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HSBC throws down the gauntlet to the media agencies

Chris Clark, Head of Brand Strategy and Marketing at HSBC, gave everyone at IMM07 a treat. He provided an engrossing insight into the development and management of the HSBC brand. He put the importance of the customer in brand development succinctly:

The best managed brands let customers decide what they think and feel about the brand, rather than dictating values to them

He took the attendees through a voyage of HSBC brand communications, from creative media solutions through to the power of sports sponsorship. Ultimately, he stressed that brands need to do more than position themselves, but take up a position, much as HSBC did. Drawing upon their global reach and local insights, a creative platform was formed:

In a world of increasing sameness it's important to value different points of view

Out of this grew the now famous creative work for HSBC, along with a great site www.yourpointofview.com that asked people to share their points of view on various topics. One is 'Are we too busy to have kids', another being 'Blackberries - good, essential, evil or complicated?'.

Chris pointed out that HSBC strive to be perceptive, progressive, responsive, fair and respectful. They don't accept streotypes. He rightly stressed that so much of the success of the activity has come from individuals living these values in their day to day dealings with customers. True integration indeed. Clear signs of another Brave Brand.

So a powerful case study in how it is done.

Whilst talking about the roles that various communications channels play in building the brand (branch networks, the web, advertising et al), he placed the media agency contribution firmly in an executional role.

He urged the attendees not to

underestimate the value of the media measures such as reach and frequency that you guys deliver

. A sign that his view of media folk as little more than valued number crunchers?

He also urged media agencies not to think just about the basic consumer measures based on age and social class, but to deal with behaviours. Interesting comment, given that media agencies believe themselves to be more advanced in behavioural targeting than many advertising agencies.

As for understanding the core brief, Chris urges media agencies to get a copy of the creative brief from the advertising agency. Interesting. Do I sense that the media agency is not the lead agency on the HSBC business?

It seems that he does not believe that a media agency is able to contribute to the strategic development of the HSBC brand. The media agency for HSBC must be somewhat deflated by such a view of their potential contribution on this business.

At the conference I asked him if he felt that the media industry might need some decent PR to get their message over better to clients. His response was that he would rather see the proof that they can deliver big strategic thinking and integrated communications rather than a nice bit of PR. Fair point.

So there is the challenge to media agencies. HSBC (who are not alone) want proof that the media agency world can help the brands at a more strategic level.

However, his strength of argument faltered when at the end of the questions, he admitted that he doesn't

shop the category

, in that he doesn't meet with the media agency world and see what is on offer. Whilst he might be right that the media agency world might need to deliver proof to the brands of the capabilities, he might also be pleasantly surprised at what is actually on offer from media agencies these days, with proof to back their claims up. As he said, HSBC don't accept stereotypes. They look for value in everyone. It just might be that there is a little more value from the media agencies that Mr Clark believes. However, the task rests firmly with media agencies to pursuade Mr Clark and other marketers, as many still do not seem convinced.

Media Agency at the Top Table or surviving on scraps?

At IMM07, two speakers tackled the topic of creativity and intra-agency relationships. First up was Tony Wanwaring (above), Communications Planning Director of Inititive EMEA. It is great to see someone with real passion for their mission. Tony has this in spades.

He talked of the media agency needing to get to the top table at client side. Agreed. He talked of the need to stop referring to advertising agencies as creative agencies, as they do not have the franchise on creative thinking. Agreed. He urged Media and Creative agencies to work together more to solve client's marketing solutions. Also makes sense.

My over-riding impression though was that this call to action is one that has been made for some time. This is a speech that some, including Tony and myself, were making some years ago. The fact that Tony is still making it says something about how far things have moved in the industry. The words water, uphill and pushing come to mind...

I am not convinced that the media agency world has significantly improved their standing with marketers, let alone the 'top table'(see upcoming post on HSBC at IMM07).

Having worked with a number of advertising agencies over the last few years, I am not convinced that these agencies have adapted their view of their role versus other agency suppliers.

Media Agencies have had a run at the top table for a good decade now. Yet, they are still not there in most cases. Now, the digital agencies are starting to give them a run for their money, with the added advantage of having access to clients other than marketer.

Media agencies have immense talent to mine for powerful consumer insights, to develop truly big ideas that drive across a client's communications activities as well as leverage their strength to secure media deals. We know this. But why don't the clients? Should they all get together and do a joint action to raise client understanding of their true worth? Is this all about the media industry needing better PR? Over to the Marketing Directors of the Media Agencies then...

Searching for the elusive definition of Web 2.0

Oh dear me. In a room full of 20somethings from the marketing and media industry at IMM07, a panel of three iluminaries were asked to shed light on 'web 2.0'.

