by Herman Manson (@marklives) Following a strategy employed in numerous markets across the globe, WPP and the Ford Motor Company have announced the launch of its dedicated agency, Blue Hive, into the South African market.
In brief:
- Ford’s dedicated ad agency, Blue Hive, has opened in Johannesburg
- 17th global office and first in Africa
- Joint venture between JWT, Wunderman Aqua, Mindshare and Meropa
- New MD seconded from Detroit for next two years
All aspects
Blue Hive will handle all aspects of Ford South Africa’s marketing communications and is joint venture between Ford’s SA agencies: JWT, Wunderman Aqua and Mindshare (all members of WPP). Meropa, which handles Ford’s PR account, is also part of the venture, and the only non-WPP-aligned stakeholder.
The new office of Blue Hive is co-located in the building that houses JWT in Bryanston, Johannesburg. It will employ between 20 and 25 people. Chris Chadwick has been seconded from Detroit to serve as managing director for the next two years.
According to Paul Venn, president (global) at Team Detroit (Ford’s dedicated US agency), the SA office has been two years in the making, with plans drawn up a year ago and the agency finally becoming a reality about a month ago. Moving staff from different agencies into the dedicated agency is usually a challenge — but Venn says 95% of employees who worked on Ford at the different agencies were willing to join Blue Hive.
No loss in revenue
In each market, the precise financial model is negotiated with the parties involved; none of the agencies lose revenue as a result of the launch of this dedicated agency.
Through Blue Hive, Ford is aiming to find a distinct competitive advantage, says Venn, by bringing together its agencies under one roof, allowing for better knowledge transfer and communication. It also takes inter-agency competition out of the equation, argues Venn, allowing all the focus to be on the client and the work being done for it.
The SA market is a significant one, says Venn, and he hopes Blue Hive will unlock its potential more fully for Ford. The SA agency will, when appropriate, serve Ford’s other sub-Saharan markets as well.
Growth in adspend
The brand has grown its market locally share from 7.8% in 2012 to 13.8% in February 2015, according to Mark Kaufman, Ford vice president of marketing, sales and services for South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. Accompanying that growth in market share is growth in adspend — and the budget is now big enough to support a dedicated agency, says Kaufman.
A lot of that growth has been driven by the Ford Ranger, which will be a focus for Blue Hive both in South and sub-Saharan Africa.
— Get our round-up of top ad and media industry news and opinion in your mailbox every Monday and Thursday. Sign up here!