Fair Exchange: Depth vs breadth — the integrated agency challenge

by Erna George (@edgeo23) When I mentor students, I often warn them about the rush to success, stating that they need to craft their journey with some consideration to breadth and depth. The same concept of breadth vs depth applies to integrated vs specialist agencies.

For students on the client side, a level of depth is critical as it allows you to learn the rules of the game properly so you may apply them when moving on to gain more breadth of experience. In the same way as the journey will be different for each marketer, the same applies to agencies; each route has its pros and cons.

Cautious

While I am open to integrated agencies, I am cautious. Why?

  1. There are few integrated agencies that truly hit the mark, and
  2. Without enough depth in each field, being an integrated agency is not feasible in my view. While depth without breadth may lead to a myopic view, breadth without depth may lead to a diluted and ineffective offering.

When providing a full-service offering, sometimes the experience for a client is seamless while, at other times, the gaps are not only apparent but damaging to relationships. When a lead or integrated agency team delivers TVC-style content for digital and is surprised when it lacks engagement or asks its clients in frustration why its big display idea will not be not permitted in-store, this sometimes indicates an in-house team too removed from this environment.

I’m not suggesting that agencies mustn’t push boundaries or seek new paths, but challenges must be done in a mindful and relevant way — with full understanding of the retail or digital environments and processes. The same could apply to teams that have concentrated largely in certain categories, eg asking a creative team that for years has developed brilliant thinking and activation within financial services to shift gear and execute an activation for an FMCG product in the shopper environment may not be feasible overnight. It takes time and focus to develop the array of skills necessary across disciplines that deliver quality offer and service to clients and strong ROI. An approach which dabbles leads to a client experience that is lacking. Do you want to be remembered as the partner that delivered great work, even if in one area, or jack-of-all trades, master of none?

Impractical

Each aspect of the communication and consumer/shopper-connection journey requires specialised skill and knowledge, as well as focusing on the future trends in each to stay ahead of the curve. Imagining that BTL skills may easily translate ATL without consideration and learning is impractical — instantly I imagine a costing that has not taken into account all the key elements. At the very least, the approach to, and project management in, digital vs shopper vs radio are different, with diverse contacts and timeline realities. Without processes, creative and planning being aligned to the various settings, focal areas could be watered down and executional excellence compromised.

For example, treat a tactical volume-driving activity with the same process as a new thematic TV commercial, and sales may be tanking before you get the activity in market. Finding a compelling creative idea is fantastic but, unless it is expressed and executed within each of the relevant channels with the right message and tactics, it will not deliver.

I realise that, as a client, some may say that I am overstepping but my experience back on the client-side has shown me both the outstanding and the mediocre — having sat on both client and agency sides for an almost equal length of time, I do see both sides’ challenges and opportunities. Overall, I know that agency teams want brands to be successful and intent is not at question at all; everyone wants successful outcomes. However, I also sometimes challenge agencies that I meet with, which are looking to broaden their focus, to stick to their knitting or showcase their model, as the cost to both of delays, inefficiencies or getting it wrong is too high.

New revenue streams critical

I understand that, as the world of media and marketing becomes highly fragmented and moves at crazy pace, that unlocking new streams of revenue is critical (especially with shrinking budget realities). I also have no problem working with one team as this can bring efficiencies, but of primary importance is the skill within each of the relevant areas. As a client, I need specialists; there is no time to guide through the process. Different agency models are emerging in the shift to integration in thinking and behaviour, whether it be existing agencies increasing skills by hiring a spectrum specialists to cover areas or agencies developing separate business units under one roof. Then there are the smaller startups that have a core creative team sitting in creative hubs where they can outsource strategy or digital to key partners, which helps achieve specialisation while managing the cost base.

As I do sit on client side, judging how each operates is not my mandate; I’m interested in the integrated solutions possibilities, whether via single agency or multi-agency team, and I’m excited by the prospect of change and reaching new heights. Dedicated specialists or skills, each equally valued, working together to develop more-effective campaigns, engaging brilliantly across all touchpoints — these will unlock new partnerships and prospects.

With the increased focus on deliverables, a traditional approach will no longer work for clients or agencies. Straying too far from the agency core proposition or experience focus, like a brand that is desperate, will result in a lack-lustre offer without clarity on what the value proposition or point of difference is — integration is becoming a new normal. Similarly, expanding into new areas without demonstrating the plan and asking existing or new clients to trust you is likely to put relationships and reputation under strain.

Tips

  • Stay niche and offer brilliance in your core area unless you can offer full-quality service in integrated areas
  • To be of value to clients across a wide offer, depth with each area is critical — respect the nuances of each skill area and build or buy expertise in the areas you want to famous for
  • Let’s try new ways together; there may be valuable lessons and benefits all-round.

 

Erna GeorgeAfter starting at Unilever in a classical marketing role, Erna George (@edgeo23) explored the agency side of life, first as a partner at Fountainhead Design, followed by the manic and inspiring world of consultancy at Added Value. She has returned to client-side, leading the marketing team in the Cereals, Accompaniments & Baking Division at Pioneer Foods. Her monthly “Fair Exchange” column on MarkLives concerns business relationships and partnerships in marketing and brandland.

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Media Redefined: SA consumers — urban, rural and journeying

by Martin MacGregor (@MartMacG) It’s time to define a third context for South African consumers.

Flying is so easy these days; it’s simple to forget that life exists outside of the big cities. I recently spent some time in a few small towns in the rural Eastern Cape. King Williams Town, Cradock and Queenstown might seem like places of little interest but spend a few hours on their main streets and you will soon realise they are a fundamental cog in South Africa’s unique economy. They are literally humming. Every day. I was in one of these towns on an arbitrary September weekday lunchtime, and the queue stretched out of the KFC and around the corner. Something is definitely going on here.

