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Nurturing
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novelty
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Vanella Jackson of Hall & Partners says that, with so much development in the Middle East region, the desire for something new is huge.
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anella Jackson, Global CEO of Hall & Partners,
These (awareness and affinity) will continue to
Given the tough market conditions, how will
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on how the digital disruption is changing
be important goals, but how brands achieve
the client-agency relationship unfold this year?
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this is changing rapidly. Increasingly, for many
Business impact is everything. We, as agencies,
clients’ worlds.
brands, it is no longer about getting broad-ranging
will need to demonstrate that our advice and
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In the context of the changing regional and
awareness, but building deeper, more target-
insight have a clear business benefit and we’re
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global economic and market conditions, are
ed relationships. The opportunity today is to fo-
able to identify strategies for real growth.
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you seeing the role of agency CEOs changing
cus on key audiences and deliver personalised
Marketing investment decisions are becom-
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in 2017? Will they be CEOs or brand managers?
brand experiences, products and services, as well
ing increasingly complex. Clients need impartial
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The challenge that all businesses face is how the
as communicating this in more entertaining and
advisors, who are not tied to any particular exe-
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digital disruption is changing our clients’ worlds
personally relevant ways. As brands compete to
cution discipline, to guide them. Every business is
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and our own. As a CEO, the pressure to reinvent
capture the emotional experience, there will be a
becoming increasingly customer-focused. Since we
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business models, customer experiences and how
growing emphasis on affinity and integrity as a
are already focused on understanding customers,
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brands communicate is everywhere. How fast
measure of success, over awareness.
we’re well placed to help our clients navigate this
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increasingly complex market.
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we change and how we take people with us
How will this develop? We now have access
on a journey of digital transformation are the
to so many new technologies that will allow us to
critical questions.
measure emotion more accurately, both consciously
Do you believe technological disruptions such
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For every agency business, the challenge is
and unconsciously. The region often leads when
as Uber and Airbnb are changing the traditional
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how to keep the plane flying, whilst building a
it comes to adopting these new technologies. For
one-directional relationship between brand and
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new one. The role of the CEO is always to look
example, our team here already employs neuro-
customer (provider-consumer) to a reciprocal,
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forward to recognise the future and make plans
science to understand the audience’s emotional
symmetrical and collaborative one?
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on how best to respond and lead. The pace of
reactions to their clients’ campaigns.
Absolutely. Digital is changing everything, giving
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change is making this task more challenging,
every brand an opportunity to create new, broader-
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but also more exciting.
ranging services and experiences. A cheese manu-
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facturer, for example, is no longer limited to selling
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cheese. With digital, they can facilitate delicious
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experiences every day, through recipe books,
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online cooking demonstrations and dinner clubs.
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Unlike in the past, brands in this region today are competing within a crowded market to win consumer affinity and awareness. How do you see the trend developing further? Will it be any different in this region from that in other parts of the world?
We now have access to so many new technologies that will allow us to measure emotion more accurately, both consciously and unconsciously
Let’s bring this back to research. With digi-
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tal technologies, we see the profession moving
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towards ‘observing’, analysing data trails to unearth
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behaviours, opinions, attitudes and preferences, rather than ‘asking’. Where does the Middle East stand in comparison to other markets when it comes to research? The Middle East is a relatively new market when it comes to research and, as a result, has a huge appetite for innovation and experimentation. The attitude is very “can do”. With so much development in the region, the desire for something new is huge, whereas, in more traditional research markets, there is more cautiousness and old thinking. This means that we stand to see more developments here, which makes the Middle East an interesting region to watch and in which to be active. For us specifically, we have a media consultancy, which is unique to Hall & Partners. We
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see Dubai really as a centre of excellence when
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it comes to media, innovation and technology.
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What are the sorts of innovative techniques you’ve seen used in other parts of the world? I am very excited by the new technology that
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can measure unconscious behaviour, through
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advanced facial coding and eye tracking. Inno-
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vations are not limited to other parts of the world,
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as I’ve mentioned earlier, with our team’s use of neuroscience techniques in research. These
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innovations are fantastic for measuring everything
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from evaluation response to marketing content, with and without having to ask questions. How do you think the market research industry will evolve in the next few years?
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The traditional research role of data gatherer will
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erode, as it will become increasingly automated. This will create a new opportunity for research to become the vital, customer-centric strategic partners
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to our clients. The researcher’s role will evolve in
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many different directions, towards data-shaker and
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scientist, storyteller and visualiser, videographer
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and designer and, of course, trusted strategic
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consultant. The key is to be open to change, to
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experiment and learn, and also to embrace new
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technology to help unlock the potential in multiple
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data sets and save time. This time can then be spent
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cleverly on better strategic advice.
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