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Ad man makes an emotional appeal
2007-12-21
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Ad man makes an emotional appeal
By Carlos Grande, Marketing Correspondent
Monday, December 10, 2007
To be loved, says KevinRoberts, you have to "give of yourself". But the worldwide chief executive of Saatchi & Saatchi, the agency network, is also happy to conscript others into the effort.
In conversation, Mr Roberts enlists Jack Welch, the former chief executive of General Electric, footballer David Beckham, hotelier Rocco Forte and even God in support of his theories.
To witness the man in full verbal flight can be a heady experience, and something of an acquired taste. Mr Roberts articulates his perennial theme of the importance of building emotionally compelling brands - he calls them "lovemarks" - in the kind of rhapsodic language apt to trigger eye-rolling among cynical observers.
Even his accent is disorienting. There are hints of Mr Roberts' birthplace in Lancaster, northern England, his New York work base and Auckland, New Zealand, where his family have lived since 1989.
The 57-year-old recently passed his 10th anniversary in the top job at Saatchis. He moved to the agency from the client side, where he had been chief operating officer of Lion Nathan, the Australasian drinks group, head of Pepsi's Middle East operations and had worked in the region for Procter & Gamble.
Asked how his lovemarks message is received in clients' boardrooms, he says: "Boards feel great about this language. It's middle management that has the problem. Brand managers will say, 'We don't know how to analyse that. We didn't learn it at MBA school . . . But at the board level, there is a strong sense that emotion and inspiration are the things which add value to a company's brands."
After a period during which it seemed that Mr Roberts' philosophy, like his books, would be confined to the coffee table, Saatchi & Saatchi has enjoyed an impressive run of success in the US.
Saatchis - the shorthand name for the network, as distinct from M&C Saatchi, the rival network founded in the 1990s by a breakaway team - won US accounts from retailer JC Penney and Wendy's, the fast food chain.
Internationally, Sony Ericsson, the handset maker, has also assigned sizeable chunks of its international advertising budget to some of the 153 offices in the Saatchis network, which is owned by Publicis, the Paris-listed marketing services group.
The commercial upturn is reflected in its creative record. Saatchis New York was the most successful individual agency office at this year's Cannes Lions, the industry's leading awards.
Like all networks, performance has varied by market. Notably, Saatchis' London base - the heart of what was once the world's largest advertising group - has experienced client losses and management upheaval.
Nonetheless, the agency's generally positive trajectory has not gone unnoticed by rivals. While some scoff at the idea that conceptualising, rather than creative work and strong local management, lies behind its success, others say "lovemarks" has at least provided Saatchis with a distinctive calling card to present to prospective clients.
One international agency executive says: "I think lovemarks is facile and empty as a concept - show me one lovemark that Saatchis has actually produced. But everyone wants to be loved and I think the Wendy's win was absolutely driven by the lovemarks philosophy."
Another of Mr Roberts' initiatives has been embraced less unreservedly by his clients. He has been pressing for radical change in the financial relationship between agency and client, proposing that fees are tied much more closely to any demonstrable rise in clients' sales that can be attributed to its campaigns.
The rationale for such a change is that the traditional blocks of agency remuneration - fees reflecting the hours worked for a client or a commission on the total campaign's expenditure by the client - have been steadily eroded.
Procter & Gamble, arguably Saatchis' most important client, moved to performance-related practice early. Mr Roberts admits it has been hard to persuade other advertisers to follow suit.
"I thought that after P&G, the world's biggest advertiser, changed, everyone else would. The only point of advertising is to sell more stuff. So the more we help sell, the more money we as the agency should make.
Yet clients and agencies are anxious not to suffer financially from a new type of risk-reward relationship. "The problem we have got is that the procurement people in the client organisations only want to talk about hours they are being billed for. We are not progressing as fast as we would want in this respect . . . But advertising is a conservative industry, the most conservative I know."
In that respect, Mr Robertsis atypical. Last month, hewas involved in a unconventionalmanagement reorganisation at Saatchis and Fallon, another Publicis-owned agency. Saatchis' USrun has contrasted with thedisappointing recent record of Fallon in the US. In the UK, theposition has been reversed,with Fallon outshining Saatchis.
Under the plan, a single executive - Robert Senior, the former head of Fallon London - has assumed responsibility for both agencies in the UK. A similar role will be created overseeing both agencies in the US. Outside these two markets, the Saatchis network will operate unchanged.
The scheme has none of the characteristics of a conventional corporate merger or cost-cutting drive. Instead, it is claimed that joint management will "reinvigorate" each agency.
Nevertheless, the structure rubs against the grain of an industry in which the tribal loyalty of staff tends to be first to their own office, and only later to a shared network or holding group.
