Index

1. Introduction 2
2. Methodology 4
2.1 Qualitative research 4
2.2 Limitations 4
2.3 Value of research 5
3. Literature review 5
4. Who’s doing it? 9
5. Organisation/Brand views 10
5.1 Business Connexion 10
5.2 Sasol 12
5.3 Black River F.C 14
6. To customise or not to customise, that is the question 15
6.1 Business Connexion 16
6.2 Sasol 16
7. The outcome 17
8. So what does this show and what needs to be considered? 22
9. In conclusion 24
10. Appendix 26
10.1 Diagram 1 26
10.2 Brand audit mind map elaboration 27
10.3 Diagram 2 30
11 Bibliography 31

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Introduction

A consumer does not purchase Colgate toothpaste, they purchase fresh breath, or white
teeth, a consumer does not purchase Levi’s pants, they purchase a certain image.

If one looks back in the path of marketing, the industry shifted from the inside-out
approach, this being companies offering consumers products, to the outside-in approach,
in which the consumer dictates what they want from a company, and the companies brand
tries to meet this need the best way it can. This was further adapted to a point where the
consumer has the opportunity to customise their product. Levi’s now gives the consumer
the chance to customise the fit of their jeans; Nike allows the consumer to customise
colours and designs on certain shoes. This has been a large success for these, and other
brands, by allowing their consumers to be more involved in the product they are
purchasing as well as developing a positive image and relationships with consumers.

So how does the first paragraph tie in with the above? Well consider for a moment the
business–to-business environment. An advertising agency is the service/product a
company purchases. For example, Transnet purchased the services of Brand Leadership
group this year for a re-branding campaign. However, Transnet did not purchase a re-
designed logo, or new website. They purchased an image, an outcome of the work Brand
Leadership group would do and they purchased the fresh breath of Colgate.
With this in mind, as well as the shift in marketing as mentioned above, the step that is
missing is the option for a client/brand to receive a customised offering from the
advertising agency?

www.Trendwatchers.com termed the trend, customer-made trend. They define is as

follows: CUSTOMER-MADE: “The phenomenon of corporations creating goods,
services and experiences in close cooperation with experienced and creative consumers,
tapping into their intellectual capital, and in exchange giving them a direct say in (and
rewarding them for) what actually gets produced, manufactured, developed, designed,
serviced, or processed.” They continue by stating “Co-creating with your customers is the
most important trend to watch. Not because everything has to or will be co-created in the

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future, but because tapping into the collective experiences, skills and ingenuity of
hundreds of millions of consumers around the world is a complete departure from the
inward looking, producer- versus-consumer innovation model so common to corporations
around the world.”
“In fact, customer-made may turn out to be one of the most exciting and long term
engines behind change and innovation that the world of business has seen in years: a way
of thinking that has the power to redefine the relationship between customer and brand,
between consumer and producer, something that taps into the most awesome reservoir of
intellectual capital ever assembled.”

Therefore the questioned posed in this research paper is this: Is there a need or ability for
an agency to adapt its expertise to best suite its client’s brand? Can and should an agency
customise or personalise its services?
This will investigate a zero-based approach to all work done for each brand. This does
however also pose the question, is standardising the offerings of an agency prove more
effective and appealing to a clients brand.

The areas that will be investigated will be the auditing process the agency undertakes and
what elements are essential for an agency to understand about its client’s brand before
undertaking any work for them. As well as how the client themselves believe an agency
should adapt to best market their brand. The views and opinions of an advertising Agency
are also considered.

It is important to note that this research paper is focused on how the adaptation of
customisation and personalisation would affect clients and brands; therefore the focal
point is from the client, being the consumers, view point.

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Methodology

Research Methodology is defined by Van der Wal (2005: 8) as follows: The research
methodology describes the methods that will be used to collect data as well as the
reliability and validity of such data.
Qualitative Research

Wiseman (1979:114) states; Qualitative research starts with a few ideas, clues and
hunches. They conduct studies by utilizing field research and comparing previous studies
to their findings. Neuman (2003:16) suggests that qualitative research involves
constructing social reality and cultural meaning from information gathered. The
researcher focuses on interactive processes and events, and the authenticity of
information is key on this approach. The values are present and explicit within the
research, which is constrained to the situation, there are few cases, few subjects and the
researcher is involved in the research process.

