by Herman Manson (@marklives) Jason Cumming is the new MD of M&C Saatchi Africa. Cumming left his previous position as MD of agency Leftfield, in which he was also a shareholder, late last year.
Cumming is the third MD at M&C Saatchi in as many years. Its first MD, Rick de Kock, was head-hunted by Barclays to become its head of marketing and communications — Africa division. M&C Saatchi Africa ECD Ashley Bacon then took over the MD role as well, but has now stepped back; he retains his position as ECD.
Strategic plan
Cumming is in the process of drawing up a strategic plan for business and brand growth on the continent outside of SA. He says the agency will eventually be represented in East, West and Central Africa.
Cumming says he left Leftfield after that agency lost its major account — the FrieslandCampina dairy business for Nigeria — which it had held since 2008. The agency has since downscaled dramatically, and Cumming has sold his shareholding back to Leftfield founder, Jonathan Swanepoel.
Swanepoel has confirmed that he is repositioning the agency as a much smaller boutique offering. It retains GTBank as a client in Nigeria and will do strategic branding work for SA clients as well.
Biggest challenge
Cumming says his biggest challenge initially will be finding partner agencies in key markets and then deciding with what structure the network wants to roll out in those markets.
His focus will be on quality rather than quantity; expect two or three dots on the map rather than dozens, says Cumming, who is critical of the current vacuuming strategy employed by several rival networks. Nigeria will be his first stop, followed by Kenya. The agency is already active in Central Africa through client Heineken.
Currently, Cumming has a team of eight but his agency taps into M&C Saatchi Abel’s Cape Town and Joburg resources. M&C Saatchi Africa is driven from the M&C Saatchi Abel office in Cape Town.
Generally welcomed
According to Cumming, the expansion of agency networks across the continent is generally welcomed in those markets who view them as global brands (rather than as SA brands).
Cumming is optimistic about growth on the continent but says agencies need to rethink how they enter these markets. Much of the continent skipped past desktop computing in favour of mobile technology — he says the continent can again leap-frog traditional agency models in favour of more flexible and innovative models.
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