Ed Ling, Strategy Director of I-Level (above right), Jonathan Wolf, Director of Corporate at Yahoo Europe (above left) and Michael Steckler, of MSN UK were the chosen ones, with Tim Collison chairing the session.

Tim immediately asked we we all want to know. What the hell is web 2.0?

Michael has the first go, but failed to explain clearly what web 2.0 is. So Tim turned to Jonathan from Yahoo, looking for some simple explanation. Yet the challenge was too much, as we heard another complex explanation that seemed to contradict MSN, which is fascinating. If they can't agree, what chance have we got?

The champion of all things simple was Ed Ling. He sensed that the audience was longing for someone to explain Web 2.0 to them in simple terms, without the cloud of mysticism that hangs around digifolk when web 2.0 is discussed.

Some years ago, I attended the early First Tuesday meetings in London to broaden my understanding of the digital future of communications. Instead I felt that I had entered a digi version of the Freemasons. No leather aprons or funny handshakes, but nevertheless a closed club full of impenetrable language with the resulting perceived superiority that a closed language gives. I should know...I started as a TV buyer, and those guys are good on impenetrable languages...

This inability to connect with a wider group of people continues. At the IMM07 session, the signs were there. When asked how many people had heard of facebook, only 30& of the delegates had, whilst only 7% had a myspace page. The room was not a room full of htmlers, podcasters or bloggers. Just a group of marketers and media folk who are keen to grow their understanding.

With such signs, you would think the Yahoo and MSN would suit their language to the audience. Instead we had emoticons, immersive environments, open source and of course lots of long tails...ummmm nice. All very clever I am sure, but worthless in helping to build understanding. If only folksonomies were mentioned, we would have had the full set.

It was left to Ed to help build the bridge of understanding, so good on him for judging the room better.

Brave Media Brands

Liz Jones, VP European Sales Director of CNBC Europe provided the delegates at the IMM07 with some helpful thoughts on the role of the media owner. She rightly highlighted that the switch to considering Media Brands, not media owners, is overdue. In such a relationship-based business, she stressed that media brands can provide an immense part in assisting the media agencies in their client service role.

For me though the most refreshing part of her presentation was the complete lack of self-promotion. This was not a PR puff for CNBC Europe in any way. It made the presentation the stronger for it. She highlighted examples of agency/client/media brand partnership from other TV channels, as well as some print examples too. If only more media brands took such a magnanimous approach to conferences...

Such an open and honest approach is a sign of a Brave Brand that has such confidence in themselves that they are willing to promote others. More please...

IMM07: A visual summary

You want to know what IMM07 looked like? Well, here is a great visual summary of the three day course/conference, pulled together by the photographer David Banks. He was on hand to capture the event, and has put together a little taster of what went on. As always, he captures the moment perfectly whilst also snapping some arty shots too!

Thanks to David for some of the shots used on my posts on IMM07 (and the shot of my shoes which now graces the blog!)

Don't let the numbers fool you...

John Taylor, Global Client Services Director of ZenithOptimedia, presented on Global Media Trends at the IMM07.

John rightly highlighted the fact that ad spends are planned to grow in ALL media, including those supposedly dinosaur media: TV and Print. Internet is grabbing the headlines for the massive annual uplifts in spend, yet still all other media are planned to gain year-on-year. Thus the death of some of these media is somewhat premature.

However, John did note that analysis is having to adapt to new realities. Rather than assess customer time in front of the TV (or in front of a magazine), we should be considering the customer's time in front of a screen (or content in whatever format).

John pushed for closer relationships with creative agencies and also encouraged media owners to increase their understanding of the advertisers' business as they generate ideas for the brand and their media agency.

A worthy position to take, although I wonder if we are on the cusp of a shift in the relationship between media owners and the advertiser. Media owners are realising that they are media brands, not merely owners of space to sell. They are creating new revenue models where straight advertising is becoming less important. Many are content producers (not all) in a world where content is of huge interest to the Brand world. Advertisers have major business issues to deal with, above and beyond marketing & communications. It is increasingly likely that Media Brands and Consumer Brands construct business dealings direct as they both try to grapple with the new consumer and digital realities. Such deals may not necessarily require the agency at the initial stages of such a deal.

In such a climate, Media Agencies cannot under-estimate the value that Media Brands leverage. This is not the time to take the Media Brands for granted.

IMM07: More tips from Simon Francis

Simon Francis, MD of OMD Europe, shared a host of practical tips to ensure a client brief is responded to properly.

One great observation of his was to compare the moment when a pitch team immediately rushes into responding to a brief much like a crowd of little kids playing football. The kids all immediately run in one direction all wanting to kick the ball in the goal, without a moment of thought... How often do media owners or agencies fall into the same trap?

