Andrew Baxter: ‘Business planning should be simple and practical’

In the ever-evolving landscape of Australian business and marketing, Andrew Baxter stands out as a respected and influential figure. As the former CEO of Ogilvy Australia and CEO and chairman of Publicis Australia and New Zealand respectively, he has guided countless brands through competitive markets and complex business environments.

Currently, Baxter wears multiple hats. He serves as chair of Australian Pork Limited, deputy chair of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and non-executive director at Foresters Financial, GrowthOps, Agricultural Innovation Australia, Hypetap, and OzHarvest. His influence extends further as a senior advisor at BGH Capital (formerly also a senior advisor for KPMG), and adjunct professor of marketing at the University of Sydney. Baxter's commitment to business and marketing education is also evident through his board and chair roles at Deakin Business School, University of Sydney Business School, Commtract, and the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation.

A passionate advocate, Baxter is known for tackling common industry challenges head-on—from ageism in the ad industry to bridging the gap between C-suite marketing leaders' agendas and driving business outcomes. Having pivoted from pureplay marketing and agency roles, Baxter now also advises business leaders, including CMOs, on the value of planning out a comprehensive business strategy. His philosophy on business planning is rooted in simplicity, practicality, and actionability, principles that have guided his advisory work with over 150 organisations since October 2018. His ‘24HR Business Plan’ programme exemplifies this approach, helping a diverse range of companies—from startups to established ASX-listed firms—develop straightforward, executable strategies. 

Campaign caught up with Baxter to unpack the art of effective business planning for busy senior leaders today, how marketers can better shape business strategies, and insights from his personal journey across agencies to advisories.

Campaign: It's a crowded marketplace today. What are some of the most common pitfalls you see agencies encounter when trying to differentiate themselves, and what are some practical ways to navigate these challenges?

Baxter: Often when agencies try to differentiate themselves in a saturated market, they rely on lofty, ethereal purpose, vision, and value statements that are not backed up by concrete actions and results. Many agencies claim to be innovative, creative, or customer-centric, but these terms have become so overused and vague that they have lost their meaning and impact.

To avoid this, it's more important to agree on the market context that a business operates within, including key industry trends, clients and their needs, the company’s DNA, who their competitors are, and how they genuinely differentiate from them. You can run an exercise to map out the white space to compete, then use this information to co-create your 'strategy on a page' that summarises purpose, vision, and values into a unique and clear elevator pitch. This is a simple and memorable way of telling their story in layman's terms, so anyone can understand who they are and what they’re working towards. When we work with clients, we also pressure test by asking them to give us short and sharp case studies of how they demonstrate this. It also helps with alignment, so everyone in the agency can communicate the same message consistently and confidently.

How do you suggest companies (be it brands or agencies) transform theoretical strategies in their business plans into actionable steps for growth?

In my experience, there are three key elements to turning a business plan from a document into a reality. The first one is simplicity. Ensure the business plan is in a format that’s easy to socialise and implement. I’ve seen it time and time again where companies waste resources developing these giant documents that end up being used as a doorstop. When we work with clients, we get them to simplify their market context, strategy, growth plan, and priorities into four key pages. This means it can easily be used to induct new staff, focus and align the team, and track progress.

The second element is prioritisation. You can't do everything at once, and you don't need to. Businesses need to focus on the most impactful actions that will drive growth and choose the top 10 must-dos for the first year of their plan. These are the critical initiatives that will make the biggest difference to their bottom line. By narrowing down their focus, they can avoid being overwhelmed by lots of theoretical ideas and instead create actionable steps for growth.

The third element is execution. Businesses need to have a clear roadmap of what they are going to do, when they are going to do it, and who is responsible for doing it—such as allocating a leader to each of their must dos, agreeing action steps for the next four to six weeks, and updating them at each management meeting. This way, businesses can ensure they are always moving forward, and are accountable for progress. Experience has shown that if businesses don't have action steps for those first few weeks, then the goal is less likely to be actioned. By having short-term milestones, momentum and motivation are kept high.

In your experience, how do business planning strategies differ for agencies aiming for local prominence versus those targeting a regional footprint?

Business planning is a crucial process for any agency that wants to grow and succeed in a competitive market. Whether the agency is aiming for local prominence or a regional footprint, the fundamentals of the strategy remain the same. These include agreeing on the market context like I said above: The purpose, the vision, the values statements, and the culture that underpins that, to define the agency's identity and direction for the next three to five years. However, the way the agency executes that strategy, such as the goals and the tactics, is where things differ.

