Ultimatelyif it doesn’taddmorethana fewbuckstothepartners’pockets
andthereisnoopportunitytotapintonewskills,newclientsanda
largermoreresourcednetwork,thenit’sdifficult to align and engage
yourpeopleandclientsonthejourney.
BecomingpartofDentsu,howdidthathappen,whatwasit
liketojoinagroupstructureforasecondtimeandhowdidit
changetheagency?
Rob,PaulandJamie:Wewereintroducedbya mutualfriendinCannes.
Weweren’tlookingtosell,havingbeenburntbythePhotonexperience,
butaftermutualmeetingswiththeDentsupeoplewerealisedit wasa
verycompatiblecultureandstrategy.It actuallyallowedustoaccelerate
theintegratedofferwewerealreadypursuing.Additionallybeingthe
maincreativeagencymeanswedon’thavethesame“friendlyfire”which
weexperiencedinPhoton.
Dentsuis a truepartnership,basedona respectfulalignmentwitha focus
oncreativityandgrowth.We’veeachalsotakenrolesinthebroaderDentsu
networkwhichenhancesourindividuallearninganddevelopment.
Whathavebeensomeofthebiggesttakeawaysforeachofyou
asindividualsandasatrio?
Rob,PaulandJamie:Successfulpartnershipisaboutgenerosity,
mutualperceivedeffortandhonestcommunication.Themomenteither
ofthesethreeingredientsisoutofwhack,cracksdevelop.We’vehad
plentyofnearbustupsalongthewaybutwe’vealwaysfounda reason
toholdittogether,andeachtimewerealignwediscoveraneven
strongerforce.
ThebiggestlessonI thinkis consistentlysurroundingourselveswith
reallytalentedpeople.A successfulbusinessis madeupofthesumofits
partsandateverystageofgrowthovertheyears,we’vehiredsome
amazingtalentwhohavegoneontogreatthings.
Wecanalsoattributeoursuccesstobuyingandpartneringwithsome
brilliantbusinesses,includingtheCoxInallandHaystacPRbusinesses.
AndsignificantlyourIndigenous-runbusinessCoxInallRidgeway
drivessomeleadinginitiativeswithintheAustraliancommunityinclud-
ingtheNgarandiaugmentedrealityappforculturalstorytelling.
Ifyouhadtodoitallover,whatwouldbedonedifferent?
Rob,PaulandJamie:BoughtourbuildinginUltimo,takencashinstead
ofsharesinPhoton,retainedmoreoftheamazingtalentthathave come
through our doors, worked on and won a federal election.
A successful
businessismade
upofthesumofits
partsandatevery
stageofgrowth
overtheyears,
we’vehiredsome
amazingtalentwho
havegoneontodo
great things.You’vebeenattheforefront
ofthecreativeworldfor
solong,what’schanged?
What’sbeingdonewelland
whatneedstobeimproved?
Rob,PaulandJamie:Everything
andnothing.Obviouslytheimme-
diacyandresponsivenessofmes-
sageanddiversityandmicrotarget-
ing of channels has changed
immenselybutthefundamentals
ofbuildingbrandsandbusinesses
withfocusandpurposehasnever
beenmoreimportant.
Webelievetheprevailingdirect
marketingshorttermresponse
obsessionofthepastdecadehas
dilutedbrandsanddistracteda lot
ofmarketers.Theroleofcreativity
inbuildingCX,UXorwhatwecall
UBX(UniqueBrandExperiences)
hasneverbeenmoreimportant
andwedon’tbelieveyougetthat
skillsetinyouraverage internal
clientagencyteam.Ifyouhadtopickoneofyour
favouritestories,moments,
nuggetsofwisdomfromyour
timetogetherasateam,what
woulditbe?
Jamie:Inoursecondyear,meand
Belgoturneduptoournewauto
client’sofficeslateforthefirst
meetingandcrashedthecarthey
hadlentusrightoutsidetheboard-
roomwindows,wherePaulandthe
clientwereallwaitingandlooking
outthesamewindow.Oops!Rob:Thewisdomcomesfroma
respectfulpartnership.Sometimes
fightingit outbutalways ulti-
matelyarrivingatagreementon
thewayforward.Andthatworks
becausewerespecteachother’s
complementary skillsets.