Agency Critique and Review Paper - Spring, 2015 - S.I. Newhouse

R GA Agency Critique ADV 615 Jennifer Cornwell Spring, 2015

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Founded in 1977 as R/Greenberg Associates, R/GA has an extensive history that has built them into the agency they are today. Two brothers, Richard and Robert Greenberg originally started the agency as a design company with a focus in motion graphics, live-action film and video production. They became one of the pioneers of using computers in the video production process. So when they developed the opening title sequence for the 1978 Superman film. Although this may not seem relevant in building themselves into the agency they’re known as today, it was actually the beginnings of a common trend that would extend for years into the future as R/GA developed themselves as an agency on the cutting edge.

R/GA is headquartered in New York, New York and now has thirteen offices on four different continents.

Although they aren’t the largest agency, R/GA has an extensive list of established brands as clients, including Nike, Google and Redbull. Their list of clients is also full of variety, from tech companies to clothing to insurance.

In order to cater to such a large variety of clients and

all of their needs, R/GA also has a long list of different departments and capabilities. As a digital agency, many of these are tech centered however in order to be an agency they include some traditional agency roles as well. One of R/GA has offices located their recent ventures all over the globe: is their Connected Devices Accelerator, North America a program designed Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, to help start-ups San Francisco build a brand. They

have partnered South America with Techstars, a Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo mentorship-driven startup accelerator Europe Bucharest, London, Stockholm program, to “bring together worldAsia-Pacific class design and Singapore, Sydney marketing services.”

Based in the New York office, the program is designed to give startups more opportunities to build their product into a brand as well as connect them with the long list of R/GA’s clients. After a long history of developing products and campaigns for big brands, the agency decided to open an opportunity up for smaller brands.

The ‘connected devices’ aspect of the program is where R/GA stays on the cutting edge. They’ve recognized that there has been a massive shift in technology and the role it plays in our everyday lives. So this opportunity is specifically for startups developing products that combine hardware, data and digital services in exciting ways for consumers and businesses. Most recently, they’ve launched the “Dodger Accelerator” program that’s developed a digital experience for game attendees that makes their experience more enjoyable and operate their facility more efficiently.

Departments: • Insights &Planning • Media/connections • Analytics • Visual Design • Copywriting • Experience Design • Technology • Client Services • Production • Digital Studio Capabilities: • Campaigns • Digital Advertising • Commerce • Systematic Design • Brand Development • Mobile • Social • Retail • R/GA Retail Lab • Data Science and Visualization • Live Events • Consulting • Presentation • Prototype Studio • Product Innovation • Software Platform Lab

Robert Greenberg Founder, Chairman & CEO

“Throughout my career, and every incarnation of R/GA, I have always strived to ensure that creativity remained at the heart of everything we did.”

So who’s running the show? Founder, Chairman and CEO, Bob Greenberg, is still working hard to understand the problems and solve them. “I’m never comfortable. The dreams and ideas are bigger than before,” in a recent Fast Company interview with the title, “R/GA Founder Bob Greenberg on Why He Works Harder Now at 66 Than He Ever Has,” which really describes Greenberg as a person, his work ethic, and the philosophy the agency lives by. In April 2015, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity announced that Greenberg will be awarded with the Lion of St. Mark, an award that goes to an outstanding individual that has helped shape the path forward in the advertising industry.

and eventually becoming an interactive advertising agency in 1995. Pioneering the digital space and what it means to be an advertiser or a consumer in today’s world are integral pieces of their agency structure.

“From our roots as pioneers in computer-assisted filmmaking to our creation of an integrated digital studio to the new agency model we are building today, we have always been steadfastly committed to innovation.” A commitment to innovation can be seen throughout R/GA’s history and in their dozens of awards; however, they have also applied it to their agency practice. Greenberg is a true believer in numerology and in numerology; the number nine marks the end of something and the beginning of something else. He says, “We don’t force the change

but it kinda just works out that every nine years, the impact of technology leads to change.” While unconventional, it makes sense for a digital agency.

As technology and the world we live in changes at a rapid pace, maybe your business focus should as well and Greenberg believes that brands need to understand these changes just as much as agencies do. Past changes in R/GA’s business have included their expansion from just motion graphics and video production to dealing with multiple mediums in 1986

R/GA has received almost every industry award for creativity, dating back to one of their very first; a technical academy award in 1986. Some of their most well known titles come from Adweek and Ad Age over the past few years including digital agency of the decade, digital agency of the year, and one of the top 10 most innovative marketing companies. Most recently they were named Ad Age’s 2015 Agency of the Year. In 2014, R/GA was working on furthering the agency while also growing their client roster with big names like Samsung. They expanded the agency while keeping all of their clients and still managed to spearhead new technologies place in the industry.

In May 2014, R/GA helped their client Beats by Dre, manage a $3 billion purchase by Apple, a huge development in the tech industry.

“The work did not merely reflect

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popular culture; it steered it.

- Ad Age Names R/GA the 2015 Agency of the Year

Nike+ FuelBand Nike

When Nike introduced Nike+ devices in their sneakers, they went from a company that makes sneakers to a company that sells products and services. They wanted to expand Nike+ to a device that tracks activity, but they wanted to step back from typical tracker terminology and start measuring Fuel.

Nike asked R/GA to design the user experience, from the actual device to the digital platforms.

Review: This particular campaign is one of R/GA’s most awarded, and it’s actually difficult for me to find anything critical about it, but I absolutely know what I like. One of the most interesting things that the campaign leverages is the ‘Fuel’ idea. To create a better user experience, Fuel creates a baseline for every person regardless of what kind of ‘active body’ you are. I really enjoy Fuel as a concept, especially for an active brand like Nike. In fact, I think what I like the best about Fuel is that it’s hard for me to imagine it working for any other sporting good brand, like Adidas or New Balance. Part of that comes from Nike’s messaging and positioning as a brand. When you think of cutting edge sport equipment brand, you think of Nike, regardless of whether or not you know about the Nike+ FuelBand. Their sleek designs in their branding and advertising really differentiates them from their competitors in such a way that it would be impossible for Adidas to match this on any level. And when you’re the leader in your category, why not lead the new technology in your category as well.

I also believe this is a great example of how R/GA is actually merging devices with digital spaces and marketing. Sometimes when we think of agency work, we only think about typical traditional advertising. I often forget that agencies can help develop products and I think that a product being developed by

advertisers is a really interesting idea. I think that as advertisers we often have a better understanding of people and their needs and desires. When you understand what people need or want and you can come up with a valuable solution for them.

For the messaging, they boiled it down to the word ‘COUNTS’. In order to introduce the Fuel idea, they wanted to explain that no matter what you’re doing it counts. I think that the reason this works so well is because it’s so simple. Rather than trying to explain how Fuel works or how it tracks, this message just explains that everything everyone does counts. I think that’s a much more compelling reason for a consumer to want to become a part of the FuelBand community because the average person might feel like what they’re doing isn’t considered exercise so they can’t use any kind of tracker. By telling them that what they’re doing counts with FuelBand, it levels the playing field and lowers the standard for what is considered exercise.

I love this campaign and the Nike+ FuelBand, as did many other professionals, obviously. It really is a true example of what R/GA stands for when they approach executions.

Donate a Photo

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson wanted to develop a digital platform that would express and develop ‘good’ in the world. Donate a photo is a free app that you download and share your photos to. They suggest users share one photo a day of something that makes them happy and Johnson & Johnson donates a dollar to the cause of your choice.

Review: I really enjoy this idea. The platform is a really simple way to get people involved and the concept is easy enough to understand. People are already sharing hundreds of photos everyday, so why not monetize those in a way that’s good for the world. After the photos are posted, they’re tagged with a saying related to the cause you chose like, “This photo helped restore a public park,” and the Johnson & Johnson logo. They become something very shareable and they’re also a great way to start conversations about how we can do more to help in this world.

While I really enjoy the platform, I’m not sure that the link to Johnson & Johnson is as clear. When you think of Johnson & Johnson, you’re picturing new mothers, happy newborns, and growing families. The app could have photos of kids whose photos are helping other kids, but the way it’s executed doesn’t limit it to photos of kids. It’s possible that their research led them to believe that new mothers and growing families would be the ones using the app and sharing the photos, but I still think there’s something missing.

The case study summary explain the point of the app as “Johnson & Johnson asked for our help in creating a digital platform that allowed them to celebrate and cultivate “good” in the spirit of their longstanding commitment to social responsibility.” Which sounds good, but I think the problem in that sentence is that the name Johnson & Johnson could be swapped out for almost any brand. Johnson & Johnson may have made efforts to be socially responsible in other ways

that I don’t know about but I don’t think that helps their case.

