GroupM media agency MEC has opened its fourth Australian office in Melbourne, with Jenny Pham at the helm and GE Money and GE Capital as foundation clients.
The office will also serve the Michelin account, previously handled by the Sydney office, and has won its first local pitch against incumbent Starcom to secure personal care products company Combe, with an estimated $3 million media spend.
MEC’s recent appointment to the Nestlé account will also see the Nestlé Healthcare division handled by the Melbourne office.
In her role as business development director & office lead of MEC Melbourne, Jenny Pham is charged with managing these clients as well as developing new business opportunities in the market.
Pham has more than 10 years’ experience in the media industry, most recently as director at GroupM sister agency Mindshare Sydney, leading an implementation planning and buying team across offline and online media channels on clients including MLC, Lenovo, Dyson, InterContinental Hotel Group, Cisco and Boheringer Ingelheim.
MEC’s foray into Melbourne follows the establishment of a Brisbane office earlier this year under the leadership of Jane Sullivan as managing partner and Domino’s Pizza as foundation client.
“Jenny is a seven-year GroupM veteran and has the right experience to make our Melbourne offering a huge success. She has a clear strategic vision and a deep knowledge of the media business, and has proven herself capable of delivering valuable return on investment for GroupM clients,” said MEC Australia CEO Peter Vogel.
“It’s a great time to be opening our doors in Melbourne. It’s is an established market but there is a great opportunity for growth, which we plan to tap into. With Melbourne now in the fold in addition to Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane, MEC is a truly national agency with a rich offering of resources across all offices.”
Pham added: “This is a huge opportunity for MEC Australia and I’m very excited to be a part of the ongoing growth and expansion of the agency. Melbourne is a relationships-led market and the conversations we get to have with clients are really insightful. Our immediate focus is to establish the agency and transition our existing clients back to Melbourne. Our entry to Melbourne has been well received by the market and supported by the group.”
MEC will look to make further Melbourne staff hires in coming months.
