Media Observer: Insight into marketing, media and technology
A willingness to think outside the box and embrace innovation is key to brand survival in tough times, according to local industry experts.
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Flick the switch, says marketing chief
Jens Monsees likes what he sees of South Australia – and not simply from a marketing perspective.
The Sydney-based chief executive of marketing services company WPP AUNZ was in Adelaide this month to speak with local staff – who have recently moved into a new open-plan “campus” on level one at 2 King William St – and key clients.
Mr Monsees, right, said he was so taken by the state he had planned to return for a three-week family holiday after Christmas, staying in the Barossa Valley and Kangaroo Island.
“I think the SA population, especially here in Adelaide, are underestimating themselves a little bit. You are rated among the top cities in the world, so I would be much more proud and outspoken about it. Coming from Germany, I have the feeling that here the sun is always shining. In fact, how I perceive the city – especially now, compared to the other cities in the world – there’s almost no better place to be.”
The former BMW and Google marketing executive – who arrived in Australia to take up his WPP AUNZ role a little over a year ago – said there was a distinct “push of energy” in the new Adelaide office.
“It’s open, it’s collaborative – it’s a buzzing environment,” he said of the space. “We think the SA market is still growing, and we wanted to be in the city centre, close to our clients and to ride that growth.”
Mr Monsees said while Australia had broadly been able to ride out much of the COVID-19 crisis reasonably comfortably, there was now a need to flick the economic switch.
“The overall Australian economy is down 6 per cent,” he said. “We had the reorientation phase where everybody looked to cut costs ... (but it’s time) to ignite the engines again and it’s very much up to the media/advertising landscape to drive that demand back and bring the customers back into the economy.
“Because if we don’t drive that, then there will be a much longer impact. But if we are seeing it as an opportunity to unlock potential and growth then we can drive the economy back to where it was before – and even take a little bit of the headwind out of the crisis.”
New tech targets relationships
The South Australian wine industry has endured bushfires, drought and a global pandemic during the past year alone.
However, Adelaide-based firms KWP Technology and Evans + Ayers saw the struggle as an opportunity to create a platform to help wineries support relationships with their customers.
Working alongside a few key foundation clients, including Wirra Wirra winery, the companies co-developed Winem8, an online subscription management tool.
“Winem8 was inspired by the challenges that the Australian wine industry faces at the moment and as a result, businesses are recognising the importance of direct consumer sales,” Winem8 director Marc Allgrove said.
“The platform has been developed for the wine industry to have all the tech based in Adelaide and I think that’s very important. All the support services and development has taken place in SA, which demonstrates a belief in the future of not only the wine industry, but also SA.”
With six wineries currently using the platform, Mr Allgrove said there had been plenty of interest, including from New Zealand.
Wirra Wirra marketing manager Luke Tyler said the winery had previously established their own wine club, The Tribe, however it was limited in options.
“The way it worked previously was we would curate the wine packs for them, they’d commit to a dozen or two dozen a year and we’d send them out,” he said.
“We wanted to give our customers the choice of what they wanted to receive, so that’s how it all started. We ended up going to Winem8 to give us a solution that would give us that service.”
With the platform launching in June, Mr Tyler said it has been proving a great result for the winery and their customer base.
“We’ve had a much better response to people joining The Tribe with the ability to choose their own wines basically,” he said.
Right market for business
Adelaide may be a smaller market than London or Sydney – but that is working in its favour
AFTER more than a decade working in London and Sydney, James Parry knew there was one city that could give him the work-life balance he was looking for – Adelaide.
Mr Parry, whose resume includes global media agencies Starcom, OMD International and Hearts & Science, moved to Adelaide from Sydney with his South Australian wife and baby daughter in late 2019.
“The opportunity to have more family support and a better life-work balance was appealing,” Mr Parry said.
Mr Parry was offered the role of client business director at Starcom’s Adelaide office, where he works on blue-chip brands like Webber and Beyond Bank. “The opportunity to work on those accounts was also a big drawcard,” he said.
Adelaide may be a smaller market but Mr Parry, above, said that actually works in its favour. “It’s a very close-knit, relationship-focused market – everyone knows each other and there is a collegiate vibe about doing business here,” he said. “It’s about building relationships over the long-term: it’s a partnership rather than a transactional, transient relationship.”
Mr Parry has also built a firm relationship with his new home state. “It’s easy to understand why Adelaide is consistently voted one of the most liveable cities in the world,” he said. “It’s easier to get a good-sized house with access to the city, which talks to quality of life – which a lot of people aren’t getting in Sydney or Melbourne.”
