TrinityP3 for FIVE: The five things that changed our business in our 25th year

Welcome to TrinityP3 for FIVE. For our final newsletter of the year we are doing something different.?

In January, TrinityP3 will turn 25 years old. 2024 has been a transformative year for our consultancy with the business lifting breadth and depth of client projects and also our profile and role in the industry.?

This week’s curator is Darren Woolley , Founder and Global CEO.?

To round out the year Darren wanted to give you an inside look into the five things that changed our business this year. The team also wanted to look back at the Things from 2024 that Caught Their Attention (and how we think they will play out in 2025).?

And don’t forget you can sign up for the email version of the newsletter here or the LinkedIn version here.?

December 22, 2024

THE FIVE

1. IT WAS A MASSIVE YEAR FOR PROJECTS IN AUS AND GLOBALLY?

TrinityP3 exists at a focal point of the industry. Yes, people know us for pitching. In the past year only three of the pitches we managed made it into the trade media. That is three of the 28 pitches of various types we managed in 2024, which averages one every two weeks.?

But that is only part of what we do. There were an additional 31 projects for TrinityP3 in the past year, including agency roster alignments, remuneration advice, media value assessments, martech advisory projects, performance assessments and more.

This was across a wide range of advertiser categories, including telco, financial services, retail, FMCG, Government, Education, Automotive, Wagering and Utilities. Some of the pitches we ran included IGA, The Lottery Corporation, and Hort Innovation. It has been a busy year and a growth year, not just in the number of projects but in the expanding types of projects to meet the changing needs and challenges facing marketing.

2. WE ALSO GREW THE TRINITYP3 TEAM?

The TrinityP3 team grew significantly in 2024, bringing in even more experience. Two senior consultants joined the business – Adrian Treahy returned to Trinity P3 after six years at Infosys, and Dr Kate Gunby joined after completing her PhD at the University of Sydney.?

Plus, after nearly 14 years as a senior consultant, Anton Buchner was promoted to business director and is working closely with Kate and Adrian as we meet the growing demand for ad tech support among marketing teams.

Former Nine and SBS Corporate Comms Head, Nic Christensen , also came on board, in a part-time capacity, and has helped us frame and position projects like the State of the Pitch in the Australian and Canadian markets.

John Minty joins the team as a senior consultant working in marketing and advertising operations, with extensive global experience, having spent 20 years working in the USA.

Meanwhile, overseas, Andrew Livingston joined our London office. Andrew has returned to the UK, joining Trinity P3 as a media consultant.

3. WE WORKED TO LEAD ON INDUSTRY ISSUES

Thought leadership is a term I don’t love. But I’m proud of how the team as a whole has led on key issues within our industry. In 2024, as a team, we decided to take a stand on more industry issues. I’ve been proud of the team for how they stepped forward, be it:

• Lydia Feely on the good and bad of the WGEA numbers,?
• Stephen Wright on massive changes in agencyland, transparency and principal media trading.
• Kylie Ridler-Dutton on Campaign Brief and pay-to-play practices in the trades.?
• Nathan Hodges on BS research.?
• Ellie Angell who stepped forward into our industry as a transwoman with bravery and forthrightness, and makes me very proud she is part of our team.?

Anton Buchner showed outstanding leadership in rallying the advertising industry to support the Laptop Initiative. This aims to prevent perfectly good laptops from ending up in landfills and instead put them in the hands of people in need within our communities.

Now in our third year, TrinityP3 requests that agencies sign a statutory declaration on their compliance with harassment and bullying legislation and requirements, with the majority of agencies now participating. A big and important change that has come over the past few years.?

We also released The State of the Pitch research report in April. This landmark survey dominated the discussion and is now in the market for the second year. When it launched and was so successful, Campaign came to us wanting to roll it out in Canada. Next year we will see the second-round results go live. There’s still time to enter if you haven’t given your feedback.?

4. THE MANAGING MARKETING PODCAST TOOK OFF IN ITS 10TH YEAR

Now in its 10th year, the Managing Marketing podcast continues to bring listeners deep dives on the big issues in marketing, with Trinity P3 consultants hosting conversations with thought leaders and professionals from all corners of the industry.?

This year has seen the team sit down with people like Will Anstee, CEO of the Online Safety Agency; Trena Blair, CEO of FD Global Connections; and Mark Green, co-founder of The Monkeys and now Global CEO of Droga5. The biggest episode of the year, however, went to Tom Donald and Mick Boston, who joined me to speak about the benefits of in-house creative strategy and design.

This year, according to Spotify Wrapped – which Michael Smolders covered in his edition earlier this month – Managing Marketing’s listeners lifted 80%, with a 122% boost in streams. Much like Trinity P3, the podcast went global, reaching people in 27 countries.

5. OH, AND WE A BUILT A NEWSLETTER WITH A DIFFERENT LENS ON THE INDUSTRY

This year we launched this newsletter to bring people the week’s biggest stories straight to their inboxes and LinkedIn feeds. In a cluttered trade media landscape, this is curated each week by either a member of the TrinityP3 team or a guest marketer. The newsletter mixes humour with serious topics, and Nic Christensen and Tess Connery-Britten put it together. Nic and Tess are both journalists by background, and it has been great to have them work with the curators to draw out the big issues, both global and local, in a way that is both accessible and also includes the light and shade of issues.