A country on the move

We are a country on the move. In many ways, we are not dissimilar to the US where, at key moments of the year, there is a mass movement home, wherever that may be.

These journeys in SA are even more consistent throughout the year, as every weekend draws people home to everything from weddings to funerals. There is no doubting South Africans’ commitment to attending key life and death occasions. It is in our cultural DNA.

Understanding this hugely important dynamic requires a fundamental shift in thinking.

The conversation between clients and media planners about urban or rural targeting is usually two dimensional. One or the other. This approach fails to take into account this constant urban-to-rural-and-back movement that criss-crosses the country every day and particularly on weekends and holidays.

Fast-food brands know where their market is

The small towns themselves are starting to look more like typical US towns, with McDonalds, KFC (and Nando’s) outlets — not standard ones but top-of-the-range new and shiny ones — showing that the fast-food brands certainly know where their market is.

It’s time to define a third context for South African consumers: urban, rural and journeying. They might be the same individuals but the mind-set of people on the move is different. They have left their home and are more likely to be thinking about broader issues than the daily grind.

Opportunities to connect with these consumers are also different. More importantly, more impactful and less cluttered. Instead of being time-starved, they are suddenly very time-rich and in a very-captured environment in their mode of transport.

Perfect sampling potential

The towns themselves are small enough to really make a bold out-of-home statement, and the sampling potential at any of these stops could not be more perfect.

I often feel we get very stuck in historic ways of reaching consumers, focusing only on their destinations, the places where they live. It’s time to get more creative and understand more about the journeying. The interesting spaces and moments that this context opens up could be really impactful for a brand.

 

Martin MacGregorMartin MacGregor (@MartMacG) is managing director of Connect, an M&C Saatchi Company, with offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Martin has spent 18 years in the industry, and has previously worked at Ogilvy and was MD of MEC Nota Bene in Cape Town. He contributes the monthly “Media Redefined” column, in which he challenges norms in the media space, to MarkLives.com.

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Design Plus: Pioneering French ad agency turns to product design

by Mark Tungate (@MarkTungate) After Buzzman, the ground-breaking French agency, comes its spin-off unit Productman. Why has the agency turned its attention to product design? We chat to vice president Thomas Granger.

Gone are the days when advertising agencies just made ads; now they also design objects ranging from charm bracelets to amphibious prosthetic limbs. Working as a creative technologist at an agency could be considered as cool, if not cooler, than being a creative director.

The innovative French agency, Buzzman, was an early adopter of this trend, and has now gone as far as creating a spin-off operation called Productman. After touching on the subject during our interview with Granger in Cannes, we decided to catch up with him in Paris and find out more.

“Genuine market demand”

It’s perhaps no surprise to find that the agency is overtly design-friendly: its offices in the 10th arrondissement are full of well-chosen pieces of mid-century furniture. But Productman didn’t spring out of a love of pretty objects. Explains Granger, “It’s important to say also that this is not about ‘productising’ — a product created to drive an advertising campaign, like our own ‘Insomny’ coffee for Canalplay, which allowed viewers to binge-watch series. No, Productman is about creating products or services which respond to a genuine market demand.”

The difference is a matter of scale, he says. “Here we’ll be operating at a more-industrial scale. It’s not a case of producing a limited edition object for the period of a campaign. The purpose of Productman is to create objects or services which will exist for the long term.”

So what was the spark that led the agency to create a whole new unit devoted to product design?

“Several factors came together,” he says. “The first element is the sort of talent we have here. Our creatives regularly invent products in response to a communications brief — like the ‘Lovkit’ in collaboration with Ikea for Valentine’s Day.”

Another example is the jokey but technologically sophisticated Nosulus Rift for Ubisoft, a face mask that allowed users to “smell” a video game — in this case a South Park character’s noxious farts.

“We only made 150 examples, but now we have the know-how; if somebody want to push the button and make 150 000, they could. Imagine the applications for the fragrance industry, for example? That’s exactly what Productman will be about.”

He adds that there’s a demand on the part of the clients, some of whom fear the ‘Uberisation’ of their sector. “They’re concerned that an entirely new player may come onto their market with all the data and advantages of the digital world integrated directly into a new proposition. As many of them are large businesses born before the digital era, they face several constraints that make them less nimble when it comes to research and development. So, given the nature of the talent we have here, we feel that we’re in a position to help them.”

In short, clients can potentially collaborate with Productman on innovative products that they may not have the time, the budget or the in-house talent to develop. The agency will be remunerated for its time, the ceding of IP rights, and potentially with a cut of sales.

Breaking the mould

But the unit has other goals, beyond helping the agency’s existing clients. “It can help us with prospection, too: if we invent a product or service that may be valuable within a certain market, and we don’t have client in that sector, it will enable us to make contact with potentially interested parties.”

Thirdly, Productman intends to create its own products and services, for which it will retain the intellectual copyright. “That will take a bit longer, because obviously we’ll put our clients first. But, for example, we’re currently working on a product linked to climate change, which we’ll bring to life ourselves.” He stresses that Productman doesn’t intend to become a manufacturer. “Obviously, if you want to produce and distribute consumer goods on an industrial scale, it’s a heavier load to bear. But, if you’re talking about an API or a 100% digital service, it becomes much easier.”

For the time being, Productman has three projects in the works, although he can’t reveal too much about them. “Two of them have a digital focus, but the third, for a cosmetics brand, is not digital at all. We’re not giving ourselves any barriers. We take the pain point that the client brings to us, we analyse it strategically, and then we decide on the most-relevant solution.”

He points out that Buzzman is now ten years old, and was one of the first agencies in France to break the traditional mould. “We threw open a few doors. And, if the doors were closed, we’d climb in through the window. So it’s logical that we would try this here.”

