Wavemaker's Merissa Himraj tops Agency Scope's Top 10 media professionals rankings

Agency Scope’s Top 10 most admired media agency professions have a wider spread across agencies than the most admired creative agency professionals, with half of the top 10, being women.

The marketers’ choices saw the following media gurus take their place in the latest study as follows:

1.     Merissa Himraj, Wavemaker

2.     Chris Botha, Park Advertising

3.     Celia Collins, Publicis Media

4.     Kate Carlisle-Kitz, Mindshare

5.     Gareth Grant, Meta Media

6.     Adrian Naidoo, Mindshare

7.     Kevin Ndinguri, UM

8.     Graham Deneys, Carat

9.     Lerina Berman, Dentsu

10. Lynette Naidoo, Publicis Media

“As the only study in South Africa where marketers rate their personal choice of media agency professionals, this year’s study has turned up a reasonably diverse group, each of whom stayed top of mind with marketers to be named without prompting."

This is the word from Johanna McDowell, Scopen partner and CEO of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS), who emphasised the value of the top ten list due to Scopen’s methodology that is based on the service marketers have received from this group.

César Vacchiano, President & CEO of Scopen, says that by merely asking marketing decision-makers to name their choice of media agency professionals, the responses are a “reflection of the work media personnel do, rather than their popularity in the industry”.

In congratulating the top ten, Vacchiano says results like these are precisely why marketers are not asked to vote. “We believe Scopen’s system gives a true representation of the industry’s key players and we hope to see more proof that efforts are equal due to ability.”

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Unlocking agency methodologies: Why understanding operations is crucial for clients

The brief goes in, cogs whirl and a campaign comes out... but clients want to understand agency processes, what is the creative process and how it works.

The perception some clients have of agency environments is often ‘creativity coupled with chaos, overseen by someone called traffic’, writes Johanna McDowell, CEO of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) and Scopen partner

What should we expect and when can we expect it? When does strategy get involved, and when does creative get involved?

Then, once a campaign is produced and launched, how does the agency track it?

What steps are taken to find out how the campaign is doing, and how do agencies act on that information? If all is well, is the campaign recycled? If not, is it amended to fill in any gaps the agency has noted?

The agency that responds to these questions succinctly makes the process transparent and easy to understand, enabling clients to realise how important timing is.

Their methodology is vital; clients need to understand there is one - nothing happens by chance and that there’s a practical strategy in place that can be tracked throughout.

From an agency perspective, having the client understand their methodology means clients can work with required timelines.

Conversation and collaboration

Whether it’s a quick retail ad or a major campaign for 2024, there is a methodology involved which is brought to bear on every brief.

Sometimes it’s even more complicated - perhaps the marketer doesn’t have a brief, but instead poses a problem to the agency: “We haven’t sold a widget in three months. It’s our core business. What do we do?”

Here, agency methodology must incorporate the business solution and – more importantly – an explanation of their logic, with simple diagrams outlining the problem, followed by a calculated and rapid path to the fix.

This shows the marketer their agency is supportive and is a professional organisation that knows its stuff. Moreover, it enables collaboration between client and agency to reach the most expedient path to actual widget selling.

Delivering the solution: Checkers and 99c

A superb example of a client-agency strat session that began with a potentially crippling hit on sales and culminated not only in an immediate solution but created a whole new industry, is the collaboration between Checkers and 99 Cents when the global pandemic looked set to strangle sales.

The client’s problem: A dearth of shoppers due to lockdown.

The solution: Discussions with the agency which likely began with “let’s take the groceries to the customer”, and grew from there to include the creation of an app; branded delivery mechanisms; a service that gave customers a virtual shopping experience and rapid drop-off of groceries at their homes; and the blossoming of a delivery industry that has created employment, ongoing sales for Checkers - and a two-wheel source of Sixty60 pride for all involved.

By engaging with their agency, a marketer who highlights a request or problem should be met by the agency applying its methodology to the business issue, noting the specialists they will bring in to create a strategy.

Although marketers may still be required to gather their briefing templates and other data and present it to the agency, it is most likely the two parties will be creating the brief together using the methodology the agency has.

Without giving away too much, subscribers to Agency Scope 2023 – 2024 will see data that shows the value of internal processes and working methods, which now stand shoulder to shoulder with strategic planning and quality of presentations as criteria clients look for in an agency.

When a client’s primary concern is having to sell a thousand widgets in the next few months, having faith that their agency’s methodology, alongside it’s creativity, will provide a solution is what makes their collaboration valuable.

Joe Public United's Pepe Marais and Xolisa Dyeshana lead Agency Scope's top creative professionals

Pepe Marais, Joe Public United is Agency Scope 2023 – 2024’s top creative agency professional, with his agency colleague, Xolisa Dyeshana in second and the Odd Number’s Sibusiso Sithole in third.

The Agency Scope 2023 – 2024’s Top 10 top creative agency professionals are:

1.     Pepe Marais, Joe Public United

2.     Xolisa Dyeshana, Joe Public United

3.     Sibusiso Sithole, The Odd Number

4.     Pete Case, Ogilvy

5.     Luca Galliarelli, TBWA/SA

6.     Fran Luckin, VML SA (previously Grey)

7.     Neo Mashigo, M&C Saatchi Abel

8.     Mike Abel, M&C Saatchi Abel

9.     Camilla Clerke, Ogilvy

10. Carl Willoughby, TBWA/Hunt Lascaris

Out of the Top 10 creative agency professionals, there are two each from four of the agencies, Joe Public United, Ogilvy, M&C Saatchi Abel and TBWA (SA and Hunt Lascaris).

“The winners are also mainly made up of creative directors – seven of the 10 are chief creative officers (CCOs),” says the president and CEO of Scopen, César Vacchiano.

“Within the named professionals, there’s not as much diversity as we may have expected or would like, with only two of the top 10 being women,” he adds.

Judged by jury of their peers

The AgencyScope 2023 – 2024 questionnaire posed the simple question to marketers, unprompted by names or a list of possible contenders, “Which creative agency professionals do you think stand out?”

Unlike most rankings of the top professionals in the creative agency space in South Africa which is usually determined by a vote, with a panel choosing their key players from a list of names.

Vacchiano, says Agency Scope’s methodology makes the questionnaire the only one in South Africa that encourages marketers “to think about their specific choice without any limitations’.

“By asking this way, we have found that some exceptionally talented agency creatives are remembered by marketers for work they have done together, and often for their reputation in the industry.”

Johanna McDowell, Scopen partner and CEO of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) adds, “If you’re a big marketer with a big budget, you may remember more than one. Our researchers note the names and the top ten are chosen from the final list created by the marketing professionals.

“It’s a judgement by a jury of peers and provides insight into the winners for the work they’ve done and the esteem in which they are held. Scopen feels being chosen through this method far outweighs the value of panel voting, and those who make the cut know it’s due to the value they bring to real-life business.”

