Agency heads share their wishes for 2015

As 2014 comes to a wrap, Marketing sits down with several of the agency heads to see what this year meant for them and what they look forward to in 2015.Here's a compilation of some of the best quotes we got from our beloved agency heads.Cameron Richards, CEO & founder, CPR VisionOne big thing you and your agency learnt from 2014?If an opportunity doesn’t knock; build a door!What is your new year’s resolution for your agency/team?Live your truth. Express your love. Share your enthusiasm. Take action towards your dreams. Walk your talk. Dance and sing to your music. Make today worth remembering!If you are willing to do more than you are paid to do, eventually you will paid to do more than you do!”Sharon Soh, managing director, MEC SingaporeOne big thing you and your agency learnt from 2014?People are the front and centre of the agency business and the talent environment has indeed gotten more challenging this year. As an industry, we need to collaborate more and think in a more “out-of-the-box” manner on talent development to future proof ourselves.What is your new year’s resolution for your agency/team?Our agency’s manifesto is “Don’t Just Live. Thrive.” which we launched this year. My resolution for 2015 is to inspire my team to live this out this motto every day.Desh Balakrishnan, managing director of Maxus SingaporeOne big thing you and your agency learnt from 2014?Clients are always looking for an agency which is a strategic partner rather than a transactional/functional agency.What is your new year’s resolution for your agency/team?Two key priorities : Aiming to be the best in class as a media agency and embracing government’s work life balance within the organisation.Nick Seckold, CEO, Mindshare SingaporeOne big thing you and your agency learnt from 2014?That change is the only constant in our business and we must embrace it to thrive.Working in a media agency can be challenging, complex and exciting all at the same time so those who understand these dynamics will survive and those that don’t will not. In my opinion there has never been a better time to be in media where we get to work with so many great partners that are collectively shaping culture and influencing consumer behaviour.What is your new year’s resolution for your agency/team?We’ll be building on the significant progress we made in 2014 in areas such as: programmatic, data visualisation, content & process automation.Clients are increasing their demands of their agency partners so we’ll be laser focused on building out services that help drive their business in a "always on” data rich environmentPat Lim, managing director of UM SingaporeOne big thing you and your agency learnt from 2014?All leaders ultimately will want one thing: A successful team behind them which can act with one mind; one spirit; one goal.It may seem grand and perhaps clichéd but when you are at the helm, you learn that ultimately there is no substitute to a good team. We had quite a few roadblocks this year, but because of the team behind me, despite the challenges, we emerged stronger. This is something I am thankful for every day at work.What is your new year’s resolution for your agency/team?The resolution is to never be complacent and learn one new thing each day – however small.For the year 2015, we want to be at the cutting edge of media. To do this, we must become leaders in our own right, be adaptive, be agile, and strive to stay ahead of the curve.Jacqui Lim, managing director, Havas Media SingaporeOne big thing you and your agency learnt from 2014?I've learnt two things this year.One is that adhering to what you think is the right course takes courage and determination - but it will pay off. So whether as a leader or as an agency member, we have to stay true to our beliefs and what we stand for.  After all, our client's and staff's confidence in us is built on unwavering consistency in what we say and do.I also learnt that we should never under-estimate the power of team work. With unity and team work, we often surprise ourselves with what we can achieve.What is your new year’s resolution for your agency/team?We have no new year's resolution because we rarely stick to them!I' d say we have a motto that we should live by. Something I "stole" from someone I recently got to know in the Havas Media network - If you do what you always do, you will get what you've always got.So let's do things differently and let the magic happen.Pat Law, founder of GoodstuphOne big thing you and your agency learnt from 2014?Avoid toxic people at all cost. Negativity is contagious for the weak-minded and the inexperienced.What is your new year’s resolution for your agency/team?For sure there’s always room for improvement (else we’d call ourselves GREATSTUPH), but as always, to do what we do with honesty and integrity. To always let the work do the talking.Don Anderson, managing director, We Are Social SingaporeOne big thing you and your agency learnt from 2014?That your people will always be core to your success, and should take priority.Not really a new learning, but something that anyone who is running an agency needs to constantly remind themselves of, particularly in an environment where there is near-rabid competition for talent alongside increased demands to be always on, always responding. Those willing to encourage their teams to strike a balance between the current digital overload and switching off will be the ones that stand the most to gain in employee trust and respect, not to mention great work for their clients.What is your new year’s resolution for your agency/team?We will stay committed to what we do best, and believe in — world changing social thinking. That’s the belief that social thinking should be at the centre of all marketing and reflects how the relationship between brands and audiences has changed.We will continue to seek out and collaborate with like-minded social thinkers in the region and beyond, as they are the ones recognised for challenging tired industry conventions and marketing practices. Fortunately we already have some pretty strong allies in that arena already.Rosalynn Tay, CEO, Dentsu SingaporeOne big thing you and your agency learnt from 2014?2014 has been a quite a journey for us. With the integration of our brands into the wider network, we have scaled our business to bring in some big client wins and have earned a number of awards and recognitions.All this would not have been possible if not for my “never say die” attitude each member of my team demonstrated. A leader can only be as good as his or her team commits to be.And I’m very thankful for having all the right players in my team.What is your new year’s resolution for your agency/team?We’re ending 2014 on a high and sustaining that positive momentum is key to a successful 2015. My mantra moving into the new year would be to continue thinking big, and to continue driving our business to infinity and beyond!Fiona Gordon, group chairman, Ogilvy & Mather SingaporeOne big thing you and your agency learnt from 2014?People fear change but they get used to it faster than you think they will. So be brave!Also, champagne makes everything better.What is your new year’s resolution for your agency/team?Be even braver! And create reasons to drink more champagne!Ara Hampartsoumian, managing director, TBWA\SingaporeOne big thing you and your agency learnt from 2014?We need to evolve the way we work to set ourselves up for a rapidly changing industry.Work wise, what is your new year’s resolution for your agency/team?Ensure disruption continues to drive the core of our business model. Joseph Barratt, managing director, Mutant CommunicationsOne big thing you and your agency learnt from 2014?One of our main strengths as a lean agency is the advantage of being able to work quickly to different briefs and timelines, and react to news trends. We've had some really exciting business growth in the past year and the biggest lesson I've learnt is around managing that.The work that comes with implementing new processes, hiring talent and rolling out larger campaigns can easily weigh our team down in terms of work quality and speed, but we’ve taken to the time to set up new internal measures to ensure we always play to our strengths and offer our clients the best counsel and innovative ideas. We want to be one step ahead!What is your new year’s resolution for your agency/team?2015 is going to be a huge year of growth for us, as we are looking to expand from our boutique origins to around 20+ staff, broken into three specialty client teams - luxury/lifestyle, HR amd recruitment and marketing and technology.My resolution is to maintain a strong talent pipeline and focus on preserving our awesome company culture as we grow.