Courage under fire: How marketers and agencies made lemonade

The old adage talks about how to react when life gives you lemons - but under circumstances unseen in our lifetime, what do you do when life hands you a pandemic? If you’re in our sector, you respond with grit not seen in our lifetime, writes Johanna McDowell, CEO of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) and SCOPEN partner.

“Where were you when the world shut down?” is a question we’ll raise at dinner parties far into the future, and each of us will tell our story. Each sector will relay either devastation, just getting through the trauma or being able to take the challenges Covid19 created and making something special.

SCOPEN’s January 2021 white paper The Show Must Go On: Success stories during a pandemic shines a light on some of the marketers and agencies who faced fire with fire and braved these less favourable conditions with agility and boundless creativity.

Burger King in Brazil comes to mind for a campaign that not only reinforced the slowly-growing body of medical wisdom at the time, but also used one of the pandemic’s key methods of stemming the spread of the virus – stay at home to flatten the curve – to underpin a winning campaign.

The premise saw the “gamification of a duty, where any obligation is more easily endured when there is an emotional or material reward for fulfilling it”, according to Rafael Donato Creative VP DAVID agency. “We gamified the quarantine, turning the isolation time into benefits at Burger King.”

The campaign saw 238,000 people staying home for over 27 days, racking up a massive 306,000 rewards given out by Burger King. ROI from media mentions all over the world – uncountable and invaluable.

Necessity as a driving force

The primary driving force for most new initiatives is need, and Covid19 provided plenty of that. From the Nike campaign in China to Orange France’s 700,000 connections uniting people all over France, big brands went the extra mile to help out wherever they would be most effective. Even South Africa’s Shoprite Group kept supply chains open during lockdown, reducing risk for customers and providing essential products and services without profiteering.

Most striking when we read through the white paper is how marketers and agencies worked together so closely, even while they were not allowed to be close.

This is what we at the IAS mean when we talk about the value of an authentic relationship between marketers and agencies. People from both sectors were effectively in silos, but working as one mind to meet the demands put on them. The courage it took to trust each other was immense and paid off in spades.

Imagine just two years ago telling a TV production team they would have to create vital messaging during an unprecedented time in history – but they weren’t allowed to meet in person. Many of us would have put money on an epic fail. Instead, driven by necessity, teams found workarounds, ways and the will to put the best of themselves into projects that truly made a difference.

I’ve often said that the attitude “That’s the way we’ve always done it” has no place in our business, and SCOPEN’s The Show Must Go On is proof that when all there is are lemons, we can – and do – make lemonade.

To enjoy this exceptional, innovative and courageous creative work click here 

Lessons in courage and innovation in a pandemic

The sheer enormity of the sudden-onset Covid crises took the wind out of sails across all industries, globally. However, writes CEO of the IAS and Scopen partner Johanna McDowell, there are gems shining brightly across the marketing landscape everywhere...

Scopen’s 2020 tribute to the agencies and advertisers that looked past contracted economic activity, budget reductions, lockdowns, social distancing requirements and quickly-implemented remote working is testament to courageous innovation of marketers and agencies that rose above the mire, against the odds.

Cesar Vacchiano, president and CEO of Scopen International, says: “With The Show Must Go On: Success Stories During a Pandemic, Scopen wanted to pay tribute to the agencies and advertisers who came together and creatively tackled the immense difficulties brought on by entirely unique circumstances.

“We want 2021 to further strengthen this collaboration and creativity, and asked our international network to share cases strategies quickly and effectively adapted to the circumstances and local campaigns that demonstrate the considered agility of our industry to meet challenging, unfamiliar circumstances and soar.”

The Show Must Go On is a lesson in absolute delight for those of us in this industry. From the Brazilian team that partnered with fast food company to gamify the lockdown and awarded prizes for staying home during lockdown to the beer brand that changed its name to show appreciation for doctors, while removing the alcohol from their beverage and donating it to a sanitiser manufacturer, the gems in this White Paper are exceptional.

The star of South Africa

The South African initiative that stood out is the Shoprite Group and 99c collaboration that leveraged the launch of the Checkers 2019 customer loyalty programme Xtra Savings to launch Shoprite Xtra Savings, as well as the pilot online home delivery service, Sixty:60 – shop in 60 seconds with delivery guaranteed in 60 minutes.


Both marketer and agency found innovative ways to work together, from home, with tight deadlines. The results show what a streamlined, world-class partnership can do: Despite the poor economy and impact of Covid-19 on market share, new Checkers Xtra Savings customers benefitting by savings of over R972m collectively in only nine months (at end-June 2021) with sales growing by 6.4% year-on-year.

