Two former M&C Saatchi ad men say their start-up agency breaks new ground. Just in time, too
If the eternal optimist Sir Martin Sorrell has finally conceded that "life is tough"—his marketing group WPP announced recently that profits would fail to reach targets this year—why are the founders of LONDON ad agency so perky? Because, say Alan Jarvie and Michael Moszynski, they set up their business in November 2008 to be more flexible than their larger competitors. The advertising agency model needs a spring clean, they say.
Everyone is receptive to messages of efficiency, says Moszynski. "What we set out wasn't dictated by the recession but it has helped us focus on the long term change that we want to create in the industry," he says. "Anything in advertising is about having an idea and making it happen. I would say an agency should really be adding value to its thinking, and doing stuff cost-efficiently. So we've stripped out a lot of the fat."
Thinking back to when the pair worked at M&C Saatchi (they set up the firm's South East Asia operation in Hong Kong in 1995), Jarvie says the "big problem" was too many layers of management. "There were 12 levels of account management, from the CEO down to the junior account exec. If you have to go through that before the brief even gets to the creative department then inevitably it will take a huge amount of time before anybody starts working on it," he reasons.
Their solution has been to implement a flatter structure with just five or six senior people—or three levels of management. The result, according to Jarvie, is that work is done quicker, it answers the brief, and nothing is lost in translation. The agency says it has won clients on every continent, including Mandarin Oriental. "You get rid of all those levels of bureaucracy," he says. "It's a problem for most big companies. As they grow they inevitably end up with levels of management who do nothing but manage. Often, they're unable or unwilling to put in systems to stop that happening."
Moszynski also claims that the older agencies haven't made the most of new technology. "All the major agencies have offices all over the world and were formed before the advent of the internet. What they haven't done, unlike most businesses, is embrace the power of the Net to transform the back office." What he's saying is that you don't need an international network to do international advertising, explains Jarvie, who adds that LONDON can create, produce and supply any ad in any media in any language to any country in the world from the capital. "Most companies that have been around for a while are finding it much harder to adapt to that way of working because they're not set up that way. They're set up to have an office in every country."
Moszynski admits that, while they find innovation exhilarating, it has ruffled a few feathers among their peers. Their decision to publish their pricelist on their website, for example, hasn't enthralled everyone. "I've yet to find another agency that does that. We made a strategic decision to break with the past, to be transparent. For us, it was about regaining trust with the client. When the whole industry has been engaged in Spanish practices, which the clients know about, it's refreshing to shake it up. But half the industry is saying 'you're pissing in our soup'."
Nevertheless, for advertising to recapture its commercial creativity, and for LONDON to create braver, stronger and more effective work for its clients, all this is necessary, claim the two directors. "We realised that there would be new and better ways of doing things and it just so happened that the recession came along at the same time," says Jarvie. "I think what that means is that some practices will change forever; clients are looking for different ways of doing things. If you don't change, then you will undoubtedly die."
Moszynski describes the bigger picture: "I hope we have a positive impact, not just for our business but the industry as a whole. We need to regain our role to do work that is effective because if it's not effective it's bad for business and bad for UK plc." What it all boils down to, he says, is going back to "proper marketing", really understanding the customer and what motivates them. "There is money but it's being withheld. Sometimes marketing can be a powerful tool to help regain confidence. Now's the time to be brave."
Posted 7 May 2009 : Director.co.uk
