Tahnee Fleming is the Group Investment Director at Initiative, and is based in Sydney.
Tell us about your role and what makes media such a dynamic industry at the moment?
I’m a Group Investment Director at Initiative and I’m lucky to work with very clever and agile investment talent. In my role, I wear multiple hats working across annual negotiations, building strong publisher relationships, and educating clients on all things from process to new and emerging trends.
There has never been a better time to be in media, with an ever-changing landscape, new measurement systems such as VOZ and MOVE 2.0, rapid regional migration, and a front row seat as women's sport is finally starting to be recognised.
Working at Initiative has exposed me to transformation like no other agency has before, allowing us to get out of the admin, and be more efficient and agile. This has enabled us to develop our team members at a faster pace and give us more time to solve our clients' business problems.
OOH is having a moment. Why do you think OOH is doing so well in Australia, especially compared to other traditional channels?
While the rise of programmatic hasn't been as rapid as in other markets, it has been a game changer for agencies and clients, lowering the barrier to entry as a cost-effective mass reach driver and reducing wastage through the targeting we can apply to our campaigns.
Data points for OOH are becoming more robust and will become even more so with the imminent launch of MOVE 2.0, allowing clients to have more confidence in the medium than ever before.
What trends do you see in media that you think we need to watch out for? Anything specific to OOH?
Retail media and e-commerce are the latest industry buzzwords that are here to stay. Historical retail/shopper suppliers are now becoming more embedded in our planning process and are more like agency partners than direct client relationships.
Initiative has been at the forefront of this, being one of the first agencies to take on retail for one of our clients, giving us a holistic view of campaign performance.
What are you hearing from clients in terms of their top priorities and concerns about the media industry?
A major concern for our clients is the holistic measurement of post-campaign results. With multiple data sources, it becomes more difficult to provide our clients with a single total reach number as a source of truth. Media metrics are one thing, but how does that translate into business results?
You've been instrumental in driving independent OOH verification in Australia. Why do you think this is so important for the industry?
Accountability is crucial in an uncertain market where clients are constantly scrutinising every dollar they have to justify within their own businesses. Clients are more conservative and continue to demand more for less.
We need to ensure that we are getting what we pay for at the bare minimum. Veridooh has been a game changer for us as an agency and for our clients.
Where does the industry go from here? What do you think will be the most important trends over the next 12 months?
Efficiency!
Making sure we have our processes buttoned up and how we start to use more automation so we have more time to solve business problems.
Retail is going to continue to be a big trend over the next 12 months, if you're not on the bus you're going to be left behind.
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