Jenna Nies launched JCN Media last year, and the agency has seen impressive growth since its establishment.
While the independent agency is new to the game, Nies is no stranger to the industry, having spent 17 years in radio and podcasting with ARN.
Nies, the owner and director of the agency, spoke to Mediaweek about running a one-woman agency, working ground-breaking campaigns with clients, her plans for the year ahead and being part of the IMAA family.
Launching JCN to provide clients with a holistic and cohesive approach
After wrapping up at ARN, Nies started JCN to help clients have a cohesive approach to their marketing.
“It’s always driven me a little bit mad when I’m selling one particular radio station, and I can see that what they’re doing on another radio station, or what they’re doing on TV, or what their billboards look like, is just so different.
“I’ve always wanted to be able to help them have something more holistic, planned out, and have all of their media working towards one goal. But, working for one particular company, I’ve never really had the ability to do that. Now, I finally can,” she said.
Nies noted that providing a singular, cohesive approach for clients was her biggest driver for launching the agency.
“It’s always something I’ve felt strongly about and tried to advise people along the way. But without having the ability to action it for people, often you’re just saying stuff that makes their life more complicated. So, it’s nice to be able to action it and help and put some strategy and plans in place for them,” she added.
With Nies’ experience in radio and podcasting, she noted it is something she offers first and foremost at JCN Media.
But she is also expanding to billboard campaigns, “that’s an area that works nicely together.”
“I’ve quite enjoyed helping clients create some really good video content and TV ads recently as well,” Nies added.
Running and leading JCN Media
Nies oversees every aspect of the business and said that running the agency for the past eight months has been like working 24/7.
“I’ve always adopted myself to my clients whether they want me to or not,” she laughed. “I always make myself a part of their business and family.”
“For me, being in my agency, I can truly be that to them as opposed to someone that has a little bit of involvement sitting on the sidelines, giving advice where I see room for it. I feel like I’m finally in a position where I can make a difference and be part of that business more fully, and that’s what I love,” she said.
But Nies noted that she has good media partners that she leans on for creative, video production and other areas she doesn’t specialise in.
“Director of new business, director of keeping current business happy, director of making things work, director multitasking,” Nies joked.
While it is a one-woman show, Nies insisted it was “certainly not the plan for the future.”
JCN’s foundation clients, recent wins, and campaign highlights
Since its launch last year, the agency has seen a 70% growth in new clients. Two of the agency’s foundation clients are City Fertility Centre and Kratzmann Caravans, based in Queensland.
Nies proudly shared one of JCN’s most recent client wins has been Apollo Motorhomes and RVs.
Nies highlighted JCN’s recent work with City Fertility Centre for a radio campaign called Baby Makers in Brisbane.
The ground-breaking campaign, which ran over five weeks, explored and highlighted the issues people face surrounding infertility and conception.
“It was a beautiful campaign we did on the radio, and it got an amazing response. At the end of it, we picked a young couple who’d been trying and almost exhausted all their financial resources and gave them $20,000 towards their IVF journey so that we could help them have a family,” Nies said.
The plans for JCN Media in the year ahead
Looking to the year ahead, Nies shared that she has a few exciting new clients with great business foundations that have yet to do above-the-line media.
When it comes to making additions to the agency, Nies said that while she does have certain parts of the work outsourced, making additions to the team would happen in the year ahead.
Other work in the year ahead includes pulling together multifaceted campaigns for clients that will get them noticed.
“Something cohesive that gives them a really strong direction for the year and takes away the pain of trying to figure out how to do that away from them.
“I guess just being able to pull together some multifaceted campaigns for clients. That will get them noticed, something that’s cohesive, something that gives them a really strong direction for the year and takes the pain of trying to figure out how to do that away from them.”
Being part of the IMAA
Nies shared she joined the IMAA on the recommendation of a friend whose agency is also part of the industry body.
Although JCN is a recent member of the IMAA, Nies noted that there had been plenty of benefits to being part of the organisation, such as networking opportunities and accessibility to other people in the sector who have been running their own companies.
“The biggest thing I was blown away with was how happy anyone was that you called to give advice and help. Because they’ve all been where I am, that’s been my biggest takeaway so far,” she said.
Nies noted that she attended an IMAA event at the start of JCN and could network with a handful of members immediately.
“Sam’s always been accessible and is happy to point you in the direction of anyone you need help from. I didn’t expect that.
“I wondered whether it might be competition amongst the agencies, but it feels like a family, and everyone’s happy to help each other. You get the sense that everyone in it wants each other to succeed as much as they want to succeed,” Nies added.
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Top image: Jenna Nies