Qualitative Research was conducted on two major brands who were used as case studies
in this research paper; Sasol and Business Connexion. Interviews were conducted either
via e-mail, telephonically or in in-depth interviews. As well as research conducted on
Black River F.C agency.
Business Connexion and Sasol both use the services of Jupiter Drawing room for
advertising. Business Connexion also uses Fleishman Hillard for Public Relations work,
while Sasol uses CrossPalace for below the line advertising.

Limitations

Unfortunately due to strict confidentiality rules, a large number of brands and agencies
were not allowed to convey the information I required. Therefore the two brands were
used as case studies, as well as the agency.

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Value of research

It is hoped that this research paper will draw attention to a topic that may be able to give
agencies differentiation and competitive edge. It is also the hope that further research can
be done on this topic

Literature Review

The significant cost-saving benefits of a standardised marketing programme and the

emergence of large homogenous segments of customers across the world are often used
to argue for greater standardisation, while those that propose adaptation point to the
continuing, often extreme, difference between nations and brands in terms of culture,
stages of economic and market development, political and legal systems, customer values
and lifestyles. (Goldman. 2005:66).

Godin (2005:24) states “I don’t think there’s a shortage of remarkable ideas. I think your
business has plenty of great opportunities to do great things. Nope, what is missing isn’t
the ideas, it’s the will to execute them.”

The old rule was: Create safe, ordinary products and combine them with great marketing.
The new rule is: Create remarkable products that the right people seek out. (Godin,
2005:16)

Instead of trying to use your technology and expertise to make a better product for your
users’ standard behaviour, experiment with inviting the users to change their behaviour to
make the product work dramatically better. (Godin, 2005:26)

In an effort to reduce uncertainty for the future, organisations engage in marketing

research. Marketing research is described as the systematic collection and processing of
facts and data and the presentation of subsequent findings upon which management
decisions may be based. This definition illustrates that marketing research is a pre-

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planned, orderly process directed at resolving a specific management problem or issue.
(Nieman & Bennet, 2002:179)

With high levels of competition and excess capacity in virtually every industry, strong
brands help companies differentiate themselves in the market and communicate why their
products and services are uniquely able to satisfy customer’s needs.
In an environment in which the functional differences between products and services has
been narrowed to the point of near invisibility by the adoption of Total Quality
management, brands provide the basis for establishing meaningful differences between
apparently similar offers. Competitive advantage now depends on being able to satisfy
not just the functional requirements of your customer, but also their more intangible
needs. It means understanding not just what your product can do for them, but also what
they can mean to them. Haigh (2001)

Haighs continues (2001) Branding is the process of transforming essential functional

assets into relationship assets by providing a basis for a physiological connection between
the brand and the customer. This ability to endow a product, service or company with
emotional significance over and above its functional value is a substantial source of value
creation.

Business process intangibles: These include unique ways of organising the business
including innovative business models, flexible manufacturing techniques and supply
chain configuration. (Edvinsson & Malone, 2001:18)

Stop playing the game differently, play a different game.

Dissimilarity is the differentiator of the future. People don’t want to be treated in a
similar manner; they are begging to be treated in a dissimilar fashion. (The Fearless
Executive)

According to Alice Andersson (2007), Compatible for your brand, or previous history and
expertise, a combination of both these elements is required when selecting an agency.

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Agencies that are compatible with our brand will instinctively deliver appropriate
solutions and are more likely to work well with the in-house management team. Previous
history and expertise are important in assessing whether a company is able to deliver to
requirements and if it will be compatible with the brand.

Vertenten (2001) claims: “The audit process ensures that the BCM process remains
current and viable in line with organisational changes and current BCM practice. This
process should ideally be carried out by an independent auditor that can be external or
internal - to ensure objectivity. As with exercising, the audit should be conducted at a
minimum of an annual basis. It is desirable to use a recommended industry audit process,
which facilitates benchmarking.”

