Tuesday, June 02, 2015
Monday, June 01, 2015
Friday, November 18, 2011
Charles Dickens' LAIF
Confusion rules the land. Unfathomed forces hold our beloved business of advertising in a vice grip. Severely choked, creative juices gradually ebb away. Then sufficiently drained, the guillotine falls, again and again and another account is chopped. The toll is high and rising. All the while, the new rulers cheer. They, the new brides of the clients - new media and their enabling technologies, social networks and their content kings, activation and their relentless foot soldiers, ambient, search engines, interactive, online - they come in different shapes and sizes, gloating as the powerful confederation of bean counters, penny pinchers and half baked gatekeepers posing as brand custodians hold sway. Just like it was in the Dickensian world of the French Revolution, It is the worst of times.
To be honest, the revolution had been creeping up on us for a long time. The handwriting appeared on the wall long ago with the perfection of the Internet. While we remained obsessed with "Generation-X", a new humanoid specie was emerging. It looked like a man, walked like a man and spoke like a man. Surely then, it must be a man, except it did not think like a man. Today, with a little more insight, we call him "the Digital Native." His pattern of thinking is completely different from what we were familiar with. He inhabits the neo-civilization world of "The Matrix", venturing out of that world to bestow on us a rare visit only when he is hungry and needing to forage inside our refrigerator or kitchens for something to eat. He morphs back into his world through the binary tunnels of his iPod, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Galaxy Tab and legion other digital devices of escapism, to reconnect with the denizens of that other world organized into countries and communities with such exotic names as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Mixit and hundreds of others.
Since this new creation became the darling of marketers and advertisers, what used to be a straightforward process is now a complicated act, in which Google and Yahoo! could very soon become the biggest media channels yet. These are pretty challenging times, a winter of despair with doomsday predictions of advertising's imminent death.
Make no mistake, this season of darkness is a global phenomenon. Everywhere across the world, the business of advertising is being challenged in ways never before imagined. At the 58th edition of the Cannes Lions, the world's biggest festival of creativity held in June 2011, there were 28,828 entries from 90 different countries. This figure represents a 19% increase from the 2010 festival with well over 5,000 pieces of work in the Press category alone and 4,632 Film and Film Craft entries. According to the Cannes Lions President, this is a positive reflection of the way the business of advertising is recovering from the effects of the global recession. However, this cannot be said to be real growth considering that the previous year witnessed a 19.4% dip in the number of entries.
Here in Nigeria, the LAIF Awards, advertising industry's most respected self-appraisal mechanism is a telling barometer of the depth of distress. This year's awards witnessed perhaps the smallest number of entries in recent years with some of the biggest agencies not even entering a single piece of work. In total, only just about 10 Gold Gongs were awarded across all categories while the STAR Heritage TV commercial from LINTAS was adjudged to merit the sole Grand Prix.
The voices of many agency principals aptly captured the despondency in the air. While some of them openly lamented the poor state of their businesses, others confessed that they simply didn't find anything worthy enough to be entered into the awards. Some did not even bother to show up at all! For Nigerian advertising, truly an epoch of incredulity.
Nevertheless, in spite of all the gloomy picture, the brutal honesty of many of the agency principals and leading practitioners present at the 2011 LAIF Awards was refreshing.
For once, virtually everyone put aside the bickering that sometimes attended these kinds of award shows resulting from discontent over some recognition and accolade given to a piece of work perceived, rightly or wrongly to be deserving or not. For once, there was consensus that there is need to do something drastic about the dwindling standard of creativity. For once, there was equivocation on the need to save the soul of our darling business.
Therein lies the beginnings of our spring of hope. Revolution ultimately begets evolution. As we brace up to face the cresting waves of the digital revolution, we must prepare to take advantage of the new opportunities that are even now being created. As the marketing communications landscape inexorably changes, our business models must evolve with it.
If there is one, irrefutable lesson to be learned therefrom, it is this: the advertising agency of the future will not be a linear organization peopled by single-skilled creative types and suits who rely on the ability to sweet-talk the client in the relentless pursuit of the bottom-line. Rather, the future belongs to an evolved Organization, built on multidisciplinary competencies and who fully understand the dynamics of consumer interactions and engagements with their client's brands.
We must pay heed to the timeless maxim: The more things change, the more they remain the same. Even as things are changing around us, the fundamentals remain the same. A lot of "creative" work involves turning the problem over in the mind and articulating the underlying marketing issue the advertising has to address. It also involves an understanding of the person who would respond to the ads. These things - the need to articulate the problem, the need to understand the customer - are never going to change.
