Most people count down to retirement. Peter Zavecz isn’t one of them.
“Retirement is boring. Don’t believe what they say. You can only watch so many episodes of Days of Our Lives for so long,” he told Mediaweek.
Instead, the former News Corp Victoria/Tasmania managing director and Pacific Magazines CEO is back in the market, co-founding Works Media Group with former Shopper Media CEO Edward Couche.
The new venture is targeting high-value, hard-to-reach audiences across the agriculture and trades sectors, launching with a national partnership with Elders and a digital out-of-home (DOOH) rollout across more than 250 rural supply stores.
The grind of starting again
For Couche, the return to startup life has been a sharp reminder that momentum doesn’t come quickly.
“I think I’m one of those people who just remember all the positives and forget all the negatives,” he told Mediaweek. “Two or three months in, I was like, oh, I forgot how much of a grind it is.”
That grind, he explained, comes down to timing and patience.
He said one of the biggest challenges is that while founders are energised and ready to move, the rest of the market often isn’t. Progress can stall as partners prioritise their own businesses, leaving early-stage ventures waiting for buy-in.
“I liken it to pushing a massive sandstone block, and you’re just pushing, pushing, pushing, pushing,” he said. “And when you start to get some momentum, that’s where things start to get exciting.”
Zavecz said while launching new products was familiar from his publishing days, this time felt fundamentally different.
“Back in the ‘90s and early 200s, at ACP and Pacific Magazines, we launched scores of new magazines into the marketplace,” he said. “After a while, you’re so used to it that you just hit reset on it. But this is a lot different because we’re bootstrapping this ourselves.”
The partnership itself came through a personal connection, with Zavecz’s son previously working with Couche at Shopper Media, a link that ultimately led to the identification of a gap in the market.
That gap: tradies and farmers.
Zavecz said the pair quickly recognised that both were valuable but underserved audiences, with shared traits that make them commercially attractive, from running small businesses to relying on services like telco, accounting platforms, and vehicles.
Why Elders matters
At the centre of Works Media Group’s launch is its partnership with Elders, a business the founders see as both a distribution network and a trusted environment.
Couche said working with a legacy organisation required a very different approach to dealing with shopping centres.
“With previous business in Shopper, if you want to go and speak to a shopping centre, they’ll pick up the phone straight away,” he said. “But if you’re going in and speaking to a very established business, one like Elders, there’s a lot more trust that has to be gleaned.”
To build that trust, Works Media Group deployed a proof-of-concept network of eight panels across four states before scaling nationally.
The goal was simple: demonstrate how brands could reach customers in real time, at the point of purchase.
Internally, however, getting alignment wasn’t straightforward.
Couche said identifying decision-makers within large organisations can be complex, with responsibility often split across marketing, finance and executive leadership. The breakthrough came when the business removed friction, funding and managing the network itself, with no upfront cost to partners.
A high-trust environment
What sets Elders apart, according to the founders, is its role within rural communities.
Couche described it as the most trusted environment for farmers outside their own property – a place where decisions are made, not just transactions.
It’s where farmers seek advice, assess inputs and make high-stakes calls about the next season.
“Farmers, almost by trade, are gamblers,” he said. “They’re taking all the data they know, and they’re putting a punt into what they’re going to do for the next season.”
Building a new retail media play
Works Media Group launches with three divisions: Agworks Media, Tradeworks Media and Repworks Media, spanning agriculture, trade and advisory services.
The initial rollout focuses on agriculture, where on-farm supply and management spending exceeds $17 billion annually. The broader retail media sector is forecast to reach $3 billion in Australia by 2027.
For Couche, execution comes down to internal advocacy.
He said success hinges on getting marketing teams engaged, positioning the network as a real-time communication tool within purchase environments, capable of shifting both brand perception and product sales.
Why now
Launching an agriculture-focused media network in the current climate might seem counterintuitive, but Couche sees it as timely.
“Someone said to me, isn’t now a difficult time to be launching an agriculture-based network?” he said.
“But, the situation is really highlighting how important this audience is and often the unseen heroes of the Australian pantry and breadbasket that are keeping us all fed.”
He pointed to growing awareness around supply chains, fuel and food security as a catalyst.
“When a major world event happens, and all of a sudden Australia is facing the prospect of a fuel shortage, there’s a concern. People ask, what are we doing for our farmers?”
That question, he said, goes directly to the heart of the business.
“These Elders outlets are in rural communities, they tend to be the centre of the community,” he said, noting farmers can buy inputs, trade livestock and access services in a single location.
“So it’s really an integral part of the regional and rural communities.”
Main image: Edward Couche and Peter Zavecz