FM AdFocus 2023 by SundayTimesZA

BIG ENOUGH TO DO IT ALL SMALL ENOUGH TO WANT TO

E+I 10111

ADFOCUS 2023 FINANCIAL MAIL EDITOR

PAGE

Rob Rose

6-8

10-11

ADFOCUS PROJECT DIRECTOR

Foreword

Cover story

Research

The robots are coming!

Client-agency relationships:

It’s been a year of recovery,

(Should we panic?)

What’s the secret to a lasting

and an upbeat industry is

partnership?

showing strong growth

PAGE

12-33

34-38

39-52

Awards/winners

Jury comments

This year’s winners have set

Jurors share their thoughts

Commentary & insight

ART DIRECTOR

the bar high, inspiring us to

on the state of the industry

The experts weigh in on this

Thinola Pillay

reclaim our confidence

and where it’s heading

year’s hot (and bot) topics

PAGE

54-55

56-59

Recma rankings

Creative challenge

Corporate profiles

OMD continues to dominate,

Demographica takes first

Key information on some of

followed by PHD Media and

prize for a series of punchy

South Africa’s top agencies

The Media Shop

print ads for SANBS

Jadi Tillim SPECIAL PROJECTS MEDIA EDITOR Les Tilley ADFOCUS PUBLICATION Lynette Dicey SUB-EDITOR Danni Marais

LAYOUT Colleen Wilson, Thinola Pillay SALES MANAGER Kay Naidoo SALES Debbie Montanari PHOTOGRAPHER Ruvan Boshoff, Paul Elliott

PAGE

COVER DESIGN

62-66

Thinola Pillay

Rankings

CONTRIBUTORS

All the industry award tables

Musa Kalenga, Kerushan Govender, Dean

and revenue rankings for

Oelschig, Fran Luckin, Peter Khoury,

2022/2023

Sydney Mbele, Ana Carrapichano, Chris Botha, Ivan Moroke, Herman Manson

STUDENT JURY

ADFOCUS AWARDS

Luca Gallarelli, group CEO TBWA\SA and 2023 FM

CO-ORDINATOR

AdFocus Awards chair; Thule Ngcese, executive

Danette Capper

creative director, Boomtown; Raphael Kuppasamy, art director, Joe Public; Tian van den Heever, film director at boneshaker.co.za, ex-ECD; Kagiso

ADFOCUS JURY

Tshepe, executive creative director, Grid World-

Luca Gallarelli, group CEO TBWA\SA and 2023 FM AdFocus Awards chair;

wide; Nicole Ravenscroft, executive creative

Firdous Osman, MD, Saatchi & Saatchi SA; Wandile Collis, founder, Black-

director, Rapt Creative; Noelle Hardy, creative

Swan; Ana Carrapichano, founder and CEO, Mediology; Merissa Himraj, CEO,

director, commercial, Tukio Media/Arena; Suhana

Wavemaker SA & SSA; Nimay Parekh, director, Accenture Song; Dean

Gordhan, independent; Pepe Marais, co-founder

Oelschig, MD and founder, Halo; Vicki Buys, MD, Ogilvy CT; and Sadika Fakir,

and chief creative officer, Joe Public

executive: digital marketing and paid media, Absa; Pepe Marais, co-founder and chief creative officer, Joe Public; Nicole Ravenscroft, group executive

PFK AUDITOR

creative director, Rapt Group; Zanele Zwane, MD, HaveYouHeard

Byron Mitchley CA (SA)

CO N T E N T S PAG E

The industry has always been an early adopter of machine thinking, says Rob Rose, but this is on steroids

THE ROBOTS ARE COMING! (SHOULD WE PANIC?) The spectre of AI, it seems, is coming for us all. Journalism, academia and advertising are all fair game for a scary technology that threatens to wipe out millions of jobs as fast as it’s meant to “revolutionise” all these industries. It doesn’t really help to point out that AI, as it exists now, is deeply imperfect and is as likely to get it wrong as right, because those kinks will be ironed out in future. So, in something of a twist, I asked the face of AI — ChatGPT — to explain how it thinks AI will change the advertising industry. Within a nanosecond, it spurted out an anodyne answer, rich in slack-jawed jargon. Phrases included “audience targeting and personalisation”, “ad content optimisation”, “content generation”, “customer insights” and “voice search optimisation”. “Overall”, ChatGPT concluded, “AI is transforming the advertising industry by enabling more efficient, data-driven and personalised advertising strategies. As AI technologies continue to advance, advertisers need to adapt to remain competitive and ethical in their practices.” That’s nothing you don’t already know. Within that axiomatic, murky MBA-style blurb, that near-sentient bot has distilled a critical moment in the trajectory of an entire industry to a tepid, grey diagnosis. Needless to say, ChatGPT didn’t capture the mood: designers awake at 3am, panicking about being outsmarted by Leonardo AI, assistants stressing about Xembly replacing them and copywriters fretting about being run out of town by Writecream. This year, the AdFocus team had an advanced look at data on the topic coming out of Agency Scope 2023/2024. This research found that AI appeared to be the third-most mentioned challenge for marketers in South Africa, with mastering the technology the biggest challenge agencies will face. And 53% of the marketers think their current agencies are not suitably ad-

vanced digitally to tackle this challenge. The risk, of course, is that it will be beguiling for marketers to build in-house digital skills rather than relying on agencies. If savvy clients can do the work themselves, quickly, to a high standard and at a lower cost, it’s surely a temptation. But while it’s easy to catastrophise, this data by no means indicates we should all just shut up shop. If anything, there are many ways the industry could use AI to become more relevant and more indispensable than ever. Provided we act quickly, and do it the right way. The important question is how to do this. To provide answers, this year’s AdFocus publication is themed around the topic. On the following pages you will find, besides this year’s award winners, some rather divergent takes on the subject. But one thing is clear: as The New York Times said: “It really doesn’t matter if you are fearful or not: The tools are here, so what do we do?” Or put another way: stand still and get washed away by the wave, or learn how to ride it. The advertising industry has always been an early adopter of machine thinking, such as programmatic advertising. This moment is like that, but on steroids. Watching our FM designers trial Photoshop’s Generative Fill on our covers shows there’s reason to believe this new frontier can be an enabler, not just a destroyer. Our designers already have the skills to create provocative, powerful visuals; AI just lets them do this faster, easier, and with greater finesse. It frees them to be more creative, less administrative.

Take, for example, the judging of this year’s AdFocus awards. Luca Gallarelli and the panel of industry top brass who sat in the FM’s boardroom discussing the entries must together have more than 200 years’ worth of industry and client experience. Sure, this comes with some flaws, but it’s also packaged with a sensibility about the ways in which advertising businesses work, what can be improved and what should be celebrated. The judges asked tough questions, skirted no issues and could flip between quantitative and creative reasoning with dexterity. They bought a level of skill and heart that no robot has yet mastered. Likewise with this year’s Creative Challenge entries. In several cases the teams that put these engaging print ads together used AI, but it was the sense of context, topicality, fun and bravery that gave the winners the edge. In the FM’s 33 years of producing AdFocus, this isn’t the first time a new development has shaken up the industry. Computers, the internet, streaming, even influencers, have required adaptation. (Hand-rendered Peter Stuyvesant back page, anyone?) But your endurance illustrates the essential characteristic that has allowed South Africans to prevail through everything from blackouts to state capture and water-shedding: a quite remarkable resilience. And for that we are thankful — your support is why the FM still exists, in our 65th year, and is even enjoying an upswing in circulation. As terrifying as the incremental rise of the robots is, you can be sure they’ll never be able to replicate that extraordinary resilience, which continues to make your industry one of the best. ❒ Rob Rose, editor of the FM

And, as using AI on our FM covers illustrates, there’s much the technology can’t replicate, like humour. Qatalog, and other “intelligent” machine systems, aren’t (yet) up to replacing the “soft knowledge” and intuition you get after working for years.

F O R E WO R D

Client-agency relationships often start out strong, but tensions creep in as misunderstandings and money get in the way

WHAT’S THE SECRET TO A LASTING PARTNERSHIP? working, red flags tend to be overlooked in the hope that by the time we get to the ‘performing’ stage, these issues have resolved themselves.”

The relationship between the ad agency and its client is often key to the quality of work produced. When the relationship is fraught with challenges, it’s unlikely that the work coming out of the agency moves the needle in a meaningful way. AdFocus asked agencies where the biggest challenges lie and what their strategies are to ensure good working relationships with their clients. Many client-agency relationships became transactional in the wake of the pandemic, says Mike Abel, co-founder and executive chair of M&C Saatchi Group South Africa. Virtual meetings replaced in-person collaboration and relationships suffered. More businesses became risk averse, choosing short-term tactics at the expense of longterm brand building. “In a world where clients were becoming increasingly conservative and relationships were increasingly transactional, the ability of agencies to create meaningful impact subsided,” says Abel. The biggest problem with settling into a transactional relationship, he explains, is that it waters down the impact an agency can have on a client’s business. There’s also a risk with some client-agency relationships that marketing is seen as an execution arm for decisions made elsewhere in the business which can cause both client and agency to settle into a holding pattern where little tangible value can be unlocked, he adds. The Odd Number CEO Xola Nouse defines the evolution of the client-agency relationship as the “forming, storming, norming and performing” stages. “The ‘forming’ stage of the relationship is the exciting phase with high expectations from both parties. But, in the haste to get

It’s the “storming” phase which is the most challenging, says Nouse. “Poor or inadequate briefs [and feedback], misaligned expectations, lack of clear and honest communication, and unworkable timelines are just some of the hallmarks of a relationship that will be in trouble before it has an opportunity to morph into the ‘norming’ phase.” Cultural misunderstandings can also become an issue if they are not addressed quickly and sensitively, driving a lack of trust and respect in the agency-client relationship. Revolving individuals in the position of chief marketing officer is one of the biggest challenge, says Vicki Buys, MD of Ogilvy South Africa Cape Town.

Clients now tend to instruct agencies about what they want rather than letting agencies deliver a sound creative resolve. This affects the morale, the tone and the essence of the relationship – and ultimately, the outcome of the work

“Many client organisations are structured with specific lengths of service in key roles. Ambitious clients are — rightfully — working the system, which means that agencies often work with key clients for between 18 months and three years at a time. Re-establishing relationships and proving one’s worth become critical aspects of the relationship.” Another challenge is the threeyear procurement contract cycle. Buys says it can take 18 months for a client-agency partnership to really hit its stride, leaving little time to capitalise on that investment. While the agency may retain the contract in the next cycle, the disruption to the head space of both the client and the agency navigating the procurement process is detrimental to both sides. And if the incumbent agency is not successful, the client has to take on board a new agency and start the cycle all over again.

Mike Abel, co-founder and executive chair, M&C Saatchi Group South Africa

C L I E N T-AG E N C Y R E L AT I O S H IRY PS COVE R NSTO

For Adam Byars, Grid Worldwide co-CEO, one of the biggest issues is the commercial value of an agency-client relationship. “While both client and agency go into a relationship with the right intentions and in the spirit of partnership, the relationship gets derailed when outside stakeholders such as procurement or finance teams on both sides get involved to try to find an amicable commercial agreement, devaluing the core essence of bringing an agency on board.” The problem, he says, is that agencies don’t stand up for their work or fight for what they believe in. He doesn’t believe clients appreciate or value great creative work anymore. “While agencies thrive on build-

ing a compelling creative offering, agencies, at the end of the day, are a business with specific targets to meet.” Mzamo Xala, group CEO of Avatar Agency, says a successful agency-client relationship is when both parties are aligned with the need to achieve measurable results. To achieve that requires that clients provide a clear and well-defined brief, with the right key performance indicators (KPIs) in place. The agency’s responsibility is then to reimagine the brief in a way that meets expectations and also surprises the client. Problems, he says, arise when the skills and expertise within either the client or agency group don’t align properly. The challenge is to not allow a single mistake to jeopardise the partnership. “Both parties need to be able to distinguish between short-term errors and the overarching partnership goals. But if you allow the issue to affect the relationship dynamic, there will soon be a gap between what is expected and what is being brought to the table.

These challenges can be overcome if there is open communication, a sense of flexibility, as well as a shared commitment to achieve meaningful results. Johanna McDowell, MD of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) and partner in Scopen Africa, is not convinced these more transactional relationships benefit either client or agency when what both parties need is the time to focus on creating really big brand ideas. “I’m hoping that the need for a return to bigger ideas will see a return to a greater emphasis on the closeness and chemistry within the relationship that is essential to drive creativity all around,” she says. Agencies have had little option but to accept these more transactional relationships, says Byars. “Fewer big pitches — and less clients who value the contribution of an agency — means that agencies are forced to accept any jobs on offer to keep their offices open and businesses running. When a ‘desperate’ deal is done, it’s almost impossible for agencies to make a small margin, employ credible talent or maintain a credible creative product,” he says. Client-agency relationships often start out with a strong connection, but then become more transactional when it comes to day-to-day deliverables, says Xala. Project-based work, on the other hand, tends to start out with more of a transactional bent but the relationship can evolve, particularly if the work is strategically important, he maintains.

Vicki Buys, MD, Ogilvy South Africa Cape Town

Xola Nouse, CEO, The Odd Number

“In our experience the degree to which relationships evolve often depends on the specific context and strategic importance of the work we’re doing. The key lies in finding the right balance that best serves the objectives and needs of both parties.” RAPT Creative founder and CEO Garreth van Vuuren says the biggest challenges his agency has encountered with client relationships are when clients find themselves out of their depth, they don’t trust the agency’s capabilities, they are being micromanaged by senior staff or they attempt to take control of the creative process themselves. “Each party needs to understand their respective roles and the reasons why the client and agency are working together. When these roles and expectations are clear, they foster stronger personal connections and ultimately lead to better outcomes,” he says.

Adam Byars, co-CEO, Grid Worldwide

Johanna McDowell, MD, the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) and partner in Scopen Africa

McDowell says the biggest gripe clients have with agencies concerns the high volume of agency staff changes and a lack of an efficient handover process to new

C L I E N T-AG E N C Y R E L AT I O S H IRY PS COVE R NSTO

agency staff. Other complaints include the outdated agency billing model which is focused on managing time, hours and rates. “Clients don’t want to be looking at these kinds of things. At the same time, they want their agencies to spend time understanding their business and to regard that as an investment.”

THE SECRET SAUCE TO SUCCESSFUL RELATIONSHIPS

From an agency perspective, she says, the biggest complaints are around client budgets, with agencies expected to deliver more for less. Other complaints include the fact that marketers have become more junior, resulting in slower decision making, and the way some of these junior clients are allowed to abuse their agency.

The key to enduring client relationships, he adds, is knowing what keeps your clients up at night, making their business problems your problem, for agencies to take themselves and their work more seriously, not being afraid to think outside the box of

A strong agency-client relationship — and where the best work is delivered — says Byars, relies on absolute trust, honesty and a spirit of partnership, aligned to a common vision.

There has been a shift in the way clientagency relationships are managed in recent years, says Byars. “Clients now tend to instruct agencies about what they want rather than letting agencies deliver a sound creative resolve. This affects the morale, the tone and the essence of the relationship — and ultimately, the outcome of the work.” Clients have bigger expectations of their agencies, maintains Xala. While they still value the creativity and marketing communications expertise offered by agencies, they also expect data-driven insights and a bigger return on investment.

Garreth van Vuuren, CEO, RAPT Creative

succeed. It’s an approach, she adds, that sets aside all ego and personal ambition, serving the brand and, in turn, its consumers best. “At Ogilvy, we have a saying, ‘do the right thing’. If you do right by the brand, then everything else falls into place. These relationships are special; they’re bigger than us, and we’re fortunate to be a part of the tapestry of their story. It’s our responsibility to hand that brand over to the next person in the best and healthiest position.” Byars’ advice to agencies is to get close to clients. “Understand their business, ask questions and, most of all, ensure that the work you put on the table will deliver the desired business impact.” Her advice to clients is to take their agency into their confidence. “Let them understand the whole picture. Let them help you and your brand succeed.” Successful client-agency relationships depend on the intentions and qualities of the people involved, says Van Vuuren. “Create an environment of open communication and growth and encourage a solutionsdriven mindset. People seek validation and gain motivation in many ways. Understanding this and modifying your behaviour appropriately fosters a work environment that benefits everyone.”

Buys disagrees, saying that clients still want the same things from their agencies they’ve always wanted, which are creative solutions to solve real business problems. She concedes, however, that the landscape of communications has changed vastly. “If you overlay this changed landscape with consumers being more complex than ever to target, let alone understanding what it is they want from brands, it’s not as easy a problem to solve today as it was a decade ago. Some agencies and clients are rising to the challenge while others are finding it tricky to navigate.”

Nouse says the most successful relationships are those that adopt a long-term perspective from the outset, unlike those that scramble and ultimately fumble for short-term wins that can’t be sustained. “Relationships that don’t work are often the result of a mutual lack of trust,” he says.

Bridget Harpur, head of marketing, Volkswagen SA

Bridget Harpur, head of marketing at Volkswagen South Africa, says a working agency and client partnership is based on deep trust, as well as a belief that consistent creativity can drive business results. “Most people recognise the value proposition in their personal lives and the same is true for human capital. Clients need to understand that you ‘get what you pay for’. While we all want to be more efficient, your agency team needs to be adequately resourced to meet your expected delivery or outcome.”

Mzamo Xala, group CEO, Avatar Agency

traditional advertising, and being prepared to take risks. Communication failures and a misalignment of expectations can be disastrous, which is why building strong, trust-based relationships with clients is so important, maintains Abel. “The courage to make big decisions is possible only when there is an authentic and trusted relationship in place.” Buys believes the relationships that place the brand at the centre are the ones that

The secret sauce to a strong, enduring relationship between an agency and client, he believes, is about going above and beyond the scope of work and proactively solving the client’s problems. “Agencies with a good understanding of their client’s business will always stand out,” he says.

McDowell’s advice to both agencies and their clients is to focus on the business of the brand and providing business solutions. “Be prepared to share highs and lows, positives and negatives. Don’t wait for the six-monthly relationship review tick box process designed to report on the quality of the relationship. The relationship has to be worked on every day.” Building brands goes way beyond clients, building economies and driving employment, says Byars. “As an industry, we should not lose the core essence of why we do what we do and what we love doing.”

C L I E N T-AG E N C Y R ECOVE L AT I O S H I RY PS RNSTO

From 2022 AdFocus Small Agency of the Year to 2023 AdFocus Medium Agency of the Year Finalist* Whilst our agency has grown and evolved remarkably in the last 12 months, our commitment to our people and our partners has remained the same. Delivering industry-leading data, insights, creativity, passion and return on investment. Cutting edge creativity underpinned by strategic intellegence *We made this ad before they announced this year’s winner. But for us, growing into a new category is a win on its own.

Despite the economic pressures of the past year, the advertising industry is positive, with most respondents reporting growth — and more than half saying that’s been helped along by AI

UPBEAT INDUSTRY STILL MOVING FORWARD delivery (45.8%), resilience (33.3%), a flexible business model (27%), an accelerated digital transformation (18.75%) and keeping the brand visible (18.75%).

If 2022 was the year of the bounce-back, that positive trajectory has continued in 2023 with the majority of respondents in this year’s AdFocus survey reporting that business has continued to improve (77%). A total of 53% of respondents said business is much better or somewhat better compared with the past 18 months and 73% reported that they’re feeling positive about the advertising industry.

While the overall take-out from this year’s AdFocus research is positive, not everyone is feeling the same degree of optimism. Compared with the past 18 months, 22.95% of respondents said business is the same, while 25% said it’s worse, 17% said business has not improved this year and just over 4% said they believed further ground has been lost. A total of 13% of respondents said they are feeling negative about the industry. When it comes to transformation, 78% of respondents said they are on target and only 12% said they are not.

These positives are despite the significant obstacles facing businesses in general this year. Respondents said the biggest impacts on their businesses in the past year have been pressure on spending power (91%), load-shedding (70%), soaring interest rates (66%), political uncertainty (56%) and talent loss due to emigration (47%).

Three-quarters of respondents said they had recruited junior staff in the past year, with 34% reporting that the calibre of these junior staff members was good. Of concern, however, is in the area of top talent, with 56% of respondents believing the industry is not attracting highly skilled talent.

Asked to provide one reason for business improving this year, 54% attributing it to building positive client relationships. Other reasons cited were continued good service

Just over a third of respondents said their companies have an AI strategy in place, while 56% don’t have one. Encouragingly, more than half the respondents (51.79%)

Loadshedding Soaring interest rates

Political uncertainty

Pressure on spending power

Not really Not at all Not sure

1.75%

19.30%

Semigration — talent loss to another province

To a great extent To some extent

31.58%

38.60% 1.72%

Talent loss due to emigration

8.77%

36.21% 15.52%

25.86%

1.75%

7.02%

20.69%

49.12%

42.11%

35.71% 7.14%

39.29% 5.36%

17.86%

28.57%

42.86% 7.02%

23.21%

22.81%

47.37%

TO WHAT EXTENT HAS THE FOLLOWING HAD A MATERIAL IMPACT ON YOUR BUSINESS?