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Partners top of mind for marketers in 2024

“In 2021, the average number of agents a marketer worked with in South Africa was 12.7, a figure that has risen to 15.2, according to the AGENCY SCOPE 2023/24 study,” says SCOPEN president and CEO César Vacchiano.

”Here partnerships and agents include both advertising and below the line (BTL) agencies; digital platforms; media and PR agencies; partnerships with industry giants such as Amazon and Meta; and consultancies such as Deloitte, Accenture and others.”

The latest AGENCY SCOPE research shows the biggest growth for marketers has been in the number of digital platforms they now work with directly, which has leaped from 4.4 in 2021 to 5.3 today, Vacchiano says.

“The impact of this growth on marketers is the hefty task of having to manage anywhere between nine and 20 agents across the ecosystem, in an economically turbulent market. Some marketing leaders have appointed a lead agency to assist with the heavy lifting.”

The trust factor

Says Johanna McDowell, CEO of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) and SCOPEN partner, “Ramifications will not only be felt by marketers. With the growing number of different agencies and agents comes more responsibility and accountability required by each partner in the system. Agencies need to be far more able and willing to collaborate with their clients, as well as all the other agents in the mix.”

McDowell adds that the trust factor becomes far greater than ever before, “with each agent adapting to a new level of confidentiality and integrity, while dampening any sense of competitiveness that may arise within the larger circle of partners”.

The brand is boss

Marketers will be looking for all participants to understand that their loyalty is to the brand.

Says  Vacchiano: “To work together with peers you may have always seen as competition takes honesty, transparency and  emotional intelligence (EQ) to unite as a single team in support of the marketer and the brand.

“The ability to manage this often comes only with experience. Then add the various personalities working across marketing, communication, advertising and media, and you have a recipe for one of two things: Disaster or discourse.”

Noting that marketers in Brazil work with an average of 17 agents and China tops that with 25.6, Vacchiano points out that South Africa is not far behind at 15.2, and the UK with 9.1.  “As long as markets keep changing and platforms and new agents are added at speed, we believe we’re going to see more collaboration in the ecosystems and even greater trust required among the appointed agencies.”

When seeking partners, Vacchiano and McDowell concur: Marketers will be scouting out those who can place principles above personalities and show up for the brand.

Agency Scope 2023-2024: Industry respect for Nando's marketing three times that of nearest rivals

Analysis from the Agency Scope shows an interesting trend arising from the responses to questions designed to determine the best campaigns, most respected companies, and advertisers with the best marketing strategy.

As it turns out, the results of the best campaign tend to be quite similar to the most respected companies for their marketing.

Agency Scope analysis notes that the top three companies – Nandos, Chicken Licken and Checkers – saw Chicken Licken leading in the “company with the best campaigns” section, followed by Nandos, then Checkers.

Nandos takes flight

These top three brands are consistent across all three charts, but the standout came when marketers were asked about the most respected companies for their marketing, and advertisers with the best marketing strategy.

Here Nando's takes flight, outpacing all rivals as the strongest in the top three by far.

“Outdoing a rival brand by three times is a big deal,” says César Vacchiano, president and CEO at Scopen.

“Although Nandos campaigns may not be scoring at the same level, the company’s marketing strategy and the industry’s overall respect for their marketing is still way ahead of anyone in the top three and even the top 10.”

He adds, “It is also noteworthy that Checkers gained the most mentions among the top 10 companies most respected for marketing, moving from 10th position in 2021 to third in 2023.”

Best marketing strategy

A new question to marketers in Scopen 2023-2024, asks them to identify the advertiser with the best marketing strategy.

“The results bear out previous learnings mentioned in 2023, where we noted that agencies were being urged to place more emphasis on strategy,” says Johanna McDowell, Scopen partner and CEO of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS). “What marketers are looking for from their agencies is strategic capabilities.”

While marketers themselves may have a good business strategy in place when their agencies assist with the same strength, it provides another opportunity for marketers to be kept up to date with market trends and opportunities, she asserts.

“The value of agency relationships is buoyed by their strategic planning abilities.”

Nando’s: Demonstrates cohesion between agencies

McDowell further notes that Nando’s’ positioning as the most respected company and advertiser with the best marketing strategy demonstrates cohesion between all the various agencies in the brand’s ecosystem and that they’re all working well together.

“Once again,” says Vacciano, “we’re finding that the participants in the Scopen study can offer immense learnings to the market as a whole, and by choosing their top campaigns, respected companies and marketing strategy unprompted, they offer a collective insight that other marketers and agencies can review and possibly emulate heading through 2024.”

The biennial study saw researchers interviewing 312 marketers from 220 companies.

McDowell says, “What is important about these particular questions is that they were posed to marketing professionals, not agency professionals, meaning their responses constitute peer recognition rather than adjudication by agencies.”

How content creation is attracting new audiences and revenue streams

Using paid media platforms in an earned media way is great way of making a smaller budget go further, says IAS's Johanna McDowell

The Independent Agency Search & Selection Company explores the uptake in content creation and the revenue streams linked to digital innovation. Picture: Pexels/George Milton via IAS

As budgets across all media continue to contract, digital innovation is quickly becoming the greatest mother of invention when it comes to earned media, says the CEO of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) and Scopen partner, Johanna McDowell.

“During November 2023, at AdForum in London, we were introduced to a few agencies which were strongly focused on earned media,” she says. “It isn’t PR as we know it any more, but now includes the role of influencers and content creators, and the money is driving a whole new sector.”

McDowell says this trend took off in Los Angeles a few years ago, when a man who had been a YouTuber since he was a teenager set up an agency.

“He made his living from his content on the platform and later set up an agency that helps other would-be content creators professionalise their YouTube activities. His agency manages the whole process, including attracting paying brands to advertise on appropriate content.”

What this provides is a cost-effective way of reaching a certain market, says McDowell. Instead of having to buy a lot of media time or space, the content has already been created and includes the brand. It’s a way of making a smaller budget go much further and in a more focused way, and it’s all about building the audience first.

“It was a particular trend we noted back then and why it is becoming so popular now is because firstly, it’s interesting to a viewer who chooses to watch, and secondly, it’s not advertising,” she says. 

Getting past ad-blockers

The younger generation is not averse to blocking ads online — so how does a brand or marketer get past that? It's simple with this new earned media, says McDowell.

“It’s not free advertising, it’s not like getting the media to run a story for you. It’s actually paying influencers who already have a following of several hundred thousand — or millions — in their community to tap into that following and generate brand exposure,” says McDowell. 

“In economies, whether globally, the UK or SA, where budgets are declining, we believe we’re going to see more and more of this type of content agency emerging. 

“By finding these already-popular YouTubers, TikTokers and even X-ers, and attaching them to brands that are relevant for them and making certain the storyline is still authentic, content agencies already have creators with a following who wouldn’t want to damage their reputations by taking on ads for products with no relevance.

“It is fascinating,” she says, “while being extremely complex. How on Earth does a brand manage it? Well, that’s what this new type of agency is starting to do more and more of, with very effective results.”