We must learn too and imbibe the mindset that the best advertising is not advertising. Rather, the best advertising will be the ability to generate actionable consumer insights and to use them as the launchpad for useful and usable ideas that result in real customer engagements.
And no, we will not listen to the doomsayers. To plagiarize someone's expression, "Advertising is dead. Long Live Advertising!" Put in the immortal words of Charles Dickens: we have everything before us.
To be honest, the revolution had been creeping up on us for a long time. The handwriting appeared on the wall long ago with the perfection of the Internet. While we remained obsessed with "Generation-X", a new humanoid specie was emerging. It looked like a man, walked like a man and spoke like a man. Surely then, it must be a man, except it did not think like a man. Today, with a little more insight, we call him "the Digital Native." His pattern of thinking is completely different from what we were familiar with. He inhabits the neo-civilization world of "The Matrix", venturing out of that world to bestow on us a rare visit only when he is hungry and needing to forage inside our refrigerator or kitchens for something to eat. He morphs back into his world through the binary tunnels of his iPod, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Galaxy Tab and legion other digital devices of escapism, to reconnect with the denizens of that other world organized into countries and communities with such exotic names as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Mixit and hundreds of others.
Since this new creation became the darling of marketers and advertisers, what used to be a straightforward process is now a complicated act, in which Google and Yahoo! could very soon become the biggest media channels yet. These are pretty challenging times, a winter of despair with doomsday predictions of advertising's imminent death.
Make no mistake, this season of darkness is a global phenomenon. Everywhere across the world, the business of advertising is being challenged in ways never before imagined. At the 58th edition of the Cannes Lions, the world's biggest festival of creativity held in June 2011, there were 28,828 entries from 90 different countries. This figure represents a 19% increase from the 2010 festival with well over 5,000 pieces of work in the Press category alone and 4,632 Film and Film Craft entries. According to the Cannes Lions President, this is a positive reflection of the way the business of advertising is recovering from the effects of the global recession. However, this cannot be said to be real growth considering that the previous year witnessed a 19.4% dip in the number of entries.
Here in Nigeria, the LAIF Awards, advertising industry's most respected self-appraisal mechanism is a telling barometer of the depth of distress. This year's awards witnessed perhaps the smallest number of entries in recent years with some of the biggest agencies not even entering a single piece of work. In total, only just about 10 Gold Gongs were awarded across all categories while the STAR Heritage TV commercial from LINTAS was adjudged to merit the sole Grand Prix.
The voices of many agency principals aptly captured the despondency in the air. While some of them openly lamented the poor state of their businesses, others confessed that they simply didn't find anything worthy enough to be entered into the awards. Some did not even bother to show up at all! For Nigerian advertising, truly an epoch of incredulity.
Nevertheless, in spite of all the gloomy picture, the brutal honesty of many of the agency principals and leading practitioners present at the 2011 LAIF Awards was refreshing.
For once, virtually everyone put aside the bickering that sometimes attended these kinds of award shows resulting from discontent over some recognition and accolade given to a piece of work perceived, rightly or wrongly to be deserving or not. For once, there was consensus that there is need to do something drastic about the dwindling standard of creativity. For once, there was equivocation on the need to save the soul of our darling business.
Therein lies the beginnings of our spring of hope. Revolution ultimately begets evolution. As we brace up to face the cresting waves of the digital revolution, we must prepare to take advantage of the new opportunities that are even now being created. As the marketing communications landscape inexorably changes, our business models must evolve with it.
If there is one, irrefutable lesson to be learned therefrom, it is this: the advertising agency of the future will not be a linear organization peopled by single-skilled creative types and suits who rely on the ability to sweet-talk the client in the relentless pursuit of the bottom-line. Rather, the future belongs to an evolved Organization, built on multidisciplinary competencies and who fully understand the dynamics of consumer interactions and engagements with their client's brands.
We must pay heed to the timeless maxim: The more things change, the more they remain the same. Even as things are changing around us, the fundamentals remain the same. A lot of "creative" work involves turning the problem over in the mind and articulating the underlying marketing issue the advertising has to address. It also involves an understanding of the person who would respond to the ads. These things - the need to articulate the problem, the need to understand the customer - are never going to change.
We must learn too and imbibe the mindset that the best advertising is not advertising. Rather, the best advertising will be the ability to generate actionable consumer insights and to use them as the launchpad for useful and usable ideas that result in real customer engagements.
