“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
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