Interesting HR questions

Productman is not experimentation for experimentation’s sake, he underlines. “Everything we create will address genuine client problems, or real market opportunities that we ourselves identify. It’s a reflection of the fact that the daily lives of consumers have fundamentally changed and will continue to do so.”

The evolution raises interesting human resources questions. Is there a new generation of creatives who naturally brings design skills to the table, or is Productman looking for designers?

“It’s a little of both. It’s true that the startup mentality, if we can call it that, has given rise to a generation with a wider range of skills, particularly in UX design. At the same time, although we’re not specifically looking for designers, we are interested in creatives who are able to ‘think’ product and service.”

He grins. “In short, we’re looking for the best — and, in general, the best are able to do many things.”

 

Mark TungateMark Tungate (@MarkTungate) is the editorial director of the Epica Awards (@EpicaAwards), the only global creative prize judged by the specialist press. A British journalist based in Paris, Tungate is also the author of seven books about branding and advertising, including Adland: A Global History of Advertising and, most recently, The Escape Industry, a journey through the business of travel. Over his 30-year career, he has has written for leading newspapers and magazines in the UK, France and the US.

In this series of articles called Design Plus, Epica highlights creativity in the design field.

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Ad of the Week: Feeling warm and fuzzy with Mohair South Africa

by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) Rooftop, an agency/production company that works with NGOs such as UNICEF, has produced a friendship fable in the form of a heartstring-tugging marketing video for Mohair South Africa. What a winner.

Mohair is considered one of the most luxurious of fabrics. Soft, strong, versatile and a great heat insulator, mohair is a perennial favourite with top designers, such as Tommy Hilfiger, who showcased mohair in his 2018 Spring/Summer collection. The wool takes dye well and is also more lustrous and reflective than most other fibres, earning it the nickname ‘the diamond fibre’. This unique material is the product of Angora goats, and South Africa’s Karoo region is responsible for some 50% of the world’s mohair production. The local industry is supported by Mohair SA, a non-profit organisation that markets the South African product internationally.

Together with Rooftop and its director Nicholas Waring, Mohair South Africa has produced “Weaving stories for a lifetime”, a four-minute mini-movie to promote the brand. The advert, which tells the story of two boys who grow up together but are separated and then reunited after many years, is carefully woven through with the various stages of the material’s production.

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Jack and Andile are two boyhood pals growing up together on a mohair farm in the mid-’80s. Jack’s father is the owner of the farm, and the story begins when Andile arrives with his father, who has come to work on the farm. The story is told with pictures, no dialogue, and a charming indie folk soundtrack created especially for the film by Charlie Finch. The lyrics are about friendship, and each scene shows the boys in different situations on the farm: playing in the fields, watching TV, roughhousing and working.

In one scene, Jack gives Andile a mohair blanket, and this blanket becomes an icon throughout the film. When the day comes that Andile’s father leaves the farm, we see Andile loading the blanket with his suitcase into the bakkie. He turns to look for his pal but he is nowhere to be seen, so sadly has to leave without saying goodbye.

Young Andile’s profile transitions to him as an adult, arriving in the city. He now has a job as a designer, while Jack is running his father’s farm.

Andile has chosen a hard path, working long hours to break into the industry. One night, he touches the mohair blanket draped over the back of his chair and becomes inspired. The scene cuts from Jack loading a bale of mohair wool onto a truck to Andile opening a box with the Mohair SA logo. The story then follows Andile as he designs his special collection, until finally he is given an invitation to show at the New York Fashion Week. The two friends have stayed in touch, and Andile sends Jack an invitation to his show. For the fashion show itself, the music transitions seamlessly to a high-energy track, still in the same key. The fashions showcase some of the textures that can be achieved with mohair, from soft woollen knits to tweedy suits.

At the end of the show, Jack is there to congratulate his friend, and they are reunited. The mini-movie finishes with the two young men sharing a celebratory drink; at this point the lyrics of the song end with, “Let’s drink to the day I met you.”

The Mohair SA logo is accompanied by the simple slogan, “Weaving stories for a lifetime.”

Running at four minutes (without the end credits), the ad is not designed to be shown on a broadcast medium such as TV. In the social media space, however, brands are experimenting with longer forms that tell stories and engage, rather than pushing product. After the little movie was published and promoted, the Mohair South Africa Facebook page was filled with comments from people who said that the film resonated with them.

 



For a brand-building exercise, one could wish for little more: engaging with your target market means that they buy into your story, which in turn creates empathy and brand recognition.

The film is beautifully crafted, with stellar performances from the young boys, careful design, authentic locations, excellent cinematography and a charming soundtrack. Well done, Rooftop and Mohair South Africa — not even being swaddled in a mohair blanket would make me feel as warm and fuzzy.

Credits

Production company: Rooftop
Storyline: Anle Marais, Lindsay Humphreys
Director: Nicholas Waring
Producer: Michelle Drake
Executive producer: Richard Ahlfeldt
Art director: Michelle Drake
Camera operator: Jeremy King
DOP: Nicholas Waring
Gaffer: Frants Combrink
Set builder: Manus Louw
Production coordinator: Jenna Deysel
Production assistant: Lulama Godlo
Wardrobe: Jessie Crichton & Jenna Deysel
Makeup: Marike De Groot
Editor: Nicholas Waring
Colourist: Gavin Wilmers
Compositing: Jason Oliver
Audio: Robert Barron
Music: main song written & performed by Charlie Finch
Engineer: Jason Ferreira, Little Big Productions
‘Fashion’ music & final mix: Ethan Rank
Models: Sophisticate Models

 

 

Oresti PatriciosAd of the Week, published on MarkLives every Wednesday, is penned by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki), the CEO of Ornico, a Brand Intelligence® firm that focuses on media, reputation and brand research. If you are involved in making advertising that is smart, funny and/or engaging, please let Oresti know about it at clientservice@ornicogroup.co.za.