An exercise I find works is to take a few minutes to do breathing exercises before you start on a response to a brief. I know this sounds all very hippy or new age, but it does tend to help clear the mind and get focused. All together now...and breathe...

Simon also suggested that dealing with a brief is like being a doctor. Much like a patient goes to a doctor for a diagnosis of their illness, a client is coming to the agency/media owner with the outline of their problem (the brief) and is coming to the agency/media owner for a diagnosis of the problem. his observation is perceptive. Agencies and media owners forget that whilst they may not be experts in the client's business, they are seen by the clients as experts in their field. It is worth remembering this sometimes, as I have seen a client brief place an agency/media owner in defensive mode, justifying their existence, rather than let their expertise shine.

IMM07: Who is for pitch pizza?

In his excellent presentation on responding to an international brief, Simon Francis, MD of OMD Europe, shared some highly practical tips on building a perfect response. One of the most practical ones was the importance of someone in charge of 'Life Support' whilst pulling a response together. By this he meant someone on the team working on the pitch in charge of sustainance (or pizza and tea and Simon defined it) and cabs home in the early hours of the morning.

I agree with him that this can take pressure of other members of the team, keeping their focus on the response output. Having been locked in such situations in the past, there is nothing better than not having to think how I am going to get home from the office at 2 in the morning.

However, when Simon mentioned this at the IMM07 conference, I couln't help but think: Is Simon turning into Mariah Carey?

That image thankfully left very quickly, as he continued to share a huge amount of practical insights. I have never seen the IMM delegates (or mentors) take notes so furiously before.

IMM07: So what was the Case Study this year?

I have heard a lot about the death of print these last twelve months. Also been working with various media brands to help them in their transition into digital spaces (structurally and emotionally).

I have also seen media brands struggle, like many other companies, in dealing with their customers wanting to get involved more.

I therefore chose to create a Case Study with a troubled print brand at the heart of it. The Phoenix, was a weekly magazine that aimed to provide an intelligent read that was accessible, whilst covering politics, economics, business and cultural trends. After some disastrous moves over the last ten years, circulation had plummeted. Added to that, a failed move online has hit the confidence of the magazine. A fresh start was planned for end of 2007. The challenge for the groups was to develop a 3 year communications strategy, an approach to the re-launch, and work out whether and how digital should play a role in the future fortunes of this magazine.

So a print title that cries out for a digital component? A print title that has asked for a digital strategy? How can the groups NOT focus on this element? Well, that is what many of the groups did. We heard many thoughtful ideas around the digital component, some more compelling than others. However, what did feel left out of the communications plan equation was the magazine itself. Few groups in their response to the brief, actually gave life to the magazine itself.

Why did I write the brief with such a slant towards digital? Because often clients write briefs asking for guidance in areas they don't feel comfortable with, areas that they feel they should be involved with but don't know really whether it makes sense for their business or not. Sometimes we have to read between the lines.

We have a tendency to jump on the latest fad without fully contemplating what the business/marketing/communications challenge really warrants as a solution.

Whatever the question is, the answer is a podcast

or so it seems these days. (Last year replace 'podcast' with 'branded content'!).

For the magazine The Phoenix, I created a front cover. Hope you like it.

IMM07: Cmmmunications Integration starts with people, not with Venn Diagrams...

Well, EMAP Conferences kindly invited me to write the case study for the delegates at the IMM07 Communications Planning Course. This is the fourth year I have been asked to write it, and it is something I continue to get great joy out of.

The attendees at the IMM course are drawn from media agencies and media owners from across Europe, along with a smattering of brand and marketing managers thrown in. Over three days, they have a chance to listen to some great speakers (more on that later) and are also given a Case Study (from me) for which they are required to respond to in their assigned groups.

These groups mix up agencies, meida owners and clients all together. Different nationalities and skill sets fall together in a hothouse environment where they have little more than 24 hours to respond to a very challenging brief.

It is always great to see groups of people who are not that used to working together actually come togehter and fully realise the value of shared idea generation. Media Owners respond to briefs from agencies, agencies work up ideas for briefs from their clients, but they rarely work together in the same room.

A key element of the group dynamic is irrelevance of the job title. Clients learn to let go, agencies learn to move away from their company line and media owners find a chance to input earlier into a brief than they normally have a chance to. Critically, people seem to get a lot out of the course, above and beyond building their communications planning skills.

As one European Brand Manager said to me over dinner two years ago:

Paul, the biggest learning for me has been to listen more to others and appreciate the talent that is around me

Maybe some of the attendees would like to share their experiences here...