It’s been a big few months for Danny Bass. The former Mediabrands, GroupM and News Corp exec resigned from Snap to focus on his Berry Hill Farm property, which then flooded – multiple times. Now, he’s joined Dentsu as CEO of Dentsu Media. Dentsu isn’t the beast it once was, having taken a turn towards tech and consulting services in the past few years. Bass unpacks the advantages and challenges facing the group, which is “and always will be” a media company, while exploring agency culture, remote working, talent shortages, the net zero push and the future of holdcos.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been a big few months for Danny Bass. The former Mediabrands, GroupM and News Corp exec resigned from Snap to focus on his Berry Hill Farm property, which then flooded – multiple times. Now, he’s joined Dentsu as CEO of Dentsu Media. Dentsu isn’t the beast it once was, having taken a turn towards tech and consulting services in the past few years. Bass unpacks the advantages and challenges facing the group, which is “and always will be” a media company, while exploring agency culture, remote working, talent shortages, the net zero push and the future of holdcos.See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

A weekly wrap of the “must-know” developments in Marketing, Media, Agency and Technology for leaders and emerging leaders in the industry. Veteran industry journalist and Mi3 Executive Editor Paul McIntyre talks each week with guest marketers who are in the know on what matters at the nexus of marketing, agencies, media and technology. Powered mostly by Human Intelligence (HI).

A weekly wrap of the “must-know” developments in Marketing, Media, Agency and Technology for leaders and emerging leaders in the industry. Veteran industry journalist and Mi3 Executive Editor Paul McIntyre talks each week...

Mi3 Audio Edition

Danny Bass: Dentsu’s media future, consulting shift, business transformation; Australia unattractive to overseas talent, industry must look elsewhere; Net zero or ad effectiveness debate; ‘Aggressive’, tight media market in H2 2022, 2023

Redundancy is rife across the marketing and agency ecosystem right now. And whether you have an inkling your job could be on the line, as Liana Dubois did when management consultants entered the Nine building, or it's a complete shock – such as Josh Slighting experienced when he left a growing REA Group, or Katie Dally felt after surviving a first round of cuts at Endeavour Group only to be hit in the second set – it often triggers a professional and personal crisis of confidence and identity. Even experienced marketer Amy De Groot, who’s been made redundant twice, nearly 20 years apart, still felt the shock, upset and grief of this occupational hazard.

It’s hard to get a precise handle on the exact volume of redundancies, but cuts can be found in every pocket of the industry. A clue is in the Advertising Council of Australia’s 2025 Salary Survey, which revealed a redundancy rate of 11%, compared to the usual range of 5–7%, in the 12 months to 31 March 2025.

More overtly, Omnicom’s global CEO last week said 4000 jobs are likely to be shed by end of the year as the merged Omnicom-IPG structure is bolted into place. Up to 120 people are also being made redundant as Menulog shuts up shop in Australia. Endeavour Group is another that made marketing, experience, digital and CX redundancies this year. Dentsu flagged 8% global headcount reduction in Q2. Nine, Seven, News Corp have made hundreds of cuts. TheAustralian HR Institute quarterly outlook for September 25 shows redundancies are on the rise, with 27 per cent of employers planning cuts, up 3 percentage points since the June 2025 quarter.

Those are the numbers and an attempt at hard facts. But the reality is there are a bunch of marketing and advertising industry colleagues having the cope with the fallout and impact of being made redundant.

In Mi3’s latest podcast, we’re focusing on exploring the impact of the redundancy crisis through the lens of four senior marketers who have been there: Former Nine group CMO, Liana Dubois; former REA Group media lead, Josh Slighting, former Endeavour Group GM of brand, creative and operations, Katie Dally, and former Cars24 head of brand marketing, Amy de Groot.

In this very personal conversation, we humanise the experience of being made redundant to help others out there that have, or are experiencing, the repercussions of redundancy directly and indirectly. We also explore the lateral career paths that have opened up for our guests, as we share learnings and advice on how we can all make more progressive career choices.

