THE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

If you are excited by the opportunities and challenges presented by the ever-evolving media and marketing landscape, MediaCom is the company for you. This innovative global communications agency thrives on the changes brought about through the combination of mobile and digital technologies, data and cross-platform synergy.

The company’s Global Chief Digital Officer Deirdre McGlashan makes it clear that the company buzzes with youthful energy. “People coming into the organisation now don’t have the same boundaries,” she explains. “They don’t look at their job and think it’s to just plan video or whatever. Their approaches are connected. Also, young people these days are so ambitious and entrepreneurial! They think they will be CEO in three years! Which is great – we love that attitude because that’s what challenges the industry.”

Crossing platforms

It’s clear from MediaCom’s various recent campaigns that this isn’t just idle talk. This is a company that takes risks and pioneers new approaches. McGlashan cites a couple of examples. There was an award-winning campaign for soul sensation Sam Smith, which led to his song “Stay With Me” being streamed live during an ad break on Channel 4 – an industry first. Then there was a collaboration with Spotify and Vice Media for a campaign promoting Bose headphones, a state-of-the-art example of cross-platform, high-quality innovation.

“Spotify enabled us to find, through its data, what people were really listening to in different cities,” says McGlashan. “That way, we were able to discover things that weren’t blindingly obvious. Like there’s a massive indie music scene in Mexico, and dancehall is popular in Japan! We then partnered with Vice to create fantastic content to their exacting standards, and surrounded it with other stuff like playlists and infographics. I love it because It fits perfectly with the Bose core value of ‘better sound through research’.”

a new kind of agency

This approach, of course, demands versatility. In 2014, MediaCom became the “Content + Connections agency”, positioned to deliver high-performing connected systems to drive its clients’ business success. “We look at all angles and ask a series of questions,” says McGlashan. “What’s the source of growth? Who do we need to connect to? How do they make decisions in this particular category? Then we apply systems thinking to develop a strategy that addresses both the touchpoints where we can interact with a consumer but also the content within each touchpoint, because content is the fuel for high-performing systems. However, the job still isn’t finished, we need to continually optimise the system towards those desired outcomes.” To do this requires a broad range of skills within the agency, from communications, digital and content strategists to emerging media specialists to data analysts.

With this in mind, MediaCom is preparing for the future. Crossing platforms is now the norm, not the exception. But for that, the company will need to continue to recognise and attract the best and the brightest. “We’re looking for people who are passionate and curious and have a positive attitude towards change,” says McGlashan. “When people join MediaCom they can expect to work in a very entrepreneurial kind of agency. We’re constantly looking for people to push us.”

To that end, across the network, the company’s investment in supporting local graduate programmes is expanding. “We want to bring more people into the group with a variety of different work and cultural experiences,” she says. “We’re looking for people who thrive on asking: ‘why don’t we try…’ ”