Independent agencies Nunn Media and Half Dome have had successful new business performance, according to the Final 2024 Australia New Business Barometer published by COMvergence last month.
Nunn Media ranked first among the indies in terms of total new business value in 2024, including retention. It made $58m, with $75m in wins outweighing $17m in losses. Nunn’s lead in the rankings is the result of onboarding 11 new client wins, including Spotlight Retail Group ($54.7m).
Meanwhile, Half Dome came in third in the indie rankings making $40m, including the win of Online Education Services ($21.5m.)
Mediaweek spoke to Matt Nunn, Managing Director of Nunn Media and Joe Frazer, co-founder and Head of Digital and Growth at Half Dome about what the results achieved mean for their respective teams, which wins and retentions were the highlight of the year and what the industry can expect in the year ahead.
Matt Nunn: ‘Having a successful year in client retentions and new business wins is a great validation of our market-leading capabilities.’
‘Our focus is to grow our people and client’s businesses’
For Nunn, being number one in the COMvergence Australian independent agencies rankings is validating the hard work and dedication of his teams.
“Whilst at the end of the day, our focus is to grow our people and client’s businesses – having a successful year in client retentions and new business wins is a great validation of our market-leading capabilities.”
The managing director noted that Nunn Media was fortunate to have its fair share of wins of major pitches, notably Spotlight Retail Group.
“This success does not come without the support and drive of our existing client roster – with many clients being partners of Nunn for over ten years. Winning and retaining clients is a proud achievement of the agency – fuelled by an entrepreneurial spirit and not resting on our laurels.”
Half Dome’s inclusion in the top Australian independent agencies New Business Barometer was a “very exciting” achievement for the agency.
Frazer said: “Primarily as it is a great acknowledgement of the good work coming out of the agency – this is reinforced by our first Media i ranking, having 100% of staff saying they are proud of the work we put out – leading all comers.
“We feel all our existing clients are in really healthy positions, with high satisfaction and happiness with the work we are outputting.”
He added: “Looking at the broader rankings, it is a trend that the agencies that keep clients, grow the most, so we are most excited about having that strong foundation and focus on our current client base.”
For Frazer one of the most wins is the yet-to-be-announced retention of one of the agency’s longest-serving clients.
“No official announcement yet, but extending after more than five years of service is a nod to a client who wants to do consistently good work and our team who have put up good thinking (mostly) over the past five years.
“Winning an incumbency pitch was nice, also, we were zero for our first two heading into it,” he added.
Joe Frazer: ‘Keep doing great work for existing clients. Keep helping them grow, and opportunities will come. A few more interstate clients wouldn’t surprise me either.’
Turning challenges into positives
While the last 12 months have been tough on the industry, Nunn noted that despite the challenges facing the fast-paced industry, Nunn Media picked and chose the right pitches for them.
“As client marketing teams are clearly being stretched, a notable challenge has been the reduced opportunity for client dialogue and check-ins during a pitch process.
“This really limits collaboration and has resulted in Nunn withdrawing from numerous pitches as we didn’t believe the process set us, or the client, up for success.
“Conversely, it also highlights the importance of dialogue with your clients, and making sure your expertise is focussed and aligned to your client’s evolving needs.
Frazer said that while Half Dome has had a good level of success over the last 12 months the agency is strategically shifting focus toward the convergence of creative/content/media, especially in social channels.
“Our content team is the fastest-growing part of Half Dome, and our proven ability to deliver high volume, built-for platform assets, which compound media effectiveness, is probably the most exciting change I have seen Half Dome make since we started.
“I can’t wait to see where this continues to go over the next 12 to 18 months,” he added.
What the industry can expect
Nunn noted that he hopes the success of Nunn Media tells the wider industry, brands and marketers that independent agencies “continue to thrive as clients place increased on transparency and access to well-resourced agency teams.”
“Nunn’s significant investment in our people, along with tech and insights, is fuelling our success and clearly paying dividends. All in all, the outlook for independent agencies at scale is very promising.”
Looking ahead at Half Dome’s outlook, Frazer said the industry can export more of the same hard work and growth.
“We have a big, audacious, hairy, strategic vision, and it is predicated on delivering – drumroll… organic growth (some might say that is a dour way to put it), but the reality is that organic growth is what wins in this industry.
“Keep doing great work for existing clients. Keep helping them grow, and opportunities will come. A few more interstate clients wouldn’t surprise me either,” he added.