$1.5M ad investment backs Adelaide sector
WITH 33 years in the advertising business, Mark Elsdon has seen it all. So when the owner of Jarvis Marketing – Adelaide’s oldest strategic and creative ad agency – and OMD Adelaide – the award-winning local office of Australia’s largest media agency – says this is the most exciting time in decades to be part of the local ad business, it’s time to sit up and take notice.
Not only that, Mr Elsdon has put his money where his mouth is, investing $1.5 million in an architecturally designed new office in the heart of the CBD. “It’s an advanced and innovative work space that I am very proud of,” Mr Elsdon, above, said.
The new Gilbert Street offices are home to Mr Elsdon’s team of 12 employees looking after clients including Drakes Supermarkets, Robern Menz, Anglicare and Paradise Mazda. “While the ad industry in Adelaide has been challenged this year, we have been as busy as ever without a single hour or productivity lost,” he said.
The shift in consumer sentiment to a more “tribal” aspect over the past few months has created opportunities for local brands and businesses to gain market share. “The national and internationals will fight back over time with their big budgets and unlimited resources, but the local brands who are prepared to be brave and take some risks will come out of this period better than when they went in and have a chance to win customers’ hearts and minds for the long haul,” he said.
Current campaigns include:
● Drakes Supermarkets: “Drakes shifted their messaging to ‘We’re in this together, we’re a family business’,” Mr Elsdon said. “If you have a promise that people believe in, then it’s a great chance to grow that market share.”
● Thomas Foods: “Consumer sentiment has pushed back into the area where local family-owned businesses are in favour, so we want to try to take advantage of that by rebranding (wholesale and food service aspect) Holco to Thomas Foods,” Mr Elsdon said. “There is no market leader in meat in the country so, if we are able to get their brand to the point it has a consumer promise that people value, then we’re hoping to push it through the major supermarkets and independents.”
Webber joins new league
THIS year’s NRL State of Origin is set to sizzle even more thanks to a new partnership between the NRL and leading BBQ brand Weber.
Weber, a long-standing client of Publicis Groupe’s Starcom Adelaide, enlisted Publicis Sport & Entertainment to broker the deal, which incorporates a mix of digital rights, IP usage, access to both current players and legends of the game, and access to NRL.com
Usually played in the winter months, State of Origin has been moved to November – a key sales period for Weber Stores. The partnership will focus on driving brand awareness and footfall to Weber Stores across the country.
Agile and active – leadership brands show the way
THE instigation of strict social distancing rules earlier this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic has led brands, advertisers and marketing agencies to rely more heavily on innovation to get their messages out to the consumer.
One of the industries hardest hit by COVID-19 has been tourism: a record-breaking 2019 had turned into a hugely challenging 2020 for the South Australian Tourism Commission – first hit by bushfires and then by government lockdowns.
In response, SATC partnered with media including News Corp to launch the highly successful #Book Them Out campaign in early January and Welcome Back campaign in May, both aimed at encouraging South Australians to support local tourism.
The SATC also explored new ways to keep the travel industry alive – and innovation proved the answer.
“We came up with a new content platform called SATV to get really close to our customer base,” said Brent Hill, SATC executive director of marketing.
“You could watch a Facebook live interview with Maggie Beer who would show you how to cook Easter buns, for example. You could go on board the shark cage diving and experience what it was like doing that live.
“Those I feel are really good innovations that have stood us in good stead.”
South Australian builder Hickin-botham Homes has also pivoted to maintain its brand during this time.
“All of our marketing strategies had to shift from promoting display home visits in person to virtual experiences,” said Ruth Vagnarelli, design director for Hickinbotham Homes.
“This is a big shift for the consumer as they like to see, feel and touch the bricks and mortar. We continued to strongly support our brand with advertising and I think it stood us in good stead. “
Hickinbotham Homes’ continued presence over recent months has helped to drive business in a tough economy.
“We have a strong brand with a long history and in uncertain times we have found that potential clients see us as a safe pair of hands. As a result we have been experiencing strong sales,” Ms Vagnarelli said.
With government restrictions regularly changing, Hickinbotham Homes will continue to focus on its online presence, blended with traditional forms of advertising and marketing.
“This uncertain period has highlighted the importance of online and we set out to ensure our client’s experience is the best it can be,” Ms Vagnarelli said. “Moving forward, we are thinking about things in a different way.
“We are still supporting our traditional media approach but complementing it with a digital approach. It is about being agile for the new ‘normal’.”
Insight is the key to net success
RUNNING a successful marketing and advertising agency, particularly during difficult times, requires sound business insights, brand awareness and creativity – and South Australian agencies are meeting the challenge.
North Adelaide-based advertising agency Crisp & Co. has launched a new podcast, Mad Man & the Hospitalian, which invites guest speakers to share their business highs and lows. Since going on air in June, guests have included kwp! Advertising co-founder Andrew Killey, Coopers Brewery chairman Glenn Cooper, and Chester Osborn from d’Arenberg Wine. Still to come are Fasta Pasta co-founder George Belperio and Glam Adelaide’s Kelly Noble.