Total to great/some extent 70%

66%

56%

91%

47%

28%

Total not really/not at all

34%

43%

52%

71%

29%

Source: Market Intelligence research & insights team

Clients need to view it [AI] as a way of becoming more agile, creating efficiencies and ensuring speed to market said AI is already having a big and positive impact on businesses and company output. AI is most commonly being used for research (58%), copywriting and editing (42%), brainstorming (30%), and illustrations and design work (24%). The most commonly used AI program is ChatGPT, followed by MidJourney. Others reported using Fliki to create audio and video content without cameras, microphones or a studio, GPTZero to distinguish between plagiarised and original work, and Dale, Stable Diffusion, Bard, Perplexity and Notion, among other programs. One respondent reported that their businesses are investing in their own AI research and development in an effort to disrupt their business model and create additional value for clients and partners. Many respondents said they have tried a number of programs for creative as well as operational tasks and to formulate insights on reports. A third of respondents said AI can only be used for small tasks. Respondents provided some interesting comments about AI. One respondent said agencies need to embrace AI and similar tools to enhance performance, insights and efficiencies for clients. “We need to RESEARCH

COMPARING THE PAST 18 MONTHS TO TODAY, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS? 27.87% 24.59%

22.95%

To fortify their place in the client’s world, agencies need to remember to provide top-notch customer service, share positive reviews and testimonials, be honest and transparent, ask for — and act on — feedback, be reachable.

22.95%

1.64% Business Business is is much somewhat better better

Business is the same

Business is Business somewhat is much worse worse

Source: Market Intelligence research & insights team

DO YOU FEEL LIKE THE INDUSTRY IS ATTRACTING HIGHLY SKILLED, TOP TALENT? 47.37%

29.82%

8.77%

more time on better work and creating ideas.

8.77% 5.26%

Another respondent said agencies need to adapt, introduce new ways to consult and advise, be open to new models and fee structures, immerse themselves in client businesses, train their client teams and upskill them on media literacy. Other suggestions include being more accountable, delivering results, providing insights to enhance a brand’s position, paying attention to detail and service delivery which seems to be getting sloppy in some cases, being an extension of the client’s marketing team, offering value with every deliverable and adding to clients’ bottom line.

This year’s survey respondents consisted primarily of people working for advertising agen39% 56% cies (34%) or media houses (23.4%), with the balance made Source: Market Intelligence research & insights team up of people working for consultancies, in public relations or self-employed. More than half the recement the stance of human capital spondents have worked in the advertempowered by AI and the advantages ising and marketing industry for more this brings rather than trying to replace than 20 years. that capital. Creative needs to remain at the forefront. We can’t think that AI can A total of 42% of respondents work for replace human capital and creatives. businesses employing more than 50 Clients need to view it as a way of people, while 30% work for businesses becoming more agile, creating efficienemploying up to 10 people. cies and ensuring speed to market.” Definitely Somewhat Not really

Not at all

But the respondents acknowledged that agencies need to bring clients with them on this journey of better understanding the advantages — and limitations — of AI. The industry needs to remember that despite the advent of AI, human relationships continue to be a priority. More than ever before, brands need to be relevant. That requires constantly aligning the brand with consumer expectations. While speed and efficiency are important, meaningful work that makes a difference remains the biggest priority. One suggestion is for agencies to change their remuneration model to allow AI to play a role in the initial concept design, which would save creatives time, allowing them to spend

Not sure

Independent Agency Search and Selection Company

Helping marketers optimise their agency ecosystem Agency Selection / Pitch Management

Agency Ecosystem Management

Value Benchmarking

Marketer / Agency Relationship Management

Media Assurance Audits

We need to cement the stance of human capital empowered by AI and the advantages this brings rather than trying to replace that capital RESEARCH

IAS. The Experts in Client:Agency Relationships Phone: 010 594 0281 / 082 329 0079 johanna@agencyselection.co.za www.agencyselection.co.za

The advertising industry has lost confidence in its ability to make a difference: it’s time to take it back

LESSONS FROM THE GIANTS OF THE PAST Mastery of the talent resident in our industry, combined with the power of AI, will propel us beyond the realms of what we thought possible

When one of the world’s most respected marketers says: “Agencies are forever”, doubters should find solace and take notice. Tor Myhren, the vice-president of marketing communications at Apple and former global chief creative officer at Grey, probably knows what he’s talking about. If agencies embrace the purpose they’ve always had and adjust with the times, they will thrive. Why, then, do so many choose to adjust their purpose to survive, instead? It smacks of insecurity, and if that’s what you feel, perhaps it’s time to close shop. On his return to the helm of Apple, Steve Jobs announced: “What we’re going to do in our first brand marketing campaign in several years is to get back to core value. A lot of things have changed … The products, the distribution strategy, manufacturing, are totally different … But values and core values, those things shouldn’t change.” Sounds familiar. I fear that as an industry we’ve forgotten this. Advertising has lost confidence in its ability to create value, change perceptions and grow brands and businesses. It’s now a race to the bottom, and it’s a race many are tired of running. It’s time to get serious about it again. It’s time to move past the caricature of advertising professionals as people more intent on hedonism than interested in creating value. Given how desperate we are to disassociate ourselves from ad people of that era, it’s a tad ironic that they were a generation of advertising and marketing greats who arguably had a far greater effect on the world of products, marketing and brands than the present generation has. Many of the world’s greatest brands, as well as “advertising” thinkers and businesses, were established in a time many now look down on. Bill Bernbach, David Ogilvy, Jay Chiat, John Hegarty, Shelley Lazarus, Dan Wieden, Mary Wells Lawrence and others believed they could make a difference. They grew the world’s greatest brands, and took that responsibility seriously. They did it knowing that big brands grow big businesses and big businesses drive economies and, ergo, the wheel of capitalism. They did it by deploying a combination of uncom-

have the opportunity to leverage an incredible new tool for making our product better — artificial intelligence (AI).

Luca Gallarelli, CEO of TBWA\South Africa promising talent and diligence, using the best tools available at the time to produce work that had an impact. Ogilvy once said: “If it doesn’t sell, it’s not creative.” And Bernbach said: “Word of mouth is the best medium of all.”

The theme of this year’s AdFocus is the alchemy of human and AI. It’s a proposition in which I believe wholeheartedly. The mastery of the talent resident in our industry, combined with the power of AI, will propel us beyond the realms of what we thought possible, in terms of both creativity and the impact that creativity can have on our clients, brands and businesses. That’s not to say that we should now disregard everything that has made us relevant, but rather that we should double down on those aspects while growing our appetite for rapid change. And we need to do it without a hint of insecurity — with a real and fundamental belief in what we do while reimagining how we do it.

Sounds pretty relevant to me. At the Integrated Marketing Council conference, Doug Place, Nando’s chief marketing officer for Africa, Middle East & India, said that as marketers “we matter”. I’m glad he said it. But I’m sad he felt the need to say it. When did we lose confidence in our ability to affect the world of commerce so profoundly? Creativity has power, as I’m reminded when I see its impact on clients.

All the winners, across all categories, have demonstrated an ability to do this. Without exception, they have set the standard for an industry in desperate need of confidence and examples of excellence. Look to the winners and cast your eyes beyond. We have work to do: best we get going. But let’s do it from a position of confidence that takes seriously our collective responsibility to move business and society forward.

I believe we are entering a period of greater certainty. For the first time in decades we

❒ Luca Gallarelli, 2023 AdFocus jury chair and CEO of TBWA\South Africa

F O R E WO R D

It’s about finding an angle. And having the right partner to guide you. Now, more than ever, it’s imperative to collaborate with a firm that will help steer you in the right direction. At PKF, we consider ourselves more than accountants. We are partners with you on your business journey and we measure our success by yours. With over 450 offices, operating in 150 countries worldwide, the PKF network enables the sharing of knowledge and experience, and underpins our ability to offer you globally relevant advice grounded with local insight.

Proud Auditors of the 2023 AdFocus Awards

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OVERALL WINNER OF THE YEAR ing it responsible for above the line, below the line and digital creative, which strengthened and consolidated its more than a decade-long partnership with the bank. Other large clients include SAB, Cell C, Chicken Licken and Assupol. In the past year, it launched Uber One in South Africa and Engen’s new Café 365, and picked up new business in the form of Hippo and a Woolworths positioning campaign. After setting itself a goal of attracting a global company in 2023, the agency acquired the Grant’s Whisky account and is tasked with taking the brand forward in India, Poland, Colombia and South Africa, with further territories to be added over time.

Joe Public executive team

It believes its ownership structure is an

oe Public United is 2023’s Agency of the Year, winning the Large Agency of the Year category and the Transformation Award.

Joe Public stood out for its continued creative success, its growth on the back of the Nedbank digital account win, and for its strong transformation story.

The agency had an excellent year from a creative perspective. It was ranked the ninth-most creative agency in the Drum’s World Creative Rankings, the number one agency in Africa in the 2022 WARC Creative Rankings, the number one agency at the 2022 Pendoring Awards, and — for the fifth consecutive year — the number one agency in Africa & the Middle East in 2022’s Loerie Awards. Two of its young digital creatives, Bernice Mosala and Raphael Kuppasamy, were awarded gold in the Cannes Young Lions film category.

The agency had a robust year, improving 18% from the year before and retaining all its clients. Its biggest client is Nedbank and, in 2022, it was appointed the bank’s digital agency partner, mak-

Joe Motion, the agency’s in-house motion graphics animation and post-production studio, grew revenue by 100% compared with the previous year.

The AdFocus Large Agency of the Year category is always a tightly fought space, and this year was no exception.

optimum one, serving as a solid foundation on which to build an authentically transformed South African advertising agency group 14

The agency doesn’t take its agency relationships for granted and conducts formal relationship surveys with 14 of its top clients on a regular basis. These clients account for 90% of the agency’s revenue. Its average agency score in the AdFocus review period was above 80%, scoring in the excellent relationship range. Scopen rates Joe Public as the number one agency in South Africa in several areas, including contributing to business growth, integrated service offering, good working processes, strategic planning, senior management involvement on the account, and account service.

Giving back has long been a core pillar of Joe Public’s philosophy

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But it hasn’t all been plain sailing. The agency says it experienced more budget revisions and cost negotiations in 2023 than it has in the past five years as clients focused on savings, efficiencies and optimising budgets. In response, the agency changed internal team structures twice as often as in previous years as it looked to create optimal team mixes to achieve cost efficiencies while still delivering high-quality output. The agency has implemented a permanent hybrid working policy that allows staff to work from home on Monday and Friday and from the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. This approach has lowered its monthly operating costs, which allowed the agency to increase the salaries of all staff and employ six more creatives to provide more resources for faster turnaround times. Giving back has long been a core pillar of Joe Public’s philosophy. The agency founded its own NGO, One School at a Time, in 2010, which supports two township schools in the greater Joburg area. In addition to providing the schools with funding, the agency assists with school management, facility improvement, teacher support and leadership coaching. One of the schools it supports is Forte High in Soweto, which has maintained its ranking as the number one township school in Gauteng for three consecutive years. In 2022, the school achieved a 96% pass rate, including 159 distinctions, while 57% of learners obtained entrance into university. During the year, the agency also did probono work for Amnesty International, the Apartheid Museum and People Opposing Women Abuse.

available within the management company to allow more employees to be added in time. Three more have come on board since inception, with two of them becoming shareholders in Joe Public via Ikama Lakusasa in the AdFocus review period. The structure of the agency’s shareholding was designed to create an authentically transformed entity from an ownership perspective that’s majority black-owned while still retaining the agency’s cherished independence and ensuring a high level of ownership (66%) in the leadership team. It believes this ownership structure is an optimum one, serving as a solid foundation on which to build an authentically transformed South African advertising agency group. It’s also one that plays into its formidable creative reputation. The agency says that creativity thrives on unexpected relationships between diverse ideas, people and points of view. It has systematically set and met its annual diversity target. Today, it’s staff contingent represents the South African landscape. Its diversity is also reflected in its leadership profile, with black individuals (40% women and 20% men) making up 60% of the agency’s board. The majority of its senior management are black (64%, of which 68% are black women). Of the new staff hired in the AdFocus review period, 70% are black. Joe Public’s focus on transformation extends to its suppliers, with 51% of its spend on level 1 and 2 BBBEE suppliers and 42% of its spend with qualifying small enterprise and exempted micro enterprise suppliers. Overall, 48% of its total spend is with businesses that have more than 51% black ownership.

BENCHMARK FOR TRANSFORMATION A decade ago, Joe Public set out to transform its business into a shining example of what an authentically diverse and transformed organisation looks like. Its transformation journey continues to set the benchmark in the industry. Central to its vision is the transformation of ownership. In 2021, 60% of the company was acquired by black shareholders. Senatla Capital, a 100% black-owned private equity investment company, acquired a 34% stake in the agency while the remaining 26% allocation was acquired via a management buyout. Three long-standing agency executives — Khuthala Gala Holten, Mpumpe Ngobese and Xolisa Dyeshana — bought the majority of the 26% stake in the agency via Ikamva Lakusasa, a newly created management company. From the outset, the plan was for additional equity to be made

The agency achieved 42.6 points of the targeted 46 points on its latest BBBEE scorecard rating, meaning it has achieved 93% of the targeted points in the enterprise and supplier development pillar. This is a 75% improvement from five years ago. Joe Public’s enterprise development programme supports three black-owned companies, one of which has become a supplier to some of its key clients. The agency achieved 1.54 out of a possible 2 on its marketing, advertising & communication BBBEE level 1 scorecard, scoring 77% of the targeted points. The agency fosters partnerships with likeminded companies. One of these companies is IAF Brands, an exempt micro enterprise with a BBBEE level 1 status, providing township and suburban creative solutions. Based in Tembisa, IAF employs 10 people. Owner Bulelani Balabala is the founder of the Township Entrepreneurs

Alliance, having received financial support from FNB in 2019. The agency regards skills development as a critical component in the sustainable transformation of the industry. In the past year, it invested more than R7m in training programmes. Based on a belief that an organisation will only ever be as big as its leaders, it launched the Ubuntu Conscious Leadership Programme in February. A nine-month leadership transformation journey, the customised training programme is designed to raise the consciousness of the agency’s top 18 leaders and foster greater levels of responsibility to help it deliver on its growth purpose. Joe Public established its School of Growth in 2018. Boasting media, information & communication technologies Seta accred-

Creativity thrives on unexpected relationships between diverse ideas, people and points of view itation as a training institute, it facilitates the personal and professional development of the agency’s staff and clients, with a long-term view to extend it externally. A fundamental focus of the school is to drive overall skills development within the agency and upskill young, largely black talent in preparation for future management roles. The agency also has its own inhouse growth coach.

STRONG CONTENDERS Ogilvy South Africa is making an impressive comeback under CEO Pete Case, and it’s great to see the agency entering the AdFocus Awards again. Creatively, it is also returning to its former form, having won two gold Cannes in the past two years. TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Joburg had a really strong year, despite losing creative giant Peter Khoury. The 40-year-old agency is not resting on its laurels and has won some impressive new big business and continues to feature creatively. AWA R D S / WI N N E R S

GROUP OF THE YEAR AND AFRICAN IMPACT AWARD keting communication agency), Magna Carta (corporate reputation management and PR), Sting Content Production (audio and visual content production) and the Omnicom Precision Marketing Group (data services, media, social and a combination of first- and third-party data). The latter two were spawned from within the collective to give high-potential individuals leadership opportunities. The collective is based on a foundation of shared values and identity, respecting that each business in the group is unique and has its own reason for being, culture and role. The “connective tissue” holding them together is a unified vision, shared perspective, standardised operating systems, cohesive training platforms and a common language.

Luca Gallarelli, TBWA\South Africa CEO

Working with TBWA will always be a robust experience; we’re not always the easiest and we don’t always do what we’re told … We believe in the power of our collective and the collective talent and experience that resides in it 16

ast year was a phenomenal year for TBWA\South Africa, culminating in spectacular wins at the 2022 AdFocus Awards: the agency won a total of five awards and was named the overall AdFocus Agency of the Year. Maintaining that trajectory was never going to be easy. But it’s clear that this is an agency group whose star continues to shine brightly. This year, TBWA\South Africa wins both the Group of the Year Award and the African Impact Award.

TBWA\South Africa is unique in Africa, consisting of a collective of leading agencies that specialise in everything from brand strategy and design to production. Structured to house expert-led specialist agencies that epitomise the top tier in their respective categories, the group aims to focus on firepower and eliminate duplication. TBWA\South Africa consists of Yellowwood Future Architects (business, marketing and brand strategy), Grid Worldwide (brand experience and design, including through-the-line execution), TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris (a full-service mar-

Countering criticism that the collective is complicated, the group says the model provides leadership depth and greater efficiencies. The ace up its sleeve, it says, is a senior leadership team empowered with both autonomy and accountability. It’s an approach that has helped it attract, retain and promote some of the best talent in the industry. The agency is particularly proud of its ability to grow industry giants, with a number of TBWA alumni now global industry players. Pete Khoury, previously CCO of TBWA\South Africa, is the most recent example of this, having taken on the role of global CCO at Adidas. Khoury has been replaced by Carl Willoughby. If its strong performance at the Creative Circle Ad of the Month Awards since Willoughby took over is anything to go by, the agency remains in good hands from a creative perspective. Last year, the judges were impressed with significant new business gains that drove real revenue growth and increased efficiencies, which led to less wasted time and higher margin growth. The group doubled down on all these areas in 2023 and, over the past year, it has once again collectively grown top-line revenue by adding a number of new clients to its

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to life. A mental wellness programme created specifically for the group also acts as a platform for the entire group to connect, discuss, learn and grow. The agency recognises that to show up cohesively, it needs each individual to want to do so. It therefore acknowledges that personal success is inextricably linked to collective success.

Siphokazi Chivizhe, TBWA\South Africa group CFO

roster and increased efficiencies even further. It has long-standing and healthy relationships with clients including Spar, Nissan, MTN, City Lodge, Absa and South African Tourism. In 2022, the TBWA\South Africa and MTN partnership won AdFocus Partnership of the Year, with the TBWACoastal and Spar partnership coming in as a finalist. TBWACoastal is again a finalist in the partnership category this year. The ethos of the group is inherently “open source”, which means it looks for nontraditional partnerships. It recently formed partnerships with specialist agencies outside the group, including PlusNarrative, Helm and EXP, affiliates that offer even more diverse and specialist skills to benefit its clients and teams.

“Working with TBWA will always be a robust experience; we’re not always the easiest and we don’t always do what we’re told. We take a point of view and will debate it fiercely. We believe in the power of our collective and the collective talent and experience that resides in it. We don’t believe in dogmatism. We believe that our clients come to us for a reason: they are hunting for a strong point of view that leverages the intellectual horsepower and creative talent that we offer,” says the agency. Finalists for Group of the Year are Ogilvy South Africa, which has been producing some incredible work and has great client retention, and M&C Saatchi Group, with its strong specialists such as Levergy and Razor PR.

AFRICAN IMPACT TBWA has been operating across the continent since 2001, when it established its first affiliations with agencies in Nigeria, Botswana and Mauritius. That network has since expanded to 34 affiliates, spanning 24 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Each agency in the network is a contracted affiliate with access to TBWA tools, resources and training, as well as access to global platforms, sources of best practice and information. Strategic toolkits, reporting portals and information-sharing platforms enable more effective performance on regional clients. While TBWA\South Africa is the network hub for TBWA in Africa, the group operates across Omnicom agency brands, working equitably across TBWA, DDB and BBDO networks and, on occasion, other independent Omnicom agencies. The cornerstone philosophy of TBWA network operations is a universal approach that allows for greater diversity in client solutions, but also a wider spectrum for shared learning. While client structures dictate centres from which businesses are run, there is an understanding that this in no way creates a monopoly on the knowledge needed for that business to be run successfully. Proof that the structure works is the fact that TBWA has never had an affiliate leave the Africa collective because of deficient value. Monthly discussions with each affiliate cover a range of topics including new business, finances, personnel issues, creative work, local challenges and opportunities. A series of Africabased and global training and skills development platforms are available to all agency affiliates, while bespoke training is typically focused on global strategic or creative priorities.

The group caters to clients’ unique needs by seamlessly integrating its teams’ diverse talents and capabilities. It recently incorporated what could be called the “sixteenth man”, artificial intelligence (AI). Its collective approach is dedicated to finding the optimal solution for each client’s challenge. To make this a reality, the group has set up a system where specialist talent in respective agencies can be marshalled to tackle a client’s problem and deployed as needed. This not only eliminates duplication, but also helps unlock value and efficiency for clients. The agency says it sees this as the next step in bringing “open source” collaboration

TBWA manages the MTN and Nissan accounts across Africa and, in April 2023, added Absa’s Africa business to its client roster, making the agency responsible for the brand across nine countries beyond South Africa’s borders. This acquisition arguably entrenches TBWA as Africa’s most connected agency network, partnering with some of the continent’s largest and most prestigious brands.

An example is the evolution of TBWA’s disruption process — “DisruptionX” — which was introduced by the global team through a series of live, multicountry presentations. This continues across Africa through bespoke country sessions, which use live briefs to workshop process understanding and deliver everyday client solutions.

Graham Cruikshanks, TBWA\South Africa director of Africa operations

Weber Shandwick, a finalist in the African Impact category, is doing some excellent work for Mastercard on the continent. The judges were pleased to see a PR agency operating strongly in Africa.

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MEDIUM AGENCY OF THE YEAR this meaning in a time and place that is dynamic, chaotic and ever-changing, playing in culture and being at one with the people they serve and the world in which they operate. On a constant trajectory to change based on market needs, its concept of “Investment Creative” builds brands and takes them to places they need to be to grow. A unique understanding of brand strategy, communication, experience and human-centred design allows the agency to redefine the rules by which brands interact with customers in all spaces, allowing it to build valuable brand equity.

