NOW PLAYING
Hearts & Science
Team PROFILE
Agency Type
Media
Ownership
Omnicom Media
tagline
At Hearts, it’s never either/or, it’s &.
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Liz Wigmore
National MD
Blake Power
Sydney GM
Kylie Pascoe
Melbourne GM
Louis Mayne
Chief Media Partnerships Officer
Ashley Wong
Chief Data & Innovation Officer
Peita Pacey
Chief Strategy & Behaviour Change Office
Jaime Mills-Blayney
National Head of Planning
Kabir Balgi
Finance Director
Key Stats
Offices
Sydney, Melbourne
Headcount
143
Gender Balance Staff
M: 38%
F: 62%
Gender Balance Leaders
M: 30%
F: 70%
RECMA Compitches
B
RECMA Qualitative Evaluation
Average
Client book
Client Wins
4
Client Losses
3
Client retentions/extensions
2
Largest clients
Diageo
Jaguar Land Rover
Opella
Trophy Cabinet
Global Drum Awards
APAC Drum Awards
MFA Awards
Cairns Crocodiles
Agency Scorecards report
In 2024, Hearts & Science merged with Omnicom’s stablemate Foundation, unveiling a new leadership team, 140-plus staff and a decent client portfolio.
Less than a year later, Resolution Digital was also folded into the agency.
Unsurprisingly, 2025 felt like a year of laying down the foundations of the new look Hearts, while holding onto clients and producing solid, if unremarkable, growth.
On that front, Hearts & Science has ticked a lot of boxes.
Aside from Hyundai driving into a new garage (Innocean won the account late 2024) and MECCA joining Peter Horgan at Joy Agency, Hearts retained Diageo and added a few clients in Weight Watchers, Baiada, Traveloka and Snackbrands.
In 2025, Hearts & Science reported revenue growth of 7.5 per cent and a 4 per cent increase in media billings in “a challenging year for the wider market”.
Perhaps the agency’s biggest loss was long-serving chief executive Jane Stanley, who secured a role at Air New Zealand. Former strategy chief Kim Dolengowski also left but has since been replaced by Peita Pacey.
Liz Wigmore now leads the media shop, ably supported by a strong leadership bench (see above).
The agency continues to put plenty of heart and science into its work.
One of the best examples was the Renewable Ads Engine, developed with Sanofi. The real-time media solution dynamically adjusted ad delivery based on renewable energy availability. This increased renewable energy usage by 76 per cent and has since become a benchmark for more sustainable media planning.
Its work with Diageo also broke new ground. The agency developed the Diageo Depletion Index, a proprietary planning system that combines retail and media data to unlock more effective campaign planning in a “highly regulated category”.
Hearts & Science said the approach delivered a whopping 197 per cent return on ad spend while reducing CPMs by 84 per cent.
Hearts & Science’s work picked up APAC Drum Awards wins for Technology Innovation and Sustainability, an MFA Award for Media for Good and a Cairns Crocodiles award to boot. The agency took home Silver in the Beauty & Wellness Category for its work with MECCA and Resolution Digital.
Over the year, Hearts & Science continued to invest in initiatives with broader industry and community impact.
The agency contributed $3.9 million in pro bono media value to KidsXpress, supported Ad Net Zero and released its “Change of Heart” research, analysing 5.6 million data points to identify emerging consumer and cultural trends.
The advisory panel was impressed by the “standout integration story” of 2025. Losing very few clients through such disruption is an excellent achievement.
B&T looks forward to seeing what comes next.
Hightlights reel
TRAVELOKA: 'Why travel mediocre?'
We launched Traveloka in a highly competitive travel category using high-impact, emotionally led media.
The work aimed to encourage Australians to abandon clichéd, mundane (“meh”) travel experiences in favor of seamless, stress-free bookings for flights, stays, and local experiences across Southeast Asia.
The ads delivered record site traffic, +4.34 per cent awareness and +4.97 per cent ad recall.
Hightlights reel
Opella: 'Renewable Ads Engine 2.0'
Real-time ad delivery system for Opella Consumer Healthcare Australia, based on renewable energy availability.
The innovative tool syncs streaming ads with real-time renewable energy grid data.
This allowed Opella to dynamically activate video ads when clean energy is high.
It also achieved +76 per cent increase in renewable energy usage and became a benchmark for sustainable media.
Hightlights reel
diageo: 'The Diageo DEPLETION Index (DDI)'
Faced with declining consumption and a lack of direct-to-consumer data, we helped Diageo create the Diageo Depletion Index.
The proprietary planning system combined retail and media data in a regulated category.
The work delivered 197 per cent ROAS and reduced CPMs by 84 per cent.
HEARTS & SCIENCE's take on 2025
2025 was a defining year for Hearts & Science Australia. In a market challenged by complexity and change, we chose to evolve, bringing together three agencies into one unified, future-ready business. Guided by our “&” philosophy, we protected the heart of our culture while accelerating the science of performance, delivering 7.5 per cent revenue growth and retaining 99 per cent of our clients.
We pushed boundaries through innovation, from launching the world’s first Renewable Ads Engine to redefining precision planning for global brands like Diageo and HSBC. At the same time, we continued to champion diversity, achieving a 0 per cent gender pay gap and 70 per cent female leadership representation.
Most importantly, we proved that emotional connection and data-driven precision are not opposing forces but multipliers. By combining both, we delivered work that resonated deeply with audiences and drove measurable outcomes for our clients.
Blake Power, Sydney GM
Blake is always solving complex challenges across planning, buying and tech, bringing teams together and earning deep client trust along the way.
All done with a smile.
If we were a band, we'd be...
Radiohead
Radiohead released the In Rainbows album in a really unconventional way on their own website with no publicity.
It was a bold move that reshaped the industry.
We feel a similar affinity, because at our best we don’t just optimise what works but rethink it entirely.
We fuse data, technology and human insight to create work that connects and stands apart, even if not everyone is with us on day one.
hearts & science's
B&T's Agency Score
7.6
Previous season: 7.5
Critic's Comment
“Following several mergers, the band found its rhythm and delivered an impressive body of work. A few more breakout hits would have taken the performance to another level.”