STW Communications Group’s media agency Ikon has completed the establishment of a national network, with the setting up of an office in Adelaide in partnership with local ad agency KWP.

KWP was one of the few ad agencies in Australia with an in-house media department, which was run by director of media Natalie Morley. Ikon has taken control of the department, which will be relaunched as Ikon Adelaide and headed by Ms Morley.

Ikon chief executive Dan Johns said there were no financial ties between the media agency and KWP, and described Ikon Adelaide as a partnership. Ms Morley will join Ikon’s national management team.

KWP’s annual billings, that is, the money its clients spend on media advertising, were about $30 million.

Mr Johns said Ikon would work for most of KWP’s clients – which included Coopers Brewery, Yalumba, Santos, SA Lotteries, Sip’n Save, Bottlemart, RAA and the South Australian Tourism Commission – although some would continue to use other media agencies.

Sydney-based Ikon has opened offices in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth over the past two years. Mr Johns said it had not been actively looking to move into the Adelaide market until KWP approached several media agencies about setting up a partnership.

“Having a national network of offices is important for some of our clients,” he said.

“There is a great cultural fit between Ikon and KWP, and we will learn things by working with a full service ad agency.”

KWP joint managing partner Sylvia Mason with the establishment of the partnership with Ikon followed “a whole-of-business review to continue to improve our work and our offering to our clients”.

“Media has always been valued as integral to the creative process at KWP,” she said. “From day one, media strategy and planning have been a crucial in-house service. Our partnership with Ikon will give us the market credibility and the backing of resources to take our media offering to an even higher level.”

The deal with KWP mirrors Ikon’s agreement with the Perth-based The Brand Agency, although the latter is part of STW Communications.

In 2010, The  Brand Agency changed the name of its in-house media department from Maxus to Ikon and added new senior executives from the latter’s Sydney office. (The Maxus brand is owned by British marketing services giant WPP Group, which is STW’s largest shareholder.)

Ikon opened an office in Melbourne in early 2010 after winning the Myer media ad account. Its Brisbane office was set up in October last year after it won the Subway account.

Mr Johns said adding the Subway business – plus the accounts of Diageo Australia, NIB Health Funds and Pfizer Australia – lifted Ikon’s national billings 30 per cent to about $450 million during the calendar 2011.

Ikon is not involved in running the New Year media agency Ikon3, which was set up in 2010 by Ikon co-founder and former managing partner Gary Hardwick.

STW owns 20 per cent of Ikon3, with Mr Hardwick owning 60% and New York-based ad agency Droga5 owning 20 per cent.

Last year Recma, a research company that studies the performance of 550 media agencies in more than 40 countries, ranked Ikon the best agency in the world in terms of client retention and acquisition.

Neil Shoebridge

So why is Ikon Mumbrella’s media agency of the year? Two things: culture and clients. While every agency talks about its commitment to staff, Ikon actually does something about it.

Even former staff members (and with one of the best staff retention rates in the industry, there aren’t that many of them) speak fondly of the company’s culture.

Most impressive is the Ikon commitment to people development, with what the agency says is an annual average of 75 hours of training per head.

Every staff member gets their own development plan, which is reviewed every six months.

Among the various training programs at the agency, one of the most intriguing is the “Parallel Universe” tie-up with Google which sees staff from the two companies swap roles to strengthen the knowledge of both. In addition, managers, planners and traders are among those who get tailored training programs.

Alongside the training, come the perks. Extra days off for birthdays and honeymoons, hampers for new parents, and an annual ski trip are among the initiatives.

The agency has set itself a target of being recognised as the best employer in Australia by 2014.

The cultural roar at Ikon continues despite the fact that founders Simon White and Gary Hardwick are no longer directly involved. Leadership is now driven by national CEO Dan Johns, who joined the young agency as client services director for foundation client CommBank nearly a decade ago.

And while CommBank was the first client, the STW-aligned Ikon is now one of the biggest Australian agency players – breathing down Zenith Optimedia’s neck for sixth place by billings nationally.

Other major clients include Vodafone, Coca Cola, Westfield, Myer and Goodman Fielder. Indeed, Ikon has strengthened its grip on both CommBank and Vodafone, winning the lucrative online search accounts for both in the last few months.

Among major new clients, Ikon began 2011 bedding in Diageo.

Meanwhile, the win of Subway helped to launch Ikon’s Brisbane office late this year.

Australian agencies dominated last night’s Festival of Media Asia Awards in Singapore, with Ikon Communications taking home the Agency of the Year award.

Australian agencies took the top prize in seven out of eleven categories. Aside from taking the top gong for the night, Ikon also won the Best Use of Digital Landscape and Best Use of Emerging Technology awards for its work on Commonwealth Bank.

Ikon has carved out a beachhead in the hotly contested Brisbane media market, with the win of Subway as its foundation client for the new office.