In studying The Show Must Go On, we see how advertising needs to adapt with agility to its environment and return on investment is greatest if it is relevant to and empathises with the consumer.

Importantly, the very best advertising is a result of a close marketer-agency collaboration and a willingness to turn the bow of boat and set sail for maximum success.

The IAS Masterclass with Cesar Vacchiano is set to take place on 21 April at 2pm. RSVP to radams@scopen.co.za

Why media agency pitches will lead the way in 2021

Listening to our agency and client colleagues in recent months as well as investigating through our own research via SCOPEN on the impact of Covid-19 and the trends in media spend, 2021 may be the year of the pitch.

As one of the leading pitch consulting companies with a rare view into marketing, media and agency trends, the IAS is predicting that 2021 will be a busy year for media pitches. There are a number of indicators for this assertion.

Firstly, media spend dropped across all media types during the toughest part of lockdown in 2020, with the exception of digital media which has proved highly resilient and had the edge with e-commerce boosting spend.

While spend recovered a little – notably during the latter part of 2020 – media owners are still enduring some dramatic changes and losses in spend which caused many changes and closures of several print publications early in 2020.

Another notable trend: Media owners are able to offer marketers extraordinarily attractive deals due to the amount of inventory they have available and are often going directly to clients instead of via the media agencies.

The behemoths of digital media owners Google and Facebook have been dealing directly with marketers since day one as well as with traditional media agencies, possibly more reluctantly with the latter. Add to this that the unstoppable Amazon – the world’s second-ever public company to be valued at US$1 trillion, after Apple – is likely to make its presence felt soon in South Africa, and impact will be felt.

SCOPEN research shows that media agencies globally have been consolidating in the past six months as they consider the impact of the downturn in spend and start to review what will be the likely forecasts in 2021.

Also, there’s the convergence of digital media creative agencies providing marketers with a very effective one-stop shop to meet the growing portion of their marketing and media spend, even if choices are limited.

Media agencies as go-to advisors

Amid this activity, marketers must continue to reach their consumers in the most effective channels and with optimum spend. This means media agencies will be in a stronger position to advise clients than they have been for a number of years. 

For around 20 years, creative agencies in South Africa have been the first port of call for many marketers seeking to improve their results, with media agencies playing a support role. Change is already happening, though, as marketers realise that information about consumers is part of a media agency’s data-set in order to plan and execute media campaigns – and data is power.

Within the broadcast sector particularly, this knowledge is highly prized, being precisely gathered and able to provide real currency for media strategists and planners to deliver the most valuable results to marketers.

Media agencies note that their reviews are often led and managed by procurement heads at many of the corporate organisations, which means that there’s a focus on negotiation skills or best rates. However, the influence of what marketers need must not be overlooked, especially during these uncertain times.  

The lengths budgets must go to…

Media budgets are often far larger than creative budgets, and yet those budgets have to go a long way in order to provide the results marketers seek.

AGENCY SCOPE studies of CMOs globally and locally show that while the ability to negotiate with media owners is important, what marketers really want from their media agency partners is innovative thinking, strategic skills and a robust understanding of the client’s business.

According to our own IAS data, there were probably in excess of 70 media-only pitches last year in 2020, involving vast amounts of media spend. Some of those pitches were reviews that happened as a result of contracts coming to an end and, in a number of  cases, the incumbent media agencies were re-appointed.

This indicates that marketers and procurement heads do indeed benefit from regular media agency reviews, setting the tone for more pitches this year.

With data, analytics, analysis and innovation becoming more critical to the success of marketers today, I predict that the media agency pitch process will grow more complex and more important as marketers navigate their way through an unpredictable landscape to successfully reach their consumers and ultimately deliver results to brands that the C-Suite demands.

To read this article online click here

Evolution of our industry: Shortlist for projects

The start of last year brought the usual New Year predictions, all stymied by the pandemic, writes Johanna McDowell, CEO of the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company (IAS). Now, the blank slate that is 2021 is seeing innovators seeking opportunities and creating new solutions.

As a leading intermediary consultancy focusing on the optimal marketer-agency relationship, the IAS quickly notes and explores trends and workable new ideas that are beneficial to all parties.

While the relationship between marketers and their agencies is usually a long and fruitful one and this will not change, Covid-19 has generated many requests from marketers for IAS assistance in finding agencies to help with communications projects to supplement and give additional support to existing agency relationships.

