It seems like a good year for JWT, the world’s fourth-largest advertising agency. Not only does the firm have brands such as Nike, Smirnoff, Shell, Ford, Unliver and MTV under its belt, it has also gone and bagged many prestigious awards, including the Lions Grand Prix at Cannes and the Grand Prix at Goafest 2008.
And the man with the broadest smile is JWT worldwide president Michael Maedel. Not one to rest on his laurels, Maedel is taking a hard look at creativity, or the lack thereof, in the advertising industry and trying to discover how to drive more talent. He spoke to Byravee Iyer on the subject. Edited excerpts:
How do you see the advertising industry shaping up?
As an industry, we are going through the most exciting and challenging period yet. The emergence of new technology has really opened things up, making them much more personal.
Today, I know more about people, what they think, their preferences, and this allows me to engage the person, which consequently leads to an ongoing dialogue rather than just making a sales pitch.
Consumers are very much in control of what communication is a part of their life. Therefore, we have to deliver something people want to spend time on and the best way to do that would be through a compelling brand story.
The ability to identify the best channels to connect with consumers will differentiate agencies. A commonly made mistake is to treat advertising like a laundry list. Instead, agencies must focus on choosing the best communication mix. Most importantly though, what remains unchanged is creativity. Idea centricity is the key. Without an idea, any effort is a waste of time and space.
That’s why a couple of years ago we made a concentrated effort to that end. We went to all our offices across the globe and made creative changes, reviewing work, linking employee output to bonuses. Needless to say, this endeavour was very successful and our recent awards are merely a recognition of that effort.
The medium is the message is more important today than ever. It will have to become more personal and interactive, engage in a dialogue with consumers based on feedback. Consumers are much more empowered and they will play an active role in communication.
What are the key trends in the digital space and how is the space unfolding?
It is now clear that digital will be the centre of all communication. It has become a part of everything we do. That said, the challenge is to make people more digital savvy.
Another interesting area is social media, which has become a platform for interaction between people. Even the mobile space is coming up with a vengeance. How agencies use these opportunities is left to be seen.
Still in India it seems traditional media continues to dominate.
For the moment yes. We just completed a study — called Young Digital Mavens — in the US, China and India amongst the youth to judge their adaptability to new digital innovations, which revealed that broadband penetration in India is low.
Until fast broadband penetration expands dramatically, advertisers targeting the youth should continue to focus on traditional media channels.
It goes without saying that every agency is looking to broaden its skill sets, but is there enough talent available?
There is a lot of a talent in India and there is a growing courage among Indians to look outside the country. India has established itself as a creative force.
Overall though, talent is an issue we face in that we don’t have enough of it. We have to find out how to win them as we go forward. The key is to understand that to work with talent is not just to bring people physically to the office. We should learn how to work with talent in a more fluid way.
For instance, if we are working on a project in India and we have an art director in Hamburg or Singapore, we need to figure out the skill set to manage such fluidity.
Recruitment of talent apart, how does the company drive creativity within the organisation?
We need to look at what’s important for existing talent. Everyone wants to know what their opportunities are to develop a rewarding life and what will a company do for their professional development. Equally important, does one have an opportunity to move around internationally.
As you can see talent has become more demanding. People are no longer looking for a job, they are looking for fulfillment. Any company that can provide that will attract talent.
JWT seems to be in talks with a number of specialist agencies. Can you tell something about your acquisition and tie-up strategy? What are the new areas you are looking at in India?
Yes, there are certain areas we are interested in. Shop-marketing is a space we are looking at if we get the right partner. Eighty per cent of all purchase decisions are made in front of the shelf, so communicating to consumers in front of the shelf will become increasingly important.
Another area of interest for us is field marketing. Field marketing not only helps bring the brand closer to the customer, but also introduces the notion of choice. We have already managed to do that quite successfully in China.
We’re also quite keen on gaming, not just as an entertainment vehicle. Usually, even when people are in front of their computers, they tend to get distracted by their phones or other things.
The one thing gaming achieves is getting the user’s undivided attention. As this area develops, it would be interesting to see what roles brands can play. Can one take brand properties into games? And how does one monetise that?
Many advertising agencies in the US are outsourcing a part of their work to India. How lucrative is this?
It’s not. You can’t outsource the ideation process at the end of the day. One can outsource finance and technology perhaps, but you cannot outsource the core of your business.
There was a time when advertising was seen as the highest form of the brand-building exercise. Is that view still valid, given that consultancies are considered better at managing quality, costs and supply chain, which are seen as important attributes to brand-building? What’s your take on the agencies versus consultancies debate?
No doubt, consultancies have made several inroads into the area. I personally have a lot of respect for their strategic competency, but there is a good reason they fall short. They can’t convert facts and knowledge into ideas. Their work is mainly analysing. For ideas, we come in, which consultancies have not managed to achieve.
That said, ad agencies have dropped down the value chain. So we need to define what we have to offer and then live up to investments companies make. Clients are taking a tough look at the return on investment. If that’s not a given, why should they spend millions on that?
What are some of the differences you see in advertising trends in developed markets vis-à-vis the emerging ones?
The fact that they are at different stages of the development curve is probably the biggest differentiator. For instance, in the US a person would probably spend two days worth of pay to purchase a washing machine, but in India they’ll probably spend 3-4 months of earnings into it.
Also, advertising has to reflect cultural values of each country. Advertising agencies must remember global campaigns don’t work except with luxury brands.