And no, we will not listen to the doomsayers. To plagiarize someone's expression, "Advertising is dead. Long Live Advertising!" Put in the immortal words of Charles Dickens: we have everything before us.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
RECESSION BLUES: WHY ADVERTISING AGENCIES SUFFER DURING TOUGH TIMES
“People only notice when the Printer breaks down.
We are glad to be anonymous.”
(Press Ad Copy for BROTHER Brand of Printers).
It is the most dreaded scenario for advertising agencies. Well, perhaps not as dreaded as the outright loss of an account. Every agency heads fears the day the client drastically reduces its advertising budget, citing “challenging economic climate” as the major culprit.
Annoyingly, we react to the loss of an account with shock as if we never expected it. Often times however, months before the catastrophe, the signs are usually all over the place. We simply ignore them. On the other hand though, we often have a feeling of déjà vu when a client cuts back on the budget, as if it was the normal thing to do.
There are piles and piles of statistical evidence to show that the companies that maintain or even increase the tempo of their communication activity during recessions reap the rewards of loyalty and increased sales when the storm finally blows over. This is because consumers instinctively view such companies as ‘friends’ through good times and bad. Whereas the brands that retreat during tough times lose more than market share – they lose love and respect and they have to do more work to get back into the mindspace they had earlier vacated. And guess what? They have to spend more money to get there.
Of course there are brands that have gathered enough equity to last them through the difficult times, but we all know that such brands are the exception rather than the rule and what they are reaping is simply the rewards of consistency over previous “challenging economic climates.”
So back to the question: why do we tamely accept budget cutbacks as an inevitable reality? You might say that we have no control over the client’s purse. True, but to emphasize, it is the feeling and attitude of inevitability that rankles for me.
When clients open their advertising budgets to agencies, it is as much an act born of necessity as it is a demonstration of trust that we would help them achieve uncommon results through barrier-pushing, market-defining creative solutions.
Conventional wisdom has it that advertising can make people buy anything even against their wishes. If indeed this were true, then this skill would be most needed in times of recession when people become more guarded in their economic activities and particularly in their consumption habits. But have we given the client reason to believe that this maxim is true even in affluent times?
How much of the advertising budget spent on behalf of client can we account for as having directly translated to sales or business performance for the client? How well have we demonstrated the power of advertising to win the loyalty of consumers for brands?
The other day, a discussion thread on Facebook received many comments to the question of whom to blame for bad advertising. The comments were as interesting as they were diverse. But most of the accusing fingers were pointed at the agency and our spinelessness, our inability to stand up to clients who either directly or indirectly ‘force’ us to do bad work.
Think back to the last twenty or so years of Nigerian advertising. Can we point to any really outstanding piece of creative work that an agency can truly own? To be fair, there are a few, but the vast majority belongs to agencies that would rather remain anonymous. Who are we kidding? The client knows that when the work falls flat we are too quick to point out that it was him that made us do it.
GOD (Client MD): “Why did you eat the forbidden fruit?”
ADAM (Agency MD): “It was the woman you gave me. She made me do it.”
GOD: “Woman, why did you make him do it?”
ADAM: (Cutting in)“It was the brief (oops!) Serpent you gave me. He made me do it.”
GOD: “Serpent, why did you make her do it?”
WOMAN (Client Contact): “Well sir, all she had to do was say no, and she didn’t!”
GOD: “All of you, get out of my sight! And never come back!”
There! Since we are so afraid to own our work, since we are afraid to say “No!” to bad briefs and meddlesome clients, we send a signal to the client that we are dispensable because all we really do is allow them to dictate to us what the work should look like.
So when was the last time you did work you were really proud of? When was the last time you received a genuine letter of commendation from your client for helping to solve a really knotty problem? When was the last time you sat in a beer palour and hear a heated debate going on about an ad or a commercial you had written and produced while every cell in your body was itching to make you jump up and say: “I did that!”?
When was the last time you had the feeling that your position on an account was secure because the marriage with your client really works and he’s not looking askance at some fresh young Turks to commit creative adultery with?
Akin Adesola
The Newton Project Room
Lagos, December 9, 2009
We are glad to be anonymous.”
(Press Ad Copy for BROTHER Brand of Printers).
It is the most dreaded scenario for advertising agencies. Well, perhaps not as dreaded as the outright loss of an account. Every agency heads fears the day the client drastically reduces its advertising budget, citing “challenging economic climate” as the major culprit.
