Generally if a shareholder wants to invest his capital in a given country, he first assures himself the economy is fairly stable with a rising trend, which he corroborates using certain statistical parameters. Among them, you may opt to be notified which the annual advertising spending was compared to previous years and how the amount of job positions inside the ads field varied cyclically during the last year.
This reflects what companies do, which are sensitive to economic changes, when their money coffers are in danger: cut the advertising budget, affecting the development of the advertising agencies, whose growth engine is the corporate prosperity.
This intermittent and sporadic menace hits only once, giving agencies the opportunity to recover and gradually get used to new rules imposed by the economy turn.
In addition, some time ago, a two-headed threat is gradually invading the exclusive domain of advertising agencies: the media agencies. On one hand they are grabbing a big part of the market, and on the other they started offering creative service based on their media-channel knowledge.
Starting from the context, the scales tip dramatically in favor of the media agencies, because in societies, whether in West or East, there is a proliferation and growth of alternative communications channels, thanks to the digital technology. This global phenomenon was taken up by the media agencies, which are enhanced if you look which was its origin: the sale and negotiation of space in traditional media.
Within the conventional package (TV, radio, outdoor and Graphics) is offered to the client new ways of guidelines for delivering the message effectively to the target customer. The agencies here cannot do too much, because they elaborate the creative content for the message, which later passed into the hands of the media agencies to be distributed through all possible channels.
Another point to consider: the agencies operate almost entirely with behavioral variables, not profoundly drawn from the insights of consumers, but the creativity of art directors and copywriters of agencies, that appeal to their emotions to impact with over-elaborated and sometimes ridiculous ideas. This implies the difficulty of measuring the impact on the audience, as a matter of having no tangible or palpable variables showing evidence for further analysis. Since creativity is rooted in subjectivity, it is often flawed measure their actual effects on the receiver.
On this point, media agencies are again ahead. They have a more theoretical-practical method to outline their strategies, based on a hybrid consisting of hard and behavioral variables, thanks to the careful analysis of quantitative and qualitative research.
Media agencies have the certainty to guide clients in which media channels they should advertise, based on results obtained by crossing hard variables (affinity with the media, average exposure, etc.). Thus, the company has objective evidence before investing.
Alongside this planning system, media agencies are increasingly moving on the field of behavioral variables, applying strategic creativity to generate an effective content, using the know how of the properties and advantages of each medium, and then present the customer with a new additional service to the media pack. As companies need media channels to advertise, they can discard the ad agencies’ service with the possibility of finding in the media agencies a solution to the content generation.
To conclude this contemporary comparison between media agencies and ad agencies, there is a passage from the book written by Al Ries and his daughter Laura in "The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR" that are worth mentioning, although the author puts the focus on PR. It narrates that the agencies have lost effectiveness in designing new concepts to communicate.
Media agencies have the freshness of being new to the market and have an infinite variety of creative innovation between media and message, merging them into a single concept delivered to the consumer.
The statistics show a disturbing picture if agencies do not revert what they have to offer customers. Last year in Argentina media agencies conquered 65% of the advertising pie.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Centrales vs. Agencias
Competencia y amenaza son célebres términos dentro del ambiente publicitario, esencialmente por encarnar dos vertientes de contenido, de las que se embeben las agencias para poder inspirarse en pos de esbozar una estrategia de comunicación para que su cliente arribe a destino deseado, una vez finalizado el año lectivo.
Dicho párrafo concierne al conocimiento popular de la profesión, porque debajo de los visibles cauces cristalinos fluye un desagüe hediondo, que todos prefieren mantenerlo oculto. Se trata de la versión nefasta de estos dos conceptos que afecta directamente a las agencias, son las amenazas y competencias externas, que deben ser férreamente combatidas para sobrevivir en un entorno revoltoso.
Generalmente si un accionista desea invertir sus capitales en un determino país, lo primero que hace es cerciorarse que la economía sea moderadamente estable con tendencia creciente, y para corroborarlo se basa en ciertos parámetros estadísticos. Entre ellos, tiene la opción de notificarse cuál fue la inversión publicitaria anual en comparación a años anteriores y cómo fue variando cíclicamente la cantidad de puestos efectivos dentro del rubro.
Así queda evidenciado que las empresas, sensibles a los cambios económicos, realizan primariamente, en caso de verse amenazadas, recortes en su presupuesto publicitario, afectando directamente al desarrollo de la industria de las agencias de publicidad, cuyo motor de crecimiento es precisamente la prosperidad corporativa.
