Word soup: The starter that waters down relationship management

Word Soup is a tactical electronic word search game where you swipe strategically to create ‘insanely-long words’ to get points. Urban Dictionary suggests it is a long, involved message without punctuation or capital letters. In our industry terms, writes Johanna McDowell, CEO of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) and SCOPEN partner, it’s the substance-free version of metrics.

Over the past 14 years, the IAS has evolved its client-agency relationship management tool as we’ve noted changes in the sector. The various iterations of this product have been updated or amended for maximum value, and added to the arsenal marketers and agencies can implement in maintaining effective associations.

Where measuring the efficacy of an agency was once heavily slanted towards an agency’s execution of specific campaigns, its creativity and even industry awards and accolades, today’s marketers are looking for hard metrics.

These include not only performance, but the agency knowing exactly what metrics the marketer must deliver to the business, and show how they assisted in meeting them. This brings a new level of relationship engagement between marketer and agency, and one that encompasses a new dimension of honesty, transparency and accountability from both parties.

Compared to the “word soup” that is our industry’s equivalent of empty calories, hard metrics do so much more than enable each party to gauge successes - they build stronger bonds, encourage better communication for greater campaign impact and are essentially the “meat” of relationships.

Recipe for relationship management

The IAS takes measurement one step further, encouraging agencies to ask themselves how they felt they performed and whether the marketer explained the business metrics they are required to deliver on. Engaging with the marketer on these issues will ensure the marketer reviews the metrics carefully before briefing the agency.

Then, there’s the client’s pitch brief... Should this vital part of the original process not list the metrics that an agency needs to achieve, the most important measurements are unlikely to be accomplished.

In the IAS’s evolution of all the components that come together to ensure effective relationship management, clients are given a questionnaire that enables both marketers and agencies to rate themselves to determine what they should be doing differently or placing more focus on.

Importantly, this removes the likelihood of any party producing word soup in a process that demands hearty, robust metrics.

You may also be interested in reading How do you measure the value of an intermediary and Mutuality: They key to intermediary efficacy

Most admired marketing professionals revealed

Our globally standardised methodology allows Scopen Africa to research trends with first-hand information that provides a unique strategic vision for marketing and agency professionals and media owners," says Cesar Vacchiano, Scopen Global CEO and cofounder, who was recently in South Africa to present the results of the Agency Scope 2021/2022 study to agencies who have subscribed to the report.

Agency Scope South Africa 2021/22 is the fourth edition of the study on our shores, where face-to-face (F2F) video call interviews through Computer Aided Web Interview (CAWI) totalled 465 interviews, including 239 marketing professionals from 158 companies; 156 creative agency professionals; 50 media agency professionals and 20 media owners.

While the size of the Agency Scope study matters, how Scopen Africa drills down to determine the top ten marketing professionals is of equal importance. In reviewing marketers who work with creative and media agencies, data includes location and type of company, from multinational to NGO; through to interviewee’s profile, job title and decision-making level across all business sectors.

Importantly, the interviews with marketing leaders are not a Q&A plug-in response exercise, but a 60-minute dialogue that enables an in-depth evaluation of their skills, how they conduct their campaigns, percentage of ad spend related to turnover and how they market their companies.

Professionalism above popularity

It’s vital to note here that the marketing professionals are being rated by their own colleagues and peers, which results in Scopen Africa’s analysis to determine the top ten marketing professionals in an equitable and precise business manner rather than industry popularity or personal acclaim.

Equally important but in a far briefer, 15-minute exchange, agencies rank marketers on topics such as how they run their companies and how easy they are to work with, among others. Scopen Africa analysis allows us to publish an aggregation of all results.

The following marketing professionals were identified as Most Admired Marketing Professionals, in order of importance:

#1 Thulani Sibeko, Standard Bank
#2 Doug Place, Nando’s
#3 Khensani Nobanda, Nedbank
#4 Sydney Mbhele, Sanlam
#5 Nontokozo Madonsela, Momentum Metropolitan
#6 Chantal Sombonos-Van Tonder, Chicken Licken
#7 Heidi Brauer, Hollard Insurance
#8 Abey Mokgwatsane, Vodacom
#8 Andrea Quaye, Coca-Cola
#8 Bernice Samuels, MTN
#8 Suhayl Limbada, KFC

Says Johanna McDowell, Scopen Africa managing partner and CEO of the Independent Agency Search and Selection company (IAS): “As we begin to present results of Agency Scope South Africa 2021/22, look out for further snippets and insights from the data that we have gleaned – probably the most comprehensive that we have ever seen in South Africa.”

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Winners of the IAS Agency Credentials Award for 2021

Winners of the IAS Agency Credentials Award for 2021 include Gorilla, Hill+Knowlton Strategies and Mark1 who achieved Bronze Awards. Penquin follows with Leader Award.

The Assegai Integrated Marketing Awards, in conjunction with the IAS (Independent Agency Search and Selection) is proud to announce the winners of the prestigious IAS Agency Credentials Award. Gorilla, Hill+Knowlton Strategies and Mark 1 achieved Bronze Awards, with Penquin following with a Leader Award.

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 11 November 2021 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 entries certainly displayed evidence of an agency that was clear about their focus and positioning. The credentials entries 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 are committed to our partnership with DMASA and will continue to offer the Credentials Award. All winners of which there were three Bronze awards and one Leadership award 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.

How do you measure the value of an intermediary?