Based on this demand and SCOPEN research that backs it up, the IAS delved into the value of small, agile agencies being able to step in when a marketer requires a specific skill set and ability within an exacting timeline.

Pre-qualified shortlisted agencies

The result is a “shortlist for projects”, where marketers are introduced to the agencies the IAS has determined are best suited to their immediate requirements. This obviates the need for the long exploration process that usually goes into finding the right fit and presents marketers with a small, pre-qualified choice.

Typically, the projects are in the areas of crisis comms, internal comms, social media management, PR and reputation management, digital requirements, and the like.

The IAS offering a list of five agencies in total, with experience in the relevant disciplines that marketers require, including the following:

·        Detailed agency business credentials such as size of agency, location, BEE level, capabilities, case studies / examples of work

·        Key contact person at each agency with all the necessary contact details

·        Researched opinion on each agency from the IAS regarding competence and track record

Marketers will be able to select one or more agencies from the shortlist to interact and communicate with directly. The IAS will not manage a pitch process in this instance, but merely supply relevant credentials and contact details.

Because interesting times call for specialised assistance, this offering is proving to be a robust addition to the marketer’s arsenal, while generating cashflow among the smaller agencies that have the capacity to step up for brief, often once-off projects.

Time is money – and in this economy, you can take smart, novel creativity and rapid execution of projects to the bank.

To read this article on line click here

A marriage made in mediation – world class client: agency management

The two viewpoints couldn’t be further apart: An agency says, “You never lose a client on delivery, it’s always the relationship”; while their client says, “I really like them as people, but it’s all about delivery”. The fact that the two aren’t talking to each other when these things are said is clearly why client-agency relationships fail unnecessarily.

In 14 years of counselling clients and agencies around expectations in the advertising, marketing and communication process, the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company (IAS) has salvaged many a valuable client-agency relationship by having each actually hear what the other is actually saying and fostering a spirit of transparency and willingness to communicate between the two. Global research by our UK partners AAR show that lack of delivery is a clients’ key issue with their agency, whereas agencies often feel that they were not briefed correctly, or the brief was late and the client shows little understanding of times required to complete the task at hand.

Each perspective is valid: No agency can be expected to deliver on an incomplete brief and under unrealistic time constraints. On the other hand, if a client is launching a product or undertaking a sales drive, there are so many strings to pull together to ensure success that agencies often don’t realise. While the agency is trying to figure out the brief, the client is seeing sales or production opportunities slip by.

At this point, neither is going to truly “hear” the other, and carefully managed change is vital to keep an already fragile relationship on track. Clients must be encouraged to see how clarity on deadlines and detailed briefs can get a campaign started on the right foot. Their knee-jerk reactions to economic issues that affect their market also affect their agency and its delivery, which creates tension and leaves agencies thinking the client just doesn’t want to continue the relationship.

Plasters don’t work

Continually “putting a plaster” on irritations that arise in the relationship doesn’t heal the core issue, and ending the association is costly and often traumatic. So, what are the key solutions to nursing it back to health?

Briefly, it begins with talking openly in a mediated environment where both parties agree the relationship is worth saving. Then, both must be clear on what they understand about the other – requirements, deadlines, deliverables and expectations on delivery. Regular and constructive feedback sessions should be formally structured and implemented, and a 360° appraisal programme to support learning and progression for both parties should not be left until it’s too late. Both parties accepting responsibility for their part in any issues will also encourage more trust and understanding and leave the door open for honest discussions into the future.

In reviewing global issues between clients and agencies, it’s clear that a breakdown in communications often sees real business concerns end up in “he said, she said” spats and an irretrievable breakdown in communications. The question of “fix or fire” arises again and – like a marriage that just requires an adjustment of expectations – the IAS suggests always opting to fix before fire.

If you feel that your agency or client gives you “a poor response”, know that research shows they feel exactly the same way you do. Without mediated communication, your sense of “they don’t deliver” is met with “their demands are unrealistic”. A proactive response from both parties is required and we recommend ongoing evaluations to ensure reasonable expectations are being met by both parties.

To both clients and agencies we say, set yourself up for success. Get your team dynamic right, be purposeful, be communicative and – importantly – ensure you create a strategic space for both parties to come together and discuss issues that can see a long and mutually beneficial relationship thrive.

To read this article online click here

AGENCY SCOPE 2020/21: Marketing in an unprecedented time

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”.

The age of adaptive marketing

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.

Winner of the IAS Agency Credentials Award for 2020 is FoxP2. Boomtown and Conversation LAB follow with Leader Awards

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.