One of the stories that most grabbed my attention recently was the big Sprite account win by traditional advertising agency giant BBH New York. Shay Drohan, senior VP-global sparkling brands at Coca Cola, said there were several factors at work in that win. First, BBH’s pitch began with digital. “It’s not often that you have agencies come in and the first thing they present is digital and the last thing they present is TV,” he said. “TV was the icing on the cake.” Mr. Drohan said that approach made it clear that Bartle Bogle understood Sprite’s teen target.
Up until now, agencies of their ilk would have built their campaigns around TV, but here the core concept was built around digital first, and with TV seen as a ‘bonus’ supporting channel.
Combine this with Martin Sorrell’s recent prediction that he expected 20% of major client’s marketing spend to be on digital within the next five years, and we see a clear demonstration a medium that has matured. Successful companies are now asking ‘how can we best reach and engage with our target audience’ rather than falling back on their traditional staples.
This is a reflection of the way Cowan Group has been working for the past 18 months. The idea comes first, and we then look at the most effective way of rolling that out to meet our client’s objectives; regardless of whether we can deliver it in-house or not.
If you are still recommending your traditional disciplines without giving alternative solutions appropriate consideration, then you are doing your clients a disservice.
Consumers demand much more now, and your clients aren’t far behind them.