Esta amenaza es un factor intermitente y esporádico que suele pegar una sola vez en seco, dándole la oportunidad a las agencias de reponerse paulatinamente y acostumbrarse a las nuevas reglas de juego impuestas por la economía de turno.
A continuación, un peligro bicéfalo que hace un tiempo comenzó a invadir territorio exclusivo de las agencias de publicidad: las centrales de medios. Por un lado amenazan directamente quitándole protagonismo y por el otro, son competencia porque sus servicios ofrecidos se asemejan cada vez más a aquellos brindados por las agencias.
Comenzando por el contexto, la balanza se inclina notablemente a favor de las centrales, porque en las sociedades, ya sean de Occidente u Oriente, hay una proliferación y multiplicación de canales de comunicación alternativos, gracias a la digitalización y la tecnología. Este fenómeno mundial fue acaparado por las centrales de medios, que se ven potenciadas si uno se fija cuál fue su origen: la venta y negociación de espacios en medios tradicionales.
Dentro del paquete convencional (TV, Radio, Vía Pública y Gráfica) se le ofrece al cliente nuevas formas de pautar, para hacer llegar efectivamente el mensaje al target del cliente. Las agencias en este punto no pueden hacer demasiado, ya que en ellos está la elaboración creativa del contenido del mensaje, que posteriormente pasa a las manos de las centrales, encargadas de distribuir a través de todos los canales posibles.
Otro punto a tener en cuenta: las agencias operan casi en su totalidad con variables blandas, no tanto extraídas de los insights de los consumidores, sino de la creatividad de los directores de arte y los redactores de agencia, que apelan a su emotividad para impactar con ideas rebuscadas y a veces ridículas. Esto implica la dificultad de medir el impacto en la audiencia, por una cuestión de no tener variables tangibles o palpables que indiquen datos fehacientes para su posterior análisis. Como la creatividad tiene sus orígenes en la subjetividad, suele ser defectuoso medir sus verdaderos efectos en el receptor.
Sobre este aspecto, nuevamente las centrales se encuentran en ventaja. Tienen un sistema más metódico-teórico/práctico para esbozar sus estrategias, que se basan en un híbrido integrado por variables blandas y duras, fruto del análisis minucioso de investigaciones cuantitativas y cualitativas.
Por un lado, tienen la certeza de demostrar al cliente, cuales son los medios para pautar, basándose en resultados obtenidos por la cruza de variables duras (afinidad con los medios, exposición promedio, etc.). De esta manera, la empresa tiene datos objetivos, que le permiten paliar cierta incertidumbre antes de invertir, por el simple hecho de tener ante sus manos una planilla que le permite calcular hacia futuro y prever el impacto que tendrá en los consumidores.
Junto a este sistema de planificación, las centrales avanzan cada vez más sobre el sector de las variables blandas, aplicándole creatividad estratégica para generar un contenido efectivo, aplicando el know how de las propiedades y ventajas de cada medio, y luego presentarle al cliente un nuevo servicio adicional al paquete de medios. Como las empresas necesitan de los medios para pautar sus mensajes, pueden prescindir perfectamente de las agencias, teniendo la posibilidad de encontrar en las mismas centrales una solución al armado de contenido.
Para concluir con esta comparación contemporánea entre centrales y agencias, hay un pasaje del libro escrito por Al Ries y su hija Laura en “The fall of Advertising and the rise of PR” que vale la pena mencionar, aunque el autor pone el foco sobre las RRPP. Por un lado comenta que las agencias perdieron efectividad al idear nuevos conceptos a comunicar.
En el mercado local uno puede apreciar los plagios constantes que hay. Sin ir más lejos, el caso de Savaglio, quien realizó la campaña a Macri en las elecciones de Capital durante Junio y se inspiró en un comercial de PlayStation III para realizar el comercial de la candidatura. Después el caso de la agencia Santo de Wilhelm y Anselmo que fue noticia en Londres, ya que los creativos sustrajeron una idea de una banda de rock inglesa y se la apoderaron al realizarle un aviso a Coca Cola Light.
En cambio las centrales tienen la frescura de ser nuevas en el mercado y de contar con una variedad infinita de innovar creativamente entre medios y mensaje, fusionándolos en un único concepto emitido al consumidor.
