Marketing Agencies Association wants ‘progressive mindset’ from Knox successor
The Marketing Agencies Association (MAA) wants the successor to managing director Scott Knox to have a “progressive mindset” as it looks to help its members adapt to the new demands of brands.
The MAA is on the hunt for a new MD.
Knox resigned after 15 years last week to become the chief executive of the Institute of Communication Agencies in Canada, kicking off a search for a new leader at the MAA. Speaking to The Drum, Tim Bourne, chairman of the trade body and co-chief executive of Exposure, revealed Knox’s replacement will need to be able to build on the foundations already in place to lead the MAA amid what he teased would be changes to some of its core services.
“Scott is going to be a tough act to follow but fortunately he has created a strong legacy which will undoubtedly help for any successor,” Bourne continued. "What we are looking for is someone who can lead the MAA forward into this very exciting era of communication. We're looking for someone with a progressive mindset and someone who fundamentally cares about the industry and vitality of agencies within it.”
He went to acknowledge the scale of the challenge now that agencies are facing “enormous change”, both in terms of how their businesses are structured and the advertisers they serve. We see it as part of our responsibility at the MAA to help and support our members navigate these uncertain times and effectively help them to secure their future,” Bourne explained.
“This is perhaps a new approach for a trade body and clearly a high order challenge for the MAA. It has resulted in some fundamental changes to the structure of the MAA and the products and services we will be offering to our members. Some of the fundamentally important services we offer, such as training, awards and pitch watchdog will be strengthened and evolved. There will also be some entirely new services, which we will be rolling out to members in the coming months.”
The changes are a response to the changing needs of advertisers, which has seen the MAA look beyond agencies in recent times. With services and products becoming just as important to marketers as campaigns, agencies know they need the business models in place to be able to respond or risk losing budgets to alternative businesses such as start-ups and innovation consultancies.