ClickZ Indie Agency News | Milla McPhee Heads to ABC, Droga5 to Unveil "Strategy Restructure"

ClickZ Indie Agency News

Here's what's happening this week in the world of indie agency marketing:
- Milla McPhee Heads to ABC, Droga5 to Unveil "Strategy Restructure"
- PerfumeTok backlash stalls AI avatars
- e.l.f., Olly, SheaMoisture test creator-first formats at speed

📊 Why Your Attribution Model Might Be Leading You Astray

At eTail Boston 2025, Fospha’s Chief Product Officer Dom Devlin joined leaders from Ahold Delhaize, Fleet Feet and Bonsai to tackle one of marketing’s most expensive blind spots: how brands measure performance across channels.

Too many brands still skew budgets toward the final click - because that’s the only place their reporting gives them certainty, all while under-funding the demand generation that actually drives long-term growth. Fleet Feet’s Tiffany Lee shared how cutting upper-funnel spend for just eight months saw new customer acquisition drop sharply, only recovering once awareness campaigns were restored.

Dom added another layer: the marketplace blind spot. Fospha’s data shows 42% of Amazon sales are influenced by non-Amazon ads - yet most reporting tools treat those sales as “organic,” meaning the channels that triggered the purchase never get the credit. Without that visibility, key growth drivers are left under-invested.

This is where Fospha’s Halo capability comes in - bringing DTC and marketplace sales into one Unified ROAS metric. It allows brands to see the true impact of channels like TikTok, Meta, and YouTube across all revenue streams, not just their own sites, and make confident, evidence-based decisions about where to spend next.

🔎 Read the full session insights to see all the panel’s takeaways on full-funnel measurement and closing marketplace gaps

📥️ Explore Fospha’s Halo Report to uncover how brands like Nécessaire used it to beat their Prime Day benchmarks by 47%

📌WEEKLY MUST-KNOWS

CREATOR ECONOMY
Digital Communities Challenge: AI’s Role In Marketing
Glossy details PerfumeTok’s swift backlash to Slate Brands’ AI influencer, underscoring a trust gap as beauty players test AI in creation and marketing. While Prada and fragrance houses lean into AI for speed and cost, community sentiment is forcing transparency and human oversight. Brand risk, creator relations and disclosure standards are now strategic levers.

MEDIA & BROADCASTING
Milla McPhee Heads to ABC, Droga5 to Unveil "Strategy Restructure"
ABC appoints former Droga5 ANZ chief strategy officer Milla McPhee as director of audiences, signalling both a leadership shift and a pending strategy restructure at the Accenture Song-owned agency. McPhee brings brand-building experience from Amazon Europe and top Australian advertisers, with a mandate to deepen audience relationships and shape cultural identity under MD Hugh Marks.

AD TECH
The Trade Desk Holds Its Own Against Amazon’s DSP Push

Digiday reports The Trade Desk’s growth remains intact even as Amazon’s DSP gains share. The balance of power in programmatic is shifting, but not enough to dent TTD’s position—affecting how agencies allocate budgets across retail media, CTV and open web. Expect tighter scrutiny on incrementality, identity frameworks and walled garden trade-offs.

⚡QUICK READS

Creator Trends: E.l.f., Olly, SheaMoisture Signal Format Shifts: Ad Age highlights creator-led parodies, serialized shorts and game show formats—pointing to agile, low-lift content that boosts organic reach and contract flexibility for brands. (More)

Hasbro Reframes Marketing’s Role Across Toys, Gaming, Entertainment: Adweek’s CMO interview urges marketers to own strategy and tailor plays by business line—guidance for restructuring teams around distinct audiences and revenue models. (More)

Google’s Pixel 10 Ad Targets Apple’s AI Narrative: MSN spotlights Google’s creative poking at Apple’s AI lag—signaling AI as a mainstream brand differentiator and a hook for paid social creative testing. (More)

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