New disruptive marketing agency promises transparency in online analytics

Robert Stockdill

2nd Aug 2022

Six Australian marketing executives have created what they describe as a “disruptive marketing technology business” they say will keep online agencies and developers accountable to clients by making independent digital audits accessible to SMEs. 

The Independent Digital Audit Pty Ltd (IDA) was founded by media and marketing leaders including Slingshot CEO Simon Rutherford, former Publicis and Ogilvy CEO Andrew ‘Billy’ Baxter, marketer David Morgan, Slingshot founding partner Steve Douglas, and Slingshot’s chief innovation officer Simon Corbett. The five are partners in IDA, which will be led by former Fairfax and Condè Nast executive Steve Douglas, as MD. Ex-Roy Morgan GM John La Rosa will be GM at IDA.

Douglas says transparency is “often nebulous” in the world of digital marketing and IDA wants to make it easier for companies to be able to independently assess the impact of online campaigns through reports and advice on improving companies’ return on investment.

“A business’s online presence has never been more vital to its success, yet the average Aussie SME is overwhelmed by its dependence on digital channels and lacks the time, budget or know-how to improve it,” says Douglas.

Baxter says that many small business owners don’t know a lot about their online customers, as online brings a level of anonymity to the purchase cycle. “The IDA audit gives these business owners a first-hand glimpse of who they are and their needs and wants.”

Adds Simon Rutherford: “While there are lots of search engine optimisation, search engine marketing and Google specialists in the market, none of them looks at the whole picture in detail nor provides a priority list of what needs to be fixed. We do both.”