Poem has appointed Justin Graham as strategic growth advisor, as the independent creative communications agency looks to scale its culture-led model.
Graham will work with Poem’s leadership team to refine the agency’s commercial roadmap and introduce its channel-agnostic approach to new brands.
The appointment comes as Poem positions its “culture-led, earn-first” model as a response to what it describes as an attention crisis facing marketers.
The agency said brands are increasingly challenged by fragmented media habits, changing feeds, and traditional marketing silos that are struggling to reach audiences.
Poem’s focus on earned attention
Poem said its model is designed to help brands build salience and reputation by earning attention, rather than relying only on paid media.
Graham, who has a background in modern brand strategy, will support the agency as it works to educate the market and grow its offering.
Rob Lowe, co-founder of Poem, said: “Poem has always been the ‘David’ in a world of ‘Goliaths.’ We’ve proven that cultural potency and earned attention can build brand reputation and help drive more cost-efficient business results.
“Justin understands that the media landscape has shifted and that brands are now competing for a finite amount of attention. He also understands the challenges marketing leaders face in driving business outcomes through this period of change.
“We aim to give marketing leads the tools and know-how to unify their internal teams and create culturally relevant and effective advertising that doesn’t look like advertising.”
Graham added: “Poem’s ability to find the sweet spot between Audience, Brand, and Culture is exactly what’s needed to solve the engagement gap that traditional silos have created.
“I’m excited to support Rob and the team as they continue their impressive growth with iconic brands, producing globally-recognised, culturally relevant ideas.”
Recent Poem campaign work
Poem pointed to recent work across Uber One, Nespresso, Monkey Shoulder, Tourism Australia and SBS as examples of its earned attention-led approach.
Its Uber One and McDonald’s “Exclusive Membership” campaign featured Chris McDonald and lifted sales 53 per cent year-on-year.
For Nespresso, the “Happy Hour” campaign used a sober sunrise rave to promote iced coffee to Gen Z, lifting sales 99 per cent.
Tourism Australia’s “The Ashes bromance” campaign turned cricket’s Broad and Warner rivalry into a Bondi-focused idea, drawing 9.35 million views from six posts.
Poem also cited Monkey Shoulder’s “Acquired Taste” and SBS’ “The Watchers Rights Association” as recent examples of culturally led work.
Top image: Justin Graham