The cornerstone of any intermediary’s function is to deliver value – noticeable, measureable value.

Expert intermediaries provide valuable benefits for both marketers and agencies, and the result of their input is visible across a number of important areas in a marketer-agency relationships. It starts with the in depth knowledge a good intermediary has about both parties, and an audit that supports this knowledge.

When reviewing a marketer /agency relationship or even a campaign, the marketer should be asking “What did your work do for the brand?” and the agency should be able to respond with the measured results achieved.

The onus is of course on the marketer to ensure that clear measurable brand and sales objectives, as well as results, are communicated to the agency. In assisting both parties, the intermediary – sometimes referred to as pitch consultants – must keep this clear objective in mind throughout the process.

The value of these engagements is delivered by the intermediary in guiding the marketer and agency in the setting of the correct objectives and standards and measuring them against real-world efficiency improvements. The potentially costly part of non-delivery here is where intermediaries bring real value: How is the relationship delivering for the brand? What has growth been like? Has business or brand reputation been enhanced?

As we continue to recover and reignite relationships and the energy they should create together post-pandemic, IAS intermediaries are being called on to work with clients to ensure the marketer has a clear idea of what they want to achieve, and the agency has equal clarity on how to achieve that.

A recent request from a client saw the IAS auditing the relationship between and agency and a marketer to determine why it appeared that the answer to “What did your work do for the brand?” was eluding the agency. A review of the work required and the work produced showed that, somewhere between lockdown and coming to terms with new ways of communicating, the brief wasn’t what it used to be or should be.

Our intermediary engaged the marketer and the agency and did a quick but important refresher on how to deliver a brief that tells an agency upfront and out loud precisely what the marketer is looking to achieve. In every single case, a robust, well-delivered brief can set the tone for a successful campaign or entire relationship.

Our industry has always known the value of salvaging a once-productive relationship rather than starting a new one, and it is in the intermediary’s ability to review without fear or favour, produce facts and measurables, and open the channels of communication between all parties that the real value of an intermediary is clear.

To read this online click here

You may also be interested in Mutuality - The key to intermediary efficacy

Mutuality: the key to intermediary efficacy

Bringing two parties together without taking ownership of the service or result is an exercise in tightrope management and ensuring everybody wins.

Also called funambulism, the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope is not unlike the skill required of an intermediary where the balance between what the marketer wants and what the agency provides must have a mutually beneficial outcome.

The real dexterity needed in these negotiations is for the intermediary to navigate the line between the marketer and the agency in a way that they bring both onto the tightrope without either falling off. It’s a skill that takes years to perfect.

The pandemic brought with it challenges that intermediaries must now take into consideration as our markets start to open up. During the various lockdowns and the protocol they brought, many marketers developed closer relationships with their agencies than they’d had before.

It stands to reason – with remote working and communications restricted to video conferencing, the parties’ reliance on each other over the last 18 months was strong. There was little chance that either party was going to leave a relationship that could sustain the business during the pandemic, hence the reliance.

Agencies had greater access to clients and both groups were under pressure to make relationships work to ensure the brand came out on top. IAS intermediaries were kept extremely busy, as I’m sure others were. It was vital for marketers and agencies to have someone to provide insights as they navigated the high wire under unprecedented circumstances.

Gearing up for the post-pandemic reboot

As the markets across South Africa reboot and companies go back to the office – or opt for hybrid working models – we may see some marketers on the lookout for new agencies, and agencies also taking stock.

I don’t think this should cause concern for the organisations that forged deeper relationships during the lockdowns, but it is clear that intermediaries will be involved in discussions to help all parties navigate getting back to normal where “normal” may well be different from before.

It’s appears to us at the IAS that most would prefer getting back to the energy and innovation they get from working alongside colleagues, especially in creative arenas.

Either way, having an intermediary take the stress out of getting back to an office or getting used to hybrid arrangement is key as they work as a buffer that protects both parties and guides the focus back to the tightrope that that leads to the ultimate goal: Getting the work out.

You may be interested in reading Task of the Intermediary - walking clients through hard choices

Scopen conducts a study to analyse the involvement of companies with SDGs

On behalf of the Colombian Union of Advertising Companies (UCEP), Scopen has carried out market research to analyse the role of companies operating in the marketing and communications industry in Latin America, with regard to meeting sustainability goals.

The study took place between June and July 2021 across 13 countries on the American continent, with a total of 163 marketing and communications professionals (advertisers, agencies, media, NGOs / foundations, public companies, associations and freelancers) participating.

Asked about the words most associated with sustainability, “environment” appears first, followed by “responsibility” and “future”. Respondents also maintain that the sustainability goals they consider companies to be most involved with are good work, economic growth, gender equality and the creation of alliances to achieve objectives.

However, looking ahead, they plan to place more emphasis on other goals such as sustainable cities and communities, quality education and clean water and sanitation.

Actions currently taken by study participants to comply with sustainable goals include improving living conditions, followed by working to reduce environmental impact; promoting diversity, equality and inclusion; and a focus on the circular economy.

Companies and brands in the marketing and communications industry are especially involved in complying with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal SDG-12, which guarantees procedures for responsible production and consumption. Fifty-four percent (54%) of the leaders interviewed rank its importance at 9 or 10 on a scale from 0 to 10 - above the average for other goals, where Brazil and Colombia are the countries with the highest concern at 8.3.

Fulfillment of sustainability goals

Industry leaders suggest they can best work towards the fulfilment of sustainability goals, in particular, through “the creation of communication and awareness campaigns that value sustainability”.

During the interviews, professionals were also asked about the brands and/or companies in their region that, in their opinion, stand out with their commitment to sustainability goals. The most mentioned ones were recognised by the new Sustainability Awards held at the Latin American Summit of the Creative Economy + CTG, which took place recently.

In Latam, Natura was awarded first prize, with Grupo Nutresa taking second prize and third going to Unilever. Other finalist brands were ABInbev, Alpina, Alquería, Bancolombia, Coca-Cola, Grupo Argos, Grupo Sura and Nestlé.

In Colombia, the winning brands were once again led by Grupo Nutresa, with Alpina taking second prize and Grupo Argos third.

César Vacchiano, president and CEO of Scopen, says: “It is very rewarding to verify the degree of involvement of Latam companies with the fulfillment of the sustainable development objectives

“At this point, there is a vital focus on equality issues and, when analysing future efforts, equality gives way to other important matters, which shows a belief that equality goals will be achieved in the short-medium term.

“The actions promoted by UN Women and their support for events such as + CTG undoubtedly contribute to this.”

Ximena Tapias, president of UCEP and + CTG adds: “At UCEP we are focused on building on important issues within the industry. This study and the new awards within the framework of + CTG are a proof of our commitment.

“We will continue to revisit this study in future and believe it will be very interesting to see how the analysed indicators evolve."

When accepting first prize at the 2021 Sustainability Awards, Alexandre Lemos, General Manager of Natura Colombia, said: "I am very proud to accept this award on behalf of Natura.

“I want to give a special thanks to our entire network of Natura consultants and all the company collaborators, as this achievement has been a collective one, where we have all immersed sustainability in our processes.

“It is thanks to this network and their total commitment to sustainability that we are receiving this recognition today. Despite the obstacles caused by the global pandemic, we managed to work as a team and joined forces to make Natura the company we all want it to be.

“With our ‘Commitment to Life’ initiative launched a year ago as part of our 2030 sustainability vision, we will continue to intensify our actions to address the climate crisis, protect the Amazon rainforest and guarantee equality and diversity in the world.”

Contract negotiation: When trust is virtually indispensable

Intermediaries are playing a bigger role in contract negotiations, online and offline.

Intermediaries have become more important, and their scope has broadened to accommodate a number of operations companies would ordinarily have taken on themselves. One area of intermediaries’ knowledge that marketers are making the most is in contract negotiations.

This is a vital part of the new relationship, as the tone of the discussion or a word used out of context can easily damage a relationship before it gets going.

As an intermediary, the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) plays a pivotal role in ensuring the correct key performance indicators (KPIs) for performance management are included at the start of contract negotiations, thereby ensuring clarity on what must be achieved and how this achievement can be measured. If this is not given enough thought upfront, it is likely to affect the relationship down the road.

Where trust is questioned, discussions will usually not run smoothly, and where negotiations about financials previously took place largely through a series of emails, tone was easily misread and integrity placed in question.

With virtual communication now so commonplace, the cyber face-to-face discussion is as meaningful as being in the same room with all parties. Virtual can, however, prove challenging when, for example, not all cameras are turned on for a more open, engaging meeting where all parties feel comfortable.

To maintain transparency and keep everyone on track, the savvy intermediary will use their well-honed people skills to work through the small issues and get the job done.

Intermediary as the touchpoint

Under the conditions set out by pandemic protocol, the intermediary is the touchpoint that provides impartial information to all stakeholders and brings to the table an in-depth knowledge of the agency: client needs, expectations and the actions that best allow for this to be managed.  

They also bring expert understanding of realistic resourcing required to meet contract objectives and outcomes. Their role is to manage expectations and ensure frustration does not derail the process, by implementing their knowledge of the companies involved, requirements and individual players’ specialised skills.

The trust marketers are placing in intermediaries when choices are determined by outside forces is well earned, and with the intricate negotiations contracts demand, every marketer should be asking themselves, “What should we be looking for in an agency intermediary?”

The answer, I believe, must begin with “an entity we trust”.

Client-agency partnerships now more important than ever

The past 18 months have brought about a once-in-a-lifetime experience for marketers and agencies. The partners in the relationship have had to rely on each other more than ever before, points out Johanna McDowell, CEO of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) and Scopen partner – and it’s been a good test.

“Agencies have been expected to go above and beyond during this time,” she says, adding that those who have done so have succeeded in retaining their clients. 

The only potential downside, she says, is that they might have compromised more than normal on costs.

“The uncertainty has continued long beyond what we thought it would be 18 months ago, and though some marketers are now starting to look beyond the pandemic and at what they will need for the future, client-agency partnerships that were forged through the worst of the pandemic have become even more important,” she says.

There is no question that there is a benefit to long-term partnerships between marketers and their creative and media agencies. Successfully managing them requires the understanding of each other’s roles and requirements. Rough patches are inevitable, McDowell says. “Getting past rough patches requires careful management. The key to partnership success is how these rough patches are navigated, smoothed over and adapted to by both parties with key goals firmly in place.”

Agency-client relationships that are enduring – and succeeding – are the result of innovation, proactivity and a real sense of shared responsibility for tangible business results, says McDowell.

Scopen research reveals that the length of a marketer’s relationship with its creative agency is an average of 4.5 years, and typically ends as a result of poor account service, internal agency processes, lack of creativity or a failure to meet deadlines. The research reveals that a marketer’s relationship with its media agency typically lasts 4.7 years and tends to end due to bad account service, poor value for money or an unreasonable fee, and internal changes or new ways of working.

