Andrew ‘Cambo’ Cambridge has been in the hot seat Initiative for a little more than two months. In his first interview since taking the role, he tells B&T that his initial reaction to be approached for the job was “why me?”
Stepping into the top job at the Omnicom-owned media agency isn’t the only dramatic change that has had in his life over the past year. His commute has also changed drastically.
Not so long ago, weekends meant mooching around Freshwater on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Now, after what he describes as a “little life change,” Cambridge spends his downtime on a farm in the Southern Highlands, building chicken coops, tending to Highland cows and enjoying the great outdoors with his wife and sons.
That hours-long commute, however, does come with one welcome perk for Cambo.
“There’s no cell phone reception,” he told B&T when we visited him in his Surry Hills office last week.
For someone stepping into the fast-moving world of media agency leadership, the enforced digital detox might be precisely what the doctor ordered.
“It’s quiet, still, and very device-free,” Cambridge said. “In the world that we live in, in the industry that we’re in, it’s lovely to have a moment where you’re almost forced to switch off.”
The contrast between the farm and the agency floor could hardly be greater. But after seven weeks in the top job at Initiative, Cambridge is clearly enjoying both.
“Genuinely, I jump out of bed every morning to get in here because it feels good,” he said.
‘Why Me?’
Cambridge’s return to Initiative was not exactly part of his master plan.
He had spent the previous six months at Omnicom Media as CEO of OM Digital, having joined from TikTok in a digital leadership role. Cambridge’s first day at OM coincided with Omnicom’s IPG acquisition.
In this role he had been getting under the skin of the business, working across digital, data, technology and transformation, and helping shape what the group could offer clients beyond traditional paid media.
Then Initiative CEO Jo McAlister announced she was leaving to join News Australia. And suddenly, Cambridge’s name was in the mix.
The process started with McAlister and CEO of Omnicom Media (OM) Australia Kristiaan Kroon discussing who could take the agency into its next chapter. As Cambridge put it, those conversations touched on who OM “wanted in the role” and who’s “the right person to take Initiative on its next adventure?”
“And unbeknownst to me, who was happily beading away in my little nerd digital centre, building my future as I happily was, I was thrown in the ring,” said Cambridge.
When he was approached by the pair, he was the one to ask the first question.
“Why me? I’m very happy over here,” he said.
What got Cambridge over the line to take the job was a combination of two very different pitches.
McAlister made the case around Initiative’s culture and people. Cambridge had worked alongside the agency before and understood the value of the culture that had been built there.
“She shared her point of view in a way that only Jo could do,” added Cambridge. She shared “passionately” that the “individual who takes on stewardship of this agency has to fundamentally believe in culture. Culture in what it can do commercially for our clients, but culture in what is so protective and so amazing in Initiative.”
Then came Kroon’s pitch, which was focused on potential. Cambridge already knew much of the capability sitting within OM and had spent six months getting a much broader understanding of the group’s businesses. He could see what that capability could mean for an agency like Initiative.
“He explained that I could bring the agency knowledge that it didn’t have and that clients are going to benefit. Jo said it was the people and culture,” said Cambridge.
“And that pincer move made me realise that I can be just as happy in this role. Seven weeks in, I could not be happier.”
Top Dog
Cambridge’s previous role as CEO of Omnicom Media Digital proved useful in preparing him for taking the top job at Initiative.
Cambridge said that within his group digital role, he was exposed to multiple businesses and specialisms, which meant he had several P&Ls to understand and unpack. Here, he was able to look at what had happened across each business over time, understand the benefits and drawbacks, and work out what could be done differently.
It was almost “like a fast track to being five CEOs in one”, he said.
This was because he had visibility across all these different P&Ls and could start asking, why is this the case and what would you do to change it? Does the approach differ when you’re building a Martech business compared with a research business? Does it change when you’re focused on customer experience and offering multiple solutions, or can all media businesses ultimately be structured in the same way to deliver a strong long-term commercial strategy?
Initiative, with a much bigger toolkit
However, this isn’t Cambridge’s first rodeo with the agency he now leads in 2016. He spent nearly four years with Initiative between 2016 and 2020. And despite Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG, he told us that “the culture is absolutely the same”.
“It felt like walking straight back into your uncle or auntie’s house,” said Cambridge.
What had been added to Initiative however was a greater depth of capability following the acquisition. Where Initiative once had perhaps one or two people across some of the specialist disciplines it wanted to bring to clients, Cambridge said it now has entire businesses operating across data, marketing, technology, analytics and insights.
From strategic and advisory consultancies such as The Loom and GRACosway to Sports agency The Octagon, Initiative is equipped with a lot of experts and benches to offer its clients from across the Omnicom stable.
“We’ve gone from pistols to cannons in the gunfight for our clients,” as Cambridge said.
Now with the backing from Omnicom, Cambridge believes that there is always a solution within the holdco for clients, even if it hasn’t been built yet, someone may just be building it or acquiring a business that has answered that problem.
Honesty is key
Cambo is only seven weeks into the role, so he is resisting the temptation to arrive with grand proclamations. His main focus is going around and listening to his teams and clients.
His onboarding has involved meeting teams across Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, and is midway through a similar listening tour with clients.
His original message to his clients is relatively simple — be honest. The more transparent the relationship, the faster Initiative can respond.
“They talk so strongly about why they joined Initiative, what their expectations are, and they have all been so open and sharing where they want to go and what they hope their partner to be,” he said.
“That transparency allows me to go and build whatever I want to build around it to solve that problem.”
On the flip side, he understands that if he is expecting transparency and partnership from them, he too needs to be upfront and honest about where the agency is and what it is doing.
Cambridge also believes his own experience across digital marketing, technology, data and transformation allows him to contribute directly to those conversations.
Rather than taking every challenge away and promising to return with a specialist team, he can often get into the problem himself, offer counsel and help clients work through decisions in real time.
For an agency boss, that hands-on understanding could prove valuable.