The Grid team, who’ve had one of their best awards years ever

rid’s continued determination to evolve its product outside of brands and design and its focus on how consumers engage with brands at every touchpoint are impressive, said the judges. Its insatiable thirst to constantly push forward is also what makes Grid stand out in the medium-size agency category.

Not only did Grid increase its revenue by 27% in the AdFocus reporting period, but it was one of its best awards years ever, ranking as the most awarded agency in the medium-sized category. This was a year, said the judges, that it all came together for Grid. Its largest clients also happen to be its longest-lasting clients. FNB, a client for the past 14 years, tasked Grid with refreshing its brand. This led to FNB being voted the Strongest Banking Brand in the World by the Brand Finance Banking 500 2023 report, with a brand strength index score of 93 (out of 100), and increasing its brand value by 30% to $3.5bn (about R64bn). Grid’s work with MTN had similar results, with the telecom giant named the country’s most valuable brand by the Brand Finance SA 100 2023 report, up 24% in brand value to R74.3bn. Grid’s creative work for Inverroche gin is getting global recognition. Inver-

roche Bee&Bee, an innovative packaging solution that doubles as a hotel for solitary bees, is reimagining packaging in an entirely new, sustainable way. It has become one of Grid’s most awarded pieces, including at the ADC Awards, Cannes, The One Show and Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards. Pernod Ricard Global will be using Bee&Bee as a benchmark for sustainable and conscious packaging across their global portfolio. South African Tourism is another longstanding client for whom Grid developed “The Best of Us” campaign. It worked on Spur’s brand evolution and continued its partnership with MTN on the launch of MoMo. Grid’s relationship with Marble has also garnered accolades: its latest endeavour saw

It’s not magic, but a careful blending of elements nurtured for years

Pantry by Marble and Sasol create an upscale fuel station experience that redefines convenience, winning Best Forecourt Store in the 2022 Best of Joburg Readers’ Choice Awards. Grid was originally established to create meaning for brands. The agency says it builds brands to help give them

The agency says it is all too aware of the X factor that occurs when you get all the elements just right. It’s not magic, but rather a careful blending of elements that Grid has been nurturing for years. Grid’s culture is as much a part of the agency’s success as its business model, growth platforms, and structure are. Nurturing that culture takes a great deal of hard work, says the agency, and creating a space where people feel inspired, excited and empowered to push the boundaries of their own minds is what it does best. Giving back has long been a big part of Grid’s value system. The agency worked with The Loeries to design the campaign “Blood, Sweat and Tears” to highlight the immense time, talent and tenacity it takes to create awardwinning work. It also partnered with SheSays, an action-based global advocacy group for women in the creative industry, to amplify their Mentorship Moments initiative by mentoring and inspiring 10 young women students and committing to ongoing mentorship for the rest of 2023. Finalists Rapt Creative and Two Tone Global were also strong entries this year, said the judges. Rapt has catapulted itself out of the Small Agency category and shown tremendous growth. Two Tone Global, on the other hand, has a fantastic story to tell about how it has redefined its offering postpandemic.

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SMALL AGENCY OF THE YEAR Describing itself as a challenger agency for challenger brands, Retroviral thrives on delivering thought-provoking work that plays in the realm of discomfort

ents merge to create exceptional outcomes. It describes itself as a challenger agency for challenger brands, thriving on delivering thought-provoking work that plays in the realm of discomfort. This also plays out in its culture, with its people constantly challenging each other to deliver ideas and content that cut through the clutter. Though it doesn’t aim to be controversial, it does strive to produce work that results in questions being asked — and hires with this ethos in mind.

Retroviral executive team, left to right: Pippa Misplon (MD); Koketso Masisi (associate creative director); Mike Sharman (co-founder and CCO); Didi Nchabeleng (financial director)

Challenger boutique agency Retroviral is the well-deserved Small Agency of the Year for 2023. Having built a reputation for consistently delivering quality and clever work that leaves the viewer smiling, it was an obvious winner in this category, said the judges. Not only has the agency had its most financially successful year ever with more than 26% growth over the previous year, but time and again it has demonstrated commitment to delivering exceptional results with a number of groundbreaking campaigns that exceeded client expectations. A multispecialist agency, Retroviral has a vision to be the best storyselling — a term it defines as branded storytelling that converts to sales — agency group in Africa. The agency believes its success is rooted in a collaborative culture where diverse tal-

Its insights-driven approach transformed a Discovery Black Friday negative sentiment challenge into a powerhouse Twitter campaign with #HackBlackFriday.

The agency’s strategic content marketing initiatives led to over R1m in revenue generated for LilLets’ new Drylock range. Its edge in creating entertaining viral content led to over 15-million views for RCL Foods’ campaigns for Nola mayonnaise, Ultra Pet, Ultra Cat, Fry’s and Yum Yum with total paid media spend of less than R50,000 combined. A campaign for Ultra Pet led to a surge in social media engagement, with more than 2.5-million views and 80,000 new, unique click-throughs to the brand’s website. Renowned for its ability to flex its creative muscle on lean budgets, Retroviral produces cut-through content that generates maximum earned media and has a direct impact on the bottom line through sales conversions. Using this approach, it has produced multi-award-winning campaigns, including the Prism Campaign of the Year for two consecutive years for Kreepy Krauly (My Kreepy Teacher) and

Checkers Sixty60 (Tinder Swindler). These successes were underscored by a 95% client retention rate. That’s not to say the agency did not experience its share of challenges: a campaign for BB Bakeries faced unexpected regulatory hurdles, resulting in delays and additional resource allocation. It increased its staff complement to 17, up from 12 the previous year, and boasts a BBBEE level 2 score and 51% black ownership. Four staff left in the year, including the agency’s creative director, who emigrated. Rather than source a new creative director externally, the agency established a resultsdriven vision over a 12-month period for its head of design to grow into the role. This initiative was communicated with clients, resulting in both internal and external support for the new creative director. The agency is committed to growth, with a graduate programme in place to consistently bring in new minds, diversity and fresh ideas. In 2023, the Retroviral graduates were exposed to all facets of the agency, from client service to creative copy to design. The agency recruited two of the three participants in the programme to fulltime creative positions. A mentorship programme fosters and grows talent internally. Staff are encouraged to pitch advancements in education and skills training, based on their professional missions and passions. To date, every request has been supported by financial backing of some description. Looking ahead, the agency is poised to expand its offering, solidify its position as an industry leader, and continue delivering value to clients. Its roadmap includes further integration of artificial intelligence and immersive technologies to drive campaign personalisation and engagement. Runner-up Happy Friday Creative — last year’s winner of the Adaptability Award — also delivered a strong entry. The judges commented that it’s encouraging to see an agency that prioritises its people doing so well.

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MEDIA AGENCY OF THE YEAR oth The MediaShop and the finalist in this category, PHD, stand tall as modern media companies. But it was The MediaShop that stood out this year after an incredibly strong year of growth, particularly impressive given its size, said the judges.

“Despite being a real powerhouse in the South African media landscape, it’s clear that The MediaShop has not rested on its laurels,” said AdFocus jury chair Luca Gallarelli. “After an absence of several years from AdFocus, it’s good to see this agency back.” South Africa’s oldest, and arguably one of its largest, media agencies celebrated its 35th birthday this year. As middleage creeps up on The MediaShop, it’s understandably hard to “remain impressive”, particularly when you’re operating at the scale at which this agency does. But this past year is likely to go down as one of its most successful.

Dashni Vilakazi, MD of The MediaShop

Despite being a real powerhouse in the South African media

The standout highlights of the past year included growing billing 21% and revenue 14%, an impressive increase given a tough economy and considering the agency’s billing base of nearly R4bn. In fact, The MediaShop’s growth exceeds many other agencies’ total billing.

absence of several years from AdFocus, it’s good to see this agency back 20

Both Nando’s and Shoprite gave The MediaShop one of their highest relationship scores ever last year, illustrating the strength of relationships that have blossomed into highly successful partnerships. Together with its holding company, Park Media, the agency launched a performance digital business called Lucid Media, which has grown to 30 staff members in just two years. It also launched a marketing intelligence hub which employs data scientists and business analysts to consolidate research, data and analytics across the business. Diversity, inclusion and transformation continue to be a focus at The MediaShop. A level 1, majority blackowned (55%) and majority black female owned (42%) organisation, in the past year the agency increased its black female ownership through staff-owned shares. It also partners with the Maharishi Invincibility Institute, funding studies for underprivileged black women.

Highlights of the past year included

On the awards front, The MediaShop has also had a stellar year, winning an award for effectiveness at the Marketing Achievement Awards, doing well at the MOST Awards and receiving Scopen recognition where it was voted the number one media agency to work for by its peers, and the number one media agency to work with by its clients.

growing billing 21% and revenue 14%

not rested on its laurels. After an

The MediaShop believes in building sustainable relationships, so it’s perhaps no surprise it has a number of long-standing partnerships with key clients. Shoprite, arguably South Africa’s biggest advertiser, has been its client for 23 years, while Nando’s, one of the country’s most loved brands, has been a client for 19.

During the period under review, it won the Nedbank digital account, one of South Africa’s largest digital advertisers with an annual digital spend of more than R200m. This account win is a vote of confidence from Nedbank that the agency can successfully handle both digital and traditional media. It also won the Jägermeister account, together with its partner IntiMedia. In addition to

landscape, it’s clear The MediaShop has

L’Oréal, Sasol, the Western Cape government and MultiChoice. In total, more than R1bn was recommitted to the business during the period in question.

adding big clients to its roster, it also secured several medium and small clients. The Regent Business School account, for example, is a midsized piece of business where the agency believes it can make a difference. Another highlight was receiving contract extensions from long-term clients such as Famous Brands, Nedbank,

PHD, last year’s winner in this category, also delivered a strong entry this year, leaning into the world of digital.

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SPECIALISED AGENCY OF THE YEAR ‘Collaborative, inquisitive and deeply passionate about delivering ideas that work,’ Levergy’s paradigm shift away from being a pure sponsorship agency has yielded impressive results

This is the third consecutive year that Levergy has been an AdFocus winner. In 2022, it won this same award and in 2021, it took the Adaptability Award. Part of the M&C Saatchi Abel Group, Levergy has undergone a significant paradigm shift in the past year from a pure sport sponsorship and entertainment agency to what it calls a “passion agency” — an agency that specialises in creating brand connections with a target audience in a bid to attract new business more broadly. An important message in this repositioning was that connecting through passion does not need a significant sponsorship and it does not need to be a sport. The engagement can be created, owned, partnered or lent because opportunities around passion come in many shapes and guises. Levergy’s goal in its repositioning was to cement the simple, but highly compelling, premise that passion is a powerful solution for resonating more profoundly with a desired audience. As discipline-neutral sector specialists, the agency plans to continue to lead

creatively and land on the most appropriate execution for each brief to deliver hard-working solutions. The results of this shift soon spoke for themselves: an impressive year-onyear revenue increase, four new client wins, the retention of its six core clients, and being the most awarded agency across sport, sponsorship, entertainment and activation in the period under review. The AdFocus judges were impressed with these remarkable results and said the agency’s excellent growth is not surprising considering it takes the role of creativity seriously. Levergy grew its talent pool by 11%, with eight promotions, and boasted a staff turnover rate of just 15%. This is no small achievement given the industrywide challenge of attracting and retaining talent. Instead of competing against other agencies on remuneration and benefits, it focused on the most important factor in job satisfaction: the actual nature of the work. The agency’s trump card is that it is the

recipient of some of the most exciting briefs in the industry, many of which are centred on connecting creatively with people through sport, entertainment, gaming, music and lifestyle platforms. It deliberately landed this message as a hook to lure the best marketing talent. To help with retention, the agency encourages them to do what they love. A highlight of the past year was the global campaign for the 2023 International Cricket Council Women’s T20 World Cup. The campaign’s objective was to drive interest and engagement across multiple markets globally, with a focus on turning around the underwhelming performance associated with women’s sport in South Africa. Besides being a prestigious piece of work, it was also lucrative. When it comes to its client relationships, Levergy’s partner model is to “get under the skin” of businesses. Its executive management team works actively with clients across all briefs, with the result that powerful relationships are forged. Because the agency did not have any existing client-agency performance metrics in place, this year it commissioned the Relationship Radar tool to track its performance and assess it against industry benchmarks. Levergy has been Telkom’s sponsorship agency since 2020, with a mandate to create meaningful impact for its brand and business through consumer passions. Telkom chief marketing officer Gugu Mthembu says the team operates at an exceptionally high level, despite the agency’s relative youth, and are collaborative, inquisitive and deeply passionate about delivering ideas that work. “They take the time to understand our business challenges, the market and our consumer strategy. They have redefined how we view ‘sponsorship’.”

Struan Campbell, Levergy CEO

Melissa Daniels, Levergy MD

There were three finalists in this category this year. PlusNarrative and MakeReign are new agencies to the AdFocus Awards, and both provided strong entries as did the third finalist, Mscsports.

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PARTNERSHIP OF THE YEAR Ogilvy South Africa’s collaboration with Carling Black Label powerfully repositioned the brand by reframing the value and

launched the highly successful Carling Black Label Cup with the “Be the Coach” campaign, which ran successfully for eight years. But by 2018, changing conditions and sentiments about masculinity were putting pressure on sales volumes. A 14% loss in sales volumes signalled a slow but steady decline. The brand was losing relevance as younger beer drinkers turned to more innovative and progressive brands.

What makes the Ogilvy South Africa and Carling Black Label relationship stand out, agreed the judges, is that it’s bigger than any one person, with agency and client sharing a common understanding of the brand and how to continue evolving the brand proposition. Carling Black Label was originally positioned as US beer brewed in South Africa. But the brand struggled to develop its own identity, trailing significantly behind Castle Lager, Hansa and Lion Lager for popularity. Ogilvy South Africa’s partnership with Carling Black Label goes back 41 years when the agency was tasked by the brand’s owner, South African Breweries (SAB), to secure a meaningful place for the iconic brand in the hearts of South Africans. In 2011, Carling Black Label and Ogilvy

Ogilvy’s efforts, which included using nontraditional channels such as rebranding the physical beer with the #NoExcuse message and marching with NGOs to parliament to petition for change, were instrumental in giving Carling Black Label a refreshed, highly relevant and meaningful place in society. In 2019, a change of leadership within SAB threatened the momentum of the campaign. The leadership shift meant that the highly awarded brand team on the client side was moved to other divisions.

role of masculine strength

This was the most popular category in this year’s AdFocus Awards, which speaks volumes about the importance of agency-client relationships. This year’s winner is a relationship that has endured for more than four decades, and despite some low moments, its strength has never wavered.

mony and match in 2010.

Halting the brand’s decline was key to the company’s defence of its share and profitability in the South African beer market. Despite decades of commitment to building a traditional view of masculinity, Carling Black Label agreed to reposition the brand with a more progressive view by reframing the value and role of masculine strength. The reposition risked the brand losing its core audience, while also potentially not attracting a new one. Ogilvy inspired the client team to live their new brand platform by committing to creative work that could improve the lives of South Africans and tackle the scourge of genderbased violence (GBV) that follows alcohol abuse.

Ogilvy, as brand custodian, stepped in to support the new leadership team during the transition. The agency felt deeply accountable for the work that had come before and wanted to ensure the high standard and strong purpose of the work continued. By putting the brand at the centre, the agency was able to build a close relationship with the new client team based on trust and collaboration. And then came 2020, accompanied by a pandemic, lockdowns, a ban on the sale of alcohol and no Carling Cup. The lockdowns led to a greater prevalence of GBV as women were now confined in proximity with men struggling with mental health issues. The agency, client and partner teams worked under huge time, resource and financial constraints during a difficult period to create a highly effective way of using the brand’s platforms to reach both the victims and perpetrators of GBV with offers of help. The demonstration of a real commitment to work that attempted to solve societal issues gave the agency and the client team an increased sense of purpose. The close relationship that

The agency designed and launched the #NoExcuse platform, which ignited a new connection with modern masculinity. This was activated by the “Soccer Songs for Change” stunt, which managed to reach a larger audience than the Soccer World Cup opening cere-

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years resulted in the most progressive format yet: “My Game, My Way” in 2022 with the inclusion of two more teams, voted for by the fans. Close partnerships between multiple stakeholders, partner agencies and Carling Black Label have enabled this huge annual event to maintain its spark for more than a decade.

was developed created a high-trust, cross-disciplinary team that was able to strategically and creatively manoeuvre the brand through this critical time. To avoid bad behaviour by consumers when alcohol went back on sale, an additional digital campaign was created, teaching people how to adhere to the Covid restrictions. Understanding that many men were unemployed in the wake of the pandemic, Ogilvy realised they no longer felt like champions. A new brand line, “There’s Gold Inside”, was created to inspire men to find a way out of their challenges. This reappraisal unlocked a more positive approach to men’s issues, which has led to greater creative opportunities for the brand. The new brand line was launched with the sponsorship of a matric education for a number of men — “A Class of Their Own” — who had failed to complete their schooling. At the same time, on-the-ground work in townships with #FatherANation was aimed at supporting men through their daily struggles towards developing healthier masculinity. The agency also found new ways to extend the #NoExcuse message. Faced with the prospect of the first summer in two years without alcohol restrictions, Carling Black Label continued to lean into #NoExcuse with the powerful “Bride Armour” activation, which included a short film on the horrors of GBV. The #NoExcuse message has reached a global audience with its simple call to end GBV. It is a message that sits at the centre of the brand’s purpose. In 2020, the agency proposed evolving the Carling Black Label Cup — a oneday, four-team football tournament — through “Change the Game”, with the idea of giving fans more control over the game, including using Twitter to vote live for substitutions. The refreshed platform developed over two

From being a laggard in the beer market in 2018, Carling Black Label became the most powerful beer brand in the country in 2022, with a power score of 16.8 from Kantar, the highest brand equity score it has ever had. Between 2018 and 2022, Carling Black Label increased its equity by a remarkable 84%.

pressive in their own way. Nedbank’s relationship with Joe Public has yielded incredible results for both client and agency. Joe Public has become invaluable to Nedbank — every agency wishes they had this kind of relationship, said the judges. McDowell says this partnership was also a strong finalist in 2022. “This is a relationship willing to review and renew itself on a systematic basis. Consistent and strong brand building work illustrates the seriousness with which both parties commit to this partnership,” she says. Savannah and Grey Advertising have created an entirely new standard when it comes to the quality of work in their category. The agency’s work for Savannah continues to win awards both locally and globally.

Also in 2022, it experienced historic sales volumes despite a midyear price hike, an admirable feat which demonstrated the perceived increased value attached to the brand. The campaign also had a social impact, resulting in a 50% decrease in the number of women who accepted spousal abuse and a 15% increase in men who said they would now stand up against GBV. Its business impact was no less significant, resulting in volume growth of 83.1% for the brand between 2018 and 2023, and giving Carling Black Label a 42.7% share of the local beer market. The campaign has been highly awarded both locally and internationally, winning a Grand Effie as well as a Gold and Silver Effie; and Gold awards at Cannes, the Assegais, the New Generation Awards, the Loeries, the Bookmarks; and Silvers at the Clios; and a Bronze at The One Show. Johanna McDowell, the managing partner of Scopen Africa and CEO of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS), the sponsor of the Partnership of the Year Award, says winning the Grand Effie in 2022 was the ultimate demonstration of the continued success of this long partnership. “A client that is willing to take risks and be controversial for a very good cause shows great faith in the ability of their agency who, in turn, was willing to work really hard to implement such a strong idea. The level of trust in this relationship is unmatched.”

“This must be quite a fun relationship between agency and client, as they’ve been able to generate consistently quirky advertising, which has certainly resulted in brand building and awareness,” says McDowell, adding that the collaborative nature of this relationship is to be applauded. Last, but not least, is the partnership between TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Durban and Build It. This partnership, says McDowell, has resulted in a fast-growing brand awareness for a brand in a category that traditionally is not that interesting. It’s also not a category that spends a great deal. However, both parties have worked collaboratively to ensure success. The AdFocus Partnership of the Year Award is sponsored by IAS.

This award is sponsored by

The three finalist entries were all im-

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PUBLIC RELATIONS AGENCY OF THE YEAR Earning strategic communications a place at the business decision-making table, Weber Shandwick has successfully evolved to meet the changing needs of post-Covid businesses

ll three finalists in this category — Magna Carta, Razor and Weber Shandwick — were incredibly close and the award could have gone to any one of them in a different year. However, it was Weber Shandwick that took top honours this year, by a slim margin, delivering a strong entry across the board with agency growth, excellent client relationships, and making a positive industry contribution. Many public relations agencies have struggled to recover to pre-pandemic levels. Weber Shandwick has evolved to meet the changing needs of postCovid businesses by extending its services beyond traditional PR into a consulting practice that influences business and drives growth.

team of strategic thinkers and creative storytellers with a strong competence in C-suite engagement, strategy and analysis, media and publicity, organisational transformation, and reputation and leadership. The agency believes businesses today exist in a reputation economy with strategic communications an increasingly important risk area to safeguard. It also maintains that it has earned strategic communications a place at the business decision-making table. This, it says, has been a critical move in the changing business landscape. The agency has won the Best Up-andComing PR Professional Award at the Prism Awards for four consecutive years.

One of the agency’s offerings, called Leaders Transformed, is designed to champion new business leaders, support leadership transitions, and ensure staff engagement and business stability. It has also developed services that leverage its expertise in reputation management, organisational development, coaching and sponsoring, to deliver cutting-edge consulting at the highest levels of business decision-making.

