In this week’s Fast 10, our very own Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham sat down to talk with Marilla Akkermans, founder and managing director of Equality Media + Marketing, a full-service indie offering strategy, creative and media services. She has also held roles as comms director, account director, and marketing manager across Hatched Media, Nunn Media, Metricon, and Maxus.
When she founded Equality, Akkermans put company culture at the forefront of her priorities, and she’s seen that pay off over time. She’s passionate about having a positive impact on people, partners, and our planet. Leading with an open-book management style, Akkermans has driven growth for Equality by tapping into balance and listening to what works for her team.
1. You’ve had a brilliant career, from Maxus days to client side, and fast forward to founder/MD of Equality Media + Marketing. If you had to pick only one, what would be your career highlight so far?
Marilla Akkermans: It’s a big one, but definitely starting my own agency. I had no idea if it would work, and I’m really proud of what I’ve been able to build with a wonderful team over the last eight years. I’ve realised since running Equality that culture has to be something you work on from the very beginning and be purposeful about. I’ve worked in some great agencies with a strong culture that eroded with growth, and I now see that it’s because you have to work on it, not just rely on a team to produce it for a business.
2. I love your commitment to building a people-first agency that really walks the talk. Of all the initiatives you implemented, any specific actions that are driving retention and attracting great talent?
MA: Equality Time, our version of the four-day work week, is a winner. I think there are so many outdated business practices, and one is that people need to be chained to their desks 60 hours a week to be efficient. We’re fully committed to a hybrid work model and the four-day work week. We’re in the knowledge era, and when we look at output, we’re only getting four good hours out of people every day. The theory behind the 4DW is that if you can be efficient for an extra hour a day, give your people that time back. We’ve looked at what we can automate, what we can do differently, and the age-old question, could that meeting be an email? We’ve seen huge improvements in the way we work.
3. Your growth and profitability have been outstanding. What’s been the driver for this success?
MA: Thank you. Honestly, an absolute ton of hard work! But also putting culture first. What you see is what you get with me, which is generally radical transparency. We’ve got over 90 per cent retention, so when I say the team has come on this journey with me, I really mean it. I share everything with the team, the highs, the lows, the full business journey. Someone told me the other day that it’s called open-book management. We have a culture fully committed to succeeding, and the team knows that when the business succeeds, they all will, too. I think we have culture and grit to thank for it. We’ve also got very strong relationships with our clients, the majority of whom are privately owned businesses, and it’s the same; their growth is our growth, and we get to share that together.
4. As a young girl, what did you want to be when you grew up?
MA: What all little girls want to be at some point – a singer/actor/performer! My stage name was Sheila Shiel. Classy, right? Then, I wanted to own a shop because I loved playing shops and wanted to do that when I grew up. I learned to count by counting money. I think I wanted to always be an entrepreneur, I just didn’t know that’s what it was called. Like most people, I fell into media and was pretty happy with where I landed!
5. You are a progressive leader and have spoken out about the mid-career cliff and the cost of losing experienced women in their prime. Have you seen any positive change, or with the tough market conditions, is the problem getting worse?
MA: I think there are some good businesses out there doing their best to try and stop the onslaught of strong talent leaving the industry, but generally speaking, I think we still have forever to go. Flexibility and changing where and how we work are critical to keeping strong female talent in our industry. Women still carry out five hours of unpaid labour every day, three times the amount of men, which is valued at 39 per cent of our GDP. In other terms, women work 8 hours a day, seven days a week. Surely, as a category, we could give them a break and let them work from home a few days a week?
6. As an industry, what’s one thing we can do better to make us all better?
MA: Promote women. We power the industry, making up over 50 per cent of the industry, yet we hold less than 30 per cent of senior roles. The talent is there, promote them. And we’ll change the rest ourselves.
7. The agency has won important awards, e.g., AFR Great Places to Work, Employer of the Year, and you have been a winner for B&T Women in Media. Have they contributed to your momentum and growth?
MA: I’m sure they help! They’re great social proof for growing our team, and our clients really respect that we are focused on culture. I hope that it gets the message out to our industry that there’s profitability in doing business differently.
8. You are a full-service indie agency; do the majority of your clients use all areas of expertise, or are they more media-focused?
MA: We specialise in property, with around 50 per cent of our clients using more than one of our services. We’re very much media-led, with our creative services growing over the last three years. We usually help a client with their executional creative needs first, like effective ad assets and landing pages. Once we’ve shown them what’s possible, they use us for more of our services. We like the variety and play well with others!
9. What’s one thing that’s not on your LinkedIn profile?
MA: Open to work. I’ll never be THRILLED on LinkedIn. And also, I swear, a lot.
10. Important last question: Do your parents actually know what you do?
MA: Doubt it. They just say they’re very proud of me! My son thinks I sit on YouTube all day, so that’s probably a good indication.
