VMLY&R Melbourne retains Monash University

Following an open tender and pitch process, VMLY&R Melbourne has cemented a strong year of new business wins by retaining the integrated Monash University account.

VMLY&R Melbourne will continue the four-year partnership with the highly regarded university, focussing on amplifying the highly successful ‘Change It’ brand platform, and developing new content for the Different Lens documentary series and the interactive Alumni activity.

Says Jake Barrow, ECD, VMLY&R Melbourne: “We’re stoked. We absolutely love working with the Monash team and are very proud of the work we’ve made together over the past four years. We really value the way our partnership dares us to challenge the status quo and we can’t wait to up the ante even more.”

The Monash win tops off a solid run of new business acquisitions for the agency which also revealed a new management team earlier this year. Following the announcement in January that the highly coveted Defence Force Recruiting account was returning to VMLY&R Melbourne, the agency also partnered with telco company Vocus Communications, to develop an integrated brand platform that launched in August. It has also recently secured a slew of large scale digital experience projects to be announced in the coming months.

Says Sarah Bailey, managing partner, VMLY&R Melbourne: “We are so proud of our team and the work we have delivered for our clients this year. We’ve more than doubled in size since February and have an incredible group of people on board who are helping us shape a really special culture. The momentum is palpable and it’s pretty exciting to see everyone’s hard work pay dividends so quickly.”

Says Jon Bird, regional CEO, VMLY&R: “This is one of the great recent success stories in Australian advertising and marketing and a credit to the team. VMLY&R Melbourne is one of the stars of our network.”

Says Jon Kenyon, managing partner, VMLY&R Melbourne: “We’re particularly pleased that so much of our growth is coming from expanding our remit with existing clients. The projects we are working on are incredibly diverse, and we’ve spent a lot of time this year ensuring we have the talent, skills and capabilities in-house to confidently deliver to every business challenge.”

In addition to growing the account service, planning and creative departments, the agency has added depth to its digital platforms and content production offerings this year, investing in experience design, data analysis & four in-house edit suites.

Says Kenyon: “It’s all pointing in the right direction. We are very clear on the agency environment we want to create and the opportunities we want to give to our team as we head into 2020.”

Adds Bailey: “Our aim as we move into 2020 is that every member of the team feels good about coming into work, and for our clients to feel good about working with us.”

In addition to DFR, Monash, and Vocus, VMLY&R Melbourne counts Australia Post, MTIA, Department of Transport and Australian Unity among its client roster.

VMLY&R Melbourne is one of five offices for VMLY&R in Australia and NZ, and part of WPP AUNZ, Australasia’s leading creative transformation company.

(Pictured L-R: Kenneth Chan, Sarah Bailey, Jon Kenyon, Katherine Chen, Jake Barrow)