Annoyingly, we react to the loss of an account with shock as if we never expected it. Often times however, months before the catastrophe, the signs are usually all over the place. We simply ignore them. On the other hand though, we often have a feeling of déjà vu when a client cuts back on the budget, as if it was the normal thing to do.
There are piles and piles of statistical evidence to show that the companies that maintain or even increase the tempo of their communication activity during recessions reap the rewards of loyalty and increased sales when the storm finally blows over. This is because consumers instinctively view such companies as ‘friends’ through good times and bad. Whereas the brands that retreat during tough times lose more than market share – they lose love and respect and they have to do more work to get back into the mindspace they had earlier vacated. And guess what? They have to spend more money to get there.
Of course there are brands that have gathered enough equity to last them through the difficult times, but we all know that such brands are the exception rather than the rule and what they are reaping is simply the rewards of consistency over previous “challenging economic climates.”
So back to the question: why do we tamely accept budget cutbacks as an inevitable reality? You might say that we have no control over the client’s purse. True, but to emphasize, it is the feeling and attitude of inevitability that rankles for me.
When clients open their advertising budgets to agencies, it is as much an act born of necessity as it is a demonstration of trust that we would help them achieve uncommon results through barrier-pushing, market-defining creative solutions.
Conventional wisdom has it that advertising can make people buy anything even against their wishes. If indeed this were true, then this skill would be most needed in times of recession when people become more guarded in their economic activities and particularly in their consumption habits. But have we given the client reason to believe that this maxim is true even in affluent times?
How much of the advertising budget spent on behalf of client can we account for as having directly translated to sales or business performance for the client? How well have we demonstrated the power of advertising to win the loyalty of consumers for brands?
The other day, a discussion thread on Facebook received many comments to the question of whom to blame for bad advertising. The comments were as interesting as they were diverse. But most of the accusing fingers were pointed at the agency and our spinelessness, our inability to stand up to clients who either directly or indirectly ‘force’ us to do bad work.
Think back to the last twenty or so years of Nigerian advertising. Can we point to any really outstanding piece of creative work that an agency can truly own? To be fair, there are a few, but the vast majority belongs to agencies that would rather remain anonymous. Who are we kidding? The client knows that when the work falls flat we are too quick to point out that it was him that made us do it.
GOD (Client MD): “Why did you eat the forbidden fruit?”
ADAM (Agency MD): “It was the woman you gave me. She made me do it.”
GOD: “Woman, why did you make him do it?”
ADAM: (Cutting in)“It was the brief (oops!) Serpent you gave me. He made me do it.”
GOD: “Serpent, why did you make her do it?”
WOMAN (Client Contact): “Well sir, all she had to do was say no, and she didn’t!”
GOD: “All of you, get out of my sight! And never come back!”
There! Since we are so afraid to own our work, since we are afraid to say “No!” to bad briefs and meddlesome clients, we send a signal to the client that we are dispensable because all we really do is allow them to dictate to us what the work should look like.
So when was the last time you did work you were really proud of? When was the last time you received a genuine letter of commendation from your client for helping to solve a really knotty problem? When was the last time you sat in a beer palour and hear a heated debate going on about an ad or a commercial you had written and produced while every cell in your body was itching to make you jump up and say: “I did that!”?
When was the last time you had the feeling that your position on an account was secure because the marriage with your client really works and he’s not looking askance at some fresh young Turks to commit creative adultery with?
Akin Adesola
The Newton Project Room
Lagos, December 9, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
In Search of The Nigerian Lion: The Ten Keys
We are angry! Really pissed off! Who wouldn’t be? We take our jobs seriously. We take advertising seriously. Because it is serious business. For some seventy odd years, advertising agencies have been toiling away, building brands and along the way creating some of the most recognizable names on store shelves. We work unholy hours and lose precious weekends. We find ourselves dealing with ill-informed clients, badly done research and censorship boards that live in another age. Yet, we don’t get the recognition we deserve for our labour. Year in, year out, we get overlooked by the most respected International awards. We don’t even get a foot in the door. Simply put, the Lions have evaded us. The Loeries have refused to perch on our shingles. The Clios, One Shows, D&ADs - they are all no-go areas.
