Mak Media (formerly Mac Advertising) was established over 43 years ago by Alex and Mary McCormick as an independent full-service agency catering to regional Queensland.
Clint Corbett first crossed paths with the McCormick’s as they were one of his first clients during his stint as general sales manager for DMG Regional Radio (before it became SCA).
After his time with the SCA brand, Corbett moved into the OOH industry before joining the agency following discussions with Alex, whom he called his mentor.
In January 2019, Corbett joined the agency and, by October, stepped up to lead as Alex and Mary McCormick stepped back.
Corbett spoke to Mediaweek about being a one-stop shop for their clients, maintaining good relationships with their longstanding clients and the future of Mak Media.
Corbett is Mak Media’s business owner and director and oversees the leadership, operation, strategy, planning and delivering value for clients.
The full-service agency’s strength is in media buying and planning, including Traditional, Digital, and Programmatic media.
“We offer our clients integrated campaigns across all media platforms and ensure our regional clients have access to all media offerings (just like the Capital City’s),” he said.
“Many clients describe us as a one-stop shop or an extension of their Marketing team. As a regional agency, we are proud to foster close working relationships with all our clients,” he added.
Corbett on Mak Media’s client portfolio
Corbett shared that the agency has maintained multiple longstanding clients for over 30 years – NQ Auto Group, Intersport Townsville. He noted that while their client portfolio centres mainly on the regional Queensland area, they have many clients in Brisbane and Newcastle.
Corbett said about their foundation clients: “They’re what the business was built off, and we pride ourselves on our close relationships with those clients. As director of the business, I lead from the front and am in regular contact with all of the clients, along with members of our team helping in different areas, but I’m still very much hands-on with client management.”
Corbett said that being a smaller boutique agency and being hands allows them to be nimble and quick when people or clients need things to happen at short notice.
On the other side of their client relationships is their media relationships. Corbett lauded the ground by Mak Media’s previous owners on cultivating these relationships and business ties, which the agency has continued. These ties, paired with Corbett’s experience in radio, TV, and OOH with billboards, have given the agency a good relationship with the media.
The agency’s recent client wins include Cairns’ Westco Motors, Cazalys – also in Cairns, and Wilmar Sugar.
Mak Media services a range of national clients to businesses from furniture stores to hairdressers and residential and commercial real estate. Other clients include Queensland Country Bank and Queensland Country Health Fund.
What sets Mak Media apart and how the agency performed in 2022
Corbett shared that several outstanding aspects set Mak Media apart – notably being an agency servicing regional clients from the northern part of Queensland, Townsville, Cairns, and even travelling down to Brisbane.
“We’re strong with clients up in this region, but then yet through referrals and introductions, we do win business when we talk to people and present what we can do,” he said.
As a small agency of 11, the team regularly travel to meet with clients who range from local businesses to multinational companies. The small team is also nimble and can make quick decisions when necessary.
“We’re used to dealing with local businesses and are very upfront with what we do. Whether it’s me and the sales and management side or the finance team, we try to keep very in touch with our clients and ensure everything’s done right,” Corbett added.
In terms of agency performance, Corbett noted that business for the agency has seen continued growth year-on-year and investment in staff and technology.
“Both FY 2022 and now FY 2023 have shown double-digit growth. Digital Media has been a big growth area,” he said.
Being part of the IMAA and the exciting things to come for Mak Media
Corbett shared that significant investments in their media and creative technology will ensure that the agency can continue to improve its offering to regional clients and for the agency to be at the forefront of the industry, and grow its business.
Corbett shared that since taking over the business, he and the team know their offering had to be on par with what other agencies around the country and in capital cities were offering. Part of that has been heavily investing in programmatic media buying.
“For me, it was the fact that we have some state- and national-level clients. I felt that we needed to be able to offer them what they could get provided if they were dealing with a capital city agency, and if we didn’t, we were at risk. So, we needed to step up to the plate, and that took a lot of time and investment to dabble in that field.
Mak Media also invested in software to manage processes that streamline work and improve efficiency for staff and clients when delivering on time.
“I believe we’re competitive with what we offer, not just from a price point of view, but from the service offering. I believe we are competitively priced as well. We buy regional media very well and have great working relationships with all our media providers,” Corbett added.
Mak Media joined the IMAA in September of 2022, and during their almost one year of membership with the industry body, Corbett shared that he and his team have had a great and successful experience.
“The Team at the IMAA have been fantastic to deal with, and it’s great to have access to the Webinars and IMAA Academy and Resource Hub,” he said.
“For a regional Agency, it is great to have a group of like-minded business professionals (Agencies) that, over time, we can meet and network with,” Corbett highlighted.
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Top image: Clint Corbett