Redundancy is rife across the marketing and agency ecosystem right now. And whether you have an inkling your job could be on the line, as Liana Dubois did when management consultants entered the Nine building, or it's a complete shock &ndash; such as Josh Slighting experienced when he left a growing REA Group, or Katie Dally felt after surviving a first round of cuts at Endeavour Group only to be hit in the second set &ndash; it often triggers a professional and personal crisis of confidence and identity. Even experienced marketer Amy De Groot, who&rsquo;s been made redundant twice, nearly 20 years apart, still felt the shock, upset and grief of this occupational hazard.
It&rsquo;s hard to get a precise handle on the exact volume of redundancies, but cuts can be found in every pocket of the industry. A clue is in the Advertising Council of Australia&rsquo;s 2025 Salary Survey, which revealed a redundancy rate of 11%, compared to the usual range of 5&ndash;7%, in the 12 months to 31 March 2025.
More overtly, Omnicom&rsquo;s global CEO last week said 4000 jobs are likely to be shed by end of the year as the merged Omnicom-IPG structure is bolted into place. Up to 120 people are also being made redundant as Menulog shuts up shop in Australia. Endeavour Group is another that made marketing, experience, digital and CX redundancies this year. Dentsu flagged 8% global headcount reduction in Q2. Nine, Seven, News Corp have made hundreds of cuts. The Australian HR Institute quarterly outlook for September 25 shows redundancies are on the rise, with 27 per cent of employers planning cuts, up 3 percentage points since the June 2025 quarter.
Those are the numbers and an attempt at hard facts. But the reality is there are a bunch of marketing and advertising industry colleagues having the cope with the fallout and impact of being made redundant.
In Mi3&rsquo;s latest podcast, we&rsquo;re focusing on exploring the impact of the redundancy crisis through the lens of four senior marketers who have been there: Former Nine group CMO, Liana Dubois; former REA Group media lead, Josh Slighting, former Endeavour Group GM of brand, creative and operations, Katie Dally, and former Cars24 head of brand marketing, Amy de Groot.
In this very personal conversation, we humanise the experience of being made redundant to help others out there that have, or are experiencing, the repercussions of redundancy directly and indirectly. We also explore the lateral career paths that have opened up for our guests, as we share learnings and advice on how we can all make more progressive career choices.

Redundancy repercussions: How marketing and media execs Liana Dubois, Katie Dally, Josh Slighting and Amy de Groot navigated the five stages of grief after job loss – then tapped lateral, imaginative thinking to make their next career choices 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/fa326977-3de5-4283-9b8b-af3500c58607/clips/bbe4eee0-a6d5-4571-8e49-b3ac01856e31/transcript

Marketing effectiveness: How we all strive to achieve it. In today’s episode, two very distinctive takes on successful work, from the verticals and business objectives in play, to audience targeting, messaging and channels used – traditional media through to gaming streaming – are in the spotlight. And both landed their brand leaders and agencies coveted Gold Effies at this year’s Advertising Council Australia Awards.

Scoring two Gold gongs was Australian Red Cross Lifeblood and Clemenger BBDO for ‘Lifeblood Blood Supply: How a media first, elevated blood donation into a national news story, saving up to 28,848 lives’ . The pair leveraged a well-established idea – the emergency warning system and media ticker – plus a partnership with the Seven Network to create a mechanism showing the blood supply in a real-time way via the nightly news bulletin, with state-based tailoring, supported through TVCs, integrations with AFL broadcasts and ambassadors and digital capabilities. Lifeblood CMO, Jeremy Weiss says the “behaviour changing” campaign led to a 120% boost in blood donation appointments, along with new donor registrations signing up, were tentpole results. As each new donor saves up to three lives with their first donation, they more than quadrupled the number of intended lives saved.

In contrast, Nestle Australia and VML Australia were honoured with their Gold Effie for their work on extending the iconic ‘Have a break, have a Kitkat’ creative platform into the edgier, decidedly younger media platform, Twitch and streaming. The aim of the ‘Break Chair’ was to connect with Gen Zers aged 18-27, 80% of which engage in gaming – many doing it often. Forging that sense of connection, emotion and engagement on the consumer’s terms played a big part here. The “boundary pushing” mix of tapping influencers, livestreaming, a killer consumer insight on needing regular breaks, and an already distinctive creative platform further compounded impact and results including brand and penetration gains to sales lift, says Nestle head of marketing confectionery, Shannon Wright.

