2010: All Eyes on You (IV)

Activities have been on a low-ebb since the commencement of the year. However, the volume of expectations and the magnitude of prospects suggest that events in the coming weeks will most likely compensate adequately for the slow pace, yielding to a hyperactive 2010. However, operators, like physicians, must first of all heal themselves.

Bold in your face: EXP changes the trend
If you are privy to last week’s edition of M2, “bold in your face”, will definitely find expression in the EXP Marketing Nigeria campaign published in it. For the first time in a long while, Nigerian decision makers in the field of marketing are being confronted with this bold and audacious campaign which aptly captures the pedigree of the company in the Nigerian market.
Led by Uzoma Onwunchekwa, this company’s 6-page campaign simplifies the concept of event and brand activation. It opens with a logo ad on the cover of the publication. You can’t miss the red on grey logo with a reverse white stylish “exp”. This was followed by a back to back run of five 10” X 5col ads, each showing the relevance of the five senses; “hear”, “see”, “touch”, “smell” and “taste” to marketing.
The campaign logically tells clients and brand owners that all these can be deployed to create experience, expose and kindle interest around a brand. The first five are indeed “snobbish”; no apologies, no phone numbers or contact info except for the company’s web address. This portrays the premium nature of the EXP brand in the industry while also hinting that it carefully selects its clientele. The last page tagged, “Experience”, perfectly wraps up the campaign. At the risk of being repetitive, I make bold to say that EXP has made a statement that will alter the trend of events in the Nigerian market in 2010.
This year, agencies that preach communication will have to communicate more about themselves to be taken seriously by clients and prospects in the industry. Can you imagine an agency saying, “We do not have to advertise. Our ethics does not allow this”? And the reason? “We are here to provide that service to our clients”. Balderdash! I say. To this class I suggest: grab the edition once again, view this bold initiative and read between the lines. Give a cursory consideration to the campaign, I bet you’ll find a reason to design a strategic marketing/campaign plan with a view to moving your business forward.
Seemingly, the old school may have a point; that is, if the platform in mind is one of the generic publications, which in themselves are a minus to their professed professionalism. However, an agency does no wrong in designing and executing its own strategic campaign in an industry publication. Of course, its target audience and decision makers are glued to M2 on a weekly basis to catch up with the latest ideas and developments in the industry.
Agencies have to be a lot more strategic in 2010. There was a time a couple of agencies, though on different occasions, bought spaces in national dailies and outdoor boards! Quite alarming. Why put an advertising agency campaign on a billboard, for goodness sakes, when you could get better results with a smarter decision? You may want to ask, what is the result of those campaigns? Have the agencies fared any better? Who and who are buying services from these agencies? Your guess is as good as mine.
Anyway, the lesson here is: “agency, choose for thyself”. The race is not to the swift but to the smart. What you do with the brands in your kitty and, to a large extent, your brand will determine how many more clients knock on your door. Once again, you have got to read between the lines here.
Check the AdAges, Campaigns and Marketing Weeks of this world. Definitely, you will be astounded how many agencies advertise in these specialized publications and build parity for their brands and proprietary tools. This is the future for companies in this genre of business.
Forget it, like a senior friend would say “the huge and homogenous agency structure will no further build the business.” That is why Martins Sorrel of WPP will continue to break down its agency structure into smaller units of profit centres. Even when he acquires new entities, he runs each as an autonomous unit of business. The South African Jupiter Drawing Room is a case in point.
So the point is this, Nigerian agencies must learn to unequivocally profess competency through apt messages using the right platforms. No half measures.