Rebecca Shropshire
Rebecca Shropshire, who joined media services firm Cairns O’Neil Strategic Media as managing director on Monday, is another example of the agency’s founding principle that clients will have ready access to seasoned and senior talent, its co-founders say.
Along with fellow managing director Tim Hughes and agency co-founders David Cairns and Sherry O’Neil, Shropshire will oversee a dedicated client roster while simultaneously leading the three-year-old agency’s digital practice.
“When we set this agency up [in 2012], we thought there was an opportunity for a senior-managed agency actively working on accounts,” Cairns told Marketing. “What we have noticed and seen in the industry is that there’s pressure for revenue growth and profitability, which tends to result in fewer senior people and more junior people.
Shropshire had been on the radar of Cairns and O’Neil for several years, ever since she worked with O’Neil at Astral Media Radio in 2009.
“We’ve been courting her in some way or other since she’s been working at CBC,” said O’Neil of Shropshire, who was director of digital commercial innovation/director of digital sales at the public broadcaster from 2013 to 2014, before taking on a role as vice-president of sales for Juice Mobile in December.
“When we knew she was ready to move on from Juice Mobile, we aggressively pursued her.”
Cairns said Shropshire was among several people he and O’Neil had talked with during what he characterized as an “extensive” search for senior leadership several months ago.
He said Shropshire possesses a perfect blend of client service and mentorship skills, while bringing considerable digital expertise to an agency that has seen its digital billings quadruple in the past year.
“We know that what’s going to grow within the industry moving forward is digital, and we want to make sure we’re leading that charge, and have the digital team and offering in place to be able to take advantage of that,” said Cairns.
According to O’Neil, digital currently accounts for an estimated 25% of Cairns O’Neil’s total billings, and could account for as much as 50% within 18 months as it continues to grow.
Shropshire’s hire brings Cairns O’Neil’s fulltime staff to 12 – double its size from just six months ago, thanks to new business wins that O’Neil described as a mix of blue-chip clients and smaller clients. Its client roster now spans major categories including financial services, retail, beverage alcohol, telecommunications and consumer packaged goods.
While Cairns O’Neil largely eschews the multi-million accounts that have accounted for what O’Neil described as an “unprecedented” number of reviews in the past six months, she said it has benefited from disenfranchised clients who feel ignored as larger agencies focus on larger pieces of business.
Though the agency does pitch media-only assignments, it has also forged alliances with 10-12 creative shops that it is frequently invited to pitch alongside. O’Neil said a “disproportionate” amount of the agency’s new business also arrives via referral.
While there are no plans to add staff in the near future, Cairns said it’s possible that Cairns O’Neil could grow to 20-24 people within the next 18 months.