However, as McDowell explains, there is a cost to ending the relationship. “Besides the parting of ways, there is the challenge of finding a new agency and developing a relationship, which can take months before it functions optimally and produces the required outputs.”

That is why she recommends establishing a management structure from the outset that includes the flexibility required to accommodate market changes over time.

The Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) and Scopen will be sponsoring the 2021 FM AdFocus Partnership of the Year Award.

IAS to host virtual Marketers in Conversation

The Independent Agency Search and Selection Company (IAS) will be hosting the first virtual Marketers in Conversation on 12 October.

The event is meant to facilitate open discussion and networking in a forum that provides a safe place among peers.

Johanna McDowell, CEO of the IAS and Scopen partner, said the session will be an invitation-only event once a quarter, where CMOs can discuss issues that affect them and the industry in a relaxed and candid manner.

“The IAS is well-placed to facilitate these sessions, and notes the value of collaboration between marketers who are facing a rapidly changing landscape,” said McDowell. “We feel it’s important to keep senior decision-makers talking with their peers, and we will be inviting a topic leader to add insight at each session.”

With its affiliation to Scopen, McDowell said participating CMOs will have access to others from across Africa and the UK, and the knowledge gleaned from IAS relationships and data from some 12 countries.

The beauty of virtual sessions, McDowell noted, is the ease with which people can come together who ordinarily may never meet. “The sessions are held in camera, and it is our understanding from our Agency Scope studies that senior marketers would value the opportunity to share ideas.”

The topic for the first session is ‘Brand building in a post-Covid world’, and the IAS is expecting some enlightening engagement on the subject.

For more information, contact robynne@agencyselection.co.za.

NOTES FROM A MASTERCLASS - THE CRITICAL ROLE OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE (CX)

A lively debate between five panel members – all with expertise in the above area – took place at our most recent masterclass at the end of September.  Our five panellists were:

Maja Smith – Former Head of Customer Experience at Ford Motor Company – now Head of After Sales

Palesa Tshabala – GM Marketing and Head of Brand Experience at Nando’s

Heidi Brauer – CMO of Hollard Insurance

Haydn Townsend – Managing Director – Accenture Interactive

Kevin Power – Managing Director – Conversation Lab

With an audience of more than 35 agency and marketing executives in the audience, the debate got off to a flying start with viewpoints on where customer experience sits in an organisation.  Does it belong to marketing?  Or does it belong on its own but across the entire organisation – with marketing only involved in the communication aspects? 

The panel had wide ranging views on this particular question – and all three of the brands commented that, although their respective organisations spent a lot of time collecting data from the customer journey relative to their particular companies, how to action this data and what it could mean was the much bigger issue.

More and more, customer experience needs to happen “in real time” not after the fact.  This means that front line staff and executives need to be highly trained and highly skilled in solving issues.  “No one remembers a perfect customer experience” said one panellist – but everyone remembers a bad or difficult situation that was resolved expertly, efficiently and with real empathy. 

How can agencies help marketers with customer experience issues? And indeed can they?

Generally – the view was that agency partners need to be empowered by marketers to assist them in the quest but agencies need to spend time understanding the client’s business as well as the client understands it.  

Is there a gap in the understanding of customer experience?  Yes – the panel members concluded that agencies do not necessarily understand the customer journey as well as they could do.

Although the importance of customer experience has been around for many years, it has become more of a focus since the advent of online communication and social media and the ability of customers to be able to talk directly to brands.  Having the fairly instant feedback, direct communication channels, has enabled more of the stakeholders in an organisation to understand what customers are looking for and what they need.  There is a much greater level of two-way interaction.  However – this often has to be focused on and forced across the organisation in order for those executives who do not have direct interface experiences with customers to understand better.

Tips on customer experience? 

• Customers do not want to fill out a form – they want immediate answers

• Customer experience can be predicted and planned

• Make sure everyone in the organisation understands that “ it takes a village to build a brand” commented one panellist

• CX is the future – investment in this area is key and critical to success

• Collecting the data is pointless unless you have tested the reason for collecting it first. Make sure that the data has a relevance and purpose and can be used in future – thus avoiding the mountains of useless data.

• Tech has enabled CX so far but the intersection of tech and the human intervention is the critical point.

Task of the intermediary: Walking clients through hard choices

It’s one thing to embrace the thought of a new idea, but another thing entirely to face the fear of implementation and take action.

Marketers are usually open to new ideas and embrace them, but when it comes to implementation, then nerves and uncertainty can set in. This is where knowing what you don’t know – but knowing someone who does – is key.

The Covid-19 pandemic brought with it much uncertainty and caution became the watchword across many industries. As we move towards recovery, everyone is looking for growth and marketers are no exception. What needs to be dealt with first, however, is “analysis paralysis”, the over-thinking that can result in high stress and missed opportunities.

This is when intermediaries provide real value. Being aware of marketers’ increased openness to new ideas right now and the role we can play in providing facts, figures and formulas that best suit all parties.

Supporting clients with knowledge

Because organisations like the IAS have in-depth knowledge of marketers, agencies and global trends around what is working for both, we’re able to present an array of tried-and-tested options targeted at the specific tasks at hand.