Working from the assumption that local agencies have more local clients, the goals and tactics are more focused on building a strong reputation and relationship with the local clients, media, and stakeholders. The agency needs to understand the local culture, preferences, and challenges, and tailor its services and solutions accordingly. They also need to invest in local talent, infrastructure, and partnerships that can help it deliver high-quality work and value to the local market.

For agencies targeting a regional footprint, the goals and tactics are more oriented towards expanding the agency's reach and influence across different markets and geographies. They also need to develop a scalable and adaptable business model and a robust network of regional offices, teams, and partners that can support its growth and operations in different markets.

For CEOs or CMOs sceptical about the efficacy of creating yet another business plan, what evidence can you provide to convince them of its value?

If you look at the research papers, they’ll tell you that 71% of fast-growing businesses have a business plan and those are the ones that are growing at a rate of 90% plus a year. Planning also increases your chances of growth by 48%. We've done this for nearly 150 clients now, and what our data is starting to tell us is that of the clients that have engaged us for a second year, about 80% are reporting topline revenue growth. The same goes for the traffic light exercise. We’re seeing that companies that complete an annual review with seven out of 10 green lights—in essence, those that have executed with excellence—are the ones that are growing the fastest.

Put the numbers aside, and the other piece of key feedback is that the business planning process provides businesses with two key things: focus and alignment. It’s a powerful thing to have your whole team pulling in the same direction.

Can you share an example in your experience where applying the above approach has changed the trajectory of an agency or company?

One example is an independent media agency that was only a few years old. They had a strong vision and clear passion for their work but were stretched thin and struggling to position themselves against the big agency groups. In the past, they had always done planning at the owner level, and although the owner was brilliant, they were missing opportunities for innovation and collaboration, and to get the entire agency thinking strategically, which is particularly important when you have a small team.

We helped them adopt a more democratic and inclusive approach to their business planning, where they involved the whole team in agreeing on their market context, setting their long-term strategy and financial goal, and aligning on their priorities. This not only created more buy-in and commitment from the team, but also helped them upskill and develop their leadership potential. As a result, they were able to grow from nine to 30 people in less than a year, while delivering high-quality work and exceeding their clients' expectations.

How have business planning strategies evolved in recent years especially with advancements in digital and technology?

In my opinion, business plan strategies have in some ways evolved and remained the same in some aspects. On one hand, the content of plans has changed to reflect the changing market environment. These are overarching trends in the environments that companies are operating in. Some of the key ones we’re seeing come up regularly are ESG, cybersecurity, AI and automation, work from home versus work from office, the rising cost of living, and labour shortages. We’re also seeing a lot of businesses address cybersecurity with goals and strategies that are more geared towards digital transformation and enhancing the customer experience in ways that promote trust and transparency.

On the other hand, some things have not changed. The most important thing is still to have a clear understanding of the market context and the competitive landscape, and to develop a great strategy that aligns with the vision of the company. Moreover, having a great strategy is not enough if it is not executed with excellence. This requires having the right culture and the right structure to support the implementation of the strategy, as well as the ability to monitor and measure the results and make adjustments as needed. These are some of the non-negotiables that professor Boris Groysberg and his colleagues from Harvard Business School have identified as the drivers of growth for any business. These are things that I don’t see changing regardless, and these are some of the things our business planning is grounded in.

Finally, what methods do you recommend for measuring the success of a business plan once it's been implemented?

When it comes to business planning, I always say that you need to have clear, measurable goals. Here are some of the things we suggest you can do to stay on track:

First, use frameworks like SMART when you set your 10 goals for the year. These are goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timebound and setting them up this way means they’re easy to measure.

Secondly, set up a regular review schedule with the leadership team, whether it's quarterly, half-yearly, or annual. This helps leaders monitor progress, spot any issues or challenges, and tweak plans as needed.

Thirdly, in those reviews, use a scorecard to rate how well each goal is progressing. This provides useful feedback and sparks discussion around what's working and what's not, and what improvements need to be made.

Finally, I also like to use a traffic light system to show status on each goal (eg, green = on track, yellow = in the works, red = needs attention). This helps prioritise focus and resources, and communicates clearly to stakeholders where you are and what you need to do next.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity,