Five by Five’s Mark Anderson Is “Focusing On Local Clients” and “Grassroots” Feeling of Indies

Mark Anderson is set on investing in “local marketing activities, focusing on local clients”. 

He joined Five by Five Global as managing director of the Australian outpost in August 2024  following an eight year run at Cheil Australia, where he was managing director In the year that has followed, working as part of a global network has “become second nature.”

“Whilst Cheil was part of a global network of agencies – 53 countries or so – ultimately, it did operate very independently in this market,” he told LBB. 

“So I'm following a similar suit where, yes, we've got offices in London and LA, but what I'm focusing on is what's going to help build up our reputation in this market for this agency – so doing more local marketing activities, focusing on local clients. 

“I'd love to say, yes, let's get some really big names in the agency that are international. But I think for me, getting the opportunity to do great creative for brands where the local decision making sits within Australia, it's really, really crucial. That's something that I've prioritised and focused on.”

Mark started out working in an indie, then moved to Publicis, and worked in network agencies for years. Now leading independent agency Five by Five Global, Mark said working in indies means “you do get to have more direct conversations with clients.”

“It cuts out a lot of the hierarchical structures that you sometimes have in these big network agencies,” he said. 

“It has definitely felt a lot more grassroots, which has been nice. It's almost taken me back to how it used to be when I was kickstarting my career, to be honest.”

Five By Five was recently appointed as creative and brand activation agency of record for Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA), following a national pitch.

The partnership will see Five by Five Global develop a major national launch campaign in 2026, designed to unite Australians in support of the surf lifesaving community.

“There's so much I'd love to say about it that is under wraps at the moment, but I think what's exciting about this, more than anything, is it's something that I feel just touches every Australian,” said Mark. 

“When the activity takes place next year, it's something that I think all Australians can get behind. It's going to be quite a nice nationwide together moment. So, I can't give too much away, but we're excited for what it is and for the plans that we've got in place.”

As well as SLSC, Five by Five works with clients in a range of categories including financial services, video games, real estate, pharmaceuticals, and retail. Mark noted the variety of categories is a big benefit for both him and his team – his previous agency, Cheil, started out, and is best known, as Samsung’s agency.  

“Having been part of a business which is very insular and in a vacuum, because it's so much focused on one client – and culturally, operationally, it really wants to focus itself around that one client – stepping away from that and going back into an agency where you're working on lots of different clients, different categories, different verticals, has actually been really enjoyable.”

Overall, he laughed, the past year has “been a lot of fun.” 

“It can always be a little bit daunting moving into a new business, especially when you've been in another business for as long as I have, for eight years. But coming in, things are slightly different to a big network agency. It's definitely a little bit more agile and flexible in how you can work and how quickly you can make decisions.

“It's been really nice, getting back onto the tools and almost acting like a suit again, in a way – being involved in pitches directly, being involved in client conversations.”