Tracking mass messaging

A key advantage the content agency has is how tracking can be implemented and presented to brands with the vast number of systems available to break down stats in any number of ways to show return on investment.

The content creator has built their platforms from the ground up, so they have the data on everything from growth trajectory to viewership per minute at their fingertips. 

“It’s a whole new way of mass communicating,” says McDowell, “and South African agencies are taking the content platforms seriously already, including them in pitches for brands looking to attract younger consumers at scale.”

She notes this doesn’t negate the need for big brand building and advertising across all channels.

“Using paid media platforms in an earned media way is now providing much interest from both content creators and brands, while generating a new revenue stream from agencies nested fully in the paid media space,” says McDowell.

“What this means for the marketer is that within their agency ecosystem, the need for the content creation agency specialism needs to be closely integrated with both the media agency and the creative agency, without diluting the sharp focus of this specialist area and the audience it reaches.” 

Content creation captivates audiences and revenue

#BizTrends2024: Johanna McDowell - Agency ecosystem trends that are defining future working methods

To manage marketing and agency ecosystems in a post-Covid world, marketers and agencies will need to adapt and build more flexible models.

IAS founder & CEO and managing partner Scopen Africa, draws 5 conclusions to help agencies and brands define future working methods

As the IAS we are in a unique and privileged position at the heart of the marketing industry where brands and agencies intersect.

We have many conversations with CMOs and agency leaders about the marketer agency ecosystem as we help all participants work together to deliver effective marketing that will drive growth.

One of the biggest surprises and learnings from the Agency Scope 2023/2024 study, the results of which are currently being presented to various industry players, is the growth in the number of agency partners/platforms that a CMO interacts with. On average this number is more than 15.

When I look at a recent report from our partners, AAR Group in the UK, they have identified in more detail which types of partners these 15 are and have tabled that growth from what was more usual less than 10 years ago when the average number of partners in a marketing agency ecosystem was five.

Fluidity and flexibility

This trend on its own requires much closer examination.AAR talks about fluidity as well as flexibility and they comment on the fact that the growth in this has happened for both individuals in how they work and for brands in the number of specialist agencies that they have the option to work with.

A lot of this fluidity has come from the opportunities that were created during - and because of Covid - when working from home or remotely meant that companies had to build in more flexibility into their businesses and this then became the new normal.

For brands, this also created a fragmentation of their customers and an evolving media landscape that required an increased number of marketing specialists to create successful marketing campaigns.

What we have seen already is that great talent no longer wants to live exclusively in a world of permanent agency roles. It seems that fluidity and flexibility are here to stay.

The focus is on accessing talent regardless of where it chooses to work.

Agencies: Following the trends

The agency ecosystem is evolving to follow these trends so that brands can access a greater number of specialists either via an open talent network through increased agency contacts or within a holding company offering.

With economic uncertainty now cited as one of the most fundamental reasons for the need for a more flexible marketing ecosystem, clients are less able to commit long-term to having large teams available plus they now wait longer before approving projects in case of last-minute impacts on their side.

This means that the need for freelance vs permanent staff goes up.

Not easy for agencies to manage without building in far more flexibility – and yet perhaps capitalising on the benefits of a more fluid talent pool.

Management of the increased number of partners

There is no simple formula to lay out what agency ecosystem is best for a brand.

Scale and business category are two of the biggest factors in defining how many partners a brand will best work with. And whether the brand will command and control all of the specialists or if one of the agencies in the system might be better suited to integrate of the different resources.

5 conclusions to help agencies and brands define future working methods

The debate will continue throughout this current decade in our view, and we draw a few conclusions now that may help brands and their agencies define future working methods:

1.     Brands will have the appetite to increase the fluidity of how they build their internal and external capability.

2.     More systems are now in place to allow greater access to more specialists and build them into the marketing ecosystem for a brand. If brands are not doing this they may well be missing out.

3.     There is not a one-size-fits-all solution. The right agency ecosystem changes according to marketer capability, category, scale and culture.

4.     The need for media-neutral leadership that puts the brand’s customer first has priority over the remuneration or leadership of one type of agency.

5.     Agencies need to leverage freelance expertise from a skillset and economic point of view, but without losing the culture and passions of the agency itself. The industry has been built on the differentiation of groups with different expertise and points of view - these key attributes need to be maintained for a sustainable future.

What this has meant for the IAS, is that, increasingly, marketers are seeking our counsel when it comes to simplifying their ecosystem structures without losing any of the benefits of the increasing need for specialisms.

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#BizTrends2024: César Vacchiano - Sustainbility and DE&I will gain relevance

Two trends, already huge in the US and the UK, that will gain relevance in the rest of the world are sustainability and Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DE&I).

Two huge trends in the US and the UK that will gain relevance in the rest of the world are sustainability and DE&I says César Vacchiano, president & CEO at Scopen

Our industry will increase its focus on sustainability, and reducing its carbon footprint.

This affects all - brands, agencies, and media owners - and they are starting to calculate carbon emissions, establish positive impact initiatives and identify the most sustainable partners.

Companies that demonstrate their sustainability will grow more in the coming years.

DE&I are the other huge objectives in our industry. Agencies are showing how they are focused on solving this issue in their credentials.
Brands win more and more awards with campaigns that show their commitment to achieving these objectives.

Awards now have very balanced positions among jury members, and the Jury Presidents of different categories show just how diverse our industry is.

Artificial Intelligence

When 2022 was coming to an end, everyone in our industry was thinking about Artificial Intelligence (AI), and it certainly proved to be the hottest topic in 2023 - and will continue to be in 2024.

Nearly 50% of marketers in South Africa (and other countries) believe this is one of the biggest challenges for agencies.

One year ago, we were feeling a mixture of sceptical, worried and, especially, uncertain, about what AI would mean for our industry.

Today, we are all more aware of the opportunities and help AI provides when properly used.

As with all new technologies, it requires understanding and training, and the best output comes when experts use it, and creativity is amplified.

Agencies have invested in creating security walls and training their teams in legal issues, and now AI is being used as a practical and useful tool to save time on mundane tasks.

It is already utilised to produce and distribute content at scale, quickly explore creative territories, and help clients refine briefs.

AI will increasingly also bring benefits for clients, especially efficiencies.

Growth of digital investment

Understanding and engaging with consumers is becoming more and more complex since we are all distracted, watching multiple screens.

The ability to connect with Gen Z is even more complicated, especially when encouraging younger audiences to engage with brands.

Brands are investing less in Paid Media in favour of organic strategies. The creation of precise and creative content is becoming crucial to reach specific targets (particularly Gen Z).

The growth of social media, influencers, KOLs… etc. is highly impressive.

Digital investment is approaching 50% of brands´ total investment. And 30% of that Digital investment is going towards social media and Influencers.

Consumers are increasingly relying on influence. Influencer specialist agencies are growing fast, not only working with brands but also closely with influencers, becoming their agents and advisors. Influencers represent a large percentage of their income.

Agencies trends

Marketers want ideas coming from any type of company they work with.