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Back2Basics: How to create B2B content that creates sales

by Mark Eardley (@mdeardley) Content has only one purpose: to build sales-generating trust among all the influencers of a B2B buying decision. Here’s a three-step checklist for creating influencer-focused content that will do just that: keep it concentrated, convincing and connected.

1. Concentrated: make sure it sells

The first C is over-arching in that it provides the direction to ensure content serves its purpose.

It’s a benchmark for assessing the results that might be achieved by any piece of content: why will it sell? And, once the content is out there, it also provides a benchmark for measuring actual results: how well did it sell?

Make sure it sells. No, really… make sure it sells

A monumental pile of nonsense has been spouted about avoiding the embarrassing odour created when content is tainted by the merest whiff of a sales pitch.

It usually goes on to suggest that rather than attempting anything so vulgar as selling, content must inspire, delight, enthral and enchant its audience. That it must be entrancingly disguised in ways that will beguile people into thinking they aren’t being sold to. Hmmm. Cunning plan…

Modern marketers must apparently become ‘publishers’ of ‘storytelling’ or ‘narratives’. It seems the idea is to so spellbind influencers that they take leave of their senses and support future buying decisions in favour of the wizard’s no-sell brand. Talk about smoke and mirrors…

Sales content, marketing content: why aren’t they singing the same song?

Encouraging a ‘no-pitch’ approach to content is so incredibly dumb that it beggars belief. Suggesting there should be any difference between the messages each function (sales, marketing) takes to market is a sure-fire way to send confusingly mixed messages to influencers.

It’s an approach that assumes B2B influencers are so commercially stupid that they will recoil from content that pitches convincing reasons that they should buy — yep, buy — the offering it relates to.

2. Convincing: always credible, always relevant. Always answer the ‘Why Buy’ question

Provided that it is telling the truth, how is the credibility of content relevant to its various audiences — to the people who influence decisions that create sales?

Over 100 years ago, the importance of being truthfully convincing was very neatly summed up by Mr Harrison King McCann. In 1912, he used the slogan “Truth Well Told” to epitomise the offering of his newly launched New York advertising agency. It is still being used today by McCann Group Worldwide.

Tell it well: convince the convincers

A company might truly have the most-modern factories in its industry but why is that truth relevant to each audience of influencers — what results does it produce specifically for them?

In other words, which influencers are beneficiaries of manufacturing modernity, and how do they benefit? (The hyperlinked article in the opening paragraph deals with those questions in more detail.)

When benefits are not convincingly conveyed, influencers conclude that none are offered — so they don’t consider buying. One of the most respected ad-men of all time, Bill Bernbach, summed that up rather neatly when he said:

“An important idea not communicated persuasively is like having no idea at all.”

3. Connected: join the dots towards a sale

In B2B markets, the progression from ‘We’re interested’ to ‘Where do we sign?’ rarely happens in a single step. It typically runs through a set of connected phases involving different influencers at different times in the buying decision cycle.

Short-circuiting the cycle is, of course, possible. Big deals can — and do — leapfrog straight from an initial proposal to a signed contract. Laws might have to be broken, corporate values compromised and governance ignored, but, what the heck, it’s a wicked world… and it’s gupta you how you approach it.

If variations on the proverbial ‘brown envelope’ don’t feature in the marketing toolset, then content has to be aligned to the buying-decision cycle, so that it moves decisions logically forwards through the sequence of phases leading to a done deal. A sale…

Just as there’s nothing new about the concept of ‘content’, there’s nothing new or complex about the idea that buying decisions follow a pathway towards a sale. It’s been well over a century since the cycle of AIDA (attention, interest, desire, action) was first proposed.

A content caveat: beware ‘packagers’ and ‘postmen’

Of course, anything so excruciatingly old-fashioned as AIDA is anathema amongst bedazzled disciples of the relatively recently minted concept of content marketing. As with so much else in B2B today, long-established principles are being glittered, tinselled, rebadged and then chattered about as marketing’s Next Big Thing.

In terms of content, a lot of this chatter deals with providing it in formats that suit different — principally digital — channels. The emphasis is all on packaging and delivery. It’s focused on the dinky little box in which content is contained and the ways it gets posted.

The content of content is rarely mentioned. If the ‘packagers’ and ‘postmen’ do mention what needs to be said, it’s often no more useful than suggesting ‘quality content’, ‘exceptional content’, ‘valuable content’ or ‘thought-leading content’. And that’s not very helpful, is it?

As Bob Hoffman points out on The Ad Contrarian:

“If the message is right, who cares what screen people see it on? If the message is wrong, what difference does it make?”

No difference at all…

 

Mark EardleyMark Eardley (@mdeardley) advises B2B companies on how to govern their marketing to attract and retain profitable customers; several of his clients have grown to become market leaders. He is the author, together with Charlie Stewart, of Business-to-Business Marketing: A Step-by-Step Guide (Penguin Random House), which offers practical, actionable advice on how to make marketing make money. Mark contributes the monthly “Back2Basics” column, covering how B2B companies and their agencies should manage their marketing, to MarkLives.com.

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How streaming TV in SA will affect advertising

by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) Streaming entertainment via the internet is threatening to take over from broadcast media. Services are mushrooming, because recent entries to this marketing are offering home-viewing options at prices that compete well with satellite services. The sector is becoming broader, with something on offer for just about everyone. On top of this, social media services are getting in on the video streaming act. What does this mean for marketers and advertisers?

On 9 August 2017, Facebook announced the launch of Facebook Watch, a new video streaming service that joins a burgeoning rush of digital entertainment offerings worldwide. In the US, the streaming video-on-demand (SVOD) landscape is currently dominated by Netflix, followed by Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus. There have been some recent entrants into this segment; in the US, these include the likes of Disney, Sling TV, HBO Now, and Apple TV. In South Africa, Showmax and ONTAPtv are steadily building subscribers, and global giant Netflix is well into this market. A further option was added in early May, when DEOD launched with a hybrid offering of subscription, pay-per-view, and live streaming options, including sport and news.

