LargeAgencyoftheYear

LARGE ADVERTISING AGENCY OF THE YEAR Joe Public

Creative excellence, strong growth and true transformation

his was a highly competitive

Tcategory to judge —and the category where the agitation for change and evolution was most palpable. It was also the category where the most queries from judges emanated.

One of the topics under discussion during the adjudication was the urgency and depth of transformation required at large agencies, particularly as seen through the lens of jurors with leadership experience in these businesses and on the client side. No decisions were taken without consideration of what the collective envisaged for the implementation of the codes of good practice.

So it was perhaps no surprise that Joe Public, the largest black-owned independent agency, is this year’s AdFocus Large Advertising Agency of the Year.

However, transformation is far from the a ge ncy ’s only achievement in the past year. By partnering with brands who share its values, the agency achieved its best new business growth in the last five years,by creating value-added services and generating new revenue streams. New clients included Cell C, Mars (Royco) and The Unlimited, including project work for Bonitas and Uber.

Recognition in the Scopen Agency Report as the most highly rated agency in terms of client satisfaction and growth (December 2019) is testament, says the agency, for its continued long-standing relationship with its clients. Its most established clients include Clover and Mahindra (both 17 years), Jet (more than eight years), Nedbank (more than seven years), and Chicken Licken (four years).

New revenue streams were created with the establishment of Joe Public Maximise, a media planning and buying entity, and Joe Motion, a motion graphics, animation 3D, digital assets production and post-production studio. Its proprietary brand planning process, Growth CompassTM, which allows the agency to provide business purpose to its clients, also gained steady traction.

In June, Joe Public announced the addition of Joe Public Cape Town, an independent agency within the group.

Achieving recognition across a variety of industry awards is clear evidence of the a ge ncy ’sdelivery of creative excellence for this period. It was named Agency of the Year at the Loeries, Pendorings and Ciclope Africa Awards shows for two consecutive years.

The agency’sgrowth has allowed it to increase investment in upskilling and growing its people, while making steady progress with its sustainability mandates, including helping underprivileged communities.

The agency initiated and developed One School at a Time, a registered NPO, in 2007. In 2011, it appointed a full-time MD to run the initiative. Its aimis to create a highly functional, quality education system in targeted township schools to give students a better chance of success when they leave school.

Finalists in this category included last year’s winner of the AdFocus Large Advertiser of the Year, M&C Saatchi Abel, and TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Joburg.

Despite the impact of Covid-19, M&C Saatchi Abel had an uptake it had not expected, including new business gains and increased billings as a result of the Standard Bank account win. Its Joburg campus has gone from a team of just over 60 to almost 200, while its Street Store, force-for-good initiative is being recognised by Fast Company’s Global World Changing Ideas in seven categories.

It produced some outstanding work for clients such as Nando’s, Takealot, Superbalist, Lexus and Standard Bank during the period under review. And despite the loss of the Heineken account at the end of 2019, the agency managed to achieve 18% growth, and retained all its staff over the Covid period.

This category provided clear evidence of the impact of Covid-19 on the industry. Finalist TBWA\Joburg ’s revenue declined by 9% when one of its biggest clients, MTN, cut its budget s ig n i f ic a nt ly . Despite this, the agency had a remarkable year of achievements: voted the Agency of the Year at the IAB Bookmarks 2020, it was the best-performing SA agency at the One Show 2020 and D&AD 2020, as well as at Cannes 2019, and was ranked as the 27th Best Agency in the World in 2020 by WARC.

The agency won a number of clients during the period under review —many of them in touch pitch situations. It should also be commended for offering its time and resources pro bono to the Solidarity Fund in 2020.

Owen Maubane, Senatla Capital founder, chair and CEO and Joe Public United chair; Pepe Marais, Joe Public United founding partner and chief creative officer; Zanele Xaba, member of Senatla Capital’s strategy & operations board; Laurent Marty, Joe Public United chief strategic officer; Xolisa Dyeshana, Joe Public United chief creative officer and Ikamva Lakusasa founding partner; Mpume Ngobese, Joe Public Connect MD and Ikamva Lakusasa founding partner Ikamva; and Neil van der Weele, Joe Public United board member and adviser