Las estadísticas arrojan un panorama inquietante pasa las agencias si no revierten lo que tienen para ofrecer a los clientes. El año pasado las centrales en Argentina se llevaron el 65% de la torta publicitaria. Competencia y amenaza continúan siendo célebres términos dentro del ambiente publicitario, por encarnar dos desagües mortíferos que ahogan la futura existencia de las agencias
Friday, October 23, 2009
Where is advertising heading? (English Version)
About 2500 years ago, the first sparks of propaganda (Alba, Libelli, Kyrbos and axons) appeared in Rome and Greece, as the heralds, paid characters who promoted products of certain merchants shouting out loud among the crowd. The Phoenicians were also seeking to highlight their bid, now synonymous with commercial advertising and competition.
Arriving in the Middle Age, Gutenberg, inventor of the movable type, gestated the starting point for the modern era of advertising.
Also, at that time, companies began unconsciously to differentiate themselves from their competition by putting a distinctive insignia of his office on the gateway to trade.
Another point of inflexion was staged in 1711, when the British newspaper The Spectactor discovers that the sale of advertising spaces allowed cheaper production costs. Following these, the advertisers then financed the publication costs. The established rate was based on the print run.
In 1845 the first advertising agency is founded in France: Société Générale des Annonces. Its function is to be the mediator between the advertiser and the different media.
By the twentieth century agencies tried to keep the name of the brand in the potential customer minds’. Then, they focused by implementing persuasive arguments as a resource to encourage the purchase of products.
In 1920 the radio makes its debut and it becomes a new way to reach the audience, forcing agencies to develop a new format to edit their messages.
When television burst in around 1950, advertising made a much deeper turnover, because this new media was, and still is, an influential phenomenon in the behavior of society. Social sciences, especially psychology, started to be considered by the agencies.
In the 60s Reeves creates a new technique based on the USP (Unique Selling Position) and a decade later Trout and Reis develop the positioning concept.
The agencies were taking these premises, which changed the form of advertising and generated the organizational structure everyone knows today, although the practice is far away from theory.
To analyze the present time, here some facts which happened lately in the Argentinean advertising market:
• In the 90s Agulla&Baccetti appeared, who revolutionized the way to advertise with a unique creative method (see Boulangeries Creative)
• The Central Media are beginning to grow and take over spaces occupied by agencies (see The 4 Musketeers)
• Direct Marketing, HR and Promotions agencies arise (see The 4 Musketeers)
Based on the first point, we can have a greater field vision and understand what comes next:
The agency lost its identity several times, but always managed to adapt again to the needs of the client. For example, 30 years ago the Central Media with their brokers started to gain space among the ad agencies. They realized the problem, thus restructured themselves to provide a new kind of service , which is to position creatively products in the consumer’s mind and so achieve the marketing objectives.
There is an interesting point that was marking a silent change within the agencies:
With their campaign “La llama que llama” (The Llama who is calling), A&B accidentally made all the people talk about the commercial, but very few remembered the brand who made it (Telecom). The success was such that the agency sold massively stuffed Llama puppets. This phenomenon made clients to focus, not in the integral service agencies had to offer, but on the creative ideas. Customers were looking for the creative “star” and not for the agency as such.
These creative copywriters realized that they embodied what the companies were looking for, so many resigned to their position at an agency to open their own enterprise.
Examples: Agulla and Baccetti created Heaven and Hell, Sebastian Wilhelm came from Europe to found Santo. This are the so-called “Creative Boutiques”, which deliver creative solutions for video clips, commercials, movie clips, etc.
I think this is a new item that opens into Argentina advertising, creative boutiques whose service the sale of creative ideas that can then be used for video music clips, commercial or any use that one party would like to buy give.
Now, here is a question How come agencies, with a sophisticated infrastructure, suddenly have direct competition, a small sized hub, which is able to attract strong brands such as Coca Cola Light?
The agency lost that point of differentiation, which is to provide creative ideas to a brand.
A personal approach and noting recent moves, it seems that strategic planning is shaping up to be the flagship service agencies.
Arriving in the Middle Age, Gutenberg, inventor of the movable type, gestated the starting point for the modern era of advertising.
Also, at that time, companies began unconsciously to differentiate themselves from their competition by putting a distinctive insignia of his office on the gateway to trade.
Another point of inflexion was staged in 1711, when the British newspaper The Spectactor discovers that the sale of advertising spaces allowed cheaper production costs. Following these, the advertisers then financed the publication costs. The established rate was based on the print run.
In 1845 the first advertising agency is founded in France: Société Générale des Annonces. Its function is to be the mediator between the advertiser and the different media.
