forallparties.WestpacGrouphasbeenthefirstclientofftheranksto
takeadvantageofInsituasthebankmovesawayfromsiloeddepartments
intoa fasterandmorenimblemarket.
Despitemanypeopleinadlandbeingfearfulordisgruntledbythe
in-housingmovement,CXLavenderhasembracedit headon.Formany
creatives,it’sviewedastheantithesistowhattheyloveabouttheirroles.
AnnaKarena,AssociatePartnerandChiefCreativeOfficer,andRyan
Stubna,AssociatePartnerandExecutiveCreativeDirector,haveworked
hardthroughoutthepilotprocesstoensureit willbeanopportunity
theircreativeswillthrivein.
Intoday’sdynamicworld,Karenasayscreativeshavehadtobecome
morebusiness-minded.Thisshifthashelpedcraftthewaystaffare
trainedtoworkin-housewithclients.
Stubnabacksherup,explainingthatformulatingtherightmodelforInsitu
meantachievingtheperfectbalancefornotjustclientsbutcreativesaswell.
“Creatively,it wasreallyworkingongettingthatbalanceright– you
know,creativesnotfeelinglikethey’dbeenshippedoff,”Stubnasays.
“Itwasaboutequippingthemwiththerightskillstogoandhave
conversationswithclients,andstillfeelsupportedbycreativedirectors
andseniorcreativesbackintheagencysotheywouldnevernotfeelpart
oftheLavenderteam.”
ForLavenderhimself,launchingInsituhasbeena signofthetimes
asboththeagencymodelandclients’workf lowcontinuetoevolve.
“Clientsarelettinggooftheirmarketingdepartmentownership
becausesuccessfulin-housingactuallyinvolvesmoreoftheproductteams,
thedatateam,allworkingtogetherandsolvingtogether,”Lavendersays.
Insituis oneof anumberof waysLavender andhisteam are
future-proofingtheagencyinanagewhereno-oneis abletotrulypredict
whatwillcomenext.IntroducingpureplaytechcompanyCXTXis another.
LikeInsitu,thisnewofferingwaspromptedfromcustomerpain
points.Alreadyholdinga numberofclientretainerspurelyfortech,the
agencyhasnowdivedintocreatingitsownproducts.
SettingCXTXupasitsowncompanyhasalsoopenedupthedoorsto
greateropportunitieswithclients,explainsClintBauer,PartnerandHead
ofTechnology.
“Whenyou’reworkingina verticalwithinanagencyenvironment,
you’vegota conf lictofinterestwhichwehavetoobserve,”Bauersays.
“We’vegotfirewallswehavetomaintain.Pureplaytechcompanies
cangoaftera fewclientswithina vertical.”
AsCXLavendercontinuestobroadenitshorizonsthroughavenuessuch
asin-housingandtech,therighttalentis crucialtotheagency’ssuccess.
Genusis a graduateprogramfoundedbyLavender’swifeTessLavender.
Settobeginitsfifthyear,theprogramhascontinuedtogrowitsintakeeach
year.Thisyearsaweightgraduatestakenon,whilelastyearit tookonsix.
“Thereis a businesselementtoGenuswhichfitsintoInsitu.Wequickly
realiseweneedlargenumbersofalmostripeningtalentto feed this new
model. So, Genus works well like that,” Karena says.
“Butfrombefore,we’vealways
beena mentoringcultureaswell
andgotgreatresultsoutoffresh
youngpeople fromunexpected
places,too– notjustoutofAWARD
School[but]lotsofdifferentplaces.”
Withtheprogramcontinuing
togainmorediversetalentevery
year,Lavenderbelievestheyhave
gotit almostdownpat.
“Lastyear’sin-take– andI think
theyearbefore– wereextremely
diverse.I thinkit’sfairtosaywe’re
notreally nailing anybodyfor
tech,”hesays.
“I think also our business
modelcustomer-centricity,work-
ing collaborativelyit’s notfor
everyoneandI thinkLavendercan
bequitepolarising.”
Whilehecan’ttellyouwhere
CXLavenderwillbeinthenext
fiveyears,hecansaycollaboration
andputtingthecustomerfirstwill
continuetoremaintoppriorities
forthecompany.
Foranyoneseekingthe“rock
star”culturethatonemightfindat
a traditionalagency,Lavendersays
youwon’tfindit inhisbusiness.
“Iusedtotalkaboutit asthe
ducksandthehens.Bothbirdsbut
differentmindsets,”hesays.
“Ithink a customer-centric
mindsetdoesn’tmeanyoucan’tdo
brilliant things. You can, but
you’rejustdoingit andapproach-
ingit oftenina differentway.
“Westrivetodogreatworkbut
ourwayofgettingtothat,it isn’t
the brilliance ofoneperson –
whichI thinkinthetraditional
modelit oftenis– it istheactual
excellence of many people.”Farleft:AnnaKarena
andteam
Left:ClintBauer,
Head of Technology