One thing I’ve loved is the feedback from the market on how TrinityP3 for Five has made people smarter (five topics in five minutes). We have been able to pick issues and elevate important ones, such as Campaign Brief’s sexism, Principal Media Trading, or a broader lens on the changing media landscape.?

My favourite editions have also been the ones curated by marketers (thanks to John Thompson, GAICD and Michael Smolders (GAICD) for being our guinea pigs). It’s been great to have their perspective on the issues – we’ll definitely continue having a CMO perspective once a month in 2025. In its first 10 weeks, Trinity P3 for FIVE has clocked up a reach of 4000 people via EDM and 700 on LinkedIn.

THINGS THAT CAUGHT OUR ATTENTION

Lydia Feely , General Manager, TrinityP3?

The re-election of Trump and the speculation around what it means for 2025 and beyond continues. This article provides a good summary of how it will impact marketers, with some key themes to expect and tips on keeping your brand relevant.

Nathan Hodges , Managing Director ANZ, TrinityP3?

This time last year it was all predictions about AI and how different everything would be in twelve months’ time. And a lot has certainly changed in 2024.?

But it’s not just been a rush to use tech to do more things faster and cheaper. So many times, the objective has been instead to use the resources and time that tech frees up to focus on strategy and insight - doing fewer, bigger, more important things and then executing them with excellence.?

In other words, actual marketing.?You know, the stuff we’re supposed to be doing.?

As I’m sure The Pretenders would tell us if they were in marketing: ‘some things change, some stay the same’.

Nick Hand , Senior Consultant, TrinityP3??

Generative AI has had more than its fair share of headlines in 2024, but little around the impact on agency business models and remuneration. TrinityP3 has had a lot to say on the issue, not least of which was Darren addressing AdNews Sydney L!VE back in July where he warned a room full of agency leaders that their revenues were under threat if they didn’t embrace output-based fees over traditional head hours.?

However, and despite an increase in output fees in pitches and projects managed by TrinityP3, the uptake generally has been slow, with agencies anecdotally already suffering from erosion in fees due to machine-generated content and production reducing head hours on scopes of work. This will become a bigger issue in 2025.

Anton Buchner , Senior Consultant, TrinityP3?

This article stood out for me. Summing up the constant challenge of getting away from cost and focussing on value. Experimentation, micro testing and data quality will need to be turned from “moonshot thoughts” to actual proof. Get beyond theories in 2025 and prove what’s working for your business.

Ellie Angell , Business Director ANZ, TrinityP3

Such an interesting year for DE&I. In this market, awareness, understanding and investment feels like it continues to rise, yet we see profound errors of judgement that are anything but DE&I-positive, such as the Campaign Brief debacle.?

We see more people in public support, and yet the state of brands running tokenistic marketing, and the continuation of negative tropes in advertising, still leaves a lot to be desired. And we see better policies, governance and implementation from organisations and industry bodies, yet the giants in the US, post-Trump are reportedly cutting DE&I from their agendas - and when America sneezes, the world catches a cold.?

In short, 2025 is impossible to predict but what is certain is that support, allyship and active attempts to improve ourselves as people, as organisations and as an industry have never been more important.

Nic Christensen , Senior Consultant, TrinityP3?

Congrats to Hugh Marks (my old boss from Nine days) on his appointment as Managing Director of the ABC. Hugh is a leader who really understands the evolving digital landscape and knows how to drive change and transformation in a media business. It will be fascinating to see what he does when he arrives at Aunty in March.

(Disclosure: Nic consults for the ABC’s sister broadcaster SBS).

Kylie Ridler-Dutton , Senior Global Consultant, TrinityP3?

This year I noticed the conversation about more females having a seat at the table in our industry, something I covered when I curated this newsletter earlier this year. I don’t think it will be forgotten and cross fingers every CEO of an agency will be working with their management teams to ensure the next generation has a fair playing field and lots of opportunity in 2025.

Stephen Wright , Business Director Media Australia & Global

2024 was the first year in a long time with any significant developments on the Holding Group front – particularly in the media space, which is increasingly the driver for profit and performance. This year saw one merger and a new entrant in Accenture, who are poised to make a significant impact in 2025. We went from 6 to 7 and back to 6 again in less than 3 months.

There are likely to be significant winners and losers in 2025. Success is made all the more challenging by the seemingly unstoppable march of the indies.

2025 promises to be a roller coaster ride in challenging economic conditions.

John Minty , Senior Consultant, TrinityP3

In 2024, cancel culture, activism and corporate responsibility remained central to public discourse, leading to widespread cultural fatigue. Once a force for change, these movements are now seen by some as divisive, sparking debates about overreach in accountability efforts. Brands like Bud Light and Target faced backlash for activist-driven marketing, prompting a shift toward neutral campaigns. Consumers now demand authentic support for diversity, forcing companies to balance inclusivity with genuine transparency.

WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO

TrinityP3 finished the year last Thursday with a Christmas lunch at Sails on Lavender Bay on Sydney Harbour.

Officially, the business closed for the holidays on Friday, December 20, and will reopen on Monday, January 6, 2025. Thank you for your support, and we hope you have a safe and festive holiday.

WHAT MADE US LAUGH?

He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice … but are there some regulations he should read first? This post from Margy Vary , CMO of The Conversation, got a festive chuckle out of us this week.

AND FINALLY?

Wishing you a safe and happy holiday and a prosperous new year. We would love your feedback on the TrinityP3 for FIVE. Please email [email protected].