The successful organisation of the future will be customer-focused, not product or

technology focused, supported by a market-information competence that links the voice
of the customer to all the firms value-delivery process….Successful marketing
organisations will have the skills necessary to manage multiple strategic marketing
process, many of which have not, until recently, been regarded as within the domain of
marketing. (Webster, 1997:3) – Marketing strategy and comp post)

The marketing concept holds that achieving organisational goals depends on determining
the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions more
effectively and efficiently than competitors do. (Kotler, 1996:7) - Marketing strategy and
comp post)

According to Ansoff (quoted by Hill 1979; 179),” …when the future becomes less
visible, when the fog descends, the forecasting horizon that you can trust comes closer
and closer to your nose. In those circumstances being receptive to new directions
becomes important. You need to take account of opportunities and threats and enhance
organisations responsiveness.”
A company is either customer focused from top to bottom, or it simply is not customer
focused…To become genuinely customer focused you have to be prepared to change
your culture, processes, systems and organisation. (Cox, 1995:519)

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Tilly (2007) claims that through creating a relationship with clients and not just being a
supplier of a service, an agency can create trust and commitment with their clients and
this is past on by the clients.

After hypothesising the advertising industry at the moment there are definite things that
need to change and that the agencies need to realise and accept that transformation is
necessary. (Xane, 2006:14)

Binikos (2007) states: “An important driver is trust. The line between client and agency
needs to be cut. Agencies must stop seeing themselves as suppliers and see themselves as
partners with clients. This is a challenge for agencies, but none the less, the agency and
the client have to hold hands and jump off the cliff together.”

Klaus Moser (2007) claims “my expectation is that the future of mass customization lays
in the bundling of customized product and service offerings in order to fulfill people's
overall and not only single needs – I have not seen such an offering so far.”

Piller (2007) writes: Mass customisation refers to a customer co-design process of

products customer co-design process needs of each individual customer with regard and
services which meet the needs of each individual customer with regard to certain product
features. All operations are performed within a fixed solution space, characterized by
stable but still flexible and responsive processes. As a result, the costs associated with
customization allow for a price level that does not imply a switch in an upper market
segment.

Customers gain from customization the increment of utility of a good that better fits to
their needs than the best standard product attainable. The larger the heterogeneity of all
customers' preferences, the larger is this gain in utility. From a managerial point of view,
customization can be carried out with regard to fit, style, and functionality. To match the
level of customization offered by a manufacturer with the customers' needs becomes a
major success factor.

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"For decades, consumers have been saving up their insights and rant about the stuff they
consume, simply because there were no adequate means to interact with companies, or
with other consumers for that matter, no longer. These fickle, wired, empowered,
informed, opinionated and experienced holders of a MC (Master of Consumerism) are
getting used to 'having it their way', in any way imaginable, which includes wanting to
have direct influence on what companies develop and produce for them.”
(www.trendwatchers.com)

Who’s doing it?

In terms of brands conducting personalisation or customisation, or just getting their

clients more involved in the brand, here are a few examples that have been very
successful in getting their consumers in put:
• Last August, Converse Gallery was launched. The site features dozens of 24-
second films, made by Converse fans, who are asked to express what Converse
shoes mean to them. The chosen films are then broadcast on Converse's website,
with the possibility of being aired on MTV and other cable networks.
• Cadillac invited members to contribute to their series of five second commercials,
which illustrated the speed of its CTS-V model, which can accelerate from zero to
60 in five seconds ("what ever you do, don't blink"). Amateur filmmakers could
submit their own 5-second spots (and win air time), with one of the chosen
directors also getting the keys to a brand new CTS-V.
• Procter & Gamble, which launched its dedicated ‘Connect + Develop’ program
about five years ago, with the goal of having at least 50% of its new products
derived from ideas generated by non-employee experts. Beside its own R&D
employee base of 7,000, the company now has access to millions of potential
innovators.
• The BBC is actively encouraging customers to submit pictures and videos, which
may then be used immediately on any BBC News outlet, or end up in the ‘In
Pictures’ of the BBC website. Cleverly, not only does the BBC tell citizen

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 reporters where to email their content to, they also provide a cell phone number,
so camera phone pictures can be MMS-ed instantly.

