In Nigeria’s marketing communication industry, some client account movements among agencies are frequent while some other agencies have retained accounts for a long time. In this report, Daniel Obi discusses the mystery behind a long relationships with clients and the accruing benefits.
Working for a client as a marketing communication agency in a competitive environment like Nigeria is simply not easy. The clients are searching for the best marketing ideas to scale, sell, promote brands and make profits. These demands push them to literally put pressure on the agencies working for them to go the extra mile even when the budget does not support it. The agencies are just seen as their marketing departments.
Marketing communication budgets of clients have now become ‘endangered species’ as they are quickly slashed, especially in hard times, when the reverse, according to experts should be the case to keep sales and brands in the minds of consumers.
Often, the agencies accept the meagre budget even when they know that it will not achieve the expected results. Pretending to answer good managers, some exhibit lack of will-power to communicate this challenge to the client possibly with a motive to enrich their profile of clients worked for.
Sometimes the clients, who don’t really understand the working of agencies, dictate to these agencies who are professionals in marketing communication, all in an attempt to get their desires met but surprisingly, this over-bearing influence and arrogant display of power often confuse the whole process. In the end, targets are not achieved and the agency is fired.
In the face of these regular challenges, the agencies are owed several months for jobs executed and they are still expected to borrow money, perhaps from banks to exceed expectations on the next brief. Advertising Industry Standard of Practice, AISOP is trying to address this challenge. When, therefore, salaries are owed to staff and the loans become weighty on the agencies, it begins to affect their performance and delivery.
A marketing expert put it succinctly, “If the client cannot pay agency in time, how does the agency motivate its staff. This means that the agency will take money from other sources to subsidise the business. When agencies begin to struggle to keep their operations going, this could be distracting”.
Apart from the foregoing challenges, clients are in search of creative works that will spin operations for their organisations and allow them to win in the industry. This quest leads to frequent account movements and turnover of agencies within short periods in the Nigerian environment.
In such an environment, when any agency, therefore, maintains a long-standing relationship of five years and above with clients, it signposts trust, job satisfaction, understanding and cordial partnership.
Evaluating SO&U and its clients as a case study
These characteristics of trust, job satisfaction and partnership are no doubt some of the ingredients that are perhaps working for SO&U, an indigenous marketing communication agency that has produced some of the best brand advertising campaigns.
SO&U, the local affiliate of M&C Saatchi has a history of long-standing relationships with many of its clients including Access Bank, Globacom, Guinness, PZ, Unilever, among others as this comes with value for the clients.
The agency was established 31 years ago and has a cumulative of over 13 years of working experience in the telecom sector recently ended eight years of service for Globacom as a creative agency. For industry analysts, the period perhaps makes SO&U the longest-serving agency on the Globacom creative account. Other agencies such as Lintas, TBWA, Insight, DDB, Bates Cosse and Verdant Zeal had at a point worked for the telecom giant but for shorter periods.
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Globacom, the first indigenous GSM operator to be licensed and which entered the Nigerian telecom market in 2003, is not losing sight of being the most innovative and largest GSM operator. The telco giant is looking for marketing communication agencies that will support its dream of building Africa’s biggest and best telecommunications network. This could have informed its several choices of marketing agencies that worked for it.
But when it engaged SO&U, the Glo management led by its founder Mike Adenuga, who is thorough and appreciates great works, found an ally and a partner that understood its mission as the agency, for an unprecedented period of eight years, helped to elevate and endear the brand in the hearts of Nigerians. Glo’s chairman who likes advertising and great works must have been happier with the output from SO&U which made the agency last for the said period.
Understanding that some other agencies had worked on the brand for a shorter period, SO&U after being signed on must have sat down to understand how Glo operates and came up with a strategy to ensure it delivers.
According to marketing experts, developing such a strategy involves understanding the scope of the work required for the client to win in the market, the competitive nature of the sector where brands like Glo operates, the ambition of the brand to grow and be in the lead as a disruptive brand, and then following this strategy religiously.