By the twentieth century agencies tried to keep the name of the brand in the potential customer minds’. Then, they focused by implementing persuasive arguments as a resource to encourage the purchase of products.
In 1920 the radio makes its debut and it becomes a new way to reach the audience, forcing agencies to develop a new format to edit their messages.
When television burst in around 1950, advertising made a much deeper turnover, because this new media was, and still is, an influential phenomenon in the behavior of society. Social sciences, especially psychology, started to be considered by the agencies.
In the 60s Reeves creates a new technique based on the USP (Unique Selling Position) and a decade later Trout and Reis develop the positioning concept.
The agencies were taking these premises, which changed the form of advertising and generated the organizational structure everyone knows today, although the practice is far away from theory.
To analyze the present time, here some facts which happened lately in the Argentinean advertising market:
• In the 90s Agulla&Baccetti appeared, who revolutionized the way to advertise with a unique creative method (see Boulangeries Creative)
• The Central Media are beginning to grow and take over spaces occupied by agencies (see The 4 Musketeers)
• Direct Marketing, HR and Promotions agencies arise (see The 4 Musketeers)
Based on the first point, we can have a greater field vision and understand what comes next:
The agency lost its identity several times, but always managed to adapt again to the needs of the client. For example, 30 years ago the Central Media with their brokers started to gain space among the ad agencies. They realized the problem, thus restructured themselves to provide a new kind of service , which is to position creatively products in the consumer’s mind and so achieve the marketing objectives.
There is an interesting point that was marking a silent change within the agencies:
With their campaign “La llama que llama” (The Llama who is calling), A&B accidentally made all the people talk about the commercial, but very few remembered the brand who made it (Telecom). The success was such that the agency sold massively stuffed Llama puppets. This phenomenon made clients to focus, not in the integral service agencies had to offer, but on the creative ideas. Customers were looking for the creative “star” and not for the agency as such.
These creative copywriters realized that they embodied what the companies were looking for, so many resigned to their position at an agency to open their own enterprise.
Examples: Agulla and Baccetti created Heaven and Hell, Sebastian Wilhelm came from Europe to found Santo. This are the so-called “Creative Boutiques”, which deliver creative solutions for video clips, commercials, movie clips, etc.
I think this is a new item that opens into Argentina advertising, creative boutiques whose service the sale of creative ideas that can then be used for video music clips, commercial or any use that one party would like to buy give.
Now, here is a question How come agencies, with a sophisticated infrastructure, suddenly have direct competition, a small sized hub, which is able to attract strong brands such as Coca Cola Light?
The agency lost that point of differentiation, which is to provide creative ideas to a brand.
A personal approach and noting recent moves, it seems that strategic planning is shaping up to be the flagship service agencies.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Hacia donde se dirige la publicidad?
Hace unos 2500 años, surgen los primeros medios de propaganda (Alba, Libelli, Kyrbos y Axones) en Roma y Grecia, al igual que los heraldos, personajes pagos que a viva voz recomendaban ciertos productos de algunos mercaderes. Los fenicios también procuraban en resaltar su oferta, sinónimo actual de publicidad comercial y competencia.
Arribando a
Cabe la pena destacar, que en dicha época, otro aspecto a tener en cuenta es que las “empresas” comenzaban a distinguirse de sus competidores indirectamente. Se hacían notar poniendo una insignia distintiva de su oficio sobre la puerta de entrada al comercio.
Otro punto inflexivo hacia la publicidad que conocemos, se protagonizó en 1711, cuando el periódico inglés The Spectactor descubre que la venta de sus espacios a anunciantes les permite abaratar costos de producción. Como consecuencia de éstos, los anunciantes financiaron luego los costos de la edición. La tarifa se estableció en función de la tirada.
1845 fue una fecha cumbre para la profesión, porque nace la primer agencia de publicidad en suelo francés: Société Genérale des Annonces. Su función radicaba en ser el mediador entre anunciante y los diferentes medios de comunicación.
Hacia el siglo XX las agencias tienen como premisa mantener presente el nombre de la marca en la mente del potencial cliente. Luego, se hace foco en la implementación de argumentos como un recurso persuasivo para motivar la compra de productos.
En 1920 irrumpe en la sociedad la radio, flamante vehículo que representaba una nueva manera de llegarle al público, obligando a las agencias a elaborar un nuevo formato para editar sus mensajes.
