Mediaweek’s Hot List, compiled by contributing editor Greg Graham, celebrates the work of Australia’s best and brightest agencies. Last month, This Is Flow was dubbed “sizzling hot”.
Founder and CEO of This Is Flow, Jimmy Hyett, spoke to Mediaweek about talent retention, successful campaigns, company culture and growth for the year ahead.
This Is Flow making the hot list
Hyett called it an honour to make the Hot List and praised his team for working hard and doing incredible work: “Not just with new business wins, but with our current clients. It’s great to know that what we’re doing is having an impact in the industry,” he said.
The criteria for making the Mediaweek Hot List include new business success, current client retention, momentum, and industry acclaim and buzz.
For Hyett, he noted that the agency has grown significantly and has had strong growth over the last few years. “Even over the last couple of months, we’ve picked up some great progressive clients,” he said.
The CEO pointed out that technology, data and innovation is an exciting aspect that has recently come out for the agency. He said: “There’s been a lot of focus on technology, data and innovation, not just with campaigns, but as we run a business. We’ve recently partnered with UTS to develop some new tools that haven’t been seen before, and we’ve got some exciting stuff coming out this year as well,” he hinted.
What sets This Is Flow apart and the key to their client wins
When asked what makes This Is Flow “sizzling hot”, Hyett described the agency as people-centric with a “positive impact”.
“The team are incredibly passionate, energetic, and fun. We’ve got an exciting culture at the office, and no day is the same. There is a great mix of people, a great balance of working hard, playing hard, working well, with a lot of flexibility,” he said.
“It comes down to the positive impact, not just on our people, but that translates into the work that we’re doing, the positive impact that we’re having on our clients, and externally as well into the industry,” he added.
The Flow team
Hyett said that the team brings a lot of passion, a quality sought after in the recruitment stage of the agency. “That word (passion) stands out because it shows the pride in what we do, it shows they care, it shows energy and enthusiasm and shows the strive for great work, progression and the future,” he said.
In terms of client wins, This is Flow has had recent success with wins such as Carnival, King Gee/Hard Yakka, Riverina Dairy, and 1800 GOT JUNK.
“There’s some really great collaboration in what we’re doing alongside some other agencies as well, which is helping cement that total picture in how we’re working with clients,” he added.
The impact of the pandemic on the agency
Many agencies felt the impact of the pandemic on their business, but for This Is Flow, Hyett said they were one of the lucky ones that won a few clients, such as Felix mobile, part of TPG, and were also hiring staff at the time.
The CEO said: “We also did a lot of work as a business three months before the pandemic kicked in, regarding our business strategy and direction.
“We had a clear business strategy and positioning of who we are and what we did. So, it just fuelled growth for us, and that momentum kicked into winning more business as the pandemic softened off,” he added.
Hyett noted that their business growth and expanding team snowballed into a “machine of energy, passion, great work and growth” and fuelled more positivity for the agency.
“It’s still going in that way. I guess the pandemic was a great time for us. Particularly when you hear some of the stories from some of the other businesses out there,” he added.
The agency’s notable partnerships and campaigns
The CEO noted that the agency’s current work with Carnival cruises after the pandemic’s impact on the cruising industry is seeing “incredible results”. Meanwhile, their work with Workwear Groups King Gee/Hard Yakka has been “connecting with audiences in a great way.”
Hyett said the collaborative work with Care Pharmaceuticals on products like Hydralyte and FESS “highlights multiple touchpoints across digital, creative, social, and community sponsorship and influencer. There’s a lot of strong work across the digital and traditional side, and many campaigns coming up,” he added.
Hyett’s outlook for the agency in the year ahead
Looking to the year ahead, Hyett said This Is Flow has robust growth plans and hinted at key hires set to join the team.
The CEO also noted that the agency has done plenty of work in innovation, technology and data in the background and will bring it in-house.
Hyett added: “For us, the next year is around cementing new clients that we’ve brought on and making sure that they’re super strong. All of our current client retentions are equally as important, so making sure that all the work we’re doing across our whole client base is just one of the highest levels in the industry, and that’s going to fuel more success for us.”
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Top image: Jimmy Hyett
