Last week, B&T ran the rule over major media moments and today it has taken a look at the top sporting moments of 2024. Here are the five biggest moments in adland this year.
Titans of industry pass away
This year ended on a sad note with the passing of marketing luminary Lisa Ronson. The former Coles, Medibank and Tourism Australia marketer suddenly passed away following a tragic accident on her farm outside Melbourne. To commemorate her life more than 500 family, friends and industry peers attended a heartwarming memorial at the Sydney Cricket Ground, which featured touching speeches from those closest to her, including her husband Chris, son Ben, DDB ANZ president and CEO Andrew Little, childhood friend Diana Jenkins, Damian Eales, Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli, Geoff Ikin and others. There was not a dry eye in the audience and tributes came flooding in paying homage to Ronson and her legacy.
Ronson wasn’t the only industry luminary who left us this year. In February, the “father of media buying” Harold Mitchell also passd away due to complications from surgery. The 81 year old MFA hall of famer was a pioneer of Australia’s media buying industry, setting up Mitchell Communications in the 70s. In the 80s, 90s and 2000s Mitchell grew into the most influential advertising executive in Australia, regularly holding court with powerful media barons of the era including Kerry Packer, Kerry Stokes and Rupert Murdoch. He has been inducted in several industry Hall of Fames, including the Media Federtion of Australia.
Also on the media buying front, Alex Pekish, a giant of the Melbourne advertising industry, died following a long battle with cancer.
Peka previously worked at Mitchells and then Dentsu for many years and was widely regarded as a true gentleman of the industry.
All three will be sorely missed.
Omnicom agrees to buy IPG
After much speculation along Boulevard de la Croisette in Cannes this year, it finally happened.
In June, B&T reported rumours swirling about a mega-merger between two holdcos but was unsure which parties were involved. It turns out that it was Omnicom and IPG.
Only last week both parties confirmed they had agreed to a union, which is effectively an Omnicom takeover of IPG, pending regulatory approval. It is unlikely, given the current state of the advertising industry, that competition watch dogs would scupper the deal.
Joining forces creates a circa $26 billion turnover business, well ahead of Publicis ($16 billion) and WPP (19 billion), based on 2023 figures.
The ‘super group’ would handle media billings north of $71 billion, whicc is well above WPP’s $53 billion.
Industry leaders are divided about the benefits of the union. Mat Baxter, the former global CEO of IPG’s Initiative, believes there are a lot of synergies between the two although it won’t solve the underlying structural challenges advertising holdcos face, while William Leach was less than impressed by the move. All the experts B&T spoke to, including Julia Vargiu and Darren Woolley agree that consolidation and redundancies are inevitable.
Initiative’s ‘dream team’ joins Accenture Song
After building one of the most formidable and successful media agencies in Australia, B&T revealed in May that Melissa Fein, Sam Geer and Chris Colter were leaving Initiative to join the sprawling Accenture Song team and lead its foray into the media side of the agency world.
The bombshell news shocked the industry, even though Fein and Geer had hinted to B&T that something big was cooking prior. The trio had formed a formidable reputation as the finest leadership and pitching team in the business, winning multiple awards and accolades in the process.
They add serious media planning and strategy muscle to the Accenture Song team and have been charged with growing a team and overhauling media to create a more transparent end-to-end media service for clients.
As reported in The Australian, their ambition is to provide marketers with a media plan that is “80 per cent automated and 20 per cent comprised of innovative strategic planning and seamless execution” led by senior talent.
“We’re not just focusing on one end of the funnel or the other end of the funnel, we want an end-to-end proposition, because Accenture Song is an end-to-end customer proposition,” Geer told The Australian’s Danielle Long. The trio’s progress in 2025 is definitely one to watch.
IPG Mediabrands CEO Mark Coad took on a caretaker role leading Initiative until he recently elevated Jo McAlister into the CEO hot seat. You can read more about Coad (AKA squiddo) – adland’s lovable, loyal larrikin – in a B&T exclusive profile piece.
Peter Horgan to leave OMG
In October, one of the giants of Australia’s advertising, announced he is leaving his post as Omnicom Media Group (OMG) CEO after 21 years at the business.
There are few figures who have shaped and championed the modern media agency sector as much as Horgs.
He is not only the boss of the largest media buying group, according to COMvergence, but has chaired the Media Federation of Australia for many years and is widely regarded as a transformative industry leader.
A who’s who of the industry paid tributes to Horgan’s impact.
Horgan has agreed to remain in his position while a new leader is being sought. The big money is on chief investment officer Kristian Kroon to be handd the baton with a decision imminent.
OMG has told B&T that the proposed merger between Omnicom and IPG should impact its succession plan, but it is conceivable that such an important decision may be put on ice for now.
Horgan is coy on his next move. Industry whispers suggest he may resurface at a smaller full service agency.
Droga5 swallows The Monkeys
One of Australia’s most storied and successful agency brands, The Monkeys, merged with Droga5 and officially retired the brand this month.
As part of the move, The Monkey’s CEO Mark Green upped sticks and moved to New York to become the global CEO of Droga5. Matt Michael took over Greeny’s role as Australian CEO.
“This is a big moment and a very exciting opportunity for the team. We have always wanted to make sure that our people feel like they can make the best work of their careers at The Monkeys. And this has been the case for many years,” Green said of the move. “Now with the transition to Droga5 they can also have the confidence that their best work is also ahead of them. And, I am excited to lead the team into this new era”.
When it comes to powerful award-winning work, there are few that compare to The Monkeys not just in Australia, but globally. They claimed a Cannes Lions grand prix in the Film category for then Tim Minchin iconic music video for the Sydney Opera House’s 50th birthday. They also cleaned up at the inaugural Cairns Crocodiles Awards this year.
To cap things off, The Monkeys, Droga5 and Accenture Song won the coveted Tourism Australia creative account this year.
Read next: Jones, Hadley & Lehrmann: The Huge Media Moments That Shaped 2024
And: Records & Redemption: The Winning Plays & Epic Sporting Moments That Shaped 2024