Joined by Alison Tilling, chief strategy officer, VML Australia, and Frank Curcio, national head of product, Clemenger BBDO, our guests unpack their work and the surprising similarities behind their distinctively different but seriously impactful work.

Marketing effectiveness: How we all strive to achieve it. In today&rsquo;s episode, two very distinctive takes on successful work, from the verticals and business objectives in play, to audience targeting, messaging and channels used &ndash; traditional media through to gaming streaming &ndash; are in the spotlight. And both landed their brand leaders and agencies coveted Gold Effies at this year&rsquo;s Advertising Council Australia Awards.
Scoring two Gold gongs was Australian Red Cross Lifeblood and Clemenger BBDO for &lsquo;Lifeblood Blood Supply: How a media first, elevated blood donation into a national news story, saving up to 28,848 lives&rsquo; . The pair leveraged a well-established idea &ndash; the emergency warning system and media ticker &ndash; plus a partnership with the Seven Network to create a mechanism showing the blood supply in a real-time way via the nightly news bulletin, with state-based tailoring, supported through TVCs, integrations with AFL broadcasts and ambassadors and digital capabilities. Lifeblood CMO, Jeremy Weiss says the &ldquo;behaviour changing&rdquo; campaign led to a 120% boost in blood donation appointments, along with new donor registrations signing up, were tentpole results. As each new donor saves up to three lives with their first donation, they more than quadrupled the number of intended lives saved.
In contrast, Nestle Australia and VML Australia were honoured with their Gold Effie for their work on extending the iconic &lsquo;Have a break, have a Kitkat&rsquo; creative platform into the edgier, decidedly younger media platform, Twitch and streaming. The aim of the &lsquo;Break Chair&rsquo; was to connect with Gen Zers aged 18-27, 80% of which engage in gaming &ndash; many doing it often. Forging that sense of connection, emotion and engagement on the consumer&rsquo;s terms played a big part here. The &ldquo;boundary pushing&rdquo; mix of tapping influencers, livestreaming, a killer consumer insight on needing regular breaks, and an already distinctive creative platform further compounded impact and results including brand and penetration gains to sales lift, says Nestle head of marketing confectionery, Shannon Wright.
Joined by Alison Tilling, chief strategy officer, VML Australia, and Frank Curcio, national head of product, Clemenger BBDO, our guests unpack their work and the surprising similarities behind their distinctively different but seriously impactful work.

Marketing Gold: How Australian Redcross Lifeblood used TV to deliver a 120% increase in appointments, and KitKat made Gen Z penetration sales gains by taking ‘Have a Break’ to gamers

British luxury department store Selfridges has just launched a Christmas campaign co-created with Disney across almost the entire Selfridges portfolio of in-store and digital media assets. Now it’s pushing harder into retail media – and looking for similarly deep relationships with select brands aiming to tap its 36 million annual customers.

Selfridges head of brand partnerships Kate Eastop is driving that agenda – and bringing in more non-endemic brands, i.e. those it doesn’t stock in stores – into the retail media business. “I see this as a significant growth area for the business over the next few years”, says Eastop. So, she commissioned owned media advisor Sonder to develop a rate card for its physical and digital assets – and ensure everything is properly valued.

The new rates will be live for 2026 and Eastop says the process has helped “establish Selfridges as a serious player in retail media” while bringing internal stakeholders together on the kind of assets and partnerships the luxury retailer will build – and what remains off limits.

Sonder’s Jonathan Hopkins and Angus Frazer see momentum in the luxury retail media market as the supermarket and grocery sector matures. They say brands are willing to pay a higher premium to tap audiences that are more immersed in “retail theatre” experiences versus the transactional hit of the grocery aisle.

“If you’re walking into a theatre of brands in a store like Selfridges, then there is immense dwell time,” per Hopkins. “You’re there to enjoy the shopping experience, not get out as quickly as possible – so those factors are considered in the valuation.”

Sonder has benchmarked a global owned media asset pool of circa $12bn – and Frazer says the market is “approaching an inflection point” with in-store static and digital assets now presenting “the next wave of opportunity” for retail media networks versus commoditised low hanging fruit, like sponsored search and website product tiles.