Constrained by bandwidth

Growth in SA (and the rest of Africa) is constrained by bandwidth: people with fast DSL or fibre may best access streaming services. But the internet entertainment giants are getting smarter and learning how to work round areas with bandwidth issues. These days, Netflix is using artificial intelligence (AI) to tweak scenes so they even look good on low-bandwidth connections.

According to research by Marketsandmarkets, “the video streaming software market is expected to grow from US$3.25 Billion in 2017 to US$7.50 Billion by 2022, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 18.2%.”

Streaming is growing worldwide. In China, providers such as PPTV, CNTV and Xunlei Kankan are showing a compound annual growth rate of 30%. Between 2015 and 2016, India experienced a 66% year-on-year growth in online video consumption. According to Frost & Sullivan, there were 66m unique over-the-top (OTT) viewers in India, 1.3m of which subscribed to one or other SVOD service. (OTT is a term used to refer to audio, video, and other media transmitted via the internet as a standalone product.)

Social media giants bringing out the big guns

Growth in many territories is often directly attributable to faster and cheaper smartphone connectivity, with more people accessing online content on their phones and tablets. Now social media giants Facebook and YouTube are bringing out the big guns to take on the incumbents. While YouTube’s main user-base is its free offering, YouTube Red is being offered in certain territories, giving subscribers ad-free, premium content, for US$9.99 per month. It’s still early days for Facebook Watch, but there’s no doubt the friendship site is aiming to woo away some of YouTube’s 1bn viewers.

How do free social media channels turn eyeballs into dollars? YouTube’s revenue model is derived from ads that are played at the beginning of (and sometimes during) videos, as well as non-video ad overlays, based on the Google algorithms that serve ads based on a user’s tracked online habits. Facebook Watch has opted for the equivalent of a conventional, broadcast TV approach by interrupting viewing with ad breaks.

YouTube and Facebook pose a threat, simply because of their subscriber numbers. To put this in perspective, there are over 1.8bn Facebook users worldwide, according to Statista.com; 214 million of these are in the US. The following figures are cited by Forbes:

  • Youtube: 186m users in the US (including YouTube Red subscribers)
  • Netflix: 128m individual users (66% of US SVOD subscribers)
  • Amazon Prime: 85.3m viewers (44% of US SVOD subscribers)
  • Hulu Plus: 32m viewers (16.5% of US SVOD subscribers)

Original content

The market leaders are basing their marketing appeal on original content, as the primary differentiator. This is the strategy that set Netflix up as the market leader in the space, with binge-worthy series such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. Budgets for original content are growing, year-on-year. Netflix is reportedly spending US$6bn on original content this year. The company has a market cap in the US$60bn range, which puts it in the same league as media and entertainment giants such as 21st Century Fox and Time Warner.

Amazon Prime has earmarked some US$5bn for original content this year, which, together with its expansion into 200 countries, sets it up as a real challenger to the Netflix crown.

YouTube announced it will buy 40 new original shows for YouTube Red. Some of the familiar faces who have been signed so far include comedian Kevin Hart, talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres and the comedy duo Rhett & Link. YouTube is approaching advertisers such as Johnson & Johnson, which is sponsoring Best.Cover.Ever, a music competition from Ryan Seacrest that’s scheduled for later this year.

Rumours abound regarding Facebook’s content acquisition strategy. According to The Wall Street Journal, the social media brand is seeking to fund original, scripted content, at up to US$3m per half-hour episode. Facebook’s offering will target the youthful age range of 13–34, focusing on 17–30, with a focus on its own versions of popular reality shows such as The Bachelor, sitcoms and dramas. The brief to potential producers is to be strictly middle-of-the-road, with “no political dramas, news [or] shows with nudity and rough language.”

What does this mean for advertisers?

Research done by Hub Entertainment Research in late 2016 found that a majority of users would prefer to have ad-supported TV for free, rather than pay a subscription for ad-free viewing. However, the same research found that most viewers skip ads if they can, and feel that ads that interrupt viewing are an annoyance. This seems to be borne out by the numbers. YouTube Red has signed 1.5m paying subscribers since its October 2015 launch, and another 1m people are on free trials. But the ad-supported user base is around 1bn worldwide, which is some indication of viewers’ preferences.

The Hub researchers made suggestions of alternative advertising strategies that some respondents found more acceptable than the current models. (The figures in brackets refer to the score respondents gave the ideas out of 10.)

  • Lighter ad loads: One ad per ad break (rated as a 9.3 in terms of likelihood to pay attention to ads)
  • Targeting ads based on relevance or product interest: Ads more relevant to my interests (8.1), fewer ads but more targeted to me personally (7.1), and ads shown based on product categories I choose in advance (5.9) all scored higher than average.
  • Gamifying the ad experience: Earn points for watching ads (8.2), earn promo codes for watching ads (7.3), and include countdown clock for when the show will resume (5.9) — overall a positive response.

Peter Fondulas, principal at Hub, commented in the media release: “Conventional wisdom says that consumers simply don’t like ads on TV. But what our study suggests is that they don’t like the way ads are delivered on TV. What’s especially interesting is that better targeting of ads based on past purchases doesn’t appear to raise major privacy concerns.”

Advertisers much rethink their approach

Advertisers are going to have to rethink their approach when it comes to streaming media. Apart from the strategies mentioned above, brands should consider product placement, sponsorships, and even creating original branded content, as alternatives.

 

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Shelf Life: OMO Auto dad takes on laundry role

Cheryl Hunter (shelflife at marklives.com)’s weekly pick of all things new — product, packaging, design, insight, food, décor and more!

