From its past three years of existence, Flume has proven its agency mantra of doing things differently and making the resulting work matter, innovating where others go the tried and tested route.
For example, since my last catch-up with the agency in January 2015, MD and founder Jacques Du Bruyn says Google recently released their first Google Case Study for Banking in SA, based on a campaign Flume did for Nedbank Insurance that was “super successful”. Then there’s also media buying that’s grown Nedbank Private Wealth’s monthly leads by 500%. Du Bruyn feels that’s pretty innovative as it’s driven serious value and return for the client. They’ve also worked hard at expanding in Cape Town, having recently opened a Cape Town office and are looking to challenge marketing norms and present new ways of thinking about marketing in a digital world.
But just because they’re a digital agency doesn’t mean they only focus on online. Instead, Du Bruyn says they actually believe in traditional media channels and treat IMC or integrated marketing communications as a way to maximise all channels through an agnostic approach to drive brand awareness, engagement and lead generation. For example, a billboard can do much more for driving brand gravitas than what a small advert on Facebook can. “No one looks at a billboard and says ‘that brand is suffering’,” explains Du Bruyn. That’s why they believe placing a print advert in Khuluma was brave for a digital agency, they also want to prove they’re not scared to use alternative channels to flex muscles and that each channel has merit.
It’s not just about focusing on the end of the sales funnel either – brands can do better by getting better acquainted with the earlier steps of marketing’s AIDA model, like raising awareness, interest and desire as opposed to purely being there to collect money in the till.
Du Bruyn explains it’s critical to raise awareness as you can’t start by asking people to trust an unknown brand, you first have to create brand credibility. Only then will potential clients search for your brand online, which lowers your advertising cost, especially on search, and drive higher click-through rates when they do see a banner advert.
While this doesn’t mean that you have to start off by running a costly outdoor campaign for awareness, but it certainly goes a long way in helping to drive action online when you’ve already done a good job at brand awareness.
Similarly, they’re not trying to get leads from their print advert: Instead, Flume wants competitors, clients and those who’ve never heard of them to see Flume as an agency that’s not scared to try new things, put themselves out there and be bold. That’s because the ad doesn’t list all the services they offer or highlight their past work. The creative is blank and designed to help guide the readers’ eyes to the bottom of the page where the text reads “OUR ADS AREN’T HERE. THEY’RE ONLINE.” Du Bruyn confirms that it’s simple, to the point and very much digital, which as a medium, demands simplicity.
He adds that all players in IMC have their specific role. “Radio creates theatre of the mind – think FNB’s Steve, he was only a radio ad; billboards create gravitas – no one subconsciously thinks a brand on a billboard is suffering. Digital extends that into action and tangible measurable results.” Elaborating on this, he shares a rugby analogy, stating that in a rugby team, each player has a specific role to play. “Without a scrum half the backline isn’t going to touch the ball and without a forward pack to ruck the ball and gain possession no one on your team is going to touch the ball. Without a fly half to kick over penalties, you’re going to miss out on half your points. In the same way, each channel that’s available, whether online or offline, plays a unique role, and these channels shouldn’t be considered or utilised in isolation from one another.”
So while traditional media does a great job at brand awareness and making brands famous, digital extends that into engagement online and ultimately drives users down a sales funnel into performing an action that can be measured, whether that be buying a product, asking for a quote, signing up for a service, or booking a test drive; Flume says digital builds data and helps understand the targeted audience.
Looking further afield to some digital trends Du Bruyn expects to affect the industry in the last bit of 2016, he clarifies that we’re bound to see more budget being moved to digital because of ATL budget cuts and trying to push for more ROI due to economic tightness – ultimately making the marketing budget work harder. We’ll also see more focus on entry-level mobile users, and with FNB launching an affordable smartphone option, he says we can expect to see more focus on advertising to lower LSMs (he hates that term, in case you’re wondering).
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