Town Square was founded by Danielle Moeller in 2004 and has grown to become a successful independent full-service marketing communication agency.
The agency’s media arm was launched in 2020, and Adrian Tan was brought in to lead the department.
Tan spoke to Mediaweek about navigating the pandemic with their travel and tourism clients, exciting client wins and what being part of the IMAA means to Town Square.
As the head of media, Tan oversees TV and radio ads and the digital aspect, including Facebook and Google. Since the department’s launch in 2020, the agency has invested in growing the media team by welcoming four people. Altogether, Town Square boasts a group of 40, which Tan said is the largest the agency has ever been.
The agency does strategy, branding, and media, but in terms of industry, they deal with many clients in the travel and tourism space, property, outdoor power equipment and mining.
Strong client relationships and recent wins
Among its longest client relationships are Chervon and its brands – including Ego, Skil and Flex – a company that manufactures battery-powered tools and outdoor power equipment. The company has been with the agency for four years, before the inception of the media department.
Tan also noted that Town Square has worked with Melbourne-based speciality butcher Tasman Butchers, Divine Homes and Weir Minerals for several years.
The head of media also proudly shared a few of Town Square’s recent client wins, including Qatar Airways, Strathcona Girls Grammar School and the WentWest Western Sydney Care Collective – an urgent care centre for the Western Sydney area.
“We recently launched the St. Johns Ambulance Victoria campaign. We also launched the atmX network by Armaguard last year.
Tan also noted that Town Square does plenty of pro bono work for The Big Issue and their sub-brand, Home For Homes.
Navigating the pandemic with tourism industry clients
Tan shared that the pandemic significantly impacted the business, mainly as several of their clients were in the tourism industry, which Covid directly hit.
The head of media noted that they had won a travel marketing award: “and then five days later COVID hit, everything was locked down, and we basically lost 40% of our revenue.”
“That was quite a huge impact for us. Fortunately, we went without any redundancies. We just had to shift our priorities. We moved away from focusing on travel during that time to property and other different clients.
“For example, Ego focuses on battered-powered lawnmowers, and they did well during COVID because people stayed home and wanted to work around the house.
Tan noted that in 2021 Town Square managed a significant bounce back in clientele with 14 wins across the business: “not just media but also brands, and that helped kick everything along.”
The head of media noted that because of clientele growth, the agency has grown to 40 people. “We have never been this big before, which we’re very proud of. We just had to pivot a little. Now that Covid is gone, the tourism clients are coming back, and that helps with the growth of the business,” he added.
Campaign season
Looking ahead, Tan said Town Square has several campaigns to be launched. Among the upcoming campaigns is Fuwairit Kite Beach with Qatar Airways.
“They’re launching in September. So, we’re building out a soft launch now, and we’re going to do a big one sometime in September to push the campaign along. That’s quite interesting because it’s one of the bigger international campaigns that we have,” he said.
Other campaigns currently underway or soon to be launched are WentWest Urgent Care, St Johns Ambulance Victoria first aid training courses and the Ego battery-powered lawn mower, just in time for spring.
Being part of the IMAA community
Town Square joined the IMAA earlier this year; Tan explained that he wanted the agency to be part of the wider industry and join in on the community.
“Being an independent agency, we are a small player versus the big holding groups and being part of the IMAA gives us a collective voice. The independent agencies come together and level the playing field against them so that we also have a say, which is great.”
Tan noted that being a member allows them as an agency to network with other independent agencies. He said: “We are competitors with the other independent agencies, but at the same time, we respect each other as peers. There are also a lot of trading opportunities.”
The head of media noted that with a small team of four, including two juniors, the IMAA’s upskilling and training initiatives greatly help independents.
“Having this opportunity for them to join training that is outside and part of a wider industry group has been positive,” he said, adding that their junior staffers have also had positive results.
Tan also added that they are proud to be part of the IMAA’s initiatives to improve the overall industry. He said: “They have the Reconciliation Charter, Diversity and Inclusion activities, pulse survey and salary survey, which we are always happy to be part of.”
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Top image: Adrian Tan