People are a priority at Weber Shandwick. The agency is laser-focused on its employee experience. From middle managers to senior leadership, there’s a development programme that ensures holistic personal growth. Four high-potential individuals participated in the agency’s Leadership Incubator in the past year, a year-long programme focused on building leadership expertise and a leadership succession network.

The results speak for themselves: in the past year, the agency has retained all its clients and signed on several new ones, ensuring growth and high profit margins of between 25% and 30%, year on year.

Its staff retention activities are led by “Find-me Grow-me Know-me Keepme”, an approach that reflects the talent journey within the business. It includes a continuous review of hiring practices, creating strong pipelines and new talent pools.

Weber Shandwick South Africa is part of a global network of agencies. Each office operates autonomously with separate clients and billings. In South Africa, the team consists of a diverse

Once talent has been onboarded, the agency is intentional about growing them and compensating them competitively.

Ipelegeng Thibedi, CEO of Weber Shandwick Africa Its client mix is diverse, covering corporate affairs, technology, financial services, public affairs, health care and the consumer. Its work for clients is focused on its impact on businesses and communities. In the past year, the agency helped Nestlé pilot a blueprint for sustainability engagement and communications in response to the government’s extended producer responsibility policy. The campaign won Gold at the Prism Awards and received a Certificate of Excellence at the Sabre Africa Awards. It won awards at Prism for work with Mastercard and a certificate of excellence at Sabre for work with IBM. A level 1 BEE and majority blackowned agency, Weber Shandwick’s diversity, equity and inclusion values are evident across its shareholding, talent, work and culture. Its business ecosystem is diverse, with suppliers that boast great potential to contribute to society. Magna Carta also had a strong year from a new business perspective and is clearly making a return to being a PR powerhouse. The agency has doubled down on its reputation management offering, including crisis communication. Razor PR, at only four years old and having already won this award twice, is a force to be reckoned with in this category. The agency continues to deliver a strong body of work and enjoys excellent relationships with its clients.

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ADAPTABILITY AWARD OF THE YEAR motivated when they were able to engage face-to-face, with resilience resulting from the camaraderie that developed among team members. To mitigate staff burnout, the agency engaged reputable talent scouts to assist with human resources appointments. It redesigned its existing office to create more space, including for production facilities, and approached a funding and financial grant agency to capitalise its new projects. This funding was approved in late 2022.

Two Tone Global’s executive and management team

his time two years ago, Two Tone Global was still reeling from the commercial impact of the pandemic. Before Covid, the agency employed 22 people and generated 60% of its billing from brand experiences. By mid-2020, the agency had been forced to reduce its staff count to just six people.

The only reason it didn’t cut back even more was that it had started re-engineering and reinventing itself in 2019 to be more digitally focused. The key appointments made in 2019 allowed the agency to respond and adapt to pandemic restrictions. Falling back to its core offering of being a creatively led agency with strong digital capabilities, Two Tone Global began to develop digital experiences and trade campaigns for clients such as Nestlé, Diageo and Telkom, allowing them to engage with and activate consumers virtually when physical engagement was not possible. Its shift from what was a primarily activation-based agency to a niche digital engagement agency soon paid dividends, allowing the business to

grow revenue by 135% between March 2022 and May 2023. A 98% success rate as far as pitches were concerned helped, winning the agency brands such as Telkom, African Bank, SABC 1, 2 and 3 and Pernod Ricard. That’s not to say it has all been smooth sailing for Two Tone Global. Like many of its competitors, the agency has struggled to upscale its human resources talent in tandem with the rate it has won new business in the past two years. It was also required to create more office space for its additional people and find the necessary capital to fund its new business acquisitions.

Revenue grew by 135% between March 2022 and May 2023

The agency, which is 100% blackowned, has also struggled to adapt to a hybrid working model post-pandemic. One of the biggest insights for the agency coming out of the past two years is that the hybrid model is not optimal for collaboration or creativity. It also found that its people were more

Staff were provided with incentives to work from the office, including a commuter budget to ease the financial pressure of travelling into the office, while a hybrid energy backup system mitigated downtime resulting from load-shedding. As part of its strategy to gear itself for growth, the agency conducts regular high-focus sessions with its staff on business strategy as well as talent development programmes. Its talent acquisition strategy, which prioritises finding employees with the right culture and vision fit for the agency, continues. Its human resources strategy is to build a highperformance team with high levels of creativity. The agency has also expanded its footprint by opening an office in Kenya. The Adaptability Award was first introduced in 2020 to recognise an agency that has successfully adapted to a new paradigm, demonstrating that it has embraced flexibility and manoeuvrability, and has successfully risen above the disruption of an unusual period. The judges said Two Tone Global’s turnaround not only demonstrated tenacity and resilience, but successfully established the agency as a meaningful industry player that delivers a sustainable and relevant product, making it a worthy winner. The runner-up in this category was Weber Shandwick.

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SHAPESHIFTER OF THE YEAR of KwaZulu-Natal and then joined Design Partnership, an international architectural firm. It’s quite a jump from architecture to advertising to running what is arguably one of the most demanding marketing portfolios in South Africa. Narsi doesn’t see it that way. “I’m not a huge fan of disciplines,” he says. “I prefer to look at it as problem-solving. What I love about architecture — and what drew me to it — was its combination of engineering and design aesthetic in service to humanity and the creation of something that would be used every day.”

Yatish Narsi, chief marketing officer at MultiChoice

What I loved about Grid — and what I think sets it apart — is that it trains its people to change the world, whereas so many other agencies train their people to win awards 26

shapeshifter is defined as a fictional being that can transform itself from one physical form to another. Zeus, god of the sky and thunder, was apparently a fantastic shapeshifter, taking many unexpected forms.

This year’s Shapeshifter aptly embodies the term. Yatish Narsi trained and practised as an architect for 15 years, before moving into advertising as chief experience officer at the multi-award-winning agency, Grid Worldwide. He is now the chief marketing officer (CMO) at MultiChoice. Narsi graduated with a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University

I’m not a huge fan of disciplines. I prefer to look at it as problem-solving

Design Partnership was involved in a number of retail redesigns, including for Wimpy, Steers, Edgars and Mugg & Bean, during which time Narsi realised how important the role of the brand is in a consumer brands’ retail offering. After a chance discussion with Grid Worldwide founder and chief creative officer Nathan Reddy, Narsi accepted the offer of becoming the agency’s chief experience officer, working on some of the country’s most admired businesses and brands, including MTN and FNB. Narsi learnt a great deal at Grid. “What I loved about Grid — and what I think sets it apart — is that it trains its people to change the world, whereas so many other agencies train their people to win awards. It has a very maverick and entrepreneurial culture and encourages freedom of expression. I like to think that what I helped bring to the table was nontraditional category thinking.” It was while working on the rebrand of Showmax with MultiChoice that Narsi met Marc Jury, the SuperSport CEO who took over as MultiChoice South Africa’s CEO earlier this year.

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I keep hearing agencies saying that the big trend right now is for brands to be customer-centric. If that’s the case, why are agencies not better at understanding the issues facing their clients?

Jury offered Narsi the long-vacant position of CMO. Before accepting the position, Narsi warned Jury he was not a career CMO. “I said I’d accept the position and stay for as long as I think I’m being useful and adding value. Rather than trying to keep this job, I said I’d try to do it. What was remarkable about Marc’s people vision is how much he valued curiosity and attitude over your CV and qualifications, which made this opportunity an absolute no-brainer for me.” Another thing that appealed to him was the ability to influence more than just the brand, but also other business levers that affect the customer. Narsi’s mandate as MultiChoice CMO is two-fold: the first is to rebuild belief that the best days of MultiChoice are still ahead of it and, second, to play an authentic, meaningful role in adding value to the lives of its customers. “There are very few businesses on the continent that have the scale and credibility to genuinely change the narrative and harness untapped potential, with the exception of a handful of banks and telecom companies,” he says. “As a brand, MultiChoice is very close to culture and continues to have the content that people love.”

He’s adamant that MultiChoice needs to get back to its core business, which is entertainment. Even its marketing needs to be entertaining. The fact that it’s not entertaining is a travesty, he says. Against all conventional metrics, Narsi is an unexpected choice as the CMO for MultiChoice. He doesn’t have a CV and has been told that his LinkedIn profile is not particularly good. (His response to that was that the only people who have updated LinkedIn accounts have a great deal of time on their hands.) He has neither the inclination nor the patience to discuss awareness, consideration and conversion. But perhaps that’s why he is exactly what MultiChoice needs: someone who does not come from a traditional marketing background, has no formal academic marketing training and, as a result, thinks outside the box of conventional marketing thinking. He’s the first to admit that he doesn’t think like a marketer. In fact, he doesn’t even know what a CMO is supposed to do. “But does that really matter? I’m part of a team of incredibly talented and smart people at MultiChoice trying to solve problems and add value to customers.”

The rise of AI is not a sign that creativity is losing

And even though Narsi sat on the agency side of the table for six years, as a client, he gets exasperated with his ad agency and can’t understand why, after discussing the business challenges facing MultiChoice for an hour with the agency team, they still request a brief. “Why request a brief when I’ve just spent the past hour explaining the challenge and the problems we need solved?” It’s these kinds of experiences that have him shaking his head when he hears agencies complaining that the client doesn’t get it. “I’m discovering that it’s actually agencies that don’t get it and don’t understand the challenges that the business needs to solve. “I keep hearing agencies saying that the big trend right now is for brands to

be customer-centric. If that’s the case, why are agencies not better at understanding the issues facing their clients?” That’s not to say that marketers always get it right. For too long, he says, marketing has focused on being a discipline rather than understanding that it has a role to play in linking the customer and the business together. “Marketing as a discipline in South Africa has lost its seat at the table. It’s not close enough to its customers or the business and tends to mark its own homework,” he says. “The fact that I was able to step into a CMO role is symptomatic of the problem. It says something about the state of the industry that a business such as MultiChoice has had to take a chance on an architect who used to do some branding and made some logos.” Far from artificial intelligence (AI) being a threat to the advertising industry, he insists that the biggest threat is not using modern technology. “Over time, new technologies get absorbed into our day-to-day lives, at which point they’re no longer a new technology, but rather one of many tools we use to help us live our lives more efficiently,” he says. Rather than fearing these new technologies, the industry needs to embrace them. At the same time, it needs to be less focused on protecting disciplines such as copywriting and art direction and more focused on solving their clients’ problems. “Marketing lessons have it that a brand such as Kodak is about memories rather than film. Translated into the context of the ad industry: the business of copywriters and art directors is not to create commercials but to solve business problems. “The ad industry can be quite myopic about some things, and currently it’s being myopic about the perceived threat of AI. The rise of AI is not a sign that creativity is losing. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, because what it represents is the democratisation of creativity.” Narsi has a tattoo of a Sanskrit verse, which epitomises how he feels about life. Loosely translated, it says that the path to true happiness is to be wise, to be wise is to be useful, to be useful is to be wealthy, and to be wealthy is to make life better for others. Making lives better for others, is ultimately, the life mission of this shapeshifter.

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INDUSTRY LEADER OF THE YEAR dFocus Industry Leader of the Year is someone who has made a significant contribution to the industry. This year’s recipient is Pete Case, CEO of Ogilvy South Africa.

The AdFocus judges said Ogilvy South Africa’s return to its former heyday is largely attributable to Case and that it was a masterstroke on the part of Ogilvy’s board to get him back as CEO. His determination to return Ogilvy to the A league, they said, speaks volumes about his determination and talent. Pete Case is one of the industry’s most awarded leaders and previously ranked in the top 10 best-performing CEOs globally by the World Advertising Research Center. He was also voted one of the two most admired agency leaders for 2022 in the annual MarkLives poll.

Pete Case, Ogilvy South Africa CEO

A leader with an unusual blend of both creative and business skills, Case never intended to conquer the ad industry. His school results were certainly no early predictor of his later career success, and it was only after he’d left school that he discovered he was severely dyslexic. Embracing this as a superpower rather than a hindrance, he went on to attain an honours degree in graphic design and became fascinated with film and technology. He taught himself how to code and developed a skill for film, typography and motion graphics. At 22, he took a small business loan and

When you’re creating

grow the next generation of talent

yourself with are

started his own company, based in his bedroom. Armed with one of the first mobile phones on the market, he directed and produced music videos, short films, commercials and motion graphics. He developed a good reputation in a tough market, even winning two Emmy awards for design and directing.

so critical

After being headhunted, he spent two

before, the people you surround

He then fell in love with a South African and followed her back home, expecting to carry on with his blossoming directing career. What he hadn’t factored into his move was that his reputation in the UK as an up-and-coming film director meant nothing in South Africa. Pivoting into a different industry, he established a digital design business in 1999, which was, he concedes in hindsight, way before its time for the local market. “We created some industry-leading work for local but mostly global clients, and it was an important business lesson in timing,” he says. Several years later, after his business partner died in a car accident, he decided to close the business for a fresh beginning. A meeting with Net#work BBDO founder Mike Schalit led to a joint venture with Network to establish a new digital agency called Gloo. “Again, we were still too early, but the establishment of Gloo was the start of an incredible journey,” says Case. The business grew from seven staff members to more than 140 and, to all intents and purposes, pioneered the digital agency category in South Africa. For seven consecutive years, Gloo was named AdFocus Digital Agency of the Year.

It’s every agency’s responsibility to

things that have never been done

years creating and redesigning the brand identities of television stations around the world.

Case attributes much of Gloo’s success to the people he hired. “When you’re trying to make things that have never been created before, the people you surround yourself with are so critical. They believed in what we were trying to grow and really helped push the boundaries of our industry forward at the time,” he says. Some of his proudest moments to this day, he says, are when he meets up with people who used to work for

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him and he learns that they have gone on to do even more impressive things with their careers. In 2014, Case decided to merge Gloo with Ogilvy, assuming the position of chief creative officer, helping the agency evolve its creative product to meet the needs of more digitally enabled consumers. He dived into the full through-the-line capability, leading Ogilvy South Africa through one of its brightest periods, during which time it won four Grands Prix at Cannes, five Grands Prix at the Loeries, and some of the top awards for creativity and effectiveness around the globe. Ogilvy South Africa frequently topped the local creative rankings and was voted the most integrated agency by its peers for five consecutive years. Case left the agency at the end of 2019, intending to take a break from the industry. “I’d been commuting weekly between Joburg and Cape Town for years, and with a young family at home, I wanted a break and a reset,” he says. Choosing to work with a few start-ups, Case was then invited to take on a temporary creative role for the global Ogilvy network to assist with implementing its latest strategy across various offices. A fully remote position, the mix suited Case perfectly.

My leadership style is as much about ensuring we have a good creative product as it is about trying to create the best working environment ... Motivated people are a very powerful differentiator for any agency 29

But while Case was thriving, some industry analysts felt Ogilvy South Africa was losing its spark and its way. He was subsequently approached by Ogilvy’s board to come back as CEO and reset the tone, culture and course of the agency. “While my previous role focused on the agency’s end product, there were times where this limited focus was frustrating because I was actually just as interested in the more holistic business discussions. This time around, my focus would allow me to apply the business skills and experience I had acquired while building my previous businesses, as well as implementing the strategies I’d been helping the Ogilvy country offices put in place.”

We need a more generous attitude to building a pool of industry talent

Case returned to Ogilvy South Africa as CEO and creative chair in early 2022 with a goal to attract, grow and nurture talent and unlock value. His priority, he says, was to listen. “The ingredient I knew we already had was great people. What I helped bring to the table was a new and clearer ambition of what we could all achieve together. My agency leadership style is as much about ensuring we have a good creative product as it is about trying to create the best working environment for everyone across the business. Motivated people are ultimately a very powerful differentiator for any agency.” This focus on the people aspect of the business was part of the reason for Gloo’s phenomenal success. Staff productivity and creativity, says Case, is inextricably linked to how happy people are in their jobs. The Ogilvy agency culture has recently been boosted by more time in the office. This year, all staff were required to be in the office for three out of five days. Case firmly believes that great work requires teams to be collaborating in person alongside the flexibility of working virtually. “There’s no question that more time together has resulted in better work, which promotes the growth of our people and clients.” The results of some of Case’s initiatives and energy have been apparent. Ogilvy South Africa won the Agency of the Year Award at the 2023 Loerie Awards, including two Grands Prix and

four golds. It was the most awarded agency at Cannes for creativity for the second year in a row and the most awarded South African agency at The One Show, where it won 16 awards. It has been just as successful when it comes to effectiveness awards, winning the Grand Effie, three golds and four silvers at the 2023 Effie Awards across four of its biggest clients: KFC, Volkswagen, Mondelez and Carling Black Label. “Winning awards for both creativity and effectiveness is central to our ambition: creating big impact for big brands,” says Case. Admitting he believed the agency’s turnaround would take longer than it has, and knowing there’s plenty still to do, Case says he is delighted at how quickly it has happened. Coming out of the challenging pandemic years and given a tough local economy where client budgets are under pressure, these achievements are nothing to sneeze at. Case is determined to position the agency for even more success. Far from seeing artificial intelligence (AI) as a threat, he says its potential needs to be embraced. Ogilvy is putting every employee through AI training to ensure the entire team understands how to use it as a tool to create greater efficiencies and opportunities. “This is a hugely fascinating time to be part of the advertising industry and, increasingly, technology will be part of the creative process to create maximum impact for our clients.” He’s also passionate about their talent pipeline. Ogilvy is one of the biggest industry contributors to developing new industry talent, fully funding more than 40 graduates for its graduate programme each year. This year’s graduate intake has overindexed on copywriters and digital talent, given the market shortage of these skills. Graduates are not tied to Ogilvy on completion of the programme, which underlines the open ambition to help the industry and not just the agency itself. If every agency could create a version of this kind of internship programme, says Case, the industry wouldn’t have such a large skills shortage. “As an industry, I believe we need a more generous attitude to building a pool of industry talent,” he says. “It’s every agency’s responsibility to grow the next generation of talent.”

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LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD OF THE YEAR ‘I believe in paying it forward and giving back,’ says ad industry doyenne Ann Nurock as she redefines client-agency relationships, inspiring the next generation

The AdFocus Lifetime Achievement Award is given to an individual who has made a profoundly positive impact on the industry. This year’s recipient is, without question, one of the most passionate proponents of the advertising industry in the country. Ann Nurock is the Africa partner of Relationship Audits & Management, a global consultancy that measures and optimises strategic business relationships with a primary focus on clientagency relationships. Its proprietary Radar tool is used by corporates and agencies, assisting them to get the most out of their key strategic relationships by providing an in-depth understanding of these relationships to optimise their potential. Before joining Relationship Audits, Nurock spent more than 25 years in the communications industry, primarily with Grey Advertising, moving up the ranks until she was appointed MD of Grey South Africa in 2000 and CEO and head of the Africa region in 2003. Under her leadership, the agency doubled its size in three years and, in 2007, was ranked one of the top performing new businesses and creative agencies within the Grey Global network and one of the top three in South Africa.

If they want great work, they need to inspire their agency

After graduating from Wits with a BA, she started her career as an account executive on the OK Bazaars account at Mortimer Tiley, which merged with BBDO. She then joined Grey, where

she had the opportunity to work on numerous multinational accounts. Managing the Procter & Gamble account, she says, was her “university of marketing”. The relationship with Procter & Gamble, on the launch of Pantene, was, she says, as close to a perfect client-agency relationship as it’s possible to get. “It worked so well because the client inspired us. The relationship was based on absolute trust. What some clients seem to have forgotten today is if they want great work, they need to inspire their agency and give them ambition. Every agency aspires to create great work; if they’re inspired, they will go beyond the call of duty to deliver beyond expectations.” In 2007, Nurock was recognised as one of the three most influential women in the communications industry, as well as receiving the FinWeek Long-Term Achievement Award. She felt that she’d reached the pinnacle of success in South Africa, and when an opportunity arose for an international secondment, Nurock jumped at it and, in 2008, relocated to Toronto to take up the position of president and CEO of Grey Canada. But heading Grey Canada turned out to be the low point of her career. “I didn’t understand the Canadians, and they didn’t understand me,” she says. “My mandate in Canada was to be a change agent, but my definition of a change agent differed from that of the Canadians. Looking back, I made mistakes. I should have spent the first six months just listening and learning before trying to implement any changes. I was the interloper, so I

Ann Nurock, Africa partner, Relationship Audits

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should have adapted to the Canadians rather than expecting them to adapt to me.” But, as tough as the experience was, she doesn’t regret it. “It taught me humility and made me a better person. I went from being a big fish in a small pond to a very small fish in an enormous sea — and there are lessons in that. And while I continue to consider my stint in Canada as a career failure, what came out of it was lifechanging.” She opted to return to South Africa in 2011 and live in Cape Town, and at the age of 50 (ish), she established the African arm of Relationship Audits, in the process completely re-inventing herself, something she’s really proud of as it proves age is just a number. Removed from Joburg’s business hub, she spent the first eight years travelling back frequently to see clients. It took her six long months to acquire her first clients, she says, but her passion, tenacity and hard work paid off. More than a decade later, the business is very successful and works with 25 local and global companies, resulting in interaction with more than 80 advertising agencies, enabling more effective client-agency relationships. Relationship Audits has been contracted to run surveys for Pernod Ricard globally, as well as for MTN across Africa and the Middle East, SAB and most of the banks, to name just a few of her corporate clients. By helping agencies better understand what clients want from them, including how to future-proof themselves, Nurock has become a trusted adviser. Nurock says what gives her immense satisfaction is the feeling that she is giving back to an industry that has served her so well for so many years. “I’m passionate about advertising and marketing and, through Radar, I’m able to help businesses and their agencies have better relationships.” Her work with clients is not transactional, and she doesn’t consult on pitches. Instead, she’s focused on adding value. “I don’t do a survey and disappear. Rather, I do regular checkins and build deep relationships with all my clients.” In addition, for the past eight years, she has represented South Africa’s Creative Circle and Bizcommunity at Cannes Lions and reports back on the marketing and creative trends she has picked up. What she calls her “side-

line” job helps keep her at the forefront of what’s happening in the industry globally. These trends are also infused into her Radar presentations. The local industry, she says, was good to her on her return from Canada. “Despite being away for almost five years, the spirit of generosity within this industry was very evident when I returned, and so I believe in paying it forward and giving back, so if I can help somebody, I will do it.” That giving back has taken the form of both formal and informal mentoring to help small agencies grow.

