News Analysis

The pre-Christmas Covid cluster dealt another blow to the industry's plans to return to offices at the start of 2021, with many reverting to working from home initiatives and adopting a "wait and see" approach. However, agency holding group Omnicom Media Group and radio and TV network Southern Cross Austereo have managed to get most staff back into the building. OMG boss Peter Horgan says the business remains completely Covid safe but the dynamic hit a "tipping point" when 60% of staff returned - with positive knock-on effects.

Following a difficult year for the airline industry, Virgin Australia's General Manager, Brand and Marketing Michael Nearhos has exited the business. The company confirmed his exit, as CMO Dean Chadwick thanked him for his work with the business.

Virgin Australia had to make deep cuts to an already lean marketing team after Covid grounded planes and pushed it into administration. Under new private equity ownership, the airline is now gaining altitude and velocity. Search is surging towards pre-pandemic levels, the brand is advertising its wares once more and has big plans to unlock greater reward and yield from its 10 million loyalty members. It may be that the marketing and loyalty function integrate much more closely in 2021.

IPG Mediabrands' investment intelligence arm Magna has the Australian ad market back 6.2% in 2020. Publicis-owned Zenith has it back 12%. They both agree that 2021 looks healthier, with digital to drive a recovery of sorts - but it may take another year or two to recover to pre-Covid levels. Meanwhile GroupM is predicting a big 2021 for APAC.

After a quiet takeover of Quantium's media unit, the massive scale-up by Woolworth’s retail media division Cartology continues unimpeded by Covid with the hire of IAG’s head of Customer Growth and Analytics, Willem Paling, to lead the retailer’s activation and attribution strategy for 30 million weekly in store “interactions” and 20 million digital visits every week.

Following a six-month pitch process, BMW has landed on its new media agency, opting for independent shop Atomic 212. The brand confirmed the decision with Mi3. The appointment marks another coup for Australia's apparently booming indie agency sector, and ticks off another major review from this year's $500m pitchpalooza. Meanwhile, the Toyota pitch is moving into its final stages.

The Omnicom-owned, BBDO controlled boss of Clemenger Group, Robert Morgan, has quashed talk of tension between he and outgoing CHE Proximity CEO, Chris Howatson, as the trigger for this week’s news of a split. The new indy group, Howatson + White, is set to launch in the new year with 30 people and grand ambitions to build Australia’s next homegrown but new-world Clemenger or George Patterson with full-service capabilities across tech, creative, media, CX and e-commerce. 

Former Visit Victoria and Visa marketer Nicki Kenyon and ex-Edelman Global Strategy Partner Michele O’Neill are the first two senior executives to join Nine’s new Powered Enterprise division. Announced at this year’s upfronts, Nine is plotting a similar path to tech players such as Google and Facebook, speaking directly to clients and attempting to land bigger ideas with the c-suite at major blue chip brands. But the network insists it is not trying to usurp agencies.