But hold on. Are we justified to cry foul? Are we right to feel so aggrieved? What exactly is holding us down and how can we surmount it? Do we have a blueprint for trapping the Lion in its den? Like everything else, providing a blueprint for winning awards on the international stage is at best a controversial, almost presumptuous exercise. Yet, shying away from controversy is a sure way to ensure that we never get there. In these short minutes, I will attempt to sketch a rough roadmap to the Lion’s liar. This is not the usual advice on how to improve your creativity. Too much of that already exists. These are thoughts based on factual observation and honed by years of agonizing over the snub. Take it at your own risk. But remember that in risk lies the greatest opportunity.
The Ten Keys
Here then are the 10 keys in no particular order:
1. The Cannes Lions reward first and foremost The CRAFT of Advertising. As Michael Newman says in his book, “The 22 Irrefutable Laws of Advertising”:
“Advertising…it’s a craft, more like a medieval stonemason’s workshop (except that stone is easier to crack than a truly persuasive idea.) Advertising’s role is as a transmitting device between marketing and consumer – it translates rational marketing into a different and more compelling language. Into the dialect of emotions, the fears, spirit and even the funny bone. Great advertising is at once personal and universal, drawing people together in a shared experience…and when it’s done with enough inspiration, like great pop music, it elevates its success to something more like art.”
Nigerian advertising lacks craft. And we allow too many excuses for maintaining that lack. For instance, how many of us have bothered to read Michael Newman’s book, or Jim Aitchinson’s “Cutting Edge Advertising?” to mention just two. The most experienced practitioners do not have a framework for handing down their precious knowledge to younger ones. The way out? We must develop the craft. In recent times there have been a sprinkling of training initiatives to help develop Creative talent. These efforts must be supported.
2. There are rules - written and unwritten - that determine what wins and what doesn't. The only way to know these rules is to learn them and become familiar with them. To become familiar with them, go to where they are made. Most agencies are still unwilling to sponsor their creative teams to the world’s most prestigious advertising festival. And Cannes is not only for creatives. It is a unique networking opportunity. Each year it features a rich programme of Seminars and workshops that will benefit everyone in attendance. Attend Cannes!
3. Don't waste your time on clients who don't encourage cutting-edge work. Service them for the money. John Webster, the legendary Creative Director of London’s BMP DDB once charged,
“Bad advertising is a pollution. Advertising that’s infantile, as much of it is, treating the public like idiots, and irritating them, and shoving and pushing, I find that a pollution.”
And yet, that is what many of our clients make us do. Bad advertising. Chief Akin Odunsi, the highly respected chairman of the Rosabel Group once told me of a conversation he had with a senior official of Cadbury’s who had asked him why the agency never produced award winning advertising for them the way Rosabel had done for some other clients. Chief’s response was that companies like Cadbury, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Reckitt & Coleman would never win advertising laurels, because those clients were too meddlesome in the creative process. So, when you find a client that allows you space, pull out all the stops.
4. Develop yourself and develop your people. The most repeated excuse agency owners give for not investing in quality training of their people is that no sooner had you spent so much money on them, than they begin to look for greener pastures. But that is not an excuse. When you give people reason to believe that you are interested in their long-term career prospects, they are likely to remain loyal to you. So agencies need to begin to invest more seriously in the growth of their people. Don't be satisfied.
5. The Nigerian Lion will come from a Nigeria-centric ad with a theme that is globally relevant. Also, it must be simple, relevant yet unexpected. Again according to Michael Newman in the introduction to the book:
“Great Advertising is created through a combination of deep analytical skills with the subtle nuances of our truest blood-nature.
Advertising is willful imagination. Applied to marketing. It’s a discipline. The only art is the creation of symbols and stories that catch the fundamental truths of everyday life.”
6. Nigerian advertising awards must become credible. Notice that I did not say "more" credible. The awards as conducted presently are too subjective. In all the years we have held advertising award shows in Nigeria, have we ever bothered to compile a comprehensive showcase of the best advertising and design work ever produced in Nigeria? How do we learn to avoid what has been done before? Such a compilation would help us to see where we are coming from, how far along we are and how much further we have to travel. In essence, they help us to benchmark our work against the best in the world.
7. The Key to the Nigerian LION lies in the hands of fresh young talent. Though creative in their own right, the bulk of current Nigerian creative talent is too unexposed, too poorly baked, too tainted with old misconceptions to deliver the goods.
8. India is currently one of the leading nations in terms of advertising creativity. They achieved this by first developing the knowledge base. Next they grew their ideas on their culture. They exported Indian humor and created award-winning ads around it. What do we have to export that is universally recognizable?
