Icon Agency (Icon) is a marketing communications firm working at the leading edge of behaviour change and digital transformation. It exists to solve complex communications challenges, helping government and corporate brands connect with consumers in new and innovative ways.

Headquartered in Melbourne, Icon has offices in Canberra and Sydney, as well as a video and content production studio in Richmond, Victoria. Icon is uniquely committed to people, and purpose-driven briefs; it employs 80 people, and treats staff like family.

These organisational values have underpinned a period of phenomenal success since the onset of COVID-19. The agency has leveraged pandemic pressures into a driver of growth, doubling turnover and profits, expanding its network and upscaling services to capture new markets. The ‘secret sauce’ of Icon’s success lies in its entrepreneurial spirit and deep commitment to people. As Australia entered nationwide lockdown in 2020, Icon’s primary objective was to retain all staff and ensure the agency continued to support clients through change. This required rapid shifts in the way human resources, client relationships, and technical capabilities were directed and managed. The agency developed an initiative to ‘save every job by investing in growth’.

Not only has Icon created over 40 new jobs during the pandemic, it initiated a sweeping program of cultural transformation that saw the agency transition to an ultra-flexible workplace model that offers staff autonomy over hours, allows employees to work from anywhere in Australia, and even enables employees to live overseas for up to two months a year. Alongside these changes, Icon implemented a program of wellbeing and mental health support including counselling, meditation, workshops and training.

Needless to say, Icon weathered the pandemic storm without requiring any Jobkeeper support from the government. By digging deep, investing ahead of growth and expanding to tap new markets Icon emerged from the global pandemic as a mature business with a very bright future.

Investing ahead of the curve
In the early days of COVID-19, Icon undertook research to provide the evidence base informing a revised, data-driven business strategy for 2020–22. This research made the case for strategic investments in COVID-era growth sectors like change management, public health, behaviour change, eCommerce, strategic advisory and reputation management.

To position itself ahead of the curve, Icon invested in new:

– Markets: opening an office in Sydney while key competitors shrunk
– Capabilities: establishing a video and content production facility in Richmond, Victoria, as well as a dedicated sales and marketing team to drive growth into the future
– Services: launching Icon Reputation and expanding resourcing for data analytics, media planning and media strategy.

Together these changes have delivered organisational growth increasing Icon’s ability to deliver on its brand promise as a full-service marketing agency that provides end-to-end solutions to complex communication challenges. The agency has seen new business inquiries double and achieved revenue growth of 87 per cent in the 2020–21 financial year.

Most importantly, staff surveys showed satisfaction reached record highs in the 2020–21 financial year, while retention rates strengthened to 90 per cent — exceptionally high for the marketing and communications sector.

This momentum has fuelled a flood of recognition. In 2021 Icon won a remarkable three ‘Agency of the Year’ awards. It was Australia’s most awarded public relations (PR) agency, with 32 international and national awards for its culture, team and campaigns. These recognitions culminated with Icon being named a finalist for ‘Global PR Agency of the Year’ in the prestigious Campaign Awards — a remarkable achievement for an independent, family-owned business up against billion-dollar global networks.

To power its next decade, Icon recently launched ‘For people, with purpose’, a bold new belief system that lives through the agency’s work and client partnerships — from reimagining chatbot interactions to countering 5G misinformation using Icon’s renowned integrated communications model. And the firm is on track to post another record-breaking year in 2021–22, with forecast double-digit growth.

For more information about Icon Agency, visit iconagency.com.au.