  • OMO Auto and Ogilvy & Mather SA shift gender perspective
  • Sneakerness comes to Africa
  • Ogilvy Cape Town’s 40 Minutes for Clorets

Dads do laundry

In line with Unilever’s global commitment of changing the portrayal of gender in advertising and shifting perceptions away from stereotypical roles, OMO Auto washing detergent has launched a new TVC emphasising the product’s efficiency in the hands of a dad.

https://youtu.be/GMJotwnXvQQ

Conceptualised and executed in conjunction with team Unilever at Ogilvy & Mather South Africa, the lighthearted TV ad shows a boy hard at play around the house — drawing, squeezing ketchup and digging up plants in preparation for his parents’ anniversary. His dad catches sight of him enjoying the dirt, just as he fields a text from mom saying she’ll be back from work in 20 minutes. Dad has enough time to get the clothes in the washing machine and still prepare an anniversary surprise.

Says Henry Muchauraya, Unilever marketing manager — laundry, “In-house research by Unilever revealed that more and more men are doing the laundry every week. Given this insight, it made sense to run a TV ad that shows men handling the laundry for the family, reflecting changes already happening in society. OMO is one of the first brands to leverage this key learning in their advertising, bringing men to the centre of laundry activities and subverting the standard, ‘Moms taking care of family chores’ narrative. The response we are getting tells us that South African women are comfortable seeing men in roles different to the historical norms. In our ad, the black man is a present, engaged father figure ready to step in to handle a quick load of laundry with OMO Auto.”

The #JustAQuickWash campaign includes a social-media rollout and a competition that invites customers to post a video showing fun outdoor activities they can share with their family, now that OMO Auto lets them spend less time on washing.

unilever.co.za • Facebook • Twitter
ogilvy.co.za • Facebook • Twitter • Ramify

 

Sneaking in

International sneaker event, Sneakerness, which has a global following and events that take place in Berlin, Cologne, Amsterdam, Paris, Moscow, Warsaw and Zurich, will be coming to Johannesburg, 16–19 November 2017 — the first time it will be in Africa.

Sneakerness Johannesburg logoMajor international brands and sneaker stores, as well as private sellers and collectors from all over the world, come together to buy, sell and swap footwear and street fashion from classic and real rarities to the newest trends in street culture. Alongside the sneaker vendors, visitors will experience street art, graffiti, music and good food and drinks.

Fan are invited to a sneak peek preview event in October, where a popup event will bring a taster in anticipation of the main event later this year. It will include product launches and merchandise from Sneakerness and Patta. Each night will be open to 100 guests only, and will feature appearances from local DJs.

The main Sneakerness convention in November will offer limited-edition merchandise, plus a series of workshops, launches and talks from the world’s best footwear and streetwear brands. A consumer competition will also see streetwear fans being able to enter for a chance to win a trip to Sneakerness Berlin in 2018.

www.sneakerness.com • Events • Facebook • Twitter

 

Better breath

Newly launched Clorets 40 Minutes and Ogilvy Cape Town have created a TVC to illustrate those moments when you need fresh breath to linger a little longer.

Clorets has always been the ‘fresh breath expert’ but it’s new incarnation, Clorets 40 Minutes, which includes Actizol with extra chlorophyll, promises 40 minutes longer-lasting fresh breath. Demonstrating this is the ad that shows young Lubhi meeting his girlfriend’s family for the first time and the turn-up is unexpectedly large. Humorous moments unfold as Lubhi works the crowd, but… the commercial leaves viewers hanging, asking fans to help finish the story by voting for their favourite ending on the Clorets Facebook page. The ending that receives the most votes will conclude the Clorets TVC and be revealed on Facebook and YouTube at the end of October 2017.

za.mondelezinternational.com/brand-family • Videos • Twitter

ogilvy.co.za • Facebook • Twitter • Ramify

 

Cheryl HunterShelf Life is MarkLives.com’s weekly column covering all things new. Notify us of yours at shelflife at marklives dot com. Want to sponsor Shelf Life? Contact us here.

Cheryl Hunter (@cherylhunter) has written for the South African media, marketing and advertising industries for more than 15 years. A former editor of M&M in Independent Newspapers and contributor to Bizcommunity, AdFocus, AdReview and the Ad Annual, she has also produced for various television networks and currently consults on communication strategy and media liaison.

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Job losses as Jupiter Cape Town restructures

by Herman Manson (@marklives) The Jupiter Drawing Room (Cape Town) has restructured and rescaled its business after a tough 2017, in which it lost both Hyundai (to FoxP2) and Windhoek Beer (to M&C Saatchi Abel Johannesburg). This news follows the announcement last week of the closure of The Jupiter Drawing Room (Johannesburg).

The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape TownKevan Aspoas, CEO of Jupiter Cape Town, is stepping back from day-to-day operations to take on the role of chairman for the Cape Town agency and the group (which includes Blackriver FC in Johannesburg and Weathermen & Co. in Windhoek). Aspoas, alongside Ross Chowles and Joanne Thomas, launched the agency in 1994.

New leaders

The agency will now be lead by Lucas van Vuuren, who has been its executive creative director for the past two years, and Michelle Beh, who steps up as managing director in addition to her role as strategic director. Public relations will continue to be run by Jupiter’s head of PR, Luanne Slingerland.

Jupiter Cape Town has gone through a round of retrenchments, says Beh, with half its staff count being affected. Between 15–20 people will remain in the agency at the end of this process. Clients include Burger King, Virgin, Sasko, WebAfrica, Mediclinic and Protea Hotels.

She also dismissed market speculation that the agency had gone into business rescue.

More value to clients

According to Beh, the restuctured agency aims to deliver more value to clients; in the past, there were too many layers of people between clients and those who had to find a creative solution. A creative dierctor/strategist pairing will take ownership of client relationships, backed by a project manager. The agency will no longer employ any account service staff.

