The Gate communications agency offers unique and integrated services

CEO Justin McCarthy says that these different service offerings should not exist independently of one other. “A key differentiating factor our agency prides itself on is that all these disciplines are integrated. They should not be seen as isolated and mutually exclusive offerings. The traditional agency model is segmented and specialties are housed in largely unconnected silos that often compete with each other instead of working together. For many clients these specialities should come together in collaborating and devising the optimal solution.

“This integrated approach is not always suited to all clients but for some, it is totally appropriate and essential. Clients are starting to come round to the idea that an integrated solution is what they may need but sometimes we have to drive this change for them.”

McCarthy says that there are some interesting challenges and trends developing in the communications industry. “With regard to statutory communications, corporates are definitely not maximising the opportunities that can be leveraged off a simple regulatory requirement to publish certain information. These financial advertisements and publications should add maximum value to a client rather than just be seen as a minimum compliance grudge.

“We are also starting to see quantities of the annual report diminish in print form. Media rich online versions are starting to emerge and agencies should be assisting their clients in packaging it more professionally to the financial community, with all the concomitant benefits of the digital age."

McCarthy says that in more constrained economic times, there is a definite cut back on advertising and a shift to less invasive PR offerings. “Integrated agencies should be able to cope with this crossover and if PR is relevantly and imaginatively packaged for the client, the rewards can be greater than advertising alone.

“Advertising is an expensive form of communication and results are usually not immediate or accurately measurable. Clients begin opting for less traditional communication services which often offer greater niche value at a lower cost. Advertising has become so commoditised that it's hard to make a strong case for it in many instances.”

“Declining advertising spend is not the only change here,” says McCarthy. “Consumers are rapidly changing the way they consume content. They are proactively selecting their favourite adverts and other content and posting it on YouTube and FaceBook or emailing links to friends. 5,5m South Africans are now online and consumers are no longer being dictated to by what editors and programme managers decide to put out.”

”In an interesting contrast to constrained advertising budgets, spending on events is growing, in part to compensate for the loss of personal consumer contact that comes with the digital age, and in part in response to increasingly niche audiences. Events can re-establish a connection with the individual and counter the remoteness of the online age."

McCarthy says that in this very competitive industry, the focus should always remain on the client. “At The Gate, we see ourselves taking on two core roles - providing strategic guidance in communications, and delivering product with creative thinking. Over the years, many different players have entered the industry but have failed to keep the client in focus. Of course the brand is king, as this almost always outlives the client and the agency, but to get to the brand you need the support of the client. Comprehensive customer service needs to go beyond what the agency can concoct in the least possible time while an effective communications planner should be able take a client's vision and turn it into something strategically sound and wonderfully creative.”

In its different approach, McCarthy says The Gate has also revisited how the agency is remunerated. “We are doing something not commonly encountered in the industry. A more flexible approach to revenue models now sees the agency taking on greater financial risk and sharing in the ultimate success of the client campaigns. Not many agencies will put themselves on the line financially.”

The Gate, however, is not a jack of all trades and master of none; they are what McCarthy calls Integrators. “We can't be great at everything, it's simply not realistic. So we focus on what our core strengths are and outsource quite a lot of downstream expertise in particular channels. We have collaborative agreements with a variety of specialists who are way better at implementation in their particular channels than we will ever be, but we manage the process, the strategy, and protect the IP. In short, we're the agency version of Web 2.0 - a model where collaboration is king, the expertise wide and varied and the author is often indistinguishable in the crowd. But the thinking is more informed, more relevant and commercially more astute.”

McCarthy describes The Gate's philosophy as one of "healthy discomfort". “We should always explore all alternatives and continue to push boundaries. Very often pushing boundaries induces discomfort, but how else do you initiate progress? We acknowledge we will never attain perfection, but that's not reason enough to stop trying.”

The Gate is a growing international brand with offices Johannesburg, Asia (Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong), North America (New York), the UK (London and Edinburgh), and in Europe (Frankfurt and Berlin). However not all office of The Gate are the same, with different models suiting the varying marketplace needs.