We all love a Sunday roast, be that at home with our family or in a cosy pub with friends. As the nights begin to draw in and the days get colder, we may find ourselves indulging in this classic British dish more frequently, possibly in an attempt at gaining some sense of normality during this strange time. Let’s face it, Covid coupled with winter is pretty miserable without the smell of a slow-cooked, perfectly seasoned, beef joint or roast chicken wafting into our living rooms as we wait patiently to sit and stuff our faces (and then regret it the next day).

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MAAG evolve into Alliance of Independent Agencies

Matt Sullivan appointed as Managing Director

Today, Marketing Agencies Action Group (MAAG) announced its evolution into the Alliance of Independent Agencies, as part of an extensive restructure. The Alliance will lead the agenda of independent agencies and promote the sector’s interests as it faces the negative impact of COVID-19; helping independent agencies to safeguard jobs and boost agency growth. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant and negative impact on the creative agency sector, with as much as a 44% (£19 billion) reduction in turnover and projected job losses of 26% (49,000)¹. Independents make up ~90%² of the agencies in the creative sector which contributes over £43billion to the economy.

As income, jobs, ways of working, and client-agency relationships are reimagined as a result of COVID-19’s impact, it is integral the independent agency sector has a clear and action-focused voice. Until now, the sector has not had a united voice to promote its collective interests and pro-actively lobby policymakers in client-related industry bodies and the Government; the Alliance of Independent Agencies stands to change this.

As MAAG evolves to Alliance of Independent Agencies, it has appointed Matt Sullivan Managing Director, created a Members’ Board, and introduced a triumvirate of co-chairs to drive the agenda of its eight action groups.

Reflecting its change in purpose and structure, the Alliance will respond to the impact of COVID-19 with change-driving activities, including:

• Lobbying for government support, such as safeguarding jobs, through independent agency representation as members of The Advertising Association and Federation of Small Business.
• Providing independent agencies wider access to valuable resources, building on collaborations with other agency collectives. To date, these include Pimento, TheNetworkOne and Agencynomics.
• Empowering independent agencies to more successfully navigate procurement (in an increasingly competitive marketplace) through key educational partnerships.

As the incoming Managing Director, Matt Sullivan will spearhead this change. Formerly US Vice President at The Drum & Head of the Drum Network, and prior to that, Managing Director of the DMA’s International ECHO Awards, Sullivan has extensive experience championing agencies.

In addition to his appointment, the Alliance welcomes its inaugural triumvirate of co-chairs including, Ruth Kieran (CEO, Cirkle), Dino Myers-Lamptey (Founder, The Barber Shop), and Laurence Parkes (CEO, Rufus Leonard). The co-chairs are primarily responsible for distilling the input of the Alliance’s eight action groups (in the arenas of Purpose, People, and Performance) into one united voice.

Matt Sullivan says, “Across my work with agencies of all sizes and disciplines over the last 10 years, the biggest shift has been the desire to collaborate more – especially within the independent community. This will be the key factor behind the success of the Alliance of Independent Agencies. The Alliance is bringing an amazing mix of agencies together, plus support and access to other networks; a level of collaboration that is unusual with the backdrop of competitive membership fees. It feels like the last piece of the puzzle is to unite everybody that works for or alongside independent agencies to create something bigger and more impactful. With all the talent, great work, and increased confidence, I think we can be very ambitious with what we can achieve together. Exciting times.”

The Alliance seeks to unite the thousands of independent agencies, their leaders and everyone that works in the community to make meaningful change. Independent agencies can join the Alliance of Independent Agencies with their first month of membership free, here: allindependentagencies.org/welcome

Alliance of Independent Agencies will continue to deliver the same high-quality services as MAAG, including learning and development, new business partnerships, networking and thought leadership, championing issues, a legal helpline, pitch protection, and agency purchasing power.

Note to Editors:

About Alliance of Independent Agencies:

The Alliance of Independent Agencies exists to represent and celebrate the thriving independent agency community and place it and those that work in it at the heart of the rapidly evolving entrepreneurial creative economy.

The Alliance brings the best and most forward-thinking independent agencies together to learn, share, develop their teams, products and services and connects them to best-practice, new ways of working and cutting-edge technologies and tools. And because the Alliance is run by the independent community, for the independent community we fly the flag for the independents to the entire marketing community.

For more info, contact: matt@allindependentagencies.org

Social tags:

LinkedIn: @Alliance of Independent Agencies

Twitter: @allagencies

FAQS – Approved for internal and external responses

What does this mean for the current directors?

Clive Mishon and Graham Kemp will remain as directors of the Alliance and support the executive team. Mishon and Kemp have both built successful independent agencies but are no longer engaged as executives in agencies. Since taking over the old MAA to create MAAG, they have made it an organisation driven by agency people, for the whole community. As the organisation evolves into the Alliance of Independent Agencies, they maintain their roles as directors – responsible for the Alliance’s financial stability and management – and welcome a new managing director and co-chairs. This is a vital step to ensure the Alliance is directed and driven by those actively involved in the day-to-day management of independent agencies. 

What does this mean for the non-independent agency members of MAAG?

MAAG no longer has group agencies in membership. Recent membership invitations have been focused on independent agencies as MAAG observed the common interests and effective collaboration between like-minded independent agencies.

[1] https://www.creativeindustriesfederation.com/news/press-release-cultural-catastrophe-over-400000-creative-jobs-could-be-lost-projected-economic

[2] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Statistics_on_small_and_medium-sized_enterprises#General_overview

How do you start your day? A builder’s tea? (standard) A milky coffee? (safe) A black coffee? (bit extreme) A double espresso? (I think you need help).