I believe that if Johnson & Johnson is responsible for something, it’s the quality and safety of their products. What might improve this idea for me is if the app gave back to their consumers. Instead of being able to choose any charity, they could limit the charities to children related only, like St. Jude’s or the Boys & Girls club. If Johnson & Johnson wants to continue playing a part in a child’s life, they could gave back to children instead of just generally giving back. Child related charities align with the brand in a stronger way.

Dinner Party Chain McCormick Gourmet

McCormick Gourmet is known for their quality spices and on their website they provided an enormous library of recipes using and highlighting their spices.

But the recipes were underused and hard to navigate so they tasked R/ GA with making their recipes more engaging. The Dinner Party Chain is a tool on Facebook where people create theme and design their ultimate dinner party based on the recipes McCormick Gourmet suggested.

Review: The Dinner Party Chain is such a simple and clever way to use the resources McCormick Gourmet already has. If you asked me what McCormick Gourmet’s brand image is I’m not sure I’d know how to answer it, but I think the Dinner Party Chain helps build an image. Consumers are led associate McCormick Gourmet with food that’s good enough to host a dinner party with.

Dinner parties are a really great concept for this brand to expand further. I think what works for this idea is the very social place it’s hosted in, otherwise there’s still something missing. I want there to be more ties to the actual dinner party. With the Dinner Party Chain idea, I think McCormick Gourmet positions themselves as ‘dinner party planners’ when they should instead be ‘dinner party hosts.’

The planner tool is useful but I want McCormick to be more involved in the entirety of the party or I want to see the end result. If McCormick Gourmet wants to be associated with good food and social atmospheres, I want to be more engaged with that atmosphere in their execution.

I think that right now this idea lacks the connection to the physical world. So many of R/GA’s great digital executions smoothly tie the digital execution back to the real world. This particular execution did a great job organizing and creating a way to make

the recipes user friendly, but I don’t think it does a great job talking to what the recipes are for. If they’re gourmet recipes for dinner parties, show me more dinner party.

Extending the Campaign:

“The World’s Best Host” – McCormick Gourmet is hosting the world’s largest dinner party and everyone’s invited. McCormick Gourmet would host a dinner party in Central Park set up like a as if in someone’s backyard with ambient lighting and music. There would be long tables and recipes from the dinner party chain would be served family style.

This could be great PR for McCormick Gourmet and create buzz around the brand while also getting people to try the recipes and the spices before they go to the Dinner Party Chain.

“The Hostess With The Mostess” - McCormick Gourmet knows how to host the best dinner party ever and now they want to teach you how to host the best dinner party ever. These would be a series of small, intimate dinner parties in different cities that people who have liked the McCormick Gourmet Facebook could be randomly selected and invited to. These would be set up as small dinner parties but a McCormick Gourmet host with guide you step-bystep through the entire process. Each dinner party would be filmed and the footage could be turned into an online video ad that also walks you through the process of hosting a party but through footage from the workshops.

Final Analysis

R/GA is a solid digital agency producing a plethora of award winning work for their clients. Their creative executions are all interesting, innovative ideas but since they are often only working on the brand’s digital experience it can be difficult to see the bigger picture through the case studies. However, their strength is their ability to be creative in digital. While some of the creative digital campaigns are better than others, they all use technology in a creative way that benefits the client.

After analyzing these campaigns and seeing others in their work, I believe R/GA totally delivers on their philosophy of being “steadfastly committed to innovation.” They use technology in clever ways to produce great work. I think sometimes clients and agencies may be afraid of new technologies and understanding how to put them to use, but R/ GA takes the scariness out of it. By consistently producing good digital work for not-so-digital clients, they have proven that it’s time for agencies and brand to better understand the way today’s world works and take advantage of these new technologies

rather than hide from them. By becoming the pioneer in the digital space, R/GA has made themselves the experts in new technologies. Implementing their own tech programs, like the Connected Devices Accelerator, keeps them up to date with new technologies and benefits everyone in R/GA’s network.

I would absolutely hire them if I were a client. It could be argued that it would depend on who the client is because maybe they don’t belong in a digital world, but I believe that R/GA’s way of thinking and their work have proven that that is no longer true. Every brand should be thinking about the way our world is changing and where their consumers are. R/GA is so successful because they navigate the forefront of technology and they already understand how to tie creative ideas into that tech.

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