He says the department stores Sonder has worked with on owned media “typically top out at around 25 per cent of revenues being derived from non-endemic brands”. Key to netting that upside is not being too greedy and eroding both the customer experience, the value of the brand, and thereby undermining the sustainability of the retail media business.

Their advice? Partner wisely. 

“Deep with a few can be better than light with many,” says Hopkins. “Find brands that are a really good fit with your customers and go deep in terms of those brand partnerships across the year. Find those mutually beneficial activations that are going to add value to your customers that you could never have achieved without that partnership.

“If you manage to achieve that, it’s going to create a proven use case within the business, start to normalise behaviour for stakeholders who might have been resistant to it, and then make it easier for future growth.”

Which is precisely the playbook that Selfridges is following – and carving out a deeper niche within the UK’s increasingly crowded retail media market.

British luxury department store Selfridges has just launched a Christmas campaign co-created with Disney across almost the entire Selfridges portfolio of in-store and digital media assets. Now it&rsquo;s pushing harder into retail media &ndash; and looking for similarly deep relationships with select brands aiming to tap its 36 million annual customers.
Selfridges head of brand partnerships Kate Eastop is driving that agenda &ndash; and bringing in more non-endemic brands, i.e. those it doesn&rsquo;t stock in stores &ndash; into the retail media business. &ldquo;I see this as a significant growth area for the business over the next few years&rdquo;, says Eastop. So, she commissioned owned media advisor <a href="https://sondermedia.com/">Sonder</a> to develop a rate card for its physical and digital assets &ndash;&nbsp;and ensure everything is properly valued.
The new rates will be live for 2026 and Eastop says the process has helped &ldquo;establish Selfridges as a serious player in retail media&rdquo; while bringing internal stakeholders together on the kind of assets and partnerships the luxury retailer will build &ndash; and what remains off limits.
Sonder&rsquo;s Jonathan Hopkins and Angus Frazer see momentum in the luxury retail media market as the supermarket and grocery sector matures. They say brands are willing to pay a higher premium to tap audiences that are more immersed in &ldquo;retail theatre&rdquo; experiences versus the transactional hit of the grocery aisle.
&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re walking into a theatre of brands in a store like Selfridges, then there is immense dwell time,&rdquo; per Hopkins. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re there to enjoy the shopping experience, not get out as quickly as possible &ndash; so those factors are considered in the valuation.&rdquo;
Sonder has benchmarked a global owned media asset pool of circa $12bn &ndash; and Frazer says the market is &ldquo;approaching an inflection point&rdquo; with in-store static and digital assets now presenting &ldquo;the next wave of opportunity&rdquo; for retail media networks versus commoditised low hanging fruit, like sponsored search and website product tiles.
He says the department stores Sonder has worked with on owned media &ldquo;typically top out at around 25 per cent of revenues being derived from non-endemic brands&rdquo;. Key to netting that upside is not being too greedy and eroding both the customer experience, the value of the brand, and thereby undermining the sustainability of the retail media business.
Their advice? Partner wisely.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Deep with a few can be better than light with many,&rdquo; says Hopkins. &ldquo;Find brands that are a really good fit with your customers and go deep in terms of those brand partnerships across the year. Find those mutually beneficial activations that are going to add value to your customers that you could never have achieved without that partnership.
&ldquo;If you manage to achieve that, it&rsquo;s going to create a proven use case within the business, start to normalise behaviour for stakeholders who might have been resistant to it, and then make it easier for future growth.&rdquo;
Which is precisely the playbook that Selfridges is following &ndash;&nbsp;and carving out a deeper niche within the UK&rsquo;s increasingly crowded retail media market.

The rise of luxury retail media: Selfridges, Disney combine for unprecedented retail media Xmas campaign – as up-market department stores globally position for next growth wave from non-endemic brands

Danny Bass: Dentsu’s media future, consulting shift, business transformation; Australia unattractive to overseas talent, industry must look elsewhere; Net zero or ad effectiveness debate; ‘Aggressive’, tight media market in H2 2022, 2023

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