The Perth advertising industry has experienced a period of heightened activity of late with the creation of a new organisation and a move by bigger players to create specialist teams to secure a bigger share of the advertising pie.
The Perth advertising industry has experienced a period of heightened activity of late with the creation of a new organisation and a move by bigger players to create specialist teams to secure a bigger share of the advertising pie.
Not-for-profit member-based organisation, Account Planning Group, was recently established in Perth in what it claims is an effort to inspire and enable excellence in creative thinking on brands and business.
Head of APG in Perth, Ronnie Duncan, told WA Business News Perth was the third city in Australia, behind Sydney and Melbourne, where the organisation had a presence, reflecting the level of industry activity in this state.
“The organisation has been set up to introduce a fresh way of thinking for those in marketing and communications by focusing on education and awareness,” he said.
“There have been a number of companies that have been pushing for strategic planning in this industry for some time.”
Mr Duncan said the group would organise workshops focused on case studies and helping develop better thinking practices in the industry, with the group working in partnership with the Perth Advertising and Design Club.
APG Australia is a division of the Advertising Federation of Australia and is affiliated with APG in the UK. It aims to share from and contribute to the worldwide APG pool of best practice and innovation in planning thinking and techniques.
Current members of the group, launched last month by APG Australia chair Mike Daniels, include local agencies Meerkats, The Brand Agency, Marketforce, 303 and Gatecrashers.
One of the group’s members, The Brand Agency, recently launched a specialised direct marketing team within the company.
The team claimed silver in last month’s Australia Post Direct Marketing awards for its work on BankWest’s Lite Mastercard self mailer and traditional mail pack, achieving 850 per cent and 1,066 per cent above target respectively.
The Brand Agency head of direct marketing, Nick Bayes, said the size of the Perth market had previously meant there was no requirement for specialists in the field of direct marketing.
“As measurable results are now a focus of every business strategy, the pressure to deliver means businesses are looking to invest more in direct marketing,” he said.
The Perth Mint won gold at Australia Post Direct Mail Award 2006 with the launch of a coin program ‘Discover Australia, while the bronze award went to B Digital and JMG Marketing for a ‘Rocketman’ program to reposition B Digital as a full service telco.
In other news, The Brand Agency has also recently severed its 15-year relationship with Initiative in a move to create its own in-house media department, which will compete against other Perth agencies.
Marketforce is another APG member looking to further specialise in a particular field. Earlier this month it merged with MJB&B. Marketforce’s retail division has since been renamed Marketforce Retail, previously known as Redline.
At the time of the announcement, Marketforce chairman John Driscoll cited the strength of MJB&B in the area of retail advertising as one of the major attractions for the merger.