These are just examples of organisations getting their consumers involved in the brand
and using this as a massive data-base of information right at their finger-tips. Should
advertising agencies be doing this, could they be using the knowledge and innovative
ideas from outsiders and clients to better adapt their services?

Organisation/ Brand views

Business Connexion:

As outlines, Business Connexion strives to have the flexibility and close client
relationships of a small and mobile organisation, and the power and diversity of a large
organisation. Our client relationships are functional in the sense that they focus on the
integration of business solutions. In an on going quest to deliver innovative solutions that
add real business value to clients, Business Connexion combines its own expertise, tools,
resources and vertical sector knowledge with that of its partners. The Group believes that
innovation will shape the sustainability of the 21st century enterprise and an innovation
programme is a key element of the company's internal business improvement strategy.

Alice Anderrson discussed her views on how Business Connexion initially selects and
agency for its services. Alice claims that; a combination of both compatibility and
previous history and experience are elements that are required. Agencies that are
compatible with their brand will instinctively deliver appropriate solutions and are more
likely to work well with the in-house management team. Previous history and expertise
are important in assessing whether a company is able to deliver to requirements and if it
will be compatible with the brand.

According to Business Connexion, agencies are generally selected through a pitch

process which involves:

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• Inviting companies to express interest in the work and submit their credentials.
(Information that is important here includes things like BEE status, previous
experience, client list, size, footprint, etc.)
• A shortlist of companies meeting Business Connexion's partnership requirements is
then drawn up.
• Each company on the short list is given a brief and asked to present a proposal to an
in-house team who assesses each presentation. (As an example, issues used for this
assessment of prospective advertising agencies included: strategy, creative, media,
costing and general impression.)
• A contract is then negotiated with the selected company.

It can be seen here that before an attempt to customise any offerings, that the agencies
that have similar views and cultures, i.e. they are compatible with Business Connexion
will be the agencies that offer appropriate and desired solutions. Does this illustrate that
agencies need not customise but rather focus on brands that they are compatible with?

Business Connexion continues with offering their beliefs of what an agency should know
about a brand before undertaking any marketing efforts for the brand:

An agency should understand the:

• Environment (political, economic, social, technological, regulatory)
• Industry (including competitor value propositions, differentiators and strategies)
• Company offerings including value propositions and differentiators
• Stakeholders and target markets
• Company culture
• Corporate identity
• Brand values and essence
• Past investments and approaches to advertising and brand positioning
• Current marketing strategies and plans

Anderrson also believes that relationships are critical to the success of every endeavour.
She claims that an agency should be seen as an extension of a company’s in-house team
and that regular status meetings should be held to monitor progress and address issues as

11
they arise.

It can be deduced from this that Business Connexion does not necessarily seek a
customised service from its outsourced agencies, but rather an understanding of its brand
and the elements that make up the brand. It is also evident that Business Connexion
would rather see their outsourced agency as an extension of its in-house team. Is this
more of a partnership than a customised offering? If so how great is the gap between
customisation and a partnership in this sense?

Sasol:

Sasol describes itself as: Sasol is a competitive company that is driven to excel. Our
intent is to be a respected global enterprise and we aim to generate sustainable growth for
stakeholders.

With this in mind, we compete in coal, oil, gas, fuels, chemicals and related markets
where we have distinct competitive advantages.

We capitalise on our ability to develop, enhance and apply technologies for the
production and marketing of competitive products and services. We strive to be the
preferred supplier to customers through the delivery of quality products and superior
service. We develop mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers. We seek out new
business opportunities, including synergistic alliances.

Sasol creates an environment where teams of dedicated people who are characterised by
their diversity of skills and background can grow to their full potential through
development, empowerment, recognition, respect and involvement in a safe and healthy
working environment. We respect the communities where we operate and participate in
their growth. We conduct our business activities with integrity and in compliance with
internationally accepted principles and practices.

Finally, we mould the shared values of our diversity into one formidable brand, founded
on customer focus, winning with people, safety, excellence in all we do, continuous
improvement and integrity.