Globally marketers work with 15 different partners to solve their communications needs (five of those being digital platforms).

Orchestrating those partners is becoming more and more complex, which is why we see an increase in the significance of leading agencies.

A Lead Agency is not only an agency that comes up with the big ideas; it is the agency that identifies insights and builds solid strategies that become the base to create those solid ideas.

Marketers are increasingly considering Strategic Planning as the most important skill when selecting agencies and defining the ‘ideal’ agency.

Media agencies keep reinforcing their position in this territory, which is easy for them due to their strengths in research, data and analytics, combined with the economic resources to hire the best planners.

Marketers trends

More than 70% of marketers invest in and use marketing tools.

Salesforce is the leading tool, and, with 40%, Adobe Marketing Cloud is the runner-up.

Using these marketing tools is a challenge for marketers and, once they have them, they do not know how to use them properly.

This is a big opportunity for agencies, who can help their clients in the use of these tools and more and more agencies have certified employees to help brands.

When reflecting on these trends, we realise how agencies are reinforcing their capabilities, leading to a dramatic increase in the contribution to their clients’ growth, and how all companies operating in our industry are focused on building a better world.

Gradually, we will achieve it. The talent and passion in our industry are difficult to find in others.

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Scopen announces SA’s top 10 most admired marketing professionals

In November last year, Scopen announced the top three marketers. Now the full Top 10 have been shared.

The top 10 most admired marketing professionals in South Africa:

1.     Khensani Nobanda, Nedbank

2.     Sydney Mbhele, Absa

3.     Vaughan Croeser, ABInBev

4.     Doug Place, Nandos

5.     Nontokozo Madonsela, Momentum/Metropolitan

6.     Firoze Bhorat, Discovery

7.     Thulani Sibeko, previously Standard Bank

8.     Chantal Sombonos-Van Tonder, Chicken Licken

9.     Abey Mokgwatsane, Investec

10. Sadika Fakir, Absa

“My congratulations go to these top 10 marketing professionals. While accolades from industry bodies are always welcome, there’s little to beat a jury of your peers naming you their top-rated professionals,” says president and CEO of Scopen Global, Cesar Vacchiano.

He adds, “In naming the most admired marketing professionals as rated by both marketer and agency professionals, I must highlight that this was entirely spontaneous, with no prompting whatsoever from researchers.”

Information included in Agency Scope 23-24 covers companies noted for their marketing initiatives, and campaigns that achieved peer recognition, including the best marketing campaign as well as the best agency to work for and the most ideal client to work with.

Valuable data for all sectors of the industry

In response to the immense interest around the upcoming Agency Scope 2023/2024 results, Vacchiano says: “The excitement for the 23/24 Agency Scope results has been more than heartening to note, with 315 marketers interviewed, representing 220 brands compared to 235 interviews across 158 brands in 2021 – a marked increase in participation.”

He adds that the 200 agency professionals interviewed, comprising 155 creative and 45 media agencies along with 16 media owners solidifies Agency Scope as “among the most valuable data for all sectors of our industry”.

During his time in South Africa, Vacchiano presented confidential reports to some of the agencies that had already subscribed to the study, giving local and global insights into what the country’s top marketers think about several issues and how this drives industry change and growth.

More presentations to agencies will take place in the coming months.

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#AgencyScopeSA Part 2: Longer client-agency relationships produce great work

On his recent visit to South Africa, president & CEO at Scopen, Cesar Vacchiano shared insights from the latest Agency Scope in South Africa.

The research shows that SA is a little behind in certain areas.

“CMOs are not always up to date on what is happening in their industries. This makes them uncomfortable in making decisions and investing into new products. Because CMOs are behind, their agencies tend to lag as well,” says Cesar Vacchiano.

A key area where this can be seen is retail media, in particular with modern retailers and marketplaces, such as Amazon.

“Instead, this is being driven more by retailers themselves, who are implementing big changes. Checkers is an example of a brand that has evolved and moved into that space, reinforcing it as a brand enormously in a very short period of time,” explains Vacchiano.

However, Vacchiano says, SA is one of the countries where we see great creative talent and SA agencies are winning internationally, such as at Cannes, and this includes both big legacy agencies and young independent agencies.

SA a hub

So much so that the country is becoming a hub for solving certain needs for clients based in other countries. These include not only sub-Saharan African countries but in the UK and other English-speaking markets. This is because local agencies combine two competitive advantages: talent and experience as well as sometimes including competitive cost and pricing.

Same room equals bigger ideas

That said, clients want more and more for their agencies to be in the same city as they operate as they realise just how important it is to work with their agencies live rather than remotely. The bottom line is that being in the same room produces bigger ideas.

Less inhouse, more outsourced

The good news for agencies is that marketers are trying to solve less needs in-house.

Inhouse, across all disciplines, is decreasing, mainly because clients have realised just how difficult it is to identify, attract and retain creative talent.

“Creative talent is not happy working with the same brand and the same challenges every day. They prefer to work with different sectors and categories and challenges within these. They need to be inspired, to attend festivals and awards and participate as jurors, and that does not happen if they are working in a client company,” says Vacchiano.

The people with more technical profiles, such as programming, software, etc. clients have realised they need to invest heavily in training of people with more technical profiles to keep these profiles updated but they are not good at training their employees.

Big corporations and companies also want to reduce their headcount, so the more they can outsource the better.

Longer relationships

Client-agency relationships are longer.

“It was caused by Covid, but also because clients and agencies understand that longer relationships produce a better understanding and more confidence in each other. They know that working on an ongoing basis with their agencies allows for sharing thoughts, strategies, data, and learnings and how this produces good work,” explains Vacchiano.

There are fewer project-based relationships and when we do find these, they are mainly independent agencies and smaller client companies.

How CMOs want to work with agencies

Brands on average work with 15 different partners in SA, choosing one agency to be the lead agency. This is generally an agency that is a strong partner in creativity - the one that produces the big ideas.

CMOs also want to work with agencies that can solve all their needs. “Integrated agencies are difficult to find as they need the best talent in a variety of disciplines, but it is a challenge to identify, attract and retain that talent,” says Vacchiano.

He adds that 50% of clients want to work with a specialist.

At the same time, CMOs want agencies to share clients, with different teams working on one brand.

“Agencies have different types and levels of expertise as well as an understanding of a category and discipline, such as B2B. social, etc. Clients know this and want to tap into this, regardless of the agency,” says Vacchiano.

Awards for inspiration

During Covid agencies could not attend festivals and awards, now they attending these again.

“Attending these inspires creatives and they learn what is happening internationally and in other sectors, and that is inspiring for them,” says Vacchiano.

He adds that clients use awards as a reference when choosing agencies.

AI and its benefits

“Agencies will benefit from AI to work faster and save time as well as save in cost. They are starting to understand that used in a good way, in that AI can produce certain benefits in our world of marketing and communications,” says Vacchiano.

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#AgencyScopeSA Part 1: CMOs want integrated agencies and other key findings

On his recent visit to South Africa, president & CEO at Scopen, Cesar Vacchiano shared insights from the latest Agency Scope in South Africa.