“The first pillar of our business is ‘Business Insight’,” Crisp & Co. brand director Richard Miller said.
“We think that getting to the bottom of what made very successful people do what they did proves that point. Additionally, we saw it as a cheeky and creative way of getting in front of some high-profile business people and promoting the Crisp & Co. brand. Imagine putting in a call to Glenn Cooper or Chester Osbourn and asking for a meeting to discuss marketing … that is likely to be met with deafening silence. (But) offer them an opportunity to chat on a podcast and they are interested.”
Crisp & Co. has also released a report, Never Waste a Great Disaster, which examines how advertisers should talk to customers in the wake of COVID-19. Call 1800 027 477 for a copy.
Connections lead to success
Adelaide media agencies hold the edge over their interstate counterparts when it comes to campaign success – and relationship-building is a key reason why.
That’s the view of leading industry figures, who say media buying – developing strategies that connect consumers with clients’ brands – in the SA market has clear advantages.
KWP managing director Nat Morley said there was a strong “collegiate” spirit within the industry.
“Relationships matter,” she said. “The Adelaide media buying businesses, buyers and sellers all respect each other and have a connection. We take the time to meet face-to-face, we learn about each other and, in the true art of negotiation, understand what a win-win looks like.”
Ms Morley said other factors included Adelaide’s relatively small media market – allowing a small-spending client to get the same level of “attention and favour” a larger client would get on the east coast – and lower levels of knowledge-loss.
“As a market we have less churn in teams,” she said. “This allows a depth of knowledge to be established in the media we buy, and the understanding of the clients’ business and the impact the media we buy has on their business.”
Carat Adelaide managing director Vikki Friscic echoed the sentiment, saying the way business is done locally is different to that on the eastern seaboard.
“To develop (successful) strategies you need a media agency that has world-class tools and resources to provide insights into consumer behaviour and understanding of the clients’ category – and then the clout to be able to negotiate with media partners to deliver the highest level of value for money,” Ms Friscic said.
“In Adelaide, the relationships we build with our clients and our media partners is key to running a successful media agency,” she said. “You need to be able to work alongside our clients to really uncover what their ... objectives are to then develop solutions with our media partners to meet those objectives.”
Part of a global brand, with 21 media experts in Adelaide – Carat looks after global, national and local clients from its local office. “The advantage for our clients ... is they have a local service-orientated team who are as experienced as our national and global colleagues,” Ms Friscic said.
Wavemaker Adelaide managing director Matt Hofmeyer said advertising dollars were worth more in SA because there were fewer clients in the $1 million and above annual-spend range – meaning the media had to “work harder to secure their share of those clients’ spend”.
“It’s much more about finding solutions and delivering outcomes than managing yield and margin,” he said.
Mr Hofmeyer said the nature of the Adelaide market also meant relationships between the media, agencies and clients tended to be long-term, stable and effective.
“Wavemaker have worked with Mitsubishi Motors Australia for more than 50 years in SA, and we have been able to continue that great relationship thanks in part to incredible media investment results,” Mr Hofmeyer said.
“The other benefit in longer-term relationships is we retain the organisational memory of what has worked in the past, and we can use that to ensure effectiveness in the future.”
Rebuilding retail trust
The ongoing coronavirus crisis has had a significant impact on the way people shop – and retailers and brands alike will need to work hard on re-establishing buying habits among consumers.
That’s among the findings from research which revealed nearly four in five grocery shoppers had missed out on products they would normally purchase.
The survey – carried out by market research company Further Insight in partnership with media agency Medianest – focused on people’s shopping experiences during COVID-19 restrictions.
Almost all respondents (95 per cent) had experienced empty supermarket shelves, while 72 per cent had noticed price hikes and 49 per cent expressed disappointment their favourite brands were unavailable.
Further Insight founder and client director Andris Versteeg said the research showed many consumers were forced to look elsewhere when their favourite brands weren’t available.
“They had to buy competing brands, shop elsewhere or could not buy their favourite products at all,” Mr Versteeg said. “Both retailers and brands alike need to work on re-establishing purchasing habits among consumers and rebuilding the trust relationship.”
Struggling glove maker lays out path to resurrection
The board of pandemic market darling VIP Gloves has laid out a plan to resurrect the company, which crashed from huge profits to huge losses in a short period.
Mali ‘chooses words carefully’ as cracks show in Whyalla steelworks debacle
Uncertainty remains over when the Whyalla steelworks blast furnace will become fully operational, with Premier Peter Malinauskas appearing uncharacteristically frustrated by the situation.