Wavemaker is one of the country’s leading media agencies, born out of a merger between two of the GroupM agencies, MEC and Maxus. It recently celebrated its sixth anniversary earlier this year. Wavemaker won the $20 million media account for insurance group Allianz following a global pitch that saw the company align most of its media operations within GroupM.
James Hier (JH): Success for any business is not an overnight phenomenon. For Wavemaker, the achievement of record new business wins and client retentions over a 12-month period was the culmination of the hard work and commitment of our people, year after year. It was built on consistency of leadership, what we stand for in our ethos of Positive Provocation, and what we deliver for clients.
B&T: Wavemaker played a key role in the creation of GroupM’s Disability Action Plan last year. Why did you elect to take a leadership role on this within the industry?
JH: Spurred on by Wavemaker’s global purpose of Positive Provocation, embracing every kind of difference is a vital part of our business. We believe that the more diverse a team, the more provocative it will be and the more growth it will create, personally and professionally.
As such, playing an active role in the launch by GroupM of the first Disability Action Plan in the media industry was important to us as an agency, driven by the motivation to make our business more inclusive for the 1 in 6 Australians living with disability, and it was championed by many Wavemakers.
We’re incredibly proud of the result – an action-oriented framework designed to make Wavemaker and our sister agencies more accessible and inclusive to people living with a disability – and we are 100 per cent committed to ensuring we succeed in practice and hold ourselves accountable. So far, we’ve achieved more than half of the immediate action points identified and the remaining action points are in progress for long-term outcomes.
B&T: You were recently named the fastest-growing major media agency in Australia by COMvergence. How do you manage that growth without sacrificing quality?
JH: We’d like to challenge the assumption that to manage growth you have to sacrifice quality. That comes from an ‘OR’ mindset – you can only have one or the other: growth or quality – but in keeping with our ethos of Positive Provocation, we believe in an AND mindset.
In other words, we believe we can have growth AND quality. Just as we believe you can be fast and more efficient and more effective. Why should there be a compromise?
Like everything, it comes down to our people. We’ve developed a culture and reputation that helps us recruit and retain the best people in the business, and we offer training and support to ensure our people continue to advance their expertise and skills. This ultimately maintains the quality of work for clients.
B&T: What should our judges be looking out for in your entry this year?
JH: In general, we believe awards entries should be metrics-driven provide evidence of success, preferably by third parties, and avoid hyperbole and vague claims. Our goal in any awards program is to provide the judges with an honest, evidence-backed account of our agency’s performance during the judging period and showcase the heart and soul of what makes Wavemaker stand out.
B&T: Why did you choose to enter the B&T Awards?
Writing an award entry is a great way to reflect on the work we do and what we deliver for clients, which ultimately helps us improve our service and product, and makes us better in meeting our goal of positively provoking growth for our clients.
Just as importantly, being shortlisted for – or even winning! – a B&T Award provides an incredibly valuable opportunity for our people to feel proud of the work they do, celebrate their achievements, and continue to stoke their passion for positive provocation.