The more alternatives an intermediary can present, the greater the confidence clients have that they are not being pigeon-holed into choices or using certain platforms and agencies just because they’re out there. For example, prior to the pandemic, budget set aside for digital media was growing fairly steadily.

Enter the sudden need to provide solutions for people working from home and the amount of spend being allocated to digital his risen rapidly and will continue to do so. According to leading intermediary, AAR Partners in the US, by 2023 65% of media budget in the US market will be spent on digital platforms.   This involves a step-change in thinking by marketers as they look to select the best fit-for-future creative and media agencies.

South Africa’s digital spend figures showed an uptick of around 36% just a few months ago, and it looks like it’s already sitting at 40%. SCOPEN notes that China, Brazil and the UK are also seeing an increase, not just in spend but in the platforms available to marketers.

Choices, choices everywhere…

Having observed the options coming thick and fast in technology and agencies that are able to extract value from them almost immediately, marketers are open to doing things differently – and more so when they have the guidance of intermediaries.

The impartiality of professional intermediaries offers a reticent-to-spend organisation the guidance needed to know where their money will buy solid results and which agency options they choose will see them through campaigns that require different ways of reaching an audience unlikely to go back to how things were done before.

Importantly, understanding that clients need to resolve specific issues using best-fit technology and analytics that show their agency choices were worthwhile is a vital part of what the intermediary does – and knows – best.

You may also be interested in reading Breadth of digital choices creating confusion and When the pitch is a small part of the whole

Intermediaries, handover and pandemic protocols

In this article, I take a look at how intermediaries are assisting with good solid handovers at the end of the pitch process during the Covid period - and succeeding virtually and effectively...

Where a new agency is appointed by the client, the outgoing agency must undertake a proper handover of all the work they have completed for the client. And this is where the intermediary’s audit begins. Both the client and the new agency will be counting on a robust appraisal that will enable them to take up the new account quickly and seamlessly.

With the protocols demanded by Covid in an industry that can’t put operations on hold, intermediaries are far more involved than ever before in every area of the transition. Preparations for these discussions are critical, and planning must include the finest detail to ensure transparency and legal compliance.

Since virtual became the new boardroom, intermediaries have found adapting to online meetings both easier and more difficult. One such tight-rope walk is the agency handover process.

Skills to manage the quality of handover

The real work for intermediaries is managing expectations and keeping relationships on track, resulting in a quality handover. Any handover requires a foundation, a starting point that brings transparency to the whole process. It begins with the audit.

All the data pertaining to the outgoing agency and the client must be collated and backed up to a hard drive or to the cloud. A misstep here can result in dirty data, creating problems down the line.

It takes great skill to understand and moderate this very sensitive process for all, especially where the agency handing over is likely to be busy looking for new opportunities or – at worst – having to lay staff off. The incoming agency wants to familiarise themselves quickly, but is wholly reliant on the outgoing agency and the client working together.

Also, the client is likely to want to brief the new agency on new work. There is a pent up demand, as most marketers would have held off new briefings until the newly-appointed agency is on board.

Narrow down any potential margin of error

Financial documentation must be checked and referenced, and it’s the intermediary’s job to ensure clean, quality data. The IAS, for example, has a specific formula for handovers which narrows any potential margin of error and ensures the quickest possible process. Included in this important documentation is the assurance that the previous agency has been paid, and whether credit notes are settled. Closing off a relationship with complete financial transparency between the parties is key.

The process can take several months and quality will result in issues that will have lasting effects on the various relationships. Paradoxically, these lasting effects can be very good – or just the opposite.

Aside from the traditional – and vital – processes, planning must go into ensuring all parties are able to deliver their goods at the same time in the same cyberspace, with the intermediary creating a space where compassion for the outgoing agency meets the enthusiasm of the incoming, and the client is kept abreast of every stage.

This can sometimes take anywhere from three months upwards, depending on how ready and willing all parties are to commit to the audit and the process it underpins. The intermediary’s business acumen and people skills must prepare us for all eventualities – especially in the ether that is MS Teams.

Fortunately, it appears that intermediaries were quick off the mark when taking their skills online as Covid 19 hit, and all parties in any handover are placing more and more trust in them and their ability to be the non-partial knowledge provider.

It’s also apparent that, while some will go back to face-to-face negotiations, many have found online saves time, and its ability to record all discussions a plus in total recall of the process.

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Judges of the IAS Agency Credentials Award announced

A panel of respected judges will review all Credentials Award entries, which will consist of the agency’s written credentials document as well as the agency culture reel - within the various agency discipline types eg creative, digital, PR, media and design.

The judging panel will be made up of six seasoned and renowned Marketers from leading companies in South Africa – already judging the Assegai Awards - along with international and local intermediaries in the marketer/agency space including:

Cesar Vacchiano is the president and CEO of SCOPEN International  responsible for the international expansion of the group. He has developed projects in many countries, and SCOPEN now has offices in Spain, Portugal, UK, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, China, India, Singapore and South Africa.

SCOPEN provides knowledge and identifies demands and future trends for marketers, agencies and media owners. The company’ researches are focused on the communication, marketing and advertising changing environment. He is the only non-marketer member of the Directors Council in the Spanish Advertisers Association (AEA), Secretary of the Spanish Effectiveness Awards and member of the Jury in other Industry Awards and Festivals.

Nikki Munsie is Business Director of the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company (IAS).  Nikki has more than 25 years of experience in the marketing and advertising industry with the last 13 years being in a consulting role where she was involved in the development of Business and Brand Strategies with a strong emphasis on Cross Functional Action Learning for Clients.