Where client-agency relationships go from good to great, is when agencies focus on the behavioural KPIs and deliver real value

RAPT Creative, the recipient of the 2022 AdFocus Small Agency of the Year Award and a finalist in the category in 2023, is one of the many agencies Nurock has worked with in recent years. CEO Garreth van Vuuren has only positive things to say about Nurock, calling her a true powerhouse in the advertising industry. “Personally, I’ve had the privilege of being mentored by Ann, and it has been an absolute game-changer for me. As an agency, RAPT has also had an amazing relationship with her,” Van Vuuren says. “Working with Ann and her team has brought immense benefits to our agency. Her expertise and guidance have helped us identify crucial issues through the use of the Radar survey, which has been instrumental in highlighting areas where we can improve and implement effective strategies to overcome challenges. I can’t emphasize enough how important her contribution has been to our growth.”

What sets Nurock apart is her selfless nature, he says. “Ann genuinely cares about the industry and is always willing to share her knowledge and support us. Her dedication and generosity make her a true giver to the industry. We are incredibly grateful for her continued guidance.” Nurock talks fondly of the current crop of agency leaders and marketing heads. “The local advertising and marketing industry is very unique, made up as it is of really smart and decent people. There’s a definite camaraderie within the industry, which I enjoy.” Based on her Radar benchmarks, she believes that, overall, the South African industry is in pretty good shape. To ensure good client-agency relationships, she says that, at the least, agencies need to adhere to transactional key performance indicators, which she refers to as “brilliant basics”. “The difference, and where clientagency relationships go from good to great, is when agencies focus on the behavioural KPIs and deliver real value,” she says. Ultimately, she says, it all boils down to trust: When agencies genuinely understand the client’s business and the challenges it faces and are able to address those challenges through strategically sound creativity, an environment of trust is created. “Clients want their agency to challenge them, but they can only do that if they understand the business and are able to speak the same language as clients. Agencies need to talk about the same objectives and metrics as the business does to give their clients the tools to sell ideas to the C-suite.” She’s less concerned about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the industry than she is about the impact of performance marketing on brands, which, she believes, is often happening at the expense of brand building. “Too many marketers these days are focused on short-term promotions — in other words, ‘short-termism’. That fixation with instant gratification is starting to be felt to the detriment of brands.” There is a place for both, she says. Calling Nurock a doyenne of the advertising and marketing industry, the AdFocus judges said she is one of the most respected and admired people in the sector and a deserving recipient of the Lifetime Achiever Award.

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STUDENT OF THE YEAR This year’s AdFocus winner is Jané Louw, who is in her final year of a BA in visual communication at the Cape Town Creative Academy. The judges said her body of work is astounding, showing unbelievable versatility and a level of craft and execution seldom seen from a student. Cape Town Creative Academy’s Clayton Sutherland says Louw deftly avoids anything resembling a style trap. “Jané is one of those students who tries for a unique visual solution to the problem. It means moving out of her comfort zone and exploring an unfamiliar style. Jané is bright, a little quirky and adventurous.” Louw loves creating things that feel like they live and breathe with people instead of just existing within their own confines. Motivated by the beauty she sees in the world and the power in consciously choosing a positive Winner: Jané Louw, Red & Yellow Creative School of Business perspective, she says: “The ability to create an experience for someone that can induce joy, disgust or even confusion is what excites me about design. I want to share the joy I find in mundane things. There are lots of awful things happening in the world and sometimes it does feel absurd to be ruminating over type sizes and colour combinations. But cool design can make people happy and have a major impact on their experience of the world around them.”

‘THE ABILITY TO CREATE AN EXPERIENCE FOR SOMEONE THAT CAN INDUCE JOY, DISGUST OR EVEN CONFUSION IS WHAT EXCITES ME ABOUT DESIGN’  JANÉ LOUW, STUDENT OF THE YEAR Philippa Scholtz is in her final year of a BA in visual communication, majoring in illustration. She’s loved illustrating for as long as she can remember. “To me, illustration, as a medium, is an opportunity for engaged looking, connection, appreciation for the depth and detail of our world and the people in it; fostering love rather than fear. By training as an illustrator, I hope to be able to help people find a new way to see.” Her lecturer, Stephanie Simpson, says: “Pippa is an exceptionally creative student whose work consistently exudes a playful nature and is executed with impeccable craftsmanship. Her illustrations possess a whimsical charm that invites the audience into a magical world. What sets her apart is her ability to tackle challenging topics, often speaking from the perspective of marginalised individuals. She consistently goes the extra mile and is a genuinely kind and considerate individual.”

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2nd Place: Philippa Scholtz, Red & Yellow Creative School of Business

PA R K A DVE RT I S I N G PARK ADVERTISING

Xolisa Tamarana is completing a one-year higher certificate in graphic design and has already secured an internship with Ogilvy. He describes his creative style as a combination of minimalism with organic shapes and forms. Passionate about serving and contributing, he loves being challenged. “I like the idea of building something together. I often compete in hackathons and I’ve even won three times.” His lecturer, Nini van der Walt, describes him as a thoroughbred creative who lives for his craft. “Xolisa eats, breathes and sleeps design and illustration. His work ethic and creative process are admirable. He sees the world in just a little more detail than the rest of the world; seeing the reality of life in people's faces and behaviour, but always sprinkling it with a bit more colour and magic. A true talent who never surrenders, and creates with integrity." 3rd Place: Natalie Ray, Red & Yellow Creative School of Business

Merit Award: Xolisa Tamarana, Red & Yellow Creative School of Business

Natalie Ray is in her third year of a BA in visual communication. She already has a higher certificate in graphic design under her belt. She describes her current illustration style as comic-inspired surrealism with a touch of tattoo culture, and her design style as minimal with a touch of controlled chaos — while trying to shout inclusivity and diversity one illustration and design at a time. After matriculating, Ray lived in Asia for two years, which allowed her to grow and learn about herself. Not surprisingly, it’s also influenced her style of art.

HELPING STUDENTS BE AMAZING. parkadvertising.co.za

“I’m a mega art nerd and I’m constantly learning new things through online courses.” Her lecturer, Stephanie Simpson, says Ray has constantly excelled, even amid a full-blown pandemic. “Her work consistently carries a rebellious edge, addressing current issues with profound insights. She delves deep to challenge her own preconceptions, resulting in unique and compelling visuals. This year she had the distinction of being a finalist in both the Loeries and the Pendoring Awards with her fantastic rebranding of Twizza.”

We, at Park Advertising, are committed to nurturing and advancing the next generation of industry leaders. That is why we are the proud sponsors of this year’s “STUDENT OF THE YEAR AWARD” at the 2023 AdFocus Awards. We believe that this sponsorship will provide hopeful students with a valuable stepping stone in their professional journey towards contributing to making companies and industries be amazing.

THIS YEAR'S HARDWORKING ADFOCUS AWARDS PANEL SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS ON THE STATE OF THE INDUSTRY We asked them about the biggest challenges facing the industry, whether it’s up to the task of addressing these challenges, and how optimistic they are about the direction the industry is heading in

Luca Gallarelli

Pepe Marais

Group CEO TBWA\South Africa and AdFocus jury chair

Group integrated chief creative officer Joe Public

The magic of human creativity and ingenuity can never be replicated by machines. Machines and AI will augment, not replace. The biggest challenge the industry faces is understanding and creating that perfect balance. Many will overcorrect and, conversely, many will be too conservative in their adoption of technology. The challenge is that the balance is not finite; it will continue to shift with every year. Creating the capacity in one’s environment to keep adapting and adjusting to optimise will be an ongoing challenge. And one not all will get right or have the endurance for.

“

“Our industry has always had an incredible capacity for early adoption and adjustment. More so than many client environments. Agencies need to shake off any lethargy that may creep in as a result of the constant questioning, change and uncertainty this brings.

THE INSIDE SCOOP.

“I’m incredibly excited about where the industry is heading. In our pursuit for better, more innovative and creative solutions, any tools that help us get there quicker can present opportunity. Unlike the questions presented by Web 2.0 or Web3, we’re seeing the emergence of the greatest asset the industry has ever benefited from since the introduction of the computer. “This is not about channel or the proliferation as such, but rather the quality of the output itself. And anything that helps make that better, is something that gets me excited.

”

The biggest challenge facing our industry is the outflow of creative talent and our struggle to attract new talent. I attribute this to two factors.

“

“The first is that globalisation has resulted in agencies focusing on delivering financial returns to their investors, hence there has been a decline in real concern about delivering outstanding creative solutions for our clients. “Second, agencies have become sweatshops, being paid for their time rather than for their thinking, sinking under ‘busyness’ in the absence of making creativity their core business. And as creative people can make more money creating wallpaper on a freelance basis, they are exiting our industry as fast as the ideas they once conceived. “We can start to bring change only once we become conscious of this level of incompetence in our industry. The few agencies that are aware of what it takes to create work that succeeds will start to bring about the cultures needed to cultivate great work. And, in time, these lighthouse agencies will show the way for the rest to follow. “As an industry, we are in the dark and have lost our way. We’ve become revenue obsessed and have put our product on the back burner. We’ve forgotten that we are in the business of creativity. “However, I remain optimistic as I have always believed that to see the light, you have to experience the dark first.

”

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Nicole Ravenscroft

Merissa Himraj

Firdous Osman

Ana Carrapichano

Group executive creative director Rapt Group

CEO Wavemaker

MD Saatchi & Saatchi SA

Founder and CEO Mediology

It’s clear the South African advertising industry is facing significant challenges, driven primarily by economic factors. The loss of talent to countries with higher financial incentives is a concern. The reduction in budgets, made worse by the pandemic, has further strained our ability to produce impactful work.

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“The economy has also put pressure on clients, agencies and individuals to be financially stable. But it’s important to recognise the crucial role the industry plays in the economy. Marketers of major brands and corporations contribute greatly to shaping the country’s finances. “Our industry can play an integral role in a thriving economy, considering that we represent the biggest brands and corporations that shape the financial market in South Africa. Through strategic ingenuity, innovation and human resonance we can rebuild and grow, while attracting a pan-African and global audience to invest in this country and retain those who have made it. “We’re in ‘the age of the creators’. Evidence is in the incredible creativity brought about through AI, user-generated content and gamification. There could not be a more exciting time to be in the field of creativity.

”

The biggest challenge facing the industry is the advancement of AI and technology. This is creating a perception for clients that, somehow, machines will start doing the work, and that they will save costs as we reduce the number of full-time equivalents on their business. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have to scale up to harness the power of AI, and that means more costs, not fewer, initially.

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“I do think the industry is up to the task of addressing these challenges. A lot of work is being done to blend a machine-learning/AI environment with our own very manual way of doing things. We’re already employing AI to do a lot; it’s just hard to manage marketers’ expectations against the technical reality of our need for more programmers to get to smarter solutions. “I’m very optimistic to be in the industry now, at a time which is likely to be one of significant change in the way we do things creatively, as well as the way we automate lower-order tasks. This will free us to think, create, and solve bigger problems, build better partnerships and change the face of communication forever. It is both scary and exciting — the reasons why most of us joined advertising anyway!

”

biggest challenge is “theThedifferent way the in-

Challenges abound in the “advertising, creative and me-

dustry operates. Covid has changed its landscape and it’s becoming more challenging to retain and attract good talent. The greater number of people deciding to freelance has put a drain on the agency resource pool and brought pressure on staff cost ratios. The shift to hybrid ways of working has brought a unique set of challenges in building an agency culture, which ultimately affects the creative product.

dia industries. Privacy regulations are reshaping targeting strategies, while ad blocking and content saturation demand more engaging approaches.

“The second challenge is that consumers are less interested in engaging with brands. A radical shift away from traditional media channels and the fragmentation of digital and social media means it’s a lot harder for brands to cut through the clutter. “The third challenge is keeping up with the rapid pace of technology disruption. “The industry has acknowledged these challenges and is trying hard to adapt. The rapid surge of technology presents us with opportunities to be more innovative in the way we operate, think and execute on brands. We are working hard to nurture young talent. Change is inevitable, but we are resilient as an industry, and up to the task of meeting any challenges that come our way.

”

“Diversity and ethical concerns call for inclusive and responsible advertising. Shifting consumer behaviour post-Covid and talent competition pose hurdles. Priorities are adapting to evolving technology, addressing sustainability, improving measurement and attribution, and coping with economic fluctuations. Adaptability, innovation and consumer understanding remain essential for success in this everchanging landscape. “The advertising industry is brimming with brilliant minds, and many of the sharpest talents are found in agencies. Our industry consistently leads the way, meeting clients’ evolving needs. South Africa proudly hosts numerous world-class agencies. “My optimism stems from our nation’s inherent strength and resilience. Overall, we need to prioritise our country’s wellbeing, which starts with our own people. Cultivating a contented and harmonious workforce is a cornerstone of our industry’s achievement.

”

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Zanele Zwane

Wandile Collis

Vicki Buys

Nimay Parekh

MD DUKE

Founder and head of strategy BlackSwan

MD Cape Town Ogilvy South Africa

Director Accenture Song

The biggest challenges facing the industry include retaining top talent, dealing with diversity and inclusion, and meeting changing skill requirements.

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“Retaining top talent in a competitive industry where talented individuals are in high demand is challenging, especially when other industries offer attractive perks and greater security. “Advertising has historically struggled with diversity and inclusion, with the underrepresentation of certain groups in senior positions. This limits the industry’s ability to connect effectively with and understand diverse consumer demographics.

One of the biggest challenges is technological disruption, which introduces opportunities and challenges. Agencies must stay abreast of technological advancements to remain competitive, and should invest in nurturing and safeguarding the creative talent pool of humans.

“

“Another issue is that the industry can be highly competitive, and agencies face pressures to adjust pricing structures while maintaining service quality. “And, finally, the need for genuine transformation and diversity needs to be faced. There’s a growing awareness of the importance of diversity and inclusion. Some agencies are addressing fundamental representation imbalances.

One of the things to keep tracking is the continuing rise of social media and its influence. It’s a powerful tool for e-commerce and a place to enable brands to deliver hyperpersonalised communication to people where they express themselves and their identities freely.

“

“Another is the necessity for brands to continue to express a compelling, consistent idea. With the rise of digital and social channels, too many brands (and their agencies) have fallen into the trap of the technology or the channel being the idea.

THE INSIDE SCOOP.

“The industry is dynamic and constantly evolving, with ever-changing skills requirements. Keeping up can be challenging for both individuals and organisations, leading to a talent gap. “The industry is certainly aware of the challenges it faces, and many organisations are actively working to address them. But I’m optimistic about the direction the industry is heading in. We need to be adapting continuously. This can be done by embracing innovation, fostering a culture of learning, prioritising diversity and inclusion, and attracting and retaining top talent.

”

“Agencies are investing in technology and in talent to harness its power. They’re also starting to explore innovative pricing models and value-added services to differentiate themselves in a competitive market. But more needs to be done if we want to provide a unique value proposition. “I’m optimistic about the industry’s ability to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape, the resilience it’s demonstrating, and its commitment to innovation.

”

“With the rise of digital and social media, so too has disposable content risen. The world is littered with content that should really rather be in the bin. “Talent pressures persist despite a high unemployment rate. The demand for skilled, mid-senior talent requires agencies to truly live their employee value propositions.

The evolving role of marketing has had a profound impact on the industry after the Covid pandemic. Marketers today are far more informed, demand more of their agencies, and play a pivotal role between sales and operations to remain agile and act quickly in a unified way to meet their customers’ rapidly changing needs.

“

“The industry is up to the task of addressing these challenges: the solution is in the way brands and agencies show up for consumers and build relationships by, for example, being distinctive across all touchpoints. “If we continue to invest in transformation, ESG programmes and remain conscious of our environmental impact on the planet, then, yes, I feel optimistic that our industry will mature and grow.

”

“This industry thrives on solving issues, and I’m excited to see which new shops spring up as a result of this need to look at things differently. I feel highly optimistic about the industry’s investment in graduate programmes, bursaries and school-level interventions. Would I love to see more? Heck, yes. Especially from the big agencies.

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Raphael Janan Kuppasamy Integrated art director Joe Public

One of the biggest concerns is the dwindling number of students opting for copywriting as a specialisation. Without proactive measures, there’s a risk of facing a severe shortage of skilled writers in the advertising sector down the line.

“

“The industry has taken some steps to address this by offering scholarship programmes to get more young people to choose copywriting as a profession. But the challenge goes deeper than that. I don’t think the industry has fully grasped the gravity of the issue, which requires a more comprehensive and inclusive strategy that goes beyond scholarship initiatives. “I have always been incredibly optimistic about the trajectory of the advertising industry in South Africa. We have some of the brightest minds at the helm, steering us towards innovation and creativity. The passion and dedication in our industry are undeniable, and it’s inspiring to see the great work being produced. “But, I must admit a hint of concern. Technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace, transforming the landscape and offering exciting opportunities. If we fail to familiarise ourselves with these tools, there’s a risk of our being left behind.

Thule Ngcese

Tian van den Heever

Kagiso Tshepe

Executive creative director Boomtown

Ex-ECD, film director boneshaker.co.za

Executive creative director Grid Worldwide

The biggest challenge facing the industry is the continued lack of black talent. Ensuring quality work is also a challenge. Though the industry is trying to address these issues, the problem remains at a grassroots level, with few black candidates making it through.

“

“South Africa has the necessary talent, and the industry is in good hands, but more needs to be done to develop young talent from the grassroots.

”

challenge in our industry “is Athat, more and more, creative input is not as valued or remunerated as it should be. Many creatives aren’t paid enough, and many creative departments are run like sausage factories, indiscriminately burning out rare and valuable talent — often with poor management and moronic processes. “Fortunately for all of us, advertising is a necessary evil and the dinosaurs will die. If so-called traditional agencies aren’t up to moving with the future, the industry will organically change around them and leave them behind. “There’s probably never been a better time to be in a creative industry. We are at the coalface of the future. Creativity is key to surviving the future. It’s the essence of our humanity, which an algorithm won’t easily replace. We may not be able to see what is coming next, but I’m pretty sure it’s not a bunch of accountants — or anyone else — in an industry that’s five minutes away from technological destruction.

”

In the student category, we once again had a shortage of the skill that is the backbone of our industry, and so central to it: conceptual thinking. We didn’t see many entries in this category, whether as writers or art directors. As an industry, we again need to pay attention to this and address it quickly.

“

“I believe we’ve got what it takes to revive excitement at the sheer joy of being part of our industry; to bring back the romance of ideas, the way the creatives, the clients and our audience can fall in love with what we do. And we can do this through the work, and through the process of getting the work done. “Looking at some of the work we’ve seen this year, you can see that the bar is getting higher and higher. There were some student portfolios that looked world class. It was work that seemed to have a team of superstar creative directors behind it. So I feel optimistic about where we’re headed, if this is where we’re starting.

”

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Sadika Fakir

Noelle Hardy

Suhana Gordhan

Dean Oelschig

Executive: digital marketing and paid media Absa

Creative director: commercial Tukio Media/Arena

Executive creative director and chief aunty of young creatives Independent

Managing partner Halo

We are heading to a new era of agencies offering an integrated approach to business and communication problems; a space where online meets offline to drive omnichannel marketing communications solutions. This will take bravery on both the agency and client sides. Agencies will continue to be strategic partners for clients, but they have the potential to drive deeper meaning and engagement by offering strategic solutions.

We’re on the cusp of a creative evolution. An AI toolbox at our fingertips will allow us to dream and create on a scale we previously only imagined. But that AI toolbox is just that — a tool. We still need the human element of ideas, heart, emotion, connections and insights. These tools should be embraced as another member of the creative team — one who can help free up time, speed up the process and help magic to happen.

“The biggest challenge is the skills gap. While the industry boasts a small, well-established senior group, there is a gaping gap in middle and junior management. Though many agencies are offering workplace experience programmes, including further education for their employees, these programmes are inconsistent and more needs to be done to grow, shape and retain skills.

“A weak economy has meant leaner advertising budgets, resulting in less ads being made and increased pressure to give more ‘bang-forbuck’. This, however, has also meant that the industry has become more innovative with channels, strategies and tactics.

“

The industry is in a tough place. Clients are finding it harder and harder to justify a decent marketing budget, marketers are not empowered, and few brands are brave enough to go after big ideas. But despite this, our creative people still produce amazing work, our voices are getting stronger, our stories better, and our belief in creativity remains unwavering.

“

“So, where we are as an industry matches where we are as a country — hopeful, despite everything against us — and everywhere we find pockets of excellence and reasons to believe.

THE INSIDE SCOOP.