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Palesa Matlejoane who is the Advertising Specialist for the Sasol Group gave her opinion
on how Sasol selects agencies. Matlejoane sates that when selecting agencies a number of
things are important:
Firstly a Pitch is done; from there a short list is drawn up where things like BEE status,
size and previous history are considered. Once this is done the following are considered:

• The agency needs to be a strategic thinking agency

• The agency needs to offer innovative, holistic solutions for Sasol and have a
synergistic view point
• Not a traditional focused agency

Matlejoane claims that previous agencies used lacked a zero-based, media neutral
approach. She claims that it is important that the agency think out of the box and offer
creative solutions for Sasol. Matlejoane made it very clear that Sasol seeks an agency that
will be a brand custodian. She states “gone are the days when you tell consumers what to
do, its all about relationships now.” She continues to explain that an agency needs to
ensure that every communication sent out will add to brand equity.

Sasol believes that before an agency undertakes any work for them, they need to
understand important elements:
• Sasol is made up of 14 business units and 5years ago these became 1 holistic
entity.
• Sasol works mainly in the business-to-business environment, however retails is
very important in the South African market
• Very importantly, the agency needs to know how to communicate the business
correctly to maintain Sasol’s reputation.

Palesa Matlejoane stressed that the relationship is no longer good enough; the agency
needs to develop a partnership with the client. Sasol originally went into the pitching
process seeking for a small to medium agency; the reasons behind this was that this way,

13
Sasol would be treated as important and receive a far more personal touch as to apposed
to being a client to an agency with a large number of big clients, where your importance
is stunted.

From this it is evident that Sasol acknowledges the importance of an agency being
involved and completely submerged into its clients brand, this way being able t make
educated, well informed decisions. This is so important that Palesa Matlejoane claim that
if this is not evident within the first 3months of recruiting an agency, Sasol knows it will
not be a successful venture.

Black River F.C

Ahmed Tilly, Creative Director of Black River F.C states clearly and simply “Black River
F.C has one main goal and that is to solve clients problems, not only create good adverts
or to simply create a business solution, but to solve clients problems in a creative,
exciting way by providing kick-ass work.”
Paul Binikos, Account manager furthers this by stating, “Creating a relationship with the
clients rather than just being a supplier is very important, if it’s playing a game of foose-
ball with the client or going for drinks, becoming friends with the client helps build a
sense of trust between agency and client, and with this trust comes long term
relationships.”

So it can be said that by developing these in-depth relationships with clients the ad
agency is adopting a personalised touch to its work. The agency understands its client and
their brand therefore can make educated decisions for the brand. This illustrates an
already existing personalised approach that agencies undertake. This offers a chance to
consider that perhaps the importance lies not in the focus of a customised service, but
rather the knowledge and relationships developed around clients and agencies.
It could also be said however that a combination of these relationships, knowledge of the
brand as well as a strict zero-based approach creates the shell for “the customised
offering”

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To customise or not to customise, that is the question

It is at this stage where the question of: What can, or what should be customised, will be
answered.
If one takes into consideration all the elements that an agency needs to understand about
a brand, one process will stick out, the Brand Audit process. In Diagram 1, as well as the
brand audit elaboration, a mind map illustrates a wide span of information a brand has to
offer. It is here where an agency can decide on which elements are vital for a successful
campaign or branding endeavour and by analysing and selecting the appropriate and
effective elements the agency has begun a personalised offering.
One could however pose the question. Shouldn’t all these elements be considered for
each and every brand? The answer would be yes. By undertaking a zero-based approach
each and every time work is undertaken for a brand, the agency would be gathering the
information needed to deliver a service best suited for the brand, but by selecting the
elements that are relevant for the client’s brand.

Is this not personalisation? Can this lead to the agency offering a customised approach?

As mentioned this research paper will be using two Brands as case studies, Sasol and
Business Connexion.

The views of these two brands are as follows:

Business Connexion:

Alice Andersson of Business Connexion believes that Theoretical constructs,

methodologies and best-practice approaches should be standardised. These should be

15
used to inform a customised approach for each client.
She claims that Business Connexion approaches agencies for two reasons (a) to obtain
expert advice from specialists and (b) for assistance in implementation. Agencies should
always be seen to be adding value by providing expertise / input that is not available
within the company.