In the year ahead, Beh wants to see The Jupiter Drawing Room (Cape Town) take the lead in building and growing challenger brand clients.

 

Herman Manson 2017Herman Manson (@marklives) is the founder and editor of MarkLives.com.

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OLC’s simple symmetry for success

by Kim Penstone. Jerome Cohen is placing his bets on experiences — real things that happen to real people in real time. “The future of the TV ad lies in the creation of an experience, what some people would call a stunt,” says the founder and MD of OffLimit Communications, now known as OLC.

Jerome Cohen
Jerome Cohen

What he’s talking about is something that transforms the consumer from a spectator into an active participant, something that puts the consumer at the heart of the communication.

Once upon a time, brand stunts were expensive because they could only experienced by the very few, but the advent of social media and the consumer compulsion to share has meant that, if filmed, and properly packaged and managed, these stunts can be taken out of the confines of the physical world and projected into the virtual world, where they may be watched, shared and experienced again and again, by a limitless number of consumers.

Buying beliefs

This is the area in which OLC is now focused: crashing into worlds and lives, interrupting the ordinary and designing ‘never-been-done-before’ experiences that transform consumers into believers. Because consumers don’t buy products; they buy beliefs.

“Currently, 80% of what we do is ‘activation’-based; it’s our bread and butter. Only 20% is that ‘experiential’ piece, the creation of a stunt,” he explains. But, given the company’s proven ability to evolve with the times, there is no doubt that OLC will soon flip this particular 80/20 split around.

Launched just over a decade ago, in 2005, OLC exploded onto the local advertising scene with the launch of SAB’s 5FM Miller Mansion. It brought the flash mob to life in South Africa for Nando’s. And, in 2010, with the win of the hotly-contested Coca-Cola account, the industry started sitting up and taking note.

Since its inception, OLC has been responsible for some of SA’s most-recognisable and -memorable experiential properties: the Camel Experience, Cafe Peroni, the iconic Coca-Cola Rainbow and the unique South African expression of Share a Coke, which used a voice-activated vending machine to enable those of us with less-common names to print their name on Coke can. More recently, it brought some much-needed awareness to the McDonald’s Happy Socks campaign that supports families with sick children, and successfully brought five African countries together in one night to find the Ballantine’s Beat of Africa.

In a period in which the majority of the traditional advertising world has felt the economic pinch, and is anticipating more of the same, OLC is growing from strength to strength. In 2016, the company doubled its turnover, taking it into the R100m category, and according to Cohen, 2017 is looking to be the business’s best year yet — having won every single pitch in which it has participated since January!

Secret to success

What is the company’s secret to success? Reinvention.

“Statistically, 80% of businesses fail after the first 10 years,” says Cohen. “If you want to stay in business, you have to stay relevant. You have to stay at the forefront of change. You have to anticipate and innovate. And constantly evolve.”

OLC has what it calls a “horizontal strategy”. Over the years, the company has evolved from what was once a pure production company to an activation agency, and now a through-the-line agency with a variety of focused divisions, including strategy, multimedia, digital, social, PR and brand collateral. Most recently, it added a brand ambassador agency, and even an “asset rental division”, which allows the company to rent out its bespoke activation equipment, such as the OLCaptura, which enables on-the-spot social sharing.

There seems to be a simple symmetry to this success.

At the top of their game

OLC keeps its clients at the top of their game by creating new and innovative properties that they can own and grow; yet it recognises that, in order to stay at the top of its own game, it must do the same thing for itself. Constant reinvention. Living in the next. Bringing tomorrow’s ideas to today.

There was a time when creating a ‘stunt’ was viewed with disdain, because it was a once-off event, something that came and went and disappeared in the proverbial puff of smoke. But what if you could catch that smoke?

Now that’s the TV ad of the future, says Cohen.

 

Kim PenstoneKim Penstone is a freelance journalist, specialising in marketing, media and advertising. Over the past 15 years, she has worked for a variety of leading marketing industry publications, including Marketing Mix, Marketingweb and Brand Magazine, and in her freelance capacity contributes regularly to specialist titles, such as Brands & Branding, AdFocus and MarkLives. She has recently started a blog, www.runlikeamom.co.za, which is completely unrelated to the marketing industry.

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Big Q CMOs: Modern CMOs must market beyond digital boundaries

by MarkLives (@marklives) Is there a new C-suite executive on the horizon? Is it time to redefine the role of the CMO, possibly by agreeing that the roles of CMO and CTO are aligning and need some level of collaboration? And can this result in more-effective growth strategies for organisations? We asked a panel of key industry executives for their take. Next up is Leeya Hendricks of Oracle UK.

Once tasked with managing communications and brand, the modern CMO’s role has been expanding to include technology, data and impact (ie sales and the bottom line). Where this is not the case, anecdotal evidence suggests shorter tenures, and a loss of prominence and clout at board level.

Leeya Hendricks

Leeya HendricksLeeya Hendricks (@LeeyaHendricks) is a chartered marketer, global marketing strategist, a digital driver and a Women in Tech leader. She joined Oracle South Africa in 2016 as marketing director SADC, responsible for leading integrated modern marketing strategies for the business across the Southern African region, and is currently marketing director for the ECEMEA region, based at Oracle UK, responsible for driving digital strategy, demand generation and transforms portfolios to develop sustainable revenue growth.

The role of CMO has evolved to be not only a demand generator but also a revenue driver. The need to market beyond digital boundaries is now.

The changing technology landscape has reshaped the role of chief marketing officers (CMOs) to be not only a demand-generator but also a revenue-driver. The role has evolved far beyond creative mind-sets and artistic campaigns; it is now critical, complex and numbers-driven. The CMO has long wanted a seat at the table and now we have it — but this comes with expectations of accountability and a very clear ROI. The CMO is under very-real pressure from the board to deliver business results, and that pressure is set to grow as the role continues to change.