This year Agency Scope interviewed 528 professionals - more than in previous surveys - of which 312 are marketing directors (CMOs, digital directors, media directors, etc.) and 220 were companies.

“We are very proud of these figures because it was a challenge to interview so many companies and professionals,” says Vacchiano.

Location, location

The South African market is concentrated in Johannesburg, with two-thirds of the companies interviewed based there, and 20% based in Cape Town.

“Johannesburg has grown since we started the study in 2016,” says Vacchiano.

Led by women

Of the marketing directors interviewed, 70% are women. The global average is 55% women, so the SA market is women-led.

Where is the money going

The investment into marketing and communication per R100 of client sales has declined from 2022 to 2023. For every R100 a client sold in 2023, they invest R3.5 into marketing and communications.

In 2022 this figure is R4.2. The decline is happening in all markets because of economic conditions.

The budget is split into:

·        Above The Line (ATL)/traditional: 38%

·        Below the Line (BTL): 27%

BTL has recuperated a little bit after Covid as clients invest more into experiential, promotions, activations, and events.

Of this investment, 35% is going into digital. In SA digital investment is still going mainly to digital paid media.

"While social media is increasing, it is still around 23%, whereas in other markets globally it already sits at 30%.

"Social media influencers are quite low in SA but growing fast. E-commerce and marketing automation represent only five percent of investment in SA, (other markets are up to 10%)," says Vacchiano.

15 different partners

A very important figure is that brands on average work with 15 different partners in SA of which five are digital platforms, that is Google, Meta, TikTok, Amazon, etc.

“For context, in China this figure is 25, in the UK it is 17. Bigger markets, such as the UK, where many original global campaigns are produced, have more partners. SA is not far from the UK figure,” says Vacchiano.

As this becomes increasingly complex, a key challenge for CMOs is orchestrating all these partners to collaborate.

A lead agency

One way to do this is to choose a lead agency. In SA 66% of marketers work with a lead agency.

“One of these 15 partners assists in coordinating all the other partners. It is normally an agency that is very strong in strategic strategy, defining the insights to give the brand strategy,” explains Vacchiano.

The lead agency shares these ideas with the other partners, especially the ones in other disciplines, who then implement these ideas.

Integrated agencies

The many challenges in different areas mean marketers want more and more integrated agencies that can solve their needs under one roof. “It is difficult to find an agency with the best talent in a variety of disciplines because it is difficult to identify, attract and retain that talent,” says Vacchiano.

He adds that this is especially so in different verticals in digital as CMOs know e-commerce social media, influence marketing, search etc. requires specific expertise.

Competition: a thing of the past?

Forty percent of clients do not care about competition. “This is a change from the past, and is driven by Accenture Song and other consultants, that work with many brands in the same category,” says Vacchiano.

This is an argument for agencies to also share clients, he explains, with different teams working on one brand.

“Agencies have different types and levels of expertise as well as an understanding of a category and discipline, such as B2B. social, etc.”

PR more important

Within the integrated agency, media and PR are becoming more important. More marketers want closer relationships between media agencies and creative agencies and because of social and digital media, PR is also becoming important in that integrated offering.

These clients are looking at PR agencies, whether they are experts in an agency or freelancers, to solve their PR needs. The more integrated PR is in the different partners they work with the better.

“This PR is not traditional PR; it is influence and social media, and especially digital PR that clients believe needs to be embedded in the thinking and strategy that their agencies are presenting from the beginning,” expands Vacchiano.

Awards are important

Awards are becoming more important for marketers as part of their yardstick for selecting agencies to work with. CMOs want to work with agencies that produce big ideas and awards are a reference for them.

AI and automation tools

Marketers are using more and more different marketing automation tools, with 73%, or three out of four marketers, which is quite big, using these tools. Forty-three (43) percent of brands in SA use Salesforce.

Asked about AI, 45% of CMOs stated that AI is a challenge in their own organisations from how to incorporate it into their business and how to benefit from it.

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Key Oberservations and Trends from AdForum London Nov 2023

Here are my key observations and possible trends from the latest AdForum Worldwide Summit, which took place 5–9 November 2023 in London, England. It was a fascinating summit, with many of the best agencies in the world currently.

We pitch consultants met with 20 in total, 10 of which were independents: Accenture Song, Accomplice, Amplify, Anomaly, Assembly, CPB, Dept, Fold7, Iris Worldwide, Kairos, Mother London, MSQ, MullenLowe, Not Perfect, Pablo, Smart Assets, Stagwell, The Beyond Collective, Worldwide Partners and WPP.

#1. Do agency brands matter?

The answer is yes, they do, as long as there are clear differences/differentiating factors that help each agency brand occupy a position. These factors tend to be guided by the history of the agency, its name and its origins, the founders’ way of thinking, and the direction in which they want to take the agency.

This is naturally obvious for the independent agencies — and more on that later. But what happens in the holding group companies?

 #2. Agency brands within the holding companies

What’s next? With the very recent decision by WPP to merge Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R into VML from January 2024, we speculated on other agency brands within the WPP group and, indeed, in other groups. Will Grey remain a separate brand? What about the media agencies in Group M: will Mindshare, EssenceMediacom and Wavemaker all merge into one? And, as these agencies all move onto one campus, what then will happen?

As a reminder, WPP used to have 38 buildings in London for its agencies; now it has three.

Unwittingly, Accenture Song has paved the way for gradual disappearance of famous agency brands. Its acquisitions globally, including South Africa, have resulted in strong agencies all called Accenture Song, apart from the Droga5 micro-network. Clients seem to have less anxiety over potential competitor conflict in this new environment.

Publicis Groupe increasingly focuses on the Power of One, although retaining some of its legacy brands — for now — and as long as there are real agency brand differences within the group.

#3. Agency methodologies

Clients want to understand agency methodologies more and more so that they can trust the agency to manage the complexities of the client marketing ecosystem.

With so many marketing channels and opportunities, how does an agency harness all of these and, indeed, should they? How does the lead agency model work and how do they bring in additional capabilities?

These are the questions that clients have and that they set before their agencies.

#4. Influence vs influencers

It’s all about influence. We met several agencies in London where influence is a key strategy in audience building and with an emphasis on earned and owned media strategies.

This is an area where some media agencies are starting to play a role; this hasn’t come to SA yet but it’s anticipated that it’ll soon be here.

#5. The rise of the independent agencies

In the UK, there are many very successful independent agencies, as there are here in SA. They are successful for many reasons, going back to point one: clear direction, clear points of difference, agility etc. What clients want to know is:

1. Who are they?

2. What do they do/what are their capabilities?

3. How well funded are they?

4. What are their networks like? Do they belong to any of the independent networks and, if so, why?

5. What is next for them?

#6. Budgets

They’re not increasing globally at all. Yet these budgets have to do more and more, and with an increasing range of channels. The danger of spray-and-pray is something that marketers and agencies fear. It’s also one of the reasons that earned media is becoming more and more important.