It is evident here that instead of a complete customised approach, Business Connexion is

using the services of Jupiter Drawing Room and Fleishman Hillard for their expertise and
knowledge, rather like one going to a dentist for a professional opinion, due to the
dentists experience and knowledge. However Alice does claim that the areas that are
critical and most important for an agency to understand before tailoring their services are
the objectives of campaign and the environment in which the company operates. So once
the standardised methodology and theoretical constructs are developed, the information
and outcomes of these can then be used, by the agency to customise or personalise
approach.

Sasol:

Palesa Matlejoane makes a very clear point and one that opens a new question within this
research paper. She claims that agencies should have a personalised approach and be
willing to customise. However she states that large agencies don’t have the resources to
do this for all their clients and it is because of this that Sasol was seeking for a small to
medium agency. Matlejoane believes that when an agency has fewer clients, it has the
opportunity, time and resources to completely understand the brand of its client and is
willing to personalise, be it out of fear of losing the contract or because it has more of a
relationship with the brand is irrelevant. The point is that by personalising and
customising the agencies services are more appealing to clients due to the fact that the
client knows they will receive a more focused service. Matlejoane claims that the “Tried
and trusted” standardised way of doing work “completely sucks, those models don’t work
anymore.” Sasol believes that the agencies success will lie in the client services. An
agencies job is service; therefore it should acknowledge the power on the consumer.

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With this in mind Sasol claims that for an agency to tailor their services they need to
focus on the relationship between client servise and client as well as a balance between
strategy and creative as well as a balance between media and creative.

From this it can be seen that Sasol believes that a more personalised service is what it
takes, they believe that by having the agency evolved on a more ‘partnership’ basis is
important.

The outcome

From the research conducted a list was developed which includes what agency and
clients believe may be some of the most important aspects and areas for an agency to
have knowledge about in the attempt of personalisation or customisation:

The first step in acquiring the information necessary for personalisation is for the agency
to gain information on a number of aspects. Firstly....:

• The brands heritage (this may be a main differentiator)

• The personality and/or image the brand holds
• The perceived identity the brand holds (internally and externally)
• A general understanding of what the brand is and what it offers.
• Any important selling points or other aspects that the brand “owns”.
• Previous marketing and communication used

The reason for this step is to assist the members of the agency working on the project to
understand and develop knowledge around the brand they will be working with. This
offers a mutual understanding between client and agency as well as offering guidelines
and outlines for the agency. (This phrase is used loosely, the step merely gives the
strategists and creatives a starting point and direction)

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It is important to note that this information is strictly from the clients. Further research
may be done by the agency for more informative, less bias statistics.

The next step is specifically aimed at understanding what the client wants from the
agency. This includes:

• The objectives wished to achieve

• Ideas or suggestions
• Previous satisfactions/dissatisfactions
• Important aspects client wants included( this can be very broad, but will
be dissected later)
• Information regarding the campaign(for example: budget, desire length of
campaign)

Through this step the agency can develop an understanding of what the client would like
to achieve and the agency can determine its ability to deliver on these needs. It is very
important that the agency pays attention to the objectives the client needs accomplished,
it is through this that a path can be determined on how the agency can meet these needs in
a way tailored for the brand.
It is important to remember however that even though the client’s ideas and input is very
important, it is the agency that is getting paid for its experience and ability; therefore it
important that the client understands and accepts the agencies ability and expertise. (This
is obviously easier said that done).

Once the agency has an understanding of the brand and a clear understanding of what the
client wants, the agency can begin to dissect the brand, identifying key elements. This
step concerns itself with understanding the internal aspects of the company:

• Brand standards, policies and overall brand management

• Brand structure: brand extensions, families, range etc.

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 • The ways the company lives its brand
• The companies efforts concerning employees
• Elements internally that can be leveraged or avoided.

This step somewhat furthers upon the first by generating understanding of the internal
workings of the company, however with one difference: this step aims at identifying
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that may be identified and leveraged for
the benefit of the company.

The further use of this information will be evident when the time comes for the agency to
compare the clients brand to that of competitors. The steps to follow will also have the
same importance.