For many, it is enough that the move has given Saatchis a well-respected head for its London operation, a post that was vacant for several months. Characteristically, Mr Roberts makes grander claims.
At the time of the announcement, he told the Financial Times: "The first thing you will see is that Fallon will be restored to its glory in the US. And in the UK, within the next two years, Fallon and Saatchi will be market leadersfor creative, growth and newbusiness."
Richard Pinder, chief operating officer of Publicis, the advertising network which has the same name as its parent holding group, says: "This is a sentiment-led business. I have no doubt it is going to be easier to attract clients and talent if you're associated with anoffice on a winning streak such as Saatchis New York rather than Fallon, which has had difficulties in the US."
That belief will be tested in months to come. If Mr Roberts' ambitious targets for Saatchi & Saatchi and Fallon are not met, it will take more than verbal flourshes to satisfy his critics.
Teacher of simple truths: find a way to profit from your passion
When Kevin Roberts lectured in London this spring, the organisers lured attendees by telling them the Saatchi & Saatchi chief executive's past stage props have included a machine gun.
Students at Judge Business School in Cambridge, England, where Mr Roberts is CEO-in-residence, must feel short-changed. So far the only fire-power on display at MBA classes hosted by Mr Roberts has been rhetorical.
But in challenging students' assumptions about their choice of job or sector, he prompted one to claim the first three-hour teaching session alone was worth half the £28,000 course fee, says Richard Barker, MBA director.
"A lot of people come to our MBA because they're changing direction. If they were undergraduates, they wouldn't relate to Kevin challenging them about whether they are in the right job," says Mr Barker.
"If it came at a later career stage, they might be too defined to switch. He tells them, 'Decide what it is you really enjoy doing, and find a way to make money from it.' It is very simple advice but I've seen it work."
听上奇广告CEO说爱
作者：英国《金融时报》市场营销记者卡洛斯•格兰德(Carlos Grande)
2007年12月10日 星期一
凯文•罗伯茨(Kevin Roberts)称，要想被爱，你必须得“付出自己”。但跨国企业盛世长城 (Saatchi & Saatchi，又称上奇广告)这位全球首席执行官也很乐于征募他人，来共同努力。
在谈话中，罗伯茨列举了通用电气公司(GE)原首席执行官杰克•韦尔奇(Jack Welch)、足球运动员大卫•贝克汉姆(David Beckham)、酒店业大亨罗克•福特 (Rocco Forte)、甚至上帝来支持自己的理论。
亲耳听到这个人滔滔不绝的开讲让人晕眩，还真需要适应一下。罗伯茨老生常谈地表述着自己的主题：建立具有情感说服力的品牌——他称之为“至爱品牌”（lovemark），这种狂想式的语言容易让喜欢挑剔的听众嗤之以鼻。