Pisando la mitad del siglo pasado, la publicidad se vuelve una actividad profesional por un fenómeno mundial: aparece la televisión. Al estudiar este nuevo medio, las agencias deben recurrir a las ciencias sociales, sobre todo a la psicología, porque la televisión fue y es un fenómeno influyente en la conducta de la sociedad.
Avanzando un poco más Reeves crea por los 60 una nueva técnica basada en el USP (Unique Selling Position) y una década después surge el concepto del posicionamiento, aportado por Trout y Reis.
Las agencias fueron tomando estas premisas, que modificaron la forma de hacer publicidad y generar el organigrama que hoy todos conocen, más allá que la práctica dista mucho de la teoría.
Encallamos en la actualidad, que antes de ser analizada, conviene refrescar un poco hechos y acontecimientos de los últimos años de la publicidad autóctona que no pueden ser pasados por alto.
· En la década de los 90 entran en escena Agulla y Baccetti, que revolucionan la manera de hacer publicidad con una vuelta creativa única para esa época (ver Boulangeries Creativas)
· Las Centrales de Medios comienzan a crecer y quitarle espacio a las agencias (ver Los 4 Mosqueteros)
· Surgen las pequeñas consultoras de Marketing Directo, RRHH y Promociones (ver Los 4 Mosqueteros)
En base al primer punto mencionado, podemos tener una mayor visión de campo y entender lo que viene a continuación: las agencias perdieron varias veces su identidad, pero siempre lograron adecuarse nuevamente a las necesidades de los anunciantes. Por ejemplo, hace unos 30 años, nacen las centrales de medios con sus respectivos brockers y comienzan a establecerse en el mercado, desplazando a las agencias del negocio que generó su creación, ser el mediador y negociador entre anunciante y medios. Eso generó una reestructuración de agencias, estableciendo el organigrama teórico que impera hasta nuestros días, y la confección de un nuevo servicio para los clientes, que trata de posicionar el producto o servicio del anunciante en la mente de los consumidores, ya sea para incrementar las ventas, ganar participación de mercado o por simple mantenimiento.
Hay un punto interesante que fue marcando un cambio silencioso dentro de las agencias, que recién en la actualidad se puede evidenciar con los diferentes sucesos que están suscitándose dentro de la burbuja publicitaria.
El puntapié inicial lo dieron A&B cuando mediante su campaña de “La llama que llama” produjeron accidentalmente que todo el mundo hablara de las publicidades, pero pocos recordaban la marca. Llegó tener tales dimensiones, que vendieron peluches a raíz de ver simpáticas llamas del NOA hablando estupideces por teléfono. Este fenómeno hizo que los anunciantes se fijaran en las agencias, no por el servicio integral que tenía para ofrecer, sino por las ideas creativas que contenían. Precisamente, lo que buscaban los clientes, no era a la agencia sino a sus “creativos” estrella.
Esta tendencia se extendió con el paso del tiempo, sobre todo si uno mira las cúpulas actuales de las agencias, son creativos que lograron tener un peso importante con campañas pasadas y los grandes accionistas de los conglomerados de la comunicación creyeron que ellos encarnan el éxito.
Estos creativos se dieron cuenta que personificaban lo que el anunciante buscaba, y por eso muchos renunciaron a sus puestos dentro de las agencias que los habían catapultado a la fama para crear su propio emprendimiento.
Ejemplos: Agulla y Baccetti crearon El Cielo y El Infierno, Sebastián Wilhelm llegó de Europa para fundar Santo. Existe
Creo que esto es un nuevo rubro que se abre dentro de la publicidad argentina, las boutiques creativas que tienen como servicio la venta de ideas creativas, que posteriormente pueden ser usadas para video clips de música, comerciales o cualquier uso que un interesado en comprarlo quisiera darle.
Ahora bien, cómo una agencia, con toda su infraestructura y años en el mercado, tiene de repente competencia directa, que está formada por solamente dos creativos, que están en condiciones de atraer una marca fuerte como lo es Coca Cola Light, que le confió su marca a Santo.
Las agencias perdieron ese punto de diferenciación, que es aportar ideas creativas a una marca.
Ahora deben ponerse a ver qué es lo que pueden aportarle al cliente que ningún otro competidor tenga.
A criterio personal y observando movimientos recientes, pareciera ser que la planificación estratégica se perfila a ser el servicio insignia de las agencias.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
The 4 Musketeers
Advertising is part of the integrated communications and not, as many believe, the only option the advertiser has when in comes to accomplish the marketing objectives. It occupies the same rank as its colleagues: promotion, direct marketing and public relations.
