“Clemenger BBDO has produced incredible work in the past because of brilliant people, amazing clients, but it’s also a very exciting time moving forward,” Lee Leggett, CEO of Clemenger BBDO, told Mediaweek.
Weeks after the agency unveiled its restructure, new logo, and revamped proposition, Leggett shared that a lot of work had gone into launching the new entity, comprising of Clemenger BBDO, CHEP Network, and Traffik.
Now under the one name, Clemenger BBDO, Leggett said her overall assessment of the new entity launch is “a pretty positive start.”
She explained that the agencies were already working closely collaborating and called the union “relatively easy”.
“It’s formalising what was already there and clients have reacted positively. The integration is done, now we’re talking to clients and it’s been positive.”
By bringing the three agencies into Clemenger BBDO, clients get the seamless, tailored model to meet their ambitions and access to integrated marketing capabilities at scale.
Leggett: ‘We always had quite a broad capability, now we’ve got more, and that’s what I think clients need in 2025.’
How Clemenger BBDO’s new model responds to client needs and the shift to ‘Do Big Things’
Integration has always been part of Clemenger’s full-service model, and now under the brand unification, the agency can offer a new and wider breadth of capabilities to clients, Leggett explained.
“Clients have been saying to me over the past year that they want more capability with less complexity. This structure delivers that through one team, one building, and one set of capabilities to those clients.
“Strategy, creative design, media tech, experience, activation, shopper, that’s all fully connected for those clients.”
She noted that a client was recently surprised that Clemenger was able to provide them with a newer capability they would previously have to go elsewhere to have done.
“We always had quite a broad capability, now we’ve got more, and that’s what I think clients need in 2025.”
In addition to Clemenger BBDO’s merged entity was the proposition move from ‘The Work. The Work. The Work.’ to ‘Do Big Things’.
“That’s a very famous, iconic phrase that BBDO was known for. But ‘Do Big Things’ is about reaffirming the belief that creativity can be a driver and a catalyst for growth.
“It is a rallying cry because it forces everybody to think when you’re looking at the work, is that a big idea? Is that big enough? How do we make this? How do we make this idea or how do we make this work even bigger than it can be?”
“It’s thinking about a way to solve this problem, using all the capabilities that we have at our disposal. This is something that Nancy Reyes, Global CEO of BBDO, has talked about in another forum, we’re not in the business of selling assets. The desire for the agency is to be more upstream, and more strategic.
“But also recognising that deliverables don’t define us, creative thinking does. It’s about the big things that we do and the impact they have.”
Bringing cultures and capabilities together
From the outside, merging the cultures and capabilities of different agencies into one entity can appear to be a challenging task.
But for Leggett, she highlighted the collaboration and energy of the teams and staff in bringing it together.
“I think the best agencies in the world, or the best companies in the world are ones where our people also feel that they have a contribution to make. The ideas and the way that we’re running this new agency aren’t just all from me.
“It comes from the teams and the staff; it comes out of brilliant moments in this agency. There is the energy and the ambition that now exists here is contagious.
“People have seen the vision, globally and locally, and they’re excited about what we’re doing.”
Having gone through a couple of integrations in the past, Leggett came into Clemenger’s integration with a few principles already in mind.
“The first was to take quite a small group of people and focus them on the integration and ask everybody else to keep focused on our clients and the work. I think it’s quite important that you don’t get overly operational in moments like this,” she said.
As a leader, she said she was as open, communicative and accessible as she could be to the agency’s people, hearing ideas and suggestions.
Leggett has been deliberate in calling Clemenger’s evolution an ‘integration’ rather than a ‘merger’.
“I’m trying to be respectful for the past, but not let us focus on the past, to try and get people to think about what’s next and where we take this new agency,” she explained.
Why creativity is ‘more important than ever’ and winning K-Mart
With all different capabilities now under one roof, Leggett noted that for the agency “creativity is more important than ever.”
“The way that we deliver creativity, or what creativity means in the modern world has changed.
“We’ve taken on the global mantle of being relaunched with a new proposition, which is ‘Do Big Things’. We’ve taken that because it’s a rallying cry, not just for the agency, but also for the industry.
“In our unique model, it means that we can now do that (creativity) in different ways. We can do that through data, we can do that through media, we can do that through social. Big creativity is delivered in any way that a client or a consumer needs.”
Clemenger BBDO’s first client win under its new structure was Kmart Australia after taking over from Denstu Creative which opted to not re-pitch for the account after four years.
The win for the agency was not only a milestone moment but also highlighted the breadth of services offered to clients.
Leggett said: “There will be clients that want a different model, and that’s great. There are lots of different agencies in the market, but Kmart is an iconic brand, with phenomenal clients and a phenomenal business.
“I think that win proves that the model is working and that they want bold, integrated thinking.”
The next steps for Clemenger BBDO and Leggett as CEO
The outlook for Clemenger BBDO in the year ahead appears positive, full of opportunities, solid work for clients, growth and fostering the work culture.
Legget noted that the agency will look into further fostering and investing in a work culture that retains talent, attracts new hires and ensures “people working in this organisation are fulfilled and challenged in equal measure.”
On the agency’s ‘Do Big Things’ motto, Leggett said that it has brought confidence back to Clemenger and the industry. She shared that feedback from counterparts in the industry has applauded the revamped stance, calling it a “statement of intent and belief in creativity.”
“I think we do important work, and we have a real impact when we do it well. I’m excited about the next six months and the work that’s going to come out of this new brilliant agency, given all the talent and capability that’s inside it.”
“Now it is about delivering work that defines tomorrow,” Leggett said of her key objectives as leader of Clemenger.
In terms of creative success, Legget said: “It’s going to be exciting to see new work come out of this new entity. Work that’s bold, brave, and effective. The proof is in the work that we deliver.”
Looking at commercial success, the focus will be on growth with existing clients and welcoming more new clients to the fold.
From a cultural perspective, she noted that a collaborative culture is key to teams integrating, creating, and moving fast.
Top image: Lee Leggett