It’s the ability to tie activities and emerging technology utilisation to a brand’s business ambition, rather than standalone media metrics, that’s key to agencies building stronger trust with clients.

The Star has created its own in-house creative agency and invested in new marketing management platforms to help cope with proposed exponential growth across its entertainment and hotel portfolio.

Whether your brand is responsive and entrepreneurial in market, engages in strategic brand building or invests in digital or traditional media channels, consumers are going to increasingly want to “talk at you”, UM’s CEO, Fiona Johnston, believes.

WPP AUNZ has brought on former AANA chief and PwC CMO Advisory director, Sunita Gloster, as its first chief customer officer in a move it says is all about growth locally.

Yet another global digital agency goliath has extended its reach into Australia, opening its doors locally off the back of existing digital specialist consultancy, Webling.

US data and technology agency giant, Merkle, has followed up its launch into Australia earlier this year by acquiring Salesforce Marketing Cloud specialist, consultancy, Amicus Digital.

Digital service consultancy, RXP and its creative agency subsidiary, The Works, have launched a new content and production group after picking up clients and staff off the back of King Content's closure.

Dentsu Aegis has dropped the longstanding Mitchell name from its local business and officially launched the new-look dentsu X in the Australian market.

Yet another agency acquisition play has been announced today, with mobile customer experience company, Geronimo, picking up digital creative agency, Digital Media Group (DMG) for an undisclosed sum.

KPMG has joined the ranks of consulting giants looking to take a slice from the customer-led marketing supplier pie, launching a new marketing advisory practice and acquiring Australian market research firm, Acuity Research and Insights.

Zenith Australia has restructured its business into four key disciplines and appointed eight senior strategic roles as part of efforts to provide more ROI-based modern marketing and communications solutions.

Cognitive computing and artificial intelligence have the power to transform marketing and advertising by bringing greater efficiency and effectiveness to the marketing function.

​A new report into media ad buying from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) has slammed the lack of transparency around agency practices including cash rebates, raising significant questions about the state of the industry both abroad and locally.

Challenges around customer data collaboration and utilisation, content personalisation and marketing technology are creating issues between brands and their agency partners and triggering a shake-up of relationships, a new survey claims.

International advertising, marketing and public relations agency, Ogilvy & Mather, is looking to cement a position with CMOs in the modern marketing agenda with the launch of OgilvyRED, a new consulting arm that brings together senior strategic specialists to consult on marketing transformation for brands in Asia Pacific.

Marketers must stop using fear as the basis of agency relationships and put more emphasis on curiosity, collaboration and profitability if they hope to achieve sustained creativity, Mars global CMO claims.

Havas Media’s Australian CEO says its launch of a data-driven ‘quality barometer’ for campaign measurement and compliance globally will bring much-needed transparency into the brand-agency-media owner relationship.