Hlamazi Mabunda IAS Project Director for the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company (IAS).  Hlamazi is a AAA School of Advertising Integrated Marketing Communications graduate who works as a Project director with key responsibilities to include the streamlining of processes in order to make them more efficient.

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Pitching takes energy

With new business opportunities on the increase, are agencies ready and willing to divert their energies into pitching? And if so – what new questions should they be asking of the marketers who approach them?

2020 saw a markedly reduced appetite among marketers for selecting new agency partners.  Our AGENCY SCOPE 2021 study in the UK saw a drop of almost 50% in cold calling during 2020 – the start of the pandemic.  Cold calls (calls from different agencies) to CMOs in the UK decreased from an average of 58 in 2018/19 to less than 37 in 2020. And success rates were even lower than in previous years.  

This formulated our view that during the pandemic, and with such levels of uncertainty, marketers preferred to limit their risks and stick with their agency partners until more certainty returned to the market.

In South Africa, the same trend happened – which we knew anecdotally from our own work within IAS – and we expect to see similar results for 2020 to the UK in the AGENCY SCOPE 2021 South Africa where results will be presented in the latter part of October 2021.  

During the first few months of 2021, new business activity was fairly muted, picked up in Quarter 2 with some interesting new pitches across different sectors coming into play.  Going into Quarter 3, we are seeing several enquiries and interest from marketers and we believe that marketers are now asking themselves if they do have the right agency partners in place for growth.  Having taken an understandably more conservative and cautious view in 2020, it seems that marketers are focusing on their new needs in order to grow their businesses and meet company targets.

With the above in mind we think that agencies – although always keen to be involved in pitches – are asking themselves a different question.  While always being intrigued, excited and delighted at the idea of new client opportunities, agencies are also dealing with less capacity than in previous years as a result of client budget cuts in 2020 and the resultant cut-backs in staff. This will result in agencies being less prone to jump into a pitch than before as they will need to evaluate a few things at the outset:

• Is this a genuine pitch opportunity that will result in an agency appointment and real revenue increase?

• Can we – as an agency – divert our teams off secure client business in order to pitch for new opportunities?

• What will the opportunity costs be – if we pitch or if we do not? There are implications either way.

• Are our teams resilient enough, following the hardships and sadness of COVID which has left many of us touched by the losses of family members and friends, to spend more time on chasing new client opportunities which may come to nothing?

• Has the potential client included an intermediary in the process – as this tends to indicate a genuine search process?

We all know that agencies love and thrive on the opportunities to work on new brands and business sectors, but we see too that energy on both client and agency side is in short supply.  Budgets notwithstanding, I do see the role that intermediaries have to play as being even more needed as both parties navigate their way through the new world that we are now in.   

Intermediaries are much more than pitch consultants – we play in a variety of ways in the space between marketers and their agencies and our advisory role has grown in the past 12 months in particular – and for both parties.

Before marketers invite agencies to pitch – which they will hopefully allow an intermediary to facilitate – the questions they should be asking themselves are:

• Do any of our existing agency partners have the capabilities that we are looking for to meet our new needs? Have we checked?

• What precisely are our new needs?

• How will we evaluate success if we appoint a new agency partner – and this follows on surely from why we wanted a review of our existing agency partners?

• Are we looking to cut costs or grow our business? Is this a procurement exercise or a genuine marketing need?

The average corporate in South Africa works with at least four different types of agency:  creative above line, digital performance and/or content, media and PR (corporate and brand).   And the need for specialist agencies is increasing – we hear more about intersection than integration these days.  Intersection is the “magic” that happens where marketers are working and encouraging their different agencies and work streams to collaborate.     

With many marketers now valuing their agency relationships more strongly than before, as a result of the closer partnerships created during the worst of the pandemic, there will need to be real reasons to change agencies than ever before. These reasons will need to be clearly articulated, with real briefs, from the outset by wise marketers and should result in solid new agency appointments – where and if needed.

Breadth of digital choices creating confusion

Among the first insights from ongoing fieldwork for Agency Scope South Africa 2021/2022 - the fourth edition of the biennial study that provides insights into current trends defining marketers' most pressing concerns and solutions - a particular and pervasive mood across the industry stands out.

The necessary changes imposed by the pandemic among marketing and creative agencies were acute and sometimes overwhelming. Suddenly, the essential topics became “agility”, “new normal” and “digital”. Adaptation and change was rapid, and one key – and unexpected - impact is “uncertainty”.

Our first glance at study responses indicates that many chief marketing officers (CMOs) are feeling uncertain when it comes to choices. Considerations around digital, the various platforms and channels and feeling like they can’t decide on a good media or digital plan because they simply don’t have enough in-depth knowledge, have CMOs feeling unsure.

Apprehension about being totally reliant on the agencies and a feeling that they can’t even really debate or argue with their agencies due to insufficient knowledge has left marketers less convinced of making the optimal decisions because they simply are not sure.

This reliance on their agencies, manifesting in a degree of uncertainty, appears to be growing as a topical marketing issue.

With so many platforms and channels in the mix and no time to have really gleaned enough knowledge of all of them means that marketers are even somewhat unsure of how to question or debate what their agencies are telling them.

In a sense, it’s this lack of clarity that is making marketers relook at their relationships with media agencies as they look for who can assist them, besides their creative agencies.

