What you need to know:

• Accenture Interactive rebrands to Accenture Song, with all brands bar CEO David Droga's Droga5 intended to be mothballed.
• But Mark Green, head of both Accenture Interactive ANZ and The Monkeys, told Mi3 the creative agency brand will remain in market locally for now, though stated the Fjord brand will go.
• Creative hot-shop keen to continue expansion in New Zealand and has designs on Asia via Singapore.

Solo singer

Australia’s most awarded agency of recent times has been granted a stay of execution as CEO David Droga rebrands Accenture Interactive as Accenture Song.

The global marketing services group, which stated it will notch US$14bn in annual revenues by the end of its financial year on 31 August 2022, confirmed the plan to consolidate all 40 agencies bar Droga’s own progeny Droga5 under the new umbrella brand.

While the name change was overdue given ‘interactive’ is dated and global advertisers appear intent on consolidating marketing services partners, Accenture’s standout creative and design hot-shops such as Karmarama and Fjord alongside The Monkeys were understood to be fiercely resistant to giving up their identities.

But it seems the announcement of 'everything bar Droga5' may have different interpretations in different markets.

“Accenture Interactive is now Accenture Song – internally and externally in the global market. Accenture Interactive as a name will be sunset. Locally this means that Fjord will also transition to Accenture Song over the coming months,” Mark Green, head of both Accenture Interactive ANZ and The Monkeys told staff and Mi3 in an emailed statement.

“The journey for each acquisition will be different and at this moment The Monkeys will retain their name. We will continue to work with global, our clients and our people on this new stage for Accenture Song.”

That appears to leave wriggle room for an agency that cleaned up at the most recent advertising effectiveness awards, is six months into a New Zealand expansion that Green hopes will deliver a major chunk of group revenues, and has plans to enter Asia via Singapore.

Green would not comment further on when – or if – the Monkeys brand might eventually be sacrificed, but any move to do so would likely require significant contractual and legal legwork locally and may take a long time to execute.

But by making the announcement, Droga is both forcing the hand of his charges and softening up the market for change, should all go to plan. 

Hymn sheet

Per the Accenture announcement: 'Soon-to-be published research from Accenture Song found that nearly 90 per cent of C-suite executives say that the current needs of customers and employees are changing faster than leaders can change their businesses, emphasising the demand for new growth models'. The consulting firm thinks its marketing and broader services business can serve that demand via a single brand structure.

“The pandemic fundamentally changed how B2C and B2B companies must engage with customers and employees; the speed at which they need to operate and innovate; and the opportunities to create new products, services and growth models,” said Julie Sweet, chairman and chief executive officer, Accenture.

“The companies that will lead in the next decade will undertake total enterprise reinvention, and Accenture Song is uniquely operating at the intersection of creativity, technology, intelligence and industry to help our clients reinvent connections and meaningful experiences, including in the metaverse continuum, sales, commerce, marketing and new business platforms. From idea to build to operate with strategic managed services, we are enabling our clients to access ideas, talent and results much faster.”

Managed services is a high growth area for Accenture where often when taking over a company function, it will drive efficiency and operating gains and share in the upside rather than extract more traditional management fees. There is some contention, however, around the model.