“Despite these challenges, I’m optimistic about the direction the industry is heading in. A challenge for clients is to become braver. We need to provide our agency partners with the ability to provide solutions without inhibiting the creative process. With technology, such as AI, I predict increased speed to market, and agencies and clients needing to approach communications in an agile manner.

”

“What I love about this industry, specifically the ‘young bloods’, is the passion and creativity around social and political causes: the innovative, creative ideas that deliver both business and societal value.

”

“The biggest challenge is the rise of performance marketing. Brands see this as the only marketing weapon worth banking on, and this couldn’t be further from the truth. There is huge power in slowly, steadily building a brand that people can love and want to engage with. If you just talk ‘at’ your audience and focus squarely on how many clicks your little ad gets, that’s not impact. That’s thinking that advertising is just science. “ I think as South Africans, we have created work that holds its own on a global stage. We’re not going anywhere just yet, and we’re still hellbent on producing the kind of creativity that really tells the world who we are.

”

Our industry continues to be in a state of change. There’s loads of opportunity that comes with change, but we need to be bolder in our conviction, especially with our product. This involves taking risks, being original and paving the way. Controversially, I think our industry is focused on the wrong things. Most of them are distractions to our product and why we, as agencies, exist.

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“We need to be more confident about our creative product, much more disciplined in protecting and selling it for the right value, and less concerned with trends. For an industry meant to be blazing a path, we obsess about trends. It was big data, then the metaverse, then social platforms and now it’s AI. Purpose is hanging around against empirical advice. A lot of trends are tools to empower creativity but, at the heart, big, bold ideas still win. “There are obvious challenges we face as an industry, the most significant of which is our ability to hold onto talent. Previously, agencies would fight for clients, but now we’re fighting for each other’s talent. We’ve lost a huge amount of IP with a brain drain to bigger agencies around the world. We need to be exporting our services rather than losing talent.

”

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Only humans can captivate your heart The quality of neutrality is AI’s Achilles heel in the world of persuasion, writes Kerushan Govender And just like that, machines and algorithms are expanding their roles, blurring the lines between the tasks they perform and the ones once reserved for humans. AI systems, from chatbots to article generators, are becoming more adept at evolving. However, we must pause and ponder. In fact, let me say it more forcefully: we need to stop in our tracks and think hard. Is AI capable of changing hearts and minds like we do? The answer is, unequivocally and emphatically, no. But to be fair, let’s look at both sides of the argument. The integration of AI into the marketing realm has myriad benefits. One of the most significant is improved efficiency. Traditional marketing methods, which relied heavily on manual labour and time-consuming analysis, have been streamlined, with AI allowing businesses to get more done in less time. Additionally, AI provides fast and accurate customer data processing. This rapid data analysis allows companies to gain insights into customer behaviours, preferences and trends almost instantaneously. As a result, marketers can execute optimised campaigns tailored to the specific needs and preferences of their target audience, ensuring a more effective reach and engagement. However, the incorporation of AI into marketing is not without its drawbacks. A pressing concern is data privacy. As AI systems process vast amounts of consumer data to derive insights, there’s a looming risk of misuse or breaches. Furthermore, while AI can analyse vast data sets swiftly, there are concerns about biases and the propagation of inaccur-

ate content. As AI models are trained on existing data, any inherent biases in this data can be amplified, leading to misguided marketing strategies or misrepresented information. Another point of contention is the perceived lack of creativity in AI-driven marketing initiatives. While AI can optimise campaigns based on data, it lacks the human touch — the ability to think outside the box, evoke deep emotions or craft compelling narratives. This absence of genuine creativity might lead to marketing strategies that, while data driven, might not resonate deeply with the audience. I recently addressed an audience at Content Marketing World in Washington and highlighted two distinct classifications of copywriting: The first is copy that changes hearts and minds. The primary goal here is to persuade readers to adopt a particular standpoint or take a specific action. It’s akin to those memorable mailers or gripping advertisements that stay with you. It’s “mouse on the steering wheel” stuff and lines like “Just Do It” and “I’m Lovin’ It”. The second kind of copywriting consists of bog-standard thankyou notes, automated e-mails and regular blog posts. In scenarios where conversion is the endgame, the irreplaceable human touch becomes paramount. While AI’s prowess is undeniably expansive, it remains intrinsically neutral. Built to accommodate a vast demographic without leaning too heavily in any direction, this quality of neutrality is AI’s Achilles heel in the world of persuasion. Real persuasion demands more than simple agreeability. It re-

quires staking a claim, evoking genuine emotions and inspiring a shift in perspective. It needs the charisma, finesse and emotional intelligence inherent in human communication — attributes often beyond AI’s grasp. Advertisers of the future might be lured by the idea of relegating all their copywriting chores to AI. Many are doing that now. Yet this is a pitfall. It signifies a lack of understanding and appreciation for the nuanced art of persuasion. Resonating deeply with an audience is a task steeped in the understanding of their emotional tapestry, their individual needs and their unique life stories. AI, despite its advancements, cannot fathom the multifaceted nature of human emotion.

“In the vast sea of AIgenerated content, the authenticity [of human writers] is the beacon”

Moreover, the business implications of an overreliance on AI in advertising can’t be ignored. Every piece of content is, in essence, a stake in the ground, a bet placed on the efficacy of the conveyed message. Why risk our resources on AI-driven content that misses the human essence? I’ve observed this phenomenon first hand. Human-crafted copy consistently trumps AI-generated content in conversion rates. Often, AI ends up recycling tired, clichéd phrases, rendering its content predictably bland. Yet therein lies the silver lining for human writers. In the vast sea of AI-generated content, our authenticity is the beacon. The delicate dance of persuasion, the timeless art of changing hearts and minds, will forever remain a human prerogative. ❒ Kerushan Govender is CEO and founder of Blacfox CO M M EJN &M IN T UTA RYRY CO MSEI G NH TS

Creativity’s a process, and that takes time Agencies are under such pressure that pitching for free is a stretch on their talent, writes Dean Oelschig Pitching, the practice of clients asking several agencies to present free (or minimally paid for) creative work for them to decide which agency to work with, has been a contentious issue for years. While I’m not averse to requests for proposals, credential presentations or any other form of chemistry, it’s the demand for free strategic and/or creative thinking that I don’t believe works for either agency or client.

running lean as it is with their existing client base and workload so that they don’t really have the capacity or resources to work for free without completely stretching their talent. The team that works on a pitch is not the team that will work on the account. So, the best you can hope for is a lucky idea from a group of stretched and overworked people — which is not how the account will function.

Let’s discuss clients first. One of the key misunderstandings of creativity is its process. I mean, even creative agencies aren’t sure of the mythical voodoo of the creative process. But having been a keen, diligent student of creativity for 18 years now, I can tell you the one thing creativity needs more than anything else is time. As an example, the fantastic annual Christmas work from John Lewis that hits it out of the park year in, year out, is briefed to its agency in January. Yes, it takes 11 months to consistently produce work of that calibre.

The goal of any pitch should be to select the best agency for the business. The process should begin by finding agencies with the capability, skill set and experience to deliver on your brand. This is all clearly visible in agencies’ recent work, people, culture and positioning. Most of this information can be found on the agency’s website. Get any additional information with a few credential presentations.

Most pitches are done in two to three weeks. For strategy and creative. It is possible to produce a good, or even a great, idea in two weeks, but I can assure you that is more down to luck than to process. You simply cannot realistically ask an agency to know everything there is to know about your business, your industry, your problem and your consumer and to come up with a gamechanging creative idea in two weeks. Judging agencies on this ability is like picking a Springbok prop based on a 40m sprint. Add to this that agencies are

What agencies fear right now is AI. It can do the job of most mediocre agencies. And it can do it far quicker, and for free. Critically, however, it can’t do it well. Creativity is the differentiator between us and the machine. And we know it to be of immense value. A recent UK study by Peter Field believes the cost of uninteresting and dull advertising to be £10m. In other words, to receive the same effectiveness, marketers need to spend £10m more on media from a dull and boring campaign than from a creative and interesting one. As an industry, we’ve forgotten how to market creativity, how to sell its true worth and how to charge for it at a rate that’s fair to both parties. The challenge is that if one agency won’t pitch for free, they know that others will. Agencies are

undercutting each other, destroying margin and, in the end, cheapening the core value proposition of our industry. I was once told by a client: “If you don’t want to pitch for free, you’re in the wrong industry.” Well, no, I am in the right industry, but our industry has f**ked things up a bit. It’s only when the majority of agencies in our industry — including the industry leaders — take a stance against this that the problem will begin to fix itself. At Halo, the best way, we have found, is for the agency to host the prospective client’s core marketing and brand team for a three- to four-hour workshop. Either give the objectives of the workshop or allow the agency to set the agenda. In that workshop the client receives a vivid understanding of the chemistry, culture, thinking, belief, process and experience of the agency and judges whether it can work with the agency. Creative ideas can be pitched, but it’s very hard to pitch methods and expertise. Those need to be experienced.

“You cannot realistically ask an agency to ... come up with a game-changing creative idea in two weeks”

Great work takes time and is built off a human connection and partnership. Pitches don’t give either party the benefit of human connection or partnership. The goal of a pitch process is to hire the right agency for your brand, not to get the best pitch work. ❒ Dean Oelschig is the managing partner of Halo CO M M E N TA RY & I N S I G H T

The alchemy of the creative clash An e-mail is easy, but when we argue face to face we build better work, better creatives and better clients Next year, I’d like to have more arguments. Let me explain. A few years ago, I proposed a total ban on e-mail debriefs. I’ll give my fellow board members credit for at least attempting to laugh at this politely. (They failed.) But I still believe e-mail debriefs should be banned, and this is one of the few hills I’m willing to die on. (Another is the urgent need for child-free flight options, but that’s a conversation for another time.) It’s just too easy to send an email to an agency with a laundry list of points to be addressed, which the agency then all too often reads with various levels of resignation, bemusement or downright distress. Often for good reason. Let me be clear: this is not a “clients are the enemy” rant. I’ve had great suggestions from many of my clients that made the work better. But as Ogilvy UK’s Rory Sutherland so concisely puts it: business has a bias. In business, creative people always have to get approval from rational people. The opposite is never true. But two people can understand the same thing very differently. Especially when one is on the rational side (or is in the unenviable position of having to sell the creative idea to a rational organisation). And especially when an idea is still at concept stage and probably exists in sketch form across slides of a Keynote deck. And which may, ahem, contain some typos.

Sometimes it only becomes clear to the agency how different the two perspectives are when the e-mail debrief arrives. Which is when it’s vital to get into a room and talk about it. Not purely for the purpose of “rescuing the idea.” But also, and maybe more importantly, to come to a better understanding of each other, which will make the relationship better, which will make the work better. I might walk out of that room having lost the argument. But if I sit across a table from you and we talk about something we disagree on, I get to hear your point of view and you get to hear mine. Maybe I come to agree with you, maybe I don’t. But I’ve learnt something. And that makes me better and more valuable to you. One of the best things about judging awards shows is how often a disagreement over a piece of work has changed my mind about it. I have a perspective I didn’t have before. And that makes me reconsider. I love those moments. This isn’t just about building great work. It’s about building better creative people and better clients. Covid made us all retreat to behind our screens and we haven’t really emerged properly. We need to. We need to get into rooms and debate, as agencies and marketers. Not just get an e-mail from someone anonymous higher up in the organisation with a list of changes to be made.

giving them the side eye when they make a creative suggestion. Of course we are. We do it to each other all the time. That’s the creative process. Do you know how often we argue with each other in agencies? Every single one of us creatives has prefaced a million sentences with “This might be really terrible, but what if” I’ve died a million deaths at the hands of various art directors when I’ve spoken out about a half-formed idea that is more than a little rough around the edges. But just as many times someone took that idea and went “Ah, but if we” and suddenly it was a rough diamond.

“Often a disagreement over a piece of work ... has led to me changing my mind about it”

My point is alchemy works only when we’re together, not over e-mail. The philosopher Hegel said ideas shape society through the clash of the contradictions inherent in those ideas, out of which emerges a new, better idea, in which those contradictions are resolved. I may be oversimplifying, but to me it means that when you oppose each other over an idea, with different points of view, and you resolve those points of view together, you get a better idea. But the alchemy only comes from the clash. And that’s why, next year, I think we need to argue more. Fight me.

I know it can be much more intimidating making those suggestions in a face-to-face meeting. I know that client teams often feel creatives are

❒ Fran Luckin is the executive creative director of Grey South Africa and the 2022 AdFocus Industry Leader of the Year. CO M M E N TA RY & I N S I G H T

Jozi to Amsterdam: Navigating ad landscapes South Africa’s unmatched cultural diversity is the secret weapon of our home-brewed brands, writes Peter Khoury Howzit. Goedemorgen. I made a huge transition to leave Jozi just under a year ago to move to Amsterdam and lead adidas creatively for TBWA. Since making the move, I’ve also been exposed to other global clients, including but not limited to McDonald’s, Philips, ING and Optimum Nutrition. I’ve also been involved in regional projects and pitches across the world. So, what’s my take on the European advertising landscape compared with South Africa’s? Film is still king in comms here in all its formatting and versioning, but, refreshingly, so are bigbudget briefs asking for something different, a fame moment or distinctive experience. By comparison, our local industry may be small but is hugely innovative. Scrambling for budget and opportunities means there are more interesting paths to take. South Africa has plenty of standout cases that prove our work is true to its origins, and has intangible originality to it. This comes from the simplicity of a distinctive viewpoint or from a hack to an existing platform or service. We are hustlers. We make a plan, we zig and zag. Our lo-fi innovations consistently win big globally on a small budget. But budget aside, globally, the truly disruptive ideas have innovation at their core. Generally, big South African brands are conservative and risk-averse, consistent with most global brands I am exposed to. Unfortunately, on some of my more recent global projects, the overarching complexity, process of alignment, and worldwide integration have proven more important than the bravery and

standout nature of the work. You see the soul getting sucked out of it. At home and abroad, the only remedy to this is the trust you can build through the influential relationships you have with like-minded individuals on the client team. You take the leaps of faith together, iterate on the fly together, and share the success or failure together. Things happen here in Amsterdam and surrounds all the time. Culture is in your face. It’s a melting pot and a proudly openminded city, drawing people from across the globe. Artists, musicians, businesspeople and the like all travel here, which has a huge impact when it comes to feeling connected to the world and being inspired by people and places far and wide. South Africa, by comparison, feels largely disconnected from the natural flow of the world that happens from east to west. It doesn’t feel like it is meaningfully considered by many brands when it comes to their global campaigns; it’s kind of an afterthought or given assets to just reshoot with a local cast. No-one knows our stories; we have seen so many stories from the rest of the world that it’s difficult to do something fresh. How many stories has the world seen or experienced from Africa? Most of the work we do is not linked to global campaigns but rather to home-brewed brands making their place in our world. This work resonates in much deeper ways than a global or regional campaign ever will. South Africa’s diversity of culture is so far ahead of a lot of the countries I have travelled to. It’s a superpower.

South Africans generally are straight and humble. We share our real opinions on something without offence; there’s a natural flow that happens. With local clients in Amsterdam, it’s the same. The Dutch are even straighter than us and don’t waste time being polite, but that doesn’t mean they are rude either. I know, confusing, but when you experience it, you’ll understand. There’s a definite lack of industry bodies such as the Creative Circle in many countries, which brings competitors together in the interests of bettering our people and industry. In the rest of the world, it’s dog-eat-dog. Creatively, South Africa’s firepower is up there with the best in the world. We join dots quicker and cross over into other job functions if needed because we just get on with it. Our strategy and account teams are also super impressive, but the country needs to drive the lighter and medium weights to take more ownership and drive projects. Both locally and abroad, there’s a definite shift from changing minds to changing behaviours by using the brand to positively shift consumer actions around societal issues. When you create tangible utility, the brand is showing that it genuinely cares. ❒ Peter Khoury is chief creative officer (CCO) of adidas worldwide at TBWA\Neboko based in Amsterdam. He was previously the CCO at TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris and was the AdFocus Industry Leader of the Year in 2020

“South Africans generally are straight and humble, regardless of position or influence. We share our real opinions on something without offence; there’s a natural flow that happens”

CO M M E N TA RY & I N S I G H T

The power of the comfort zone A purely logical message is not as convincing as when it also ‘feels’ right, says Sydney Mbhele Strategically planned advertising maximises the “mental availability” of brands in the minds of consumers. As US writer Daniel Kahneman once said: “Human beings are to independent thinking as cats are to swimming. We can do it, but we prefer not to.” An article published by World Advertising Research Centre concurs, saying that human beings have an amazing capacity for rational thinking, but often don’t apply that logic when it comes to making decisions. Given a choice between several options, people tend to prefer the one that comes to mind easily — meaning that brand positioning is most powerful when it drives top-of-mind awareness and message recall. This builds on the principle of foundational saliency. People or businesses do not buy what they don’t know, and given the choice between the known and the unknown, will gravitate to their comfort zone: what they know best. Awareness is the foundational lever for a potential trading process that ultimately leads

to brand resonance and equity. Awareness strategies tell the brand story, its features and its values (unique selling points), and thus builds an imagery about it. This educates the current or prospective customer about the brand: advertising is a powerful tool to not only acquire new customers but also reinforce primacy in the minds of existing ones. Advertising for retention is critical, as the cost of acquisition outweighs the cost of retention, and expansion of services is easier once a customer is in your ecosystem. When done correctly, advertising builds the intrinsic value of the brand in the minds of the targeted audience. Is the brand worth buying? Is it worth the price? There must be an emotional resonance that convinces the customer they are making the right decision, and not just logically. It must “feel” right too. Advertising also has the ability to build relevance and associations. Is the brand relevant to me or to where I am in my

life? This helps build brand stature, recognition, credibility and trust. Advertising is used to drive sales, such as when a brand or product may be running a promotion. But strategic advertising also considers brand building outside a direct sales cycle. It could be leveraged to raise awareness of other products or services, thereby deepening relationships with customers and building ever stronger brand ambassadors. A good advertisement goes beyond an existing need and should tell a user they need something even before they think they do. It offers customers a look into possibilities and future offerings, or even just primes a thought for the future. For the believer and previous user, these advertising principles act as a reminder of the brand and therefore, we could argue, plays an important role in building loyalty for it. In an omnichannel ad era, advertising is indeed everywhere — whether it’s a pop-up cam-

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paign across platforms from TV to the web, traditional brand advertising or a homevideo commercial posted on YouTube. It must exist within this convoluted construct of always-on messaging reaching the customer. A by-product, often unintended, is that it gives the employees of the brand’s company pride in their organisation, brand or product. Organisations would do well to consider their internal marketing opportunities in parallel with external drivers as a proactive strategic consideration, not just an afterthought. ❒ Sydney Mbhele is Absa’s group chief marketing and corporate affairs officer

Future fusion: AI power meets human purpose In a world craving authenticity, brands maximise impact by merging tech-enhanced advertising with genuine commitment to causes, writes Musa Kalenga

A modern marketplace isn’t just about the exchange of goods and services; it’s about the exchange of values, beliefs and aspirations. South Africa is no different. As global challenges intensify, consumers are becoming more discerning about the brands they buy and support. In this new era, AI is set to play a pivotal role. Brands that recognise the power of AI in advertising, and align with sustainable practices and meaningful causes, are in a prime position to resonate deeply with their audiences. The use of AI changes the input, process and outcomes of traditional advertising. A 2021 Nielsen report highlighted that products with sustainability claims on their packaging sold faster than those without. The message is clear: consumers are voting with their wallets. But the picture in developing economies such as ours is different. For many, the immediate challenge is to lift their populations out of poverty. Governments and businesses in these countries often prioritise rapid economic growth over long-term sustainability. The appeal of quick profits from resource-intensive industries, such as mining or deforestation, outweighs the perceived benefits of sustainable practices, especially when the latter comes at a higher initial cost. Sustainable marketing thrives where there’s consumer demand for ecofriendly products and practices. In many developing economies, widespread consumer awareness about the benefits of eco-products is still in its nascent stages. The priority for a significant portion of the population remains basic survival, making it challenging to prioritise purchasing decisions based on sustainability over cost. Without a significant consumer base demanding sustainable

goods and practices, businesses may lack the incentive to adopt such marketing strategies. Sustainable marketing also relies on technologies that allow for cleaner production, eco-friendly packaging or efficient distribution. Many developing countries face infrastructure challenges that make the adoption of these technologies difficult. Inadequate power, transport systems or access to advanced machinery can hinder efforts to implement responsible environmental practices in production and distribution. Adopting balanced marketing strategies also requires upfront investment. Developing economies may find it challenging to allocate resources to such marketing initiatives. The immediate pressures of competing in the market, coupled with tighter budgets, can often lead businesses to opt for cheaper, nonsustainable marketing practices. But I’m starting to sense a useful way of circumventing the hurdles. With minimal investment, AI-driven advertising can help brands identify and target audiences that are more likely to resonate with purpose-driven initiatives. This level of personalisation ensures the right messages reach the right people. For instance, a brand promoting eco-friendly products can use AI to determine which demographics are most passionate about environmental issues. The integration of marketing automation tools, coupled with AI-driven analytics, is streamlining campaigns more effectively than ever. These platforms allow brands to understand consumer behaviour, predict trends and optimise campaigns in real time. As brands increasingly align with sustainability and social causes, these tools ensure their marketing efforts are not just impactful, but also cost-effective. The efficiency

gains can be invested back into the brand’s core values, be they sustainability, social justice or any other cause. However, to quote a popular superhero, “with great power comes great responsibility”. The capabilities of AI mean brands can hyper-target their audiences, but authenticity remains paramount. As consumers become more informed, brands need to ensure their use of advanced tech doesn’t drift into manipulative or disingenuous territory. The marriage of AI-driven advertising and commitment to sustainability and social causes presents a bright future for local brands. In an era where information is abundant and consumers are discerning, the brands that integrate cutting-edge technology with genuine purpose are the ones that will lead the way and make a lasting impact. So where do we start? By understanding and targeting the emerging conscious consumer segment, local brands can resonate more deeply and authentically. And by investing in AI-powered advertising platforms and undergoing training to ensure ethical, transparent and authentic deployment of AI in marketing strategies. Home-grown brands must also find innovative ways to balance immediate economic pressures with longterm, sustainable goals. Even small steps can make a difference in consumer perception. Add to your next budget line a sustainability audit to identify areas for immediate improvement and set long-term sustainable marketing goals. ❒ Musa Kalenga is the group CEO at The Brave Group CO M M E N TA RY & I N S I G H T