#7. Events & activations

These are no longer something to be added on at the end. Agencies now are involved from the beginning and are expected to provide strategy, clear success KPIs and measurements. The return of events after the first few years of the covid-19 pandemic is very noticeable and, provided it’s all ground in data, very effective.

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Part 2: PR Scope Spain: Clients work with communication consultants for longer

Scopen's 8th edition of its PR Scope study in Spain has found high satisfaction levels as clients work with their communication consultants for longer, with relationships increasing from four to five years.

A biennial study which analyses the relationships between communication consultancies and their clients, as well as the perception and image of these consultancies in the market.

For the current edition (2023/24) in Spain, 875 professionals have been interviewed: 441 of whom work for 414 different client companies, 327 professionals from consulting firms and 107 media professionals.

The fieldwork was carried out between March and May 2023.

The average duration of the relationship between companies and their communication consultancies is 4.9 years (4.1 in the previous edition), which represents an increase of just over nine months compared to the previous edition.

Large companies have longer relationships (5.5 years) than small ones (3.6 years). The majority of consulting firms maintain a regular or continuous relationship model with the companies they work with (82%), although this type of relationship decreases compared to the previous edition, while we see an increase in project work (20% vs. 13% in 2021). The average duration of a 'Type' project is six and a half months.

Set fee remuneration

The majority of those interviewed remunerate their communication consultants through a fee set at the beginning of the year (81% vs. 85% in 2021).

Remuneration by project has decreased (22%) but there is a significant increase of the mixed remuneration model by 15% (Fee + Projects throughout the year).

Eight per cent of accounts (with no variations compared to 2021) add a variable portion to the remuneration (a bonus provided at the end of the year to reward the consultant for good results) which represents almost 13% of the annual remuneration (11 % in the previous edition).

Satisfied with service

More than 95% of clients in Spain declare themselves satisfied with the service they receive from their consulting firms, and less than one per cent are dissatisfied. Even so, eight per cent declare they are considering changing their consulting firm soon, not due to dissatisfaction with the service, but, mostly, due to the contract coming to an end.

The recommendation index of communication consultants by their clients to colleagues and friends is 8.5 (on a scale of 0-10).

Contributing to business growth

Companies interviewed consider that their consulting firm contributes, on average, to grow their business by 10%. Although this is a lower percentage than what we find with other agents these brands work with (when it comes to creative and media agencies, the value is close to 25%), if we consider the level of investment and the fees allocated to consulting firms, this is a higher contribution percentage.

Related to this, the ADC highlights, "the growing strategic importance of communication consultancies for their clients, as evidenced in the 2nd edition of the study carried out in collaboration with Scopen on the value they bring to society."

Their general director, Dolores González Pastor, highlights that "communication consultancies are crucial allies for their clients since they provide creativity and a strategic vision, essential value factors to building the positioning and reputation of both brands and institutions".

Challenges

When professionals from client companies are asked about the challenges their companies will be facing in the coming years, the most mentioned challenges are:

·        Knowledge of the consumer and ability to reach them (35%)

·        Strengthening the prestige, reputation and positioning of the brand company (35%)

·        Ability to adapt to new times (21%)

·        Venture more on creativity-innovation (21%).

When it comes to consulting firms, they consider that their greatest challenges strengthening digital capabilities and their ability to adapt to new times, thereby showing their concern for the rapid evolution which is resulting in numerous changes to the functioning of the sector.

Héctor Abanades, research manager at Scopen clarifies, “We´re seeing a more fragmented market, with a larger number of consulting firms. It is key to differentiate from competitors, transferring particular capabilities with real jobs that can demonstrate these capabilities.

Digital (especially Social Media and Influence), creative and content generation capacity, and the capacity for data analysis and interpretation, are the three key areas.”

Consultancies that stand out

To evaluate how communication consultancies are perceived, Scopen groups together the responses of those professionals interviewed (from companies, consultancies and media professionals) and prepares various rankings analysing different aspects:

·        Spontaneous knowledge

·        Exemplarity

·        Attraction

·        Market Perception Global Ranking (taking into account key attributes)

·        Customer Rating Global Ranking

·        Competitor Opinion Global Ranking (by professionals who work in other consulting firms).

The most mentioned in the Top 3 of these six rankings are LLYC, which appears in five of them, leading the Spontaneous Knowledge, Exemplarity and Attraction, Apple Tree which appears in three, leading the global Competitor Opinion Ranking and Havas PR which also appears in three and leads the Customer Rating Ranking. The Global Market Perception Ranking is led, in this edition, by Ogilvy.

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PR Scope Spain: 96% of companies are satisfied with their communication consultants' work

Scopen has just released the 8th edition of its PR Scope study in Spain, a biennial study which analyses the relationships between communication consultancies and their clients, as well as the perception and image of these consultancies in the market.

For the current edition (2023/24) in Spain, 875 professionals were interviewed: 441 of whom work for 414 different client companies, 327 professionals from consulting firms and 107 media professionals.

The fieldwork was carried out between March and May 2023.

Those professionals interviewed in each client company must be involved in the decision-making process to select communication consultants and should be interacting with them in the day-to-day work.

On average professionals interviewed were 43 years old, and have been in their current position for more than 8 years, and in their company for almost eight years.

They are mostly based in Madrid (68%), in foreign multinational companies (50%) and the most mentioned position is that of Communications Director (41%), being the maximum decision-maker in all communication matters, along with other managers (60%).

The sector with the highest percentage of professionals interviewed is Services (51%), followed by FMCG (28%).

The client companies interviewed for this edition of PR Scope Spain invoiced, on average, €276m annually in 2022, a very stable figure, which increased by 2% compared to 2021.

Digital allocated largest percentage of budget

The largest percentage of the budget is allocated to Digital, with a fair balance between Earned Media (40%), Owned Media (31%) and Paid Media (29%).

Investment in Digital, which had been growing in recent years, slows down in this latest edition (53% compared to 56% in 2021).

Within Digital, Social Media is the discipline professionals consider they should work on more with their communication consultants (89%).

César Vacchiano, Scopen’s president and CEO, says, “The challenge for communication consultancies lies in demonstrating to clients that they can solve their needs more creatively, quickly and effectively, and thus be able to grow.”

Preference for integrated consultancies

Most of the companies analyzed (49%) work with consulting firms specialising in various disciplines and 46% do so with consulting firms that solve their needs in an integrated way.

However, in the future, the percentage of clients who declare they would prefer to work with integrated consultancies that can solve all their communication needs is higher (49%, compared to 43% who prefer to do so with specialised consultancies).

The disciplines in which most work is done by specialisation are:

·        Corporate communication

·        Social Media (which has increased in the last two years)

·        Brand/Product communication (which, however, shows a significant decrease)

Selection of consultancies

When selecting a communication consultancy to work with, those responsible for communication continue to resort, for the most part, to pitches (89%).