In everyday terms: the ad agencies did not embrace the alternative spreading methods (ATL), thus they are suffering a crisis nowadays.
At first instance, the media centers began their fierce crusade some years ago, invading agencies’ territory and grabbing the interest of potential advertisers, because they provide an integrated service, contemplating all benefits of the integrated communications.
The second point indicates the flowering of consultancies and agencies dedicated specifically to the “minor brothers” of advertising: promotions, direct marketing and public relations.
A third alarming point are the statistics, an intimate enemy for the creative advertising, but necessary to articulate stratagems to face a fierce battlefield, which is implacable when in comes to detect weaken points in the enemy lines.
In addition hard variables are a glimpse when the ROI’s measuring problem arises (check the "Great Schism" article).
There is a fourth aspect which threatens the creative leader and his troop.
By the early twentieth century theorists of European schools, including the Frankfurt School with Habermas, Benjamin, Adorno, etc. believed that the masses were ignorant, atomized and without any criteria, thus they react automatically to a stimulus delivered by the mass media.
Over the decades they realized they had no reason.
Consumers are the kings of the dance floor. Advertisers made a 180 degrees spin and inspired their designs in what the clientele wants and also be ready to satisfy every whim it has.
Markets tend to fragment, leading to establish small niches with dense thickets of impenetrable codes, values and preferences that can hardly be attracted by mass advertising, as do public relations, direct marketing and promotions.
Agencies must react quick. The media centers threaten to swell their heritage, hogging most of the advertising pie participation (currently it embraces the 65%).
In everyday terms: the ad agencies did not embrace the alternative spreading methods (ATL), thus they are suffering a crisis nowadays.
At first instance, the media centers began their fierce crusade some years ago, invading agencies’ territory and grabbing the interest of potential advertisers, because they provide an integrated service, contemplating all benefits of the integrated communications.
The second point indicates the flowering of consultancies and agencies dedicated specifically to the “minor brothers” of advertising: promotions, direct marketing and public relations.
A third alarming point are the statistics, an intimate enemy for the creative advertising, but necessary to articulate stratagems to face a fierce battlefield, which is implacable when in comes to detect weaken points in the enemy lines.
In addition hard variables are a glimpse when the ROI’s measuring problem arises (check the "Great Schism" article).
There is a fourth aspect which threatens the creative leader and his troop.
By the early twentieth century theorists of European schools, including the Frankfurt School with Habermas, Benjamin, Adorno, etc. believed that the masses were ignorant, atomized and without any criteria, thus they react automatically to a stimulus delivered by the mass media.
Over the decades they realized they had no reason.
Consumers are the kings of the dance floor. Advertisers made a 180 degrees spin and inspired their designs in what the clientele wants and also be ready to satisfy every whim it has.
Markets tend to fragment, leading to establish small niches with dense thickets of impenetrable codes, values and preferences that can hardly be attracted by mass advertising, as do public relations, direct marketing and promotions.
Agencies must react quick. The media centers threaten to swell their heritage, hogging most of the advertising pie participation (currently it embraces the 65%).
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Los 4 Mosqueteros
La publicidad es una de las herramientas de las comunicaciones integradas y no, como muchos suponen, de la única opción con la que cuenta un anunciante a la hora de pautar, darse a conocer, aumentar el marketshare o lo que fuere. Ocupa el mismo puesto jerárquico que sus compañeras/as: promoción, RRHH y marketing directo.
En términos cotidianos: por no haber abarcado las agencias de publicidad, en su totalidad, las otras alternativas de difusión, éstas se hallan en un momento de crisis.
En primera instancia, las centrales de medios comenzaron su aguerrida cruzada hace unos años, invadiendo territorio de agencias y acaparando el interés de los potenciales anunciantes, porque prestan un servicio integrador, contemplando los beneficios de cada una de las comunicaciones integradas.
El segundo punto, indica el florecimiento de consultoras y agencias dedicadas específicamente al rubro BTL (below the line), ya sea promociones, marketing directo o RRHH.
Un tercer punto alarmante son las estadísticas, esos íntimos enemigos del creativo publicitario, pero un mal necesario para la articulación de estratagemas en un campo de batalla feroz, que no sabe de clemencia a la hora de encontrar un punto de flaqueza en las líneas enemigas.
Además que son el atisbo de los problemas que surgen al medir el ROI (ver nota “El gran Cisma”).
Vislumbra un cuarto aspecto que amenaza al líder creativo y su troop.
