New double act will drive fresh ideas

Previously Stewart Easterbrook, as group managing director, oversaw the two closely bound agencies, but he has now taken on a new group role as chief operations officer, leaving the duo to make their mark at the UK's fourth-largest media group, according to Nielsen Media Research billings.

Chief executive Linda Smith has certainly given Bannerman and Parker the tools to raise the agencies' game. Both have been given licence by Smith to run the agencies through two new operations boards, one for Starcom and one for MediaVest.

Seated at the table will be up to 10 staff from each agency, including heads of various media, heads of planning and the agencies' most talented media heads.

Equal opportunity
Bannerman says: "For a long time, lots of talented people have been contributing ideas to improve our business. Now everyone has an equal opportunity and responsibility to do so.

People on the boards will have individual functions, but there are common aspects in their job specifications.

"We've made clear what we expect them to contribute in terms of leadership and behaviour, and people will be held accountable to them."

Parker adds: "There needed to be equal voices for media specialists as well as planners and buyers. Most of all, everyone has to look each other in the eye and realise the collective responsibility."

Board members' contracts have been rewritten to implement the new ethos of working towards a common goal, rather than simply excelling in their given media specialisms. In addition, planning and buying teams will sit together within each agency.

"One of the first things we're doing," says Parker, "is accelerating the process of integrating planning teams and buying teams. At the moment they don't work together naturally enough and often enough."

This may prove tricky, given the logistics of Starcom MediaVest Group's grey office block near Goodge Street - a place Bannerman came back to from Australia, after working in an office overlooking the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

So what of Bannerman and Parker? The duo are suddenly thrust centre stage by Smith, who wants to inject youth and fresh ideas into the group's senior management.

Bannerman started client-side at Pizza Express, before spending five years at Carat as a TV buyer and then planner. In 2003, he joined MediaVest to work on Scottish & Newcastle (or Scottish Courage as it was known then). After that followed a stint in Australia, running the Nestlé account within Publicis at ZenithOptimedia, before he returned to England as operations director at Starcom in charge of planning.

Parker's media career has been more settled. A 10-year Starcom MediaVest Group veteran, he has worked in senior positions across all media, except TV. For the past 15 months, he has been head of digital across the group.

Painful period
The group has had a tough start to the year - its clients keep reviewing. Discovery Networks' £4m account went to Vizeum in March. and United Biscuits' £10m media spend was taken by Mediaedge:cia in April, but perhaps the most painful of all was Alfa Romeo. Focused on creating a high-profile launch for the Fiat 500, not enough attention was given to the Italian car firm's more glamorous subsidiary. In the background to this pitch, MEC parent WPP bought into Fiat's own media agency, Fiat Media Center, making it first in line to gobble up Alfa Romeo's £8m media spend, should its current agency relations go awry.

Parker insists that the new regime, "isn't a specific reaction to clients and new business pitches".

Both he and Bannerman are keen to prove how the new structure will drive innovation at the group.

Shortly, the group will hold the third of a new series of events aimed at media owners. Starcom puts up to 20% of the budget for any one campaign up for grabs and invites media owners to pitch ideas on how best the campaign can be executed.

This involves in-depth collaboration with clients, media owners and creative agencies and is just one of the ideas the enthusiastic duo have to bring new life to the group.

"Media owners will now have a much stronger dialogue with planners, which will get more out of the medium in terms of innovation," says Bannerman.

The pair's next job is to convince clients to buy into their vision and get Starcom, MediaVest, and the Starcom MediaVest Group back on track in 2008.