Media-wise, the way in which money is being spent has changed quite dramatically. Yes, we know digital has driven rapid growth and new opportunities, but this doesn’t mean that clients have stopped spending on above the line (ATL) advertising. Still, it’s all about integration.
This is the word from president and CEO of SCOPEN César Vacchiano, who notes that in South Africa is that television has seen a slight decline, but radio shows an uptick in SCOPEN 2023-2024 research.
“We believe South Africans have long had a fondness for radio, which is more accessible in outlying areas and appeals to the many different languages that call the country home.”
Johanna McDowell, SCOPEN partner and CEO of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) concurs: “Radio has – and has always had – enormous reach where print is heading towards becoming very niche.”
Another platform on a rising trajectory is out of home (OOH), largely due to digital billboards. “The advantages of digital billboards include lower cost to erect and metrics being available almost immediately,” says Vacchiano. “The technology developed for the medium means messaging can be changed rapidly and, again, with greater affordability.”
The need for speedy integration
“As a result of the rise of digital and slowdown of other sectors, clients now need far more help with their media choices,” McDowell asserts, “and although media agencies have been somewhat separate from creative agencies for the last 15 to 20 years, what marketers seek now is a far closer collaboration between the two. In fact, globally, more and more marketer’s definition of integration includes media.”
Media agencies are realising that they need to be embedded with creative agencies and the market already has a few agencies actively practising collaboration by including their media partners in a client briefing, as an added value exercise and opportunity to bring their collective expertise together from the start.
The fragmentation the industry experienced due to the huge changes in technology and growth of platforms has created a need for closer connections between creative agencies and their media partners, according to the SCOPEN team.
“Clients need to stay ahead of the changes and need their media agencies, in lockstep with creative agencies, to advise them on an ongoing basis. Knowing their two agencies can and will work together in a robust partnership has become vital for marketers,” Vacchiano says.
“Add to this the fact that there are just too many agencies in a single eco-system for a client to manage,” McDowell notes. “Figures from the latest SCOPEN research shows that the average number of agencies marketers are working with is 15.
“How does a marketing team manage all these agencies? Most marketers would want all their agencies to fall under one umbrella of control to ensure one hymn, one hymn sheet. However, we’d urged them to ensure their media agency takes control of strategy to get the most out of their alliances, opportunities and spend.”
Media agencies as aggregators
In essence, your media agency is your aggregator, according to Vacchiano. “Your strategist presents the options from the point of view of what is best for the brand and not what marketers or others in the mix ‘feel’ about a platform.
“A strategist has the insight and understanding to place facts above feelings, while some are swayed in their choices by personal opinions about a platform. The industry is moving too rapidly to fall prey to too many schools of thought in place of bottom-line metrics.”
Overall, there is a gradual return to the 1970s and 1980s, which is being driven by the fragmentation of media and digital, as well as spend, according to McDowell.
“The large media agencies that were part of a global network are suffering the effects of the reduction in client-spend, and one of the reasons for the global streamlining currently taking place is budget.
“Clients are having to be nimble when it comes to spend, but the fact is that they desperately need the help of media agencies to strategise for the best possible outcome. To do this, it’s vital that their teams are integrated and understand the true value of media agencies: That data is king – and data is part of a media agency’s DNA.”