This step is arguably one of the most important steps. The identification and
understanding of the clients target audience for its brand(s).
Once again it is important to remember this is the information acquired FROM the client
in the auditing process, and this point is stressed, because further research will be done
throughout the actual marketing process, but the information obtain here from the client
is the starting point for personalising/customisation the agency will be offering. The
information required from the client covers:

• Market segmentation: size, location, trends

• Customer profiles
• Buying practices
• Demographics, psychographics, lifestyles etc.
• Any other important information regarding the target audience (example: what
differences the clients Target audiences have that differ from those of the
competitors)

The client will have a far deeper and more detailed understanding of its target audience

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(in most cases) than the agency, therefore this knowledge needs to be tapped into as much
as possible. A note: the access to this knowledge is not limited to the briefing stage of the
project, the client will be available through the account manager, however this stage of
the project offers a perfect chance to gain this information.

It is evident that by this stage of the process the information being supplied by the client
is rather detailed, it is thus the reason that the next step is the discussion of the brand(s)
personality:

• Name, logo, slogan

• Packaging
• Style and character
• Advertising (previous and current)
• Promotion (previous and current), promotion material
• Publicity

Within this step and very closely related is the discussion of positioning:

• Competitive positioning
• Positioning attributes
• Image perception

The reason the personality and positioning is chosen to work together in this step is that
very often the personality attribute or identity of the brand is what positions it (within the
consumers mind). Therefore the information gained in these two topics (used as separate
steps or not) should be closely examined.
This step, with relation to the previous step is aimed at identifying elements or aspects of
the brand that can be used to differentiate or already differentiates the brand from those of
competitors. These could include information on:

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 • Price, quality
• Customer service
• Leadership (leader of follower – related to position)
• Ownership of attribute(s)
• Heritage (already covered in step1)
• Product superiority (or position held)

The importance of having the ability to differentiate the clients brand(s) can be seen in
the point of this being the cornerstone or first building block of generating a unique,
personalised offering by the agency.

It can be seen that by gaining such information, the agency is already gaining insight into
the client’s brand, to level in which unique, creative solutions can begin to develop.

The step to follow encompasses all those that have past already with one main difference;
they are directed at the clients brand competitors. It is of utmost importance for a keen
understanding of the competitors and their strategies. Information that is needed may
include:

• Identify key competitors

• Identify their strengths and weaknesses
• What differentiates them
• Competitors position/personality and Brand identity
• Mistakes competitors have made
• Comparisons in terms of: Awareness, market share, perceived quality, brand
loyalty and other brand equity aspects

By identifying gaps or opportunities the agency can use to their benefit requires in depth
information of the competitors. Once again it is recommended (and more so here) that the
agency conduct their own research on the topic too.

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It is important to take note that the steps mentioned above are merely suggestions, and
highlights of the important areas agencies can focus on, it is NOT a model, or process
suggested for an agency to use (this would be a complete contradiction of the point)
rather guide lines for the information required by the agency to develop a personalised
offering. Therefore the model that is recommended is shown in Diagram 2.

So what does this show and what needs to be considered?

Sasol and Business Connexion as well as Black River F.C. and a number of writers have
agreed on the importance of developing a relationship between the client and the agency.
It was shown that these relationships lead to a number of things such as trust,
understanding, and long term goals and a deep and genuine understanding and knowledge
of the brand.

It was also stated that organisations turn to agencies for their expertise and knowledge.
By outsourcing work to these agencies, the organisation acknowledges the fact that
experts are required to conduct the work, however by doing so the agency should be seen
as an extension of the organisations in-house team, this once again strengthening the
relationship view.

By integrating a customised offering, consumers get what Klaus Moser defines as

Customer Integration; Customer integration describes a mode of value creation in which
customers are taking part in both operational and innovational value creating activities
which used to be seen as the domain of the firm.

Klaus Moser also makes a very important note, which covers the difference between
customisation and personalisation; “Personalisation must not be mixed up with

22
customisation. While customisation relates to changing, assembling or modifying product
or service components according to customers' needs and desires, personalisation
involves intense communication and interaction between two parties, namely customer
and supplier. Personalisation in general is about selecting or filtering information objects
for an individual by using information about the individual (the customer profile) and
then negotiating the selection with the individual.” This perhaps illustrates that what is
occurring currently in relationship development is more personalisation, and still offers
an opportunity for agencies to customise.

