Mediaweek has teamed up with the IMAA to give its indie leaders a platform to talk about their work, thoughts about the industry and their interests outside of their working life.
“Early in my career at SCA and Yahoo, I saw the impact you can have when you’re embedded in a client’s business,” said Laura Hamod Barnes, founder and CEO of Connected Media Group. “Thirteen years ago, I noticed a gap in the market: there weren’t smaller, nimble
agencies serving clients who were often overlooked by the big holding groups. Launching Connected Media Group in 2012 was about filling that gap and building a business that could grow alongside its clients.”
Now, having been a member of the IMAA since 2020, the team work with brands big and small and the company now has three offices.
What sets your agency and its offering apart from others?
Our senior team brings diverse expertise – delivering an integrated approach that drives measurable commercial growth. Our team may be small, but we pack a punch. With over 85 per cent staff retention, clients benefit from continuity and expertise. We’re proud to be recognised among the best by media partners (Google Premier Partners) and industry awards.
Indie agencies are increasingly seeing success with major pitches. What differentiates your pitch approach from that of larger agencies?
We only pitch a few times a year and when we do, we go deep. We give away trade secrets and insights up front to show how we can drive results; our agency credentials come last.
More important is winning over our existing clients every day. That means not just delivering strong results, and service, but proactively bringing market-leading ideas and new opportunities. In recent months we’ve met with every client to discuss AI trends and quantified impact on their business. We have partnerships still going strong after more than a decade together.
Who have been your latest Agency account wins?
Most of our new clients come through referrals – the ultimate compliment. Recent wins include Aon Affinity, Tonies, Plungie (AU & USA), Vision Brands Group, Mountain Bikes Direct, Cryomed and Cynosure. We support ABC with a short-term projects as needed. We’ve also renewed and expanded long-term partnerships with Sanitarium, Canon, Luxaflex, and Il Tutto.
With 77% of indie agencies expecting ad spend to rise or remain stable in FY26, according to the IMAA Indie Census, how are you preparing for that growth?
We’re well-prepared for growth, running with built-in capacity to scale alongside our clients without burning out our team. This year we’ve seen uplifts across SVOD & YouTube, SEO/AI Discovery, Outdoor, Radio & Cinema – we’ve invested in talent and resources to deliver.
Operationally, we’ve scaled Datorama reporting, rolled out custom systems, and built AI agents. We challenge team members to “make their role redundant with AI” freeing them for more strategic, creative, and innovative work – keeping us agile as the market evolves and our clients grow.
What’s another indie agency that you see is crushing it and why? (Whether it’s their work output, client relationships or culture/DE&I policies)
Chris and Lyndelle O’Keefe from Match & Wood are a powerhouse – building a high-performing agency that scaled quickly.
What’s a piece of work you’re most proud of?
All of our clients now have access to the kind of reporting normally reserved only for enterprise-level businesses. For large partners like Sanitarium, our dashboards have been so valuable that they asked us to extend them into business-level intelligence reporting, giving their wider teams incredible information at their fingertips.
Second is the way we grow our partners. A great example is AIM, which we’ve scaled 10x over the last 10 years by staying focused on ROAS and sustainable growth. Similarly, when we onboarded Sanitarium we immediately delivered over 10% savings.
As a leader, how do you switch off from work and unwind after a busy week?
I don’t fully switch off, and that’s OK. Afternoons often mean taking my daughter to dance classes, then catching up on work later. Family rituals like dinners, movie nights, and pool time keep me grounded, and I carve out moments for myself – a gym session or ending the day with a book.
Balance isn’t perfect, but I aim to be fully focused wherever I am.
What does success look like for you over the next 12 months?
First, staff retention and happiness – keeping our team engaged, motivated, and supported. Second, client retention and satisfaction – partners must be getting genuine value from our work.
And third, growth – not just through new clients, but by expanding into areas where we’re already seeing strong results and diversifying our offerings. If we get all three right – I’ll consider that a very successful year.
What can the industry expect from your agency?
The industry can expect Connected Media Group to keep breaking the mould. We were a boutique agency before boutique was mainstream, we moved out of the crowded Sydney space before COVID, and have built world-class reports that gives clients powerful insights few can match.
Now we’re streaking ahead in AI, programmatic video, and new ways to optimise campaigns: turning innovation into real commercial results. Staying ahead isn’t just a goal, it’s in our DNA.
Historically, we’ve flown under the radar. Over the next year, we’re aiming to be more vocal about our insights, successes, and how we help clients achieve exceptional results.
See here for past editions of IMAA Spotlight.
Top image: Laura Hamod Barnes