Simon Hadfield, Founder of Prime Mover Recruitment and AdNews Contributor, in conversation with Matt Michael – CEO Droga5 ANZ and Marketing Practice Lead, Accenture Song ANZ.
Good things come to those who wait?! You’ve got the runs on the ladder with The Monkeys (D5), it must feel nice to now have the keys to the kingdom?
I don’t really think about it like that. All the partners at The Monkeys had a tight relationship and worked so closely to drive the business over those formative years. Mark and I worked alongside each other for 15 years sharing a great deal and, in many ways, the next phase of Droga5 in ANZ feels very much like a continuation and springboard from that time.
It must be bittersweet letting go of The Monkeys name, but I guess kinda nice to be rebirthing Droga5? Good problem to have?
The Monkeys will forever be special to the industry and anyone that touched it, but Droga5 is such an iconic creative marque it’s a privilege to be a part of the group and frankly help shape where it is going on a global stage. In ANZ it is exciting to bring the power of all of that to the market and to deliver the best work of our lives – standing on the shoulders of The Monkeys and the ethos that it stood for positions us in good stead for this next phase.
Is it business as usual or have you been quietly plotting some wholesale changes over the past 10 years?
The industry is moving fast and there is so much change in how we work and what we can do so we all need to make changes. However, what remains is the power of creativity to transform businesses, brands and reputation. Our ambition has always been for our work to make the biggest dent in the universe and bring powerful creative ideas to our clients – that will always be our focus and what we rally around.
We have such a broad scope now as part of Accenture Song and what Bronwyn is doing in the space. Our role in how we are showing up differently to our clients to solve business problems and using new tools to boost that creativity makes it such an exciting time of change but also of impact.
That’s also why we’ve brought media and martech into the marketing practice under me so we have this end to end view of how marketing can make a difference to customer growth and bring that to our clients.
You’re probably tired of this question, however do you have to actively try to retain the Monkeys/D5 creative culture within a behemoth like Accenture?
It’s funny, we’ve now been part of Accenture for 8 years and yet the question persists – how will you make it work? There are classic indie creative shops that have come and gone in a shorter lifespan, surely we’re past having to prove it now?
The more exciting thing is what we can do with creativity in the Accenture setting – taking creative thinking to Tier 1 business challenges and showing the impact it can have in a business. Creative companies financially outperform their less creative counterparts, and creative leaders are more commercially successful at leading businesses than non-creative ones. So, wouldn’t you want creativity in your business? I think that is how Accenture sees it, and why David Droga is the head of Accenture Song, a USD19B business. Culturally, I love that we have had an impact at Accenture ANZ. My favourite image is seeing CEO Peter Burns in his blue suit and white shirt standing next to one of our senior creatives in his jorts, perforated NFL jersey and Timberlands. We’re all rubbing off on each other and that is great.
Teaming up with Mel, Colts & Sam must be exciting and soon allow your model to really take on that true ‘full service’ offering?
Bringing Media into the business is something we’ve been working on for some time, having the three best in the industry at the helm is a phenomenal advantage. Getting into media just makes so much sense; firstly, because that industry is ready for transformation, and secondly, because that transformation will be led by data, technology and AI – core capabilities in which Accenture is world leading and investing well beyond what others are in the current market. Plus, underpinning that with the relationship and brainpower of Mel, Sam and Colts is just electric. It will mean we can bring creative ideas closer to the media execution and work together on maximising impact for our clients.
Any work you’ve seen recently that you admire?
When I was recently in New York, I pinched a Droga5 10-year anniversary book out of one of the Droga meeting rooms and I’ve been enjoying going back through their work. I love the simplicity of the Ecko Still Free Air Force One work – for some reason it punches even harder now given the state of the world.
What have you learnt in the last 5 years?
You always have the opportunity to think bigger, bring in something new, something different, something that makes it better.
If you hadn’t ended up in agency/marketing world, what alternative career may you have fancied?
Fabio Buresti thinks I’d be a spy.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Trust your instincts. And call your mum and dad.
Outside of business, what keeps you out of trouble?
I have a young family, so I don’t have enough free time to get anywhere near trouble!
What are you driving, what are you listening to and what are you watching?
It’s not electric and it is old.
I met Nigel Marsh a couple of weeks ago and have started listening to some of his podcast, 5 of My Life.
I am watching Landman on this flight, but I try to read more things than I watch.
Favourite band?
That is an awful question. The Stones.
Where is your next holiday?
I am going to Byron Bay for a long weekend in a few weeks.
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