Consider the brand, Weigh-less. Weigh-less offers a service, but for this service to be
effective it needs to have up-to-date, in-depth details about it’s users and then offers
suggestions and eating plans are developed for each consumer. Could this not be the case
in the agency process? Once the services of the agency are called upon, it is both the
client/brand as well as the agencies responsibility to make sure there is an understanding
and up-to-date information being communicated both ways, as to allow an agency to
personalise its offering and to open an opportunity to customise its expertise to suite the
clients brand or, as suggested to grow the relationship.

In the case of differentiating, the agency could use the approach of personalisation and
customisation to its advantage. In marketing there is the rare occurrence where being
unable to compete with the market leaders may provide a pathway to a unique position
that may assist in the differentiation between your brand and the competitors brand.

www.trendwathers.com claim that in an almost ironic twist, customer-made approach is

turning out to be a great vehicle for finding employment, as it helps companies recruit
their next in-house designer, guerrilla advertising agency or brilliant strategist.

The research gathered and experts opinions highlights that currently, advertising agencies
do offer a personalised service, to what degree however largely depends on the
relationship the agency has with the client. And that with trust and time and knowledge of
the brand, the agency may allow client to have input to a degree that the end product
could be customised, i.e. it will have the clients input.

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In Conclusion

With the research conducted, the outcome led to this research paper having an open
ending. No one thing was identified as the correct path, what was identified was this:

Just as the marketing environment has changes to the point of consumers having ultimate
power as well as the instant gratification approach, advertising agencies need to change to
suite clients powers as consumers. Do to consumer power, brands need to entertain and
delight consumers in an attempt to gain their interest. Agencies need to find new ways of
getting their brand to the consumers, with the right message at every point of contact.
Agencies need to become partners with their clients, which mean they need to understand
and become the brand.

For personalisation or customisation to occur, an agency will have to be relatively small

with fewer clients, this way allowing for recourses to indulge in each brand.

Clients, just as consumers of everyday consumable goods, no longer want to be treated in

a similar manner. Each client wants their brand to be understood and communicated in
the way that they now and love their brand. This leaves very few options but for agencies,
being the supplier, to acknowledge their consumers ‘power’ and focus on the importance
of relationship building.

On the other spectrum though, there are clients that want the agencies expertise and
methods that have been standardised and proven to work. In such cases it would be
important however for the agency to maintain media-neutral, zero-based approaches and
to build on the relationships of clients in an attempt to best suite their expertise to the
client’s brand.

It can be said that from both sides of the spectrum, the need to develop relationships is a
pivotal element needed for any of the discussed to be considered, and as soon as an
agency educates itself on elements of its clients brand, it has the opportunity to begin to
personalise its services. To what degree however will depend on the agencies views and

24
beliefs, as well as the needs and wants of its clients.

Therefore the advantages of personalising and considering a customised services has

been shown as a valued approach, however also proven is it is not an essential element to
have but with no doubt one that could have beneficial outcomes for the advertising
agency.

Appendix
Diagram 1

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 Internal

Metrics Market
Segment

Brand

Differentiato
r Personality

Positioning

Brand audit mind map elaboration:

26
1. Internal: Brand management: Organisation
Customer service
Budget
Policy
Continuity
Brand standards
Brand education
Brand structure: Mega brand
Brand families
Brand extensions

2. Market segments: Market definition: Size

Location
Maturity
Trends
Customer profile
Buying practices

3. Personality: Elements: Name

Logo
Slogan
Style
Character
Packaging
Advertising
Promotions
Promotional material
Publicity

4. Positioning: Competitive positioning

Positioning attributes

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 Image perceptions

5. Differentiators: Price
Quality
Customer service
Breadth of line
Leadership
Market specialty
Being the newest
Own an attribute
Product superiority
Heritage
First in category

6. Metrics: Impact: Life cycle

Customer life value
Price premium
Market share
Profitability
Image: Awareness
Recognition
Relevance
Preference
Loyalty
Brand equity: Brand loyalty
Name awareness
Perceived quality
Associations
Other assets
• The above must be applied to competitive Brands as well
• Diagram 2
Suggested Model
28
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