Sean Cummins: ‘You have to call bullshit on things that don’t do a good job for the art of advertising’
International office closures, local mergers, client wins and resignations and being named Mumbrella’s Agency of the Year – it’s been a big two years for independent, full-service agency Cummins & Partners. Speaking with Zoe Samios, global CEO Sean Cummins opens up about his four offices, further international expansion, selling off his agency, digital advertising and gender diversity.
The past two years for independent full-service agency Cummins & Partners has been marked with a series of highs and lows.
The end of 2014 saw the agency pick up the Vodafone creative account, using the win to open a Sydney office; however, that was followed in 2016 by the closure of its Toronto, Canada office.
Another high came again as the agency was named Mumbrella’s Agency of the Year at the 2016 Mumbrella Awards; however, the year ended with the agency parting ways with Vodafone.
The new year picked up with the agency winning new accounts including Allianz and CSR Sugar, but continued with news of the agency’s Adelaide office merging with local agency, Hybrid.
I wonder what he would have said if this interview took place after your ‘reveal’…?
Sean is one of this country’s best and biggest advertising/marketing thinkers. Everyone in agencies or client-side should be inspired by his example as someone who is willing to put everything on the line and back himself on the biggest stages in the world. Kudos.
Sean makes some outstanding points in this article. Young marketers and agency folk should read and learn.
Sean’s approach to digital shows his age! Unsubstantiated? Shady? No way to measure effectiveness? That’s ridiculous. Digital is where audiences are, it’s clearly the future of advertising… but that’s hard to swallow when you’ve spent your lifetime making all your money with TVCs.
Good to see another voice calling bullshit on the myth that is digital advertising. The digital cowboys are slowly heading to the gallows as marketers realise they’ve been sold fools gold for the last 10 years. Digital is just another channel, it will never be the magical elixir marketers crave. You still need to make people give a flying fuck about what you’ve got to say – serving them a shoe banner or facebook tile, not so much.
That was actually an interesting insight piece to read.
Kristine you clearly have no idea, just look at the recent Facebook video views shame and if you dig a bit deeper you’ll find companies like the worlds biggest advertisers like P&G, Pepsi etc are going back into mainstream media for a very good reason, it works and builds brands. Digital doesn’t build brands.
Out of curiosity, have you paid any attention to the industry and its environment over the past 12 months?
The worlds largest brands were built online for crying out aloud..????????? Branding is certainly about a mix. By saying ‘digital doesn’t build brands’ you should not be in advertising.
There are lots of cowboys in this world. There are loads and loads and LOADS of cowboys in the ad industry. The ad industry is 2nd to only investment banking as the least ethical industry on this planet. There are certainly many cowboys who recommend certain types of media, for ‘certain’ reasons, (mainly so they can pass on the cost to the client, with a mark up / production cost / after receiving an ‘agency commission’). Yes folks, agencies, even in 2016, are effectively bribed to spend a client’s money with a specific media provider. Traditionally, the amount of peddling, backhanders and clients money that gets tipped into an ad agency execs pocket, well some would say it is borderline corruption. Has it really changed today in 2017? Clients do generally come along for the ride too, being wined, dined, treated to travel and excessive events by their agency and by the media providers. Are they (agencies, media & clients) all in it together? Do the CFO’s of the top 100 companies know that their CMO’s could be handing over marketing dollars, straight into the pockets of ad agency execs?
When booking a big, traditional ad, with say print, outdoor and TV, well the execs rub their hands together and look forward to their cut of the wedge, don’t they? The fact that all three of these mediums have assumptive metrics to track ROI, results in lots of gut feel and ‘fuzzy’ metrics, when it comes to the reporting and campaign analytics. (Isn’t that great for ad execs and media providers: how can they be single-handedly held account for failure..?)
Agreed that digital is another channel, within the mix. I do commend certain digital channels who do not pay agency commissions.
Imagine being an ad agency exec and not receiving any agency commissions from certain media? Which media would you direct your staff to buy?
The two biggest brands in the world today had their foundations built online. Apple and Google. Granted they are behemoths and they get coverage in all media. However they had their foundations built online.
Like I said before, you clearly still have no idea judging from your reply…now go back to your 72dpi banner world and ‘save for the web’.
Serious? You have presented a heck of a lot of heresay, and not many facts at all.
Backhanders? They were gone in the 90s when I started and the people involved in backhanders were caught. That gave rise to the ‘cost controllers’, sorry, ‘production consultants’, another blood-sucking leech on the journey from marketing strategy to ad a consumer sees.
I must seriously call bull poo on your ‘Apple’ fact. Foundations were definitely not built online, as the ad 1984 might testify. In fact, online wasn’t even around then.
But taking your stupid fact to the modern age and what have we? A traditional campaign launch for everything Apple does. iPod, iPad, iPhone have all had massive TV weightings, far more than banners.
I’ll give you Google, they did well to launch successfully without advertising – at all, aka including banner ads – but when they first chose to advertise, it was with a billboard in the Silicon Valley. The famous ‘equasion’ billboard.
They are still a massive spender in outdoor and TV media; presumably far more than online or search.
Please get your facts straight Serious? You discredit us all when you spout ‘knowledge’ that has no basis in fact.
Yes, you are correct, re Apple and I will eat my hat. I should have just stuck with Google… As for traditional platforms, or any ad unit actually, which requires production / creative work:- Agencies love marking up the production costs to make lots and lots and LOTS of extra money. Coupled with the massive spends in traditional and the % ‘discounts’ or ‘agency commissions’, the industry is very much still rolling around in ‘backhanders’. It is and if you think it isnt then you are not at all close the the PandL.
Serious you hav never worked in a traditional agency. Mark ups are non existent