At first glance, I’d suggest that working from this platform of uncertainty will encourage greater collaboration by marketers with their media agencies because of the tools and information that those agencies have available. It’s a trend we have already seen take place in the UK, and could it be a sign of what’s to come in South Africa.

The media agency’s core function is to review all media options, and the CMO’s reliance will be on doing the job thoroughly, which will also include the many – and growing - digital media options.

Decrypting their uncertainty will likely mean marketers combining the guidance given to them by both media and creative agencies as they learn the ropes of the “now normal” world.

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AGENCY SCOPE SA: Responding to industry desire to raise the bar

Pitch remains the favoured way of selecting an agency

Evaluating agency credentials: What turns clients' heads

In a 2018 article in AdAge, MediaLink chairman and CEO Michael Kassan was quoted as saying: "Nobody has a crystal ball and nobody can say the agency of the future will be this way or that way. But what we can say is that there has to be a true willingness for the agency of the future to be more adaptive and reflective of clients' needs. Only the ones who can adapt will survive."

Today, Johanna McDowell, CEO of the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company (IAS), concurs. “Even as we talk ‘new normal’ and ‘futureproofing’, we need to clearly define this sentiment so it becomes a business imperative,” she says.

“The way agencies are going to turn a client’s head in the current market is by understanding that their credentials are far more than creativity, no matter how amazing.”

The SCOPEN 2019 Market Trends Report shows that, even while creativity is important, it forms part of the broader segment that includes credentials, case studies and quality of work. “This,” notes McDowell, “is what we encourage agencies to start a pitch with. And today, I’d include return on investment (ROI) as a vital up-front addition".

“This enables both the marketer and procurement to tick off what has become a crucial box before being swayed by creativity they can’t afford or that is questionable on the ROI front. We can’t put too fine a point on how important the latter is across all business sectors now.”

Industry reputation

McDowell highlights the value of adding some history about the agency and its standing in the industry and a client list. “Back this up with press coverage and case studies, as well as a brief analysis of outcomes, or value for a client’s spend.”

Company culture, BBBEE standing and procurement recommendations are also valuable, and often help clients determine whether they have a perfect fit or merely a creative agency.

“At this juncture, specialisation is also important, as some clients look for ‘one shop fits all’ and others are happy to have more than one specialist agency in order to cover digital capabilities, strategic planning and a good understanding of the client’s market. These are all becoming must haves rather than nice to haves,” McDowell asserts.

The IAS encourages clients to evaluate credentials during a pitch process, as this session gives them a better view of how the agency will ultimately perform. McDowell notes here that the client who is seduced largely by creative work and isn’t actively looking for strategy and measurement tools is the client most likely to be disappointed soon into the relationship with an agency.

To highlight the importance of overall credentials, the IAS decided to bring back the IAS Credentials Award, launched in 2016 in collaboration with the DMA Assegai Awards for integrated marketing excellence. 2020 saw an increased number of entries, and in 2021 we expect to see further growth with entries extending into Africa. The event will give participants a great opportunity to present all credentials to a diverse panel of Marketing judges during the current uncertain times.

“The ‘new normal’ has got many companies building the plane while flying it,” says McDowell, “so while we have the data to indicate trends and years of experience with what works, Michael Kassan is right – there is no crystal ball. What we do know for certain now is that the client seeking key credentials is more likely to get that magical ROI than the client wowed purely by creativity. Every ad Rand spent may not be pretty, but it has to count.”

Creativity without borders

US cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” I concur — but must add, “until Covid-19”. 

The initial brushstrokes of Covid-19 painted darkness around the globe, with a force we could neither see nor fight, threatening untold misery. Now, almost two years down the line, we continue to count losses — but the resilience of the human spirit is showing up in small but bright patches across a number of industries.

As intermediaries, we are looking at the changes that affect our business. One of the most valuable is the realisation among marketers and agencies that we are a truly borderless world.

Creativity is no longer constrained to regions and intermediaries are free to find the best creative solution from a broader range of options than before. Not that technology hasn’t allowed remote working in the past, but the pandemic has forced more people to see its value and make choices that enable a combination of talent that really works for them.

Agility on a smaller carbon footprint

Smaller, more agile agencies can set up business almost anywhere and still have access to clients. The other big silver lining is that while we are working together from thousands of kilometres apart, we are able to reduce our collective carbon footprints like never before.

Where travel around SA and even overseas was often required for stakeholders to trust that their brief would be understood and their requirements met, online communications in their various forms have shown same-room discussions can be carried out as effectively online, and with less cost to the planet and the company budget.

Quality beats price

Because intermediaries usually know all players and are also adept at understanding the value new players bring to a project, we’re being called on by marketers who ask for remote agencies whose work they have seen — online. When a marketer says, “Let’s go global”, accessing those agencies is as easy as accessing those at home.

It’s been suggested that some foreign companies look to countries such as SA based on the strength of their currency against the rand. This is not true, in our experience. Every client seeks quality above all else. Anything less would be reputationally disastrous. If there is any cost-saving to be had with the same level of quality and professionalism they demand, it’s a bonus, but not a prerequisite.

Of course, the other bright light that has been enhanced by the pandemic forcing all of us to master online communications, is the greater trust that marketers and agencies place on the knowledge and value of intermediaries. 

We, like everyone else, are hoping the global vaccine rollouts continue apace, and more lives are saved as the days go by. In the meantime, we are all just grateful that the technology required for so many industries to keep doing business safely arrived before 2020, making creativity without borders a thing.

