Business

Virtual Agency Clinches Final Spot in Telstra Business Awards

The Virtual Ad Agency (VAA), has risen Phoenix-like to prominence as a finalist in the 2014 Telstra South Australian Business Awards’ Micro Business Award category.

John Curnow (3) copyBorn out of the ashes of the global financial crisis, innovative Adelaide company, The Virtual Ad Agency (VAA), has risen Phoenix-like to prominence as a finalist in the 2014 Telstra South Australian Business Awards’ Micro Business Award category.

As its name implies, VAA is virtual in that many who work for the agency do so from home or office or wherever they choose, there’s a small nucleus of marketing executives and a large pool of creative freelancers hand-picked to match the project brief.

As Managing Director John Curnow sees it, the Telstra Business Awards accolade vindicates the chosen flexible business model and its focus on three key factors – accountability in producing measurable advertising, the creativity of its people and solid business planning.

“From inception, we set out to build a full service advertising agency which offered flexibility of structure, allowing us to structure and match the agency to each brief, rather than fit a brief to match the agency,” explained John. “This created a more cost efficient model for developing and producing accountable advertising”.

“We also adopted a ‘plan for the worst, hope for the best’ philosophy, knowing that in any business – and perhaps even more so in the advertising industry – it’s not a matter of if bad times will hit us but rather just a question of when.

“So by structuring the company and the balance sheet on virtual lines, we are better equipped to ride out any challenging times. We can react quickly to market needs when business is on the rise and reduce business costs with similar alacrity if there’s a downturn in activity.”

The virtual structure also means VAA is not locked into any particular state or market and the savings on business overheads is spent servicing clients in larger interstate markets, which explains why some 80 per cent of VAA’s clients reside outside of South Australia.

Furthermore, the virtual model does not restrict VAA to a particular team of strategic, creative, production and media professionals. “This allows for fresh people, fresh thinking, fresh ideas and better results, without all the overheads associated with the traditional bricks and mortar advertising agency,” added John.

The structure has certainly played a vital role in the company’s year-on-year growth, with billings for the 2013-14 financial year topping $4.5 million.

VAA has also been ranked in seventh position in the most recent In-Business Fast Movers listing that recognises South Australia’s most innovative, smart and fastest growing small-to-medium enterprises.

The coveted Telstra South Australia Business Awards program celebrates the state’s entrepreneurs and innovators and offers a unique chance for small to medium businesses to be recognised for their hard work, commitment and success. Winners of the Telstra South Australian Business Awards will be announced at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on June 27, 2014.

For further information go here.

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