Impressive digital group photo

The talent crisis and employee preference for working from home mean that workplaces must use office space as a tool to connect with staff. AdNews’ Better Workplaces explores how agencies are using office design to attract staff and create a culture worth staying in.

Impressive, a digital marketing agency, has vibrant offices with an industrial aesthetic complemented by staff art, kilograms of locally grown coffee beans, and an in-house podcast studio.

Located just off busy Chapel Street in South Yarra, the office was designed by Impressive founder and CEO Robert Tadros and Acquila Interiors.

The end goal was a spacious and modern space for the team to work in, well designed for team growth and expansion.

The office currently has 70 seats and is expanding to 76 desks so that all staff members can have their assigned desk within the pod.

Most desks come with an optional electric standing desk.

Impressive’s branding is lightly integrated throughout the space, with the agency’s corporate values ​​written outside the conference room in branded colors and fonts. Each meeting room is named after one of his “always on your mind” values.

The industrial aesthetic continues in the kitchen, complete with snacks galore and a coffee machine fit for the Melbourne brand with local beans on a weekly rotation that varies by the office manager.

Anna WhitleyImpressive’s executive assistant said it’s a favorite part of the office staff.

“Great area for morning get-togethers, informal catch-ups, large group trainings, fun Friday events, and a relaxing area with sofas, ping pong tables, and foosball tables throughout the week.”

An impressive team in the Town Hall space.

The City Hall space houses an impressive collection of institutional memorabilia collected over the years.

As part of the agency’s team-building initiative, the staff drew and drank all night. Several paintings were kept in this communal space to rekindle good memories.

What is a digital marketing agency without Google merch? As Google accounts spend more, account holders, in return, receive points that can be redeemed for branded merchandise, such as Google bicycles.

Or a branded foosball table.

The City Hall area also houses a ping pong table, an agency must-have.

Podcast studio, tell me more!

The motivation behind the in-house podcast studio was that Impressive had two successful podcast series running in-house.

One was called Growth Masters by Impressive CEO and Founder Robert Tadros, and the other was called SEO Success Stories by Impressive US General Manager Russ Macumber.

Tadros advocates face-to-face connection, so he was passionate about having a space where he could record podcasts face-to-face. During COVID, he had to do the majority of his podcast recordings virtually.

The studio will also give Impressive the option to connect with local guests and facilitate virtual recordings via TV.

This space accommodates 3 people in a podcast recording, has a TV, casual sitting area, and is fully soundproofed using acoustic panels.

In-room amenities include a RØDEcaster professional podcast production studio with RØDE microphones and Yamaha headphones.

Impressive used to offer this space for free to other podcast hosts, but with agencies still back in the chasm of being able to meet in person again, it’s renting out the space to clients. I haven’t investigated about it.

However, this space can also be used for two purposes, such as when Impressive is not recording. This room makes a great informal catch-up area for the team.

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