MELBOURNE SUMMIT: Hear how a four-day working week transformed agency life at VERSA

By AdNews | 11 June 2019
 

VERSA CEO and founder Kath Blackham and managing director Johnny Clow don’t play by the old rules.

This year, their agency (then named Deepend Melbourne before a buyout took place and the agency was renamed VERSA), won the much-coveted Employer of the Year gong at the AdNews Awards.

The reasons were manifold, but the real point of difference they had introduced was a four-day working week which delivered increased productivity.

Culture and people remain at the core of the new VERSA business as Blackham and Clow continue to seek out ways to improve the work/life balance for staff. From extensive parental leave packages and paw-ternity leave, to 3pm walks as a whole office and resident office dogs, VERSA is paving the way with breakthrough HR innovations.

Kath and Johnny will present their experiences, followed by a Q&A with AdNews at our Melbourne Summit on August 8 at the Arts Centre.

They will also reveal their plans to expand into the US and how they intend to roll out a similar agency culture Stateside.

 

YOU CAN VIEW THE FULL PROGRAM HERE

 

What else can you expect on the day?

 

Allan Dib, MD of Pollinate Melbourne, who led the strategy for #LikeAGirl in the US, will join previously announced speaker Simon Lamplough, the MD of Clemenger Melbourne and the man who headed up the team that ran the multi-award winning Aboriginal Australia: Deadly Questions campaign that led to a change in Victoria’s legislation. They will be in conversation about campaigns that instigate change.

 

Other highlights from the day’s Summit include a keynote from REA chief economist Nerida Conisbee who will look at the external factors that are set to shape your business; the unveiling of an API first for Australia that will transform media agencies; the presentation of AI-led research looking at 80 years of portrayal of women in advertising in Australia; a look at the future developments of TV and why agencies need to keep up; and a headline panel exploring how agencies are being forced to change to respond to clients’ needs.

 

Reasons to attend (other than incredible content!):

  • Come hear from the experts on the trends shaping your business
  • Expand your skillset and learn more about your own personal development
  • Engage with the industry’s most senior leaders
  • Keep it local - celebrate the Melbourne market

 

Early Bird tickets are available now, priced at $610.00 per person. Tickets can be purchased here.

The full program is available here.

AdNews would like to thank our partners TVSquared, Trade Desk, Mediacom, VMLY&R, Quantcast and Scentre Group

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