MFA EX panel tackles ageism, AI and the future of the Australian media industry

Media agency leaders faced questions about the industry’s future at MFA EX on Thursday morning, from the fate of entry-level jobs to ageism, hiring networks and the role of Australian media.

MFA EX curator Mitchell Long led the audience Q&A with Aimee Buchanan, WPP Media ANZ; Imogen Hewitt, chief media officer at Publicis Groupe; Jimmy Hyett, CEO and founder of This Is Flow; and Kristiaan Kroon, CEO of Omnicom Media Group.

Where will the next generation start?

Buchanan was asked whether offshoring and automation were stripping out entry-level roles and leaving agencies with a succession problem. She said the work available to new starters was changing, pointing to roles in creator marketing, data technology and generative engine optimisation that did not exist five years ago.

“Clients want us to be experts in many things, and we're seeing that shift to an M-shaped talent pool. Many levels of specialisation that you gather to be able to service the needs of our clients.”

Buchanan said she did not expect entry-level jobs to disappear. “There are new areas that are evolving. I don't worry that there won't be entry-level roles, but the way those entry-level roles come about will be fundamentally different and be better at servicing what our clients need in the future.”

The pressure on staff further up the ladder also came under scrutiny. Asked how agencies could better support middle managers carrying leadership and emotional responsibilities, Kroon pointed to training offered by both agencies and the MFA.

“Everyone's business is looking to lift that. It's definitely an issue. I think as an industry, media agencies are doing a good job of tackling that versus some of our peers who are really struggling.”

Experience, age and who gets promoted

Hewitt fielded a question about ageism and whether agency fee structures put too little value on experience. She said the industry had at times confused experience with expense, but was becoming more open about the makeup of its workforce.

“We all have to continually hold ourselves accountable… collectively we should be aiming for being better tomorrow than we are today.”

“My personal experience would suggest that we are not getting worse. We are in fact moving in the right direction. Although is it fast enough? We've got lots of things to manage and we're all doing as good a job as we can.”

Hyett was challenged on whether referrals and familiar networks were keeping senior agency ranks too similar. He acknowledged that hiring often begins with recommendations from people an employer already knows, then argued that moving between agencies and building a wider network could broaden the pool of future leaders.

“Experience trumps loyalty, I would say, if I were being honest,” he said.

The case for Australian media

An audience member asked why support for Australian media was not embedded in agency governance, given local media’s role in the economy and public life.

Buchanan and Kroon said investment decisions ultimately sit with clients. Kroon noted that many advertisers are global businesses. Buchanan said agencies still had a responsibility to explain where clients’ money goes and what it supports.

“We do believe that we need a healthy ecosystem in the market to support our industry, but more importantly, to provide balanced news and editorial content, which I think socially and politically is critical.”

“I don't think it's a corporate governance discussion. I think our job is to educate clients on where their investment is going and the implications of it.”

She said agencies also needed evidence that investment in local sport and drama delivered results for advertisers. That, in turn, would give clients a business case for backing Australian content.

AI brings a management test

AI closed out the discussion. Hyett predicted it would become an ordinary part of agency work, even as its rapid development put pressure on how people learn and adapt.

“AI is the most overused word. I think AI is going to end up being like the internet or like electricity. It's just going to be in the background.”

Kroon said agencies needed to spend more time on the people affected by changes to their work, whether those changes came from AI, offshoring or new business structures. He also warned against accepting confident AI output at face value.

“AI is awesome. It closes the time-to-value gap, great. It's also extremely confident in what it presents to people, and it sounds great. The question for a client is, is it right? Is it not right?”

“I think if we talked about change management more, there would be a more positive view of where we're going.”