Val Morgan
Award Category
MEDIA PARTNER OF THE YEAR
Agency
Val Morgan
Results
Pioneering technology, market leading integrated partnerships with the likes of Mondelez, Mars, Pedigree and Hoyts, as well as spearheading technical innovations such as virtual cash registers and time-targeted ad serving, are just a few examples of how Val Morgan has sustained and pushed for a solid track record. Val Morgan has never taken its eye off the ball when it comes to innovation and looking ahead to future strategies and it’s not just its business advances and a solid approach that helps deliver. At the heart of the business - and in order to provide smarter advertiser solutions - it’s the content and engagement media platforms which drive multiple data sources, that enable it to stay ahead. In order to keep delivering and improving, the core of its business and client relationships revolves around collaboration and the sharing of ideas. It’s this that forms the overarching umbrella under which it operates both externally and internally. It’s no doubt an exciting time for cinema and outdoor, particularly with the latter seeing great growth across the board. Val Morgan’s process and way of thinking has undoubtedly taken its business to a new level of output. Top examples of innovation include its pioneering technology for Pedigree. In an Australian first, Val Morgan Outdoor, now known as VMO, combined a digital activation with payWave technology – which was undeliverable by other out of home (OOH) players. VMO collaborated with Starcom, bringing Pedigree’s ‘Feed the Good’ to life through a digital OOH donation solution to raise funding and awareness for rescue dogs. A total of 58 virtual cash registers and 50 custom built kennels in Coles equipped with payWave technology were built. Some 300 pieces of content were hosted, each personalised with dogs available for adoption locally and $26k was raised. In all, 12,585 dogs were adopted which was the highest in its 10-year history. VMO also collaborated with Carat to use realtime facial analytics to deliver a market leading first in programmatic. Its extensive testing delivered Mondelez the first live, time-targeted ad serving to a truly measured and qualified audience. As well as such innovations it also formed several market leading integrated partnerships -collaborating with Mars, Hoyts and Starcom to deliver a result-driven integrated brand partnerships. There’s no doubt that VMO continues to champion innovation and change in the outdoor sector, with rocketing revenues up 56% year-on-year – which is three times ahead of the outdoor average. The organisation also makes no bones that it’s a “people business”, saying that it’s the people that reflect externally to client and agency partners. As well as a high retention rate; 25% of staff have a tenure exceeding five years, it also supports industry charity events, such as the Maxus Foodbank Charity.
Judges Comments
“Innovation and the use of new technology were brought to life throughout this entry. And it was innovation and technology that delivers and provides utility, not just a creative idea. Val Morgan continues to deliver, challenge the norm and innovate in the category both through their work and also through its people-led initiatives that deliver to their staff but also the broader industry.”