The technology landscape — specifically in marketing — has also changed drastically over the years, adding more responsibility on impacting the bottom line. CMOs will need to understand how to navigate this new world, and balance increased speed and reduced time to market with the IT needs for integration, scalability, and long-term cost challenges.

Evolving role of the CMO — then and now

The role of a CMO has evolved over the decades, from that of a creative genius in the vein of Don Draper from Mad Men to numbers-crunching almost like that of John Forbes Nash Jr. in a Brilliant Mind — and the importance of combining creativity with data analytics is a vital part of the job.

The first thing when you think of marketing a few years back was right-brain, creative, commercials and logos. Twenty years ago, it was probably 90% right-brained. But, over the past decade, there has been a shift to left-brained, analytical, math-oriented marketing, what with the emergence of technology and so many of the channels being measurable and data-driven. That’s the biggest shift that has come about in marketing.

The CMO job has evolved into both a right-brain and left-brain skillset. CMOs must balance the creative aspects of their role with an increase in the use of data-driven decisions and investment of technology required to achieve corporate objectives.

Being agile in the new frontier

A new focus on context will trump the traditional one on content and brand. Why? Context improves the relevancy required to improve precision marketing. Roles, relationships, product ownerships, interactions, time, location, intent, and even sentiment in the digital world, help with marketing in the technology world.

The development of the CMO role comes with new challenges, among them the requirement that CMOs embrace agile, human-centred design thinking. According to some recent research, “the key characteristic they need to acquire is the ability to confidently and consistently be in an agile state of thinking and open-mindedness.” This openness allows for innovation, collaboration and, ultimately, organisational change in line with the customer experience, the report reads. “The CMO must propel the brand into a future while bringing past, present and future together.”

CMO’s driving collaboration to effect change

Success may depend on the CMO’s ability to work collaboratively and ensure marketing is not isolated from other departments. There are several touchpoints along a customer’s journey that are not ‘owned’ by marketing and are vital to ensuring integration across the organisational value chain. CMOs must be tech-savvy and entrepreneurial and they need to work with a much-broader set of internal people.

We must include the CEO, the CFO and the CIO in their decision-making processes, recognising that these roles are essential in driving results, building customer experiences and in achieving internal success. Their mandate is to generate revenue and drive ecommerce. The CMO’s is to understand the commercial model and the operating structure, and ensure marketing efforts are targeted to deliver tangible ROI.

Using technology as a measurement tool

As digital transforms customer engagement, the speed of doing business and the nature of tactics have also evolved. Technology now provides richer and more-accurate tools for measurement and control, leading to a drastic change in the CMO role. It is a seat at the C-suite table, a strategic controller of organisation direction and manager of customer engagement.

CMOs need to embrace the opportunities presented by modern digital technologies so they can structure individualised customer experiences and demonstrate measurable business impact to the boardroom. The planning cycle is getting faster, and agile marketing is as much a focus as the agile business. Cloud solutions helps the CMO align the pressures around revenue and measurement by providing the tools needed to build digital marketing strategies for long-term, sustainable success.

Technology adoption — CMOs need to keep up

A survey undertaken by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) found that 86% of CMOs believe that they will own the end-to-end customer experience by 2020, with new media continuing its steady overthrow of the old and technology-specific trends changing the way in which the business communicates with customer, stakeholder and board member.

Technology adoption by consumers is accelerating change and buying behaviour, dramatically increasing the need for more-personalised experiences and deeper customer engagement. The increasing rate of change in the market is making it complex for the marketer to keep up and stay on track. We as CMOs have to remain innovative and inventive, using limited resources or budgets while still showing true value and bottom-line benefit. The customer is in control and we have to find ways of adopting modern marketing strategies, managing change and allowing for a seamless shift from the old to the new.

CMO’s laser-focus on the customer experience

The customer experience is one of the most-important elements of marketing and has to remain the core focus for the CMO. Everyone is talking about the value of marketing and how we need to establish our position in the C-Suite and rethink our organisational structures, but we can’t forget is that we must create more-personal and -relevant customer relationships. This is the core of what we do, and we need to apply technology and insight to make this into a measurable and valuable reality.

A solid customer experience requires collaboration between many different departments, so the idea of a chief customer officer, with positional power, budget and staff, has emerged. The CCO needs to have the time, skills, and power to make decisions and the budget to bring all the disciplines together and make the organisational changes required to deliver on the brand’s promise of a superb end-to-end customer experience.

The chief customer officer— shaping the customer experience

Ultimately, it all comes down to the customer and the journey which the CMO creates. As marketers, we need to use solutions that are designed to track and measure the customer, their responses and provide data into the real-time customer interactions. Whether the title of the role is CMO or CCO, the leader would need to:

  1. Champion a very high level of customer-centricity
  2. Set the direction for a holistic customer experience
  3. Be accountable for all customer outcomes

The modern definition of the CMO

In the technology environment, we have to incorporate acumen and an understanding of marketing to really be the modern definition of the CMO. We have to overcome silos internally and externally, build richer engagement across an increasing number of touchpoints, and develop new skills and capabilities.

The customer must be key and CMOs now have the opportunity to step into orchestrating the whole customer experience across many different functional departments, as well as mastering many different customer engagement channels along with devices and assorted technologies, data and analytics. The need to market beyond digital boundaries is here, and marketing chiefs need to lead this transformation.

See also

 

MarkLives logoLaunched in 2016, “The Big Q” is a regular column on MarkLives in which we ask key industry execs for their thoughts on relevant issues facing the ad industry. If you’d like to be part of our pool of potential panellists, please contact editor Herman Manson via email (2mark at marklives dot com) or Twitter (@marklives). Suggestions for questions are also welcomed.

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