Hacia principios del siglo XX, como mencioné en el primer artículo, los teóricos de las escuelas europeas, entre ellas la de Frankfurt con Habermas, Benjamin, Adorno, etc., creían que las masas eran ignorantes, atomizadas y sin criterio alguno, de modo tal que reaccionarían automáticamente ante un estímulo emitido por los medios masivos de comunicación.
Con el correr de las décadas se dieron cuenta que no tenían siquiera un poco de razón.
Los consumidores son los reyes de la pista de baile. Los anunciantes realizaron un giro de 180 grados e inspiraron sus diseños en la demanda y están listos para satisfacer cualquier capricho que tengan.
Si observamos el hic et nunc, los mercados tienden a fragmentarse, llegando a establecer pequeños nichos, impenetrables entre densos matorrales de códigos, valores y preferencias, que la publicidad masiva difícilmente pueda captar, como lo hacen las relaciones públicas, el marketing directo y las promociones.
Las agencias deben encontrar la vuelta, de lo contrario, desaparecerán con el correr de los años venideros.
Ejemplo: las promociones aumentan anualmente un 20%, las centrales de medios amenazan con engrosar su patrimonio, acaparando más participación de la torta publicitaria (actualmente se abraza al 65%).
Friday, August 14, 2009
The Great Schism (English Version)
trust (BELIEVE)
to have belief or confidence in the honesty, goodness, skill or safety of a person, organization or thing- Cambridge Dictionary
"The speech inspires less confidence that the actions" - Aristotle
"Collaboration requires trust. Trust has to be earned. Over time people learn to trust you for your ability."
- Ridderstrale at Nordstrom and Karaoke Capitalism
Trust is the relationship’s tensiometer between agencies and advertisers.
Where it prevails, it means that there is a seamless communication and delegation of powers, because members of the company trust to each other, which avoids fierce competition for control. They know they can rely on each of their colleagues, because they believe in their individual virtues, and consequently, in their responsibilities. It allows members to develop their assets freely which, integrating all the employees’ skills, helps to have a sort of kaleidoscopic view over the market and therefore differentiate their company from the competition.
Trust is the most suitable and legitimate vehicle for promoting the talents of an organization and thus better results. It’s a whole different story when a company must transfer or delegate power and responsibility to an external body, specially when it comes to advertising agencies and advertisers. The advertiser has to know well his product/service and the market, while agencies has to support strategically and creatively the client’s decision to sell more. Theoretically it sounds great, but happens this in the practical area?
In 2003, I attended as a student at the Ojo de Iberoamerica (www.elojodeiberoamerica.com) and heard Damián Kepel’s speech (Owner and Creative Director of Kepel&Mata). Over the stage I saw a ping pong table. The tiny man started calling people from the audience to play table tennis. With the volunteers he demonstrated to be a good player and later he called up Argentina´s champions of ping pong, who made a harmonious and colorful game. Kepel made an analogy between the ping pong and the advertiser-agency relationship. He showed that if both play in the "major league" the outcome will be much more successful if one is on a upper level and the other on a lower ground. On the real arena, agencies win pitches showing their creative skills and not for their ability to satisfy the potential customer’s demand. This happens because the client hasn’t got robust information about the agency’s past performance with other accounts, just some awards but on which they can’t relay on, because it doesn’t shed light over the ROI (return of investment).
An announcer can only judge his agency once the creative work is out in the streets, billboards, television, digital media, etc. Also it’s almost impossible to track results upon recognition of the commercial, for example. This situation gives the agency an external excuse, if the marketing objectives weren’t accomplished.
Clients might be discontent with their agencies, but when it comes to international brands many times the advertising agency is imposed by the head office. For example FIAT is managed globally by Leo Burnett.
An other option is to trust the advertising budget to a “friend”: many marketing managers establish a strong friendship with influential ad men. After the ad’s shooting, one of the top creative individuals invites his client to a party organized by Adlatina (the magazine which I mentioned on a previous article). Suddenly, the manager finds himself immersed in a dream world, surrounded by beautiful women, booze and pot. Wrapped in a mundane Eden the manager entrust his brand to the ad man. Why? Because he was mesmerized by a cool person, who belongs to an enchanted world and has the key to give his brand a magic touch, which will help to boost sales. Depending on the personality of the product or brand, it's easier to be tempted to delegate control to a trendy and fashion guy who inspires creativity and originality.