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AGENCY SCOPE South Africa: Responding to industry desire to raise the bar

The fourth edition of AGENCY SCOPE South Africa 2021/2022 is moving rapidly along towards disclosing the analysis industry leaders have come to value highly.

While media agencies have not been privy to how media owners see them in previous SCOPEN studies in South Africa, it is a new-to-South Africa section included in our research and should prove to be a highlight for both sectors.

Already included in SCOPEN’s research and analysis overseas, it was suggested by media agencies that media owners have input into the study as they have a unique and valuable view of media agencies which will add a further dimension to the study in addition to views from marketers.

For South Africa, it’s an innovation that we view as one that will continue to raise the bar and even enables comparison with global agencies.

Attributing excellence

Questions asked of media owners see agencies ranked by specific attributes. The value of this for agencies lies in understanding what both the media owner and the client want, and adjusting their performance to comply.

On viewing their ranking, the true value for subscribing agencies is being able to note current trends and measure themselves against overall industry standards.

Total interviews completed in the fieldwork for AGENCY SCOPE South Africa 2021so far include 174 CMOs and 148 agency professionals. By the time fieldwork is completed 17 September, these numbers are expected to increase to 250 CMOs and 200 agency professionals as well as 50 media owners.

This new addition to the South African version means that after analysis and publication of AGENCY SCOPE South Africa 2021/2022 subscribing media agencies can see all ratings, and determine which areas media owners are looking for maximum capability.

We’ve reached an exciting time in the fieldwork, where we are able to see how South African companies in our industry are looking to improve in all areas, and looking forward to seeing the input from the industry as a whole.

At a time when remote work has dissolved all borders, it is heartening to see local organisations preparing for global competitiveness on every level.

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Agency Credentials: So much more than swagger

Credentials. Bona fides. Street cred. No matter which way you look at it, what the mind conjures up is no single attribute. It's the whole package - the attitude, the appearance, the swagger. So it is with agency credentials, writes Johanna McDowell, CEO of the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company (IAS).

It’s long been my conviction that creativity alone may win awards, but if it doesn’t win sales or new business for the client or brand, it’s merely gilding. Now, in an environment that has changed rapidly recently and is presenting us with new challenges, it has never been more important to lead any pitch with return on investment (ROI).

This means that clients need to feel confident that an agency understands their specific business requirements. Agencies do this by revealing their credentials, the foundation on which ROI sits.

As client-agency relationship experts, the IAS has always encouraged clients to make time to evaluate agency credentials during a pitch process. The agency that leads with its list of creative awards must follow swiftly with its street cred.

This includes some history and other information about the agency; a client list; its standing in the industry backed up by press coverage and case studies; and its value for money. Culture, BBBEE standing and procurement recommendations are also valuable, and will help the client to determine whether they have a perfect fit or just a creative agency. This is a crucial step for the client.

With the importance of overall credentials in mind at this point in our industry’s journey, the IAS took the decision to bring back the IAS Agency Credentials Award, first held in 2016 in collaboration with the DMA Assegai Awards for integrated marketing excellence. In partnering again for the second year, both organisations hope to place ROI back at the forefront of campaigns.

According to David Dickens, CEO of The Direct Marketing Association of SA, the Assegai Award will this year include entries from international agencies. He notes that this alliance with the IAS means agencies get their credentials out to marketers, and not just their creativity.

“It’s all about giving quality back to the client,” he says, adding that having marketers and peers reviewing agency’s work is what ensures value. A diverse and robust panel of judges will include international participant invited by the IAS, Cesar Vacchiano, CEO and President of SCOPEN International, together with a number of renowned local marketers.

Set for November 2020, the format of the awards will be determined according to safety protocols, and may be held entirely virtually but – importantly - the objective will be real: “It’s about the ROI of advertising,” says Dickens, “knowing what you’re getting back for your buck.

“We’re excited to grow the Assegais with the IAS, as the IAS experience with credentials creates a win-win situation for all stakeholders which is key.”

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IAS Agency Credentials award once again part of the prestigious Assegai Awards for 2021

The Assegai Integrated Marketing Awards, in conjunction with the IAS, introduced a new award category into the 2016 awards programme: the IAS Agency Credentials Award. The award received some interest with entries in 2016 and the first winner announced that year, being Promise Agency.

The IAS then relaunched the award in 2020 in conjunction with the Direct Marketing Association of South Africa (DMASA). which hosted 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.

According to Johanna McDowell, the CEO of IAS: “This award will only be judged by marketers and not other agencies or journalists. We want to put agency credentials in front of as many marketers as we can in order to create opportunities for those agencies.” The IAS will also ensure that at least two international intermediaries as well as the IAS directors are part of the judging panel for this award.

In addition, this year, entries will be encouraged from agencies in the rest of Africa and the Middle East. “We look forward to working with the Assegai Awards as their sphere of influence increases into the African continent. This coincides perfectly with the IAS’s expansion into other parts of Africa,” concludes McDowell.

Closing date for entries is 27 August. The IAS Agency Credentials Award falls into Section F. All details can be found on the Assegai Awards website: https://www.assegaiawards.co.za/award-categories/

The Direct Marketing Association of SA says its Assegai Awards entry season and there are 45 days to go before entries close...

Comments David Dickens, CEO of the DMASA: “It was a natural fit that we should include a Credentials Award into our categories of awards for agencies in the Assegai programme in 2016. We are very pleased that the IAS is once again partnering with us for this important award.”