9. Run away from Image Banks. They curtail creativity. They are only good for jump-starting ideas, not copying. A truly original idea will be difficult to find in Corbis. Think up visual scenarios in your head first. If you find an image that matches it perfectly in Corbis, great. If not, create it yourself.
10. Don’t copy others. Don’t rehash old and used ideas. At the CANNES Lions, emphasis is placed on the search for truly original thinking. For example, as much as it is touted for creativity, the Bank PHB campaigns from Insight won’t cut it. Nice bold colours, big budget commercials, heavy ad spend… but no truly original thinking.
What is the point in all of this? That in the search for the Nigerian Lion, we should take an aggressive, long-term developmental view. We are not quite ready yet, but initiatives like organizing the Young Lions competition is a firm step in the right direction. (Thank you, Nnamdi Ndu and Chini Productions). The demons to conquer are still plentiful, but we can knock them off one by one.
But hold on. Are we justified to cry foul? Are we right to feel so aggrieved? What exactly is holding us down and how can we surmount it? Do we have a blueprint for trapping the Lion in its den? Like everything else, providing a blueprint for winning awards on the international stage is at best a controversial, almost presumptuous exercise. Yet, shying away from controversy is a sure way to ensure that we never get there. In these short minutes, I will attempt to sketch a rough roadmap to the Lion’s liar. This is not the usual advice on how to improve your creativity. Too much of that already exists. These are thoughts based on factual observation and honed by years of agonizing over the snub. Take it at your own risk. But remember that in risk lies the greatest opportunity.
The Ten Keys
Here then are the 10 keys in no particular order:
1. The Cannes Lions reward first and foremost The CRAFT of Advertising. As Michael Newman says in his book, “The 22 Irrefutable Laws of Advertising”:
“Advertising…it’s a craft, more like a medieval stonemason’s workshop (except that stone is easier to crack than a truly persuasive idea.) Advertising’s role is as a transmitting device between marketing and consumer – it translates rational marketing into a different and more compelling language. Into the dialect of emotions, the fears, spirit and even the funny bone. Great advertising is at once personal and universal, drawing people together in a shared experience…and when it’s done with enough inspiration, like great pop music, it elevates its success to something more like art.”
Nigerian advertising lacks craft. And we allow too many excuses for maintaining that lack. For instance, how many of us have bothered to read Michael Newman’s book, or Jim Aitchinson’s “Cutting Edge Advertising?” to mention just two. The most experienced practitioners do not have a framework for handing down their precious knowledge to younger ones. The way out? We must develop the craft. In recent times there have been a sprinkling of training initiatives to help develop Creative talent. These efforts must be supported.
2. There are rules - written and unwritten - that determine what wins and what doesn't. The only way to know these rules is to learn them and become familiar with them. To become familiar with them, go to where they are made. Most agencies are still unwilling to sponsor their creative teams to the world’s most prestigious advertising festival. And Cannes is not only for creatives. It is a unique networking opportunity. Each year it features a rich programme of Seminars and workshops that will benefit everyone in attendance. Attend Cannes!
3. Don't waste your time on clients who don't encourage cutting-edge work. Service them for the money. John Webster, the legendary Creative Director of London’s BMP DDB once charged,
“Bad advertising is a pollution. Advertising that’s infantile, as much of it is, treating the public like idiots, and irritating them, and shoving and pushing, I find that a pollution.”
And yet, that is what many of our clients make us do. Bad advertising. Chief Akin Odunsi, the highly respected chairman of the Rosabel Group once told me of a conversation he had with a senior official of Cadbury’s who had asked him why the agency never produced award winning advertising for them the way Rosabel had done for some other clients. Chief’s response was that companies like Cadbury, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Reckitt & Coleman would never win advertising laurels, because those clients were too meddlesome in the creative process. So, when you find a client that allows you space, pull out all the stops.
4. Develop yourself and develop your people. The most repeated excuse agency owners give for not investing in quality training of their people is that no sooner had you spent so much money on them, than they begin to look for greener pastures. But that is not an excuse. When you give people reason to believe that you are interested in their long-term career prospects, they are likely to remain loyal to you. So agencies need to begin to invest more seriously in the growth of their people. Don't be satisfied.
5. The Nigerian Lion will come from a Nigeria-centric ad with a theme that is globally relevant. Also, it must be simple, relevant yet unexpected. Again according to Michael Newman in the introduction to the book:
“Great Advertising is created through a combination of deep analytical skills with the subtle nuances of our truest blood-nature.
Advertising is willful imagination. Applied to marketing. It’s a discipline. The only art is the creation of symbols and stories that catch the fundamental truths of everyday life.”
