‘A new type of agency model’: ex-adtech and media talents open indie media agency
Long-time marketing professionals, Cameron Roberts, Duncan Allan and Tom O’Connor, have consolidated their expertise into a new indie media agency, Fourteen10.
With a proposition that combines direct response advertising, marketing science and experimentation, Fourteen10 was created to bridge the divide between startups and “established big-brand marketing”. It’s a move designed to provide clients with access to “a new era of media agency thinking” via a fresh business model that doesn’t conform to traditional media agency frameworks.
“Fundamentally, we believe advertising has never been harder and the need for skilled agencies never higher,” Duncan Allan, the agency’s co-founder, said.
“Our collective experiences garnered from media agencies, working with high-growth startups and behind the curtain at Google, have shaped our vision for a new type of agency model that’s laser focussed on helping companies solve their biggest advertising challenges, as they mature through different stages.”
The name was conceived due to a shared birthday between Allan and Roberts.
“Duncan and I share an October 14 birth date and so October 14th being the fourteenth day of the tenth month, and our name, seemed like an auspicious date to officially launch,” Roberts explained.
Both Allan and O’Connor – the organisation’s partner – worked at Google for three-and-a-half years, and just over five-and-a-half years, respectively. Allan’s time at the tech titan began in 2020 as a digital strategist, before he filled the positions of growth manager and digital strategy lead. He also spent time on the Startup Incubator team (20%).
O’Connor began his Google career in 2019 as an account manager, and after fulfilling his role as a growth manager from the beginning of 2021 to November 2022, the ex-Uber account executive worked as a Google senior growth manager from November 2022 to August 2024.
(L-R): Cameron Roberts, Duncan Allan, Tom O’Connor
Roberts has worked several strategy and manager-type roles at several well-known media organisations, including Ryvalmedia, UM Australia, Bohemia Group and more.
The former Sydney strategy lead at Ryvalmedia commented on Fourteen10’s conceptualisation, saying: “Designing an agency from scratch to solve important advertising challenges for its clients, means the new business model must look nothing like the status quo.
“We’ve designed the agency with a clean piece of paper to help our clients achieve profitable growth as advertising and marketing becomes more complex. We’re in the business of simple, not easy.”
Fourteen10 is a strong champion on the use of artificial intelligence and technology for the purpose of routine task automation. That way, the agency and its employees are freed up to “focus on impactful work” that delivers valuable, strategic results.
The company is expected to focus on “growth-oriented challenger brands that are ready to take on their categories with robust thinking and strategies”. Its clients already include travel insurance organisation, Fast Cover; Mosh, a healthcare brand for men; and more.
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Matthew is the editorial assistant at Mumbrella. He joined the company at the end of September 2023.
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So pleased for you all. Go get them!
Nice one guys – excited to see such a clear strategic vision and some serious smarts in the leadership team. A force to be reckoned with no doubt!
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“Simple, not easy” is a great approach.
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