The selection tools most used when creating a long list are:

·        The work carried out by the consultant (their cases, credentials...) (85%)

·        One´s own experience and personal knowledge of the communications director (76%)

·        Recommendation of friends or colleagues (67%).

It is important to highlight that, in this edition, the importance of practically all declared tools has increased, except good quality/price ratio, which decreases in the number of mentions.
More importance is given to the value and qualification of the consultants, than to the cost.

If we look at the preferred qualities to prepare a long list for selecting consultancies, the most mentioned are the Ability to establish relationships / Credibility in the media, The professionals who work at the consultancy and Strategic Communication Planning.

You may be interested in PART 2: PR SCOPE SPAIN: CLIENTS WORK WITH COMMUNICATION CONSULTANTS FOR LONGER

IAS agency credentials - 2 gold winners for 2023

The Assegai Integrated Marketing Awards, in conjunction with the IAS (Independent Agency Search and Selection) is proud to announce that two entrants of the IAS Agency Credentials Award achieved the prestigious gold award, namely Ogilvy, and Saatchi & Saatchi.

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 in 2021. The award ceremony took place on 9 November 2023 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. Johanna McDowell, CEO, Nikki Munsie, business director and Tebatso Masete, 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 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. 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.

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Post pitch relationships: Keep the glow when the real work hits hard

Like all partnerships or collaborations, the client-agency relationship starts as a good fit, then needs to adapt to changes and company cultures to bring out the best in both parties.

The pitching process is much like a wedding - the excitement, stress, choices - and the big day. Then the honeymoon, where all is still aglow, So how do you keep the glow when the real work hits hard?

A walk-through of the process

In my experience, the early days are crucial to ironing out any personal and professional creases to get the relationship off to a good start and set it up for maximum opportunity for success.

It’s during this period that the establishment of working practices for all parties must be agreed on, and a blueprint of all teams’ key roles and responsibilities created.

In a pitch situation, a client and an agency may only have met each other two or three times before choices are made and almost strangers get together in what will be an intense relationship.

Clients want to know, these days, much more about agency methodologies and in a new relationship they want to know how the first 90 days will be handled by the incoming agency.

While there have been brief discussions about how they will work together and what each will do, they still need to determine how to make that work practically.

It is at this stage that a walk-through of what the process should look like is valuable and can set up the relationship for success.

The dreaded gap between agencies

In pitches we’ve run over the years, we’ve had calls from clients after two months saying, “It’s not working. I’m not getting the work I thought I was going to get. The people who are working on my business aren’t the ones I met in the pitch. We had to make minor changes to the campaign that was presented and I’m still waiting to see the work…”

This is what we want to avoid – and any agency that wins a pitch should want the same.

It’s not just about making the relationship work but that the new agency gets off on the right foot financially and can start producing the goods, recovering the costs of their pitch, and implementing campaigns.

When a client takes on a new agency there may well be a gap in output during the transition phase.

This spells gloom for many marketers who have an inherent fear of “the gap” and the time it takes for the handover. It is often where slipups occur.
The marketer is looking for a seamless handover and an agency that gets off to a flying start.

It is the possibility that this may not be the case rather than the actual selection of the agency, that keeps marketers awake at night leading up to a pitch.

Pain-points and passion

Knowing the pain points of both client and agency means we can introduce the teams, noting what each member’s responsibility includes, to create clear lines of communication.

Agencies need to spend time in the client’s business to see how it operates; almost being inducted into the business by key people.

Likewise, the marketer should spend time in the agency to understand how it operates, to determine what KPIs and even scope out the passion with which the agency works.

The better the understanding of both parties of the culture and work practices of the other, the better their chances of achieving results that will form the cornerstone of the relationship’s success.

Just as nobody would judge a marriage after a few months, I believe the first quarter is a good milestone for a working relationship - not to “ditch and run”, but to note where settlement cracks have appeared and can be dealt with before there’s structural damage.

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Agency Scope 2023/2024 SA's top three most admired marketing professionals named

The three most admired marketing professionals, as rated by marketers and agency professionals in the Agency Scope 2023/2024 are Khensani Nobanda, Nedbank, then Sydney Mbhele, Absa, and third Vaughan Croeser, ABInBev.

Image supplied. SA’s top three most admired marketing professionals according to Agency Scope 2023/2024 results

In response to the immense interest building around the upcoming Agency Scope 2023/2024 results, president and CEO of Scopen International, Cesar Vacchiano, provided an amuse-bouche to further whet the appetites of marketers interviewed and subscribing agencies, by naming top three most admired marketing professionals.

Naming the Top 10 soon

“In naming the most admired marketing professionals as rated by both marketer and agency professionals, I must highlight that this was entirely spontaneous, with no prompting whatsoever from researchers,” says Vacchiano.

“My congratulations go to Khensani, Sydney and Vaughan, along with the rest of the top 10 marketing professionals we will be naming soon. While accolades from industry bodies are always welcome, there’s little to beat a jury of your peers naming you their top-rated professionals,” he explains.

A marked increase for participation

At the start of his month-long trip to South Africa, Vacchiano says: “The excitement for the 23/24 Agency Scopee results has been more than heartening to note, with 315 marketers interviewed, representing 220 brands compared to 235 interviews across 158 brands in 2021 – a marked increase in participation.”

He adds that the 200 agency professionals interviewed, comprising 155 creative and 45 media agencies along with 16 media owners solidifies Agency Scope as “among the most valuable data for all sectors of our industry”.

During his time in South Africa, Vacchiano will be presenting the confidential reports to subscribing agencies, giving local and global insights into what the country’s top marketers really think about a number of issues and how this drives industry change and growth.

Information included in Agency Scope 23-24 covers companies noted for their marketing initiatives, and campaigns that achieved peer recognition, including best marketing campaign as well as best agency to work for and most ideal client to work with.

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AdForum's true value: Learning from visionaries, bringing home gold

From 5 to 9 November 2023, the bustling city of London will play host to agency CEOs who will present their strategy and vision to the world's leading search and management consultancies.

Johanna McDowell, CEO of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) and Scopen partner will be one of them.

“The agenda for this year is truly spectacular with regards to the quality of the agencies and pitch consultancies attending,” says McDowell.

“Importantly, this shows that the world’s high-profile agencies recognise the importance of interacting with pitch consultants.

“About 30 of us from around the globe will be there, including the British pitch consultants who, despite the fact they know these agencies well, attend because of the value they get from being part of the consultant’s group," she adds.

Even while the agencies engage with pitch consultants and discuss various trends and issues, McDowell says the consultants learning from each other is invaluable, sharing experiences they have with agencies from Australia, various parts of Europe and their home turf.

“In the years I have attended the AdForum Worldwide summit, I’ve never seen an agenda quite like this,” McDowell notes. “It’s always been held over two and a half days at most. The fact that this year it is being held over four days with many more agencies in attendance shows the growing significance agencies are finding in engaging with pitch consultants.”

Live and written feedback

It is a testament to the relevance of the pitch consultancies and the return on investment of time and money for agencies to present to so many consultants at once, representing businesses from all over the world.

