by Herman Manson (@marklives) A group of specialist agencies has come together under a single roof to establish a collaborative agency called We are BOB. Members, lead by group MD, Sizakele Marutlulle, and founder and chief commercial officer, Reghard Goussard, give up 15% of their revenue to the collective. So far, the collaborative agency has a staff count of 72.
At the moment, We are BOB consists of specialists in the field of web and mobile (Omni Studio), insights driven creative (Crio), events and activations (Colourworks), PR and social media (Positive Dialogue), production procurement (Tonic Print), commercial specialist (Comsound Marketing), retail specialist (Origin) and strategy (Mercury 1).
Services
Services include through-the-line campaigns, digital, production procurement, strategy, events and PR.
The agency launched in March 2014 and isn’t willing to list its client base as yet — many of these are working with the agency on a project basis while they test the business model.
Goussard used to run his own agency, called Arctic Circle, which he closed down earlier this year. Goussard says he grew tired of the agency model Arctic Circle was built upon, one which has lost the trust of marketers and faces increased pressure due to budget cuts and a constant pitch environment.
Collective minds
Collective minds will build future agencies, rather than individuals, says Goussard. We are BOB is testing a new model, where small owner-managed agencies pitch together on larger accounts. Clients can pick and choose what they need from the collaborative and members give up a share of their revenue, rather than see the agency charge clients extra.
All the member agencies are now under a single roof — easing pressure on clients who now have one point of contact and a unified budget, and allowing member agencies to fully collaborate on client projects.
Sizakele Marutlulle and her partners gives the collective a BEE component that is hands-on, explains Goussard, which is essential to real industry transformation and in rebuilding trust between agencies and clients.
A long career
Marutlulle has enjoyed a long career in advertising and marketing; she was chief operating officer of South Africa Tourism, deputy managing director of HerdBuoys McCann-Erickson, and CEO at Grey.
According to Marutlulle, BOB attempts to bring together best-of-breed specialists in a way that is economical for clients. The agency is challenging the status quo, she says, who is a firm believer in co-creation.
“It is our ambition to deliver brand objectives with social glue,” she says, adding that brands need to look beyond the limited scope offered by vieving people only as consumers and ignoring all the other elements that make us human.
Willing to prove itself
Marutlulle also acknowledges that the colloborative model still has the potential to scare clients, but says the agency is willing to prove itself by working on projects with clients, rather than attempting to grab all their business on the first go.
Marutlulle notes that, when she asks people about their favourite ad campaigns, these are inevitably older than 10 years. Today, we see the same work continously repackaged, when we should be trying to create the best work for the current decade.
“You can be brave or you can be safe,” challenges Marutlulle, “but you can’t be both.”
She hopes brave clients will link up with brave partners to produce just that.
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