While the digital realm expands its reach, traditional TV holds its ground, proving that the classics never fade, writes Chris Botha

Two tracks: What’s on the horizon — a merge or mirage? Ad people are the first and the fastest to jump on the “new shiny thing” bandwagon. Last year, we were all opening offices in the metaverse, and this year we are replacing all our employees with AI. Years of research and information have been replaced by “big data” (a rose by any other name …). Who knows what next year will bring? Despite the bandwagon, media and marketing people still invest most of their advertising spend on good old television, a medium that has been around for 85 years. It’s still measured more or less the same way; ratings and CPPs are still around, and as much as things change, they stay the same. Meanwhile, the metaverse is sinking somewhere at the bottom of the ocean, long forgotten, joining a long trail of dwang wrapped up in a shiny wrapper, including QR codes, USSD codes and virtual reality (VR). The traditional media vs digital media debate sometimes appears like two parallel tracks. I worry that our job is to talk about the latest shiny thing (the one track), while implementing the old, tried-and-tested (the other track). While we all keep talking the hybrid game, it is only on the horizon that the two tracks truly merge into one. And even that can be an illusion. So, what’s happening on each track? When do they merge? The reality is that the horizon of merging is getting closer and closer — especially for successful media owners. Truly hybrid platforms are increasingly the norm. On the TV front, we see media

owners like MultiChoice aggressively rolling the dice on streaming iterations and overthe-top (OTT) platforms, while being smart enough to know where most of their advertising revenue is coming from. The SABC and e.tv have followed suit by launching their own streaming services and the race for audiences is on. Meanwhile, Netflix is monetising and the streaming platforms (which all, by the way, actually still make a loss ...) look at their traditional partners to see how they stay financially afloat. On the other end of the scale is a consumer who just wants to sit down and watch some cool content. They don’t care where they are watching that content or on what platform. On the radio front, we’ve had podcasts and streaming stations for many years and we are slowly starting to see actual investment being placed on these platforms. It feels like the podcast industry is getting its act together and is now coming to agencies and clients with a compelling offer. Cross-platform audience targeting on audio is likely to start gaining traction now. What does that mean for traditional radio? Who knows? I suspect it will start costing them in the short term, as it’s always made its money out of being a “mass medium”. The one “traditional platform” that I believe has seen the most drastic change is out-of-home (OOH) advertising. Outdoor (the digital kind) is now available to be bought through a demandside platform (DSP) like you would any other programmatic advertising, and digital screens

are going up all over the country. We’re seeing that OOH can actually start competing with any other streaming service. As media people, we now have to weigh up a cost per view on television, OOH and digital video. Meanwhile, the traditional side of OOH — good old billboards — is still doing a roaring trade. The latest numbers seem to indicate that OOH occupancy is back to pre-Covid levels. The two tracks running parallel — soon to hopefully meet. And then there’s print. Ironically, print was the very first “traditional media owner” to embrace the digital world. News24 was built off the back of print journos placing their printed stories on digital platforms. Print, I believe, will move in two directions. First, we will find free newspapers (community newspapers) growing and reaching more suburbs that have never had community papers. Second, the rest of print will become absolute niche content.

“Despite the bandwagon, media and marketing people still invest the over whelming majority of their adver tising spend on good old television, a medium that has been around for 85 years”

So, the two tracks are actually coming closer to each other and it’s just a matter of time before they meet. Maybe 15 years from now all ad campaigns will be run in the metaverse. But one thing is for certain: 15 years from now, traditional television will still be around and will be doing quite OK for itself. ❒ Chris Botha is the group MD of Park Advertising CO M M E N TA RY & I N S I G H T

The demand for diversity Brands must not just reflect a reality that’s not mainstream, but consciously reinforce positive stereotypes, says Ivan Moroke

Within the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals, adopted in 2015, are calls to action to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” and to “reduce inequality within and among countries”. This latter goal calls for inclusion regardless of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion, economic or other status. What does this have to do with advertising and, by implication, brands? A lot! More than being a mirror on society, advertising and marketing has the power to shape society. The call to do no harm — harm being creating and reinforcing negative stereotypes — encourages the industry to not only reflect a reality that might not be mainstream, but to consciously reinforce positive stereotypes. Brands and businesses live in people’s lives, not the other way around. The best creative not only sells products and builds brand equity, but also has the potential to change behaviour. Just as there is the inconvenient truth that not all effective advertising is creative and, conversely, not all creative advertising is effective, we also need to embrace inclusion and diversity to make money. At least in the short term. In Kantar’s “The 5 habits of highly effective advertisers”, we made the point that inclusion and diversity is one of the ingredients, or creative devices, used by brands to make their ads both creative and effective. Back in 2021, we predicted this ingredient will be elevated to a habit for more advertisers in the future. That’s because it’s also good for brand return on investment so, if you can’t embrace diversity and inclusion for the ethics, do it for the money. According to Kantar Global Monitor, 65% of consumers say it’s important that the companies they buy from actively promote diversity and inclusion in their own

business or society as a whole. Kantar’s Global Monitor surveyed the attitudes of people in 26 countries worldwide, with an eye to identifying micro and macro trends. We asked this sample population to describe how they perceive their country in terms of creativity and inclusion. We found that, globally, the proportion of consumers who believe their society is very inclusive is only 22%. Nearly 40% of those surveyed said their country is diverse. Clearly there is a gap between perceived diversity (the demographic trend of different people coexisting) and perceived inclusion (the cultural norm of welcoming and supporting difference). The inclusion imperative can be found in this gap. Brands have largely moved past whether to be inclusive, to the how, both within their own organisations as well as how they engage externally with agencies, suppliers and consumers. One of the themes at this year’s Cannes Lions was how creativity helps make brands more inclusive. Though progress has been made, the industry needs to do more. Marc Pritchard, the chief brand officer at P&G, advocates for brands to move away from “narrowly defined target groups” to ensure they serve all people and each person. So, who is seen and who is invisible in advertising today? There is an opportunity for brands to increase the visibility of underrepresented groups and to expand their audiences by showing they understand the complex identity of people today. According to the World Health Organisation, 16% of the world’s population have some form of disability, yet they feature in less than 2% of ads. LGBTQI+ people have been nearly invisible in advertising, accounting for only 1% of ads globally.

Another population group that’s growing in size yet not in visibility in advertising is people over the age of 65, with only 3.5% of ads featuring them. Inclusion can be explicit or implicit, as Kantar’s Creative Effectiveness Awards clearly illustrate. Heineken has explicitly addressed gender stereotypes about drinks choices, while SheaMoisture has promoted products specifically for black women while supporting a fund for black female entrepreneurs. Among the less explicit portrayals, there is a female postal worker in an eBay ad and a black father and daughter in a Hershey’s Kisses ad. These ads could have happened with men or white people in the roles, but the brands deliberately chose to cast in the way that they did. And clearly, the brand’s choices work for viewers as they rated these ads highly in terms of creativity and effectiveness.

“If you can’t embrace diversity and inclusion for the ethics, then do it for the money”

Our data reveals it’s not enough to just include underrepresented groups in ads. This alone has no impact, with ads that feature underrepresented groups having almost identical short-term sales likelihood and contribution to long-term brand equity than the average ad. What makes the difference is when it depicts underrepresented groups positively, boosting short-term sales likelihood and long-term brand equity. Consumers are demanding that the brands they support prioritise diversity, inclusion and equality. More than half of consumers tell us that it’s important to them to buy from businesses that actively support diversity and inclusion. Millennials and Gen Z consumers display even higher aspirations for inclusion, suggesting that inclusion isn’t going away as a business imperative any time soon. ❒ Ivan Moroke is CEO of Kantar’s Insights Division, South Africa CO M M E N TA RY & I N S I G H T

While women dominate South Africa’s ad agency workforce, they hold just 24% of the ownership stakes, writes Herman Manson

Women in advertising: what the numbers say How well represented are South African women on the boards of the country’s largest ad agencies? What about ownership? Do women own a substantial stake in agencies that produce the bulk of South Africa’s advertising? To answer these questions, industry news site MarkLives surveyed South Africa’s largest 13 agencies by revenue, according to its 2022 revenue rankings. A total of 10 agreed to participate and submitted ownership and leadership data. It’s estimated that together, these 10 agencies represent more than R5bn in revenue and employ more than 3,500 people in South Africa in their businesses. Four of the 10 agencies are independents, with the other six owned by global networks. This skew towards networks has influenced ownership data.

MANAGEMENT AND BOARD REPRESENTATION At board level, the 10 participating agencies averaged female representation of 51.6%. Black female representation at board level stood at 35.4%. Two of the participating agencies reported 100% female representation at board level; two reported 50%; and two reported 40% female representation. One agency reported no female representation at board level, bringing down the average representation. One agency reported 100% black female representation at board level, and one reported 50% representation, while everyone else stood at 40% or less black female representation. Two agencies reported no black female representation at board level.

In terms of senior management teams, women made up an average of 59%, but black women made up only 22%. Four agencies reported female representation of more than 60% in senior management teams, and another four reported a figure over 50%. In terms of black female representation at senior management level, only one agency reported a figure over 50%. For the majority of agencies, black female representation at senior management level stood at 20% or less. When it came to middle management teams, women again made up 60%, and black female representation increased to 37% of the total, with five agencies coming in above 60%. However, only three agencies reported black female representation at middle management level above 40%, with another six agencies reporting a number between 30% and 40%. In terms of total staff count, women made up 60% of the agencies’ staff component, and black women 40%. Five agencies reported female representation in their total staff component at less than 60%, with the other five setting at 60% and above, topping out at 69% for one international network. Six agencies reported total black female representation above 40% as a total for their workforce.

LEADERSHIP AND OWNERSHIP Seven out of the 10 agencies reported employing women in group CEO/CEO or MD roles (this would include agency brands/verticals within the broader networks). Two agencies reported employing a female executive creative direct-

or (ECD), and one other agency reported it was led by an ECD identifying as nonbinary. Women owned an average of only 24% of the agencies surveyed, and only 11% of their shareholdings were in the hands of black females. The highest reported ownership figure for women among participating agencies stood at 47%, and the lowest at 0%. Four agencies reported female ownership above 30%. Three agencies reported black female ownership above 30%, with the highest number being 35.68%.

REGRESSION IN TOP LEADERSHIP ROLES

“Women owned an average of only 24% of the agencies surveyed, and only 11% of their shareholdings were in the hands of black females”

Gillian Rightford, Adtherapy MD, points to the last SheSays survey (conducted in 2020) that found the overall percentage of women in the industry was 61%, mostly in account management, media and production jobs. “There are a few women MDs, very few CEOs, and a handful of ECDs,” she says. “It’s regressed from the time when I ran Lowe Bull, where six of the top 10 agencies were run by women.” She ponders that perhaps there have been more male founders of agencies, and they don’t want to give up power, especially to women. “The industry also has an ageism issue — and another big matter ... is sexual harassment.” ❒ Herman Manson is the publisher and editor of advertising and marketing industry newsletter marklives.com

CO M M E N TA RY & I N S I G H T

The big dilemma: how to charge Finding a way to assess payment that’s fair to both parties has long been contentious

Advertising agencies typically bill according to hours spent on a task — a remuneration model that is criticised for being outdated and said to encourage agencies to work inefficiently. Despite this, the industry has made little progress in changing the model. The reason may be that there is no single one-size-fits-all way of assessing payment. Originally, the mark-up-based agency remuneration model was seen as fair for agency deliverables in relation to what was predominantly media and production spend. However, as Jacques Burger, co-founder and group CEO at M&C Saatchi Group South Africa says, a decrease in traditional media spend and an increase in creative volume to support more cost-effective digital media platforms meant the mark-up-based model was challenging. Clients felt the model didn’t always reflect the efforts of the agency accurately, particularly in cases of high media investments and low production periods. This heralded the start of the hours-based model, described by Burger as a “relatively accurate model in terms of rewarding inputs, but often flawed in linking quality of inputs, and ultimately outputs, to remuneration.” He adds: “The model also feels strangely counter-agile, in that the agency is rewarded more for spending hours on a task than for doing it quicker. It presents a challenge to both agency and client in measuring and rewarding quality and impactful ouputs”. Vanessa Bosman, group MD at Just Design, says that if success is measured in business results, it makes no sense for agencies to bill in hours.

“We’re becoming the architects of our own demise. Relying on a time-based remuneration model not only reduces our skills base, diminishes our expertise and devalues our products and services, it also damages the clientagency relationship,” she says. Instead of working together to create solutions that drive brand growth, Bosman says, clients get involved in an unhealthy tug of war with their agencies, who relentlessly try to maximise their time spent on a project while trying to shorten deadlines to save costs. No-one wins in this scenario.

image searching and top-line research, almost instantaneously. “For many agencies, this could have a detrimental effect on their revenue. It will be their willingness to embrace new and innovative approaches that will determine their success and survival.” David Cohen, co-CEO of Grid Worldwide, agrees that the current time-based remuneration model is not sustainable,

particularly as clients want things faster and for less. “It’s been proven time and again that the best creative also achieves the best business results — which is why fair remuneration for value delivered is vital to both business and agency success over the long term.” The problem, says Cohen, is that there is a disconnect between the way procurement departments and the Csuite view remuneration. The

“The death of the agency won’t be caused by the rapid advancement of AI, but rather by agencies and their dogmatic loyalty to time-based remuneration,” Bosman says. “Agencies need to adapt and adopt. AI has merely accelerated this trajectory by being able to perform the more time-consuming tasks, such as

“Very few of us have the luxury of being able to turn down ... work — especially if the client happens to be a much-admired global multinational at which fixed rate cards are the norm” — Vanessa Bosman CO M M E N TA RY & I N S I G H T

former typically see the creative product as a commodity and the latter understand that it is value-based and that brand value is reflected on the balance sheet. “Every client expects a return on investment and wants to turn cents into many rands earned. As an industry, we have to find a way to educate and connect these two sides of the business. The cheapest is not necessarily the most effective,” he says.

THE CHALLENGES Gareth Leck, co-founder and group CEO of Joe Public, believes the biggest challenge in the way of changing the remuneration model is the insistence of procurement departments to use input-based remuneration models — charging for the resources required to get the job done. “Because of this, all the focus and energy in the remuneration negotiation is spent on fine-tuning what is fair and viable for both parties in terms of how much is charged for the required resources to service the account. On paper, one could argue that this makes sense but in practice, the irony of this model is that it provides incentives for agencies to be less efficient, because — and apologies for stating the obvious — the longer it takes to get a job done, the more the agency makes.” What is equally, if not more, concerning, says Leck, is that in almost all negotiations, quality measures relating to the output are not factored into the remuneration agreements. Bosman believes four primary obstacles get in the way of changing the remuneration model. The first, she says, is a lack of understanding on the side of the client, coupled with a poor explanation by the agency of the creative process. “I would even go so far as to say that not much effort has gone into trying to educate clients — which leads back to the issue

of agency transparency about fees and time spent,” she says. The second obstacle lies in poor communication and the inability to demonstrate the value and worth of the creative product, particularly the inability of agencies to articulate clearly the value the creative adds to brand growth and transformation to the client. “This is often simply a case of creatives not communicating the value within the context of the brand or the client’s business objectives. But it can also point to skirting around the fact that the creative is simply not delivering on those needs.” The third obstacle is about challenges in measuring the efficacy of a creative solution and objectively measuring design in general. “The creative process doesn’t exist in isolation, and naturally there are many external factors at play that are separate from the creative [aspect] but will still affect the results of the project — such as price, distribution and availability, for example.” The fourth obstacle, in Bosman’s opinion, is about procurement policies and enforced-rate cards. “To reduce the issue to an extreme example: time-based billing is akin to paying the same price for a McDonald’s burger and a wagu steak based exclusively on the time it takes to prepare them. To add insult to injury, sticking to hourly rates has opened the door for cost consultants and procurement staff to dictate not only ‘appropriate’ and acceptable agency rates, but also the appropriate amount of time each deliverable should take. “With limited budgets come limited amounts of work, but we sit with an overflow of agencies and freelancers. Very few of us have the luxury of being able to turn down that work — especially if the client happens to be a much-admired global multinational at which fixed-rate cards are the norm.” True brand growth and transformation, she argues, comes from innovative creative think-

“Solving the remuneration debate relies on a solid relationship of mutual respect and open two-way communication between agency and client” — David Cohen ing, not cost cutting. “Clients should be asking their agencies for better work, not more work.”

experimented with profit share in business. For this to work requires a simple measurable model to be adopted.

In Cohen’s opinion, a one-sizefits-all approach is not appropriate, because each client and agency relationship has its own dynamics.

Cohen says solving the remuneration debate relies on a solid relationship of mutual respect and open two-way communication between agency and client. It’s about a true spirit of partnership in which, if the client does well, so will the agency.

“A percentage of the cost that is placed, and risk with an upside, is a good motivator on both sides if there are clear targets linked to what the agency delivers and an equitable and fair way to evaluate what’s delivered. An outputbased model, vs a cost-perresource model, can succeed if there are agreed ways of working and a clear brief and scope per stage,” he says. He says Grid Worldwide has

His advice to agencies is to know what keeps their clients up at night, and to appreciate their world. “Understand their moon shot — that one thing the whole business can rally behind that is true to what they do. To ensure the relationship is more than a mere transaction, have a shared ambition and genuinely push CO M M E N TA RY & I N S I G H T

every project to be greater than the brief suggests.” There is no point swimming against the tide, he adds. Agencies need to pivot to more value-adding services and to automate everything that can be automated. To remain sustainable, agencies need to do the things that clients and AI can’t do themselves. Burger says that if agencies want to be valued more by clients — and if their ambition is elevation from supplier to partner — a value-based remuneration model involving key success metrics becomes an important element, not just of fair remuneration, but of mutually beneficial, long-term relationships. “Measuring the success of agency outputs can be tricky in terms of causality — linking communication outputs to, for

example, sales, especially in the longer term as a result of the brand equity that is built — and finding the right measures and weighting often becomes so complex that both partners end up abandoning this ideal in favour of a more traditional approach, which is a pity.” Burger adds that the ongoing monitoring, adjusting and optimising of this more dynamic remuneration model requires time and focus. “Worsening the challenge is that to measure communications effectively, you also need to review various client deliverables, such as the marketing strategy, which not all organisations are comfortable doing.” Leck agrees that agency fees should be based on outputs, not inputs, and the greater the quality of the output, the more the agency should be paid. “This would be a win for everyone, because everyone would be correctly motivated to produce great output that grows the entire ecosystem through the power of creativity.” Just Design has already implemented a different approach to remuneration. Instead of justifying costs by number of hours, it demonstrates measurable results for its designs during the creative process. Once launched, it can verify the final product’s inmarket performance for its clients and invoice based on outcome, irrespective of the number of reverts or the hours captured in time sheets. Bosman says an efficacy-based cost model can work only if the

“We need to establish radical collaboration between agency and client teams … and be open to adjusting what and how we measure as we go” — Jacques Burger agency achieves results each time. “With subjectivity embedded in most design decisions, the results can be out of your control. Our new process eliminates client-agency bias by allowing the consumer to drive the design direction.” Shifting to performance or outcomes-based billing turns the agency-client relationship from supplier to partner again, as both parties are invested in the product’s success, she says. It also provides the creative team with the freedom to devote time to innovative solutions and problem-solving without being bound by the

“In practice, the irony of this [input-based] model is that it provides incentives for agencies to be less efficient” — Gareth Leck 50

number of hours costed for, while client service staff no longer need to spend the bulk of their time on the tedious administrative tasks related to time tracking. In Burger’s opinion, agencies need to build a culture that embraces learning, rather than punishing failure. “We need to establish radical collaboration between agency and client teams, back a success strategy focused on balancing shortterm wins with longer-term ambitions, and be open to adjusting and optimising what we measure and how we measure, as we go. “As long as you build remuneration principles off mutual respect and interest, whatever model you end up designing will underpin what is most important: a long-term, happy, powerful and mutually beneficial relationship between client and agency.” CO M M E N TA RY & I N S I G H T

Amid the digital surge, the timeless art of crafting compelling copy beckons a new generation to harness its transformative power

Reviving the magic: the industry’s call to rediscover the value of copywriting low substance that lives for just 20 seconds comes to mind — is brand making up only 5% of the current mix, with 95% of what we do adding no real value to long-term brand growth.” Boomtown CEO Glen Meier says that while there is no shortage of copywriters who can write for social media, writers who can think of and craft beautiful, captivating copy are in short supply.

