After more than 10 years of running a unique Agency Masteclass programme, the IAS continues to see growth with up to 70 attendees per class, particularly over the past year when the programme went virual. This easy-to-access solution over Covid attracted attendees from all over the country and as far afield as Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana.
As preparations get underway for the 4th AGENCY SCOPE study to begin in May 2021, Johanna McDowell, SCOPEN partner and director for the UK and South Africa, notes that some of the trends seen in the global research will be a barometer for the pressures, proficiencies and pandemic recovery in South Africa.
How did you help your clients thrive during the pandemic and lockdown” is essentially the theme of this latest AdForum Worldwide Summit, 30 November–9 December 2020. Because it’s been virtual, we’ve been able to meet with agencies from Cape Town to Helsinki and from New York to Madrid while still not moving from our offices or our kitchens
The fourth edition of AGENCY SCOPE 2020/21 commences fieldwork in early 2021 and Johanna McDowell, SCOPEN Partner and Director for the UK and South Africa, notes that in this unprecedented time, information that enables agencies to see their positioning in the market through marketers eyes is invaluable.
As we feel our way around the challenges the Covid-19 pandemic has created, the information to be gleaned from virtual face-to-face in depth interviews with an anticipated 450 participants - including 280 senior marketers and Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) - will see the 4th AGENCY SCOPE take its place as the preeminent tool for agencies to determine where they stand in the “new normal”.
AGENCY SCOPE is a biennial study conducted by international research consultancy SCOPEN, and the focus for 2021 looks certain to highlight not just the shock and gloom of Covid, but the positives the marketing industry actively created in 2020.
SCOPEN co-founder and global CEO, César Vacchiano, says he has been pleasantly surprised to note that from his interactions across the world, most of the independent agencies have dealt well with the financial impact of Covid-19.
Many marketers, he points out, realised early in the pandemic that investing in data analytics and technology to maintain brand purpose was key to survival. Without being able to take advantage of the sudden leap to digital campaigns, many more marketing firms may not have made it this far.
With every study, I have been amazed at the insight into industry players that marketing leaders are willing to share. As Grey Advertising’s Paul Jackson put it: “South Africa’s AGENCY SCOPE is a vital health-check of our agency and our industry, as seen by marketers, providing insight into how we are tracking against our peers and identifying trends in relation to other global markets.”
Jackson mirrored the sentiment of other agency leaders by noting that these insights provide “the important focus necessary to support the implementation of our agency's strategic plans”.
SCOPEN’s experience shows that subscribers to AGENCY SCOPE often refer back to the insights they received about their agency which, in this age of adaptive marketing, can be a game changer.
The rigorous interview process and topics discussed with leaders in the marketing sector provides a depth of analysis from which action can be taken. From actual client satisfaction to comparing integrated services offerings between agencies, this study of the creative and media agency landscape in South Africa often provides agencies with a “perception versus reality” moment to change or refocus their efforts.
In the words of James Moffat, CEO of Promise, the data on agency image overview, performance and market perception “brings the awareness of reality versus how we see ourselves”, enabling a fresh look at their business.
With his knowledge of the industry across the continents, César believes the global snapshot in 2021 is likely to show the growth of independent agencies, as well technical capabilities being combined with brand purpose.
However, we both agree that there is a definite skills and knowledge gap that marketers will have to tackle in a world somewhat more complex post-Covid-19, with an emerging trend being mergers in the multinational agency space, as well as the amalgamation of creative and media agencies.
We believe that the AGENCY SCOPE analysis of the 2021 fieldwork will bring an overview of experience gleaned by CMOs that starts with the sudden impact of the early 2020 global lockdowns and leads to the resources and agility they employed to adapt when faced with no other choice.
This, I believe, will definitely be one for the books.
The Assegai Integrated Marketing Awards, in conjunction with the IAS (Independent Agency Search and Selection) is proud to announce FoxP2 as the winner of the prestigious IAS Agency Credentials Award, with Boomtown and Conversation LAB following with Leader Awards.
Although this award was inaugurated in 2016, IAS recently revitalised their relationship with the Direct Marketing Association of South Africa (DMASA) - organisers of the Assegai Awards - in order to “relaunch” the IAS Credentials Award this year. The award ceremony took place on 26 November 2020 in Melrose, Johannesburg. Entries were received from creative, digital and media agencies.
Judges included several leading South African marketers as well as international judge Cesar Vacchiano who is president and Global CEO of SCOPEN International. Nikki Munsie, Business Director and Hlamazi Mabunda, Project Director of the IAS were also part of the judging panel.
According to Vacchiano “The judges were quite specific about the criteria and the winning entry certainly displayed evidence of an agency that was clear about their focus and positioning. The FoxP2 credentials entry provided the judges with insight into the agency culture and the successes of the work that they are doing for their clients. ROI was clearly evident.”
Johanna McDowell, Founder and CEO of the IAS comments: “We were excited to able to ramp up our partnership with DMASA by once again offering the Credentials Award. FoxP2 did very well to come out on top, and we were very happy to be able to award Leader Awards to both Boomtown and Conversation LAB all three of which submitted excellent credentials. We would like to encourage more agencies to enter this award in the future because it will give them an opportunity to showcase their agency to the significant number of leading marketers on the judging panel,” concludes McDowell.
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.