6. Nigerian advertising awards must become credible. Notice that I did not say "more" credible. The awards as conducted presently are too subjective. In all the years we have held advertising award shows in Nigeria, have we ever bothered to compile a comprehensive showcase of the best advertising and design work ever produced in Nigeria? How do we learn to avoid what has been done before? Such a compilation would help us to see where we are coming from, how far along we are and how much further we have to travel. In essence, they help us to benchmark our work against the best in the world.
7. The Key to the Nigerian LION lies in the hands of fresh young talent. Though creative in their own right, the bulk of current Nigerian creative talent is too unexposed, too poorly baked, too tainted with old misconceptions to deliver the goods.
8. India is currently one of the leading nations in terms of advertising creativity. They achieved this by first developing the knowledge base. Next they grew their ideas on their culture. They exported Indian humor and created award-winning ads around it. What do we have to export that is universally recognizable?
9. Run away from Image Banks. They curtail creativity. They are only good for jump-starting ideas, not copying. A truly original idea will be difficult to find in Corbis. Think up visual scenarios in your head first. If you find an image that matches it perfectly in Corbis, great. If not, create it yourself.
10. Don’t copy others. Don’t rehash old and used ideas. At the CANNES Lions, emphasis is placed on the search for truly original thinking. For example, as much as it is touted for creativity, the Bank PHB campaigns from Insight won’t cut it. Nice bold colours, big budget commercials, heavy ad spend… but no truly original thinking.
What is the point in all of this? That in the search for the Nigerian Lion, we should take an aggressive, long-term developmental view. We are not quite ready yet, but initiatives like organizing the Young Lions competition is a firm step in the right direction. (Thank you, Nnamdi Ndu and Chini Productions). The demons to conquer are still plentiful, but we can knock them off one by one.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Nigeria: How not to brand "a good people."
Very few events or issues in recent memory have seized the imagination of Nigerians or galvanized public opinion as the ongoing "Branding Nigeria" project. In the last 20 years or so, my vote would go to the controversial membership of the OIC and the annulment of the June 12 elections. (Actually, we need to rephrase that last part, because I'm
not sure my vote counted on that particular occasion). On both occasions, we were reminded rather rudely of our voicelessness. For a nation recognized worldwide by the outspoken, almost boastful nature of her peoples, we have endured too many years of executive muzzling at home.
So when frustrations boiled over after June 12, it was not so much due to the actual act of the annulment (many people had long before lost any faith in the sincerity of the entire process), rather it was the realization that once more we were powerless in the presence of forces bent on maintaining our retrogressive progress. And now again, like those two contentious issues before it, an otherwise well-meaning exercise is generating as much widespread and intense public engagement for all the wrong reasons.
Well then, since the issue here is branding Nigeria, it is only fair that we approach it from a brand-building perspective. Akin Adeoya has already x-rayed a number of critical failure points of the entire exercise. The least we could do here is to give a few pointers to some success factors that could be built into the process going forward.
What makes a communication exercise successful?
1. Think about the best film you have watched, the best book you have read, the most memorable ad you have seen, your favorite song. They all have one thing in common: something in them struck a powerful chord in you - either they gave you an insight into a personal issue you were dealing with in your life, or they reflected a value you cherish, or they were a metaphor for the story of your life or the action hero or heroine did something you always wanted to do, and so on. In one word, they achieved the holy Grail of communication - engagement. So think about our slogan: Nigeria - good people, great nation. Nice thought. Engaging? Hardly. Now think about this: America, land of the free. Engaging? Very. The American slogan captures the imagination in a way that very few expressions could. It is a statement and intent, a vision and a reality, a challenge and a promise. It is a desire to live and die for. Freedom.
2. What I tell you three times is true, so goes a Russian proverb. The morale: it is not enough to have a gripping slogan; it has to be repeated as often as possible until it is etched in the memory and consciousness. That is the origin and essence of the term branding. Put a hot iron on the skin of a cow long enough and it makes a lasting impression. Burn a powerful, positive thought in the mind of the Nigerian long enough and he begins to buy into it. Think about "the big black sweet wey get white line, na TomTom," or "Gala o my broda, gala o my sista, gala o im taste na kpamgba!" or better still,
"First Banki na you be number one o, First Banki o, una well done o," and even far better still, "MKOoooo, is our man O!" The longer we heard these slogans, the more we believed them, and in the last instance, we were galvanized to action.
