Unveiling DDB Sydney's Tailor-Made Agency Structure for McDonald's
Article Title: DDB Sydney's Unique 54-Year Partnership with McDonald's Australia Bucks Industry Trends
In an industry where account structures are frequently reshuffled and brands opt for bespoke, multi-agency teams, DDB Sydney's 54-year partnership with McDonald's Australia stands out as a remarkable exception.
The creative review meetings, launched by DDB Sydney several years ago, were held every Wednesday and Thursday in their office. These meetings, known as creative review meetings, were a testament to the deep creative legacy and partnership continuity that the long-term partnership has fostered.
However, the meetings took a pause due to the pandemic, but they are set to resume in DDB Sydney's office starting in January. The office will serve as the primary location for the weekly meetings, with all of McDonald's agency partners in attendance.
On Thursdays, McDonald's co-located with DDB's sister agency, OMD, in the office. This collaboration reflects the industry's trend towards creating specialized teams for individual clients, a trend that DDB Sydney's McDonald's team structure mirrors.
The meetings will involve all of McDonald's agency partners, a move that aligns with the industry's current trend towards more customized agency teams for clients. The meetings will resume after a pause due to the pandemic, signifying a return to the collaborative environment that has been a hallmark of the partnership.
The McDonald's account at DDB Sydney is an example of this industry trend, albeit with a unique twist. While many brands fragment their accounts to specialist agencies or form customized agency villages, McDonald's Australia kept its whole creative partnership consolidated with DDB Sydney for over five decades.
Only recently, parts of the McDonald's account such as McCafe and Chicken portfolios were split off to other agencies like Wieden+Kennedy, but this change happened within a broader agency village that still includes DDB along with other Omnicom and partner agencies. This setup reflects a hybrid model, somewhat bespoke but evolving from a traditionally singular account structure rather than a fully fragmented system.
In contrast, the industry is moving towards more tactical and shifting creative teams, abandoning the deep, long-term collaborative output that DDB Sydney and McDonald's Australia have cultivated over the years. The rarity and longevity of this model make it exceptional in comparison to common contemporary agency models.
References: [1] AdNews. (2021). DDB Sydney's McDonald's account: The long and the short of it. Retrieved from https://www.adnews.com.au/news/ddb-sydney-s-mcdonald-s-account-the-long-and-the-short-of-it
[2] Mumby, J. (2021). McDonald's Australia's creative account is changing - but not as much as you might think. Retrieved from https://www.adnews.com.au/news/mcdonald-s-australia-s-creative-account-is-changing-but-not-as-much-as-you-might-think
- The industry trend leans towards more tactical and shifting creative teams, but DDB Sydney's 54-year partnership with McDonald's Australia in the finance and business sector bucked this trend by maintaining a deep, long-term collaborative output.
- As the technology-driven world moves towards specialized teams for individual clients, the partnership between DDB Sydney and McDonald's Australia in the industry has managed to evolve while maintaining a consolidated, singular account structure, even with the recent fragmentation of parts of the account.