Chances are that you, like myself, start your day with a caffeinated beverage to get you going. I was always a tea girl, through and through until I discovered iced coffee, and I’ve been in a coffee fuelled love affair with it ever since. Whilst I could wax lyrical about how amazing it tastes and why you too should love it, its history and influence in modern day society makes for a much more compelling case.

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Mine was one of the 3,000 bookings taken by Paul Ainsworth’s team over the two days when they opened their phone lines. Yes, we were the people keen to get out and get eating! After months of lock-down cooking and a wedding postponed (not once but twice) due to Covid, we were eager to at least have something to look forward to in our two weeks of non-honeymoon and what better than a trip to our favourite haunt Padstow? We were also interested to see what ‘new normal’ dining would be like and of course keen to stay safe having spent so long doing the right thing and staying home. We chose the restaurants based on three factors: ones we love, dog-friendly ones (as we had the hound with us) and a new factor for our ‘new normal’ – ones we trusted. Paul Ainsworth is possibly our favourite chef, I followed his lock-down story on social media and was keen to support his return, so when the booking lines opened we were ‘on it’ and booked to stay at The Padstow Townhouse in a newly dog-friendly suite (we were in good company as Jason Atherton was also staying with his family). We also booked for Café Rojano and The Mariners with a visit to Rick Stein’s St Petroc Bistro sandwiched in between, topped off with pre-dinner drinks at the new Padstow Distillery and Padstow Brewery Tasting Rooms.

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I read a news story in The Caterer recently that spoke about how zero waste and modest ingredients will be key post-lockdown for chefs and it made me realise just how much we’ve been relying on these types of ingredients ourselves of late – the ‘new frugality’ if you will.

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I know, I know… Facebook might sound a bit dated or uncool to some of us these days. Many assume people only use it to see who’s got married, who’s had kids and who’s been marked safe in the most recent disastrous event (no sarcasm on this one, we’re very grateful for this feature!) But in actual fact, it is one of the most powerful online tools for marketing your food and/or drink brand. That’s if you know how to make the most of it.

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Street food is becoming increasingly popular around the world, giving people the chance to taste authentic specialities and experience local culture. In Europe, there are numerous sweet and savoury delicacies to choose from in each city and country, but here’s a selection of our favourites from around the continent.

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Christmas is but a distant memory, the cupboards once overflowing with tubs of Quality Street and boxes of biscuits now sit hollow, with a sheet of dust forming on their shelves. But hey, we’re in a new decade. 2020. TWENTY-TWENTY! It may sound cool but, even so, a new decade doesn’t change the fact that January is quite frankly a drag. Colds and other viruses fly around, mere pennies sit in our bank accounts, rain falls relentlessly at times, dark mornings greet us and dark evenings draw in too early.

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Let’s face it, we all check a restaurant’s Instagram before we go there. And we’ve all had a cheeky look at Ella Woodward’s page after buying her Protein Balls because it’s just become second nature to refer to someone or somethings Instagram out of pure and utter curiosity. This is why having an up-to-date and attractive page has become an important part of running a business. It can be daunting and seem like a lot of work, but with this list of 20 must-do’s, it’ll be a breeze and you can always call on the expert services of us beans (#shamelessplug #sorrynotsorry).

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I think it is safe to say that I may be the only person in the entire Jellybean office who has never had a mince pie… Partly due to the fact that it is not in my Christmas tradition as in France they are not a thing, and also partly due to the fact that I’ve always thought it was meat, which never appealed to me. After doing a little bit of research on the history of mince pies I discovered that I was not entirely wrong and that mince pies were, once upon a time, made using meat.

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Hi! My name is Caroline, and I am currently at Jellybean on work experience. I have really enjoyed working at an agency focused on food and beverage, as I am a huge foodie. I love cooking but my passion is hands down baking, that’s why I have decided to research the history of pancakes. Yes, pancakes… I absolutely love making them and trying out new recipes and toppings, the possibilities are endless! So, what is a pancake and where did it originate from?

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As we turn the corner and practically fall into Halloween, the summer of twenty nineteen fades away. The nights are drawing in, the leaves have begun to change and it’s finally time to dig out the chunky knits again – can I get a hell yeah!? With the pending autumnal festivities fast approaching and with every pub in proximity burning a cheerful blaze on the log fire, it’s unquestionably one of the most loved and popular times of year.

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After hearing horror stories from my Dad about what my Mum attempted to cook when they first moved in together I shut my eyes and prayed I wouldn’t follow in her culinary footsteps. What could be so bad you ask? How about slicing up a ‘Ready to Cook’ chicken and sandwiching between two slices of bread with some salad cream for good measure. Don’t say you made the same mistake as Mum and read ‘Ready to Eat’ instead of ‘Ready to Cook’! Luckily Dad questioned the squidgy-ness of the sandwich and opened up the slices of bread to reveal the pink chicken inside – eek! Food poisoning avoided, culinary lesson learned.

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My favourite tipple…so I thought I would investigate its origins a bit more. The delicious craft gins which we enjoy today are a long way from the original gin, which is said to have been created by a Dutch physician, Franciscus Sylvius, and was essentially a malt wine base using juniper to disguise its harsh flavour and was deemed to be ‘medicinal’. Although even as far back as 70AD juniper berries mixed with wine were used as a herbal medicine.

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I am lucky enough to have visited Nelson in the Marlborough area of New Zealand’s South Island several times now as my daughter lives there and of course I have fallen deeply in love with NZ Sauvignon Blanc or Sav as it is known locally.

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The time is approaching, and the vermouth revolution is on the brink of worldwide domination.

Many still picture vermouth as an epitome of that dust-gathering liquor at the back of their grandparent’s cupboard (right next to the Advocaat and Maraschino Liqueur) which rarely sees the sunlight. But just like the old proverb says, “Everything comes back into fashion if you wait long enough!”.

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