Former Mitchell & Partners Brisbane strategic director Lesley Edwards has been poached for the expansion to head up the Ikon office as managing director, reporting to national CEO Dan Johns.

“We have been patiently waiting for the right moment to move into the Brisbane market to provide an alternative media agency offering to advertisers and an alternative, stimulating workplace for the best media talent in Brisbane. We are extremely pleased to have Subway on board as our first client and look forward to making an immediate, positive impact to their business,” Johns (pictured) said.

“Critical in our decision to launch into Brisbane was finding the perfect person to run the Ikon business. In Lesley, we have found someone who is completely in tune not only with the Brisbane market, but someone who immediately adds to the Ikon brand values. Lesley is a highly respected and credentialed leader, strategist and mentor and we are very lucky to have her on board.”

Besides Edwards, the founding team will include Shelley Cook as agency director and Shaun Lohman as digital director.

“With a background in both media agency and media owner roles, Shelley brings to the Ikon team insight and expertise spanning both strategy and trading. Shaun’s visionary take on digital media, combined with a passion for analytics will provide even greater momentum in terms of Ikon’s distinct offering in the Brisbane market,” Edwards said.

Gina Kahler, head of marketing, Subway said: “Subway recognises that the world of media has changed significantly over the past few years, and for us to continue to grow, it is vital that we implement innovative and integrated media strategies that compliment consumer behaviour. We are excited by the prospect of moving forward with Ikon and confident that their refreshing approach to media will provide us the communication solutions we are looking for.”

Insurance brand NIB has appointed Ikon Communications to its $10 million media buying and planning account, as the company looks to increase spend and attract a broader target market.

The agency beat out seven-year incumbent Mitchell & Partners after a drawn-out pitch process that kicked off over a year ago. A decision was expected in January, however the process has taken much longer.

NIB chief marketing officer Rhod McKensey told AdNews: “Ikon came away with the account because the agency offered competitive rates and has a culture of excellence and innovation. Also, Ikon showed an understanding of private health insurance, particularly in the 20 to 39 age group, which is largely our target market.”

NIB confirmed that it spends approximately $10 million a year on main media, with communications running across press, radio, television, outdoor and online. However, McKensey said NIB will be increasing its marketing spend by just under 10%, as it looks to steal market share from rivals Medibank and Bupa.

Despite a desire to continue marketing to 20 to 39-year-olds, McKensey said the appointment of Ikon might see NIB broadening its scope, provided this does not negatively impact existing brand equity.

Advertising, media and digital businesses such as MediaCom, Austereo and Google have scored highly in BRW magazine’s Best Places to Work and Most Respectful Company survey.

Google was again named as Australia’s best place to work, followed by search engine optimisation firm E-Web Marketing, while Ikon Communications was the eighth best place to work. OMD Australia was ranked 36th, while MediaCom came 43rd and Austereo 49th.

The BRW Best Places to Work survey, conducted in partnership with the Great Place Work Institute, this year surveyed 207 companies and 55,400 of their employees.

For the Most Respectful Company list, MediaCom was ranked fourth and Austereo came fifth. The ranking measures the extent to which employees feel respected by management by assessing the levels of support, collaboration and caring that employees experience through management’s actions toward them.

MediaCom CEO Toby Jenner CEO said: “What is so gratifying is that 60% of the survey is a direct measure of the Great Places to Work Cultural Audit which was completed by our people nationally. This achievement is simply a reflection of how our team feels about working at MediaCom in comparison to other businesses”.

Ikon Communications managing partner Dan Johns told AdNews: “We are totally surprised and delighted to be recognised as number 8 best place to work in Australia and credit must go to our incredible people and culture team. What’s even more satisfying is how well our industry was represented in the top 50 from both agency and media owner sides, you get a sense that there are exciting times ahead if you are working in the Australian media industry.”

Austereo director of metro radio Guy Dobson said: “This is a remarkable achievement for Austereo and we continually strive to be the best at what we do. We believe the workplace we create not only delivers strong business results for our shareholders but provides a challenging and fun environment where people are engaged and feel valued.”

Ikon Communications is creating a specialised data division, which will house up to 12 staff in the next year.

The creation of the division is currently being overseen by performance media director Phil Cowlishaw, who is working with data analyst Bevan Davies. Davies has been hired in recent weeks.

While data and analytics are already central tenets of Ikon’s offering, Cowlishaw stressed that a specialised data division will allow for deeper insights.

“We will be recognising global trends and working at the forefront of the data and analytics space,” he said.

“The new division will allow us to gain better analytical insights for our clients. The division will be an extension of our current capabilities, and will aim to deliver incremental insights and effectiveness. It’s about being at the forefront.”

The division will sit to the side of Ikon’s overarching structure, and will be available to all Ikon offices nationally. The agency is searching both internally and externally for people to sit within the division. 