就连他的口音也让人摸不着头脑。罗伯茨隐约能让人听出一些自己出生地英格兰北部兰开斯特的口音，他的办公所在地纽约及新西兰奥克兰的口音也掺杂其中。1989年以来，他全家定居在奥克兰。
罗伯茨今年57岁，刚刚度过自己在盛世长城首席执行官任上的第十个年头。他是从客户端转到广告公司的，他曾任澳大利亚饮料集团Lion Nathan首席运营官、百事(Pepsi)中东业务负责人，并曾在该地区为宝洁(Procter & Gamble)效力。
当被问及他“至爱品牌”的说法在客户董事会上反响如何时，他表示：“董事会很喜欢这种语言。有问题的是中层管理人员。品牌经理会说，我们不知道如何分析它。我们在工商管理硕士(MBA)学院没有学这个……但在董事会层面，人们强烈地感觉到情感和灵感会为企业品牌增值。
在一段时间内，罗伯茨的理论似乎将像他的著作一样，会被局限于茶余饭后的闲聊中，而之后，盛世长城在美国获得了一系列令人瞩目的成功。
Saatchis是该公司的英文简称，以显示和竞争对手尚奇广告公司(M&C Saatchi)截然不同，它赢得了零售商JC Penney和快餐连锁店Wendy's的美国广告业务。尚奇是一个从盛世长城分离出去的团队创立的广告网络。
在国际上，手机制造商索尼爱立信(Sony Ericsson)也已将自己的大部分国际广告预算交给了盛世长城网络中153个分支机构的一些成员。上奇的母公司是巴黎上市的营销服务公司阳狮集团(Publicis)。
该公司的创意记录反映了其业绩的好转。在今年的嘎纳广告奖(Cannes Lions)典礼上，盛世长城纽约成为了最成功的一个广告机构。嘎纳广告奖是广告行业最重要的奖项。
和所有网络一样，各个市场的业绩不尽相同。最明显的是盛世长城的伦敦总部，这个昔日全球最大广告集团的核心，经历了客户流失和管理层动荡。
不过，其它竞争对手也注意到了该公司总体良好的发展轨迹。虽然一些人对于它的成功不以为然，认为其背后没有创意和有力的本地管理的支撑，只是概念而已，但其他人则表示，“至爱品牌”至少为盛世长城提供了一张特色鲜明的名片，来吸引潜在客户。
一位国际广告公司高管表示：“我认为，至爱品牌作为一个概念来说，肤浅而空洞，让我看看盛世长城真正打造出了哪一个至爱品牌。但是每个人都希望被爱，我认为他们之所以能拿到Wendy's，绝对是因为至爱品牌的理念。
在客户那里，罗伯茨的另外一个倡议就没有这么受欢迎了。他一直在推动彻底改变广告公司和客户之间的财务关系，提出要把费用更紧密地与客户销售额的增长挂钩，标准是推广活动带来的任何可论证的销售增长。
提出这种改变的根本原因，在于传统的广告公司费用——以工作时间计算的费用或是以客户活动总费用为基数的佣金——日渐受到侵蚀。
宝洁可以说是盛世长城最重要的客户，很早就转换为费用与业绩挂钩。罗伯茨承认，一直以来，很难说服其它广告客户效仿宝洁。
“我本以为全球最大的广告客户（宝洁）改变之后，所有人都会步其后尘。广告的唯一目的就是销售更多的产品。所以我们帮助它们销售得越多，我们就应该挣得越多。”
然而，客户和广告公司绝对不想在一种新的风险-回报关系中损失经济利益。“我们的问题在于，客户组织中的采购人员只想谈他们要为多少小时付费。在这方面我们的进度不像自己希望的那么快……但广告业是一个保守的行业，我所知道的最为保守的行业。”
在这方面，罗伯茨真的是非同寻常。上月，他参与了盛世长城和另一家阳狮子公司Fallon的非常规管理层重组。盛世长城在美国的良好表现，与Fallon令人失望的美国业绩形成了鲜明对比。在英国，情况则正好相反，Fallon的表现要优于盛世长城。
按照计划，Fallon伦敦业务原负责人罗伯特·西尼尔(Robert Senior)成为了这两家公司英国业务的负责人。公司将设立一个类似的职位，来管理这两家公司的美国业务。在这两个市场以外，盛世长城广告网络的运营将不做改变。
此项计划不具备一般商业合并或是降低成本举措的任何特征。据称，联合管理将为每家公司“重新注入活力”。
不过，这个架构和广告业的常规格格不入，在这个行业内，员工首先效忠于自己所在的机构，其次才是一个共同隶属的网络或集团。
这一举措为盛世长城的伦敦业务找到了一位非常受人尊重的负责人，此前这一职位已经空缺了数月。对很多人而言，这已足够。罗伯茨的说法则更有气势。
在这份声明宣布之时，他向英国《金融时报》表示：“你们首先将看到的就是Fallon在美国再度辉煌。在英国，Fallon和盛世长城将在两年内成为创意、增长及新业务方面的市场领军企业。”
阳狮广告公司运营官理查德·平德(Richard Pinder)表示：“这是一个受人气左右的行业。我完全相信，如果与一个有着很多成功案例的办公机构联系在一起，比如说盛世长城纽约，而不是在美国陷入困境的Fallon，你将能够更容易吸引到客户。阳狮广告是一家与自己的母公司同名的广告网络。
这个说法将在接下来的几个月中经受考验。如果罗伯茨为盛世长城和Fallon设立的那些雄心勃勃的目标不能实现，仅靠妙语生花将不能满足他的批评者。
教授简单真理的大师：找到一种通过自己的爱好赚钱的方法。
当罗伯茨今春在伦敦演讲时，为了引来参加者，活动组织者声称，盛世长城首席执行官以往的演讲道具包括一挺机关枪。
罗伯茨是英国剑桥大学(Cambridge)Judge管理学院的驻院首席执行官(CEO-in-residence)，那里的学生一定感觉上了当。目前，在罗伯茨的MBA课堂上，唯一的火力来自于他的言辞。
但MBA主任理查德•贝克尔(Richard Barker)表示，他通过质疑学生对自己职业或行业选择的设想，使得一位学生宣称，仅头3个小时的课程，就值2.8万英镑课程费用的一半，。
“很多人之所以来上我们的MBA，是因为他们在转变方向。如果他们是在校大学生，凯文就不会质问他们是否选对了工作，”贝克尔表示。
“如果是在事业后面的一些阶段，他们可能已过于定型，无法转向。他告诉他们‘想好你们究竟喜欢做什么，然后找一个可以从中挣钱的方式。'这是个非常简单的建议，但我看到它起到了作用。”
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