The ad industry is battling a skills shortage and struggling to attract — and retain — talent. A dearth of copywriting skills, in particular, is being felt by many agencies. Pepe Marais, co-founder and group chief creative officer at Joe Public, attributes the talent struggle to the industry losing its lustre. “Most of what we do is not worth the paper or pixels that it adorns. There was a time when the industry, including CEOs, MDs, strategists, producers and creatives were united behind outstanding campaigns that truly built brands. Think back to BMW, Toyota, Nando’s, M-Net and Cell C, among others. Compare those campaigns with what the majority of brands are doing today, where our obsession with digitisation and big data has eroded the value of the big idea.”

Tracy Wasserman, partner and head of group HR at M&C Saatchi Group South Africa, says the competition for talent is from both the local industry and attractive propositions abroad. “As an industry, we need to build a reputation for offering fair remuneration, providing job satisfaction, a work-life balance, career development op-

portunities and being inclusive and diverse in our hiring practices.” We asked South Africa’s advertising colleges how much demand there is for copywriting programmes. The IIE-Vega BA in copywriting is the only degree in South Africa that specialises in copywriting. It is also positioned to prepare students for the flux of specialist skills associated with digital communication. Other private institutions offer one-year courses, or qualifications that form part of broader creative brand communication. There are also several online short courses available in different forms of digital content writing and copywriting.

The problem, he says, is that if creative racehorses are expected to focus primarily on donkey work, don’t expect them to be stimulated through small-scale “proactive” campaigns that don’t really affect brands — or expect to retain that talent.

Copywriting used to exist as part of a twoyear diploma at both the AAA School of Advertising and Red & Yellow. That was then phased out and shifted into a oneyear postgraduate advanced diploma.

The shortage of copywriters, he adds, is a by-product of an industry that’s overinvesting in “short-termism”, which relates to work that’s often more visual and without substance — also known as “wallpaper”. “Just a few short decades ago, a healthy marketing mix would have included 30%40% of a campaign focusing on brand advertising, while 60%-70% would have been focused on short-term sales via more retail communication. “What I’m now seeing — and here the digital landscape of creating work with very

Young wordsmiths and creative thinkers are not aware that they can turn their creative writing skills into a viable career

Pepe Marais, co-founder and group chief creative officer of Joe Public

Clayton Sutherland, a design lecturer at the Cape Town Creative Academy, says a oneyear content creation diploma typically attracts a different target market. “Unfortunately, copywriting as a profession is even more threatened now with the advent of ChatGPT, which provides you with a veritable writing assistant — though you can’t bounce ideas off them.” Mandy Speechly, lecturer and head of the

CO M M E N TA RY & I N S I G H T

copywriting programme at IIE-Vega, says the demand to study copywriting has been dropping in recent years. Having been a copywriting lecturer for more than 15 years, she recalls having classes of more than 25 students and frequently having to reject applications from strong candidates. She believes not many school leavers are aware that copywriting is a potential career option. Neither their parents nor teachers are familiar with this field. “Young wordsmiths and creative thinkers are not aware that they can turn their creative writing skills into a viable career. Learners with these interests and competencies typically study a humanities degree in English literature or journalism. And, because they are not familiar with the field, they are reluctant to commit to a specialist degree for three years,” she says.

is no guaranteed return on investment,” she says. She would like to explore more opportunities of working with the industry to promote copywriting as a viable career option by providing insight into the role of the copywriter as well as the many rewards of the actual job. In the South African context, she says, there’s also a need for more non-English speaking writers to consider copywriting as a career to create more authentic local communication.

Another reason, she suggests, could be that the job of the copywriter has evolved into a range of different skills and roles. “Content creation and social media writing don’t involve the same complex conceptual thinking and Glen Meier, Boomtown CEO persuasive communication skills that are integral to compelling copywriting. As a result, it becomes easier to learn the basic skills and find related work without studying a formal degree.”

Clayton Sutherland, design lecturer at the Cape Town Creative Academy

“What we discovered is that teachers are not providing meaningful guidance or inspiration,” says Speechly. But there is only so much advertising colleges can do given their limited marketing budgets. “It’s hard to dedicate a marketing budget to a single qualification when there

Speechly says there is a perception that copywriting requires an excellent level of English competence, which deters many aspirant creative thinkers and intelligent communicators from this field. There’s also a perception that salaries are low. Most agencies have strategies in place to attract talent, and many are working with tertiary institutions and offering internship programmes to graduates. But Marais believes the industry is still not doing enough to attract talent, but says that’s not anyone’s fault: everyone is just too busy trying to get by. What the industry needs, he argues, is to get back to being a creative industry. “Creativity is not the responsibility of the creative department, it’s the responsibility of the CEO,” he says.

“As [Tesla CEO} Elon Musk has been quoted as saying, ‘If you are not imTracy Wasserman, partner and proving your product, head of group HR at M&C Saatchi what are you doing?’ This is a business problem and, Group South Africa as such, should become the top priority of the ACA [Association for Communication & Advertising] to solve.” Meier agrees that the industry needs to do more to attract talent. “We need to reestablish the magic of the craft and the value of what we do to build better businesses and brands. We need to make it exciting again and showcase the magic of great work and the impact it makes in moving brands and sales forward. The better our work is, the more people will share, and the more they will fall in love with design and advertising,” he says.

The trend can be reversed, she argues, but it will require a concerted effort from both the industry and advertising colleges. “We need to be promoting the rewards of this exciting career and make school leavers aware that copywriting is an aspirational job that is respected and valued.” IIE-Vega has implemented various initiatives to promote copywriting as a career, including a series of roundtable discussions that were conducted around the country to establish why young people are not applying to study copywriting.

ability to think creatively. “In reality, paintings and drawings have little to do with insights,” he says.

Mandy Speechly, senior copywriting lecturer and national head of programme at IIE-Vega

Rather than criticise what is being done, says Wasserman, a more prudent approach is for collaboration and more creative ideas to position the industry favourably in the minds of young people.

Sutherland agrees. “You have to wonder how many talented individuals the industry is missing out on given that the high cost of tuition at private colleges acts as a barrier for many people.”

Deliberate internship programmes, active involvement in tertiary education and attractive employee value propositions will all go a long way towards positioning our industry favourably in the minds of young, talented people, she adds.

The solution, he believes, is to award more bursaries based on a year-by-year performance with the selection of suitable candidates done on a portfolio basis that does not emphasise artistic skills, but rather the

“Most importantly, we must be bold and audacious, because playing it safe leaves agencies and the industry at a competitive disadvantage.”

CO M M E N TA RY & I N S I G H T

OMD continues to dominate, accounting for 19.4% of the industry, ahead of PHD Media and The Media Shop, in a year the industry experienced strong overall growth

THE SA MEDIA AGENCY LANDSCAPE The South African media industry experienced significant growth last year, growing 12.6% according to Recma’s 2022 ranking of media agencies based on their activity volume. The Recma report is a reference quantitative ranking that includes traditional media spend as well as nontraditional media, the latter of which includes digital, data and analytics, content, marketing and international co-ordination. OMD continues to dominate, accounting for 19.4% of the industry, ahead of PHD Media and The Media Shop. Recma recorded no significant loss in 2022 for OMD. Its growth is primarily attributed to the agency’s wins, including Dotsure and Kimberly-Clark, which are recognised proportionally in 2022 and will have a full impact in 2023.

In addition to the activity volume ranking, Recma has been establishing a marketing index that goes beyond volume considerations. The index is based on an 18-criteria qualitative evaluation, which is based on two sets of criteria: vitality (nine criteria) and structure (nine criteria).

The qualitative evaluation provides a different ranking compared with the overall activity volume, though some players appear in both rankings. Havas, not present in the top five agencies in volume, is fourth in qualitative evaluation, notably thanks to a strong score in vitality (eight points).

The vitality ranking evaluates the dynamism of an agency and is affected by its competitiveness in pitches, new business balance and participation in pitches or awards. In this specific set of criteria, PHD takes the lead, by far, thanks to a highly positive momentum driven by the acquisition of key clients.

Omnicom Media Group is robust, with PHD ranked number one followed by OMD ranked number two. EssenceMediaCom, ranked number four in the overall activity volume report, is ranked third in the qualitative evaluation ahead of Havas Media (number four). The MediaShop, which held the third position in the overall activity volume report, is ranked fifth in the qualitative evaluation.

Vitality

Structure

10% 10% 20% 21% 8% 12.6%

30% 40% 30% 30% 26% 30%

Source: RECMA

October 2, 2023 1 2 3 4 5

PHD OMD EssenceMediaCom Havas Media The Media Shop

Source: RECMA

Qualifying scores

Profile

20 15 14 12 11

Dominant High High High Very good

the structure criteria, followed by PHD and EssenceMediaCom. Vitality scores vary more quickly than structure. Several years of success in vitality lead to an increase in a structure score. Conversely, a major departure does not harm an agency’s structure score.

522 319 314 270 264 2,688

South Africa

The vitality ranking evaluates the dynamism of an agency and can vary more quickly than structure

Carat achieved 8% growth in 2022, with a significant boost from the Pep account win. It lost no business in 2022, contributing to its positive score.

Share of nontraditional 2022

OMD PHD The Media Shop EssenceMediaCom Carat Total

EssenceMediacom has shown remarkable 21% growth, thanks to an increase in spend by Distell and the positive impact of the Old Mutual account gain in mid-2021. The merger of MediaCom and Essence drove the agency’s staff expansion.

Growth rate 2022/2021

1 19.4% 2 11.9% 3 11.7% 4 10% 5 9.8% 100%

South Africa Agencies

The Media Shop grew significantly during the post-Covid recovery period, achieving notable success, particularly in securing the prestigious digital contract with Nedbank. A number of clients, including Famous Brands, L’Oréal, SABC and Douglas, experienced substantial organic growth.

$ Mo

Overall activity 2022

Industry shares

Rank

OMD’s growth is driven by the organic increase of existing clients, including McDonald’s and PepsiCo. The agency won three significant new pieces of business at the end of 2021 which boosted activity in 2022, as well as several smaller accounts in

2022 such as Sportingbet, ClearScore, and Chanel in 2021, and Essity, Stellenzicht, Gumtree and Ekaterra in 2022. However, the departure of Pernod Ricard at the end of 2022 is expected to affect the agency’s performance in 2023.

Qualifying Qualifying points points 11 5 8 8 5

9 10 6 4 6

In the structure ranking (nine criteria evaluating resources and client profile), the size of the agency and the number of experts affect the scores. This year, OMD has been ranked as the leading agency according to

❒ Recma is an independent research company focused on the media agency industry. The company, which collects and analyses data from more than 1,000 media agencies in 70 countries, publishes a wide range of global, regional and local reports that provide strategic intelligence to the media industry. For more information and analysis on the South African market, contact Mylena Abbouche (mylena@recma.com)

RECMA RANKINGS

Demographica takes first prize for a series of three powerful print ads created for SANBS

WINNING CAMPAIGN HAS A WORTHY CAUSE: TO INSPIRE MORE BUSINESS BLOOD DRIVES “The second ad, ‘Inflation’, is also focused on something that is frequently discussed and included in many headlines, while the term ‘interest rates’ tends to make everyone shake in their boots right now given the frequent increases. In our opinion, there is huge interest in these topics, and they are frequently included in headlines and articles.” Lessing says the Demographic team woke up late to the FM Creative Challenge. “We love an opportunity to think proactively for our clients, and we had a number of ideas. The biggest challenge is getting the idea made over and above our day jobs. FM’s Creative Challenge is an annual competition that invites ad agencies to create an impactful, full-page tactical print ad for a client based on an article from the fastpaced news cycle. This year’s winner is Demographica, for a series of three print ads created for blood services organisation SANBS.

“We shared some ideas with the client, who liked them and gave them the green light. Fortunately they were not complicated to execute. That’s why print is still a fantastic medium for communication. I like to call it ‘still pictures’. The challenge of grabbing

The agency’s relationship with the nonprofit organisation began in 2020 during the Covid pandemic and resulted in “the good hood” project, and they’ve enjoyed a good relationship since then. “SANBS really does have a huge calling: to save lives,” says Gareth Lessing, executive creative director at Demographica. “Let’s be honest, the simple sight of a needle gets most of us running for the hills. Giving blood takes it to the next level. So yes, SANBS is always watching the blood stock levels. “The challenge, however, is that less than 1% of South Africans are active blood donors. A five-day supply is stable. Their stocks are frequently below that, so pleading for blood donations is a never-ending campaign. As a nonprofit organisation, it doesn’t have the luxury of campaign bursts. So, the FM Creative Challenge brief was an excellent opportunity for them.” It wasn’t just one article that inspired this campaign, says Lessing. “The FM as a whole focuses on or touches on challenges facing our country and businesses. The ‘being in the red’ ad was inspired by the fact that many businesses — and even our country — are facing financial challenges.

Team who created the ads: clockwise: Marloe Wise, Gareth Lessing and Dhasagan Pillay

Let’s be honest, the simple sight of a needle gets most of us running for the hills. Giving blood takes it to the next level

attention with a simple yet convincing idea is one of the reasons we love this thing called advertising we do every day — and twice on Sundays. So keep the briefs coming, FM!” Adding that the agency’s creative team hit the jackpot when it came to this particular brief, successfully marrying SANBS insights and financial terms that frequently make it into the FM’s articles, Lessing says he hopes that the campaign encourages more businesses to host blood drives to help SANBS save more lives.

The other two finalists this year were Dentsu Creative with a print ad created for People Opposing Women Abuse (Powa), and CBR Marketing with an ad for breast cancer awareness on behalf of Bidvest McCarthy.

Grabbing attention with a simple yet convincing idea is one of the reasons we love this thing called advertising we do every day — and twice on Sundays

C R E AT I VE C H A L L E N G E

The team responsible for this campaign included Marloe Wise, head of commercial growth, Gareth Lessing, art director and executive creative director, and Dhasagan Pillay, creative director from the Demographica team, and Rethabile Melato, Thandi Mosupye and Simphiwe Cele from SANBS.

C ORPORATE PROFILE

JOE PUBLIC WE GO BY THE NAME OF Joe Public

OUR CORE SPECIALITIES ARE Integrated through-the-line brand and communications

OUR BIGGEST BRAG IN PAST 12 MONTHS Chicken Licken winning 2023 Loeries Brand of the Year for the seventh consecutive year; MarkLives’ 2022 Most Admired Agency of the Year; ranked ninth Independent Agency in The Drum World Creative Rankings

OUR BIG CLIENTS AB InBev, Cell C, Chicken Licken, Nedbank

OUR OLDEST ACCOUNTS Clover (20 years); Nedbank (10 years); AB InBev (9 years); Chicken Licken (8 years); Cell C (4 years)

ACCOUNTS WON OVER PAST 12 MONTHS The UK-based Grant’s Whisky global account for which we will be the lead strategic and creative agency in 20 markets

ACCOUNTS LOST OVER PAST 12 MONTHS None

WHO OWNS US We are a proudly South African independent agency that’s 63% black-owned.

OUR BEE RATING Level 1

OUR REVENUE BAND R300m-R350m

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 285

WHO’S THE BOSS Khuthala Gala Holten, Mpume Ngobese, Gareth Leck, Laurent Marty, Xolisa Dyeshana, Pepe Marais

OUR BUSINESS IN 140 CHARACTERS Serving the growth of our people, clients and country through the power of creativity.

OUR KEY MOMENT IN PAST 12 MONTHS Being awarded Nedbank’s digital business, which helped us hone our digital capabilities.

SO YOU LIKE US, GET IN TOUCH WITH US Call Khuthala or Mpume on +27 (0) 10-591-7770 or send an e-mail to khuthalag@joepublic.co.za or mpumen@joepublic.co.za.

C ORPORATE PROFILE

M&C SAATCHI GROUP SA WE GO BY THE NAME OF M&C Saatchi Group South Africa

OUR CORE SPECIALITY IS Creating beautifully simple solutions for an increasingly complex world.

OUR BIGGEST BRAG IN PAST 12 MONTHS Launching Standard Bank CIB’s “We Believe in Here” campaign; building Anglo American’s sustainability credentials; returning the LiquiFruit brand to its iconic status.

OUR BIG CLIENTS Standard Bank; Astron Energy; Takealot; PepsiCo; Heineken

OUR OLDEST ACCOUNTS AVI; MWeb; Takealot; Nando’s; Lexus

ACCOUNTS WON OVER PAST 12 MONTHS Pepsi; Spur; JSE; MultiChoice

ACCOUNTS LOST OVER PAST 12 MONTHS None

WHO OWNS US 51% locally owned. M&C Saatchi Plc owns 49%. 26.13% black partner and staff ownership.

OUR BEE RATING Level 1

OUR REVENUE BAND R350m-R400m

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES More than 350 across Cape Town and Joburg.

WHO’S THE BOSS The partners, a federation of entrepreneurs.

OUR BUSINESS IN 140 CHARACTERS An unwavering belief in the Brutal Simplicity of Thought — the power of creativity to cut through, to be concise, precise and clear.

OUR KEY MOMENT IN PAST 12 MONTHS Our PR agency Razor recognised as the most awarded agency in Africa and ranked PRovoke Media’s fifth-most creative agency in the world.

SO YOU LIKE US, GET IN TOUCH WITH US Tel (Joburg): +27 (0) 11-268-6388 Tel (Cape Town): +27 (0) 21-421-1024 E-mail: info@mcsaatchigroup.co.za Website: www.mcsaatchigroup.co.za LinkedIn: M&C Saatchi Group South Africa

#STGenNext 60

CREATIVE CIRCLE SA

LOERIES OFFICE RANKINGS 2022 cont

2022 INDIVIDUAL & GROUP RANKINGS INCLUDE:

OVERALL RANKING BY AGENCY SA

TOP 10 CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICERS

D&AD 2022, The One Show 2022, Cannes Lions 2022, Loeries 2022, The Creative Circle Annual Awards 2022

CREATIVE CIRCLE SA

27 The Hardy Boys 28 Ofyt Marketing & Communication 29 Boomtown

FINAL RANKINGS 2022

29 Hoorah Digital

Joe Public United

29 T&W

Ogilvy

29 Triple Eight

Grey/Team Liquid

TBWA\HuntLascaris Joburg

VMLY&R

FCB Joburg

HelloFCB+

The Odd Number

Grid Worldwide

M&C Saatchi Abel Joburg

King James

Promise

AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

Fran Luckin

Ryan McManus

THE ONE SHOW 2022 1

Ogilvy South Africa

Grey/Team Liquid

Joe Public United

FCB Africa

Ogilvy South Africa

VMLY&R

FCB Joburg

M&C Saatchi Abel

Saatchi & Saatchi MEA

Promise

Grey Advertising

Accenture Song

VMLY&R South Africa

Grid Worldwide

Ogilvy Africa

M&C Saatchi Abu Dhabi

D&AD 2022 1

FCB Africa

Promise

TOP 10 OVERALL RANKING BY BRAND

Ogilvy South Africa

Chicken Licken

Grid Worldwide

An-Nahar Newspaper

Joe Public United

10 Serviceplan Middle East

Joe Public United

UAE Government Media Office

Grey/Team Liquid

Ogilvy South Africa

Volkswagen

VMLY&R

FCB Joburg

Etisalat

Grey Advertising

The Coca-Cola Company

Ogilvy South Africa

VMLY&R South Africa

Distell

Promise

King James Group (part of Accenture Song)

Burger King

FCB Africa

TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris South Africa

Vodacom

Grid Worldwide

The Odd Number

10 AB InBev

Accenture Song

Grid Worldwide

Grey/Team Liquid

VMLY&R

Dentsu Creative

M&C Saatchi Abel

10 Design Futura 11 Halo 12 Promise 13 M&C Saatchi Abel 14 99c 14 Retroviral 16 FoxP2 17 DUKE Advertising 18 Makereign 19 Net#work BBDO

TOP 10 BRAND/CMO/MARKETING DIRECTOR

CANNES LIONS 2022

Chantal Sombonos van Tonder — Chicken Licken

Khaled AlShehhi — UAE Government Media Office

Bridget Harpur — Volkswagen

Jesus Ferreira — The Coca-Cola Company

Yasmeen Al Mallah — Etisalat

Meredith Kelly — Volkswagen South Africa

Ogilvy South Africa

Natasha Maharaj — Distell

Promise

Heril Bangera — Roto

FCB Africa

Sonia Bangera — Roto

Grey/Team Liquid

10 Zeinab Najjar — Burger King

VMLY&R

Grid Worldwide

Accenture Song

M&C Saatchi Abel

Dentsu Creative

20 They

TOP 10 CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICERS

21 Metropolitan Republic

Paul Shearer

Impact BBDO

LOERIES OFFICE RANKINGS 2022 OVERALL RANKING BY AGENCY SA

Retroviral Shift

Sebastian Boutebel

10 Ryan Reed

22 Digify Africa

Ali Rez

22 Think Creative Africa

Pepe Marais

24 Black Brain Production

Xolisa Dyeshana

24 Ilukuluku Collective

Pete Case

26 Number Ten — A Creative Consultancy

Tseliso Rangaka

CREATIVE CIRCLE INTERIM RANKING (NOV 2023)

Only Creative Circle South Africa members Included. This interim table includes results from Cannes, D&AD and One Show. Loeries and Creative Circle Annual Awards results pending for final results

C R E AT I VE R A N K I N G S

R EVE N U E R A N K I N G S

66 65

R EVE N U E R A N K I N G S

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