“What these agencies want from us is our feedback on how they come across in their presentation,” McDowell asserts.

“The key reasons for this are first that we know about them and their business and secondly, to not only get live feedback in the presentation room but also the full written report on how the agency was viewed by the consultants.

“Included in the report is how the agency was seen by the consultants; any key points we felt they missed out on; highlights, lowlights and compilation of all of our comments which amounts to extremely useful data for new business as well as the way they’re marketing their agencies.”

Apart from getting to know the pitch consultants and how they operate, McDowell says the value of the feedback is seen as vital for the agencies. The role of the pitch consultant has evolved over the years to where their experience becomes a part of the agency’s pitch strategy.

AdForum Summit’s evolution

“The AdForum Summit meetings have always been very worthwhile, from the first one I attended in 2007, also in London. Most interesting for me is having watched how so many of the participating agencies have grown and evolved over these 16 years. When the IAS partnered with the AAR as specialists in developing marketing ecosystems that drive growth in the sector, they encouraged me to attend the AdForum Summits," says McDowell.

“I’m grateful for them advocating for this,” she says, “because the quality of the learning from the event offers continual learning and development. It’s like gaining a Masters in pitch consulting, and many of the peers I met all those years ago stay in touch and share knowledge, which is immensely valuable to me and to the IAS team.”

With agencies like Deloitte Digital, MullenLowe Global and WPP in attendance as well as several high-profile independent agencies such as Pablo and Mother, McDowell says she is counting on another top-drawer experience and learnings unlikely to be found in any one place at one time.

“I look forward to the AdForum Worldwide Summit as an intense week of learning and, as always, bringing marketers, advertising agencies and pitch consultants closer on a creative and strategic partnership level,” McDowell says.

“While London is a magnificent city, I’ll be there to bring experiences and innovation home to South Africa.”

Top FM AdFocus Award to honour best client-agency partnership

The Partnership of the Year Award will celebrate a marketer and agency team that has risen to the challenges while maintaining a robust relationship

Johanna McDowell CEO of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company speaks on the importance of the FM AdFocus Partnership of The Year Award.

With the current economic climate and lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the relationship between marketers and agencies in creating effective brand marketing has never been more crucial. 

“In the past 18 months, we’ve seen a stronger relationship developing between marketers and their agencies, driven largely by the turbulent economy and budgetary constraints, compounded by limited resources and the increasing use — and confusion around — martech [marketing technology],” says Johanna McDowell, CEO of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) and Scopen partner.

The digital revolution has led to a fragmenting of spend, creating a need to collaborate in combating potential pitfalls in the consumer market,” says McDowell.

“The sheer volume of work required for a brand to stay ahead of the pack is not something a marketer can do alone. They risk not being seen, and determining which channels should be used is best done when marketers and agencies work together on each campaign.”

As client-agency partnerships become closer, winning the IAS-sponsored Partnership of the Year Award at the annual FM AdFocus Awards — which celebrate agencies and individuals for their creativity, marketing skills and business acumen — has gained even greater meaning. 

Combating uncertainties through robust partnerships

McDowell says too much is happening in an atmosphere of uncertainty for marketers and agencies to do anything but hunker down together and create best-fit solutions.

“Rampant inflation and other global challenges, along with the distinctly South African issue of load-shedding, means stronger marketer-agency teamwork is the only way to mitigate potential issues.”

Those who have found a way to partner in combating difficulties are able to deal with the turbulence together, McDowell says. 

So, how can agencies and marketers make sure they’re armed against all eventualities?

“They can continue to forge their partnership by being flexible and willing to bend rather than break as they navigate their way through everything from budgets and technology to understanding and agreement on platform choices,” she says.

“It is because circumstances during and after the pandemic have brought so much change that the Partnership of the Year Award has taken on a whole new meaning for our industries, and we’re looking forward to well-deserved accolades being delivered.”

Testament to the ever-increasing importance of this award among clients and agencies is the record number of entries in this particular category at the AdFocus Awards this year. The secret to great partnerships in an uncertain era, “is to be in lockstep across all decisions. It’s what the judges will be looking for from entries in the FM AdFocus Awards 2023 Partnership of the Year Award”.

The winners of the 2023 AdFocus Awards will be announced on November 22 2023. For more information on the awards, visit www.adfocus.co.za

Read this online here

Don't get caught out at pitching time

Where many organisations start slowing down in the fourth quarter, the period between September and December is often one of our industry’s busiest, writes Johanna McDowell, CEO of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) and SCOPEN partner.

 It’s the season for new business pitches, and marketers are glancing ahead to 2024 for a number of reasons. Firstly, they’re evaluating whether the agencies they have in place are the right ones for what may come. Next, any contracts coming to an end will need to be dealt with before the new year takes hold and this means looking at new agencies or reviewing their current ones for suitability.

 Thirdly, marketing executives will be noting the many changes taking place in the market, both on their side and that of the agencies, and formulating solutions regarding the options open to them in terms of resources and budgeting.

 Then, some marketers are keen to get a head-start on 2024, with new agencies and new work before the end of 2023, making the time between now through to the end of February officially pitching season, with all its attendant demands.

 Add to these pressures the fact that 70% of corporate South Africa starts its new financial year at the end of March, and marketers know there are deadlines and governance requirements to be met - and those ready to run when the starter’s pistol sounds will be in the best position to head the race.

 The season of the big spend

 Impacting on this vital activity is that this is traditionally an extremely busy time, ahead of the holidays, followed by back to school campaigns directly thereafter. The December break, where many South Africans get their chance for downtime, requires extra consideration around timing.

 Historically, this is the season where we see a lot of spend happening, particularly in the retail sector and the launching of new brands in time for festivities. So, on top of time spent on the pitching field, marketers and agencies still have their day jobs to contend with. It’s an intense time – exciting too, but often fierce. It’s a period of reviewing the work onboard, while not wanting to turn down new opportunities.

 My message to marketers now must be to get your juggling gloves on and make a start on all of the above, because if you want to start with new agencies or re-brief current ones, there are some 14 weeks to year end.

 To run a proper new appointment process takes eight to 10 weeks, and there’s much to be done, so marketers need to call in their troops and get as much assistance as possible to make the catch within the timeframe and finish the hard yards before January to alleviate pressures as 2024 begins.

 By making sure you have a team that includes an intermediary, you have expert assistance that can  take some of the load off during this tight timeline, allowing you to dive in now and get that head start. Handing over the management of the pitch process enables marketers to turn up just three times – to note credentials, the chemistry session and the final pitch, essentially removing their greatest pain point.

 With the managing of post-pitch contracting and the hand-over between agencies taken care of, time-poor marketers can focus on hitting the ground running with their new agency in place and campaigns can be briefed in and started almost immediately.

 Even as we watch the clock ticking towards 2024, there’s little reason why marketers should drop the ball at this stage. By ensuring they’re surrounded by an agile and experienced team, 14 weeks well-used can put a marketer ahead of the pack – not only to score that try, but to convert it to early success.

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