Nielsen billings 2017: £13m (-12%)
Declared income: £5.2m
Total accounts at year end: 75
Accounts won: 13 (biggest: Business Gateway)
Accounts lost: 8 (biggest: Dobbies)
Number of staff: 165 (-13%)
Key personnel: Richard Marsham, group managing partner; Ed Brooke, head of Leith; Juliet Simpson, chairwoman, Stripe; John Rowley, chief executive, Signal
Star player: Brian Tonner, Robb McAulay, creative team
Leith’s end-of-year declaration that it was undergoing a restructure to make itself "fit for purpose" in 2018 served to underline the harshness of the Scottish climate for agencies. As the year drew to a close, the agency confirmed that it had cut one job and was in discussion with a further eight staff about their futures.
The drive towards greater efficiency comes in the wake of a slight decline in what was a record trading year for the group in 2016. However, the agency decided to act in the face of a slowdown in client spending and a growing trend to take more work in-house. As a result, it said it was looking to change a structure in which too many people were in the wrong roles at wrong levels and to hire six people to fill roles where there was bigger potential for growth.
Significantly, the changes coincide with the agency’s move into new open-plan offices, a former bonded warehouse at Edinburgh’s Commercial Quay, to be closer to its sister agencies, making collaboration with them easier.
Against this potentially disruptive backdrop, the agency kept its creative focus. The bamboozling "It makes no sense" campaign for soft drink Irn-Bru, Leith’s signature client, was shortlisted for the ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 Big Awards, while its work for The Famous Grouse whisky remained funny. It even had the Royal Bank of Scotland breaking with tradition by featuring a same-sex couple in a TV commercial’s lead role.
As the UK ad industry’s champion north of the border, everybody will be hoping Leith comes through 2018 in good shape and fighting fit.
SCORE THIS YEAR |
SCORE LAST YEAR |
SELF RATING |
| 5 | 7 | 7 |
Agency's year in a tweet
Making bold work and grand plans. 2018 we’re coming for you.
Score key: 9 Outstanding 8 Excellent 7 Good 6 Satisfactory 5 Adequate 4 Below average 3 Poor 2 A year to forget 1 Survival in question
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