When Maria Grivas took the helm of Mindshare ANZ in September 2022, the agency was in a difficult spot. Two of its largest clients – NAB and Foxtel – were up for review and Grivas was tasked with transforming a legacy agency model and culture to make it fit for the future.

In 2023, Grivas delivered in spades.

Led by Melbourne MD Chris Solomon, and account leads Sylvia Pickering and Mark Tzintzis, Mindshare retained NAB for another three years. The agency also picked up the circa $40 million media account of Unilever, which had sat with PHD since 2015. In fact, Mindshare added 10 clients and capped off the year by retaining the Foxtel account.

There is little doubt that Grivas has hit the ground running and with plenty of swagger. She was a finalist in the executive leader category at 2023’s B&T Women in Media awards.
She has increased the agency’s expertise in commerce, the marketing cloud, influencer marketing and inclusive media to future-proof the business and make it more relevant to clients’ evolving needs.

Mindshare has long been lauded for its strategic chops and is now heavily focused on using cutting-edge research and analysis to supercharge its client services. As a result, the ‘Good Growth’ agency substantially grew its digital consulting revenue by nearly 30 per cent, although its overall billings were down by 11.3 per cent to $341 million in the 2023 calendar year, according to COMVergence figures.

Clients at Mindshare tend to stick around; nearly 50 per cent have been with the agency for more than 10 years. 2023 was a strong year for Mindshare and Grivas is laying the foundations for better times ahead.