On 23 October 2020 SCOPEN, together with the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company (IAS), conducted a virtual launch of TREND SCORE, a first for South Africa. A barometer the marketing industry over the past six months and a view to the next six, quantitative tracking has been carried out by SCOPEN for more than 10 years in Europe.
The evolution of the marketing structure was happening at a pace in line with customer demand and brand response, writes Johanna McDowell, CEO of the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company (IAS). Then came the revolution that is Covid-19, forcing marketers to deep-clean their ecosystem rapidly.
Part of the revolution involves “right-housing”, the process of reviewing your internal and external capabilities as well as those of the agencies you currently work with, to determine overlaps and efficiencies.
Most South African marketers are working with an average of four agencies, but in some cases the number rises to 10 and occasionally more as shown in the AGENCY SCOPE 2019 study conducted by SCOPEN. However, the cost of Covid is not only financial – it has left various departments understaffed and the result of that are pockets of inefficiencies.
To mitigate this, a rigorous and unemotional audit is required. Right-housing is designed to strengthen your efficacy in the market by creating a new ecosystem that focuses on future proofing your business, while simplifying structures to shed excess costs.
Marketers must take the lead in right-housing, starting with absolute clarity on which agency performs what tasks - even more important now with the added complexity of including Google and social media partners in the mix. It is, I believe, the kick-off point and is important enough to bring in specialists to assist. If you are right-housing to ensure longevity of your ecosystem, doing it right the first time is imperative.
In working with marketers and agencies over the years and studying how an ecosystem needs to adapt to non-negotiable brand requirements, the IAS is mindful that a strong brand is one that influences every part of the consumer experience.
This requires communications, creative capital, agility and flexibility as well as the ability to collate data and turn it into action. Right-housing these functions means briefing the lead, PR, digital, BTL, ATL and all other agencies to ensure their specific disciplines add value and do not overlap with other providers.
To combat inefficiencies, the brief must be crystal clear. Once each task is housed in the right place for the job, the result must give the client more control over speed of delivery, quality of work and value for spend.
It’s a well known fact that the strongest brands are those where there is an obsessive focus on the customer, and all agency activity is pulling in the same direction. In an industry already very different from this time last year, we can’t afford to do a spring-clean and call it right-housing.
The old model of a structured marketing calendar is redundant in a world where change is as fast as the click of a mouse. The time taken from brief to completion is quicker, and the cost to client must be based in genuine return on investment in a tightened-belt market.
The ecosystem must change and it’s very likely that yours is also undergoing a significant shift. Get expert talent auditing assistance where necessary and – importantly - any time you hear, “but we’ve always done it that way”, run.
SCOPEN, with the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company (IAS), launched the results of the survey – virtually, of course – providing a barometer of the marketing industry over the past six months, and giving a view to the next six. This quantitative tracking has been carried out by SCOPEN for more than 10 years in Europe.
Johanna McDowell as she chats to Bryan Hattingh and Michelle Raymond from Risky Business, Radio Today, sharing thoughts around Covid trends, Marketing and Media trends and the newly relaunched IAS Agency Credentials Award.
Creativity may win awards, but if it doesn’t translate into sales or new business, it’s merely gilding. Now in a business environment that has changed rapidly and is presenting us with new challenges, it has never been more important to lead any pitch with return on investment. And for that, clients need to see agency credentials... All of them.
The IAS is relaunching this award in conjunction with the Direct Marketing Association of South Africa (DMASA) who host the Assegai Awards. Once again, the aim of the award is to recognise an agency’s credentials set – written credentials document as well as the agency culture reel - within the various agency discipline types e.g. creative, digital, PR, media and design in South Africa.
As the Covid-19 period has expanded, so business uncertainty has increased. McDowell and Botha shared some thoughts around the importance of recreating certainty in the workplace in ways that are in your control.
Listen to Johanna McDowell as she shares her thoughts on the AdForum Global Worldwide Summit
Johanna McDowell chats to Bryan Hattingh from Radio Today outlining the role of the IAS in the Marketing/Agency space. A recent area of need is the management of the marketing ecosystem, suppliers and agencies, for best results. The IAS has a wealth of experience and is able to advise in this area.
Glenda Neville from The Media Online interviews Johanna McDowell, CEO and founder of IAS and Cesar Vacchiano, CEO and President of SCOPEN global, giving insight into the new SOPEN Ratings.
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