Icon Inc and Icon PR merge to launch new multi-channel disruptor Icon Agency in Melbourne

Melbourne digital and PR agencies Icon Inc and Icon PR are merging to form a new creative brand, Icon Agency.

Led by founders Joanne Painter and Christopher Dodds, Icon Agency targets the growing demand for multi-channel, multi-platform campaigns and creative solutions.  

With end-to-end digital and PR expertise in its DNA, Icon has always approached client challenges from a different angle. Over the last year, Icon has added more strategic and creative firepower to the team, with a view to evolving into a seamlessly connected full-service agency.

Says Painter, managing director: “Icon Agency’s model combines creative advertising with strategy, digital and PR/communications. We work agile and execute multi-channel.

“Seven years ago we disrupted PR with one of the first genuinely integrated digital PR offerings in Australia. Icon Agency takes that spirit of disruption to the next level, blending traditional and digital creative services into a powerful, multi-channel solution for digital-era organisations.”

Award-winning creative director team Rod Clausen and Ed Bechervaise will anchor Icon Agency’s creative department. Since joining Icon in mid 2015 the pair have led a range of award-winning campaigns for the agency’s diverse corporate and government client portfolio.

Says Painter: “With the merging of digital, PR and a fresh, future-focused creative philosophy, the new Icon Agency believes it’s putting itself in the best position to work with clients who want to break with convention, challenge perceptions and inspire new behaviours.

“Our clients are brands that want to be more like themselves and less like everyone else. They are organisations who are looking to the future and want to be ready for what’s coming.”

Co-founder and digital manager, Chris Dodds, said Icon was a new model of hybrid creative agency.

Says Dodds: “Our media and communications landscape is transforming, driven by an exponential change in digital platforms and behaviours. Marketing and PR agencies are also in the midst of rapid digital transformation as engineers join their teams. Gone are the days of siloed strategies directed by a singular approach.

“Today, digitally literate managers backed by data analysts, usability experts, experience designers, developers, and content creators, are building end-to-end, cross-channel campaigns that identify and target markets and individuals with pin-point accuracy.”

Icon Agency is built on a simple premise: wouldn’t it be great if clients could get everything they need from a modern creative agency under one roof?

Following the rebrand, Icon Agency’s clients will have access to a broader mix of specialist thinking, with the goal to amplify, reinterpret, and elevate messages across multiple communication platforms.

Says Painter: “We’re living in a multi-channel, always-on landscape, and our clients’ needs are changing. It’s rare to find an agency with such a sophisticated combination of strategy, creative, digital and PR capabilities under the one roof. With this next step in our evolution we’re going to be better prepared to help our clients succeed in today’s changing marketplace.”

The launch of Icon’s brand evolution follows major new business wins in the banking, education, government and health sectors. The agency has also scored a string of award nominations and wins in recent weeks, including three prestigious Public Affairs Asia nominations for its work on NSW Farmers’ ‘Get The Whole Picture’ integrated campaign.  

Icon Agency’s announcement site can be viewed here: iconagency.com.au.