Cowlishaw told AdNews that data and analytics are now an essential element of a media agency’s offering.

“This is something that clients want,” he said.

“Data provides clients with insight, it tells them exactly how they are spending their money, it makes all money effective and accountable. It makes an agency an extension of its client’s offering.”

Ikon has recently bolstered its strategy and technology departments with six new hires. The agency is also currently hunting for a trading director and a digital director.

Ikon has also been on a strong new business run of late. This month it won media duties for Australian Red Cross Blood Service. Over the past year, the agency has also won accounts such as Diageo, Cerebos, and Video Ezy. Last month, its strong pitching record earned it an A+ rating from media agency tracking company RECMA.

Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) has appointed Ikon Communications as its media agency, parting with incumbent MPG.

Ikon won the pitch against a number of undisclosed shortlisted agencies. ARCBS put its media account out to pitch in March in a formal tender process before shortlisting agencies. Incumbent MPG had been invited to participate, although it’s unclear whether the Mitchells and Havas-owned agency did.

Ikon will handle media buying for the ARCBS for two years and begins work immediately on 2011-12 media plans. MPG’s contract will run out at the end of this month.

RCBS national campaign manager David Joseph said: “The Blood Service chose Ikon because of its strong strategic recommendations in response to the brief, clever insights, and dynamic approach to media trading.”

Ikon managing partner Dan Johns said: “The process brought the agency together to focus on what is an outstanding cause; we are all looking forward to making a really positive contribution to The Australian Red Cross Blood Service.”

Rapp Sydney, part of the DDB Group, handles creative duties for RCBS.

Just last month, media agency tracking company RECMA gave Ikon an A+ rating for the fourth year in a row, on the back of its successful pitching record, which has seen the agency win accounts like Diageo, Cerebos and Video Ezy in the past year. 

Leading Australian media agency, Ikon Communications, has been awarded an A+ rating by global media agency tracking company RECMA for the fourth year running – the first and only media agency globally to achieve the highest accolade possible across so many consecutive years.

The ‘Compitches’ A+ rating, was provided by RECMA after an evaluation of Ikon’s new business performance throughout 2010. The research company examines a range of factors to determine the rating, including the number of key pitches undertaken, how many are won or lost, and how competitive the pitch process is.

Dan Johns, managing partner, Ikon Sydney, explained that RECMA also only provide A+ grade ratings for agencies “demonstrating outstanding performances”. That may include not losing any ‘key’ pitches. ‘Key’ includes Australia’s top media spenders or international brands.

“We’re incredibly proud to receive the highest rating possible for the fourth year running, an achievement that the entire team has contributed to,” he said.

“What makes this rating particularly remarkable is that a local, independent Australian media agency tops the list globally in terms of media agency performance, demonstrating that we compete at the very highest level when compared to the best agencies globally.

“We can now say with certainty that no other media agency in Australia has a better record.”
Johns said new business won by Ikon during the audited period includes Diageo, Myer, BlueScope, Ateco, and Commonwealth Bank Group among others.

Other recent achievements include Ikon3 setting up in partnership with Droga5 in New York. The operation already has ten staff working with brands such as Prudential and Anheuser Bush with billings of US$70 million.

Ikon was named Australian Media Agency of the Year in 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, AdNews Agency of the year in 2009, and B&T Employer of the year in 2010. Last week Ikon won a global award for best use of mobile media at the Festival of Media in Montreux, Switzerland.

Ikon is part of STW Group, Australia’s leading marketing content and communications services group.

UM Sydney and Ikon Communications claimed the top ranking for individual media agencies, but were outranked in the networks category by MediaCom Australia.

A good year for UM saw it notch up a long-list of finalists at Agency of the Year awards as well as Festival of Media and Media Federation Awards – including a commendation for its work on Unilever.

It was also another strong year for Ikon Communications, both for business performance and work – the agency, which was crowned B&T Agency of the Year and shortlisted at AdNews, also scored big at awards shows for its work, notably winning the MFA for Best Demonstration of Results for the sixth time.

MediaCom, which was crowned Media Network of the Year also bagged MFA awards for Dell Alienware and Asahi.

Notable mention to Starcom MediaVest, the agency’s work for Pedigree “Dog Adoption” dominated media awards shows, bagging top gongs at Cannes, Media Federation Awards and Festival of Media. PHD’s  finalist nods at AdNews Agency of the Year and its “New Balance” campaign, helped the agency’s ranking.

A special mention to Leo Burnett Sydney, which nabbed a top ten ranking in the media network’s category after its Canon work dominated Cannes winning the media Grand Prix.
The appearance of five creative agencies including Happy Soldiers, Three Drunk Monkeys George Patterson Y&R and Host, along with Leo Burnett is testament to the ever-blurring line.

For further information head to: http://www.adnews.com.au/rankings/media