To further succeed with the brand, it was understood that SO&U also dedicated a team to Glo 24/7 and the only focus of the team was the Glo account with special incentives put in place to encourage the team to stay focused.
Industry sources said Globacom management recognised the agency’s commitment to the brand and great work as their standard is excellence, nothing less. “Once you give the client value and demonstrate great commitment to their business and readiness to go the extra mile, they will stick with you and that was part of SO&U’s long stay secret with Globacom”. For SO&U, the agency sees the Glo account as a territory that it went into, saw and conquered, Biodun Adefila, the COO of the creative agency told BusinessDay.
An operator who is familiar with the industry applauded SO&U for the eight years of unbroken service to Glo as he described the brand as very serious in terms of expectations, speed of delivery and commitment. The brand can give you a brief and possibly demand that it be turned in within a short period and they want it in the top class. Though this expectation could be a norm in the industry the operator said most agency structures are not designed in that form of reverting on a brief almost immediately.
The agency, which has won many awards for its performance, had served GTB from 1991 to 2003. As it was exiting the account, it clinched Access Bank account in 2002 and has since remained with the leading bank which has made its mark in the banking industry. SO&U also worked for ExxonMobil for 25 years and has been with PZ since 2013. For five years running, it has been servicing Unilever, providing great and award-winning creative works for the big FMCG player.
SO&U has very extensive and diversified experience in the telecom sector. The agency had worked for MTN for 5 years and spent unbroken 8 years working on the Globacom account.
Today, one of the brands synonymous with SO&U is Guinness where it has maintained relationships from 2002 till date. It created some memorable campaigns for the brand including the ‘Udeme my friend’ campaign which resonates with many Stout consuming Nigerians.
The fundamental of SO&U’s success with its clients, according to industry sources, is the delivery of extra-ordinary work, commitment and preparedness to go the extra mile which is part of the agency’s DNA. “SO&U’s mantra is ‘Nothing is Impossible’. Whatever it takes to deliver to the client and whatever must be done within estimable limits, we will do it. And the clients must not complain”.
Explaining further on the foundations of long term relationships with clients, Adefila said “we don’t just want to have an account on our roster. We develop a partnership that enables us to deliver to the expectations of the client and supports the achievement of the client’s business objectives.
In a published article on “Building stronger client relationships” Dana P. Hundley, co-founder of Career Cooperative, an Oakland-based, boutique consulting firm said “good client relationships make you feel like a true partner to your client. They trust and listen to you, and you feel good about the work you do for them. As a result, your relationship builds and expands into bigger and better things, either through longevity, additional projects or business, or the biggest compliment—referrals to other clients”.
Currently, the SO&U Group, made up of over 70 people with a wide range of skills has done great work for brands, assisting them to win awards and helping to move the brands to higher level.
Drawbacks of quick turnover of agencies by clients
While constant changing of agencies by clients in order to get the best agency for marketing solutions could be appropriate, it has its drawbacks for the clients. It can make it very difficult for a brand to attract quality professionals to work for it.
For such clients, it may cost them so much money to get a good agency to work for their brands. The client that agencies are running away from may pay much in retainer fees compared to what other clients are paying in the industry. And the agency that eventually works for such client may not be totally committed and this will likely affect performance.
Clearly, positioning your agency as a long distance runner with clients and delivering value that sustains clients’ business has advantages as the agency will likely enjoy retainer fees, and referrals for jobs while clients get value on brand promotion. In its long relationship with clients, SO&U has created some memorable campaigns which include ‘Baba Blue’ for Procter & Gamble, ‘Udeme my friend’ for Guinness, the ‘Bullet Train’ for Access Bank and many more.
A word from those who have worked with the agency is that any client that works with SO&U gets the best. “We are committed to you and this is proven by a long stay of clients with us and the value they get from the relationship.” The agency is known to create communication campaigns that are memorable over the years.
Long-standing relationship between agency and clients built on trust and job satisfaction as in the case of SO&U with GLO, Guinness and others is mutually rewarding to both parties.