3. “If a Leopard sells goat meat, few people will buy it,” so says a Kenyan proverb. Why did Americans buy Obama’s meat? Why did they reject John McCain’s? Freshness. McCain’s meat was Republican leftover, just as a leopard’s meat couldn’t be anything else. So Obama’s message had a more credible ring to it, because it was fresh. How credible is ‘good people, great nation’ coming from our present crop of politicians? Indeed we are a good people and a potentially great nation. But that is where it ends. Give us a message that commits to steady supply of electricity, a well thought out transport network, and educational system with a standard to rival the best in the world, a credible judiciary…then, we’ll buy that meat.
Good People, great nation. Nice slogan, but it does not inspire passion, does not motivate to action. It does not present a lofty vision to which we must strive. It is easy to scoff at because there are no pillars to hold it up.
A final note: A Media broadcast by the President is a celebrated event in Nigeria. American Presidents speak to their people monthly and sometimes even, weekly. That way they can connect with their fellow countrymen and women, share their visions directly, encourage involvement and lead by example. We want to hear our President, every month. Let him speak directly to us, point the way forward.
not sure my vote counted on that particular occasion). On both occasions, we were reminded rather rudely of our voicelessness. For a nation recognized worldwide by the outspoken, almost boastful nature of her peoples, we have endured too many years of executive muzzling at home.
So when frustrations boiled over after June 12, it was not so much due to the actual act of the annulment (many people had long before lost any faith in the sincerity of the entire process), rather it was the realization that once more we were powerless in the presence of forces bent on maintaining our retrogressive progress. And now again, like those two contentious issues before it, an otherwise well-meaning exercise is generating as much widespread and intense public engagement for all the wrong reasons.Well then, since the issue here is branding Nigeria, it is only fair that we approach it from a brand-building perspective. Akin Adeoya has already x-rayed a number of critical failure points of the entire exercise. The least we could do here is to give a few pointers to some success factors that could be built into the process going forward.
What makes a communication exercise successful?
1. Think about the best film you have watched, the best book you have read, the most memorable ad you have seen, your favorite song. They all have one thing in common: something in them struck a powerful chord in you - either they gave you an insight into a personal issue you were dealing with in your life, or they reflected a value you cherish, or they were a metaphor for the story of your life or the action hero or heroine did something you always wanted to do, and so on. In one word, they achieved the holy Grail of communication - engagement. So think about our slogan: Nigeria - good people, great nation. Nice thought. Engaging? Hardly. Now think about this: America, land of the free. Engaging? Very. The American slogan captures the imagination in a way that very few expressions could. It is a statement and intent, a vision and a reality, a challenge and a promise. It is a desire to live and die for. Freedom.
2. What I tell you three times is true, so goes a Russian proverb. The morale: it is not enough to have a gripping slogan; it has to be repeated as often as possible until it is etched in the memory and consciousness. That is the origin and essence of the term branding. Put a hot iron on the skin of a cow long enough and it makes a lasting impression. Burn a powerful, positive thought in the mind of the Nigerian long enough and he begins to buy into it. Think about "the big black sweet wey get white line, na TomTom," or "Gala o my broda, gala o my sista, gala o im taste na kpamgba!" or better still,
"First Banki na you be number one o, First Banki o, una well done o," and even far better still, "MKOoooo, is our man O!" The longer we heard these slogans, the more we believed them, and in the last instance, we were galvanized to action.3. “If a Leopard sells goat meat, few people will buy it,” so says a Kenyan proverb. Why did Americans buy Obama’s meat? Why did they reject John McCain’s? Freshness. McCain’s meat was Republican leftover, just as a leopard’s meat couldn’t be anything else. So Obama’s message had a more credible ring to it, because it was fresh. How credible is ‘good people, great nation’ coming from our present crop of politicians? Indeed we are a good people and a potentially great nation. But that is where it ends. Give us a message that commits to steady supply of electricity, a well thought out transport network, and educational system with a standard to rival the best in the world, a credible judiciary…then, we’ll buy that meat.
Good People, great nation. Nice slogan, but it does not inspire passion, does not motivate to action. It does not present a lofty vision to which we must strive. It is easy to scoff at because there are no pillars to hold it up.
A final note: A Media broadcast by the President is a celebrated event in Nigeria. American Presidents speak to their people monthly and sometimes even, weekly. That way they can connect with their fellow countrymen and women, share their visions directly, encourage involvement and lead by example. We want to hear our President, every month. Let him speak directly to us, point the way forward.
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