Coming up, specific cases where agencies savor the bitter taste of a decision made by senior managers of a company upon the last campaign results:
• Great majority of clients are disenchanted with their advertising agencies, and not just because they can not measure the result of their efforts. On a survey just 21% would recommend their agency.
Source: Forrester Research
• Telecom Company, whose campaign ran the agency Agulla & Baccetti for years, was seduced by new firms and thus put an end to their old relationship. Source: Clarín
• A recent survey reveals that clients are far from being satisfied with their agency’s work and now they are reviewing the contract.
Source: Citigate
• The concept of partnership between agency, client and media is bleeding. Source: Portal Advertising
To find a solution, there has to be an approach towards the customer and work together to germinate and develop the trust concept on a solid platform that contains the bilateral relationship.
to have belief or confidence in the honesty, goodness, skill or safety of a person, organization or thing- Cambridge Dictionary
"The speech inspires less confidence that the actions" - Aristotle
"Collaboration requires trust. Trust has to be earned. Over time people learn to trust you for your ability."
- Ridderstrale at Nordstrom and Karaoke Capitalism
Trust is the relationship’s tensiometer between agencies and advertisers.
Where it prevails, it means that there is a seamless communication and delegation of powers, because members of the company trust to each other, which avoids fierce competition for control. They know they can rely on each of their colleagues, because they believe in their individual virtues, and consequently, in their responsibilities. It allows members to develop their assets freely which, integrating all the employees’ skills, helps to have a sort of kaleidoscopic view over the market and therefore differentiate their company from the competition.
Trust is the most suitable and legitimate vehicle for promoting the talents of an organization and thus better results. It’s a whole different story when a company must transfer or delegate power and responsibility to an external body, specially when it comes to advertising agencies and advertisers. The advertiser has to know well his product/service and the market, while agencies has to support strategically and creatively the client’s decision to sell more. Theoretically it sounds great, but happens this in the practical area?
In 2003, I attended as a student at the Ojo de Iberoamerica (www.elojodeiberoamerica.com) and heard Damián Kepel’s speech (Owner and Creative Director of Kepel&Mata). Over the stage I saw a ping pong table. The tiny man started calling people from the audience to play table tennis. With the volunteers he demonstrated to be a good player and later he called up Argentina´s champions of ping pong, who made a harmonious and colorful game. Kepel made an analogy between the ping pong and the advertiser-agency relationship. He showed that if both play in the "major league" the outcome will be much more successful if one is on a upper level and the other on a lower ground. On the real arena, agencies win pitches showing their creative skills and not for their ability to satisfy the potential customer’s demand. This happens because the client hasn’t got robust information about the agency’s past performance with other accounts, just some awards but on which they can’t relay on, because it doesn’t shed light over the ROI (return of investment).
An announcer can only judge his agency once the creative work is out in the streets, billboards, television, digital media, etc. Also it’s almost impossible to track results upon recognition of the commercial, for example. This situation gives the agency an external excuse, if the marketing objectives weren’t accomplished.
Clients might be discontent with their agencies, but when it comes to international brands many times the advertising agency is imposed by the head office. For example FIAT is managed globally by Leo Burnett.
An other option is to trust the advertising budget to a “friend”: many marketing managers establish a strong friendship with influential ad men. After the ad’s shooting, one of the top creative individuals invites his client to a party organized by Adlatina (the magazine which I mentioned on a previous article). Suddenly, the manager finds himself immersed in a dream world, surrounded by beautiful women, booze and pot. Wrapped in a mundane Eden the manager entrust his brand to the ad man. Why? Because he was mesmerized by a cool person, who belongs to an enchanted world and has the key to give his brand a magic touch, which will help to boost sales. Depending on the personality of the product or brand, it's easier to be tempted to delegate control to a trendy and fashion guy who inspires creativity and originality.
Coming up, specific cases where agencies savor the bitter taste of a decision made by senior managers of a company upon the last campaign results:
• Great majority of clients are disenchanted with their advertising agencies, and not just because they can not measure the result of their efforts. On a survey just 21% would recommend their agency.
Source: Forrester Research
• Telecom Company, whose campaign ran the agency Agulla & Baccetti for years, was seduced by new firms and thus put an end to their old relationship. Source: Clarín
• A recent survey reveals that clients are far from being satisfied with their agency’s work and now they are reviewing the contract.
Source: Citigate
• The concept of partnership between agency, client and media is bleeding. Source: Portal Advertising
To find a solution, there has to be an approach towards the customer and work together to germinate and develop the trust concept on a solid platform that contains the bilateral relationship.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
