing truths and then makes them travel across the messy, fast-moving channel mix.
6.As an industry, what’s one thing you would change to make us all better?
TP: Cut the waste. Putting average creative behind cookie-cutter media plans is the obvious one, but time waste is the silent killer: shaky briefs, too many stakeholder opinions, and pitches run for sport. It crushes margins, drives burnout, and pushes great people out of the industry.
7.What are the current challenges for your clients, and how are you driving growth?
TP: Most clients are grappling with two (sometimes three or four) things at once; “drive sales overnight and grow brand over time” alongside “reinforce the heartland/MGB while driving penetration and future-proofing with Gen Z”.
The problem is that those groups consume media and make decisions in totally different ways. We drive growth for our clients by creating one unifying brand idea, then designing comms and content solutions that flex by objective, audience and channel, so the story stays consistent, while the approach stays relevant to the audience’s needs.
8.What’s the best career advice you’ve been given?
TP: Clients don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
9.What’s one thing that’s not on your LinkedIn profile?
TP: I’ve run across the Atacama, the highest and driest desert on earth, completing 6 back-to-back marathons in 6 days – raising in excess of $50,000 for charity.
10.Important last question: Do your parents really know what you do?
TP: LOL Yes, they actually do… I was the dyslexic kid who got held back a year, the youngest of five, and definitely not the “academic” one. But they’ve been in my corner the whole way. Mum still says every time I see her, “Dad would be so proud of you, my love…” and then, without missing a beat, “You’re the best mistake we ever made.” Equal parts brutal and beautiful.
